Businessmirror march 10, 2017

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Friday, March 10, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 149

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By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a ruling that effectively upheld Taguig City government’s ownership of the hotly contested 729-hectare Fort Andres Bonifacio, popularly known as “The Fort or Fort Boni”.

In an 18-page resolution written by Associate Justice Edwin D. Sorongon, the CA’s Former Special Sixth Division granted the motion to dismiss the forum-shopping case filed against the Taguig City government of the appeal filed by the Makati City government of the July 8, 2011, order of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Pasig City. The RTC in Pasig, in that order, enjoined the Makati City government from exercising jurisdiction over the subject property.

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APPELATE COURT JUNKS APPEAL ON FORUM-SHOPPING CASE

CA upholds Taguig in case over Boni

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navara in the north »E1

Continued on A2

Ban on contraceptives to increase maternal deaths in PHL–Popcom Earthquake safety All-new croner makes global debut »E2-E3

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@cuo_bm

he expiration of permits issued for modern contraceptives could lead to at least a thousand mothers dying every year by 2022, according to the Commission on Population (Popcom). To date, the Supreme Court has not lifted its temporary restraining order (TRO) on the full implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act of 2012, which effectively fails to renew certificates of product registration (CPRs) for contraceptives. Popcom Executive Director Juan A. Perez III said that, with the lapse in the CPR of Implanon, a popular implant that is being distributed for free by the government, there would have been 500,000 unintended births and 1,100 maternal deaths between June 2016 and

PEREZ: “If the Supreme Court does not lift the TRO, maternal deaths will increase to 8,000 by 2022.”

March 2017. “That is the equivalent of three jumbo jets full of pregnant women who die every year,” Perez said. “If the Supreme Court does not lift the TRO, that will increase to 8,000 maternal deaths by 2022, which is the reason we in Popcom are saying it would be equivalent to a public-health emergency if the Supreme Court does not lift the TRO.”

PESO exchange rates n US 50.2910

Perez told the BusinessMirror that on average, with the absence of more modern contraceptives, they expect that there could be an average of 800 to 1,000 maternal deaths every year. He explained that this is a rough estimate given the Popcom’s own model and the data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). PSA data showed that for every 100,000 live births in the Philippines, 162 women die during pregnancy and childbirth or shortly after childbirth. Perez said that, usually, PSA data are more conservative, which may be partly due to the methodology it uses. But, he said, Popcom’s field work indicates that there could be more maternal deaths because of some religious and indigenous practices in many remote barangays in the country. Perez also added Popcom even received reports that there was a

23-percent nonreporting of deaths, depending on how remote these areas are. He said, for one, Muslims bury their dead immediately and indigenous peoples (IPs) just bury their dead according to their customs without knowing how or why they died. Some of these deaths could be related to childbirth. These are people among those that the government would like to provide contraceptives to, because they may not have access to them. Many of them live in poor, remote villages nationwide. “You have problems like those in the Muslim area. They bury their dead within 24 hours, they do not record [the causes]. The indigenous populations, they bury their dead in their backyard, they do not bother to report it to the midwife at the RHU [Rural Health Unit], so you have those inherent problems. We know these areas with See “Contraceptives,” A2

and steel-bar issues Make Sense Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

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he 6.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Surigao in the evening of February 10, 2017, and killed six people and injured hundreds more is a grim reminder that earthquakes are realities that can happen anytime, anywhere. Most of those killed and injured in the Surigao quake were crushed by falling debris from crumbling buildings and homes. The Surigao quake also reminds us of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warning for Metro Manila residents and nearby provinces to be ready for the “Big One”—a 7.2-magnitude earthquake to be generated by the West Valley Fault, which, according to Phivolcs, is ripe for movement. Continued on A10

n japan 0.4399 n UK 61.1840 n HK 6.4755 n CHINA 7.2743 n singapore 35.4912 n australia 37.8641 n EU 53.0369 n SAUDI arabia 13.4142

Source: BSP (9 March 2017 )

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A2 Friday, March 10, 2017

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CA upholds Taguig in case over Boni Continued from A1

Ho we ve r, l aw y e r M ic h ae l Sison, spokesman and legal officer of the Makati City government, said the CA “did not rule that Taguig is the rightful owner of Bonifacio Global City”. He added: “That point needs to be emphasized. Based on the merits, the court has ruled that Makati, not Taguig, is the rightful owner of BGC.” The case was dismissed on the technical ground of forum shopping committed by the previous lawyers of Makati. But the order of dismissal by the CA is in conflict with the decision of the Supreme Court that merely ordered the previous lawyers of Makati to pay a fine and not to dismiss the case. “Makati will exhaust all legal remedies to protect its territorial jurisdiction,” Sison said.

It can be recalled that in July 2013, the CA’s Sixth Division issued a decision that granted the appeal of Makati City government of the July 8, 2011, order of the RTC in Pasig. In the decision, the appellate court ordered the Taguig City government to cease and desist from exercising jurisdiction over several areas within Fort Bonifacio, which were earlier declared part of its territory. These areas include the socalled military barangays—Cembo, South Cembo, East Rembo, West Rembo, Comembo, Pembo and Pitogo—as well as the inner Fort barangays (Barangay Post Proper Northside and Barangay Post Proper Southside). The appellate court also declared as constitutional Presidential Proclamation 2475, issued

Contraceptives. . . Continued from A1

IPs, etc., that’s 10 percent of the barangays, that’s about 4,000 barangays,” Perez t ol d t he B us i n e s sM i r ror . Gi v e n that these communities cannot be prevented from practicing their beliefs and customs, especially when it comes to burying one of their own, including women who die in child-birth, Perez said it is important for them to be given access to free contraceptives. The Supreme Court’s TRO prevents the government from doing that and pushing the P261.44 million worth of Implanon purchased by the government nearer to their 2018 expiration date. Health Undersecretary Gerardo V. Bayuga said there are 459.28 million Implanon units purchased by the government. These are set to expire next year. Bayuga said poverty, poor nutrition and health conditions may complicate pregnancies and cause women to die in childbirth. He there are 7 million women who need contraceptive services and their needs must be met by the government since they belong to the poorest sector. “We at the Department of Health are tasked to ensure the health of Filipi-

by the late President Ferdinand Marcos on January 7, 1986, disregarding the claim of Taguig over Fort Bonifacio by stating that the same falls under the jurisdiction of Makati. Also declared as valid was Proclamation 518, modifying Proclamation 2475, which states that the said tracts of land are situated in Makati, although they are parts of Fort Bonifacio. The Taguig City government earlier sought the dismissal of the appeal filed by the Makati City government before the CA on the ground of forum shopping, but it was denied. It claimed that the Makati City government filed simultaneous remedies—a motion for reconsideration before the RTC in Pasig of its July 8, 2011, order and a petition for annulment of the said judgment

nos, especially women so that if you are healthy, you will not die. But because of this [the TRO], we are helpless in some way in fulfilling our task,” Bayuga said. Enacted in December 2012, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation Inc. said Republic Act 10354, or the RPRH law, institutionalized the reproductivehealth program in the country by providing for maternal health care, almost access to family planning, information and education to reproductive health, and funding. Since then, the law has faced several challenges before the Supreme Court, as its oppositionists contested its constitutionality and, after the SC ruled that the law is constitutional, questioned the procedure by which the FDA certified select family-planning products. This then prompted the SC to issue the TRO on public promotion, procurement and distribution of two brands of contraceptive implants. In August 2016, after a motion for reconsideration had been filed by the government, the SC denied the government’s motion and expanded the TRO to cover other contraceptive products available in the Philippine market. Reducing the number of maternal deaths is one of

before the CA. The issue was brought before the Supreme Court by the Taguig City government. In a ruling issued last year, the SC’s Second Division granted Ta g u i g ’s p e t it ion a nd c ite d the Makati City government in contempt for forum shopping in its legal tug-o’-war with the former over jurisdiction on Fort Bonifacio. It agreed with petitioner that the Makati government committed forum shopping when it simultaneously pursued legal remedies before the RTC in Pasig City and the CA seeking same relief. The CA held that as a result of the SC’s ruling, it has no other recourse but to dismiss Makati City government’s appeal of the RTC in Pasig’s ruling declaring Taguig as the owner of Fort Bonifacio property. “However, the Supreme Court

the targets under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 on Ensuring the Healthy Lives and Promote Well-Being for All at All Ages. This goal aims to reduce global maternal mortality and end preventable deaths of newborns and under-5 children, as well as the epidemics of AIDS and other communicable diseases. The SDGs or Global Goals is a set of 17 socioeconomic goals that 193 United Nations member-countries, like the Philippines, committed to meet by 2030. The goals are composed of around 169 targets and over 300 global indicators. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015. The Global Goals aim to end poverty and hunger; promote universal health; education for all and lifelong learning; achieve gender equality; sustainable water management; ensure sustainable energy for all; decent work for all; resilient infrastructure; and reduce income inequality between and among countries. The goals also include create sustainable cities; ensure sustainable consumption and production; take action against climate change; conserve and sustainably use oceans and marine resources; reduce biodiversity loss; achieve peaceful and inclusive societies, and revitalize global partnership for development.

has not spoken. Ineluctably, we must adhere. The issue of whether Makati committed willful and deliberate forum shopping in these cases has been finally laid to rest no less than by the Supreme Court,” the CA said in a ruling dated March 8, 2017. “In this light, and in the absence of any justification on the part of Makati, this Court cannot but draw the conclusion that Makati’s simultaneous availment of the aforementioned reliefs was not a by-product of mere thoughtfulness or negligence but a willful and deliberate act of forum shopping,” it added. The CA noted it is the second time the SC has found Makati to have violated the rule on forum shopping. “In deleterious effects, without a doubt, had set in. The necessary legal consequences of dismissal of

DICT . .

Continued from A12

Communications Inc., saying it might not be the best time to launch a new operator given the complexity of the problems in the Philippine telco market. “We will not fight the entry of a new player. But the time is probably not right yet to really make a competitive third operator prosper. But, please, invite them all,” Smart Chief Technology Advisor Joachim Horn said during the forum. For his part, Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil B. Genio said his group is ready for a new competitor. “We are more than happy to compete with more players,” he said. Commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba of the National Telecommunications Commission said there are four to five players that are “firmly” looking at launching telco services to compete with the two industry leaders. “We are encouraging investors as a third player. Competition is healthy for the market,” he said. “Foreign investors, however, see an impediment: The 60-40 ownership provision in our Constitution.” Consumer group Better Broadband Alliance Convener Mary Grace MirandillaSantos said new players need not be a core player. They could be small Internet service

his case must perforce follow,” the CA added. Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justies Ramon Cruz and Renato Francisco. In a statement, Mayor Lani Cayetano hailed the CA decision as a victory for Taguigeños. She also thanked God, the CA and all those who have worked on the Taguig case from the beginning up to this day. As she welcomed the ruling, Cayetano extended her hand of friendship to Makati and its people. “Taguig desires to work with its neighbors. We have common challenges with massive urbanization. People need our services in planning, infrastructure, health and education programs, as well as anticrime and antidrug campaigns. We can only solve these problems if we work together,” she added. With Claudetn Mocon-Ciriaco

providers (ISPs) or even local government units (LGUs). “We’d like to see more players using new tech and alternative tech,” she said. Ana Celestial, a representative from consumer group Txt Power, said the entry of a new player should be welcomed with caution. “We welcome the entry of new telco players, but we also want to exercise caution. There should be corresponding change in the regulation regime, because if you don’t change the framework of how the telco industry is being run, even the new telco player will be of the same banana,” she said.

Frequency issues

On the issue of the availability of frequencies that would be enough for a third player, Cordoba and Salalima said the current swathe of frequencies, including those that will be sequestered by the government, will be enough for a new operator to thrive. “There are enough frequencies for a third player,” Cordoba said. Salalima said the Department of Information and Communications Technology will only issue frequencies on a show-need basis. “Enough frequencies will be reserved for legitimate operators and assigned to them from time to time upon showing of need and demand for these frequencies,” he said. The telco regulator recently published unused and unpaid frequencies in a local daily. Salalima said there is no need for the government to auction the frequencies. “If I am to be followed, no auction. We don’t exist for revenue. We are here to do public service. My understanding of the law is there is no auction, unless demand for frequency is more than the supply,” he said.

Tourism . .

