Businessmirror november 16, 2016

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Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Vol. 12 No. 35

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Weaker peso pros will Premature ejection outweigh cons–govt T D 49.17 Teddy Locsin Jr.

free fire

By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

espite the depreciation of the country’s currency, the President’s economic managers said GDP growth will remain strong as a weaker peso would spur consumption.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the depreciation of the peso would be good for consumption spending, a major growth driver for the Philippines.

“I think, we can sustain the

inside

Century properties: enhanced living and groundbreaking developments

Open universities offer opportunities for Filipinos to juggle work, academics

E1 | Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • Editor: Tet Andolong

Century Properties: Enhanced living and groundbreaking developments resideNces at commonwealth master plan

By Rizal Raoul Reyes @brownindiow

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The two legs of economy, namely, the remittances of overseas Filipinos and the information-technology business-process management (IT-BPM), have a major role in the growth. The booming economy has resulted to higher disposable income of Filipinos, which, in turn, enable working-class Filipinos to acquire a home that will provide not only security and convenience but investment, as well.

To address the different needs and requirements of buyers, concept residential developments, such as Century Properties’s Azure Urban Resort Residences, the Residences at Azure North and The Residences at Commonwealth in Quezon City, offer premium value with their arrays of topnotch features and topnotch amenities.

Staycation at Azure Urban Resort Residences

IF you are a beach lover, you don’t have to brave the monstrous traf-

fic and travel far to enjoy beachside living 365 days in a year.

Century Properties’s Azure Urban Resort Residences provides the market with the ultimate staycation. The 6-hectare community in Parañaque City offers world-class beach-resort living to its residents, thanks to its tropical-inspired amenities and exceptional features.

By investing in Azure Urban Resort Residences also makes good business sense. Rather than splurge on a swanky resort club, unit owners can experience the same resort lifestyle courtesy of Azure’s man-made beach club complete with fine sand, a 25-meter lap pool, a wave pool and cascading waterfalls.

Complementing Azure’s tropical-themed lifestyle is the stunning Paris Beach Club—a threelevel amenity area designed by international style icon Paris Hilton.

The kidney-shaped beach club

offers residents a whole new level of world-class entertainment, relaxation and dining experience.

Among the wide range of facilities that make for a heightened resort living is the Paris Beach Bar, an indoor restaurant, a fitness studio, a movie room, children’s play center, a game area and a spa. With a unit in Azure Urban Resort Residences, a resident can enjoy these lifetime experiences without any hassle.

If you’re from the north (like Jon Snow) and plans to stay there for the long haul, Century Properties has the Azure North for San Fernando, Pampanga, residents. It has same beach-oriented lifestyle with its equally lovely counterpart in Parañaque City.

Comprising of seven residential towers, the 8-hectare beach has man-made beach, a wave pool, a lap pool, a reflecting pool, kiddie pool and a pool bar—a privilege that unit owners can enjoy within the development.

Furthermore, Azure North’s other amenities are the intricately designed multilevel beach club, spacious multipurpose event space and a retail area.

A lifestyle suited for growth and well-being

FoR individuals who prefer to have a more laid-back lifestyle, Century Properties’s Residences at Commonwealth is the ideal

See “Peso,” A2

The peso-dollar exchange rate on Tuesday

BMReports

BusinessMirror

HE strong macroeconomic fundamentals have brought a consistent growth with an average of 6 percent in the country’s GDP.

P50-to-P51 [to the dollar]. I’m sure P50 will be okay. It will be good for exports and also overseas Filipino worker [OFW] families who are getting remittances and the business

HERE is an attempt to make a big to-do about the deals struck by President Duterte in China. It is good to make a big to-do. Last time we gave a president carte blanche to strike such deals, he left us with the independent power producers (IPPs), composed of Western companies, to whom we obligated ourselves to pay for—listen to this—not the electricity they generated, but what they claimed on paper they could generate.

Some of the IPPs had generators.

Others did not.

Continued on A11

(From left) Positano, rio, santorini and saint tropez at Azure Urban resort residences

osmeñA West pocket garden

place to settle in.

Located in the sloping terrain of Don Antonio Drive in Quezon City, the 2.4-hectare residential development offers the convenience and accessibility to key locations. Moreover, it also supports a healthy and holistic lifestyle. Its well-planned-out indoor and outdoor amenities were developed to nurture and encourage interests and pursuits of the residents.

The core of Residences at Commonwealth’s development is a well-designed, multilevel amenity area that houses the fitness center, a basketball and badminton court, an athletic boot camp, an arts and crafts studio, a cooking studio and kitchen, study and library, screening room, yoga and Pilates deck and a kindergarten—all built for residents to enjoy and foster different recreational pursuits.

Furthermore, it has the orchard, an outdoor playground con-

Artist’s rendition of Azure North (aerial amenity)

sisting of three apple-shaped tree houses featuring a series of ladders, ropes and slides where kids and can frolic and interact with each other.

Interestingly, the project gives you a taste of some history as the eight midrise buildings of

the project are named after the presidents of the Commonwealth era. The Residences at Commonwealth also offers spacious living spaces and balconies, and a scenic view of Quezon City and the Rizal mountains.

Premium office condo set to attract millennials in the south I

N addition to compensation and benefits, more firms today are also using the advantage of an attractive workplace location in a business district to attract millennials into their organizations.

“We understand that high-energy office locations that offer easy access to retail, dining and entertainment options are highly attractive to today’s young work force,” said Catherine A. Ilagan, executive vice president of Filinvest Alabang Inc. (FAI). FAI is the developer of Parkway Corporate Center, a 32-story tower set for completion in 2019 that will be at the gateway of the rapidly growing Filinvest City. It will also be a short stroll away from Festival Alabang and all the conveniences and benefits offered by this regional mall now, which is also undergoing expansion.

Ilagan and Parkway Corporate

PArkWAy corporate center is a purely office condominium investment that attracts buyers, mostly professionals and entrepreneurs in information and communication, financial and other services, wanting to secure space for their operations over the long term.

Center team points out to potential buyers that firms in good locations have higher chances of retaining millennials, who may now compromise the bulk of the work force.

This advantage is all the more relevant today, given the race among expanding business-process outsourcings and other local companies to recruit local talents. More-

over, firms from Singapore and Hong Kong, which have aging work forces, have also begun recruiting Filipino talents and are heightening the competition for these young talents with an average age of 23.5.

But more than just its attractive location, this purely office condominium investment has also attracted buyers, mostly professionals and entrepreneurs in information and communication, financial and other services, wanting to secure space for their operations over the long term. Ilagan notes that for more than a decade now, BPos have been driving the office market and will continue to do so given the industry’s growth prospects.

The buyers and their firms have, likewise, benefited from the resurgent Philippine economy and are now looking to do busi-

ness in the Asean region, according to Ilagan. Their growth since the start of the decade has justified their investment in a strategic and prestigious office address like Parkway Corporate Center, which also has a business center for meetings and seminars.

In addition, buyers foresee that capital values in Filinvest City, including projects like Parkway Corporate Center, are rising further as enhancements in the city’s master plan are implemented. Ilagan notes this will include the addition of an integrated greenway system traversing the 244-hectare city from north to south and from east to west to encourage walking. In fact, more than half of the north-south walkway, measuring close to a kilometer in length, is already operational and being enjoyed by visitors and locators alike.

Ilagan noted, “Given a choice, Filipinos prefer to ride rather than walk. Nevertheless, we are seeing that they will walk if given an engaging and comfortable environment.” The greenway system includes an expanded and landscaped median, with trees and flowers lining the pathwalks.

Lighting, seating areas and outdoor art pieces have also been included in the plan to catch the attention of pedestrians. Bike lanes have also been set up to further give guests and locators still another environment-friendly mode of transportation.

“From a broader perspective, we are enhancing Filinvest City to facilitate mobility within the central business district. We want a city dominated by pedestrians and not by cars that contribute to congestion and pollution,” she said.

Property

E1

uber rival’s $250-M taxi tide to nowhere

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • Editor: Max V. de Leon

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Uber rival’s $250-M taxi tide to nowhere

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HEN bills for a corporate credit card used by Karhoo Inc. CEO Daniel Ishag arrived, employees in the London office of the car-hailing start-up often spotted unusual purchases. There were designer shoes and clothing, along with veterinarian’s bills for a pet dog. The employees flagged the costs as potentially nonbusiness related, but signs of lavishness continued—firstclass flights, a blowout in Las Vegas, Cuban cigars.

Ishag’s spending, described by several employees and those familiar with Karhoo’s finances, came to an abrupt end this week, when the company shut down after running out of money. As the extent of the start-up’s financial problems became known in recent weeks, Ishag stopped coming to the office and two other executives embarked on a futile attempt to keep the firm afloat, said the people who asked not to be identified for fear of damaging career prospects. About 200 people lost their jobs.

Ishag did not respond to phone calls, e-mail or LinkedIn messages seeking comment. Some of the money was reimbursed, according to a person familiar with the costs. Employees said they didn’t know where Ishag was currently. In an e-mail to employees this week, he apologized for the company’s collapse.

“I deeply regret the impact and

inconvenience recent events have caused you all,” Ishag said in the email. “I feel responsible, not only to you, but also to your dependents, as well, and wanted to extend my apologies to you all. I truly wish things had turned out very differently.”

Even by the standards of tech start-ups that fail more often than not, Karhoo’s demise is extraordinary. Before the company’s pricecomparison app for hailing a taxi was released, Karhoo grabbed headlines last year when it reportedly raised $250 million and said it had plans to bring in more than $1 billion. In fact, it never raised that much. According to internal financial documents, it had raised $39 million as of September and was bleeding money as it attempted to take on Uber Technologies Inc. In its twoyear life, Karhoo generated about $1 million in net revenue, according to the records shared with Bloomberg.

Karhoo employees said they were largely unaware of its dire position until a recent Friday, when managers told them the company didn’t have enough funds to make payroll. There were no severance packages and people weren’t paid for the previous month’s work. People were furious. As the announcement was made, Ishag had been in Singapore in a lastditch effort to raise more money, two former employees said.

Many employees were left wondering how the company could have blown through what they thought was $250 million in the bank. Some of them joined Karhoo because they were told in interviews that the company had raised that much money, making it more stable than a typical start-up. After the figure appeared in UK news reports, company executives also cited it in meetings with potential business partners, according to people who attended.

Some workers had been confident in the company’s trajectory, after its app was downloaded nearly 300,000 times since it was introduced in May. The company spent heavily to expand globally, several employees said.

Long before the app was launched, Ishag opened offices in London, Singapore and Tel Aviv and built a marketing staff of more than two dozen. The company rented apartments in New York, including one at a cost of $12,000 per month, said a person with direct knowledge of the cost. The company also had a 10-year lease on an office in New York.

Ishag touted Karhoo as an upstart competitor to Uber. Its app aggregated cars available from non-Uber taxi and car services, allowing customers to pick from them. But the launch, originally scheduled for January 2016, was pushed back to May.

Implementing effective business controls

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AKE financial transactions, embezzlements, fraud and theft are some of the most rampant and leading causes of losses and business failures caused by weak and ineffective internal controls. Don’t let any of these happen to your organization. To help your company in addressing these challenges, the Center for Global Best Practices is having a rerun of its pioneering seminar, entitled “Best Practices in Implementing Effective Business Controls”, scheduled on December 1 and 2 at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City.

For details and a complete list of best practices seminars, including How to Set Up an Internal Audit System, Best Practices for Audit Committees, Best Practices in IT Governance and more, you may log on to http://www.cgbp. org www.cgbp.org.

In this two-day seminar, you will learn the best practices on how to design and implement controls that

will safeguard your assets, enhance integrity of financial reports and protect you from business operational risks. Discussions will include best practices framework on financial processes and controls, operational policies and business examples.

This training program will be led by course director and lecturer, Mary Jane Rosales, CPA, CIA, CCSA, CRMA, who is a senior partner of Domingo, Rosales and Associates. She has over 14 years in internal audit and risk-management experiences; and 22 years in accounting/controllership experiences, including her stint with Petron Corp.’s Controllers Department, Internal Audit Department and Refinery Finance Division; and various engagements in private and publicly listed companies and government agencies and local government units, after early retirement from Petron. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster, the

highest norm given by Toastmasters International. This will also feature Susan S. Domingo, CPA, CIA, CCSA, CRA, who is the managing partner of Domingo, Rosales and Associates.

Her professional skills and competencies were honed from her previous senior management positions in large manufacturing and multinational companies, such as Philip Morris Inc., Kraft Foods Philippines Inc. (now Mondelēz), Del Monte Philippine Packing Corp. and Roxas & Co./Central Azucarera Don Pedro.

She was formerly the VP-Audit and Compliance of International Container Terminal Services Inc., where she worked for 11 years.

Interested participants are encouraged to avail themselves of the early-bird discount available until November 21 and group discount for three or more participants. Seats are limited and preregistration is required.

‘ENDO’, ‘5-5-5’ TAKE CENTER STAGE AT PALSCON FORUM

The Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors (Palscon) showed its character, unity and strength as it held its Sixth National Forum to discuss issues surrounding two of the hottest topics in the country’s labor front today—Endo, or end of contract, and “5-5-5”. The forum saw the attendance of the some of the biggest personalities in the government and business sectors, plus representatives from the labor and employer groups. The forum discussed several issues and cleared the air of confusion surrounding the labor force today, which surfaced specifically during the onset of the campaign for the May 2016 national elections. The event also strived to come up with possible “winnable” solutions, in collaboration with the government and other concerned stakeholders, particularly in terms of compliance with labor laws that Palscon has continually espoused to, once and for all, lend legitimacy to the “service contracting” industry.

Palscon also vowed to continuously work to be able to show the benefits of the service contracting industry to labor-force development and national economic growth. Shown in photo are (from left) Butch Guerrero, chairman of the Sixth National Forum and Palscon immediate past president; Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III; and Rhoda Caliwara, Palscon president.

AirAsia’s #Green24 campaign reaches PHL shores

By Lorenz Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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ECAUSE climate change is an imminent challenge to everyone, Southeast Asia’s largest carrier AirAsia has decided that it is high time that it gets involved, not only in the health of the skies, but also of the seas.

September saw Philippines AirAsia Chairman Maan Hontiveros leading a three-day reef and beach cleanup drive with more than 30 divers from Reef Check Philippines, International Coastal Clean-up Philippines and volunteer staff of AirAsia group from Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines in Lian, Batangas.

“We went to this small village here in Matuod in Lian, Batangas, as part of our clean-up drive. This is a village of fisherfolks who have been protecting their mangroves and reefs that we just saw during dive and that they are intact and as a result they have the best reef in Lian,” she shared.

They collected over 2,700 pieces of trash from the reef and on the beach, which composed of several notable odd items, such as plastic wrappers, plastic bags, plastic utensils, assorted wrappers, glass bottles, bottle caps, lighters, socks, diapers and batteries.

The trash were sorted and reported to local marine scientists and

local chief executives to help educate the community and empower them to take an active part in protecting their environment. The team is also planning to conduct similar engagements and activities in other parts of the country.

“However, we are trying to get some areas here in Batangas to be declared as protected area because we have massive problems with regard to trash, siltation and a lot of the boats that ply interisland, they illegally dump some of their garbage, and because of the water current, those dirts get here, and there’s an unfinished golf course over in Nasugbu that has silted our reefs here and this is a very old reef system, very important with high biodiversity, an important site, that’s why De La Salle University has a marine station here and this is laboratory for marine scientists—they study our coral reefs, our marine life, our ecosystem and it’s a very valuable area that we have to protect,” Hontiveros said.

Volunteer divers, including celebrity music icon Jim Paredes, joined the AirAsia beach and reef clean up drive in Lian, Batangas on September 2.

AirAsia Reef and Beach Cleanup drive is part of the #Green24 campaign and started in Pattaya,

Thailand with over 200 participants and AirAsia staff taking part in the activity in January. #Green24 campaign is a climateawareness movement to educate and promote climate action. This is an initiative by AirAsia as part of its effort to generate awareness on climate change and sustainability.

The campaign was formally launched last January 29, as part of AirAsia’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. The airline group simultaneously conducted a 24-hour climate-awareness movement to educate and promote climate action in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

“On our side of the world, not many people know about the issues that climate change poses, and we feel that the best thing for us to do is to inform people. Many of us don’t really see the problems coming, but at AirAsia we have seen the effects of climate change, such as Supertyphoon Haiyan [local code name Yolanda] that struck Tacloban in the Philippines, the floods that happened around the region and massive climatic changes over the past two to three years,” AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said.

HyC 150 offers 10% off for OFWs with Korooti VIP card

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FIORGELATO OPENS IN MARQUE MALL, ANGELES, PAMPANGA

Fiorgelato, the country’s leading homegrown seller of purest gelatos made from 100-percent fresh milk and natural healthy gelato ingredients and formula from Italy, opens its newest franchised outlet on November 18 at the third level of Marque Mall in Angeles City, Pampanga, to serve its signature gelatos, pastries and freshly brewed coffee mixes to the local residents. Photo shows (seated, center) Milkin’ Corp. President and CEO Richie Z. Cuna, owner of Fiorgelato Ice Cream/ Fior Café, sealing the agreement with the new franchisees—husband and wife businessmen Edwin Miclat (right) and Imelda Miclat (left) at the Milkin’ Corp. Witnessing the event are Milkin’ Corp. officers (standing, from left), Assistant Operations Manager Glen de Jesus, COO Naneth Tagalog and Marketing officer Jerome de la Cruz. Milkin’ Corp. marks its 25th anniversary this year and bullish on its global expansion program.

