Businessmirror october 13, 2017

‘GOVT MUST CREATE MORE JOBS, CONTROL POPULATION GROWTH’ T

By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

he Philippines can catch up with the rest of the world if it would be able to control population growth, create more jobs by attracting more foreign direct investments (FDI) and having a “stable” government. This was the response of Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, “the man who made Malaysia,” to the BusinessMirror’s question of how the Philippines could catch up with the rest of the world shortly after he disembarked from a Malaysian Airlines plane on Thursday afternoon. When told that the Philippines used to be economically advanced than the rest of Southeast Asia in the not-toodistant past, Mahathir said: “Leaders must always care for the people and work for the people; leaders never work for themselves.” Mahathir is in the country for an overnight stay on the invitation of the Financial Executives Institute of the

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Philippines (Finex), according to its president, Benedicta Du-Baladad. Baladad said the conference’s theme is “Barriers in Asian Financial Integration.” “We thought we will invite Mahathir to get some thoughts from the man who made Malaysia and who made a big contribution in this part of the world,” she said. Baladad added that Mahathir and former President Fidel V. Ramos were invited to grace the Asian Leaders Forum, that will be held at a hotel in Makati City on Thursday night. Mahathir will be leaving for Kuala Lumpur on Friday. The BusinessMirror asked Mahathir what he would Continued on A2

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad (right) arrived in the country on Thursday and was welcomed by Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) President Benedicta Du-Baladad. Mahathir is the keynote speaker of the 49th Finex National Conference, which will be held in a Makati City hotel on Friday. Nonie Reyes

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Friday, October 13, 2017 Vol. 13 No. 2

Bill setting high rice tariffs vice QR advances in House

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie & Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

he Philippines is inching closer to finally scrapping the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice after a substitute bill mandating its abolition has been approved by a technical working group (TWG) in the House of Representatives.

The TWG created by the House Committee on Agriculture and Food approved on Wednesday the substitute bill that would amend Republic Act (RA) 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, the law which enabled the government to impose the rice QR since 1996.

The antidote to smuggling Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

Make Sense A series on how smuggling is done and how it can be solved

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Continued on A10

See “Bill,” A2

@jonlmayuga

See “Biodiversity,” A12

PESO exchange rates n US 51.4670

BMReports

If federalism is the solution, what is the main problem?

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iodiversity investment in the Philippines remains wanting despite its huge potential to contribute to the country’s growth and development, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said. Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) pointed this out during the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum with members of the Aliw Media Group on Thursday. She emphasized the need for biodiversity integration in business plans and programs. Lim said that, amid the global campaign for biodiversity protection and conservation, the DENR—being the primary government agency in charge of managing the country’s natural wealth—aims to encourage more businesses to integrate biodiversity into their business plans and programs. Although there are some companies that are starting to invest in environmental protection, she said their advocacy for biodiversity integration is not yet broadly recognized. “Our objective is for more businesses to integrate biodiversity into their plans and programs. Right now, I cannot say that our advocacy is broadly recognized,” she added.

Part 3

muggling comes in many forms. As mentioned in my two earlier columns, smuggling is being done at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) through undervaluation, underdeclaration, misdeclaration and misclassification. All these smuggling schemes are done within the BOC premises, from the time an entry is filed to the time the shipment is released from BOC-regulated ports. But there are other smuggling schemes being done at Customs bonded warehouses (CBW). A CBW is a warehousing facility approved by the BOC where manufacturers store their imported raw materials or intermediate products, less its payment for duties and taxes, to be manufactured or processed into finished products for re-export.

Biodiversity investment in PHL still wanting–Lim By Jonathan L. Mayuga

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400 percent The bound tariff rate that the House technical working group wants to impose on imported rice

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By Alladin S. Diega | Correspondent

B ALIW Media Group Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon (left) and BusinessMirror Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon sign a memorandum of agreement with Department of Environment and Natural Resources Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim for the launch of “Mission: PHL”, the BusinessMirror Envoys&Expats Awards, at the BusinessMirror’s office in Makati City. Related story on A4. ALYSA SALEN

Conclusion

ENEDICTO Bacani, executive director of the private group Institute for Autonomy and Governance, looks to the East for solutions to issues in the southern Philippines. According to Bacani, to solve the Mindanao problem, with its multilevel issues and cultural, ethnolinguistic conflict, the Philippines should embrace a federal form of government. “Federalism is the best political system,” Bacani said in a forum in

Zamboanga in September. “We’ve seen that in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. And now Nepal, Malaysia, as well as the Philippines, are looking at it to solve the multi-ethnicity issues in a pluralistic society.” According to Bacani, the unitary form of government is one of the reasons the peace agreement cannot be fully achieved in Mindanao. “Actually, you don’t really need to shift to the federal system for the sake of the peace agreements’ implementation,” Bacani said. “You only need to amend the Constitution to accommodate it; meaning, Continued on A2

n japan 0.4575 n UK 68.0651 n HK 6.5921 n CHINA 7.8120 n singapore 38.0083 n australia 40.0774 n EU 61.0450 n SAUDI arabia 13.7242

Source: BSP (12 October 2017 )

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A2 Friday, October 13, 2017

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If federalism is the solution, what is the main problem? Continued from A1

you can have a substate feature under a unitary system as long as it is provided in the Constitution.” However, Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow Rosario Manasan also cited Pakistan as a model of federalism’s failure. “One of the strongest examples is the old Pakistan, which broke [away from] the present Pakistan with its former eastern part formed into Bangladesh,” Manasan said in the same forum. “Of course were not saying that would automatically happen to us.” She emphasized against making federalism as a magic bullet against resolving conflicts. “Federalism would not necessarily prevent conflicts, as the experience from other countries [like Pakistan] show.”

Sovereignty

STILL, Hezekiah Concepcion, professor at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University , believes federalism can facilitate conflict-resolution better than the current unitary form. He cited the US federal system for “a wealth of examples”. Federal states can immediately act on the issues affecting their citizens without resorting to the national government, which would take time, Concepcion said. “Among the Tausugs, for instance, there are cases that, according to our legal system, constitute homicide but [which] they can

resolve among themselves,” he said. “There are family issues that can be resolved at the community level [by] applying local customs and traditions. These practices can be adopted and institutionalized in the areas of conflict resolution.” He said that, in the Philippines, these practices would probably address the concerns of Filipino Muslims, as their culture is distinct, albeit they are part of a larger “nation” concept. However, for Naguib Sinarimbo, co-convener of the Bangsamoro Study Group, the Bangsamoro question, when translated into legal terms, is the issue of sovereignty. “The issue of Moro is the lack of self-determination.” Sinarimbo said the sovereignty of the Bangsamoro was lost when Spain sold the Philippines to the Americans in 1898. Prior to 1898, Sulu and Maguindanao are already full states. The sultanates have their own territory, people, government and sovereignty. “Now, we still have the Bangsamoro, the people, the government, and only the sovereignty is lacking,” he said. “Sovereignty is the only thing that is not provided by the constitution.”