Continued from A12

Teo noted that the ITB Berlin is attended by the world’s leading travel-trade companies and organizations’ top decision-makers, experts, buyers and young professionals to network, negotiate and do business. This year the leading travel trade show focuses on sustainable and responsible tourism in keeping with the UNWTO’s declaration for the 2017 theme. Nearly 60 exhibitors from 35 countries are presenting their latest offers and products for adventure and ecological travel, and for economically and socially responsible tourism. Rifai recalled the UN’s declaration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development is a clear recognition of the potential contribution of tourism to social progress, equality and prosperity and peace, and that tourism must be at the forefront of the 2020 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “In a world that seems increasingly short of tolerance and generosity, we should cherish tourism as a precious pillar of peace among communities and nations,“ he stressed. He added there was a need to ensure, that as the tourism industry expands, “it contributes to the well-being of the world and not to its peril. Tourism must fulfill its responsibility to contribute to all 17 universal Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].” The SDGs are an initiative of the UN and adopted by its 194 members, with the end in view of having a sustainable environment for every human being to enjoy. It has 17 targets, which include ending poverty and hunger; health, quality education, and gender equality; access to clean water and affordable energy; decent work and economic growth; climate action; among others.

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Manalo takes DFA helm

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RESIDENT Duterte on Thursday appointed Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo as acting secretary of foreign affairs following the rejection of former Secretary-designate Perfecto R. Yasay Jr. by the Commission on Elections for allegedly lying over his citizenship. Manalo is a seasoned diplomat who had been at the forefront in addressing several critical issues on foreign policy. Manalo, who has an extensive experience on foreign policy, specifically on Association of Southeast Asian Nations and United Nations matters, once served as head of the Philippine Mission to the European Union and chaired the Asean-London Committee in 2013. His career in the Department of Foreign Affairs spans nearly four decades since he joined the department in 1979. Despite being the son of two well-respected diplomats, Manalo has carved out a name for himself in the world of diplomacy and foreign affairs. Manalo is the son of the late Ambassador Armando Manalo, a journalist and the former Philippine ambassador to Belgium and political adviser of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations. His mother is Ambassador Rosario Manalo, the first female career diplomat of the

DFA who was recently elected by acclamation as the rapporteur of the 23-member Committee of Experts of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw). He is currently the foreign affairs undersecretary for Policy, his second stint in the same position. He first served as foreign affairs undersecretary for policy from 2007 to 2010. He has represented the Philippines and has served as the chairman of various international meetings and conferences, the latest of which is the Senior Officials Meeting during the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting Retreat (AMM Retreat) in Boracay, Malay, Aklan, on February 20. Before his appointment as the undersecretary for policy, Manalo previously served as the Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2016; nonresident Philippine ambassador to Ireland from 2013 to 2016; Philippine ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, and head of the Philippine Mission to the European Union from 2010 to 2011; and Philippine ambassador and permanent representative to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2003 to 2007. Recto L. Mercene

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Friday, March 10, 2017 A3

Navy to drive away Chinese survey ships off Benham Rise

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HOULD another Chinese survey ship appears off Benham Rise, which is near the provinces of Aurora and Isabela, it should be accosted and driven away from the country’s eastern seaboard.

This is the order of Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana to the Navy.

Lorenzana told reporters who attended the “Kapihan sa Kampo”, held at the Honor Hall of

the National Defense College of the Philippines in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Thursday, that Chinese ships have not only been violating the country’s exclusive economic zone at the West Philippine Sea but also on the Pacific Ocean. “Another thing, one of their survey ships is also plying the Benham Rise already, last year, I think it was monitored for about three months going there, so I have ordered the Navy that if they see this survey ship this year to accost

it and drive it away also from the eastern side of the Philippines,” Lorenzana said. The 13-million-hectare Benham Rise is believed to be an oil-rich area and awarded to the Philippines by the United Nations in 2012. Previously, Chinese survey ships were also seen off Scarborough Shoal and Reed Bank, surveying the sea bed for possible mineral deposits, he added. The Chinese has gained control of Scarborough Shoal after a stand-off with the Navy in April 2012. PNA

Senators set to recommend charges against BI official in bribery case

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ENATORS are poised to recommend the filing of graft charges against four ranking Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials linked to the alleged bribery scandal involving Macau-based casino tycoon Jack Lam. Sen. Richard J. Gordon, wrapping up the Senate inquiry into the multimillion-peso casino anomaly, tagged Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente, former Immigration Associate Commissioners Michael Robles and Al Argosino and retired Police Director Charles

Calima, former chief of the BID Intelligence Division. “If they did their job, they would have filed a case [against Jack Lam] right away for bribery and corruption of public officials,” said Gordon, blue-ribbon committee chairman. Gordon added that their failure to go after Jack Lam made them liable. “When they did not file the case [against Lam], they opened themselves to antigraft charges,” Gordon added. He said the committee will now

prepare the report containing findings and recommendations for adoption by the Senate. “ W hat they [BID officials] should have done is file a case,” he said, adding that Lam is “off the hook” because bribery was not proven. But Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian said authorities could still go after Lam saying the casino operator owes the Philippine government P13.9 billion since 2007 “from his online gaming operations”. Gatchalian suggested that the

government “could have imposed triple the amount in revenue from Jack Lam’s contract”. In his testimony, Argosino admitted they did not inform their superiors about the money right away. He explained they came from a meeting and was only informed by retired Police Senior Supt. Wenceslao Sombero that “the money did not come from Jack Lam but from casino operators”. Argosino also asserted he “did not know what they money was all about”. Butch Fernandez

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Friday, March 10, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

China bizmen keen on PHL PPP projects A number of Chinese businessmen have expressed strong interest on investing in public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the country, according to PPP Center Executive Director Ferdinand A. Pecson. In a news briefing in Malacañang on Thursday, Pecson said there have been several Chinese companies that are now studying the potential opportunities PPP projects might bring into their firms. “As we are not in direct contact with [these companies] yet, some of them have visited us already to express their interest in PPPs,” he said. Foreign investments are mainly coordinated with the National Economic and Development Authority, the main reason the PPP Center has not been pursuing negotiations with the Chinese businessmen yet. Pecson did not reveal the names of these potential investors. However, he described the projects the firms are attracted into establishing should they decide to pursue the partnership. “One company would like to invest in an integrated city project, where you will have factories, service centers, schools and residential areas,” he said. “I think this is a [development] model that is happening in China.” The company, according to the PPP chief, is now looking for a location in the country where they can construct the project. It is also involved in discussions with government agencies it is eyeing to partner with in this endeavor. Another company is also looking to invest into the country’s regional prisons project. Pecson did not provide further about the venture, but said the firm is now looking for a local government unit to collaborate with.

SSS possible PPP exposure

PECSON also revealed that the PPP Center has met with Social Security System (SSS) Chairman Amado D. Valdez to talk about the possibility of the SSS investing its funds in PPP projects. “In that meeting, we explained to Valdez how PPP works,” Pecson said. Alongside the opportunities, the agency has discussed the risks the state-run social-insurance program

might encounter should it venture on partnerships with the private sector. The PPP Center and the SSS then agreed to undergo a workshop through the assistance of the United States Department of the Treasury. The workshop, according to Pecson, will focus on project finance “so that SSS managers would better understand how project finance works”.

In defense of delays

Meanwhile, Pecson elaborated on the reasons for delay in some PPP projects. He believes these interruptions must be addressed since it might be causing disservice to the public. The majority of the delay commonly happens in the project-preparation part, the first step toward achieving a partnership between the government and the private sector. In this process, Pecson said the two parties undertake rigorous research on the estimated cost, possible risks and expected benefits from a venture. Once the risks have been identified, obligations will now be distributed to the parties involved. However, interruptions take place if the site has technical problems, if the right-of-way was delivered late, if construction costs go up or if permits were not approved immediately. Another cause of delay is when the government and the private sector do not agree on the riskallocation matrix provided by the PPP Center and the Department of Finance. This may involve disputes on the allocation of obligations in the partnership. “All in all, this [project-preparation] process would normally take eight months at the minimum,” Pecson said. Delays would also occur in the procurement part wherein the PPP Center must assure the interests of the government are protected. “Parties involved here would be the departments of Justice, Finance and whatever agency is directly involved in the project,” Pecson said. Pecson concluded the entire procedure “is not a straightforward process because [they] have to consider stakeholder inputs, legal implications and [a lot of] other relevant matters that would affect the project one way or another.” Elijah Felice Rosales

Local execs push airport devt as CIAC returns under BCDA By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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L A R K FREEPORT—T he enthusiasm is for the full development of Clark International Airport (CIA) whichever agency wields power over its supervision. That may sum up the reaction of local chief executives to an executive order (EO) bringing back the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) under the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). EO No. 14 signed on February 28 by President Duterte basically overturns an EO signed by former President Benigno S. Aquino III in 2011, which had placed CIAC under the then Department of Transportation and Communications, now Department of Transportation (DOTr). Mabalacat City Mayor Marino Morales said: “The full economic development of Clark and its environs, as well as the Pampanga megalopolis as an economic counter magnet to Metro Manila as envisioned by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Gov. Lilia G. Pineda is anchored on the full utilization of CIAC.” Morales said it does not matter whether CIAC is with BCDA or the DOTr as long as the Clark airport will be fully developed. He said, “Clark airport’s capacity to accommodate

more tourists with the new airport terminal is a necessity.” “The time is now!” he added. Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan acknowledged EO 14 with a welcome note but said he is more inclined with the move to make Clark an authority to free it from political influences and foster its independendence to plot its own development course. Pamintuan manifested his statement through his Spokesman Jay Pelayo on Tuesday. Capas, Tarlac, Mayor Rey Catacutan has not replied to text messages and calls for his reaction. Catacutan is the former executive vice president of CIAC. Duterte’s EO returns CIAC as a subsidiary of the BCDA, but maintains the DOTr’s full supervisory function over the CIA on policies and operations. Section 2 of EO 14 states that the ownership of CIAC shall be transferred to the BCDA, which means that all CIAC shares currently owned by the national government and its nominee stockholders shall be transferred to the BCDA and its nominee stockholders. EO 14 further states that it is necessary “to ensure that the development of CCAC [Clark Civil Aviation Complex] remains parallel with the development of CFZ [Clark Freeport Zone] as a premier investment and promotions destination.”

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Meralco: Power rate up by ₧0.66/kWh this month

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

residential household consuming 200 kilowatts per hour (kWh) a month will shell out P132 more to pay for its power bills this month.

This, after the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said on Thursday that rates will increase by P0.66 per kWh, thereby bringing the overall rate to P9.67 per kWh from last month’s rate of P9 per kWh. The rate hike was mainly brought about by higher generation charge, which increased by P0.58 per kWh to P4.90 per kWh. This amount already includes the partial amount that Meralco needs to recover for sourcing its power requirements from other power suppliers that use liquid fuel during the 20-day shutdown of the Malampaya natural-gas facility.

₧9.67/kWh New overall rate after hike for the month, from P9 per kWh The shutdown affected the natural-gas supply to the Ilijan, Santa Rita and San Lorenzo plants, which supply an aggregate capacity of 2,565 MW to Meralco’s franchise area. With the shutdown, these plants had to switch from natural gas to more expensive liquid fuel so that they can continue supply-

ing power to the grid. The Malampaya shutdown also coincided with the scheduled maintenance of other power plants, such as the SEM-Calaca Power Corp. Unit 1, Quezon Power (Philippines) Ltd., and one block of the Ilijan power plant, which collectively contributes some 1,185 MW of Meralco’s power requirements. Aside from the generation charge increase, taxes and other charges went up by a combined amount of around P0.09 per kWh. Meanwhile, there was a slight decrease in the transmission charge of residential customers of P0.01 per kWh. Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 20 months, after these registered reductions in July 2015. Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge goes to the

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). The utility firm also said that it appreciates the timely action of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on its petition to stagger the incremental liquid-fuel cost over three months, or from March to May 2017. This staggered scheme will help mitigate the effect of the Malampaya shutdown on consumers’ bills. In Meralco’s application filed on January 31, the incremental liquid fuel cost was estimated at P2.417 billion, using certain assumptions, equivalent to around P0.92 per kWh. Based on actual suppliers’ billings provided to the ERC on March 3, the incremental cost was lower at P1.752 billion, or approximately P0.66 per kWh, the collection of which will be staggered over three months. Meralco said the power situation during the Malampaya shutdown was normal throughout, and this led to spot prices being lower than what they were forecasted end of last year.