ERE’S great news to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who want to stay healthy and defy aging. Premium HyC 150 recently announced its partnership with Korooti, an international marketing company based in Dubai, which offers card bearers discounts to various premium items.

Korooti, with satellite offices in Jeddah and Saudi Arabia, has finally come to the Philippines to offer the best deals with the Korooti VIP card program. This card enables the bearer to avail himself or herself of the best purchase deals from all market leaders. Enjoy lower rates when you check in at hotels, dine in restaurants, go to clinics, enjoy leisure activities, change currency in exchange centers, buy jewellery and avail yourself of different kinds of services. To date, there are at least 10,000 VIP card emirates and other national members, and 65,000 OFW members.

Now, health and beauty enthusiasts also get a share of this awesome deal. Order online at http:// hyc150.com and use the coupon code aadhycKorooti to get 10-percent discount on HyC 150 products with free delivery, nationwide.

Manufactured by FINE Japan Co. Ltd., HyC 150 is a supplemental drink that continues to astound those who are health and beauty conscious. This wonder drink contains hyaluron, collagen and ubiquinol, the three ingredients that come together to give you a healthy glow and actually look younger than your age.

HyC 150 contains 150 miligram of Hyaluron, a gel-like substance that moisturizes the body and lubricates the joints and tissues so you can say good-bye to body pain and stiffness.

It also keeps the skin hydrated and makes the hair strong and silky.

The second main ingredient of this powder drink is collagen (5,250 mg),

which is responsible for making your skin firmer. Collagen repairs body tissues and forms structure to prevent sagging. Though the body produces collagen naturally, you lose it as you age, so it is important to replenish your collagen supply by drinking HyC 150. With HyC 150, you also get 10 mg of ubiquinol, the ingredient that increases the body’s energy. Aside from being an energy-boosting element, ubiquinol is an antioxidant that protects the body from environmental toxins, strengthens the immune system, and prevents hair loss.

The benefits of HyC 150 does not end there as it is also fortified with vitamin C, biotin, elastin and pearl coix, making it a powerful drink that is a must for adults who wants to stay healthy and young looking.

We all know that the body needs vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, to make the body’s immune system stronger while also protecting it from

several cancer types. Elastin is a protein found in the body’s connective tissue that helps maintain the skin springiness and elasticity, while Biotin makes hair shiny and scalp healthy. Last, a dose of pearl coix will result to a fairer, rosy white skin.

HyC 150 has proven its safety and efficiency over the years. It is the only antiaging food supplement in the market that has won the prestigious Monde Selection award, a guarantee of quality for consumers.

The winning combination of all ingredients found in HyC 150 has been recognized globally for several years.

With just one sachet diluted in water or your favorite drink daily, you are one step closer to obtaining a healthier, more beautiful and flawless you.

HyC 150 is distributed in the Philippines by BrightRay Enterprises.

For more information, visit www.

HyC 150.com.

entrepreneur

E4

By Psyche Roxas-Mendoza @PsycheRoxas

feeling good

Sports BusinessMirror

C1

| Wednesday, november 16, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

MICHAEL WARDIAN is dressed for the occasion.

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AS VEGAS—A 42-year-old runner dressed as Elvis won the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on Sunday night, setting a record for the fastest marathon run by someone dressed as “The King”.

Michael Wardian of Arlington, Virginia, finished in two hours, 38 minutes and four seconds late Sunday—a feat he accomplished while wearing a black wig in an Elvis-style pompadour, gold sunglasses and a white Elvis jumpsuit with gold sequins.

“I wasn’t sure how the suit would be, but the suit was actually pretty awesome,” Wardian said. “You get this sucker wet, it just stays cool.”

With his finish, Wardian broke a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon run by someone dressed as Elvis.

The previous record was set by his friend Ian Sharman in 2009. Sharman completed a Seattle marathon while dressed as Elvis in two hours, 42 minutes and 52 seconds.

Wardian told The Las Vegas Review-Journal that he felt like he was in good shape halfway through and then had some fatigue. He took the lead around mile 22 or 23.

“With 2 miles to go I was pretty confident,” Wardian said. “And then I was just trying to run to win and then also to make sure I got the record.”

A number of other runners dressed as Elvis and other characters, including Spider-Man, dinosaurs and Forrest Gump.

It was the 50th running of a race that evolved from a flat, wind-swept desert event in 1967 to a glitzy and music-filled attraction for tens of thousands of participants.

Organizers said more than 45,000 runners from every US state and 83 foreign countries registered for this year’s evening marathon and half-marathon on the neon-lit Las Vegas Strip.

Chelsey Leighton of Lewiston, Idaho, won the women’s marathon in 3:12:11.

William Kibor and Elvin Kibet, both of Kenya, won the men’s and women’s half-marathons. AP

ANDY MURRAY wins in his debut as the world’s top-ranked player. AP

By Chris Lehourites

The Associated Press

ONDON—Taking the court as the No. 1-ranked player for the first time, Andy Murray got the job done.

The Wimbledon champion was tested for much of his opening match at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) finals but still came out on top, playing in his home country and beating Marin Cilic, 6-3, 6-2, on Monday at the O2 Arena.

“It was obviously nice to play in that stadium with the crowd like that. It obviously helps,” Murray said. “After a long, kind of, few months, it’s nice to know that I’m going to be finishing the year playing in that sort of atmosphere.”

Murray took over at the top of the rankings last week, replacing Novak Djokovic.

But the year-end No. 1 ranking is still up for grabs and could be decided on Sunday if both Murray and Djokovic reach the final.

The prospect of attaining that, however, doesn’t seem to be weighing too heavily on Murray’s mind.

“The last few days, I haven’t thought about it too much,” Murray said. “It didn’t change much for me.”

It certainly hasn’t affected his ability to win matches. Murray has won a career-high eight titles this season, including a second Wimbledon title in July and a second straight Olympic gold medal in August. Since then, he has won titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris.

The latest victory on Monday didn’t come so easy. Murray struggled to win his service games in the first set against Cilic, but still ended up saving all but one of the five break points he faced in the match. On the other side, he converted four of his five break points.

“When I need to step in, I didn’t. When I need to wait a little bit longer, I wasn’t waiting,” said Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion. “The hitting could have been better.

Yeah, a little bit unfortunate to go 6-3, 6-2 down, where it felt it was much, much closer in the first set. Beginning of the second, I had couple chances, as well.”

In the early match, Stan Wawrinka finally lost a match at the ATP finals to someone who hasn’t been ranked No. 1 in the world. The US Open champion, who has reached the semifinals of the season-ending tournament for the last three years, was beaten by Kei Nishikori, 6-2, 6-3.

“It was not a great match compared to what I can do, that’s for sure,” said Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion. “I don’t think I find anything on the court today. I was a little bit slow on everything. I was hesitating a lot with my game, my movement.”

Wawrinka holds a 6-7 record at the tournament for the top 8 players in the world, but his previous six losses were against Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—twice to each.

Monday’s loss doesn’t mean Wawrinka is out of the tournament, but it hurts his chances of finishing the year as the No. 3-ranked player.

Wawrinka, Nishikori and Milos Raonic all have a chance to end up one spot behind Murray and Djokovic.

“I’m sure I still have something inside me to play some great tennis before the end of the year, so I’m going to try everything for that in the next match,” Wawrinka said. “I’m going to do what I need to do tomorrow to get ready for trying to play better in two days.”

Nishikori, currently ranked fifth, helped his own chances of reaching that third spot by breaking Wawrinka twice in each set while not allowing a single break point on his serve.

“I’m not thinking too much about rankings, but would be nice if I could finish 4 or 3,” Nishikori said. “I see good chance to be there if I can play good this week.”

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‘Elvis’ wins Vegas run

FEELING GOOD Andy Murray took over at the top of the rankings last week, replacing Novak Djokovic.

But the year-end No. 1 ranking is still up for grabs and could be decided on Sunday if both Murray and Djokovic reach the final.

the Freedom Plaza and the North Wing of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’s Main Academic Building. Patrick Roque/Wikipedia

DEALING D WITH TRUMP THE Los Angeles presentation, which includes Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, is likely to deal head-on with the US election result. AP

OHA, Qatar—Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election looms over the race for the 2024 Summer Games, as the three bid cities prepare to make their first presentations to a key gathering of global Olympic officials.

With 10 months before the vote, bid leaders from Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, have traveled to Doha to pitch their case to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees—a meeting attended by more than 1,000 delegates from around the world.

The Los Angeles bid team may have the most at stake in Tuesday’s 20-minute presentations, which will occur exactly a week after Trump’s election victory over Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s comments during the campaign about Muslims and Mexicans and his foreign-policy plans could hurt the US city’s standing with some of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) 98 members, who represent a wide range of countries and cultural and religious backgrounds.

Los Angeles bid leader Casey Wasserman, who was a prominent Clinton supporter, said his group has already been in contact with members of Trump’s transition team.

“My personal support of Clinton isn’t an indictment of President-elect Trump’s ability to support our effort,” Wasserman told The Associated Press. “We’re fully confident that he will be an enthusiastic supporter of the Olympics and our bid.”

“Having said that, I think the Olympics are at its best when they rise above politics,” he added. “It has the ability to unite people. Our bid isn’t a political bid. It’s a private bid with political support. We are privately funded and privately operated. We are one step removed from the politics and the ups and downs of politics.”

While details have been kept secret, the Los Angeles presentation—which includes Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat—is likely to deal head-on with the US election result and seek to reassure Olympic officials that the bid represents openness, diversity and inclusiveness.

“We’re not going to pretend like there wasn’t an election but we’re not going to be defensive about it,” Wasserman said. “I think there are some things we’re

going to say that will surprise some people.”

Perhaps, as a contrast to Trump’s image, the bid team selected sprint star Allyson Felix, a Los Angeles-born African-American athlete who has won six Olympic gold medals and three silvers—as one of its key speakers for the presentation. Felix won two relay gold medals and a silver medal in the 400 meters in Rio de Janeiro in August.

“She’s born, bred, raised and developed in Los Angeles.

She’s a hometown girl,” Wasserman said. “I can’t think of anybody better to tell our story.”

The Doha audience will include officials from 205 national Olympic committees, dozens of international sports federations and, most important, dozens of members of the International Olympic Committee, which will vote on the host city next September in Lima, Peru.

Under tighter IOC rules, these are the first of only three presentations during the two-year bid race. The second will be at a private technical briefing for IOC members in Switzerland in July, and the third will be the final presentations on the day of the vote in Lima.

Whether Trump will be part of the Los Angeles bid team in Lima remains to be seen. President Barack Obama went to Copenhagen in 2009 to speak on behalf of Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics, but his appearance didn’t help as the city went out in the first round of an election won by Rio de Janeiro.

“We’re getting way ahead of the game,” Wasserman said. “We’re going to make the right judgment at the right time for our bid.”

Paris and Los Angeles, which have each held the Olympics twice, have been viewed as close front-runners in the 2024 race. Paris last held the Games in 1924, with Los Angeles hosting in 1984.

Paris bid leaders said they plan to use Tuesday’s presentation—which includes Mayor Anne Hidalgo and twotime Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner—to announce plans for collaboration with national Olympic committees.

“We are feeling the excitement,” Paris bid cochairman and three-time Olympic canoeing gold medalist Tony Estanguet said on Monday. “I feel like an athlete. I feel the adrenaline.” AP

Sports

C1

Conclusion

HE Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) has claim over being “the first open learning institution in the country”.

It began offering nondegree (technical-vocational) courses in the 1970s, until it formally established the PUP Open University (PUP-OU) in 1990, some five years earlier than the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU).

And while both are state-run universities, the PUP-OU pales in terms of resources and use of information and communications technology (ICT) when set against UPOU. But it does offer a terrifically low tuition

PESO exchange rates n US 49.1300

scheme. PUP-OU tuition comes at only P100 per unit, as compared to UPOU’s P1,000 for every unit.

The PUP-OU, likewise, does not have the wide, spacious and impressive campus of the UPOU. Located in PUP Santa Mesa, the PUP-OU is housed on the fourth floor of the old Ninoy Aquino Library and Learning Resource Center (the PUP main library).

Still, the PUP-OU enjoys a steady flow of incoming enrollees. On the average, each PUP-OU classroom has a total of 50 students for the first year alone. According to Dan Dalac, PUPOU course specialist for Distance Education and a course tutor for the Institute of Non-Traditional Study Program (INSP), total enrollment in the previous semester (June to October) hit 3,000.

The INSP is one of three institutes that make up the PUP-OU. The other two are the Institute of Open and Distance Education/ Tr a n s n at ion a l E duc at ion a nd the Institute of Continuing and Professional Development.

Dalac is a graduate of PUP-OU, taking two degrees from 2013 to 2015. He finished Bachelor of Journalism in 2013 at the PUP-OU School of Professional Studies, now referred to as the INE. Then he took and finished his Masters in Communication in 2015 at the PUP-OU Institute of Open and Distance Education (IODE).

Admission

STUDENTS wishing to enter the PUP-OU are required to take entrance Continued on A2

n japan 0.4533 n UK 61.3928 n HK 6.3327 n CHINA 7.1773 n singapore 34.7307 n australia 37.0686 n EU 52.7509 n SAUDI arabia 13.1042

Source: BSP (15 November 2016 )

A2 Wednesday, November 16, 2016

BMReports BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Open universities offer opportunities PHL targets billions for Filipinos to juggle work, academics from Middle East in investment push T Continued from A1

exams. “It is usually given before the opening of classes, during the summer season, around April,” Dalac told the BusinessMirror, adding that a second batch of examinees is set if the enrollees are too many.

For masteral courses, the examination is held every semester, he added. Registation is online, with P500 as registration fee.

Classes are held online or off-line (face-to-face). Offline sessions are conducted every Saturday. Offline sessions are held on campus or at the PUP-OU learning centers.

“Online sessions occur in between offline sessions. It’s a virtual classroom setup,” Dalac explained. “We use Yahoo! groups for student-teacher communication. The faculty posts the lessons using software.”

He said there are also videos, “but these are not interactive.” During online sessions, students are expected to read prescribed references and supplemental materials.

Every semester, a lecture-forum is conducted with invited speakers who are distinguished professionals and experts in their field.

It is called the International Seminar on Adult Learning and International Seminar on Distance Education, equivalent to 24 units per seminar, Dalac said.

Eteeap

DALAC said students who turned professional but failed to obtain

MAP. . .

Continued from A12

f ranchise, cer tif icate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years.”

The MAP official also asked the lower chamber to lift or amend Section 14 of the Article 12, which limits the practice of all profes-

a college degree, can now finish their studies under the PUP-OU’s Ex panded Tertiar y Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (Eteeap).

The program is open to rankand-file professionals who wish to finish their college studies, Dalac added. The Eteeap offers the undergraduate-degree programs in different fields. (See sidebar) The Polytechnic University of the Philippines Open University’s Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program offers the undergraduate degree programs in the following fields: ■ Advertising and Public Relations ■ Broadcast Communication ■ Cooperatives ■ Office Administration ■ Political Science major in International Relations ■ Public Administration and Governance ■ Business Administration major in Marketing Management ■ Business Administration major in Human Resource Development Management ■ Entrepreneurial Management ■ Information Technology ■ Sociology

A returning student who wishes to avail of the Eteeap should file a letter of application to the PUP-OU indicating his or her accomplishments after leaving the universit y. These accomplishments should be related to the sions to Filipino citizens.

Mass media

According to Pe, it is also about time to amend foreign restrictions on mass media and advertising industries. “We think that Article 16, Section 11 should also go, that is investment on foreign restrictions in mass media and advertising industries,” he said.

Under Article 16, Section 11,

course applied for and it should come with a minimum of five years employment record.

Relevant documents, such as a certificate of employment, certificates of trainings attended and facilitated, as well as articles published and modules or other workrelated materials produced should be submitted to the PUP-OU. The compendium of accomplishments will then be evaluated by the PUP-OU program coordinator, who will then determine, which subjects the returning student still needs to take and which subjects have passed accreditation, based on the student’s accomplishment record.

Requirements

ONCE enrolled, a tutor will be assigned for each subject.

“You will connect to the tutor via e-mail and he will inform you about the subject’s requirements,” Dalac said, adding that the tutor will also give a deadline for completion of said requirements. There are no lectures, only term papers, research papers and reflection papers.

“Students have one year to complete their requirements. Sometimes a teacher requires a hard copy to be sent by the student, other than the electronically submitted copy,” Dalac explained. “So the student gives their relatives or friends a special power of attorney to submit requirements in their behalf.”

In 2007 the PUP-OU launched the Open University Learning Management System (PUP-OU-LMS, or eMabini), where the faculty of the the ownership and management of mass media shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or associations, wholly owned and managed by such citizens.

The Constitution also said the Congress shall regulate or prohibit monopolies in commercial mass media, when the public interest so requires. No combinations in restraint of trade or

OU can hold classes online for Filipino students in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam.

The PUP-OU is an accredited member of the International Council on Distance Education (ICDE). It has been recognized by the Unesco Asia Pacific Knowledge Base on Open and Distance Learning since 2003. And like UP, the PUP-OU is also an accredited member of the Asian Association for Open Universities (AAOU).

MOOCs

ONE other difference that the UPOU has over PUP-OU is the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). These are open online courses where no course fees are charged and there are no admission requirements. Anyone who wants to learn can enroll in these courses.