Decentralization

AT the same forum, Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, pointed not on the issue of sovereignty but on decentralization. Bacani ex plained that the

current decentralization is governed by the national government through the Local Government Code (LGC). It is decentralization from the national government down to the regions, provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays. “The political power is merely coordinative. There’s a planning body, but it has no political power,” he said. “This is fine in itself but, if we remain to be within the confines of this, with the local government units, you only decentralized functions.” According Bacani, the second type of decentralization is through autonomous regions, which the Philippines has two: the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) . “In the Cordilleras, they don’t have organic law. The decentralization [there] is based on an executive order,” Bacani said. “But this is a special kind of decentralization, under Section 10 of the Constitution. You have the national government there, [true], but, for the first time, we have the second-tier or middle-level government, which are the autonomous regions.”

Elements

BACANI explained that, unlike the regional development councils, or RDCs, the autonomous regions have political powers. “They are governments in themselves. They have their own legislature, regional assembly, policy-making body,

executive powers and, to a certain degree, judicial powers,” he said. “This so in the case of the ARMM, [which is implemented] through the Sharia Courts.” According to Bacani, if the country shifts to a federal system, there will now be a middle-tier government not only for the ARMM or the CAR but in all of the regions. “[It all depends] on how you will divide it, but you will really divide the Philippines, just like what you did with the ARMM and the CAR.”

Symmetry

HOWEVER, Bacani, whose Mindanao-based organization has been lobbying for peace in Mindanao, emphasized “that the kind of decentralization here [autonomous regions], under a political principle, is share [in power] or self-rule.” “Hence, our political system actually already contains elements of federalism.” The controversy, according to him, lies in federal states sharing power with the central government, which is expressed as “shared sovereignty”. He added that some federal government proposals are shying away from the actual sovereignty. But that cannot be helped because that’s “one requirement of federalism”, he said. Bacani added if politicians decide to pursue decentralization further and embrace the principle of shared rule the Constitution provides for the assignment of powers,

‘Govt must create more jobs, control population growth’ Continued from A1

talk about during the conference, and he replied it would have something to do with economics and Asean countries. When it was pointed out that the Asean seems fragmented and could not manage to get a solid voice on sensitive topics, such as the South China Sea, Mahathir replied: “Because leaders nowadays change very frequently. So, when leaders change, that kind of camaraderie they develop through discussion and understanding are no longer available.” He added, however, a caveat that a leader staying too long in office could also pose a problem. Queried for the ideal term, he said: “Two terms would be ideal.”And, yet, Mahathir’s term of 22 years was one of the longest in Asia, having ruled the Malaysian Peninsula from July 16, 1981, to October 31, 2003.

Former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos (left) welcomes former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad during the Asean Leaders Forum organized by the Asean Society Philippines, P&G Grant Thornton and the EON Group held at a hotel in Makati City on Thursday. The two leaders led the panel discussion during the first in a series of initiatives that aims to raise greater awareness and education about the Asean as a region of growth and opportunity. ALYSA SALEN

“the central government has put limits to its sovereignty in favor of regional states”. “And these powers cannot just be taken back like under the unitary system where the decentralization is merely administrative even if it has decentralized the power,” Bacani said. “Because that [decentralization of power] is still under the context of unitary where relationship is basically symmetric, or ‘of the same parts’.”

Grounding

FOR Emmanuel Miral Jr., director general of the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, there’s another reason the 1987 Constitution birthed the autonomous regions and, later, inspired the enactment of the local government. “The seeds for decentralization [federalism] are actually contained within the Constitution itself,” he said at the same forum. What Miral is worried is if federalism can really address another fetter, which is patronage politics. He added this patronage system is so entrenched up to the barangay level, notwithstanding the LGC, which supposedly “frees” the local leaders from control coming from the national leadership. “The local leaders need the support of the national leaders who control vast resources, and the national leaders need the local leaders who have direct control of the voters,” Miral said. “This

Bill. . .

Continued from A1

Under the substitute bill, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, the Philippines will impose a 400-percent bound tariff rate on imported rice once the QR on the staple is abolished. “In lieu of the QR on rice, the maximum bound rate shall be as notified by the Philippines to the [World Trade Organization, or WTO],” the substitute bill read. The House Committee on Agriculture and Food will deliberate over the substitute bill once Congress resumes session after its Halloween break. Once the substitute bill is enacted into law, the country’s minimum access volume (MAV) for rice shall revert to its 2012 level at 350,000 metric tons (MT), from the current 805,000 MT. “Upon the effectivity of this act, the MAV will revert to its 2012 level at 350,000 MT, as indicated in the Philippines’s commitment to the WTO,” the substitute bill read. Under the bill, the Philippines will impose a bound tariff rate of 35 percent for rice originating from the Asean region, regardless of its volume. Manila would also impose a 40-percent bound tariff most-favored nation (MFN) rate for inquota rice imports from countries that do not belong to the Asean. A 400-percent bound tariff MFN rate shall apply for rice imports outside the MAV of 350,000 MT sourced from non-Asean member-countries, according to the bill. Notably, the substitute bill indicates that the National Food Authority (NFA) will be allowed to import rice without having to secure certification from the NFA Council. However, the NFA shall only import rice for the sole purpose of securing its buffer stock. “The [NFA] shall only undertake the direct importation of rice for the purpose of ensuring fod security and maintaining sufficient national buffer stocks,” the bill read. Furthermore, the substitute bill stipulated that the private sector can import rice, provided that they would comply with the NFA’s rules and regulations. “For importation other than maintaining buffer stock, the [NFA] shall allocate import quotas among certified and licensed importers,” it read. The President is vested with the power to modify the tariff rates imposed on the country’s rice imports, upon the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the

symbiotic relationship feeds the patronage system.”

Structure

ACCORDING to Miral, voters, therefore, do not choose leaders on the basis of policy programs or ideology but on the basis of distribution of the patronage. This not only weakens the quality of programs being channeled to the citizens but also removes accountability from the public officials. “This is also manifested in how our development plan is structured, including the budgeting. Instead of integrated factoring, the components are divided ‘sectorally’,” Miral said. “The government is also organized vertically, which prevents [it] from addressing problems that are geographical in nature.” He added that real government coordination can only happen on the ground. “So the highly centralized government cannot really reach its people who are [on] the ground.” Still, Miral and the other experts agree the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines provides the elbow room for tweaking the country’s political system. Also, they all agree that, whether the country moves to apply a new form of how leaders govern, it is still the Filipino who should determine how they should be governed. Likewise, Bacani offers this caveat: “If we are going to change, at least we should change for the better and not just for the sake of it.”

NFA Council. The President, through an executive order, can adjust the applied tariff rates on rice only when Congress is not in session. Also, the President is allowed to immediately reduce rice tariffs in times of “imminent or forecasted shortage”. “In the event of any imminent or forecast shortage, or such other situation requiring government intervention, the President is empowered for a limited period of time and/or a specified volume, to allow the importation of rice at a lower applied tariff rate, to address the situation,” the bill read. “Such order shall take effect immediately, and can be issued even when Congress is in session.” The President is also empowered to restrict the entry of imported rice to protect the local sector from sudden or extreme price fluctuations due to unexpected surges of imports. “The President may, following a recommendation from the DA and the NFA Council, impose temporary regulations or restrictions on the volume of imports of rice for a temporary period through the imposition of a rice safeguard tariff sufficient in level to address the situation,” the bill read. The bill stipulated that the DA and the NFA Council shall craft the rules and regulations governing the special safeguard on rice. House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chair Party-list Rep. Jose T. Panganiban Jr. of Anac-IP earlier told the BusinessMirror that they plan to approve the bill on third and final reading before the end of the year. The authority to set bound tariffs is vested in Congress. But, under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the President, upon the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority, has the power to modify the tariffs applied on Philippine imports. The Philippines is under pressure to convert its QR on rice into ordinary customs duties after its waiver on the special treatment on rice expired on June 30. The WTO General Council approved the waiver, which allowed Manila to keep its rice QR until June 30, on the condition that the Philippines will subject its rice imports to ordinary custom duties by July 1. In March the Philippines informed WTO members that it is facing delays in converting the QR because it has not amended RA 8178, which imposed the import caps on rice indefinitely. As a sign of “goodwill” to its trading partners, President Duterte signed Executive Order 23 in July to extend the concessions made by the Philippines in securing the waiver in 2014.