PIDS study uncovers ‘leak’ in govt’s health-subsidy fund By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

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ome 6.4 million who have availed themselves of the government’s health-insurance subsidy for indigents are not at all that poor, according to the findings of a study released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). In a policy note, PIDS consultant Michael R. Cabalfin said that with a P2,400 subsidy per member since 2014, this translates to P15.36 billion in leakages or about 41 percent of the subsidy. “Clearly, leakages of the PhilHealth [Philippine Health Insurance Corp.] premium subsidy for the poor to the nonpoor had increased from P550 million in 2011 to over P15 billion in 2015,” Cabalfin said. The National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), which was financed by proceeds from the “sin” taxes, now cover only 15 million Filipinos from only 15,000 in 1997. The growth, Cabalfin said, was largely due to the use of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). This, however, has led to the inclusion of more beneficiaries in the NHIP that exceeded the official poverty estimates of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The PSA estimated that in 2015, poverty incidence was at 21.6 percent. With a labor force of about 41.2 million, this translates to about 8.9 million poor Filipinos in the labor force. “ This makes the indigent PhilHealth members 72 percent more than the poor labor force, which means 6.4 million nonpoor are being subsidized by PhilHealth,” Cabalfin said. “This means the government subsidy leaks to the nonpoor. Notwithstanding the guidelines in the identification of the poor, it seems to be prone to subjectivity in the selection of beneficiaries,” he added. Cabalfin said most of the leakages may per-

tain to informal-sector workers who, by the nature of their employment, lack health benefits or medical coverage. With this, Cabalfin recommended that the government mandate the enrollment of informal-

sector members for social health insurance. This will not include informal-sector workers and other disadvantaged workers in the program and allow them to have medical coverage despite the nature of their employment.

Faeldon: BOC eyeing cancellation of cigarette firm’s import permit By Elmer V. Recuerdo Correspondent

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ACLOBAN CITY—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday said it may cancel the import accreditation permit of Mighty Corp. following new discovery of 400 master cases of cigarettes believed to be bearing fake-stamp taxes. The cigarettes were intercepted at the Tacloban port on Tuesday, March 7, in one container van loaded onboard cargo boat MV Lady Alina, which arrived from Manila on Monday evening. “The accreditation of Mighty for importation [may] be canceled effective immediately based on evidences that we have gathered,” Customs

Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon told media at the resumption of the opening of boxes of Mighty Corp. cigarettes at the port. The cigarette packs were tested using a gadget that produced a red light indicating that the item had fake stamps. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) head in Eastern Visayas Teodoro Galicia said excise taxes from the 400 master cases of Mighty cigarettes will amount to P6 million. He said once tax assessment of intercepted cigarettes are completed, a report will be sent to the head office for proper filing of cases against the cigarette manufacturer. Faeldon said the intercepted 400 master cases of cigarettes at the Ta-

cloban port is “very small” compared to what they have discovered in other warehouses owned by Mighty Corp. He said in a span of seven days customs operatives have already discovered 73,000 master cases of cigarettes allegedly bearing fake-tax stamp in different company-owned warehouses all over the country. “They have already proven based on evidence in the past seven days that they have cheated the government billions of pesos in taxes,” Faeldon said. “This is a big amount of money that can already be used to build new health facilities,” he added.

TRO

Mighty Corp. was able to secure a tem-

porary restraining order (TRO) from the Regional Trial Court in Manila against the BOC from “unjust and unreasonable inspection against plaintiff or its assests”, but that did not stop the BIR from opening the boxes to check on the authenticity of tax stamps. Tyrone Tutaan, a lawyer representing Mighty Corp., was present when the boxes of cigarettes were opened. He said they will also seek a TRO against the BIR. He maintained they have proof that the company is paying the correct taxes. “In fact, we have shown them an excise-tax return. But the problem is it was not a certified true copy because it was only sent through e-mail,” he said.

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Friday, March 10, 2017 A5

Indonesia lures Middle East money as Trump worries Muslim nations

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S one of Asia’s fastestgrowing economies and the most populous Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia is billing itself as a natural home for Middle Eastern investment at a time when the US is turning inward. With a landmark visit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Southeast Asia winding down this week, Indonesia has won pledges of $1 billion in development finance and signed agreements to cut trade barriers. That’s on top of a $6-billion oil-refinery deal between Saudi Aramco and Indonesia’s PT Pertamina signed last December. As the largest supplier of crude to Indonesia and with muted oil demand in developed markets, Saudi Arabia has plenty of economic reasons to build stronger ties with the Southeast Asian nation. With the US hardening its attitude toward some Muslim-majority nations, Indonesia also sees the potential for tighter links with the Middle East on the basis of religious bonds. “Politically, it probably also makes sense for the Middle Eastern petro-states to diversify their investments geographically into Asia,’’ said Thomas Lembong, head of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board. “In Muslim-majority countries, like Indonesia, Middle Eastern investors would enjoy added comforts, such as the inherent respect and feelings of sanctity toward investment from the very cradle of Islam.’’

‘Slippery slope’

The visit by the Saudi king was planned well before US President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order for a travel ban that targeted several Muslim-majority countries, and which was renewed this week after initially being set aside by the courts. Indonesia criticized Trump’s move at the time the order was issued, saying closing borders to the rest of the world won’t address the problem of terrorism. “We are on a slippery slope when we start linking the issue of radicalism and terrorism around any particular religion,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Arrmantha Nasir said last month. With a 1,500-strong entourage in tow, the Saudi king’s 12-day visit to Indonesia was preceded by a visit to Malaysia, another Muslim-majority nation, to seal a separate $7-billion deal with the state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd. to develop an oil refinery and provide up to 70 percent of its crude requirements. Malaysian and Saudi Arabian companies signed agreements worth about $2.2 billion in areas including construction, aerospace, halal and hajj-related industries. Naser Al-Tamimi, a researcher based in the UK and author of a book on China-Saudi Arabia relations, said he expects ties between the Arab world and Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, to be strengthened. “The efforts to develop relations with countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, enjoys considerable support from most Saudis,” he said by e-mail. “I expect that relations with countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, will expand in the future in all areas, including security and defense, as a result of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to diversify its foreign policy and its investments in the world.”

FDI surge

Indonesia’s youthful and growing population of 260 million, economic growth of about 5 percent and a relatively stable political environment are luring investors. President Joko Widodo, who took office in 2014 on pledges to reform and boost the economy, sees foreign investment as key to his growth plans. Foreign direct investment into Indonesia has surged 48 percent in the past six years to about $29 billion in 2016, according to data from the Investment Coordinating Board. Saudi Arabia is the nation’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East, with total trade of $5.9 billion in 2015. “The Saudis are seeking to strengthen ties with countries that import its oil, and to promote investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, as it grapples to diversify its economy,” Norshahril Saat, a research fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said in a report after the king’s visit to Malaysia. “The Saudis are also using soft power in its oil diplomacy,” given its status as the center of the Islamic world, he said. A $5 billion deal between Iranian and Indonesian companies to build an oil refinery in East Java have also been in the works— although talks were suspended last month amid the threat of US sanctions—while billions in investment dollars have also been coming to Indonesia from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Bloomberg News

2 Malaysians leave North Korea after being stranded by travel ban

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UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The United Nations says two of its employees who were among 11 Malaysians stuck in North Korea because of a travel ban have left the country. The two work for the World Food Program (WFP) in North Korea. Jane Howard, the WFP coordinator for global issues, said they arrived in Beijing on Thursday morning. North Korea this week banned Malaysians from leaving its territory in a stunning breakdown in diplomatic ties. Malaysia responded in kind. The dispute is connected to the February 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea’s ruler, at the Kuala Lumpur airport. Pyongyang has said the investigation is politically motivated. Although Malaysia has never directly accused North Korea, many have speculated that Pyongyang orchestrated the attack. AP

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US, S. Korea rebuff China’s call to defuse Korea tensions

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EIJING—China tried unsuccessfully to calm newly volatile tensions on the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, proposing that North Korea freeze nuclear and missile programs in exchange for a halt to major military exercises by American and South Korean forces. The proposal was rejected hours later by the United States and South Korea.

South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul (left), US Ambassador Nikki Haley (center) and Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday. AP/Richard Drew

“We have to see some sort of positive action by North Korea before we can take them seriously,” Nikki R. Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters after a Security Council meeting in New York on the escalating Korea crisis. Standing beside her, Cho Tae-yul, the South Korean ambassador, said, “This is not the time for us to talk about freezing or dialogue with North Korea.” The statements by Haley and her South Korean counterpart came hours after China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, proposed the suspensions during a Beijing news conference, describing them as a way to create the basis for talks that would end North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. The alternative to talks, he said, would be an increasingly perilous standoff that threatened the entire region. “The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming toward each other, and neither side is willing to give way,” Wang said. “The question is: Are both sides really prepared for a head-on collision?” But in what appeared to be a hardening American position on North Korea, Haley said the United States was reevaluating its approach to the country and its unpredictable young leader, Kim Jong Un, whom she described as “not rational”. “I can tell you we’re not ruling anything out, and we’re considering every option,” Haley said after the Security Council meeting, flanked by Cho and the Japanese ambassador to the UN, Koro Bessho. At the same time, Haley sought

to reassure China publicly that the US meant no harm by moving ahead with the deployment of a defensive missile shield system in South Korea, after North Korea’s missile launch on Monday. China has condemned the missile shield as a provocation by the Americans that risked a new arms race in the region. Developments this week have abruptly escalated regional tensions over the isolated North’s nuclear arms development. The North is also in a diplomatic standoff with Malaysia after the February 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s estranged half brother, in Kuala Lumpur. On Tuesday Pyongyang— angered by a police investigation that has named several North Koreans as suspects—said that no Malaysians living in North Korea would be allowed to leave the country, and Malaysia quickly responded in kind. On Wednesday Wang said the priority in the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear program was now “to flash the red light and apply brakes”. China’s “suspension for suspension” proposal “can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table,” he said. Doubts that the idea would gain traction were not surprising. North Korea made a similar offer in 2015 that went nowhere. Wang’s proposal was China’s latest attempt to regain the initiative on the nuclear issue, which has bedeviled Beijing’s efforts to stay friends with both North and South Korea and prove itself

a mature regional power broker. “ The current situation is a challenge for the Chinese government’s diplomacy,” said Cheng Xiaohe, an associate professor at Renmin University in Beijing who specializes in North Korea. “The situation in the East Asian region is increasingly complicated, and the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the nuclear missile issue is increasingly slim,” he said, referring to North Korea’s nuclear-arms program. Reining in North Korea has also become a focus for the Trump administration’s dealings with China. Starting next week Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to visit Japan, South Korea and China for talks that will focus on “the advancing nuclear and missile threat” from North Korea, the State Department said. North Korea’s weapons advancements have reached a point where “we do need to look at other alternatives”, Mark C. Toner, a spokesman for the State Department, told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “And that’s part of what this trip is about, that we’re going to talk to our allies and partners in the region to try to generate a new approach to North Korea.” But bringing the countries into agreement over initial steps toward peace will not be easy, especially while China is also in a deepening dispute with South Korea and the Trump administration. At the same news conference where he laid out his proposal on Tuesday, Wang stuck to China’s fierce opposition to the missile defense system the US began assembling in South Korea this week, known as Terminal HighAltitude Area Defense (THA AD). The Chinese government says the system goes far beyond its declared purpose of warding off potential attacks by North Korea and could undermine China’s military security. American and South Korean officials say that that is untrue, and that China should instead focus on halting North Korea’s threats. “It’s common knowledge that the monitoring and early warning radius of THA AD reaches far beyond the Korean Peninsula and compromises China’s strategic security,” Wang said at the news conference, which was part of a regular round of briefings during China’s annual legislative session. “It’s not the way that neighbors should treat each other, and it may very well make South Korea less secure.” Wang’s proposal for mutual suspensions was an attempt to give new life to China’s long-running efforts to tamp down confrontation between North and South Korea. China is the North’s only major economic and security partner, but it has also developed strong economic and political ties with

South Korea that the missile defense system threatens to rupture. For years, China hosted sixcountr y talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, which brought together North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US. But those talks fell apart in 2009, and North Korea has continued to test nuclear weapons and refine missiles that could eventually carry nuclear warheads as far as the continental US. North Korea described its launch on Monday of four ballistic missiles as practice for hitting US military bases in Japan. American officials, and many Chinese experts, have grown skeptical that North Korea would ever seriously contemplate giving up its nuclear weapons. China’s rift with South Korea and the US over the missile defense system is likely to embolden North Korea, making it more confident that Beijing would not turn on it, said Shen Dingli, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai who specializes in nuclear proliferation issues. “The deployment of THAAD has led to a serious deterioration in Chinese-South Korean relations, so North Korea is delighted with that,” Shen said in an interview. North Korea appears to have passed the point where it would abandon its nuclear arms, he said. “There’s no solution to this, because North Korea won’t give up its nuclear weapons.” But Wang said negotiations were the only acceptable way to resolve the dispute. “To resolve the nuclear issue, we have to walk on both legs,” he said, “which means not just implementing sanctions, but also restarting talks.” North Korea’s ties to the global financial system are also under renewed pressure. On Wednesday the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) issued a statement saying it had recently moved to ban North Korean banks from accessing its platform. SWIFT operates as part of the backbone of global bank-payment processing by providing a communication platform used by central banks and financial institutions around the world. Several North Korean banks that were subject to sanctions by both the UN and the US had continued as recently as last year to find ways to access the SWIFT network, according to a report by a United Nations expert panel that was published last week. SWIFT said it was responding to an enforcement action by the authorities in Belgium, where SWIFT is based, but it did not say when it moved to block the North Korean banks from its service.