Some of the MOOCs courses offered are geared toward training manpower for the BPO industry (with IBPAP and funding from the Asian Development Bank) and for child rights promotion and protection (with Unicef-Philippines).

Other courses include Fundamentals of Business Process Management, Service Culture, Systems Thinking, Business Communication, Child Rights Protection and Promotion courses.

The UPOU currently has ongoing MOOCs for Wika (language), Kasaysayan at Kultura (history and culture) and Philippine Culture and the Arts (under the category eFilipiniana). unfair competition therein shall be allowed.

Educational institutions

Pe also said the limitation on foreign ownership in educational institutions should be removed.

The Constitution said educational institutions, other than those established by religious groups and mission boards, “shall be owned solely by citizens of

he Philippines is training its sight on billions of dollars of investment from the Middle East.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), which oversees hundreds of industrial parks offering tax perks, is identifying sites that can stock Qatar’s oil reserves and land that can be planted with crops for export to the United Arab Emirates after receiving proposals, Director General Charito Plaza, 58, said in an interview. The potential investment is billions of dollars, she said.

“The Middle East market is untapped,” Plaza, a former lawmaker and a military reserve officer with a rank of brigadier general, said on November 8 after a 12-day working trip overseas. “With President Duterte’s independent foreign policy, we are now open to everybody.”

The Philippines, which receives the lowest foreign direct investment among major Southeast Asian nations, is preparing swathes of land for manufacturing, tourism, farming and mining, while areas for potential reclamation are also pinpointed, Plaza said in her office in Manila.

Officials are readying a map by early 2017 to show investment

the Philippines or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens.”

Meanwhile, Pe and former Finance Secretary Margarito Teves of the Foundation for Economic Freedoms backed the decision of the lower chamber to use Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) as the mode of amending the charter.

“We prefer Con-ass simply be-

destinations in each region, she said.

The recent investment roadshows included Qatar, and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Plaza said. The government plans other roadshows in untapped markets, like Russia and Iran, she said.

Companies operating in Philippine economic zones include American, Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese and Dutch.

Faltering investment

Duterte’s repeated attacks against the US are starting to scare some investors with the nation’s electronics and semiconductor industry warning some American companies are holding off investing in the Philippines.

Peza-approved investment fell 38 percent in the first 10 months of the year to P107.34 billion ($2.2 billion).

Plaza, who campaigned for Duterte in elections this year, said she hasn’t received any complaints among foreign investors and assured that “no one is pulling out.”

“Duterte has his own war against drugs,” Plaza said. “We have our own war against unemployment and inequality.”

Bloomberg News

cause of the cost and efficiency. We trust the current Congress. They were voted overwhelmingly. We trust the executive, he was voted overwhelmingly,” Pe said.

Teves said, “Although the ideal is a constitutional convention, I think we have a president who’s very vigilant and concerned, so I’m sure Congress as Cok-ass would be able to handle this quite carefully and given a limited time constraint.”

Peso. . .

Continued from A1

process outsourcing [BPO] sector,” Pernia said. “The downside is imports will become more expensive, but there are always pros and cons. I think the pros will outweigh the cons,” he added.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the overall impact of the depreciation of the peso will be “positive” for the economy.

Dominguez added that the weakening of the peso makes the country’s BPO sector more competitive and less susceptible to the protectionist trade measures that may be imposed by US President-elect Donald J. Trump.

While there are concerns about the outcome of the recent US elections, Dominguez said its impact on the Philippines is not yet certain.

He added that President Trump is not a “traditional Republican” and there is no telling what kind of economic policies he will roll out.

Nonetheless, if the US will take on a more protectionist stance on trade, Dominguez said the Philippines can weather any negative impact on export revenues as the country is not export-dependent.

“We have declared that we are reorienting our economy toward Asia and we are going to have less reliance on the West. I think that was very prescient of the President who gave that direction,” Dominguez said.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that foreign exchange rate breached the 47 mark in November last year.

BSP data also showed that the exchange rate averaged P48.342 to $1 in October.

The figure is nearly P1 higher than the level recorded in September. On Tuesday the peso closed at 49.170 against the greenback, slightly lower than the 49.20 recorded on Monday.

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Workers rush completion of Marcos tomb at Libingan

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

F

ORMER President Marcos’s tomb at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) is already more than 50-percent complete, although his family has yet to come up with the date of the interment, the Army said on Tuesday.

“The burial site is already 60-percent finished, but there has been no date set yet for the burial. We are just waiting for whatever order… date,” said the Army spokesman, Col. Benjamin Hao. “The Army is ready for the burial, we will follow orders,” he added.

Hao said the construction for Marcos’s final resting place is being undertaken by a private contractor hired by the Marcos family, which is also partly paying for the work.

While the military has a budget for the construction of the tomb, the Marcos family is chipping in for the expenses, in order to “improve the burial place of the former President,” he added.

The late strongman’s remains will be buried at the 5,000-square

meter Presidential Section inside the LNMB, where former Presidents Elpidio Quirino, Diosdado Macapagal and Carlos Garcia were buried.

Hao said the area has a spot or can accommodate 46 more other leaders.

Victims of human-rights violations during the imposition of martial law are opposing the former dictator’s burial at the LNMB , claiming it was an insult to the memory of those who perished during the dictatorship.

Hao said the Army will give honors to Marcos that befit a former President.

“We will provide former President Marcos military honors fitting a [former] President of our country.

He will be given arrival honors by the Army,” he said.

Hao said Marcos will be given three volleys of rifle fire by a squad of soldiers, although Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said earlier the honor will be given to Marcos as a soldier and not as former President.

Lorenzana said such honor is given to soldiers who are being interred at the LNMB.

Motorists can now use Clark Field-Mabalacat East Perimeter Road

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

M

ABALACAT CITY—Although it has not been formally inaugurated yet, the Clark-Mabalacat East Perimeter Road is now open to motorists.

On Monday the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) opened the Clark East Perimeter Road, which runs parallel to the east perimeter fence of this free port and MacArthur Highway from the Mabalacat Gate to SM City Clark.

The P127.5 million, two-lane road is 5.5-kilometers long. It has 3.5-meter lanes and has several sharp curves and turns, as well as a bridge spanning the Quitangil River.

Motorists noted that it takes only five minutes to travel from the Mabalacat Gate to SM City Clark and vice versa, instead of the usual 30 minutes or more, when using the busy MacArthur Highway.

It can be recalled that the Clark-Mabalacat East Perimeter Road project was conceptualized in 2014 by Mayor Marino Morales, who presented it to then-CDC

President and now Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade to help ease traffic in the busy MacArthur Highway.

The CDC then announced that the road will be finished by March 2016, but the construction was delayed by Tugade’s defection to the Duterte camp.

Eric Jimenez, acting manager of CDC’s Public Relations Department, said the road will be formally opened on November 21, with Tugade as special guest.

Jimenez said the newly opened road is seen to greatly ease vehicular traffic on MacArthur Highway from Mabalacat to Angeles cities.

He added that the road was financed by the CDC, and is part of the master plan to improve the traffic flow at the main entrance of this free port.

Eduardo Castro, an engineer of Haidee Construction and Development Corp., which contracted the road project, said the new road will greatly favor SM City Clark.

“The outcome is really good. I can visualize it. This may even look like a boulevard,” he added.

Aguirre: De Lima’s admission strengthened cases against her

J

By Joel R. San Juan

R

@jrsanjuan1573

USTICE Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II on Tuesday said the admission by Sen. Leila M. de Lima that she had a romantic affair with her former driver will bolster the criminal and disbarment cases filed against her in connection with her alleged role in the proliferation of the illegal-drugs trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her watch as justice secretary.

Aguirre said de Lima’s admission on national television on Monday night could even be presented as evidence once the cases filed against her reach the court.

He said he had instructed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to get a copy of the video recording of the said interview, as it can be used as evidence against de Lima.

Aguirre added de Lima’s admission disproved her repeated statements that he is manufacturing evidence against her to malign her reputation and pin her down on the criminal charges filed in connection with her alleged involvement in the

de lima

aguirre

illegal-drugs trade at the NBP in Muntinlupa City.

He added that her admission also corroborated the testimony of several witnesses they presented in the House’s inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the national penitentiary that de Lima has a romantic

relationship with Ronnie Dayan.

“It proves na hindi manufactured ang sinabi nating relasyon nila, katulad ng pinaratang niya sa akin. Nacorroborate rin nito ang statement ng witnesses at na-establish ang link kay Dayan,” Aguirre said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) chief added that de Lima’s admission of his romantic affair with Dayan raised the probability that Dayan was, indeed, collecting drug money from Bilibid inmates, a fact testified to by several of the DOJ witnesses who appeared in the investigation conducted by the House of Representatives.

“May epekto itong admission sa probability or improbability that Dayan was collecting money from Bilibid inmates. Hindi naman pwede n’ya gawin ’yun ng walang kapangyarihan, so highly probable na ngayon na may kapangyarihan si Ronnie na ganun at nangulekta para sa financial needs at later on sa campaign funds,” Aguirre added.

A side f rom bolster ing t he drug-related cases filed against her, Aguirre said de Lima’s admission could also strengthen the disbarment case filed against Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption(VACC), jueteng whist le -blower Sa nd ra C a m, a nd former NBI deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala for gross immorality for her relationship with Dayan.

“Wala nang duda ngayon na naki-

pagrelasyon sya sa may asawa. That is immorality. Mali iyon sa batas.

Kahit ano pang depensa niya basta hindi legal na hiwalay si Ronnie via legal separation o annulment sa asawa nito… hindi puwede iyon.

Ang Korte Suprema ay consistent sa pagpataw ng ultimate penalty of disbarment sa mga kasong ganyan,” Aguirre said.

In admitting her relationship with Dayan, de Lima said it was due to the “frailties of a woman.”

Meanwhile, Aguirre said they received information that a bigtime politician in the northern part of the country provided sanctuary to Dayan.

Aguirre said he received the said information from the NBI, although he refused to go into details, adding that the bureau if still validating it.

“Talagang pinasubaybayan namin sa NBI. Apparently, he is being protected. Nagtatago siya sa North.

He is protected by a big-time politician doon sa Pangasinan and other Northern Luzon provinces,” Aguirre said.

The VACC has also offered P1 million for any information that would lead to Dayan’s arrest.

The VACC, through its lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, announced the reward money in a forum in Quezon City on Tuesday, saying that seven businessmen he did not identify donated money to accumulate such amount.

Senate resumes plenary scrutiny of P3.35-trillion 2017 budget bill

By Butch Fernandez @rbutchfBM

S

ENATORS on Tuesday resumed marathon plenary deliberations on the P3.350trillion 2017 national budget bill submitted by the Duterte administration to Congress.

Taking turns interpellating Sen. Loren Legarda on her budget sponsorship speech, the senators sought clarifications of the Senate Committee on Finance chairman’s report on the annual funding allocations, listing programmed appropriations at P2,431,986,952,000 and unprogrammed appropriations at P65,100,000,000.

“The P3.35-trillion proposed national budget for 2017 is the biggest annual budget ever assembled,” Legarda said, assuring that “it is a budget

Makati teenager raises funds for public school in Ormoc AISING more than P100,000 to help a public elementary school in Leyte may seem like a daunting task for a high-school student.

Fortunately, for the kindergarten pupils of her chosen beneficiary, Salvacion Elementary School, 15-year-old Gaby Aldaba found a way.

By pooling funds that were matched by mobile leader Smart Communications, she was able to donate a TechnoCart to the school, giving the young students and their teachers access to digital learning tools.

The TechnoCart is a mobile laboratory that includes 20 student tablets preloaded with the Batibot mobile app, one teacher tablet, one laptop, a Smart Bro pocket Wi-fi and a projector.

The youngest donor of a TechnoCart so far, Aldaba wrote letters and explained the project to her parents’ friends, relatives and even to some people she has never met.

“If you take the initiative to help, you can already inspire others. It was a miracle how people responded positively to my letter,” she said in retrospect.

In praise of the teenager, Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez recalled how, at age 15, donating

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Wednesday, November 16, 2016 A3

to help was far from his thoughts.

He said Aldaba has given something of significance to the school, something that can help the children’s future through education.

“What you donated is about technology, about where our lives are headed—the digital world. We appreciate your efforts.”

Pedro T. Escobarte Jr., schools division superintendent of Department of Education-Ormoc, thanked Aldaba for having a heart for education, and hoped there would be more people like her so that more schools could benefit. “I hope more people will follow what Gaby is doing for Ormoc.

This TechnoCart will make our students competitive with other learners who already have access to computers.”

Aldaba chose to bring the TechnoCart to Ormoc because of her family’s roots.

“My great grandfather, Porfirio Ayuyao, started his family in Barangay Salvacion in the 1920s and served as mayor of Ormoc after World War II. I had to start somewhere, and what better place to start than somewhere that’s close to you and your family. The place was severely hit

by Typhoon Yolanda.”

that will help deliver the change that our people want.”

She reported the committee is “forecasting real GDP to grow at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent over the coming year, with inflation rate settling at the level of 2 percent to 4 percent,” adding that the 364day Treasury bill rate is projected to hover between 2.5 percent and 4 percent, while the peso-dollar exchange rate is seen to settle between P45 and P48 to the dollar.

Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto pointed out, however, that a conventional way to read the budget is to hold a magnifying glass over the fine print and peso signs.

“But to better analyze it, the budget should be held up to higher exacting standards. In short, to view it from the prism of what we want to achieve as a nation,” he said.

Recto added, “It should be gauged by how many poor it would deliver from poverty; how many jobs it would create; how it will—and where it will—spur growth; how it will distribute opportunity; and how many people it will liberate from chronic hunger.”

He asked the budget sponsor to provide details on how many people will march away from the poverty line by December next year.

“For P3.3 trillion, how many jobs will be created? Sa puntong ito, matagal na po akong proponent ng pagkakabit ng jobs odometer sa national budget...for P3.3 trillion, how far will the GDP needle move? I will be asking these because in looking at the budget, it is not the size of investments that is important, but the impact.

It is the yield that matters.”

Recto reminded the Senate that in order to truly measure a budget’s efficacy, “we must subject it to the following test: its poverty-reducing, job-creating, growth-inducing potential.”

He indicated that the minority will also be asking what guarantees are in place that will prevent “the repeat of the scourge that was underspending which we saw in the recent past. How can we turbocharge the utilization, in a manner that will speed up spending without leaving the government shortchanged?”

Recto also asserted that if the people pay taxes promptly, “then the way they are reimbursed through this budget, which is said to be a catalog of rebates, must be done in a prompt manner, too.”

Customs leaders’ right hand does not know what the left is doing

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

I

T is a scene out of the movie The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.

A lawyer said on Tuesday his client was sacked from his post, although President Duterte and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III referred to another official when they talked about corruption in the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Lawyer Mark Jon Palomar called on customs authorities to exercise care not only in acting on allegations of corruption but more so in establishing the correct identity of the supposed wrongdoer.

Palomar made this call after his client, Deputy Commissioner Arnel Alcaraz, was relieved as head of the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS), despite the fact that both Duterte and Dominguez were both quoted earlier as saying that it was the deputy commissioner for intelligence whom they intended to dismiss.

“If the aim of President Duterte and Secretary Dominguez is to weed out corrupt officials from the BOC, the dismissal of Deputy Commissioner Alcaraz makes absolutely no sense,” Palomar said.

“Alcaraz has an unblemished track record throughout his career, and what makes it even more confusing is that they [Duterte and Dominguez] clearly identified the deputy commissioner for intelligence as the BOC official being investigated,” he added.

At present, the officer in charge of the BOC’s Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence is Leon P. Mogao Jr., who issued an official statement denying any wrongdoing.

“Given the issues being raised against him and his subsequent denial, it, therefore, came as no surprise when the President and the secretary informed the media that he was being suspended,” Palomar noted.

“However, all of a sudden, and without any explanation, it was Deputy Commissioner Alcaraz who got booted out.”

Palomar assailed the claficatory statement of Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon’s chief of staff, Mandy Anderson, who was quoted in news reports saying, “we assume that Alcaraz was the one that Duterte and Secretary Dominguez were referring to, because he is the only commissioner that has a

formal complaint from the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation].”

“First of all, up to this day, Deputy Commissioner Alcaraz has not received a single formal complaint from the NBI. The man is clean; there is nothing to complain about. What he did receive—under very suspicious circumstances—was a simple request from the NBI to respond to allegations from a certain Ronald G. Lansangan,” Palomar pointed out.

Lansangan lodged a complaint against Alcaraz with the NBI a day before Duterte and Dominguez announced the shake-up in the BOC’s ranks, representing himself as an employee of a licensed customs broker.

The broker, however, has issued a certification that Lansangan is not an employee or authorized representative of the brokerage firm.

In addition, despite repeated attempts, the NBI has reportedly refused to show Alcaraz and his lawyer a copy of Lansangan’s allegations.

“I think it is common knowledge that there are powerful groups that exert a tremendous amount of influence within the Bureau of Customs,” Palomar said.

Economy

A4 Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

Neda Board okays 7 more projects worth ₧270 billion

T

hat makes for 16 infrastructure projects amounting to approximately P500 billion in the first four-and-a-half months of the Duterte administration, Abella said.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board has approved seven more big-ticket projects under the administration of President Duterte, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella announced on Tuesday.

Abella said the seven projects, with an estimated cost of P270 billion, were approved during the Neda Board meeting on Monday night at the Malacañan Palace.