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PDEA lead ushers new tack in war vs drugs­­–Palace By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

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he Duterte administration is aiming to implement the war on drugs with a different approach when it decided to tap on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to lead antidrug operations, according to Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella. At a news briefing on Monday, Abella said the government expects a higher standard of antidrug operations now that the PDEA will be the sole agency to implement the war on drugs. He added the PDEA is instructed to elevate the crackdown on illegal drugs and to widen the scope of the administration’s flagship campaign. “[The] PDEA will now bring policy focus, expert performance standards, high-level coordination of oversight and centralized intelligence collection to the war on drugs. The PDEA will also lead in the establishing [of ] a broad antidrug coalition, working with agencies, LGUs [local government units], civil society, the Church, business, academe and [the] media to push prevention and rehabilitation initiatives,” Abella said. Asked if President Duterte was disappointed with the performance

of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Abella only has this to say: “It’s not a question of failure, it’s a question of more effectivity, optimizing the efforts and [the government is] widening the scope of responsibility.” The President on Tuesday ordered the military and police to leave the antidrug operations to the PDEA in order to streamline the crackdown on illegal drugs. “Pursuant to the aforequoted provisions of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and in order to bring order to the operation/ campaign against illegal drugs, thus pinpointing precise accountability, I hereby direct the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Customs, Philippine Postal Office and all other agencies or any and all ad hoc antidrug task force, to leave to the PDEA, as sole agency, the conduct of all campaigns and operations against all those who, directly or indirectly, and in whatever manner or capacity, are involved in or connected with, illegal drugs,” Duterte said. The President also tasked the militar y and police to transfer to the PDEA all information and data with regard to the war on drugs.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, October 13, 2017 A3

Chief Justice Sereno: Truth is on my side C By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HIEF Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno has shrugged off the apparent indifference of judges and court employees in her current plight, saying that she is confident to hurdle the impeachment proceedings against her because the truth is on her side. In her speech during the annual convention of the Philippine Trial Judges League in Palo, Leyte, on Wednesday, the beleaguered chief magistrate said she remains “calm, chill and serene” amid the ongoing impeachment proceedings against her before the House of Representatives. “To tell you the truth, I don’t not feel as embattled as the news stories may portray me to be.... I am like this because I know that the truth is on my side and, in a time of constant spin, when narratives are coopted to serve the personal agenda of a few, the truth is our bedrock,” Sereno said. In fact, Sereno added she would not ask for a show of support from the judges, court employees or those in the legal circle, as this would only destroy the judiciary in the long term.

The Chief Magistrate added she has “enough faith in the truth to sleep soundly at night”. “I did not come here to, as some would advise, rally the troops and ask you to wear armbands or hold placards for me,” Sereno told the judges. “I know that, ultimately, such political maneuverings can only erode our branch of government in the long term, however, gratifying it may be at the moment. I have no interest in feeding my ego,” she stated. The Chief Justice said she continues to perform her duties and remain unfazed by the impeachment charges. She also urged judges to just continue performing their tasks and not to be sidetracked by her impeachment. “Colleagues, the greatest battle for the

democratic system is not happening in the newspapers…that is overblown, or in other… halls in Manila.… The real battle is happening in your courtrooms,” Sereno said. She told the judge to “work hard, work with integrity, be honest in all your dealings and defend the Constitution as we all swore to do”. “Remain steadfast in the conduct of your duties; zone out of politics and decide on your cases with openness, sobriety and fairness,” Sereno added. Sereno made the statement after the House Committee on Justice, voting 25-2, declared there was sufficiency in grounds to proceed with the hearing on the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon. It was earlier reported that Sereno has met with leaders of employees’ unions in the judiciary in an apparent move to gather support while she faces impeachment proceedings before Congress. During the impeachment of the late Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, employees even took time from their lunch breaks to march along Padre Faura street in black shirts and black armbands and even covered the bronze statues of former chief justices Cayetano Arellano and Jose Abad Santos with black cloths to protest what they said was the “death of democracy”. The judges’ associations also issued similar statements of support for the late Supreme Court chief.

Economy

A4 Friday, October 13, 2017 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

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DENR allots P30 million for Philippine Rise biodiversity research, exploration

Director Theresa S. Mundita-Lim (center) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau poses for a souvenir snapshot with D. Edgard A. Cabangon (right), chairman of the Aliw Media Group, and T. Anthony C. Cabangon, publisher of the the BusinessMirror, during the BusinessMirror Coffee Club at the Dominga III building in Makati City, on Thursday. Rudy Nisperas

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

ecretary Roy A. Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has approved a P30-million budget allocation for biodiversity research in the Philippine Rise, the country’s newest territory, 250 kilometers off Aurora province.

Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), speaking during a forum with members of

the Aliw Media Group on Thursday, said the budget will be used to explore the vastly unexplored regions in the underwater plateau.

Formerly called Benham Rise, the shallowest portion of the underwater plateau called Benham Bank has been previously explored, wherein experts assessed that it has a 100-percent perfect coral cover. Lim said more exploration is needed to discover “hidden treasures in the Philippine Rise, and to come up with a management framework that would best identify the sustainable use of the resources found in the area”. The Philippine Rise is designated as a “protected food supply exclusive zone” by the Philippine government in May 2017. As a protected area (PA), mining and oil exploration is banned at the Benham Plateau. To recall, the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)

was granted the same amount for a mineral-exploration project in the area, which is, according to experts, could be a potential source of manganese. Aside from the DENR, the Department of Energy (DOE) is also eyeing to explore the area as a potential source of natural gas. The area remains unprotected against large-scale commercial fishing. It was earlier reported that foreign commercial fishing vessels have been sighted in the area to catch commercially viable fish, particularly tuna. Environmental advocates are pushing for the development of a management framework for the Philippine Rise to protect the area from destructive development projects. During the forum, Lim noted that it is important to exercise prudence before coming up with a development project, which may endanger the rich marine biodiversity of the area. She noted that scientists who have conducted initial exploration in the area discovered that the Philippine Rise is a spawning ground for commercially viable fish, like the bluefin tuna. According to Lim, with the P30million funding for biodiversity research, the DENR-BMB will be able to conduct more exploration and discover new species of corals, fish and other marine life. “Of course, we will pick up from the previous explorations conducted in the area like the UP Marine Science Institute and Oceana Philippines. We can learn more about the Philippine Rise because, so far, only the Benham Bank have been explored,” Lim said. Lim added the DENR-BMB has a proposal to declare a portion of the Philippine Rise a PA, noting that “much is to be lost than to be gained” if the area with perfect corals will be destroyed to extract minerals or natural gas.