On Women’s Day, many rally, skip work, wear red

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HIL A DELPHI A—Many American women have observed International Women’s Day by staying home from work, joining rallies or wearing red to show how vital they are to the economy. The Day Without a Woman protest in the United States was put together by organizers of the women’s marches that drew more than 1 million people the day after Republican President Donald J. Trump was sworn in. Tu r n o u t w a s s m a l l e r o n Wednesday. Crowds often numbered in the hundreds. Adina

Ferber took a vacation day from her job at an art gallery to demonstrate in New York. It’s unknown how many other women heeded the call to skip work. In Warsaw, Poland, thousands of women taking part in International Women’s Day showed the conser vative gover nment red cards and made noise with kitchenware to demand full birth control rights, respect and higher pay. In Istanbul thousands marched despite restrictions on demonstrations imposed since last year’s failed coup. AP

A woman strikes a pose in front of a statue titled “Fearless Girl” on March 8 in New York. A big investment firm, State Street Global Advisors, put the statue there to highlight International Women’s Day. The work was by artist Kristen Visbal. AP/Mark Lennihan

New York Times News Service

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

CIA rushes to limit WikiLeaks damage

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A S H I N G T O N —T h e Centra l Intel ligence Agency (CIA) scrambled on Wednesday to assess and contain the damage from the release by WikiLeaks of thousands of documents that catalogued the agency’s cyberspying capabilities, temporarily halting work on some projects while the Federal Bureau of Investigation turned to finding who was responsible for the leak.

7,818

The number of Web pages released by WikiLeaks that include 943 attachments

Investigators say the leak was the work not of a hostile foreign power like Russia but of a disaffected insider, as WikiLeaks suggested when it released the documents on Tuesday. The FBI was preparing to interview anyone who had access to the information, a group likely to include at least a few hundred people, and possibly more than a thousand. An intelligence official said the information, much of which appeared to be technical documents, may have come from a server outside the CIA managed by a contractor. But neither he nor a former senior intelligence official ruled out the possibility that the leaker was a CIA employee. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation into classified information. The CIA has refused to explicitly confirm the authenticity of the documents, but it all but said they were genuine on Wednesday when it took the unusual step of putting out a statement to defend its work and chastise WikiLeaks. The disclosures “equip our adversaries with tools and information to do us harm,” said Ryan Trapani, a spokesman for the CIA. He added that the CIA is legally prohibited from spying on individuals in the United States and “does not do so.” The leak was perhaps most awkward for the White House, which found itself criticizing WikiLeaks less than six months after the group published embarrassing e-mails from John D. Podesta, the campaign chairman for Hillary Clinton, prompting President Donald J. Trump to declare at the time, “I love WikiLeaks”. Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, said the release of documents “should be something that everybody is outraged about in this country”. There was, he added, a “massive, massive difference” between the leak of classified CIA cyber-spying tools and personal emails of political figures. The documents, taken at face value, suggest that US spies had designed hacking tools that could breach almost anything connected to the Internet—smartphones, computers, televisions—and had even found a way to compromise Apple and Android devices. But whether the CIA had successfully built and employed them to conduct espionage remained unclear on Wednesday. A number of cyber-security experts and hackers expressed skepticism at the level of technical wizardry that WikiLeaks claimed to uncover and pointed out that much of what was described in the documents was aimed at older devices that have known security flaws. One document, for instance, discussed ways to quickly copy 3.5-inch floppy disks, a storage device so out of date that few people younger than 35 have prob-

ably used one. One indication that the documents did not contain information on the most highly sensitive CIA cyber-espionage programs was that none of them appeared to be classified above the level of “secret/noforn,” which is a relatively low-level of classification. Some technical experts pointed out that while the documents suggest that the CIA might be able to compromise individual smartphones, there was no evidence that the agency could break the encryption that many phone and messaging apps use. If the CIA or the National Security Agency could routinely break the encryption used on such apps as Signal, Confide, Telegram and WhatsApp, then the government might be able to intercept such communications on a large scale and search for names or keywords of interest. But nothing in the leaked CIA documents suggests that is possible. Instead, the documents indicate that because of encryption, the agency must target an individual phone and then can intercept only the calls and messages that pass through that phone. Instead of casting a net for a big catch, in other words, CIA spies essentially cast a single fishing line at a specific target and do not try to troll an entire population. “The difference between wholesale surveillance and targeted surveillance is huge,” said Dan Guido, a director at Hack/Secure, a cyber-security investment firm. “Instead of sifting through a sea of information, they’re forced to look at devices one at a time.” Guido also said the CIA documents did not suggest that the agency was far ahead of academic or commercial security experts. “They’re using standard tools, reading the same tech sites and blogs that I read,” he said. Some of the vulnerabilities described by the CIA have already been remedied, he said: “The holes have been plugged.” But Joel Brenner, formerly the country’s top counterintelligence official, said he believed the leak was “a big deal” because it would assist other countries that were trying to catch up to the US, Russia, China and Israel in electronic spying. He added that the intelligence agencies would have to again assess the advisability of sharing secrets widely inside their walls. “If something is shared with hundreds or thousands of people, there’s a sense in which it’s already no longer a secret,” he said. The WikiLeaks release included 7,818 Web pages with 943 attachments. Many were partly redacted by the group, which said it wanted to to avoid disclosing the code for the tools. But without the code, it was hard to assess just what WikiLeaks had obtained—and what it was sitting on. The documents indicated that the CIA sought to break into Apple, Android and Windows devices—that is, the vast majority of the world’s smartphones, tablets and computers. While the scale and nature of the CIA documents appeared to catch government officials by surprise, there had been some signs a document dump was imminent. On Twitter, the organization had flagged for weeks that something big, under the WikiLeaks label “Vault 7”, was coming soon. On February 16 WikiLeaks released what appeared to be a CIA document laying out intelligence questions about the coming French elections that agency analysts wanted answers to, either from human spies or eavesdropping. When WikiLeaks released the cyberspying documents on Tuesday, it described the earlier document as “an introductory disclosure.” New York Times News Service

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

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Friday, March 10, 2017

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In China, Trump wins 27 new trademarks

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EIJING—President Donald J. Trump has won preliminary approval to register 27 new trademarks in China for industries— including restaurants and advertising— business interests that could add to criticism over his potential conflicts.

A s a businessm a n, Tr u mp has amassed a vast portfolio of trademarks around the world, as he seeks to protect his brands and his products. Those trademarks, at times, clash with the vision of a populist president who has espoused a strateg y of “America First”. China has been among the biggest targets for his business prospects. Including the latest batch, his companies have filed for at least 126 trademarks in China since 2005 —for restaurants, bars, hotels, brokerage services, advertising and management consulting. But as president, Trump has criticized China for its trade practices. On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose punitive tariffs against the country. The timing of the new trademarks could create a perception problem for Trump because they came so soon after he took office. In February the Chinese government announced that it was granting Trump the right to protect his name brand for construction projects, after a decadelong legal battle. That trademark approval was announced just days after Trump pulled back from his challenge to China’s policy on Taiwan in a call with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.

126 The estimated number of trademarks the companies of US President Donald J. Trump have filed in China since 2005

A number of trademarks have followed, with China’s Trademark Office giving preliminary approval for the 27 new ones on February 27 and on Monday, according to the agency’s web site. The latest trademarks, which were under the name “Donald J. Trump”, were initially approved for use in golf clubs, insurance services, child-care centers and nursing homes, among other categories. They will be formally registered three months later, if the agency receives no objections. The Associated Press reported earlier about the trademarks. Matthew Dresden, a lawyer with Harris Bricken in Seattle who specializes in Chinese intellectual property law, said it was

Computer screens showing some of the Trump trademarks approved by China’s Trademark office and seen on their web site in Beijing, China, on Wednesday. China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, fueling conflict of interest concerns and questions about whether President Donald J. Trump is receiving special treatment from the Chinese government. AP/Ng Han Guan

a typical that all the trademarks were “approved at once.” “I think that’s really odd. That makes you look and think: ‘Somebody got some instructions at the trademark office that these should be approved,’” Dresden said. Scot t Pa l mer, a n i ntel lectua l-proper t y law yer at Shep pard, Mu l l in, R ic hter and Hampton, which represents US cor porations in China, played dow n the sig nificance of the timing, emphasizing the countr y’s law specifies the trademark office should complete its examination of a filing w ithin nine months. Tr ump had registered the trademarks last April, before he was elected. “There’s nothing inherent in that timing that is questionable

or strange or should be viewed as out of the ordinary,” Palmer said. “The Trademark Office has been working on getting this timing right for a few years now, and the fact that they are hitting the target doesn’t mean they are likely to have played favorites.” Critics say Trump’s trail of trademarks could leave the president vulnerable to potential conflicts of interest. I n Fe b r u a r y S e n . D i a n ne Feinstein, Democrat- Ca l ifornia, sounded alarms about China’s decision to award Trump his trademark in construction services, saying it could be a breach of the US Constitution and that foreign governments could use h is t radem a rk s to i nf luence foreign-policy decisions.

Hawaii becomes 1st state to sue over Trump’s new travel ban

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ONOLULU—The state of Hawaii has become the first state to sue to stop President Donald J. Trump’s revised travel ban. Attorneys for the state filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu. The state had previously sued over Trump’s initial travel ban, but that lawsuit was put on hold while other cases played out across the country. Hawaii gave notice on Tuesday night that it intended to file an amended lawsuit to cover the new ban, which plans to go into effect on March 16. T he re v i sed e xec ut ive or der bars new visas for people from six predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily shuts down the US refugee program. It doesn’t apply to travelers who already have visas. Hawaii ’s lawsuit says the order will harm Hawaii ’s Muslim population, tourism and foreign students. “Hawaii is special in that it has always been nondiscriminator y in both its histor y and constitution,” Attorney General Doug Chin said. “ Twenty percent of the people are foreign-born, 100,000 are noncitizens and 20 percent of the labor force is foreign-born. The move came after a federal judge in Honolulu said earlier Wednesday Hawaii can move forward with the lawsuit. US District Judge Derrick Watson granted the state’s request to continue with the case and set a hearing for March 15—the day before Trump’s order is due to go into effect. It bars new visas for people from the six predominantly Muslim countries and temporarily shuts down the US refugee program. Officials in heavily Democratic Hawaii previously sued to stop Trump’s initial ban but that suit was placed on hold amid legal

In this February 3 photo, Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin speaks at a news conference in Honolulu, announcing the state of Hawaii has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald J. Trump’s travel ban. AP/Audrey McAvoy

challenges around the country. A day after Trump’s administration announced its new executive order, attorneys for the state filed their proposed revision in federal court on Tuesday night, along with a motion asking that it be allowed to proceed. Watson approved that mot ion a nd sa id t he st ate w i l l file the final lawsuit later on Wednesday. The Hawaii attorney general ’s office did not provide further details on timing but has said the ban will harm Hawaii ’s Muslim popu lation, tourism and foreign students. The US Department of Justice declined to comment on the pending litigation. The state will argue at the March 15 hearing that the judge should impose a temporary restraining order

(TRO) preventing the ban from taking effect until the lawsuit has been resolved. Hawaii’s complaint says it is suing to protect its residents, businesses and schools, as well as its “sovereignty against illegal actions of President Donald J. Trump and the federal government”. The order affects people from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya. It does not apply to travelers who already have visas. Imam Ismail Elshikh of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, a plaintiff in the state’s challenge, says the ban will keep his Syrian mother-in-law from visiting. Trump’s “executive order inflicts a grave injury on Muslims in Hawaii, including Dr. Elshikh, his family, and members of his mosque,” Hawaii’s complaint says.