The newly approved projects are the:

Scaling up of the second Cordillera Highlands Agricultural Resources Management Project (CHARMP2) under the Department of Agriculture (DA);

Expansion of the Philippine

₧500B The total amount of 16 infrastructure projects that were approved in the first four-and-a-half months of the Duterte administration

Rural Development Project, also under the supervision of the DA;

Improvement and widening of the General Luis-K aybigaPolo-Novaliches to Valenzuela City road project under the Department of Public Works and

Highway (DPWH);

Construction of the new Cebu International Port, to be implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr);

North-South Railway Project (NSRP)-South Line between Metro Manila and Legazpi City;

Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project, Stage 2 under the supervision of the National Irrigation Administration in North Cotabato; and

New Nayong Pilipino at Entertainment City in Parañaque, a project to be implemented by the Department of Tourism.

The Neda Board also approved the Investment Coordination Committee guidelines on processing China-assisted projects.

Abella said the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project and other airport projects have been discussed, but decision has been deferred, pending the submission of additional requirements.

On September 24 the Neda Board, chaired by the President, approved the first nine projects

worth P171.14 billion.

The first nine Neda-approved projects are the Inclusive Partnership for Agricultural Competitiveness; Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center Modernization Project; modernization of Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital Project; Metro Manila Flood Management Project, Phase I; Metro Manila Bus-Rapid Transit—Edsa; increase in Passenger Terminal Building Area of the Bicol International Airport; change in scope of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project; the Ninoy Aquino International Airport PPP Project; and Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the PCG, Phase II. These projects are part of the development mantra, “Build, Build, Build,” where the big-ticket infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration are expected to propel economic growth even beyond Duterte’s term, which ends in 2022. PNA

‘AmBisyon assures projects continuity’

By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

T

he adoption of the results of the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) long-term vision project is now assured in the next four administrations.

Neda Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said this is made possible through the President’s issuance of Executive Order (EO) 5, which ensures the inclusion of the AmBisyon in the next four mediumterm development plans.

The next four Philippine Development Plans (PDPs) that will be crafted will embody policies, projects and programs that will help achieve Filipinos’s dreams and ambitions, he said.

“The EO helps ensure that the next four medium-term development plans are anchored on the long-term vision, as intended, and helps secure the continuity of programs designed to make the vision a reality,” Pernia said at the AmBisyon Expo on Tuesday.

Pernia said that, while the Neda will continue to spearhead the crafting of the PDPs, it will require the help of various agencies in government, particularly those involved in helping achieve the dreams of Filipinos.

One of the biggest dreams of

Star struck

A Christmas lantern maker goes over his inventory of lanterns made out of bamboo strips and colored plastic sheets at his stall in Las Piñas City. The demand for Christmas lanterns is expected to climb as the Christmas season approaches. Nonie Reyes

Filipinos, according to the data provided by AmBisyon is owning a medium-sized home.

This is why one of the key partners Pernia sees is Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, who is currently the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

Robredo, for her part, said HUD-

CC’s response to Ambisyon is to ensure government housing projects are not “grim boxes of concrete,” but part of safe, healthy and progressive communities.

“Government housing shouldn’t be a matter of herding the homeless into grim boxes of concrete. Rather, public housing should give families the opportunity to make homes of

their new dwellings and to form vibrant communities among themselves,” she said.

Housing is now part of the antipoverty framework that the Office of the Vice President has recently adopted. The framework aims to bring together private and public sector with communities to address poverty.

Legislator files bill creating PHL space agency

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EGAZPI CITY—Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda has filed a bill in Congress that seeks to establish the country’s space development and utilization policy and create the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) as the primary state agency that will spearhead the program of space access, science and technology applications.

The measure, House Bill (HB) 4367, also referred to as the Philippine Space Act of 2016, serves as a response to the country’s growing need for a secure and independent access to space through the

establishment of its own space policy and space agency. As conceived, PhilSA will be the central state agency that will address all national issues and concerns related to space science and technology applications, and safeguard the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and interests.

Salceda said PhilSA shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing and administrative body of the executive branch of government that will plan, develop and promote a national space program in line with the Philippine Space Policy.

He noted that space technology has become ubiquitous so that many vital and modern activities would not operate without space systems, such as satellites, to provide capabilities in communications, navigation, environmental monitoring and disaster assessment, and defense and security.

“This makes space infrastructure and capabilities as indispensable assets and essential requirements for any modern country,” he added.

As a developing country and an emerging economic powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region, Salceda said it is crucial for the Philippines to embark on an efficient utilization of space science and technology applications to address various national development and security issues and keep up with the rest of the world that is gradually becoming more space capable.

He said the “creation of a national space policy to serve as the Philippines’s primary strategic road map for space development will embody the goal of the country to become a space-capable and spacefaring nation.”

The establishment of PhilSA to address space-related issues, advance

space science and technology research, coordinate all national space activities and provide a framework for harmonious cooperation will ensure the country’s space development goals are realized. With a strong national space policy and agency, the Philippines can become a significant member and contributor to the global space community in the future, the lawmaker added.

As defined, HB 4367 aims to safeguard Philippine sovereignty, territorial integrity, interest and the right to self determination, as mandated under Article II, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution; support and commit to the development of science and technology and its application for national security and for the benefits of Filipinos; ensure access to space and its environs as a sovereign right; and stipulate the need to create a national strategy for space development. PNA

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ECCP eyes 60 biz areas outside Metro Manila

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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he European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has identified at least 60 towns, cities and provinces outside the confines of congested Metro Manila as having the comparative advantage in terms of attracting foreign and local investments and hosting business.

The ECCP has been working with various stakeholders, including local officials, private sector and civil-society organizations in various towns and cities over the last three years, through the Partnership for Integrity and Job Creation Project (Project I4J), according to Henry J. Schumacher, senior advocacy advisor of ECCP. He said the project basically aims to promote a business-friendly environment outside of the metropolis.

The members of the consortium have signed an Integrity Pledge to promote transparency and good governance, which, according to the ECCP, is the first step in promoting a business-friendly environment.

The consortium members of Project I4J will host the first local government unit (LGU) business summit on November 22 to bring together key players in the business sector to promote trade and commerce in partnership with LGUs. With the theme “Towards Integrity and Global Competitiveness: A Dialogue on Good Governance Solutions for Inclusive Growth,” the summit aims to gather representatives from the local government, local and international business sectors and civil-society groups to engage in a constructive dialogue to address the issues that LGUs encounter and identify areas for collaboration.

During the event, the Philippine Local Government Integrity Circle Network —a network which is committed in ensuring good governance and transparency in local governance—will be introduced in a bid to expand and enjoin participation, said Gerry D. Constantino, ECCP director for Projects and Sector Advoacy Events.

He said that, with Project I4J coming to an end, the ECCP plans to continue its engagement with the LGU to make business and LGU, along with other stakeholders, closer, to promote inclusive growth.

The comparative advantage of these 60 localities, he said, lies on the promise to be transparent; stop graft and corruption; and cut

red-tape to make business a breeze in their respective towns, cities and provinces.

For instance, he said, if the LGUs promised to shorten time in processing business permits, it should be able to deliver. A key ingredient, he said, is narrowing the communication gap between the key players in the LGU, the business sector, and civil-society organizations to address challenges and issues for better jobs and employment, bringing about inclusive growth The summit’s main objective is to increase global competitiveness and promote integrity in the Philippines, to create more investment-friendly environment for business outside Metro Manila.

Schumacher said the ECCP is promoting the 60 localities because of the commitment made by key players to promote a businessfriendly environment, starting with transparency in doing business and good governance.

Interviewed by the BusinessMirror, Schumacher said the Duterte administration has the opportunity to achieve inclusive growth by building on the gains of the Aquino administration.

He said the ECCP continues to see a lot of potential in the Philippines under Duterte to encourage more investors from Europe.

Schumacher maintained that, to get out of poverty, the Philippines must sustain a double-digit growth for at least 10 years. He said that can be done with the Duterte administration building on the gains of the 6-percent to 7-percent growth in terms of GDP. The ECCP, he said, continues to work with the Duterte administration to help promote inclusive growth. “We are working with the Duterte administration at the Cabinet level. We are meeting basically with the Cabinet secretaries and everything is okay,” Schumacher said.

Looking at the 10-point agenda of the Duterte administration, the prospect remains of doing business in the Philippines remains good, he said.

“I think the 10-point agenda, if you look at opening the economy, and that can be done either by changing the Constitution,” Schumacher said. The country, he added, may not have the absorptive capacity when it comes to implementing big-ticket infrastructure projects, unless it allows international construction companies to come in.

briefs house panel approves sss pension-hike bill The House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization on Tuesday approved the committee report of the bill raising the pension of Social Security System (SSS) members by P2,000.

PDP-Laban Rep. Jesus Nonato Sacdalan of North Cotabato, committe chairman, said the consolidated measure under House Bill 18 provides a P2,000 across-theboard pension raise for SSS pensioners.

Sacdalan said the bill also sets the minimum monthly pension, from P1,200, to P3,200 for members who have contributed the equivalent of 10 credited years of service, and from P2,400 to P4,400 for those with 20 years of service.

The approved measure, which was a consolidated version of 16 bills, will be submitted to plenary for consideration.

The 16th Congress has approved the same measure during the past administration but vetoed by former president Aquino.

Aquino said he was worried that the stability of the SSS would compromise if he would allow the pension increase of 2.1 million pensioners.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, one of the authors of the measure, said “we hope that the Senate version would also be expedited so that President Duterte can sign this long awaited measure before the year ends.”

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

natural disasters cost $520 billion yearly–wb MARRAKECH, Morocco—Global natural disasters cause an annual loss of $520 billion, a World Bank report said on Monday.

These events also force some 26 million people into poverty yearly, according to Stephane Hallegatte, World Bank senior economist, citing the report.

The report, entitled “Unbreakable: Building the Resilience of the Poor in the Face of Natural Disasters,” warns that the combined human and economic impacts of extreme weather on poverty are far more devastating than previously believed.

In all of the 117 countries studied, the effect on well-being, measured in terms of lost consumption, was found to be larger than asset losses, the study showed. PNA/Xinhua

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Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Wednesday, November 16, 2016 A5

Q3 farm growth at 4-year high–PSA

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By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

arm output in the third quarter of the year rose to a four-year high on the back of good weather, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday.

PSA data showed that the 2.98-percent output hike recorded by the sector in July to September was a turnaround from its performance last year, when output declined slightly. It was also the highest since the third quarter of 2012, when farm growth reached 5.06 percent.

However, production increases in the third quarter of the year were not enough to erase the losses incurred by the sector in previous months. PSA data showed that total farm output in the Januaryto-September period contracted by 1.53 percent.

“The weather was better for agriculture in the third quarter.

[Typhoon] Lawin hit the country in October,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told reporters at the sidelines of the plenary budget hearing at the Senate.

Due to t he robust g row t h of the agriculture sector, the

gover n ment s a id t here i s a “high chance” that third-quarter GDP would grow by more than 7 percent.

Pernia said the sector’s growth during the period was a “good complement” to the improved performance of the export and manufacturing sectors in July to September.

The third-quarter economic performance will be released by the PSA on Thursday.

“That’s pretty good. Exports are up so maybe we’ll hit more than 7 percent [in the third quarter]. Maybe fourth-quarter [growth] will also be high,” Pernia said.

In the third quarter, PSA data showed that the crops subsector expanded by 5.24 percent. The subsector accounted for 45.63 percent of total agricultural output during the period.

P ro du c t io n of p a l ay a nd corn increased by 16.35 per-

cent to 3 million metric tons (MMT) and 10.61 percent to 2.7 MMT, respectively.

The growth in palay production was attributed to the rehabilitation of irrigation canals and early rains in Ilocos region, Cagayan Va l l e y, C e nt r a l L u z o n a n d Northern Mindanao.

In Central Luzon—the country’s rice granary—the PSA said the government’s distribution of certified seeds also helped boost production.

The PSA said corn product ion benef ited f rom t he e xpa nsion of h a r vest a rea s i n Zamboanga Peninsula, Norther n Mind a nao, Soccsk sa rgen and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Among the crops grown in the country, the PSA said sugarcane and coconut posted contractions in output at 46.39 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The dry spell, which caused stunting in sugarcanes, caused output to decline by nearly half.

Coconut production, the PSA said, was affected by a rat infestation and El Niño, which c au s e d t he d e ve lo pme nt of smaller coconuts.

PSA data also showed that the livestock subsector posted a growth of 3.89 percent, while poultry production rose by 2.43 percent.

Among all subsectors, fisheries performed poorly as it contracted by 2.53 percent in the third quarter, according to the PSA.

Organic farmers seek establishment of certification center for Mindanao

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ENERAL SANTOS CITY— Organic farming practitioners in Region 12 are pushing for the establishment of an organic agriculture certification center in Mindanao as they move for its development as the region’s next f lagship industry.

Alfredo Hebrona Jr., chairman of the Region 12 Agriculture and Fishery Council’s organic agriculture sector, said on Tuesday they have linked up with the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the accreditation of a third-party certification center or body for organic farms in the area.

He said organic farmers and producers in the region are currently facing difficulty in getting certification due to the absence of a center in Mindanao.

Such situation has affected the expansion of organic farms in parts of Region 12, or Soccsksargen, and the neighboring areas.

“Region 12 has a big potential of being known further as an organic-producing region, but we need to have a certifier in the area to achieve that,” he said in a press conference at the sidelines of the Third Regional Organic Agriculture Congress in Koronadal City.

Citing provisions of Republic

Act 10068, or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, a certification center should be established for Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

But he said only two organic certifiers are currently existing, one each in Luzon and the Visayas.

He was referring to the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) based in Diliman, Quezon City, and the Negros Island Organic Certification Services (Nicert) in Bacolod City.

OCCP has established a satellite office in Davao City, but the processing of organic certification are conducted at its main office.

“It’s too costly right now for organic farmers and producers in Region 12 to get a certification,” Hebrona said.

Romano Laurilla, chairman of the newly organized Region 12 Organic Agriculture Council said the cost of getting certification for groups or clustered farms could go as high as P350,000 and should be renewed every year.

He said the charges for individual applicants vary according to hectarage or expanse of the organic farm.

Before getting a certification, he said organic farms needs to

invest for the establishment of an internal control system and other required facilities.

Hebrona said several groups based in Mindanao have signified interest to put up an organic certification center for the area but were hampered by its prohibitive investment.

He said that, aside from the development of t he fac i l it y, specifically the construction of buildings and installation of the needed equipment, potentia l certifiers are now required to get an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification.

Processing an ISO certification could cost no less than P1 million, he said.

Owing to this, Hebrona said they have asked the DA central office to waive such requirement for at least two years for interested certifiers in Mindanao.

“OCCP and Nicert were not required to have this [ISO certification] when they started their operations, so we’re also seeking for the same treatment,” he said.

Hebrona said they are planning to elevate the matter to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol. PNA

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The World BusinessMirror

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

2016 set to break heat record

briefs

N. zealand begins rescue of stranded tourists

WELLINGTON, New Zealand— New Zealand on Tuesday began a rescue operation involv ing hundreds of tourists and residents who remain stranded in the coastal town of Kaikoura after a powerful earthquake cut off train and vehicle access.

The operation comes as several buildings in the capital, Wellington, were evacuated on Tuesday and streets cordoned off after engineers determined a nine-story building was in danger of collapsing. The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the South Island early on Monday left two people dead and triggered a small tsunami. It also brought down rocks and mud that swept across highways and cracked apart roads. The defense force said it had started ferrying people out by military helicopter and that a navy ship from Auckland was due to arrive in the area Wednesday morning. AP

German police raid over 200 sites of Islamic group

BERLIN—A German news agency says hundreds of police officers are searching more than 200 offices, mosques and apartments of members and supporters of the Islamic group “The true religion” that is best known for distributing free copies of the Koran across the country. The dpa agency says police were raiding places in western Germany and Berlin on Tuesday morning.

Dpa says the country’s domestic intelligence service has warned that the organization glorifies jihad and allegedly helps recruit people to send them to Syria and Iraq to fight with the Islamic State group. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere was expected to announce the banning of the organization later on Tuesday. AP

Russian minister detained over alleged $2-M bribe

MOSCOW—Russia’s top investigative body says it has detained a long-serving Russian minister over an alleged $2-million bribe.

The Investigative Committee said in a statement early on Tuesday that Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev was detained late on Monday after he allegedly received a $2-million bribe in a sting set by the Federal Security Service, the KGB’s main successor agency. The investigators said Ulyukayev took the bribe for giving the green light to state-controlled oil giant Rosneft to take part in bidding for another oil company.

Ulyukayev, who held the post since 2013 and worked as deputy minister for many years, is a known liberal figure. He has opposed Rosneft’s bidding for Bashneft, insisting that it would be wrong for a state-owned company to take part in a privatization drive. AP

Rights group: Kenya forcing refugees to war-torn Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya—An international human-rights group says the Kenyan government is coercing refugees to return to Somalia where they risk getting killed or wounded in an ongoing conflict, ahead of a deadline to close the world’s largest refugee camp.

Some of the refugees have been living in Dadaab camp in eastern Kenya for more than two decades after Somalia descended into chaos following the 1991 ouster of longtime dictator Said Barre by warlords who then turned on each other.

Kenya’s government announced in May that Dadaab, which hosts more than 280,000 Somali refugees, will be closed at the end of this month, citing security concerns.