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Legislators question ERC delay in approval of power projects By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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ouse leaders are urging the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to fast-track the approval of the applications to build power plants in the country. House Minority Leader Rep. Danilo E. Suarez of the Third District of Quezon said new power plants are needed to help generate much-needed power baseload for the country. With the ERC’s “conflicting” application process, Suarez said the country might lose the opportunity to address the alarming thinning power reserve. He said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) last month issued five yellow alerts, a situation when reserve power falls below the required level. “Remember the dark days when we had to buy and commission gas-powered barges? It is crucial for the energy body to give the green light to applicants that complied with the regulatory requirements the authority to construct their power plants,” said Suarez after the House Committee on Energy hearing on the reported Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) “midnight deals” on Wednesday. For his part, Rep. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco of the Lone District of Marinduque, chairman of the House Committee on Energy, said the country’s energy demand is increasing at 4.9 percent, or equivalent to 600 megawatts (MW) additional capacity required per year. He added 20 percent of the country’s existing power plants are more than 30 years old, which may now have some reliability issues. “We cannot keep delaying these projects as we need stability of energy supply. If there are shutdowns by these old plants, that will mean a spike in prices,” Velasco said. “We need to stop pointing fingers and putting malice, and already start these new projects,” he added.

4.9% The yearly increase in the country’s energy demand, roughly equivalent to 600 MW additional capacity required per annum Delay

Suarez also asked the ERC to explain the delays in the approval of the power-supply agreements (PSAs) of Atimonan One, a coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon. He said Atimonan One submitted the application in 2012, which is one of the seven PSAs entered into with Meralco, but still being evaluated by ERC. The PSA is a regulatory requirement to construct power plants, of generation companies. “We have to quickly resolve this and be considerate with investors; time is cost if we continue to delay the approval process,” Suarez said. Earlier, Meralco told lawmakers in a hearing that there were actually more than 90 PSAs that were filed by different distribution utilities and electric cooperatives following the ERC resolution restating the effectivity of the competitive selection process (CSP). However, some of these PSAs were being questioned by lawmakers. Meralco PSAs at the ERC include power supply agreements on the construction of coal-fired power plants with the following: Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (225 MW); Atimonan One Energy Inc. (1,200 MW); Saint Raphael Power Generation Corp. (400 MW); Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. (528 MW); Mariveles Power Generation Corp. (528 MW); Panay Energy Development Corp. (70 MW); and Global Luzon Energy Development Corp. (600 MW).

Palace appoints OICs for DOH and DICT Perks eyed for local players in PUV modernization program

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resident Duterte has appointed undersecretaries of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) as temporary leaders of the two agencies while he surveys the field for replacements. To “ensure the continuous and effective delivery of public service”,

the President has tapped Health Undersecretary Herminigildo V. Valle and Information Undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. as officers in charge (OIC) of the DOH and the DICT, respectively. The appointment papers were signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea by authority of the President. T he appointment of Va l le

came two days after former Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. RosellUbial was rejected by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA). The CA on Tuesday voted to remove Ubial after bypassing her twice. Ubial became the fifth Duterte appointee to be rejected by the CA, joining removed Cabinet members Perfecto R. Yasay Jr., Regina Paz L. Lopez, Judy M. Taguiwalo and Rafael V. Mariano. On the other hand, the appointment of Rio came in light of the resignation of former Information Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima, who quit as a Cabinet member in September. Salalima said he stepped down as information chief because he can no longer deal with corruption and interference in the DICT. He added his deal with Duterte was “no interference, no corruption” under his leadership in the information department. Salalima was the first Cabinet member to resign. However, the Chief Executive has said he asked Salalima, who was his former classmate at the San Beda College of Law, to resign for reportedly favoring a telecommunications company. “Many are complaining to me that he seemed to be partial because he was vice president of Globe [Telecoms Inc.], but I know that,” the President said in a television interview. Valle earned his medical degree at the Far Eastern University and received residency and fellowships at the Long Island College Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Hospital, respectively. He was the first Filipino to become the medical chief of staff of Seton Hospital in Daly City, California. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will prioritize local assemblers for the manufacturing subprogram under the public-utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program of the transportation department. “If we’re going to give incentives, we’ll make sure it’s for those that are built here. We can’t give incentives to CBUs [completely built units]. We’re promoting local bodybuilders, then allow different platforms to be used,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said during the first Philippine Auto Parts Expo (Philapex) on Thursday. Lopez clarified that even as the guidelines have yet to be the finalized, the incentive framework for their eco-PUV program will likely be geared toward local bodybuilders. Given the program’s intent to spur local assembly, parts makers and bodybuilders are on discussions to allow CBUs to participate in the program, even without incentives. “These type of prototypes take about 1,000 man-hours to make.

[The government asks] why there aren’t jobs, but then they’re opening the program to imported buses,” Hino Manufacturing Corp. Chairman Vicente T. Mills lamented. “We’re just saying give the local makers an advantage,” he said. Hino released its prototype offerings to Class 2 and 3 of the PU V moder nization prog ram during the first Philapex. These types have a price cap directed by the trade department’s Bureau of Product Standards. The program’s bodybuilder participants include Centro Manufacturing Corp., Almazora Motors Corp., Del Monte Motors, Hino Motors Philippines Corp. and Santa Rosa Motorworks Inc. Platform suppliers include Isuzu, Toyota, Hyundai, Tata, PhUV Inc., IKK Ichigan Inc., Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. Fuso and Foton Motors Philippines. These suppliers will not be offered incentives, as they will be producing existing and generic parts for the

modern jeepneys, such as the power train, chassis and engines. Ferdinand I. Raquelsantos, Philippine Parts Makers Association president, announced some 500 units of these Filipino-made PUVs under different platform brands will already be released before the official eco-PUV program start in July 2018. Hino will produce 20 to 30 of the initial 150 units being eyed for release by December. “By year-end, we’ll have 150 units in select routes, with an additional 300 units in the first quarter of next year. Roughly some 500 units before the program starts,” he said. The Department of Transportation is setting the replacement unit count for all these manufacturers at 200,000 to be replaced within a sixyear period. Platform-supplier participants will compete among themselves to sell to transport cooperatives and operators for a share of this initial 200,000 units.