A federal judge in Seattle issued a TRO halting the initial ban after Washington state and Minnesota sued. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the order. While Hawaii is the first to sue to stop the revised ban, the restraining order is still in place and could apply to the new one, too, said Peter Lavalee, a spokesman for the Washington attorney general’s office. University of Richmond Law School professor Carl Tobias said Hawaii’s complaint seemed in many ways similar to Washington’s successful lawsuit, but whether it would prompt a similar result was tough to say. He said he expects the judge, an appointee of President Barack Obama who was a longtime prosecutor, to be receptive to “at least some of it.” Given that the new executive order spells out more of a national security rationale than the old one and allows for some travelers from the six nations to be admitted on a case-by-case basis, it will be harder to show that the new order is intended to discriminate against Muslims, Tobias said. “The administration’s cleaned it up, but whether they have cleaned it up enough I don’t know,” he said. “It may be harder to convince a judge there’s religious animus here.” Tobias also said it is good that Hawaii’s lawsuit includes an individual plaintiff, considering that some legal scholars have questioned whether the states themselves have standing to challenge the ban. “This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim ban 2.0,” Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said in a statement on Monday. “Under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees.” AP

“ This is an astonishing development,” Sen. Ben Cardin, Democrat-Mar yland, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a written statement. “It’s clear to me that officials in Beijing have come to appreciate the potential return on investments for China in having a positive, personal business relationship with the President of the United States, who has not taken appropriate and transparent steps to completely sever his relationship from the corporation that bears his name.” It i s u nc lea r whet her t he Trump Organization will profit from the new trademarks. While the company has pursued a large number of hotel-development

deals in China, one of its executives recently suggested that the organization would drop those projects. The Trump Organization has said it would not be doing any new international deals. Trump has said he is turning over control of his business to his two adult sons. Alan Garten, executive vice president and chief legal officer at the Trump Organization, said in a statement: “The Trump Organization has been actively enforcing its intellectual-property rights in China for more than a decade and its core real-estate related trademarks have been registered in China since 2011.” He added: “The latest registrations are a natural result of those long-standing, diligent efforts, and any suggestion to the contrary demonstrates a complete disregard of the facts, as well as a lack of understanding of international trademark law.” The Trump brand has been a ripe target for trademarks. Trump’s name can be found on toilets, cosmetics and leather goods in China—trademarks that have been registered by other people. In a recent interview, Spring Chang, founder of Chang Tsi and Partners, a law firm in Beijing that represents the Trump Organization, said declined to comment on Trump’s specific trademarks. But she said she encouraged a “defensive strategy” to prevent a celebrity’s name from becoming treated as a generic term. Asked whether Trump plans to sue people who have registered his name as trademarks in China, Chang, who also represents Lady Gaga and Linkin Park in the country, said: “We haven’t discussed our strategy with him. As you know, he’s very, very busy.” New York Times News Service

Wary of Brexit, AIG to open insurer in Luxembourg in 2 yrs

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ONDON—The American International Group (AIG) said on Wednesday it planned to open an insurance company in Luxembourg within two years to assure that it can serve European clients after Britain leaves the European Union (EU). London has been a European beachhead for many financial companies, particularly those from the United States, to serve clients in Europe. But in June, Britons voted to leave the EU, a decision that could force companies to move operations to a country in the bloc to continue to sell products to European clients. Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain is expected to initiate Article 50 this month, which would begin the two-year process of negotiating Britain’s exit from the 28-country union, or Brexit. Part of those negotiations would include whether financial companies would be granted socalled passporting rights to be able to continue to sell their products into Europe from Britain without having to open a new subsidiary. A number of financial companies with their European headquarters in Britain are already examining the availability of office space as part of contingency planning, particularly if such passporting is not granted. Dublin, Frankfurt, Germany and Paris are among the cities thought to be under consideration by several financial companies. The British bank HSBC has said it may move as may as 1,000 people to Paris depending on the outcome of the negotiations, and

the Swiss banking giant UBS has indicated that it also could move jobs out of London. On Wednesday AIG said it would open a new subsidiary insurance company in Luxembourg to “ensure continued smooth operation” of its business in Europe and Switzerland. It would have a separate insurance subsidiary to provide insurance in Britain. AIG has a single insurance company in Britain, with branches in Luxembourg and other parts of the European Union, as well as Switzerland. The insurer said it would continue to support its European business from Britain, which it considers a core market and is the home to its largest operation in Europe. “This is a decisive move that ensures AIG is positioned for whatever form the UK’s exit from the EU ultimately takes,” Anthony Baldwin, the chief executive of AIG Europe, said in a news release. He added that Luxembourg “offers us a secure location in a stable economy with an experienced and well-respected regulator in continental Europe close to many of our major markets.” The insurer said it expected to have the new structure in place in the first quarter of 2019, subject to approval by regulators. AIG, which has three employees in Luxembourg, declined to say many people might move as a result of the change. An AIG spokesman said there would be “some changes at a senior leadership level, but wider impacts are expected to be minimal.” New York Times News Service

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Rubble and ash in Mosul museum retaken from IS

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OSUL, Iraq—The antiquities museum in the Iraqi city of Mosul is in ruins. Piles of rubble fill exhibition halls and a massive fire in the building’s basement has reduced hundreds of rare books and manuscripts to ankle-deep drifts of ash. The Associated Press (AP) reporters were granted rare access to the museum on Wednesday after Iraqi forces retook it from the Islamic State (IS) group the day before. After examining AP photographs of the destruction, two Iraqi archeologists confirmed that many of the artifacts destroyed by IS were the original ancient stone statues dating back thousands of years, rather than replicas as some Iraqi officials and experts previously claimed. IS captured Mosul in 2014 and released a video the following year showing fighters smashing artifacts in the museum with sledgehammers and power tools. The voice narrating the IS video justified the acts with verses from the Koran referencing the prophet Mohammed’s destruction of idols in the Kaaba. “These statues and idols, these artifacts, if God has ordered its removal, they became worthless to us even if they are worth billions of dollars,” the narration said. The sacking of the Mosul museum was just a single act in nearly three years of systematic destruction of Iraq’s cultural heritage at the hands of IS. The militants leveled ancient palaces, temples and churches throughout Nineveh province and beyond, often releasing videos boasting of their acts. IS has even demolished some mosques, saying they were used to venerate saints, which IS considers a form of polytheism. Inside the Mosul museum’s main exhibition hall, the floor was littered with the jagged remains of an ancient Assyrian bull statue and fragments from cuneiform tablets. “These are the remains of a lamassu and the lions of Nimrud,” Layla Salih, an Iraqi archaeologist and former curator of the Mosul museum said as she examined AP photographs of the remains. Salih said when IS took over Mosul, the museum housed two massive lamassu statues—winged lions recovered from the ancient Assryrian city of Nimrud. “They were priceless,” she said, “they were in perfect condition.” Hiba Hazim Hamad, a former archaeology professor in Mosul, confirmed Salih’s assessment, saying she believed the building held hundreds of ancient artifacts at the time IS overran the city, “thousands if you count the small pieces,” she added. Adjoining rooms on the two main floors were largely empty, save for a set of carved wooden coffins and doors left untouched. There were also smaller piles of rubble from what appeared to be additional destroyed artifacts, but the stones were crushed beyond recognition. Hamad said these could be the remains of destroyed replicas, but even if replicas were on display, the original pieces would have still been inside the museum in the basement safe when IS overran the building.

“It’s standard procedure for all museums [in Iraq],” she said, referring to the practice of keeping the most valuable pieces locked away from view. Mosul’s antiquities museum—built in the 1970s and the second largest in Iraq— once housed priceless Mesopotamian artifacts dating back thousands of years and a collection of rare Islamic and pre-Islamic texts. “Daesh [IS] came to Iraq to destroy our heritage because they don’t have their own,” said Federal Police Cpl. Abbas Muhammad, using the Arabic acronym for the group. Muhammad was one of the first to enter the building after it was retaken from IS on Tuesday and was holding the site with a handful of other troops on Wednesday. The museum now effectively marks the front line in the fight against IS for Mosul’s western half after Iraqi forces retook it during a push up along the Tigris River. Troops have turned one of its halls and its garden into a makeshift base, placing machine gunners at the building’s corners under olive trees and blocking nearby roads with rubble, old cars and mounds of dirt. The territory IS overran in Syria and Iraq is home to some of the region’s most important historical sites and monuments. The extremist group is also believed to have looted ancient artifacts in order to sell them on the black market to finance its operations. Lamia al-Gaylani, an Iraqi archaeologist who has been working in the field of preservation in Iraq since the 1960s, said IS destroyed Iraq’s heritage in an effort to erase the country’s identity and legitimize their own state in its place. “They want their own history,” she said. “Especially in a city like Mosul where the people are very proud of their history, I think [IS] did this as a form of revenge.” While al-Gaylani said destruction like what was wrought at Mosul ’s museum sparked outrage across Iraq, she said she worries that that anger won’t necessarily translate to better protection in the future for the heritage Iraq has left. “Most Iraqi people are focused on their own survival,” she said, “and the government is not concerned with heritage”. A handful of history books remained in the main entryway of the museum beside a bag of placards from old exhibits. They describe flint objects found in Nineveh dating back to about 4,000 BC, copper oil lamps discovered in Ur dating back to 2,600 BC and Sumerian statues dating back to 2,050 BC. “Mosul is the heart of Iraqi civilization,” said Federal Police Maj. Muhammad al-Jabouri, a Mosul native from a nearby neighborhood. “When I heard how Daesh destroyed this place,” he said, as his eyes filled with tears. “Death would have been a greater mercy for me.” AP

Man claiming son of slain N. Korean says he’s safe

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EOUL, South Korea—A man claiming to be the son of the slain half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a YouTube video saying he’s safely with his mother and sister. “My name is Kim Han Sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family,” the man says in English in the 40-second YouTube clip uploaded on Wednesday. “My father has been killed a few days ago. I’m currently with my mother and my sister.... We hope this gets better soon.” An official at S outh Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said the NIS had determined that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol. The public-affairs official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, didn’t explain how his agency confirmed the man’s identity. Kim Jong Nam was killed by

two women who rubbed a prohibited nerve agent on his face at an airport in Malaysia on February 13, according to Malaysian police. Kim Jong Un was widely suspected to be behind his brother’s murder to eliminate a potential challenger to his rule. Subsequently, there have been worries about the safety of Kim Jong Nam’s son Kim Han Sol, who described his uncle Kim Jong Un as a “dictator” during a rare 2012 interview with Finnish television. NIS officials gave the same confirmation on Kim Han Sol’s identity to the office of a lawmaker who sits on South Korea’s intelligence committee without saying how it reached such a conclusion, according to an aide to the lawmaker. The aide requested anonymity for both himself and the lawmaker, saying they weren’t authorized to give the information to the press. AP

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, March 10, 2017

A9

PHL chicken inventory down 23% in Feb

SRA urges DTI to monitor retail price of sugar

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Bloomberg

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

he country’s dressed-chicken inventory in February reached 13,828.60 metric tons (MT), nearly 23 percent lower than the 17,947.69 MT recorded a year ago, according to the latest data from the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). NMIS data showed chicken purchased abroad accounted for 65.88 percent of the February inventory at 9,110.00 MT. The figure was 38.35 percent lower than the 14,777.13 MT imported a year ago.

The remaining volume consisted of locally produced chicken, according to NMIS data. The volume of locally produced chicken in cold storages expanded by 48.83 percent to 4,718.61 MT,

from the 3,170.56 MT posted in February 2016. On a monthly basis, localchicken inventory as of February 27 was 16.01 percent lower than the 16,465.49 MT recorded in January. The NMIS said it surveyed only accredited cold-storage facilities. Fresh-chilled chicken, mechanically deboned meat was not included in the NMIS data. Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture also showed the volume of frozen pork in cold storages expanded 9.27 percent to 14,277.16 MT, from 13,066.12 MT recorded in the same period last year. Imports also accounted for the bulk of the frozen-pork inventory. According to the NMIS, pork imports abroad reached 13,225.87 MT, or 92.64 percent of the total February inventory.

The volume of frozen-pork imports is 27.49 percent higher than the 10,374.20 MT recorded a year ago. Local pork in cold storages declined by 60.95 percent to 1,051.29 MT, from 2,691.92 MT recorded in February 2016. On a monthly basis, localpork inventory as of February 27 was 3.34 percent higher than the 13,815.59 MT recorded in January. For the frozen-pork data, the NMIS said it included stock inventory in accredited commercial and in-house cold storage in slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants. Local traders are allowed to import chicken and pork under the so-called minimum access volume (MAV) scheme of the World Trade Organization. Pork imports within MAV are usually slapped a lower tariff.