An Amnesty International report on Tuesday said its researchers visited Dadaab in August, where they interviewed 56 refugees individually and held focus group discussions with 35 more. AP

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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (center) smiles as he leaves Trump Tower in New York on Friday. AP/Evan Vucci

Giuliani emerges as favorite for Trump’s secretary of state

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ASHINGTON—Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as the favorite to serve as secretary of state in Donald Trump’s incoming administration, a senior Trump official said on Monday—another indication the president-elect is putting a prize on loyalty, as he narrows down his Cabinet picks.

The official, who was not authorized to speak on record and requested anonymity, said there was no real competition for the job and that it was Giuliani’s if he wanted it. But a second official cautioned that John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, remained in contention for the job.

Giuliani, 72, would be an outof-box choice to lead the State Department. A former mayor, federal prosecutor and top Trump adviser, he lacks extensive foreignpolicy experience. Known for his hard-line law-and-order views and brusque manner, he would set a very different tone than previous holders of the job, including Trump’s ex-rival Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. Bolton has years of federal

government experience, but he has also raised eyebrows with some of his hawkish stances, including a 2015 op-ed in The New York Times in which he advocated bombing Iran to halt the country’s development of nuclear weapons.

A spokeswoman for Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his interest in the job. But the former mayor said on Monday night at a gathering of CEOs sponsored by the Wall Street Journal that he “won’t be attorney general” in Trump’s administration—a job for which he’d long been seen as a top contender.

Asked about the secretary of state speculation, Giuliani said that Bolton “would be a very good choice.” But asked if there was anyone better, he replied with a

mischievous smile: “Maybe me, I don’t know.”

Trump was also considering on Monday whether to inject new diversity into the GOP by recommending a woman to lead the Republican Party and an openly gay man to represent the United States at the United Nations.

The moves, among dozens under consideration from his transition team, follow an intense and extended backlash from Trump’s decision on Sunday to appoint Steve Bannon, a man celebrated by the white nationalist movement, to serve as his chief strategist and senior adviser.

“After winning the presidency, but losing the popular vote, President-elect Trump must try to bring Americans together—not continue to fan the flames of division and bigotry,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.

She called Bannon’s appointment “an alarming signal” that Trump “remains committed to the hateful and divisive vision that defined his campaign.”

H i s i n au g u r at ion j u s t 6 6 d ay s aw ay, ho we ve r, Tr u mp focused on building his team and spea k ing to foreig n leaders. He remained sequestered in Tr ump Tower in New York.

Inexperienced on the international stage, the Republican president-elect spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone. His transition office said in a readout that “he is very much looking forward to having a strong

and enduring relationship with Russia and the people of Russia.”

Trump has spoken in recent days with the leaders of China, Mexico, South Korea and Canada.

At the same time, Trump was consider ing t apping R ic ha rd Grenell as US ambassador to the United Nations. He would be the first openly gay person to fill a Cabinet-level foreign policy post.

Grenell, known in part for aggressive criticism of rivals on Twitter, previously served as US spokesman at the UN under President George W. Bush.

Tr u mp wa s a l so weigh i ng whether to select Michigan GOP chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel, a niece of chief Trump critic and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney. She would be the second woman ever to lead the Republican National Committee—and the first in four decades.

“I’ll be interested in whatever Mr. Trump wants,” McDaniel told The Associated Press on Monday, adding that she was planning to seek the Michigan GOP chairmanship again.

Appointing McDaniel to run the GOP’s political arm could be an effort to help the party heal the anger after a campaign in which Trump demeaned women. The appointment of Grenell, who has openly supported same-sex marriage, could begin to ease concerns by the gay community about Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s opposition to same-sex marriage during his time as Indiana governor. AP

China harasses independent candidates for low-level offices

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EIJING—Liu Huizhen, a petite, soft-spoken farmer’s daughter who wants to serve her community, might seem an unlikely threat to China’s all-powerful Communist Party.

Yet, as Chinese vote on Tuesday for low-level representatives, authorities have responded to Liu’s bid as an independent candidate in a southwestern district of Beijing by sending several dozen men with buzz cuts and barking voices to follow her around and prevent her from meeting with voters.

The controls reflect the ruling party’s determination to maintain a rock-solid hold on politics at all levels, galvanized in recent years by President Xi Jinping’s steady accumulation of political authority that has made him the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s.

“My reason for joining in the people’s congress elections is simple and innocent. Everyone has the right to take part in elections,” Liu, 45, said in a recent interview.

“These people are really taking it too far.”

An initial attempt to interview Liu at the shack she’s been living in since her home was demolished was blocked by at least seven men who identified themselves only as “volunteers” and parked a car across the road to block access.

Interviewed later over FaceTime, a video-chat service, Liu said 10 to 20 people were outside her door and keeping her from leaving.

Such harassment appears routine for independent candidates amid elections for more than 2 million members of county and district people’s congresses, the only level of citizens’ representatives selected by direct vote.

Across the countr y, independents report being kept under tight supervision and prevented from campaigning.

Grassroots pro-democracy activist Yao Lifa, who has been intermittently detained since first winning election in 1998, has been out of contact for weeks, apparently

while under detention, supporters say. Yao has been prevented from running for his old seat.

Xi’s administration has warned consistently against the pernicious influence of Western concepts, such as free speech and multiparty democracy, while pursuing a brawny take on Chinese nationalism that has manifested itself in an assertive push for dominance in Asia.

Donald Trump’s election in a highly divisive campaign in the United States is seen as bolstering such sentiments, with Beijing’s leaders increasingly convinced that their authoritarian system will prove triumphant while America’s global influence steadily declines, analysts say.

“If China wants to say democracy is not a good thing, this [US election] certainly is good for them,” said David Zweig, director of the Center on China’s Transnational Relations at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

This year’s local polls are particularly significant as a precursor to the selection of the roughly 2,300 delegates to next year’s party national congress, where Xi will gain a second five-year term as party chief.

Despite the various barriers imposed, the elections have attracted a wave of independent candidates hailing broadly from China’s burgeoning “rights defense” movement. They include those seeking redress over personal issues such as the confiscation of property and idealists working for fair competition in politics, said Li Fan, an advocate of elections reforms in China. “ They want to use the position of people’s congress delegates to first, have their say, and second, to use legal means to vote or take policy actions to supervise and rein in illegal government actions,” Li said.

An additional motivation comes from the protection such representatives enjoy from arrest and detention, he said. AP

ARRAKECH, Morocco— Global temperatures are soaring toward a record high this year, the UN weather agency said on Monday, while another report showed emissions of a key global-warming gas have flattened out in the past three years.

The reports injected a mix of gloom and hope at UN climate talks in Marrakech this week. “Another year. Another record. The high temperatures we saw in 2015 are set to be beaten in 2016,” said Petteri Taalas, the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

W MO ’s p re l i m i n a r y d at a through October showed world temperatures, boosted by the El Niño phenomenon, are 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.

That’s getting close to the limit set by the global climate agreement adopted in Paris last year. It calls for limiting the temperature rise since the industrial revolution to 2˚C or even 1.5˚C. WMO said 16 of the 17 hottest years have occurred this century.

The only exception was 1998, which was also an El Niño year.

Taalas said parts of Arctic Russia saw temperatures soaring 6 to 7˚C above average. “We are used to measuring temperature records in fractions of a degree, and so this is different,” he said.

Environmental groups and climate scientists said the report underscores the need to quickly reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2) and other greenhouse gases blamed for warming the planet.

Another report released on Monday delivered some positive news, showing global CO 2 emissions have flattened out in the past three years. However, the authors of the study cautioned it’s unclear whether the slowdown, mainly caused by declining coal use in China, is a permanent trend.

“It is far too early to proclaim we have reached a peak,” said coauthor Glen Peters, a senior researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.

The study, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, says global CO 2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry are projected to grow just 0.2 percent this year.

That would mean emissions have leveled off at about 36 billion metric tons in the past three years even though the world economy has expanded, suggesting the historical bonds between economic gains and emissions growth may have been severed. “ This could be the turning point we have hoped for,” said David Ray, a professor of carbon management at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved with the study. “ To tackle climate change those bonds must be broken and here we have the first signs that they are at least starting to loosen.”

Chinese emissions were down 0.7 percent in 2015 and are projected to fall 0.5 percent in 2016, the researchers said, though noting that Chinese energy statistics have been plagued by inconsistencies.

Peters said it’s unclear whether the Chinese slowdown was due to a restructuring of its economy or a sign of economic instability, but the unexpected emissions reduction “give us hope that the world ’s biggest emitter can deliver much more ambitious emission reductions.”

China, which accounts for almost 30 percent of global carbon pollution, pledged to peak its emissions around 2030 as part of the climate pact adopted in Paris last year. Many analysts say China’s peak is likely to come much earlier—and may already have occurred. AP

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Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • Wednesday, November 16, 2016

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Brexit putting Britain’s building plan in jeopardy

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he UK wants to build a new high-speed rail line, a giant nuclear plant and a third runway at Europe’s busiest airport to shore up a creaking infrastructure. Brexit could throw a monkey-wrench into the works.

Companies ranging from telecommunications provider BT Group Plc. to builder Balfour Beatty Plc. to engineering supplier Sevcon Inc. warn that the country already suffers from a shortage of skilled workers.

If Prime Minister Theresa May’s government cuts off the supply of European Union migrants who partially close the gap, the UK may not have enough cable-layers, carpenters and engineers to carry out those projects.

The UK “is less attractive to talented people already,” Sevcon CEO Matt Boyle said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Gateshead, a town in northeastern England that voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU. “It’s becoming a problem getting people here for interview.”

Of the 110 employees designing and testing circuit boards and motors in blue polo shirts at Sevcon, which makes controllers and chargers for electric vehicles used in construction and industry, more than 10 percent hail from abroad. They include a Polish head of quality control, an Italian, two Spaniards, a Cypriot, a Latvian and two Germans.

In London more than half the construction workers are migrants, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).

In their occupational qualifications and pay levels, many of them fall between the low-skilled baristas and highly paid bankers who are the most conspicuous symbols of the UK’s surge in immigration.

Airport expansion

While construction companies and suppliers of building materials, like SIG Plc,. say activity is flagging in the wake of the June Brexit referendum, the government wants to go ahead with projects, like the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, an expansion of London Heathrow Airport and a high-speed rail line from the UK capital to the north of England.

BT is counting on EU workers to complete its plans for spending £6 bil lion ($7.6 billion) through 2020 to speed up its fi xed and mobile broadband connections—an upgrade the government urged the company to under ta ke. EE, the telecom prov ider’s mobile unit, says a majority of the engineers working on its net work are nonBr itish, most ly from the EU. The supply chain for London’s Crossrail, a fast subway line that’s set to open next year, includes more than a thousand f ir ms. T he UK ’s pend ing infrastructure projects could be a boon to them and others—if they can find the workers.

“Imposing new restrictions on people coming from abroad to fill vacancies will impact businesses’ ability to meet demand, as well as the delivery of public services,”

Recruitment and Employment Confederation CEO Kevin Green warned last week, as the group’s jobs index showed a persistent shortage in the supply of workers.

May has yet to detail her plans for reducing inflows. The UK could make up for fewer EU workers by allowing in more migrants from outside the bloc. The country already exempts some so-called shortage occupations, such as computer programmers, from immigration restrictions that apply to other jobs. But securing visas can be costly and cumbersome.

Boyle said Sevcon missed out on a highly qualified candidate from India this summer because he couldn’t demonstrate one of the visa requirements—a sufficient bankaccount balance. If similar terms were applied to EU citizens “it would definitely restrict us,” he said.

Cutting migration

Even the existing guidelines for non-EU workers might have to be tightened if May is serious about achieving her declared goal of cutting net migration by two thirds, to fewer than 100,000 per year.

UK contractors have turned to EU workers because their domestic counterparts are in short supply—and sometimes disappoint employers. Three of four candidates who applied for a job at GS Foam Concrete in Stockport, England, last year, never showed up for interviews, Managing Director Glen Jones said. The firm injects aerated concrete to reinforce transport projects, like Crossrail tunnels and London Bridge train station.

“The other one, we offered him the job, but he took a job nearer to his home because he didn’t want to work away from home,” Jones said by phone.

Big UK builders need to tap platoons of subcontractors at short notice, and workers from other EU countries are often more flexible than locals. They endure longer commutes and “adjust their hours up and down in a way that British workers either can’t or aren’t willing to do,” the NIESR said in a report.

The skills gap is widening because young Britons aren’t following their parents into occupations that require manual work. “A large number of experienced employees retire in the coming years,” said Southern Gas Networks Plc.’s annual report on July 27. The problem is echoed in recent filings from contractors, like Balfour Beatty and Carillion Plc.

Vocational training

T he UK lacks the vocationa l training and long-established apprenticeship programs that supply employers in continent a l Eu ropea n cou nt r ies, l i ke Ger many, w ith a steady stream of skilled workers. T he government has launched a nationa l infrastr ucture commission to adv ise on the UK’s long-ter m needs and it has promoted ap prenticeships, but many young people prefer office work.

Bloomberg News

A view of the People’s Bank of China Bloomberg News

China CB in a flux amid Trump’s policy worries

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s if defusing the world’s biggest debt bomb while keeping economic growth humming wasn’t tough enough, Donald Trump’s shock-election victory has just made the policy outlook even more complex for People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan.

The president-elect’s threats to slap tariffs of up to 45 percent on Chinese imports cast a shadow over the economy’s stabilization and the world ’s most crucial trade relationship.

Protectionism may fuel more international use of the yuan, according to Standard Chartered Plc., while UBS Group AG says tariffs may push the PBOC to let the yuan fall further.

Longer-term ambitions, like capital-account opening and yuan internationalization, are also clouded, hinging on whether President Trump delivers on candidate Trump’s promises.

The PBOC’s monetary policy becomes trickier, and harder to keep neutral, amid “huge uncertainty” about Trump’s impact on China, according to Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “It’s hard to tell what would be actual policies instead of just campaign rhetoric,” Hu wrote in a note.

Eve n b e fore Tr u mp t a k e s office on Januar y 20, there’s reason to think his campaign threats to impose tariffs and label China a currency manipulator may be tempered by the reality of governing. He’s already sig na led t here may be some watering down of other contentious issues, such as building a wall on the Mexican border and scrapping President Barack Obama’s health-care program.

There’s a low probability that the PBOC will cut its benchmark

45% The percentage of tariffs President-elect Donald Trump threatens to slap on Chinese imports

interest rates or the required reserve ratio for banks this year, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. The central bank has held its main rates at record lows for more than a year to support growth.

‘Strongest relationships’

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Trump in their first conversation that cooperation was the only correct choice for ties between the world’s two largest economies, with the US president-elect promising his counterpart “one of the strongest relationships.”

Economists see some chance that global investors will want to hold more non-US assets, which would help bring China closer to its goal of more use of its currency worldwide. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month added the yuan to its basket of reserve currencies.

“If Trump takes up an antiglobalization attitude, that’s a chance for the yuan to improve its global status,” said Guan Tao, a

former deputy director of China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange. “There’ll be opportunities for the renminbi. The need to diversify assets persists, if it’s not becoming stronger. China should grasp this opportunity.”

China is tightening capital controls amid outflows, which have continued for the past 20 months, according to Bloomberg Intelligence estimates. Its foreign reserves, the world’s largest stockpile, are down to $3.12 trillion, from a record $4 trillion in June 2014 amid support for the currency.

The yuan fell to a seven-year low of 6.8479 per dollar on Monday.

Another challenging scenario: Tr ump has proposed fisca l ex pansion that’s boosting inf lation prospects, sustaining or even strengthening the surge i n US bond y ield s i n recent days. Improv ing retur ns in developed nations’ fi xed-income markets wou ld ma ke it a r isk y time for China to rela x limits on capita l outf lows.

At the top of Zhou’s priority list is the domestic economy, where stability remains intact for now. Data on Monday showed factory output up 6.1 percent year-on-year in October. China has posted three straight quarters of 6.7-percent growth, four years of factory-gate deflation are over, and its main manufacturing index is at a two-year high.

‘More threats’

External risk is always a second concern for China after domestic growth and employment, said Zhang Ming, the director of international investment research at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state-backed think tank in Beijing. “The US recovery and stronger dollar is one of the threats to yuan internationalization,” Zhang said.

“But more threats come from domestic challenges, including weaker economic fundamentals and debt-related risks.”

Some local government debt levels already exceed warning lev-

els, and the ability to repay it is weakening, the finance ministry said on Monday. It also issued an emergency treatment plan for local debt risks and said local authorities in cities and counties should report potential defaults to their provincial governments at least two months in advance.

Such a plan implies the central government is turning back to a more aggressive stance on local government financial vehicles, Zhao Yang, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong, wrote in a report on Monday.

Trump risks

Trump’s policies may weigh on global growth, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. His promised combination of fiscal stimulus, trade tariffs, stricter immigration rules and higher interest rates could prove an overall negative for the world economy, analysts wrote.

On currency policy, Trump seems to present both risk and opportunity for the world’s largest trading nation. The US is China’s largest partner, with $627 billion in total trade last year. “ Trade protection in the US will not be targeted on China alone,” said Ding Shuang, head of China economic research at Stand ard Char tered in Hong Kong. “Other countries, especially emerging markets, will also suffer. To retaliate, China is likely to embrace regional trade treaties and speed up the Silk Road Initiative to strengthen trade ties with non-US markets.

As the US retreats and China steps in, the yuan is likely to be used more globally.”

But with so many doubts, and two months before Inauguration Day, it may be too early to discuss what impact Trump will make, says Yan Se an economics professor at Peking University.