Transport groups to shun Piston-led jeepney strike on October 16 and 17

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ajor transport groups assured the public on Thursday they will have no part in yet another transport strike that would be staged by the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) on October 16 and 17 in protest of the public-utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program. The Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (Acto), Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas, Alliance

of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines and Pangkalahatang Sanggunian Manila and Suburbs Drivers Association denied Piston’s claims that they support the jeepney strike that aims paralyze public transportation nationwide. The transport groups said the PU V moder nization prog ram seeks to overhaul the public transportation system to meet safety, energy efficiency and emission standards in order to enhance commuter convenience. “We will not be joining the

transport strike. The Department of Transportation has assured to us that there will be no phase out of jeepneys. The PUV modernization only wants to ensure the security of passengers and to have an environmentally sustainable mode of transportation,” Acto President Efren de Luna said at a news conference on Wednesday in Quezon City. The transport groups appealed to Piston to support the PUV modernization program and come up with alternative policies that would address their concerns. PNA

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, October 13, 2017

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Farm-gate price of palay still above P19/kg–PSA By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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P11.49 per kg, from P11.33 per kg a year ago. On a weekly basis, the price was higher by 0.53 According to the same PSA report, the average farm-gate price of yellow corn in the fourth week of September gained a 0.53-percent increment on a weekly basis. “Price increments of 0.67 percent from previous week’s level and 22.73 percent from a yearago quotation were registered for white corn grain during the week. The average farm-gate price this week was posted at P14.51 per kg,” the PSA said. The country’s rice supply is expected to get a boost, as harvest will start this month, and imports have started arriving. As of October 4 the National Food Authority (NFA) said a total of 178,392 metric tons (MT), or 82.16 percent, of the 250,000 MT contracted by the food agency, were already delivered to various ports in the country. The remaining volume of about 65,600 MT, or 15.44 percent, were either in transit or at laycan, while 6,000 MT have yet to be shipped from Vietnam, according to the NFA. “While there is a slight delay in the arrival of part of the rice imports, the NFA has enough stocks to supply the needs of relief-giving agencies and local government units should such need arise,” NFA Administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino said. As of September 28 the NFA said it has procured a total of 299,506 bags of palay under its regular procurement program and Farmers Option to Buy Back. The NFA buys clean and dry palay at P17 per kg, with additional incentives totaling to P0.70 to P1 per kg for delivery (P0.20 to P0.50 per kg), drying (P0.20 per kg) and cooperative incentive fee (P0.30 per kg).

@jearcalas

he average farm-gate price of unmilled rice rose by nearly 5 percent to P19.33 per kilogram in the fourth week of September, from P18.45 per kg a year ago, according to the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

File photo

Data from the PSA also showed that the average farm-gate price of paddy rice had remained above P19 per kg during the lean months, when rice harvest goes down significantly. On a weekly basis, however, farmgate price was slightly lower than the previous week’s record of P19.46 per kg, according to the PSA report titled, “Updates on Palay Price and Corn Prices”. Data from the PSA showed that the average retail price of regular milled rice during the period also went up by 1.52 percent to P38.05 per kg, from P37.47 per kg a year ago. “The average wholesale price of regular milled rice this week was pegged at P35.55 per kg. This was cheaper than previous week’s level by 0.26 percent. Likewise, the average retail price of regular milled rice at P38.05 per kg declined by

0.05 percent during the week,” the report read. On an annual basis, the PSA noted that the average wholesale and retail prices of well-milled rice went up. “The average wholesale price of well-milled rice at P39.31 per kg posted a growth of 1.66 percent, from a year ago level of P38.67 per kg. At the retail trade, the average price of P42.27 per kg gained by 1.19 percent compared to the same period in the previous year,” the report read. On a weekly basis, the average wholesale price of well-milled rice went down by 0.21 percent, from P39.40 per kg in the third week of September. Retail price was also lower by 0.14 percent. Data from the PSA also showed that the average farm-gate price of yellow corn in the fourth week of September rose by 1.45 percent to

DA to rehabilitate mango trees in Davao region

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he Department of Agriculture (DA) will rehabilitate 110 hectares of mango trees in the Davao region to address the declining mango production in the region. Based on the list submitted by the Samahang Magmamangga sa Davao Region (SMDR) to DA-High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), Davao del Sur will have the largest area for rehab covering 63 hectares. This is followed by Davao Oriental with 20 hectares, Davao City and Davao del Norte with 12 hectares each, Davao Occidental with 2 hectares and 1 hectare for Compostela Valley Province. Through the “Techno-demo for

by the local government units and the SMDR,” Provido added. Recipients are also required to attend training and must adopt recommended technologies on mango production, such as appropriate fertilization and pruning techniques, including good agricultural practices. The DA said the coop was prioritized, as they have 1 to 5 hectares of old mango trees that need immediate rehab. In August 30 the DA-HVCDP turned over its rehab assistance to the officers of Habagatang Davao Mango Marketing Cooperative in a simple ceremony at the provincial agriculture office in Digos City, Davao del Sur.

Rehabilitation and Productivity Enhancement of Existing Mango Trees in Davao Region,” the DA will provide assistance, such as the provision of flower inducer, foliar and granulated fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide and plastic crates. “The unproductive trees that will be rehabilitated should be at least 10 years old and above with location within the mango cluster areas,” DAHVCDP Regional Coordinator Melani Provido said in a statement. “Farmers who intend to avail themselves of rehab assistance must be accredited members of farmers’s organization or cooperative identified

SL Agritech, NSC ink MOA to help farmers in India boost rice output

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ocal hybrid rice-seed producer SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) has partnered with state-run National Seed Corp. Ltd. (NSC) to produce hybrid rice seeds, which could increase the output of farmers in India. SLAC on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the NSC to kick-start the production of F-1 seeds of its hybrid rice-seed variety, SL-8H, in India this year. “We have expanded to many countries, such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and Myanmar. We are now entering India by collaborating with the NSC,” SLAC Chairman and CEO Henry Lim told reporters in a news briefing. “Hybrid rice is one of the technologies that can do wonders. You don’t have to expand your rice areas or irrigate more lands. You just have to change the seeds to immediately increase your yield,” Lim added. Through SL-8H, Lim said India’s average paddy-rice yield of 3 metric tons (MT) per hectare could easily go up to more than 10 MT per hectare. Kuldeep Singh, senior general manager for the NSC, said the production of SL-8H in India would help improve the productivity of their farmers and ensure their country’s food security. “Out of more than 40 million hectares of land, only 2.5 million hectares are producing hybrid rice. Just to maintain food security in our country, we needed to explore the production of hybrid rice seeds,” Singh said.

Ohio hands out fines over fish kills caused by farm manure

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OLEDO, Ohio—The operators of three agriculture businesses have been told to pay more than $30,000 for three large fish kills that Ohio’s natural resources department says were caused by livestock manure spread on fields. Investigators think ammonia-laden manure put onto the fields in northwestern Ohio ahead of rainstorms in August washed into creeks and caused the fish kills. An Ohio law put in place to combat algae in Lake Erie prohibits farmers from putting manure on fields before heavy rains because the manure also contains phosphorous that feeds algae. State officials say the manure spills killed close to 67,000 fish—including minnows and sunfish—in creeks in Williams, Allen and Hardin counties. They say the biggest spill killed 37,000 fish near Delphos in early August. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said it finished its investigations into the fish kills and sent

This August 3, 2014, file photo shows an algae bloom along the shore of Lake Erie in Oregon, Ohio. Ty Wright for The Washington Post via Getty Images/Bloomberg

letters last week to three people it found responsible. The fines were issued to Dan

Wagner, of Kenton; David Youngpeter, of Spencerville; and Mike Bockey, of Delphos. Messages seeking comment

were left with all three on Wednesday. The state said in the letters that it could seek higher penalties if the three parties challenge the fines in court. Officials have said that the manure spills did not cause any long-term damage in the creek and that fish had returned within weeks. The fish kills again put a spotlight on questions about how farmers are disposing of manure and the impact that has on waterways, especially in the Lake Erie region. Ohio, along with Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario, have agreed to sharply reduce the amount of phosphorus from farm fertilizers, livestock manure and sewage-treatment plants that flows into the lake’s western end within the next 10 years. But many environmental groups argue that the state needs stricter rules on disposing manure and that voluntary efforts are not enough. Agriculture organizations in the state have been leading efforts to educate farmers about how to properly use fertilizer and manure. AP