Expert urges government to plant mangroves in abandoned fish ponds in coastal areas By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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EGANES, Iloilo—An expert in mangrove-forest conservation is urging the government to plant mangroves in abandoned and illegal-fish ponds, particularly in coastal areas. Dr. Jurgenne H. Primavera, chief mangrove scientific advisor for the Zoological Society of London, said the Philippines needs to have more mangroves due to its vulnerability to extreme-weather events. Primavera noted mangroves can also contribute to fisheries production, carbon-sequestration, and climate-change mitigation and adaptation. Primavera, also a scientist emerita of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center’s Aqu ac u lt u re Depa r t ment in Tigbauan, Iloilo, said there are better economic opportunities waiting for coastal communities if fishponds are reverted

into mangrove forest. Interviewed by the BusinessMirror, Primavera said there are hundreds of abandoned fishponds lying idly and are no longer productive. These areas, she said, expose communities to unnecessary risks of being swept away during storm surges. Citing the devastation caused by Supertyphoon Haiyan (international code name Yolanda), she said most areas with thick mangroves forest in the Visayas were the least affected. “Mangrove forests are sources of food and fuel, and protect coastal communities,” Primavera said. Since 2012, Primavera has been advocating for the conversion of abandoned fish ponds into mangroves forests. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it is planning to reforest 300,000 hectares of coastal areas by planting native species of mangroves in coastal areas, as well as bamboos in critical watersheds under the Enhanced National

Greening Program (E-NGP). Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez said she wants communities to benefit from “greening” programs, including mining-affected areas, to provide livelihood to communities by protecting the environment. Primavera, who has been work i ng on m a ng roves a nd mangrove conservation in the Visayas since 1975, said people in coastal communities have very poor appreciation of mangroves and their economic benefits. “Many mangrove areas were destroyed to put up fish ponds,” she added. Primavera said rehabilitating these areas will allow coastal communities to benefit from having a healthy mangrove forests—including sufficient fish stock, shrimps, crabs and other seashells. She also recommended assisted natural regeneration of mangrove forests through establishment of nurseries and planting of w ildings, say ing

it a l lows recover y of coasta l ecosystems faster than natural regeneration. An audit of Fishpond Lease Agreements issued by the government, she said, is needed to determine which of these agreements are due to expire and which are operating illegally. “Those illegally operating should be reverted immediately because it’s illegal. There are many areas w ith abandoned fish ponds, and there are laws that mandate the government to revert them back to mangrove forests,” she said. Primavera urged the government to be cautious in implementing a massive mangrove reforestation program, adding planting the right species is key to its success. “Those areas hit by Yolanda, the native species that grew naturally were destroyed but they recovered fast. The species that were planted in the wrong areas were washed away,” she said.

he Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is appealing to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to ensure that the retail price of sugar reflects the decline in its millsite price. SRA Administrator Anna Rosario V. Paner said Filipino consumers should benefit from the continuous drop in the millsite price of sugar. “I urge the DTI to check whether the retail price of raw and refined sugar has gone down, as the millsite price of sugar is declining. The SRA hopes that consumers would enjoy the drop in the price of sugar,” Paner told reporters in a recent interview. She said the decline in the millsite price of sugar could be attributed to the increased entry of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the country last year. “There has been a lot of excess corn in China, so the price of HFCS went down and then China exports to us at zero duty,” Paner said. “That’s why the price of sugar is dropping because there’s so much supply due to the importation of HFCS.” Citing SRA data, Paner said the HFCS imported by the Philippines last year was estimated at 285,000 metric tons (MT), which is equivalent to some 5.7 million 50-kilogram bags (lkg). She said this volume displaced nearly 30 percent of the market share for locally produced refined sugar. “This is the highest volume of imported HFCS since 2013. The equivalent volume of the HFCS imported in terms of bags is 5.7 million lkg,” Paner said. “And in 2016, our refined-sugar production is around 20 million bags. So, it [HFCS] took away nearly 30 percent of the refined-sugar market and that’s a very big chunk,” she added. SRA data as of February 12 showed that the composite price of sugar dropped to P1,488.68 per lkg, compared to the P1,720.23 per lkg recorded at the start of milling for crop year 2016-2017. On a yearly basis, the current composite price of sugar is 18 percent lower than the P1,816.49

per lkg posted in February 2016, SRA data showed. The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the retail price of refined sugar and raw sugar as of March 7 reached P55 per kilogram and P44.50 per kilogram, respectively. Based on the Department of Agriculture’s price watch data, the prevailing price of raw and refined sugar in Metro Manila reached P44 per kilogram and P56 per kg, respectively. According to Paner, the retail price of raw and refined sugar should be lower by P5 following the recent decline in the millsite price of sugar. She also said the DTI look into the possibility of implementing more stringent labeling regulations pertaining to products using HFCS. “What if for example you are diabetic and then suddenly you experienced hypoglycemia and you want to increase your sugar level and the label for the soft drink states sugar ‘and/or’ HFCS,” she said. On February 20 the SRA issued Sugar Order (SO) 3 outlining the guidelines regulating the entry of imported HFCS into the Philippines in its bid to stabilize sugar prices. “HFCS is a type of sugar and/or that its importation affects the balance of supply of sugar in the country,” Paner said in SO 3. “The unregulated importation of HFCS displaces the use of locally produced sugar and, thereby, negatively affects the balance of production, threatens the livelihood of industry workers and impedes the growth of the sugar industry,” she added. Paner said the SRA is currently conducting a study on the correlation between sugar prices and the price of products containing sugar. “I want to study the relationship of the fluctuation of sugar prices in relation to the price of pastries and other goods using sugar, such as pan de sal. Who benefits from the low price of sugar?” Paner said. She said the SRA and the Food Nutrition Research Institute are mulling over the conduct of a study on the effects of HFCS on human health.

Dry conditions spark wildfires, parch wheat across central US

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pring warmth and dry conditions came early to the central US, leaving emerging crops thirsty for rain and touching off fires across the region. The 3,100 acres (1,255 hectares) of winter wheat on Michael Peters’s farm in Okarche, Oklahoma, have begun to develop about 10 days ahead of schedule amid the above-normal temperatures, he said. While showers last month aided the crop, it was followed by warm, windy weather that pulls moisture from the soil, meaning the young plants will need another rain soon. “Right now, we’re OK,” Peters said by phone. “We’re holding on, but we’re kind of at a critical stage where we’re going to need some pretty quickly.” Drought and abnormally dry conditions have spread across the southern Great Plains, the lower Midwest and the South, according to the US. Drought Monitor in Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition, the threat of wildfires is rising as low humidity and high winds whip across the arid landscape. “They have no major relief,” Dave Dombeck, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania, said by phone. “There is no long-term wet period in the next week to 10 days.”

Unseasonable February

While a good rain storm could blunt the dryness, conditions have caused traders to begin to take notice. April and May rainfall can determine

hard-red winter wheat yields. As of February 28, hedge funds boosted net-bullish bets on the wheat variety grown on the Plains to the highest since April 2014. Oklahoma and Missouri have been h a rdest -h it by d rou g ht. Through February, a little more than 73 percent of Oklahoma was in some stage of drought as was about 64 percent of Missouri, the Drought Monitor said. It was the second-warmest February on record across the contiguous 48 states, according to the US National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. Texas, Arkansas and Missouri were among the 16 states that had their warmest February, while Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas each had a February that ranked in their top 10 warmest. This has created a problem for farmers. The warmth helped wake wheat from dormancy to a premature spring. In addition to raising the need for water, the quick start also puts the plants at risk of a return to colder temperatures.

Fire season

A drop in temperatures can heighten damage risks for young crops, Kansas State University Extension said in a report last week. Forty-three percent of the state’s wheat was rated in good or excellent condition as of March 5, compared with 56 percent at the same time last year, US Department of Agriculture data show. Bloomberg News

A10 Friday, March 10, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Death penalty: Voting with head or heart?

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he imposition of the death penalty for certain crimes has been an issue under constant discussion and division in most countries for decades—but not that many decades. It is good to remember that the last public execution by the guillotine in France occurred on June 17, 1939, of a man convicted of multiple kidnappings and the murders of two women and four men. In 1977 France executed its last convicted murder by guillotine, although the public was not allowed to watch. Virtually every—but not all—religion through the millennia has supported, either directly or indirectly through interpretation, capital punishment. Even traditionally nonviolent Buddhism includes “scripture” that authorizes violence to prevent suffering, telling the story of a Bodhisattva who saved hundreds of people by killing a murderous thief. Unofficial opinion polling in the Philippines shows that people are divided on the topic with a leaning toward “No to the death penalty”. That probably describes how most of us personally feel. On one hand, we might see a justification. On the other, we also see and understand the brutality of the state taking a life even under the law. The fact that we are individually and collectively even a little torn on the subject is intellectually surprising. The arguments appealing to our “heads” to reject capital punishment are strong and persuasive. Even our “hearts” know there is an element of revenge by sentencing even the most vile and nonrepentant criminal to die. However, there is not a universal rejection of the idea. An opinion poll in France conducted in 2013 showed 50 percent supported reintroduction of the death penalty. The lowest support in 2011 still was 35 percent. In Japan 85 percent believe in capital punishment. Although having declined through the years almost everywhere, support for capital punishment in Britain, Canada and Russia is almost evenly divided. One-third of those surveyed in Australia, Finland and New Zealand favor it. Americans, too, are split, 44/48, against the death penalty. A postelection analysis showed that Donald J. Trump far outperformed expectations in those counties with the highest drug, alcohol and suicide mortality rates, even as those places had high minority demographics that went almost exclusively for Hillary Clinton. The Pennsylvania State University study called these the “deaths of despair” and people voted their “hopelessness” looking to someone, anyone who could maybe solve the problems. Perhaps, it might be the same “voting pattern” from those who, given a chance at a binding vote on the death penalty, would call for its restoration. Trying to reconcile the intellectual arguments—no deterrence to crime, sentencing mistakes are made too often, and murder is murder whoever takes a life—a sizable portion (and 20 percent to 30 percent is sizable) of civilized societies see the final solution of capital punishment as reasonable. Few of us would be willing to “pull the trigger” to execute someone even if we felt the punishment was deserved. But few also would be willing to take responsibility for telling a murder victim’s family why the killer would be able to live to a natural death.

How to choose? James Jimenez

spox

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any prevoters and first-time voters typically ask the question: What is the right way to pick who to vote for? Helpful voter educators then fall all over themselves trying to come up with all sorts of how-to-choose lists that are supposed to help in navigating the treacherous waters at the intersection of politics and self-interest. But no matter how good those lists are—and some of them really are worth noting—they inevitably ignore the fact that good ballot-box choices ultimately stem from how the voter himself defines his values, how he views society as a whole and what role he sees himself playing in that social order.

Take the question of gender, for instance. Regardless of statistics and other objective considerations, a misogynist will tend to favor someone who reflects his own views on women. And when enough like-minded individuals—both men and women, by the way—are in positions of power, it won’t matter how far we’ve come, there will be a slow erosion of all the gains women have struggled for these long years. The same can

be said of virtually any contentious topic: foreign policy, peace and order, the death penalty. How-to-choose lists work only if there is an underlying consensus about what’s truly important. When that consensus exists, such lists operate to make people aware of their more selfish motivations and encourage them to look beyond themselves. In the face of fundamental disagreements about what really matters, however,

these lists are likely to preach only to the choir, and ultimately, not achieve their purpose at all. Since we recently celebrated International Women’s Day, let’s take gender issues as an example again. Here are some questions you can ask yourself—as a voter—to determine whether your respect and sensitivity to women is just a sham. Do you think women should be nice, gentle and soft-spoken? Do you look with disapproval on women who are not? Do you think women who are authoritative, decisive and outspoken are not “feminine” enough? Do you deride men who are indecisive or “weak”, as gay or “like a woman”? Do you think women should put effort to maintain a pleasing appearance? Do you think women who don’t are unattractive? Or do you think that women who do are shallow? Do you tell jokes that degrade women? Do you tolerate such jokes and other forms of sexism by men? Or do you only speak up when women are present? Do you think interrupting or talking over women is acceptable? Do you think staring at women you find attractive is paying them a compliment? Short of self-defense, do you

think that there are instances when it would be okay to hit a woman? Do you think women should act or dress differently in order not to get raped? Do you think men in a sexual relationship with women are entitled to have sex whenever they want? Do you think women in a sexual relationship will be unlikely to maintain their integrity and principles? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have bad news for you. You are likely to be one of those people, who, despite having all the best how-to-choose checklists to guide you, will probably vote for politicians who will end up shaping or being tasked to enforce the government’s policies on women, including women’s reproductive health. No prizes for correctly guessing how that’s going to turn out for women. How-to-choose checklists are helpful, yes. But they don’t go deep enough to cause the kind of voter education needed to create a generation of enlightened voters who will have the kind of moral grounding necessary to preserve the bedrock principles of a free and democratic society. It’s time for a new strategy.