“The uncertainties are rising,” Yan said. “We need to be aware of the risks, but we shouldn’t be too negative on this. Trump is, after all, a businessman, and very practical.”

Bloomberg News

Oil investors shrug off Trump’s election while focused on Opec cut in production

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il investors seem to be the only ones uninterested in Donald Trump’s election.

Money managers raised bets on falling oil prices by the most in more than four years in the week leading up to Trump’s surprise win, amid waning belief in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) ability to meaningfully cut production.

Members of Opec are due to meet on November 30 to finalize a deal to curb output.

Failure to reach one may send oil lower amid “relentless global supply growth,” the International Energy Agency said on November 10. “The market is focused on the Opec meeting,”said Mike Wittner, head of oil-market research at Société Générale SA in New York.

“It’s looking like the obstacles to an agreement are getting bigger with both Iraq and Iran raising new issues.” The rally that followed the Opec’s preliminary deal reached in Algiers on September 28 has evaporated, sending speculators scrambling.

A surge in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) short positions, or wagers the US benchmark crude will decline, helped send the resulting net-long position to the biggest slump since May 2012 in the week ended on November 8, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data show. Brent shorts surged, posting the biggest increase in more than five years.

WTI dropped 3.6 percent to $44.98 a barrel in the report week. Prices were up 2 percent at

$44.17 a barrel on Tuesday as of 12:58 p.m. in Singapore, rebounding from the lowest close in eight weeks.

Futures rose 0.6 percent on November 9 amid speculation Trump and a Republicancontrolled Congress will pursue businessfriendly policies. The market dropped the following three days as the dollar climbed to the highest level in more than nine months against its peers, curbing investor interest in commodities priced in the US currency.

Opec obstacles

“Trump’s win is having no direct effect on oil,” said Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group Inc., a consulting company in

Villanova, Pennsylvania. “It’s having a tertiary impact because it’s strengthened the dollar.”

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, the group’s three biggest producers, are at odds over how to share output cuts, according to an Opec delegate, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Qatar, Algeria and Venezuela are leading a push to overcome the divide, according to the delegate.

Iraq has sought an exemption from joining any production cuts, arguing that its fight against Islamic State justifies special treatment. Iran has insisted it won’t accept any limits on its production until it has returned to the presanctions level of about 4 million

barrels a day. The nation told Opec that it raised output to 3.92 million in October.

Opec’s 14 members raised production by 230,000 barrels a day to 33.83 million in October as Iraqi output reached a record and Nigeria and Libya restored halted supplies, International Energy Agency (IEA) data showed on November 10.

“Last week we had the IEA and Opec reports, which showed that production was significantly higher October than the previous months,”Wittner said. “The rebalancing of the market continues to get pushed back.”

Money managers’ short position in WTI climbed by 82,791 to 145,319 futures and options, the highest in two months, the CFTC

said. Longs rose 2.7 percent. In the Brent market, money managers increased short positions by 65 percent to 142,055 during the week, the highest level since October 2014 and the biggest gain since March 2011, according to data from ICE Futures Europe. The net-long position in the global benchmark rose by 23 percent during the week, the biggest increase since September 2014.

In fuel markets, net-bullish bets on gasoline decreased 4.8 percent to 39,846 contracts, the first decline in two months, as futures slipped 7.7 percent in the report week.

Wagers on higher ultra low sulfur diesel prices tumbled 55 percent to 9,511. Futures declined 5 percent. Bloomberg News

AseanWednesday

A8 Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • Editor: Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Singapore home sales climb to 14-mo high

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ingapore home sales rose to the highest in more than a year in October, as developers marketed more projects on pent-up demand from homebuyers.

Developers sold 1,252 units last month, compared with 509 units in September, according to data released on Tuesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. That’s the biggest monthly sales tally since July 2015, the data showed.

Developers launched 1,467 units last month in Singapore, more than three times the number in September. The largest sales came from the Forest Woods project by Serangoon Green Pte., which sold 364 units of the 519 marketed. The Alps project

by MCC Land sold 334 of 626 units launched for sale.

The surge in sales came even as Singapore’s government has been steadfast in its commitment to cool the housing market, maintaining real-estate curbs rolled out since 2009. Singapore’s home prices and sales have eased since the government began introducing housing curbs, with some of the strictest measures implemented in 2013.

The city-state’s home prices dropped for a 12th quarter in the three months ended September 30, and residential values are down 11 percent from their peak three years ago. The existing stock of unsold homes may take three years to sell,

1,252

The number of residential units sold by Singapore developers, the highest since July 2015

according to Augustine Tan, president of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore. In addition to the oversupply, home vacancy rates are at their highest in more than 11 years, Tan said in September.

Leaders in neighboring Hong Kong this month moved to cool property prices, raising the stamp duty to 15 percent for all residential purchases—except for first-time buyers who are permanent residents. Demographia last year found Hong Kong housing to be the least affordable, it’s measured in 11 years of surveying large urban markets. Singapore, while by no means a cheap city to own property, ranked 27th on the list with its overall affordability score holding steady in recent years. Bloomberg News

A view of one of Singapore’s residential housing projects. BLOOMBERG

World’s youngest stock market struggles

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he day’s trading is about to begin on the world’s youngest stock exchange, and the MYANPIX index and opening share prices flash across an electronic screen, but barely a footfall or a voice are heard within the cavernous, colonialera building in the bustling heart of Myanmar’s commercial capital.

A gilded bell hangs silently above the almost empty floor, engraved with a single word: “Success”.

Not yet. Only three companies are listed on the board and, at the end of the day, just 7,221 shares were traded, compared with nearly 839 million the same day on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Since the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSE), a joint venture between Myanmar, Japan’s Daiwa Institute of Research and the Japan Exchange Group, began trading in March, only 20,000 investors have ventured into the market. Regulators complain that those who do take the plunge rely largely on rumors, herd psychology and even the stars.

Martin Zhang, an account executive with KBZ Stirling Coleman Securities, said one client offered him an astrological chart to help guide his investment decisions.

The Amsterdam stock market, the world’s first, opened its doors 428 years ago. The NYSE, the world’s largest, was born in 1817, Thet Htun Oo, senior manager of the Yangon exchange, reminded a recent group of visiting journalists.

“We are only a 7-month-old baby,” he said.

A half-century of harsh military rule in this Southeast Asian country of 55 million brought economic ruin and isolation from the international community and global financial trends.

But Myanmar remains a cornucopia of natural resources, and it is welcoming foreign investment as one of Asia’s last economic frontiers.

The former British colony’s economic growth is forecast at 8 percent this year, among the fastest in the region.

Just a week after trading began on the Yangon exchange, a democratically elected government, headed by former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, took power. Since then, the United States has lifted nearly all of the economic sanctions it had

Trump rout means no holiday plans, weekends at work for Asean investors

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In this October 25 photo, visitors view the new Yangon Stock Exchange board at the exchange headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar. AP

7,221

The number of shares traded at the Myanmar stock exchange on Tuesday imposed on the former military regime, freeing up remittances from abroad, which experts say may help fuel the market.

“We shall see. It’s conditional.

If our economy prospers, the stock market will also do well,” said Khin Maung Nyo, an economist and author. For the time being, he advised caution for “Mr. Average.” With the three listed companies mostly trading below their initial price levels, many investors have fared poorly.

The first stock to be traded, First Myanmar Investment, is owned by real-estate tycoon Serge Pun and is one of the country’s biggest public companies. It made its debut at 40,000 kyat a share ($31 at current exchange rates). On November 11 it finished at 16,000 kyat (about $12), despite having seen its profit soar in the past year.

“People watch TV and read novels about stock markets and think they can get rich overnight, but now they are beginning to realize that it’s not that easy,” said Khin Maung Nyo. Many investors blindly follow friends and neighbors into the market and when it tumbles they “all go

over the cliff together,” Zhang of KBZ said. The firm’s operations chief, Jonathan Lin, says he suspects some first consult fortune-tellers. After all, this is a country where past leaders made crucial political decisions only after seeing their favorite soothsayers.

KBZ and four other brokerage firms handle trading electronically.

That is one reason for the lack of activity on the trading floor of the 1939, neo-classical YSE building, with its imposing white Ionic columns.

Traditionally, Burmese have stashed their wealth in gold and jewelry. The wealthiest, like Serge Pun, have headed to Singapore to list their companies. The country’s two-digit lottery is wildly popular with speculators. But most people in Yangon’s streets respond with puzzled looks when asked about the stock market.

Thet Htun Oo of YSE said his staff are touring the country and using social media to urge would-be investors to “do their homework” and invest for long-term gains.

Myanmar is drafting legislation to allow foreign investors into the market and to permit continuous trading, rather than the current two daily auctions. A fourth listing, the First Private Bank, is scheduled before the year’s end, and Thet Htun Oo said he anticipates five newcomers on the board during each of the next five years. As the market grows, institutional investors, who, so far, have kept away, are expected to step in. AP

he meltdown in Southeast Asian emerging markets, following Donald Trump’s upset US election win, is so unsettling that Alan Richardson is canceling his holiday plans.

“This year has really been messy,” said Richardson, investment manager at Samsung Asset Management in Hong Kong, whose Asean equities fund has returned 19 percent this year to beat 91 percent of its peers. “It’s been extremely difficult to be ahead of the curve this year because of the volatility. I don’t have the luxury of taking time off.”

Around $1 billion has been pulled from Indonesian, Malaysian, Philippine and Thai stocks since Trump’s November 8 victory sent shockwaves through emerging markets. Southeast Asia has been hit particularly hard, with the Indonesian and Philippine gauges among the world’s worst performing markets outside of Latin America. The region’s equities have given up much of the year’s gains.

“We’re seeing the unwinding of the inflows we saw earlier in the year,” Richardson said. “The market didn’t expect a Trump victory. The majority of investors have to readjust their portfolios. This will continue for a while.”

Emerging-market assets are tumbling on speculation the Federal Reserve (the Fed) will be forced to raise rates faster than expected to contain inflation if the president-elect follows through on a pledge to spend big on infrastructure.

Investors are also worried about the extent to which Trump’s campaign rhetoric that stressed trade protectionism will translate into actual policy.

With valuations that had been inflated by 2016’s developing-nation rally and currencies that are vulnerable to external shocks, there may be further to fall for the four Southeast Asian markets. The MSCI South East Asia Index, which also includes Singaporean equities and was at a 13-month high in August, has dropped 5.6 percent since the US election and reached the lowest in more than eight months on Monday.

The Jakarta Composite Index slumped 6.1 percent in the last two days to close at a July low. That pared its gain this year to 12 percent. The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 4.3 percent and fell to the lowest level since March. It’s now down 0.2 percent

$1B

The value of stocks pulled from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand since Trump’s November 8 victory in 2016. Thailand’s SET Index declined 3 percent in two days, and has risen 15 percent this year. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index fell 2.2 percent to close at the lowest since June 16. It’s dropped 3.8 percent in 2016. Regional markets regained some of their losses on Tuesday. The Philippine gauge rose 0.9 percent as of 11:02 a.m. in Manila, the Malaysian measure increased 0.7 percent, the SET Index was up 0.5 percent and the JCI rallied 0.4 percent.

Robert Ramos, chief investment officer at Union Bank of the Philippines in Manila, said he worked through the weekend crunching numbers and that he’s spending a lot of time watching news channels.

In the Philippines the Trump effect is weighing on a market that’s been falling since July amid Asia’s highest valuations and investor nervousness over President Duterte and his pivot toward China. The US is the nation’s largest source of remittances and the Philippine economy has benefited from American companies offshoring business processes, a trend that could be threatened if Trump takes a more economically nationalistic approach.

“We have been rebalancing our portfolio since last month and we are doing a little bit more of that now,” Ramos said.

“We are buying stocks that we think will have earnings visibility and growth potential, like those in infrastructure.”

Fed looms The next Fed meeting in mid-December now looms, especially large for Southeast Asia’s emerging markets. Futures contracts are pricing in an 92-percent chance for a rate increase, and the US central bank’s outlook for next year will be keenly watched.

“What would be a problem is if in this December meeting we see projected inflation revised higher, and growth

forecasts,” said James Woods, a Sydneybased investment analyst at Rivkin Securities. “That would be a very negative shock for emerging markets.”

Indonesia and Malaysia are especially vulnerable to higher US borrowing costs making their assets less attractive due to the high proportion of foreign money in their sovereign bond markets. Bank Indonesia said it intervened to stabilize the rupiah on Friday after it fell as much as 3.1 percent, while Bank Negara Malaysia said it would act to avoid extreme volatility.

The ringgit has weakened 3.2 percent since November 8, while the rupiah has lost 1.9 percent.

Jeffrosenberg Tan, a director at PT Sinarmas Sekuritas in Jakarta, said he was spending a lot more time since the US election briefing agitated clients.

“Indonesia is vulnerable to this strong dollar environment, especially with the high foreign ownership of our government bonds,” he said. “It all provides incentives for foreign investors to take profit from our market.”

Thai anxiety A Trump presidency adds an extra layer of anxiety for investors in stocks in Thailand, where the nation is still in mourning following the death of the king. “We’re working around the clock now as the volatility has been extremely high,” said Narongsak Plodmechai, the Bangkok-based chief investment officer at SCB Asset Management Co., which oversees around $37 billion.

“There remains a lot of uncertainty about the new US administration’s economic policies,” he said, adding that he viewed the selloff as overdone.

Raymond Kong, who oversees $2.5 billion as a fund manager at One Asia Investment Partners in Singapore, isn’t so sure. He said he’d raised the proportion of cash in his portfolio to 50 percent from about 20 percent last month and now holds very few Southeast Asian stocks.

“We’re keeping our powder dry,” Kong said. “If we see more falls, then we’ll start buying.” For Samsung Asset’s Richardson, the Trump victory has made forecasting far more complicated.

He said he was adding to Singaporean banks and palm-oil producers.

Bloomberg News

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

PHL, Sweden eye strengthened bilateral economic relationship

PHILIPPINE Trade and Industry Undersecretary Nora Terrado (fourth from left) and Sweden Minister of Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg (second from right) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremonies of the newly reopened Embassy of Sweden in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Joining them are Transportation Undersecretary Raoul Creencia (from left), Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Ma. Cleofe Natividad, Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano and Embassy of Sweden in the Philippines Ambassador-Designate Harald Fries. PHOTO FROM DTI-IPG

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S the government of Sweden reopens its embassy in Manila, the Philippines, through its Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), eyes strengthened economic relations with that country.

“We have seen Sweden’s interest in the country as we welcome their largest inbound delegation to Manila with over 70 delegates from various Swedish companies,” said Trade and Industry Undersecretary for Industry Promotion Group Nora K. Terrado.

On November 7 the DTI welcomed the over 28 Swedish companies with 70 business delegates, led by Swedish Minister of Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg. The visit of the

business delegation coincided with the reopening of the Embassy of Sweden in Manila after it closed in 2008.

“The Swedish are known for their quality products and innovative solutions. We look forward in future partnerships with them and heightened trade relations that will generate more jobs for Filipinos,” Terrado said.

Damberg said Sweden’s enhanced business relations with the Philippines are seen in the recent expansion of Ikea, an international furniture chain store, in the country.

During the reopening ceremonies of the Embassy of Sweden on November 8, Terrado emphasized the importance of the embassy’s and Ambassador Harald Fries’s presence in Manila in furthering economic relations between the Philippines and Sweden. She noted that, at present, there are over 40 Swedish companies established in the Philippines.

Fries and Country Manager Carl Mamlmqvist mentioned in a message the reopening of the Embassy of Sweden in Manila is a strong signal of the Swedish government’s commitment to enhanced relations between Sweden and the Philippines. Sweden’s increased interest to the Philippines goes beyond trade and investment deals. Other areas of mutual interest include student exchange, disaster response and tourism.

The DTI said Sweden ranked as the Philippines’s 43rd trading partner (out of 223), 59th export market (out of 211) and 36th import supplier (out of 203) in 2015. Total bilateral trade amounted to $143.4 million.

BOI prepares GDH sector to be more globally competitive

SOME of the gifts, décors and houseware (GDH) players, most of which are micro, small and medium enterprises participating in Business Continuity Plan Workshop sponsored by the Board of Investments along with the University of the Philippines’s Institute of Small-Scale Industries. The attendees were trained in preparing for, responding to and recovering from various business challenges. The workshop is one of the capacity-building measures being implemented on the GDH Road Map.

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HE Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) is preparing industry players in the gifts, décor and houseware (GDH) sector to become more competitive suppliers in the global market, as it recently partnered with the University of the Philippines-Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP-ISSI) in training the local players in preparing for, responding to and recovering from various business challenges.

Sponsored by the BOI through the Manufacturing Resurgence Program (MRP), a total of 55 participants from 26 players in the GDH sector, comprised mostly of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were capacitated by UP-Issi on how to formulate their respective Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) in the light of business difficulties, emergencies and disasters.

Representatives from the Home Accents Group of the Philippines Inc., the Philippine Federation of Furnishings Associations and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. also participated in the workshop.

A BCP is an essential component of a firm’s response planning. It sets out how the business will operate following an unforeseen adversity and how it expects to do “business as usual” in the quickest possible time

afterward. The BCP workshop is one of the capacity-building measures outlined on the recently approved GDH Road Map, which targets the sector’s export growth at 20 percent in the next five years. The GDH Road Map was crafted by the UP-Issi in consultation with industry stakeholders, the BOI and other relevant government agencies.