“We saw this SL-8H in Bangladesh, and we decided to meet our board of directors and our government to sign a MOA with SL Agritech for seed production,” he added. Singh said they initially plan to produce SL-8H seeds in 10 hectares in Karnataka region this year and expand it to 100 hectares by next year. NSC would produce at least 2 MT per hectare of SL-8H, but Lim said this could go up to 4 MT per hectare under “ideal conditions”. “Some 15 to 20 kilograms of seeds are needed for 1 hectare, which could produce more than 10 MT per hectare,” he added. The NSC has a seed-processing capacity of 2.13 million metric tons (MMT) and a storage capacity of 1.05 MMT, according to Singh. The state-owned company has 22,000 hectares of land dedicated to seed production. Singh said the NSC plans to double the area planted with hybrid rice to 5 million hectares, from 2.5 million hectares, within five years. Last June SLAC also signed a MOA with Bangladesh-based EnP Solutions for F-1 seed production, distribution and marketing of its hybrid rice-seed variety, SL-18H. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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Friday, October 13, 2017

The World BusinessMirror

Bad parts in bullet trains reveal W widening Kobe Steel crisis

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Trump plays down health hazard in making climate-rule repeal

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obe Steel Ltd.’s fake-data scandal penetrated deeper into the most hallowed corners of Japanese industry as iconic bullet trains were found with substandard parts supplied by the steelmaker.

While they don’t pose any safety risks, aluminum components connecting wheels to train cars failed Japanese industry standards, according to Central Japan Railway Co, which operates the high-speed trains between Tokyo and Osaka. West Japan Railway Co, which runs services from Osaka to Fukuoka, also found substandard parts made by Kobe Steel. The latest scandal to hit Japan’s manufacturing industry erupted last Sunday after the country’s third-largest steel producer admitted it faked data about the strength and durability of some aluminum and copper. As scores of clients from Toyota Motor Corp. to General Motors Co. scrambled to determine if they used the suspect materials and whether safety was compromised in their cars, trains and planes, the company said two more products were affected, and further cases could come to light. “I deeply apologize for causing concern to many people, including all users and consumers,” Kobe Steel CEO Hiroya Kawasaki said at a meeting with a senior official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Thursday.

$1.6B The amount of Kobe Steel Ltd.’s market value that has been wiped out since the revelations were made

He said trust in the company has fallen to “zero” and he will work to restore its reputation. “Safety is the top priority.” Shares in the company rebounded 1 percent on Thursday, after plunging 36 percent over the previous two days. About $1.6 billion of the company’s market value has been wiped out since the revelations were made. Figures were systematically fabricated at all four of Kobe Steel’s local aluminum plants, with the practice dating back as long as 10 years for some products, the company said last Sunday. Data was also faked for iron-ore powder and target materials that are used in DVDs and LCD screens, it said three days later. In Central Japan Railway’s bullet trains, 310 of the tested parts

Kobe Steel Group’s logo is seen in Tokyo, on Wednesday. The Japanese government is urging steelmaker Kobe Steel to clarify the extent of manipulation of data on steel, aluminum and other metals used in a wide range of products, reportedly including rockets, aircraft and cars. A government spokesman on Wednesday criticized the apparently widespread falsification of data as “inappropriate,” saying it could undermine product safety. Kyodo News via AP

were found to be substandard and will be replaced at the next regular inspection, Spokesman Haruhiko Tomikubo said. They were produced by Kobe Steel over the past five years, he added. I nv e s t i g at io n s h av e b e e n completed on about 100 of 200 companies to which Kobe Steel supplied the affected products, K awasa k i sa id. T he company plans to release t he f ind ings of safet y chec k s for t he products in about t wo week s, and t he c au ses of t he i ssue a nd planned counter measures w it hin a mont h. While there have not been any reports that Kobe Steel products posed safety risks, the company is likely to face lawsuits from investors, customers, consumers and regulators in Japan and US, experts say. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami on Wednesday said the faked data undermined the basis of fair trade, calling it “inappropriate.”

If lenders were to take over Kobe Steel, a break-up of the company along business lines could be beneficial for shareholders and rivals, according to T hanh Ha Pham, an analyst at Jef fer ies Japa n Ltd., who has a “Buy” rating for the company. Kobe’s steel business would fetch roughly ¥200 billion ($1.78 billion), he said. Ja p a n’s s t e e l i n d u s t r y i s dominated by JFE Holdings Inc. and Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp., which accounted for about 70 percent of t he country’s production in the year ended March. “I talked with management of JFE, and I think they are very happy to buy Kobe Steel ’s steel businesses,” Pham said on Thursday on Bloomberg T V. “ T hat would be a very good scenario, to have further restructuring in the steel industry in Japan.” JFE said it isn’t actively considering purchasing Kobe Steel’s steel business. Bloomberg News

Flower vendors sell by a roadside in the old quarters of New Delhi, India, on October 10. AP/Tsering Topgyal

India profits seen emerging from the shadow of new tax, cash ban

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orporate India is forecast to swing back to profit growth as businesses resume stocking up shelves after getting a better handle on the new countrywide tax regime. Earnings for the three months ended in September will increase 10 percent from a year ago, according to CLSA India Pvt. forecasts for the 104 companies it tracks, a turnaround from the 18-percent decline in the previous three months. Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt. expects profits for the 131 companies it covers to increase 13 percent. Government flip-flops on the goods and services tax (GST) that went into effect on July 1

compounded uncertainties lingering on from November’s cash ban. That contributed to a slowdown in growth in Asia’s thirdlargest economy. But, equity investors remain bullish, pushing the 30-member S&P BSE Sensex Index up 20 percent this year. “Domestic growth is likely to improve in the second half of the year,” said Dhananjay Sinha, head of institutional research at Emkay Global Financial Services Pvt. Businesses are gradually adjusting to GST rules, while the effects of the so-called demonetization of currency notes are fading, he said. Shipping volumes for the consumer-staples industry have improved after the implementation

of the GST, Citi analysts Surendra Goyal and Vijit Jain wrote in a report this week. Profit growth for the July-to-September period will be driven by companies in the steel and energy industries, they said. Tat a Con s u lt a nc y S e r v ice s Ltd ., A s i a’s bi g ge st sof t w a re s e r v ice s pro v ide r, k ic k s of f I nd i a’s e a r n i n g s s e a son l ate r on T hu r sd ay. To be sure, some prof it projections have been too optimistic. Earnings at NSE Ni f t y 50 Inde x const it uents have tra i led consensus forecasts for most of this decade, d ata compi led by Bloomberg show, prompting some investors to warn that valuations are too high.