Earthquake safety and steel-bar issues Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

MAKE SENSE Continued from A1

Start with a safe home

Disaster preparedness, such us knowing what to do during earthquakes and knowing where the closest evacuation centers to our homes are, will be a great help. But we must start preparing for a disaster like an ear t hqua ke w it h our homes. By using only certified standard materials in the construction of our homes, particularly the steel bars, gives us a feeling of security that, together with our loved ones, we are sheltered in a structurally sound home. Steel bars comprise and support the structural framework of buildings and homes. As the primary material used in structural design, steel bars do not only carry the load in structures, but up to a certain magnitude, it helps to keep structures erect even during earthquakes. Thus, homeowners, developers, engineers and urban planners must be discerning in choosing only certified standard steel bars for their projects and homes, if only to ensure the safety of building and home occupants.

Manufacturer’s logo

To guide and protect consumers from buying uncertified/substandard steel bars, all locally manufactured steel bars are required to have a manufacturer’s logo in every meter length of the bar. The logo, which must be incorporated in the rolls, is very important, not only for knowing the company that manufactured the steel bar, but for determining the cause of structural failures, as well. In the disastrous Bohol earthquake that killed and injured many Boholanos, an investigation by the Philippine Institute of Steel Industry (Pisi) showed that most of the unearthed steel bars from collapsed buildings were found to have no manufacturer’s logo and/or unregistered logo, an indication that these were either imported or surreptitiously manufactured bars. It’s been found that many imported bars being sold in the local market do not carry a manufacturer’s logo. The same investigation will also be conducted in Surigao, after the recent earthquake that killed six and injured hundreds more in its affected areas. It would be best, therefore, for

consumers to check whether the steel bars people are buying carry the company logo of the manufacturer. Knowing the manufacturer of steel bars would mean knowing where to raise quality issues, should there be any. In line with this, stores selling steel bars are required to display conspicuously the poster indicating the company logo of the various steel-bar manufacturers in the country. Local steel-bar manufacturers, like Steel Asia, for instance, invested billions of pesos in various steel plants all over the country. Thus, unlike imported and unmarked steel bars, where finding the foreign-based manufacturer to raise quality issues would be hard, if not next to impossible, local steel-bar manufacturers, like Steel Asia, would be easy to find to address quality issues concerning its products, should there be any. Philippine-based steel-bar manufacturers carry their product inventory based on their market projections for six months to a year or even more. While steel-bar traders, for their part, usually facilitate their steel-bar importations based on orders. And in some instances, these imported bars are presold. Thus, while local steelbar manufacturers are here to stay, steel-bar traders can simply pack up and leave, should problems in the business develop. Moreover, in locally manufactured steel bars, consumers and developers can order their steel-bar requirements locally on per need basis. While consumers and developers who

would want to import their steel-bar requirements would have to pay in advance, through a letter of credit (LC), steel-bar importations would usually be in big volumes.

Steel-bar compliance issues

It is surprising, if not amusing, to note that while the production of local steel-bar manufacturers are tightly monitored by the government for compliance to Philippine standard requirements, the compliance monitoring and testing of imported steel-bars to Philippine standards for their part is loose. Local steel-bar manufacturers are required to randomly take one sample bar for every 20 metric tons of steel bars that roll out their production line for testing. On the other hand, only three samples are taken from a whole lot of imported steel bars, regardless of volume, for testing. And of these sample bars, only one is actually tested, the other two are stored for safekeeping, should further tests be required. In short, while locally manufactured bars are tested stringently for compliance to Philippine standard requirements, imported steel bars are loosely tested. In answer to my letter, the Metal Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), tasked to test the steel bar, wrote back which I am quoting verbatim, thus: “Testing one piece out of three pieces of sa mples submitted by

See “Arranza,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, March 10, 2017 A11

Catholic Church: Instrument Protectionism and the Philippine economy of communion and unity Ser Percival K. Pena-Reyes and Justin Jerome G. Valle

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

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he Catholic Church in the Philippines is an instrument of communion and unity of people to reach out and give assistance to all Filipinos, especially those who suffer during the natural and human-caused calamities.

For instance, Caritas Manila, through its program Caritas Damayan, mounted relief operations to five different fire accidents in the month of February this year. They have distributed some 2,480 relief packs containing Manna Bags, Hygiene Kits, Sakolin, Pail and Thermos to the fire victims in Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila, last February 7, 2017. The fire left about 3,000 families homeless. His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who is the chairman of Caritas Manila, also paid a visit to the fire victims in Parola Compound during his 35th presbyteral anniversary on February 27. He encouraged them to help one another to recuperate together from the incident. “Nasunugan tayo pero sabihin natin sa mundo mayroon tayong apoy na mas malakas, ang ating pag-ibig sa isat-isa. Itayo po nating muli ang ating buhay, ang ating pamilya, ang ating sambayanan sa lakas ng pagdadamayan at pag-ibig. Huwag po kayong panghihinaan ng loob at huwag sana na ang ating karanasan sa sunog ay umuwi sa pagkanya-kanya. Lahat po tayo naghihirap kaya magtulungan, lahat tayo ay dapat huwag nang tapakan pa ang kapwa, bagkus tulungan na makatayo,” the Cardinal said. Also, Caritas Manila gave assistance by distributing relief goods to the fire victims in Barangay 650, Port Area Manila, on February 3; Raxabago Street, Tondo, Manila, on February 22; Angono Street, Poblacion, Makati City, on February 24; and Estero De Magdalena, Tondo, Manila, on February 25. Caritas Manila, the lead social services and development ministry of the Church, responds to crises and calamities through Caritas Damayan, providing emergency and relief assistance, humanitarian aid to victims and educates disasterprone communities by conducting predisaster trainings and help in the restoration and rebuilding of communities.

Arranza. . .

Continued from A10

Bureau of Product Standards [BPS] to MIRDC is a practice advocated by BPS. The remaining two samples as reserve whenever there are questions with the test results. It must be noted that during the submission of the three samples, MIRDC has no knowledge on the location and the size of the lot where these samples were taken. “On your query on whether testing one sample will technically cover an approximate 5,000 metric tons of deformed steel bars, this matter can be answered better by a trained statistician, since there may be a lot of factors to be considered. “ Ne v e r t he l e s s , i n 19 9 9, t he ‘Guidelines Implementing the Provisions of Tariff Subheading 7213.9100 and 7213.9900 of the Tariff and Customs Code as Amended by Executive Order No. 63’, tasked MIRDC to take samples at the South Harbor from importations of steel wire rods and, subsequently, determine their carbon content. MIRDC used ASTM E122, now titled as, “Standard Practice for Calculating Sample Size to Estimate, With Specified Precision, the Average for a Characteristics of a Lot or Process”, to calculate the number of samples required per shipment. This method of computation to determine the sample size was communicated by MIRDC to BOI and the BOC. We suggest that all stakeholders look into this standard as basis for deter-

Caritas Manila, the lead social services and development ministry of the Church, responds to crises and calamities through Caritas Damayan, providing emergency and relief assistance, humanitarian aid to victims and educates disaster-prone communities by conducting predisaster trainings and help in the restoration and rebuilding of communities. Caritas Manila utilizes the Church’s network of parishes, priests, social action centers, schools and volunteers to bring aid and assistance directly to affected areas and families. Annually, the Catholic Church also conducts a Lenten evangelization campaign and fund-raising program, called “Alay Kapwa”, for the social services of the poor and most in need, especially during times of disaster. This year Caritas Manila and Radio Veritas will conduct Alay Kapwa Telethon on April 10. Funds raised from Alay Kapwa will be used as emergency funds for both natural and human-caused calamities, like typhoons, floods, fire, earthquakes and other tragedies and crises, and for disaster prevention and mitigation programs. As Pope Francis said in his apostolic letter, Misericordia et Misera, every day is the time of mercy as each day is marked by God’s presence. “It is the time of mercy because those who are weak and vulnerable, distant and alone, ought to feel the presence of brothers and sisters who can help them in their need. It is the time of mercy because the poor should feel that they are regarded with respect and concern by others who have overcome indifference and discovered what is essential in life,” Pope Francis said. mining the number of samples to be tested per shipment.” To date, I have no knowledge whether they have synchronized the testing method for local and imported products, although the initial agreement, I was told, is that DTI will have the same testing procedure between locally manufactured and imported steel bars.

Imported bars flood local market

In 2016, 5,000 metric tons of imported steel bars were brought into the country through the Port of Subic. This particular steel-bars importation got public attention when issues about its compliance to certain Philippine standard requirements were raised against its importer. The controversy created by this particular importation, regardless of what happened after the administrative and/or legal tussles between the importer and the government, puts into focus, the need for consumer to be discerning buyers of steel bars. The same importer, according to reports, brought in another 20,000 metric tons of imported steel bars. This gives consumers more reasons to be discerning buyers of steel bars. We have to be quality-driven and not price-driven consumers. After all, we are talking about the safety and durability of the homes we shall be sharing with our loved ones for life. And most important, we are laying down the necessary preparations in the midst of warnings by Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on the “Big One”.

EAGLE WATCH

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N February 9 the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) hosted a seminar, entitled “Global Uncertainty: Regional Headwinds and the Philippine Economic Promise” given by Dr. Dan Steinbock, who noted that, with global economic integration at a standstill, the world economy is coping with diminished growth prospects. Under the Trump administration, the United States is set to introduce new protectionism heralded by expected rate hikes by its Federal Reserve. Europe is dealing with euro-skeptical surge, while Japan is managing its own monetary gamble. China is rebalancing amid growth deceleration, while Russia is reeling from sanctions. Brazil is handling a soft coup, while India is facing slowing reforms. A key theme emerging out of all these recent global developments is protectionism, which refers to government actions and policies that restrict international trade, with the intent of protecting local businesses and jobs from foreign competition. Over the last two weeks, our colleagues have written about the relative strength of the economy, as well as future challenges that globalization will continue to bring. So, perhaps, it might be useful to discuss why protectionism is invoked and how it is likely to affect the

Philippine economy. Throughout history, protectionist arguments have been made by different industries, and it seems that all pleas for protection share the same themes. One argument that is frequently cited—even in recent discussions—is that protectionism saves jobs. For example, when Americans buy imported Toyotas, US-produced cars could go unsold, and layoffs in the domestic automobile industry could follow. When Americans buy shoes or textiles from South Korea or Taiwan, millworkers in Maine and Massachusetts might find themselves jobless. To some extent, it might be true that when domestic consumers buy goods from foreign producers, domestic producers suffer. However, there is no reason to believe that the workers laid off in the contracting sectors will not eventually be reemployed in expanding sectors. While the social and personal problems brought about by industry-

specific unemployment, obsolete skills and bankruptcy due to foreign competition might be significant, these problems could actually be addressed in two ways. One way is to simply ban imports and give up the gains from free trade. By doing so, a country acknowledges that it is willing to pay premium prices to save domestic jobs in industries that could produce more efficiently abroad. Another way is to constructively aid the victims of free trade by helping to retrain them for jobs with a future. In some instances, programs to relocate people in expanding regions may be in order. Some programs deal directly with the transition without foregoing the gains from trade. Another frequently cited argument in favor of protectionism is that some countries engage in unfair trade practices. In the US it is illegal for a domestic firm to engage in predatory pricing in order to monopolize an industry. This is why the passage of our competition law and the creation of the Philippine Competition Commission are crucial to counter protectionist arguments against dominating foreign firms. Indeed, free trade may be the best solution when everybody plays fairly, but sometimes, there might be a compelling need to assert one’s rights. So, what are the implications of intensifying calls for protectionism on the Philippine economy? As Dr. Steinbock sharply mentioned, despite its strong fundamentals, the Philippine economy will not be totally immune to global economic

Connecting Trump’s dots to Russia Nicholas Kristof

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New york times

enjoyed the show House of Cards, but always felt that it went a bit too far, that its plot wasn’t plausible. After seven weeks of President Donald J. Trump, I owe House of Cards an apology. Nothing seems impossible any more. That includes the most towering suspicion of all: that Trump’s team colluded in some way with Russia to interfere with the United States election. This is the central issue that we must remain focused on. There are a lot of dots here, and the challenge is how to connect them. Be careful: Democrats should avoid descending into the kind of conspiratorial mind-set that led some Republicans to assume Hillary Clinton was a criminal about to be indicted, or to conjure sex slaves belonging to her in a Washington pizza restaurant. Coincidences happen, and I think there has been too much focus on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, not enough on Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager. Here are 10 crucial dots: 1. Trump and his aides have repeatedly and falsely denied ties to Russia. USA Today counted at least 20 denials. In fact, we now know that there were contacts by at least a half-dozen people in the Trump circle with senior Russian officials. 2. There’s no obvious reason for all these contacts. When Vice President Mike Pence was asked on