Other recommendations on the GDH Road Map call for better product-pricing advisory services, tax-free importation of commonly imported inputs of the industry, and lower income tax for MSMEs to offset increasing production costs.

“The Philippines is world-renowned for its quality craftsmanship as most of its homegrown products are handmade. With the implementation of the road map in full swing, the sector now has a blueprint on how to revitalize market share by making an impact in the international market,” Trade Assistant Secretary for Industry Development Rafaelita M. Aldaba said.

“These industries employ between 690,000 and around a million people, so it is important that the GDH sector gets the necessary boost as it provides much-needed employment, especially in the countryside. The implementation of the

recommendations on the road map, such as the conduct of capacitybuilding programs, will allow the sector to be more competitive and better prepared to participate in the global value chains, including taking advantage of the already integrated Asean market,” she said.

The GDH Road Map indicated there are around 2,412 handicraft enterprises in the country, most of which are MSMEs, with majority located in the National Capital Region, Cordillera region, Region 5 and Region 12. Although recent figures indicate an increase of the Philippines’s GDH exports from 2010 to 2014, other neighboring countries have already surpassed the country’s export output of similar products.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Thailand exported around $54.5 million worth of décor in 2013, while the Philippines shipped only $50.9 million that same year. Thailand’s giftware output amounted to $118.5 million in 2014, while the Philippines exported only $23 million. For housewares, Vietnam remains the top exporting country, with $367 million worth of exports in 2014, compared to Philippine export shipments of only $19 million.

China dominates the low-end handicraft and décor. To sustain the momentum, which started in the 2000s, it has shifted to value-added products in response to large demand from the United States and Europe, according to the Confederation of Handicraft Exports and Artisans Inc. Although the latest figures show the GDH accounts for barely 1 percent of total Philippine exports, the sector remains unfazed.

“Our country’s strength lies in offering high-end products with worldclass designs made by our master craftsmen,” Aldaba said.

For the month of October this year, three related events were held showcasing the world-class creativity and unique cultural heritage of Filipinos in the GDH sector, namely, the HABI Market Fair which focused on fabrics with artisanal designs; the Manila FAME, considered as the country’s “premier design and lifestyle event”; and the National Arts and Crafts Fair, which involved cooperatives and SMEs from the countryside showcasing their various products, such as baskets and fabrics, among others.

The first two events were intended for the high-end local and foreign markets. The last one targeted the domestic consumer market.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Wednesday, November 16, 2016 A9

Of patterns and linkages

By Dita A. Mathay

Foreign Trade Service Corps Department of Trade and Industry

MARKET DEVELOPMENT UPDATES

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Conclusion

he team at home is also looking at a second industry—shipbuilding and repair. The Philippine domestic-shipping industry is composed of general cargo (27 percent), fishing (20 percent), passenger (15 percent), tanker (11 percent), tug (10 percent), deck cargo (9 percent) and others. Seventy percent of these vessels are older than 30 years, which, in all respects, may have been the single biggest cause of maritime mishaps in the last few decades.

Purchase of low-priced, quickdelivery, secondhand vessels was the norm in the domestic marine-vessel market. If new vessels were purchased, demand was filled with low-priced, low-quality vessels.

This is all about to change, as the same team that worked together on automobiles has rolled up its sleeve to build a shipbuilding/ship-repair road map. Part of the plan is to review the current taxation and financial schemes for ship owners, to encourage local production. In fact, the seventhlargest shipbuilder in the world in terms of volume, may be joining the bandwagon. The Japanese company recently expressed interest to enhance HR development; provide funds for infrastructure support, such as rural development via the use of advance technologies in two projects: ship recycling and biomass fuel. Where it gets interesting is how the project gets to integrate traditional shipbuilding operations with agribusiness and renewable-energy ventures.

Contract farming for pelletized feedstock for export to Japan will provide employment to marginalized sectors and, at the same time, meet the energy needs of community and industries across the archipelago, using the latest in clean-energy technology. This project again neatly exemplifies the trade-investment/industry-agriculture relationship paradigm.

Further, in the past three years, we have seen industrial clusters emerge around Philippine Economic Zone Authority-based Japanese anchor tenants, in printer and peripherals and medical devices. For us to become a legitimate regional and global hub for these two sectors, we must encourage investments that will build up the supply chain by, among other things, riding the wave of Abenomics—a policy that encourages the migration of 10,000 Japanese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to Asean. These SMEs can fill gaps in the supply chain, serve as technology providers, create diversity in the market for products and services, and build value to the local economy.

Japanese SMEs most often do not have the administrative ex-

perience to operate competitively overseas nor the capital to set up under traditional arrangements of building factories from the ground up. Perhaps, we should review the real-estate proposition that dominates current operations in our economic zones and industrial estates, and see how this can be expanded to include special zones that cater to SMEs via affordable plug-and-play facilities. This is already being done with lucrative success by Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

To attract foreign investors in specialized industrial-estate development, we may also consider a 75-year freehold land arrangement, with rent offset by investments in needed utilities and infrastructure for locators that bring in cutting-edge research and technology, new and sustainable industry clusters.

Previously associated anathemas notwithstanding, perhaps the time is ripe for government to look into subsidies to investors in RD&E for ICT and green field technologies. Current incentives are directed mostly toward the provision of income-tax holidays, duty-free importation of capital equipment and raw materials to enterprises.

Given that R&D work is primarily developmental and not income or profit driven, the scope has to be expanded.

Another compelling reason is we cannot develop a pool of high-tech workers who can help propel industries to more lucrative niches of the global value chain, without an environment that encourages local and foreign investments in RD&E. These are particularly important to integrated circuit design, next-generation motors and microfabrication projects. A move in this direction might help actualize our own brand of Taiwan’s ITRI and Silicon Valley.

Last, there is another kind of 3C we want to promote in Japan, but this has nothing to do with electronics and high-technology industries. It carries greater bearing with how we should exploit the country’s natural-resource abundance with the products of our soil—coffee, calamansi and cocoa. The prospects are exciting, but we reserve discussions on this for the next time.

DTI pushes for globalization of PHL MSMEs

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (MSMEDC) and in cooperation with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE)—Go Negosyo, held the National MSME Summit on November 10 and 11 at the SMX Davao Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City.

The summit sought to discuss topics on promoting creativity and innovation; inclusive financing; enhancing productivity and efficiency; and entrepreneurial ecosystem for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Thus, the result would help MSMEs develop and expand their knowledge and capabilities to improve locally and have a positive global mind-set.

“We view the summit as an opportunity to discuss gaps, challenges and opportunities in developing and improving the participation of MSMEs in the local and global markets. We also look at it as an avenue to come up with new strategies and identifying policy recommendations that will help the local enterprises move up the value chain,” DTI Regional Operations Group Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said.

upcoming events Compiled by Louise Kaye G. Mendoza | DTI-EMB Knowledge Processing Division

NOV 28-29

Event: Apec Policy Dialogue on MSME Marketplace and 020 Forum Venue: Crown Regency, Boracay

A10 Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Bad RH TRO

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he government has embarked on a 10-point socioeconomic program aimed at significantly reducing poverty in the country until 2022. But it looks like the Supreme Court (SC) is hardly on the same page as the Executive branch as the ruling on the reproductive-health (RH) law would actually perpetuate poverty.

In other words, we have a situation where one hand does not know what the other is doing, and even working at cross-purposes with one another. That does not make for good economics at all.

This relates to the August 24 order of the Second Division of the SC stopping the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration from “granting any and all pending applications for registration and/or recertification for reproductive products and supplies, including contraceptive drugs and devices.”

In effect, what the SC temporary restraining order (TRO) does is to deprive tens of millions of Filipino women access to contraceptives, which violates women’s reproductive-health rights.

This is the reason last Monday (November 14) five non-governmental organizations and two prominent reproductive-health advocates filed a petition before the High Tribunal to immediately lift the TRO. The petitioners assert the TRO runs counter to various international human-rights instruments, such as the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, as well as the 1987 Constitution’s provision on equal protection of the mother and the unborn; Republic Act (RA) 10354, or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law; and RA 9710, or the Magna Carta of Women.

The petitioners, who all call for the full implementation of RH law, are the Filipino Catholic Voices for Reproductive Health; Philippine NGO Council on Population Health and Welfare; Philippine Center for Population and Development; and Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation Inc. They are joined by former Health Secretary Dr. Esperanza I. Cabral and former Presidential Assistant for Social Development Ben de Leon.

They have solid grounds for asking the lifting of the TRO. Depriving women access to contraceptives would lead to an increase in unplanned pregnancy rates; teenage-pregnancy rates, already among the worst in the world will go even higher; and maternal deaths from preventable childbirth complications, now estimated to be at 14 deaths a day, will also shoot up.

Apart from these, intergenerational poverty will continue as poor parents are unable to provide for their many children.

We must remember that the SC already declared the RH law as constitutional. But why is it that it unduly favored the protection of the unborn over mothers, disregarded the “equal protection of the mother and the unborn” clause in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, and simply forgotten that mothers also have the right to life and health?

The SC TRO is a gross injustice against Filipino women and their families. While President Duterte himself has pledged full support for the RH law, the High Tribunal has gone in the opposite direction.

Women’s access to contraceptives and family-planning services is crucial in implementing the RH law. Hence, lifting the TRO is correct not only from the legal point of view, but also from the socioeconomic standpoint. What’s keeping the SC from doing what’s right and would clearly benefit the entire nation?

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Agra to pursue new business models for PRA Acceptance speech of PRA Chairman Alberto C. Agra at the PRA leadership turnover ceremony on November 15.

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irst, let me congratulate the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), led by its Board, Chairman Muldong and GM Abaya for steering the agency to great heights. To be recognized by the Governance Commission for GOCCs as a top-tier state corporation, to remit to the treasury dividends which represent a fivefold increase from previous administrations, to belong to the top 500 nonindividual taxpayers, to implement and facilitate reclamation projects all-over the country and to be compliant with all the requirements set by the GCG are no easy feats. These only prove that the PRA is a cohesive organization driven by its resolve to be relevant and to make a difference.

Good morning!

Leadership is and should be value-driven. When I was reading PRA’s five-year corporate report, I cannot help but connect with two of your core values—transformative and adaptive. The challenge, however, is how to live these.

It is in this context that I would like all of us to collectively address and answer three basic questions: First, should PRA build islands on water for its own sake?

Being transformative and adaptive means that reclamation must have a purpose and this purpose is the pursuit of better quality of life for Filipinos. This is the real and deep change we have committed to bring about. New land must be

formed to provide new development, new communities, new roads, new airports, and additional utilities aimed at alleviating poverty, easing traffic, providing access and creating business opportunities while promoting human rights and climate justice.

Second, should PRA be true to its charter so that it will be able to perform its mandate as the infrastructure development authority focused on reclamation unrestricted under existing laws?

I submit that PRA should. Executive Order 146, which adds another layer of approval when there is no law imposing such requirement, must, therefore, be reexamined and possibly repealed. Under its charter,

PRA is the approving authority, not just an evaluating agency. Redundancy in approvals causes delay and to delay development is a disservice to the people. Processes must be fast-tracked. PRA must, therefore, be trusted in order for us to build land and, lifting from the corporate creed, build bridges between our nation’s vision and its fruition.

Third and last, should PRA explore new business models?

I believe the options for PRA, acting as proponent, partner and/or regulator, are vast. PRA can reclaim and develop on its own, enter into agency-to-agency arrangements with other government-owned and -controlled corporations and government instrumentalities, like the Laguna Lake Development Authority, Philippine Fisheries Development Authority and National Housing Authority, among others, and also state-owned enterprises in other countries, collaborate with local governments units that have awarded or will award reclamation contracts, or partner with the private sector. With other stakeholders, PRA can surely reach and go beyond the 700-hectare reclamation target stated in PRA’s vision. PRA cannot do this on its own.

I also submit that PRA should study guarantee mechanisms that

China’s rising prices are a sign of trouble

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By Christopher Balding | BloombergView

y December 2015, China had endured four years of declining producer prices. Coal was down 38 percent on the year, and steel, down 31 percent. That month, the Communist Party hit on a new plan for reversing this dynamic. They called it “supply-side reform”, and it was widely perceived as an attempt to eliminate the surplus capacity at mines and mills that was depressing prices and making debt difficult to repay.

Almost immediately after these proposed reforms hit the press, prices started going up. From December 15 through the end of October, coal prices surged 114 percent and steel rose by 47 percent, more than making up for the previous year’s losses.

The increase was so pronounced, in fact, that the country’s top economic planner actually asked miners to cap prices next year.

The problem is that these price increases had almost nothing to do with the fundamentals of supply and demand. And the government’s attempts to reassert control are likely to make things worse.

The price surge had a number

of causes. First, Beijing turned on the credit spigots. Year-to-date total social financing is now up 13 percent, compared to 6.7 percent growth in GDP. With a high percentage of new credit going to public-works projects and real estate, much of it passed through into primary commodities—that is, coal and steel.

At the same time, the central government was pulling out the stops to cut operating capacity. It set bold reduction targets, created an assetmanagement firm to consolidate mining companies and restricted working days at coal mines. It even warned regional governments that

they’d be “seriously punished” if they failed to follow through. There’s plenty of debate about how much reduction has actually occurred. But it’s clear that they’ve made some significant progress.

By turning on the credit taps while attempting to restrain supply, however, Beijing telegraphed its intent to the market, thereby creating arbitrage opportunities. Investors keen to profit from the expected surge in activity piled into wealth-management products targeting basic commodities. As a result, trading turnover has surged enormously relative to consumption: Trough-to-peak daily turnover grew by more than 8,900 percent in steel. With supply flat and demand falling, prices were still pushed higher by traders and wealth managers.

All this is good news for coal and steel firms, but bad news for everyone else. Consumers are suffering as electricity prices rise. Energy companies, heavily reliant on coal, are losing money and lobbying for a price cap and expanded output. Construction

government financial institutions, like the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency, can extend. We must all learn new ways, innovate, engage the market, and not be contended with the status quo and current systems.

PRA is set to mark its 40th year.

February 4, 2017, is just around the corner. There is no better time for PRA to take stock of what it has done, what it has contributed and what it can still contribute. The decisions we make today, the contracts we will enter into and the projects we will undertake will surely have an impact.

We are at the cusp of crisis and challenges, and opportunities and hope. Are we ready to do more for a purpose? I am confident that Team PRA, joined together with the spirit of esprit de corps, can and will.

Before I end, let me thank you for welcoming me. Maraming salamat po. Let me also congratulate and welcome incoming GM Jan Rubiato. We assure every one that we will be driven by the same values and direction.

Please also allow me to acknowledge the presence of my beloved better-half, daughter, family and friends.

I remain your leader, servant and friend. Thank you and again, good morning to all.

firms are dependent on cheap steel to make their projects profitable. As always, propping up one sector in the economy comes at the expense of others.

Capping prices isn’t the answer.

It creates the central planner’s dilemma: how to dictate market moves without forcing the trade-offs that market discipline imposes? If the implied price is above the marketcapped price, firms will find a way to hide payments to account for the discrepancy. Chinese companies routinely get around capital controls; it isn’t hard to believe they’d do the same under price caps.

A better strategy is to tighten money and credit. Until the government manages that, firms will continue making poor decisions, politics will determine lending and financial markets will be prone to bubbles. The government also needs to relax control over the economy more broadly.

China has thousands of industries and a work force larger than most countries. Its markets can’t be calibrated by technocrats forever.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Premature ejection

Incontestability clause

BusinessMirror

Atty. Dennis B. Funa

Teddy Locsin Jr.

INSURANCE FORUM

Free fire Continued from A1

B

ut we paid them all, anyway, for what they did not generate.

The country paid billions of dollars for nothing.

I know, because, as congressman assigned to defend the budget of the energy department, I had to defend the IPPs. What I did, instead, was compel the production of all IPP contracts from the Department of Energy (DOE) and supplied them to the opposition.

There you go.

This can happen again.

So it is good to demand a close look at such deals.

At least one of them is with a Chinese company banned by the World Bank, although the ban ends in January 2017. But, in fact, the deal is only for a feasibility study at China’s expense, still to be reviewed by us after the study is completed. That is when the World Bank disqualification can be raised.

Its other disqualification is that the Chinese company successfully reclaimed disputed coral reefs in the

South China Sea or West Philippine Sea, in record time and so successfully that the former reef can serve as an ordnance platform wherefrom you can launch fighters and bombers, mount missiles or put up casinos. So, at this point, the big to-do is a premature ejection.

However, one must always be poised to make a big to-do and get a grip on the thing before it flies off your handle, because the last time we let something big pass without review, we were robbed big time by western companies.

The importance of school preparedness during earthquakes

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By Loreen Lolita A. Cubero

he Philippines frequently experiences seismic and volcanic tremors because it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes occur. In recent months, for example, a number of earthquakes shook parts of the country. While there were no reported major damage or loss of life, these incidents could indicate that the big one is probably coming, as the major Philippine fault lines have been disturbed.

For us in academe, it is best to be prepared and ready for all eventualities, because no one can predict when earthquakes will happen.

Schools cannot be closed in advance due to earthquakes; neither can we suspend classes, like we do when there’s a storm warning. However, with proper training and advance planning, everyone in our school community can be prepared to react appropriately during and after the occurrence of an earthquake.

The best approach is to create a comprehensive, all-hazards emergency plan and implement earthquake drills so we can instill in the minds of our students the correct procedures to be followed during the actual occurrence. All these will help ensure that there will be no confusion or panic among students and faculty members.