T hat’s one reason foreigners have been pulling money out of Indian stocks, sel ling net $3 billion of shares in the September quarter, the biggest three-month outf low this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Overseas funds are instead investing in places like South Korea, China and Taiwan, where stocks are cheaper and offer better earnings growth, CLSA says. Still, local investors in India appear sanguine. They pumped in 189 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) into domestic funds in September, following a record 203 billion rupees the month before, the Association of Mutual Funds in India said last week. Bloomberg News

hen former President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to pare emissions from US power plants two years ago, he stressed the longterm health benefits: 3,600 fewer premature deaths, 90,000 fewer asthma attacks in children and a decline in hospital visits. Now, the Trump administration is justifying its rollback of the Clean Power Plan by arguing its predecessor exaggerated the public health gains. T he Env i ron ment a l P rotect ion A ge nc y ( EPA ) w i l l for m a l ly beg i n u ndoi ng Oba m a’s pl a n , a pro ce s s t h at i nc lude s re v i s i n g some of it s u nde rly i ng c a lc u l at ions to emph a si ze cost s a nd m i n i m i z e b e ne f it s. A mon g t he c a s u a lt ie s: lon g he ld conc lu s ion s a b out how microscopic air pollution je o pa rd i z e s hu m a n he a lt h . “ T hey are putting t heir thumb on the scales and changing the math enough so they can say the costs aren’t justified for the Clean Power Plan,” said Conrad Schneider, advocacy director for the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental group that supports the initiative. “It’s a game of trying to reach a predetermined outcome.” T h e e x e rc i s e i s n e c e s s a r y b e c au s e t h e 7 1- y e a r - o l d A d m i n i s t r at i v e P r o c e d u r e A c t that gover ns federa l r u lemaking bars policy pivots t h at a r e “a r b it r a r y a n d c a p r i c i o u s .” T h at m e a n s a g e n c i e s mu s t p r o v i d e g o o d l e g a l a n d p o l i c y e x p l a n at i o n s f o r r e s c i n d i n g r e g u l at i o n s . President Donald J. Trump’s administration is set to do the same thing to justify repealing other Obama-era rules, including limits on met hane lea k s from oil wells. E PA A d m i n i s t r a t o r S c o t t Pruitt said on Monday the administration was about to take the first formal step to repeal the Clean Power Plan, which a i me d to c ut Un it e d St at e s ca rbon- d iox ide em issions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. T he initiative mandated states make broad changes in their overa l l electr icit y mi x, mostly by displacing coal-fired power plants w ith that from w ind, solar and natural gas. “ The rule really was about pic k ing w inners and losers,” Pruitt told a group of coal miners in Hazard, Kentucky. “ The past administration was unapologetic: They were using every bit of power, every bit of authority to use the EPA to pick winners and losers in how we generate electricity in this country—and that’s wrong.” In proposing to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the Trump administration is asserting that the EPA overstepped its legal authority in forcing sweeping changes in the nation’s energy mix, while relying on a costbenefit analysis that was “highly uncertain” and “controversial” in the way it linked air pollution to sickness and premature death. T he re pl ace me nt a n a ly s i s acts to increase the potential costs of complying with the rule while downplaying the benefits it would deliver to public health and the environment. T he prev ious EPA assumed s i g n i f i c a nt h e a l t h b e n e f i t s would spring from reducing the amount of soot that is belched from coal plants. W hen inhaled, that fine particulate matter— 1/70 t h t he w idt h of hu m a n hair—can penetrate deep into lungs and sometimes into the b l o o d s t r e a m , e x a c e r b at i n g heart and lung diseases, causing asthma attacks and sometimes leading to premature death. T he E PA h a s h i s t o r i c a l l y said there is no safe threshold for particulate matter, a conclusion that dovetails w ith a

series of public health studies and underlies a host of other federal regulations governing power-plant pollution. T h e Tr u m p a d m i n i s t r a t ion , ho we ve r, i s pre p a r i n g to a s s e r t t h at t he p ote nt i a l hea lt h benef its of cutting t h at p ol lut ion e nd s at a ce r t a i n p oi nt — w he n le ve l s a re c ut to m atc h a n at ion a l st a n d a rd or a t h reshold e x a m i ne d i n t wo long-ter m hea lt h st udie s, accord i n g to do c u me nt s obt a i ne d b y Blo omb e rg.

Discount benefits

S o, t he EPA i s s e t to d i scou nt t he potent i a l va lue a nd hea lt h benef it s t h at cou ld stem f rom d r iv i n g t h at p ol lut ion dow n even more. T h at c h a nge wou ld c ut t he e x p e c te d b e ne f it s of t he C lea n Power Pl a n, he lpi ng m a k e t he c a s e t h at t he cost s of t he r u l e out w e i g h t ho s e p ote nt i a l g a i n s. “ T his is a prett y radica l step for t he EPA ,” sa id Kev in Steinberger, a polic y ana lyst at t he Natura l Resources Defense Council. “A l l the scientific ev idence we have sug gests there’s no limit at which e x posure to par ticu late matter is not d angerous to human hea lt h.” Oba m a’s EPA re l ied on t he assumption that there are he a lt h b e ne f it s at re duc i n g pa r t ic u l ate m at te r dow n to zero, “so no m at ter how muc h you reduce it, you w i l l get benef it s,” sa id A nd res R est re po, a Sier ra C lub st a f f at tor ne y foc u si ng on a i r pol lut ion a nd c l i m ate c h a nge. “ T h at ’s been st a nd a rd prac t ice.” Conser vatives who have criticized the EPA’s approach under Obama said the Trump administration is right to reevaluate that assumption. Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energ y and Env ironment at the Competitive Enter prise Institute, said he would prefer Tr ump’s EPA go f ur t her and not count the “cobenefits” of reducing fine particulate matter when the real aim is curbing carbon dioxide. “If these illusory cobenefits are going to be counted, then we think that it is entirely appropriate to cut them off for levels below the national ambient air-quality standards,” Ebell said. “ That level has been set at what has been determined to be safe for human health. How can there be a health benefit below the safe level?”

True costs

EPA Spokesman Liz Bow man c a s t t he Tr u mp a n a l y s i s a s more defensible. “ T he facts are that the Ob a m a ad m i n i s t r at ion’s e s timates and analysis of costs and benefits was, in multiple areas, highly uncer tain and / or controversial,” Bowman said by e-mail. “ T he Trump administration is, in a robust, open, and transparent way, presenting a w ide range of ana lysis scenarios to the public.” The Trump administration’s math also helps diminish the potential benefits the Clean Power Plan would deliver by focusing those calculations on what happens inside US borders, instead of across the globe. And, it’s changing the way it calculates presentday costs based on projected longterm benefits. The higher the socalled discount rate, the lower the estimate of harm. “The challenge that we have here is that we have an administration that wants to deny the science,” former EPA head Gina McCarthy told National Public Radio on Tuesday. “I think what you’ll find is that this proposal will fail miserably” both in public opinion and in the courts, she said. Bloomberg News

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Friday, October 13, 2017

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In this photo released by the official web site of the office of the Iranian presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. Rouhani said if the United States backs out of the nuclear deal, “it won’t be our failure at all, but a failure for the other side.” Iranian Presidency Office via AP

Proxy war over Iran nuclear deal divides US, Europe at UN

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s President Dona ld J. Trump prepares to announce whether he’ll certify Iran’s compliance with the deal to curb its nuclear program, United States and European negotiators at the United Nations are on another collision course—this time over the Islamic Republic’s human-rights record. The US is pushing for tougher language condemning Iran for human-rights violations in the draft of a UN resolution that’s typically taken up every year, but allies—including some in Europe—are pushing back, just as they are in defending the nuclear accord that Trump has called “the worst deal ever.” While both sides want to criticize Iran on human rights, they disagree over how far to go and whether to give President Hassan Rouhani some credit, according to notes on the draft shared with Bloomberg News. Maneuvering over the resolution comes ahead of an October 15 deadline Trump faces under US law to tell Congress if he can confirm Iran is complying with the 2015 accord he’s called an “embarrassment to the United States.” The president may decertify Iran and push for new constraints on its behavior but keep the US in the multinational agreement, which lifted a range of economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on the nuclear program. Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, and other Trump advisers have argued that the accord’s inspections regime, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has loopholes. They also say the agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama falls short because it fails to address Iran’s continuing ballistic-missile program, its involvement in conflicts across the Middle East and its human-rights record.