January 15 if there had been contacts between the Trump campaign and Kremlin officials, he answered: “Of course not. Why would there be?” We don’t know either, Mr. Vice President. 3. There were unexplained communications between a Trump Organization computer server and Russia’s Alfa Bank, which has ties to President Vladimir Putin. These included 2,700 “look-up” messages to initiate communications, and some investigators found all this deeply suspicious. Others thought there might be an innocent explanation, such as spam. We still don’t know. 4. “Repeated” and “constant” contacts between Trump officials and Russian intelligence, as reported by The New York Times and CNN, are underscored by intercepts of communications involving Russian officials, and by the British and Dutch governments monitoring meetings in Europe between Russians and members of the Trump team. 5. A well-regarded Russia expert formerly with MI6, Christopher Steele, produced a now-famous dossier alleging that Russia made

compromising videos of Trump in 2013, and that members of the Trump team colluded with the Kremlin to interfere with the US election. The dossier quoted a Russian as saying that a deal had been arranged “with the full knowledge and support of Trump” and that in exchange for Russian help, “the Trump team agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue.” James Clapper, the US former national intelligence director, says he saw no evidence of such collusion but favors an investigation to get to the bottom of it. 6. Trump has expressed a bewilderingly benign view of Russia and appointed officials also friendly to Moscow. He did not make an issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the campaign. 7. A Trump associate, Roger Stone, appeared to have had advance knowledge of Russia’s disclosures through WikiLeaks of Hillary Clinton campaign e-mails. As early as August, two months before her campaign chairman John Podesta’s e-mails were released, Stone tweeted: “Trust me, it will soon [be] Podesta’s time in the barrel.” Last October six days before a dump of Clinton campaign e-mails, Stone tweeted: “Hillary Clinton is done. #WikiLeaks.” 8. Sessions seems a red herring, in that he wasn’t a secret conduit to the Kremlin. The more interesting dot is Manafort, whom investigators have focused on because of his longstanding ties to Russia. 9. “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” Donald Trump Jr. was quoted as saying in 2008. Rus-

headwinds. Being put at risk are overseas Filipino workers’ remittances and business-process outsourcing revenues, which have kept the Philippine economy afloat all these years by fuelling much of domestic consumption. While these concerns should not be taken lightly, there is still much internal growth potential that the Philippines could unleash, if only it could manage to push through with its badly needed (and long overdue) tax reform, which, in turn, would help finance “Build, Build, Build”, which is the largest infrastructure push in Philippine history to propel economic growth in the next five to six years. The best defense that the Philippines can use in this rising protectionist environment is to possibly open up the economy further. It is actually part of the 10-point socioeconomic agenda, together with overhauling land-tenure laws, improving the health and education systems, and promoting rural development. Moreover, the Asean Economic Community could present opportunities for Philippine firms to offer their goods and services to a larger market. Recent moves to revitalize the manufacturing sector would cohere with such opportunities. Definitely, the last thing the Philippines needs to have is a defeatist outlook in the midst of growing protectionism across the globe, but we have to move faster than this new wave. Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes and Justin Jerome G. Valle are graduate students at the Ateneo de Manila University Economics Department.

sia may have gained leverage over President Trump through loans to his organization or other business dealings. The way to ease these suspicions would be to examine Trump’s tax returns: Any government investigation that doesn’t obtain Trump’s tax returns simply isn’t a thorough investigation. 10. Even many Republicans acknowledge, as President George W. Bush put it, “We all need answers.” The House and Senate Intelligence Committees mostly operate behind closed doors, while we yearn for transparency. What is desperately needed is an independent inquiry modeled on the 9/11 Commission. When friends press me about what I think happened, I tell them that my best guess is that there wasn’t a clear-cut quid pro quo between Trump and Putin to cooperate in stealing the election, but rather something more ambiguous and less transactional—partly because Putin intended to wound Clinton and didn’t imagine that Trump could actually win. Yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Trump team engaged in secret contacts and surreptitious messages, and had advance knowledge of Russia’s efforts to attack the American political process. And that would be a momentous scandal. One reason I’m increasingly suspicious is Trump’s furious denunciations of the press and of Barack Obama, to the point that he sometimes seems unhinged. Journalists have learned that when a leader goes berserk and unleashes tirades and threats at investigators, that’s when you’re getting close.

Trump’s Un-American travel ban, Part Two

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resident Donald J. Trump’s latest executive order restricting immigration from several majority-Muslim countries is less sweeping and careless than his last one, which federal courts put on hold last month. But even if it withstands judicial scrutiny, it is still un-American and unwise—and if it doesn’t, the president needs to resist his impulse to lash out. The new ban affects six nations instead of seven, exempts permanent United States residents who may be working or traveling abroad, and deletes a provision that seemed aimed at providing special protections to Christians. That’s all for the good. That said, it’s a mistake to think that this order will make the US safer, and it can still be used as a propaganda

tool by terrorist organizations, giving false credence to the idea that the US is engaged in a war with Islam. And bear in mind: The number of visas issued to nationals from these countries is relatively small and the refusal rate is already high. In addition, although the order requires enhanced vetting of immigrants from the six nations, the president has proposed drastic

cuts to the agency—the State Department—that would play a central role in carrying it out. In the courts, meanwhile, controversial policies are routinely put on hold until full hearings can be held. When this happened with the previous version of the travel ban last month, Trump accused a so-called judge of putting the country in peril. “If something happens,” Trump tweeted, “blame him and the court system.” Sorry, Mr. President. The buck stops on your desk. Presidents are responsible for upholding both the nation’s security and the rule of law. This is not an either/or proposition. Attempting to shift

blame to the judiciary for future terrorist attacks is gutless and duplicitous. Too few Republicans objected to Trump’s belittling and bullying comments, but his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, said he found the attacks on the judiciary disheartening and demoralizing. In truth, they are worse than that: They are dangerous. The genius of the US Constitution is the checks and balances it places on the three branches of government. The separation of powers is essential to the preservation of individual rights and the survival of the nation’s democracy. Trump has, thus far, shown precious little capacity for mature restraint. Bloomberg View

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DICT sees need for third major player in telco industry By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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he Philippines needs to have a third core player in the telecommunications industry because healthy competition encourages the telcos to offer better and more affordable services to the Filipino people, Information Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima said on Thursday.

S a l a l i m a , who pre v iou s ly worked for Globe Telecom Inc., said he owes his colleagues in the private sector an apology for being blunt when he said: “We need more competition in the telecommunications market to improve the level of service.” “Yes, we need more competition in the industry. The soonest the best for the costumers in terms of better services, greater cover-

age and more affordable pricing,” he said during his speech at the first Philippine Telecommunications Summit. He noted, however, that entities that want to enter the telco market should be serious in providing public service, and not just to make money. “I don’t want a joker to be a third player. This kind of entity only wants to toy with us, buy frequencies, then sell it at a price, benefiting

Salalima: “We need more competition in the telecommunications market to improve the level of service.”

from public assets,” Salalima said. It may be recalled that San Miguel Corp., which promised to launch a core telecommunications company, sold its frequency holdings to the existing players —PLDT Inc. and Globe—for P70 billion. “This government welcomes new players with open arms. You are most welcome but in the service of the Filipino people,” he said. Salalima added: “If any local fran-

Tourism ‘shines’ through travel bans, terrorism–UNWTO chief By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) underscored the powerful role of tourism in helping people from different cultures understand each other and gain empathy for other nations’ conditions.

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The number of Philippine exhibitors in ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show

At the sidelines of the ongoing ITB Berlin travel trade show in Germany, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said: “We live the worst of times and the best of times. Times when we wake up every other day with the threat of terrorism at our doorstep and the glooming numbers of unemployment. Times of isolationism and ill-conceived actions, like travel bans, which do not lead to increased security but just to growing tension. Despite all these complex and interlinked challenges, despite acts against the freedom of travel, the power of tourism continues to shine through the darkness.” Quoting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Rifai added in a news statement: “Beyond the measurable advances that tourism can make possible, it is also a bridge to better mutual understanding among people from all walks of life.” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo is leading the largest Philippine delegation to ITB Berlin, which is ongoing until March 12. “It is a must-attend businessto-business event showcasing diverse destinations, trade products and services, as well as attractive packages of the different markets. Indeed, ITB Berlin is the foremost business platform for global touristic offers, where supply meets demands,” she said in a separate news statement. The travel show opened on March 8, with Teo and other officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and its attached agencies opening the “elegantly designed” 276 -square-meter Philippines booth at the Messe Berlin. The DOT said at least 14 tour operators and 14 hotel and resorts from the Philippines were busy throughout the day to accommodate guests from all over the world. Five of the 28 Philippine exhibitors this year are first-timers at ITB Berlin.

“I am not surprised that the private sector would like to take advantage of the [European] market that accounted for 10.55 percent of the Philippines’s total inbound traffic in 2016. The private sector has become more aggressive in tapping this market, indicating that our tourism stakeholders and movers recognize the great potential of attracting the European source market,” the DOT chief said. Data from the DOT showed 629,273 tourists from Europe visited the Philippines in 2016, up 14.63 percent, from the 548,969 arrivals in 2015. The largest source of visitors from Europe is the United K ingdom, w ith 173,299 arrivals in 2016. Other European countries from which visitor arrivals to the Philippines have been expanding are: Spain at 32,097 tourists in 2016 (up some 33 percent); France, 55,384 arrivals (up 21.71 percent); and Germany, 86,363 (up 14.62 percent). Teo pointed out that this strong arrivals growth from the European market shows the rising positive perception foreign tourists have of the Philippines. For her part, Philippine Tourism Attaché for Central and Eastern Europe Margarita Patricia R. Valdes said the Europeans are generally fascinated with the Philippines. “The Philippines is especially attractive to the European markets because of its multidestination, multiproduct offerings that are unique from other Asian destinations, made even more fun with the warm and genuine spirit of the Filipino people,” she observed. Also attending the five-day travel show is Camarines Sur Gov. Miguel Luis R. Villafuerte who personally manned the Camsur Water Sports Complex’s booth “to entice the ITB Berlin guests to experience the province’s natural and manmade wonders”, the DOT said. See “Tourism,” A2

chise wants to be a third or fourth operator of consequence in this country, bring in a foreign partner with legal, technical and financial credibility and capacity to mount a credible and effective competition against existing telcos.” Representatives of the two existing players said they welcome competition, with the chief technolog y adv isor of Smar t See “DICT,” A2

SEC okays Megaworld’s P30-B bond issuance By VG Cabuag

@villygc

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he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the P30billion shelf registration program of property developer Megaworld Corp., some P12 billion of which will be sold to the market immediately. In its registration statement, Megaworld said it will initially issue the sevenyear series B fixed-rate bond, comprising of P8 billion in principal offering and P4 billion in over-subscription option. Proceeds of the debt paper will be used to finance its mixed-use developments in Taguig and in Iloilo, which it hopes to complete by 2020. The said funds will be disbursed to the projects through 2019. The bulk of the proceeds will be used for the Uptown Bonifacio in Taguig at P7.2 billion. Some P2.4 billion will be plowed to McKinley West also in Taguig, P2.13 billion in McKinley Hill and P1.16 billion will be for Iloilo Business Park. “Any shortfall in the net proceeds for the intended uses shall be funded by the company from internal sources,” it said. Megaworld, the property development arm of businessman Andrew Tan, earlier said it is increasing its capital expenditures this year by about 9 percent to P60 billion, from last year’s P55-billion budget. The company known for its mixed-use developments mainly for the business-process outsourcing sector, said 80 percent of the capital spending for the year, or about P48 billion, will be used for accelerating and expanding projects in various townships across the country. The remaining 20 percent, or P12 billion, will be used for land acquisition and investment properties. “Since our company’s cash position remains healthy, we will mostly utilize internally generated funds to finance our capital spending for the year, and we will also tap the debt market through the proceeds of the first tranche of our P30-billion retail bond program,” the company said in a statement. Megaworld said it is set to launch 20 residential projects in Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley West and McKinley Hill, all in Taguig; Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City; Capital Town in San Fernando, Pampanga; Maple Grove in General Trias, Cavite; Eastland Heights in Antipolo; Boracay Newcoast in Aklan; Sta. Barbara Heights in Iloilo; and Twin Lakes near Tagaytay. All of these combine have sales value of around P31.2 billion. The company’s proposed bond issue amounting to P8 billion was assigned a rating of PRS Aaa by the Philippine Rating Services Corp. Obligations rated PRS Aaa are of the highest quality with minimal credit risk. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

FURNITURE SHOW A wide selection of lamps and furniture is displayed at the Philippine International Furniture Show 2017 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The event will run until March 11. ALYSA SALEN