Likewise, planning of specific ways on how our school community will respond to an earthquake will help us identify key resources that must be prepared or procured in advance. Proper execution of school drills will also help prevent panic, which might lead to accidents when everyone is overwhelmed with fear during a strong earthquake.

As we live in an area where earthquakes are a frequent occurrence, we have to include earthquake-preparedness in our overall emergency plan.

During a major earthquake, the greatest immediate hazard to people in or near buildings is the danger of being hit by falling objects. When the ground is shaking, the school population is safest by following what they learned during earthquake drills, which is to find immediate shelter under sturdy desks, tables or counters.

There are also general guidelines issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, which will help school administrators during and after a major earthquake. For example, the

School Earthquake Evacuation Plan should stress the provision to use all the available open space nearest the building or edifices that have been evaluated as safe from falling debris and other materials that may cause injury to students and faculty members.

It is also the job of school administrators to determine if there are sufficient open spaces for all during an earthquake. Areas to be occupied should be computed, assuming four to five students would occupy a 1-square-meter area. This can be done by determining the number of students in each building, during morning and afternoon sessions. Once this is done, a specific open area for each class will then be designated as their area of temporary refuge.

It is, likewise, important to prepare the students one week before the scheduled earthquake drill. For each class, the homeroom adviser must be tasked to do the following: 1) Allot a specific time for lecture on earthquakes—what they are, how and why they occur, what to do before, during and after an earthquake; 2) introduce to the students the assigned open area where they will go after an earthquake; 3) assign somebody who will be in charge of making sure the door is open during an earthquake.

Most important of all, everybody must be taught the following: don’t run, don’t push, don’t talk, don’t return, don’t bring your things. Quietly but quickly, proceed to the designated evacuation area for the class and wait for further instructions from the teacher.

Never go back to the building once you are outside.

While earthquakes can never be predicted, being prepared spells the difference for the safety of our students and teachers.

The author is Principal 1 at South Central School in Gonzaga, Cagayan.

U

nder the new Civil Code, a contract is voidable if the consent by one party is vitiated by mistake or fraud. The incontestability clause in the Insurance Code is an exception to this Civil Code provision. The incontestability clause provides that a life-insurance policy shall be incontestable after two years from the date of issuance, regardless of any mistake, fraud, concealment or misrepresentation. Under Philippine laws, it may only be contested on the ground of nonpayment of premiums.

The incontestability clause is one of the strongest protections for a policyholder or beneficiary, this rule is soundly on the side of the consumer.

The ultimate aim of the incontestability clause is “to compel insurers to solicit business from or provide insurance coverage only to legitimate and bona fide clients, by requiring them to thoroughly investigate those they insure within two years from effectivity of the policy and while the insured is still alive.

If they do not, they will be obligated to honor claims on the policies they issue, regardless of fraud, concealment or misrepresentation.” (Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corp. v. Aban, GR 175666, July 29, 2013).

The object of an incontestability clause is “to restrict the insurer to a definite time within which to discover any fraud or misrepresentation made by the insured in the application for insurance and to take appropriate action to cancel the policy.”

In Manila Bankers, Delia Sotero was issued a life-insurance policy, with a face value of P100,000 on August 30, 1993.

On April 10, 1996, when the insurance policy had been in force for more than two years and seven months, Sotero died. After receiving the claim, the insurer denied the claim and refunded the premiums on the ground that the insurance policy was void ab initio for want of insurable interest. The insurer

pointed out that Sotero could not have personally applied for insurance, as she was illiterate and did not have the financial capacity to pay the premiums. The court upheld the trial court’s findings that it was Sotero herself who obtained the insurance and not an impostor. More important, invoking the incontestability clause, the Court ruled that the insurer is barred from proving that the policy is void ab initio by reason of the insured’s fraudulent concealment, or misrepresentation or want of insurable interest on the part of the beneficiary.

A matter of query is whether such fraudulent concealment or misrepresentation can be contested, and the payment of claims consequently denied, if the insured died during the contestability period or before the expiration of the two years within which the insurer should investigate as provided in the Insurance Code.

In Sun Life of Canada (Philippine) Inc. v. Sibya et al. (GR 211212, June 8, 2016), Jesus Sibya Jr. was issued a life-insurance policy on February 5, 2001, by Sun Life with Daisy Sibya, Jesus III and Jaime as the beneficiaries. The policy entitled them to a death benefit of P1,000,000 should Jesus die on or before February 5, 2021, or a sum of money if Jesus is still living on the endowment date.

In his application, Sibya indicated that he had undergone lithotripsy

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 A11

due to kidney stone at the National Kidney Institute and was discharged after three days with no recurrence.

On May 11, 2001, or less than two years later, Jesus died of a gunshot wound. Sun Life denied the claim and refunded the premiums paid on the ground that certain details about Jesus’s medical history were not disclosed in his application. Sun Life alleged that Jesus did not disclose in his application his previous medical treatment at the National Kidney Transplant Institute on May and August 1994, and that the insured was in “renal failure,” making him a highrisk individual.

The Supreme Court held, citing Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corp. v. Aban, that if the insured dies within the twoyear contestability period, the insurer is bound to make good its obligation under the policy regardless of the presence or lack of concealment or misrepresentation. The Court ruled that “the death of the insured within the two-year period will render the right of the insurer to rescind the policy nugatory. As such, the incontestability period will now set in.”

It should be noted that, while the Manila Bankers case did state that the insurer must make good on the policy if the insured dies within the two-year period, such was a mere obiter dictum.

A review of two previous cases (Tan et al. v. Court of Appeal et al.; Sunlife Assurance Co. of Canada v. Bacani) would show that the incontestability period does not set in if the insured dies during the contestable period.

In Emilio Tan et al. v. Court of Appeals et al. (GR 48049, June 29, 1989), Tan Lee Siong, was issued a life insurance by the Philippine American Life Insurance Co., effective on November 6, 1973. On April 26, 1975, or less than two years later, Tan Lee Siong died of hepatoma. On September 11, 1975, the insurer denied the claim and rescinded the policy on the ground of concealment and misrepresentation.

The Supreme Court ruled that the policy was in force for a period of only one year and five months, that the insurance company is not barred from proving that the policy is void ab initio by reason of the

insured’s fraudulent concealment or misrepresentation. It noted also that respondent company rescinded the contract of insurance and refunded the premiums paid on September 11, 1975, previous to the commencement of the action on November 27, 1975.

The insurer has two years from the date of issuance of the insurance contract or of its last reinstatement within which to contest the policy, whether, the insured still lives within such period.

After two years, the defenses of concealment or misrepresentation, no matter how patent or well founded, no longer lie. Congress felt this was a sufficient answer to the various tactics employed by insurance companies to avoid liability.

The petitioners’ interpretation would give rise to the incongruous situation where the beneficiaries of an insured who dies right after taking out and paying for a life-insurance policy, would be allowed to collect on the policy even of the insured fraudulently concealed material facts.

In Sunlife Assurance Co. of Canada v. Bacani (GR 105135, June 22, 1995), Robert Bacani procured a life insurance for himself from Sunlife on April 15, 1986. He designated his mother as beneficiary. On June 26, 1987, or less than two years later, Bacani died in a plane crash. Upon filing a claim, Sunlife rejected it on the ground that Bacani did not disclose material facts, thus rendering the insurance contract voidable. Bacani allegedly gave false statements in his application. He stated that he only had consultations with a doctor for cough and flu complications. The insurer had discovered that the insured was confined at the Lung Center of the Philippines, where he was diagnosed for renal failure. The Supreme Court ruled that the insurer properly exercised its right to rescind the contract of insurance by reason of the concealment by the insured. The rescission was exercised within the two-year contestability period under Section 48.

Dennis B. Funa is currently the deputy insurance commissioner for Legal Services of the Insurance Commission. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

His ‘Trump Card’ to victory threatens Wall Street Michael Makabenta Alunan

on the contrary

A

fter trailing behind Hillary Clinton by 10 percent about three weeks before the elections, Donald Trump suddenly surged to a statistical tie at 1 percent behind only a week before the elections, but finally swept the US polls, owing partly to his last-minute controversial, but substantive, October 27 statement that is threatening Wall Street and the “too-big-to-fail banks.”

Dis-United States, a polls’ alarm?

As of November 11, at 47.8 percent of votes counted, CNN reported that Clinton had higher popular votes at 61.03 million against Trump’s 60.37 million, although at this tally, Trump already won the presidency after exceeding the winning 270 electoral college votes when he got 290.

Clinton’s higher popular votes at early count triggered protests against Trump in about eight cities, with media networks allegedly fueling the division.

The protests, however, are expected to simmer down, as Clinton has conceded and called for unity, but more so because final election results show Trump has won not only the electoral colleges at 306, against Clinton’s two-thirds at 232; but he also won the popular votes as of November 13, at 62.97 million votes against Clinton’s 62.27 million votes.

Results defy Clinton’s expectations. Comparing performances of different sectors supporting Republican’s Mitt Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016, as well as those of Barack Obama in 2012 and Clinton’s 2016, Telegraph of United Kingdom reports that, contrary to expectations, Clinton lost as she failed to win over the blacks, Hispanics and female voters, despite Trump’s misogynist comments, sweeping snide remarks against Muslims and blacks, and the allusions of criminal involvement among 3 million Mexican immigrants.

Among women voters, Trump’s sexist comments caused a slight slip

from Romney’s 44-percent support in 2012 to only 42 percent, while Clinton’s support even dipped surprisingly from 55 percent to 54 percent.

Among Hispanics, Clinton’s support dropped from Obama’s peak of 71 percent in 2012 to only 65 percent, while Trump even inched upward from 27 percent to 29 percent. Among voters in small cities and rural areas, Trump surged from 50 percent to 62 percent, while Clinton plummeted from 48 percent to 34 percent, thus explaining why inner mid-west states turned Republican.

For those earning less than $50,000 a year, many of whom are blacks, support for Clinton dropped from Obama’s 60 percent in 2012 to only 52 percent, while Trump’s increased from 38 percent to 41 percent. For those from 18 to 29 years old, although they did remain the same from Romney to Trump at 37 percent, they were disappointed over Clinton and reduced their support from Obama’s 60 percent to only 54 percent.

From build a wall to break a wall?

So why the sudden shift? Although millions of intelligent and influential Americans detest Trump’s obnoxious ways, many shifted support when he announced boldly on October 27 that he will revive the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act of President Franklin Roosevelt.

Glass Steagall regulated and separated commercial and universal banking, bringing financial stability for 65 years. But since its repeal in 1999, even

pension plans of employees are securitized and traded as bonds, derivatives and hedge funds in a financial free market that has led to Wall Street’s casinolike operations of booms and busts, like the 2008 financial crisis.

It can be recalled former President Bill Clinton, who wanted to overhaul the financial architecture, faced resistance and was forced instead to repeal Glass Steagall under threat of losing the presidency over the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Since then, the Clintons have been beholden to Wall Street, with Clinton getting campaign contributions through $250,000 per dinner speeches.

With Trump’s pronouncements to bring back Steagall, while softening his stance on building a wall between Mexico, it appears he is now bent on breaking down another “wall”—Wall Street. This triggered jitters and ripples in global markets, but is welcomed by many Americans who feel displaced by globalization, Wall Street financial bubbles and the slumping real economy.

Surging financials as economy collapses. It is ironic that, while Wall Street’s “too-big-to-fail” banks failed several times, they were rescued often through bailouts, quantitative easings (QEs), almost zero interest rates, lower reserves, buyouts of their mortgagebacked securities, etc., like shots of adrenaline, or financial morphine, making them only more addicted and voracious.

Wall Street’s derivatives or fictitious debts have ballooned to over $708 trillion, way above the US GDP of about $15 trillion a year, or even bigger than the total global GDP of about $70 trillion a year.

While the bailouts and other measures simmered down the markets, they are building up another financial bubble, while the real economy collapses from neglect. It’s ironic again while the big banks are rescued, many small banks lending to small businesses that create real physical wealth, were forced into bankruptcy.

From 2007 to 2012 alone, scores of these small American banks closed shop.

Over the last 10 years, infrastructure spending by states and cities in the US have stagnated, says the Commerce

Department as reported by the Wall Street Journal on October 27. In fact, it is lower than in 2009.

Build peace, not war. Trump’s development plans are not yet clear, but by distancing from Obama’s and Clinton’s war mongering, costly military intervention in Syria, Iraq, Libya and the Middle East, the drone killings in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and dangerous provocations against Russia and China, he can find the right track being a pragmatic businessman.

Very likely, he may get America to join the win-win massive infrastructure thrusts of the coalition of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), China’s “New Silk Road”, “Maritime Silk Road” and “One Belt, One Road” initiatives of linking Asia to Europe and Africa through massive mag-lev railways, road networks and power systems, even rebuilding Middle East, starting with Egypt’s new Suez canal last year.

BRICS is helping build the World Land bridge across the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska and the projects all the way to South America, including railways and building a new canal across Nicaragua, similar to Panama canal. BRICS set up the New Development Bank, while China initiated the Asian Infrastructure & Investment Bank, in contrast to Obama’s posturing discouraging allies to join AIIB and excluding China from its Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump is scrapping.

While people abhor Trump, they find him now more acceptable with his developmental thrusts as they hate more the establishment represented by Obama and Clinton, who are more geared toward creating war and conflicts all over the world. But let’s see if he makes good with his words, because right after meeting with Obama, he reverses positions saying he will keep much of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, that has been building up tension with Russia being a remnant of the Cold War. Let’s see if Trump can be America’s Trump Card to revive its faltering economy, which is, ironically, breaking down Wall Street through Steagall.

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

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Wednesday, November 16, 2016

MAP tags seven provisions in Charter for amendment

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

he Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Tuesday presented to the House of Representatives its proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution that limit foreign ownership in the country.

During the first consultation process conducted by the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, MAP President Perry L. Pe told lawmakers that the country’s business sector wants at least seven sections in Article 12, Article 14 and Article 16 of the Charter amended.

“First of all, we would like to amend, basically the Article 12, Section 2 [the national economy and patrimony] of the Constitution that deals primarily with the utilization of natural resources, you know the natural resources owned by the state, by the government itself, but the utilization and exploitation of that can be given to foreign companies, or can be given

to any other Filipino entity who can match or who can be able to exploit that,” Pe said.

Under the Constitution, all lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the state. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated.

The exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the state.

The state shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea

and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

Pe also said businessmen want the lower chamber to amend a provision in the Charter that limits foreign land ownership in the Philippines.

“Second, Section 7, Article 12, which restricts land ownership, again, we have long-term land lease agreement that allows up to a maximum of 50, or maybe additional 25 more years. We think that, since land will be here and to develop land you need capital, if you open it up, we think that can spur [economic growth], especially countryside development,” he added.

The Constitution states that save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed, except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain.

Pe added the MAP is also pushing for the amendment of Section 10 of Article 12, which deals with capital restrictions in certain areas of investment.

“There are certain areas of investment that calls for massive capital infusion, capital outlay.

The fact is that, there’s only several

groups that can handle massive investments, and because of certain limitations on them imposed by the system…they may not be able to borrow more, because the amount of borrowing will be too much as far as the system is concerned. We think that should be opened up,” he said.

“If we allow them [foreigners] 100-percent ownership, I think Filipino companies can compete.

Filipino business groups are prepared to do the competition. We’re prepared to meet them head on,” Pe said.

Moreover, Pe said Congress should also amend or lift Section 11 of Article 12, which deals primarily with public-utility franchise.

“We think that [Section 11] can be amended and we think that [it] can be lifted,” he added.

Under Section 11, Article 12 of the Constitution, no franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under the laws of the Philippines, “at least 60 per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens; nor shall such See “MAP,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

FDC Misamis secures compliance certificate

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

he first two units of FDC Misamis Power Cor p.’s (FDC Misamis) 405-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental have started commercial operations following the issuance of certificate of compliance (COC) from the regulators.

After complying with the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) financial, technical and environmental requirements, FDC Misamis was awarded a COC for the first two units of the company’s 3x135-MW circulating fluidized bed (CFB) coal thermal plant.

The COC for the third unit is expected to be secured as soon as testing and commissioning are completed. It has undergone provisional acceptance and is operational.

Per ERC guidelines, all generation companies are required to secure COCs before they can commence commercial operations.

The power plant is owned and operated by FDC Misamis, a subsidiary of FDC Utilities Inc. and a member of the Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC). FDC Misamis is envisioned to end the recurring power crisis that has afflicted Mindanao for decades.

“Our plant will finally put an end to the recurring power crisis that has plagued the region and, hopefully, drive the much-needed

economic development in Mindanao,” FDC Misamis President Mario Pangilinan said.

Since the start of testing, FDC Misamis’s generating plants have been supplying power to customers and other energy players at dis-counted rates, greatly contributing to the stability of the Mindanao grid.

Long-term contractual commitments have been secured for more than 85 percent of the plant’s net capacity, with 18 distribution utilities and industrial customers throughout Mindanao.

Located in the Phividec Industrial Estate in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, the power plant is a multibillion-peso investment that uses the latest in clean coal technology—the CFB boiler technology. Considered as the cleanest process of burning coal, the technology is also known for having higher steam-generator efficiency, thus, lowering carbon emissions.

FDC, the holding company of the Gotianun-led Filinvest Group, is one of the Philippines’s leading conglomerates, with interests in property development, banking and financial services, hotel and resort management, power generation and the sugar industry. As of June 30, FDC had assets valued at P448.56 billion, with stockholders’ equity at P100.54 billion.