Giving Trump a win

The world “must also continue to hold Iran responsible for its missile launches, support for terrorism, disregard for human rights and violations of UN Security Council resolutions,” Haley said in August after Rouhani threatened to abandon the nuclear deal if Iran faced more sanctions. European allies, including the UK and Germany, have stood behind the nuclear accord, saying inspections by the IAEA show Iran is abiding by it. Behind the scenes, some diplomats are trying to find a way to “give Trump a win” by endorsing some of his criticism of Iran while containing any threat to scuttle the agreement, according to a diplomat from a Security Council nation who asked not to be identified describing internal discussions. In the UN discussions over the human-rights resolution, US allies don’t want to undercut Rouhani, who they see as a relative moderate besieged by hard-liners in Tehran. But they don’t want to be seen as defending Iran’s humanrights record. “ The EU [European Union] remains concerned with the human-rights situation in Iran, in particular the high number of executions and issues, such as freedom of expression and rights of minorities,” said Catherine Ray, EU spokesman for foreign affairs. “The EU aims at discussing these issues in a constructive manner.”

‘Double standards’

For 14 years, the UN has condemned Iran’s human-rights performance in a resolution introduced by Canada. It’s one of three country-specific resolutions regularly offered, with the other two aimed at Syria and North Korea. “The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns such resolutions, which are endorsed against the Islamic Republic of Iran in an unrealistic manner and based on the double standards of Western governments, as well as spiteful and political approaches,” Iranian Foreig n Ministr y Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said after last year’s vote, according to PressTV. Critics of Rouhani, including the US, say he hasn’t delivered on promises of greater respect for civil and political rights since his May reelection. Last year Iran conducted at least 567 executions, many for drug-related offenses, according to Amnesty International. An additional 247 people were executed in the first six months of 2017, according to a UN report. T he nuc lea r dea l h a s h ad litt le positive impact on human rights in the countr y, said Shirin Ebadi, the exiled Iranian human-rights law yer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. “Even if he wanted to” improve human rights, “the structure and Constitution of the Islamic Republic is against him, but I don’t think Rouhani wants to,” Ebadi said in a phone interview from London. Although the annual humanrights resolution isn’t legally binding, it “was highly damaging to the reputation of the Islamic Republic because it showed that a majority of the resolutions condemn their behavior.”

Foreign, dual nationals

The UN resolution is an important reminder to the people of Iran that the international community stands with them, according to a spokesman at the US Mission to the UN. The US has included new language in the resolution emphasizing Iran’s targeting of foreign and dual nationals, the official said. Haley can point to IranianAmerican Siamak Namazi and his octogenarian father Baquer, a former UN Children’s Fund official, who are both serving 10-year prison sentences on espionage. Another detainee is Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an IranianBritish woman, arrested while traveling with her toddler daughter and sentenced to a five-year prison sentence for plotting to topple the government. The draft UN resolution calls on Iran to end the house arrest of leading opposition figures from the 2009 presidential election. Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest in Tehran for almost six years for supporting the Green Movement, which grew out of peaceful protests against the disputed results of that election. The resolution faces a committee vote next month before going to the General Assembly in December. Last year 85 countries voted to condemn Iran’s humanrights violations, while 35 countries, including Russia and Syria, voted against doing so. An additional 63 countries abstained. Bloomberg News

President Donald J. Trump (left) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walk along the Colonnade to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Wednesday. AP/Carolyn Kaster

Trump’s tough talk suggests Nafta’s demise is imminent

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ASHINGTON—The North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), long disparaged by President Donald J. Trump as bad for the United States, was edging closer toward collapse as negotiators gathered for a fourth round of contentious talks here this week.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has sparred with American businesses that support Nafta and has pushed for significant changes that negotiators from Mexico and Canada say are nonstarters. All the while, the president has continued threatening to withdraw the US from the trade agreement, which he has maligned as the worst in history. As the trade talks began on Wednesday, Trump, seated in the Oval Office beside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, said it was “possible” that the US would drop out of Nafta. “It’s possible we won’t be able to make a deal, and it’s possible that we will,” the president said. “We’ll see if we can do the kind of changes that we need. We have to protect our workers. And in all fairness, the prime minister wants to protect Canada and his people also. So we’ll see what happens with Nafta, but I’ve been opposed to Nafta for a long time, in terms of the fairness of Nafta.” Trudeau, in comments later at the Canadian Embassy, said he remains optimistic about the potential for a Nafta deal but noted that Canadians must be “ready for anything.” T he col l apse of t he 19 9 4 t rade dea l wou ld re verberate t h rou g hout t he g loba l econo my, i n f l ic t i ng d a m a ge f a r be yond Me x ico, C a n ad a a nd t he US a nd a f fec t i ng i ndu st r ies a s v a r ied a s m a nu f ac t u r i ng , a g r i c u l t u r e a n d e n e r g y. It wou ld a lso sow at least shor t-

310 The number of state and local chambers of commerce that sent a letter to the administration urging the United States to remain in the North American Free Trade Agreement

ter m chaos for businesses like t he auto indust r y t hat have ar ranged their Nor th A mer ican supply chains around the dea l ’s ter ms. The ripple effects could also impede other aspects of the president’s agenda, for example, by solidifying political opposition among farm-state Republicans who support the pact and jeopardizing legislative priorities like tax reform. And it could have far-reaching political effects, including the Mexican general election in July 2018 and Trump’s own reelection campaign. Business leaders have become spooked by the increasing odds of the trade deal’s demise and, on Monday, more than 310 state and local chambers of commerce sent a letter to the administration

urging the US to remain in Nafta. Speaking in Mexico on Tuesday, the president of the US Chamber of Commerce, Thomas J. Donohue, said the negotiations had “reached a critical moment. And the chamber has had no choice but ring the alarm bells.” “Let me be forceful and direct,” he added. “There are several poison pill proposals still on the table that could doom the entire deal.” The potential demise of the trade deal prompted supportive messages from labor unions, including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and the United Steelworkers, as well as some Democrats. “Any trade proposal that makes multinational corporations nervous is a good sign that it’s moving in the right direction for workers,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat-Ohio. If the deal does fall apart, the US, Canada and Mexico would revert to average tariffs that are relatively low—just a few percent in most cases. But several agricultural products would face much higher duties. American farmers would see a 25-percent tariff on shipments of beef, 45 percent on turkey and some dairy products, and 75 percent on chicken, potatoes and high-fructose corn syrup sent to Mexico. For months, some of the most powerful business leaders in the countr y, and the lobbies and political figures that represent them, had hoped that the president’s strong wording was more a negotiating tactic than a real threat, and that he would ultimately go along with their agenda of modernization. Nafta is nearly a quarter-century old, and people across the political spectrum say it should be updated for the 21st century while preserving the open trading system that has linked the North American economy. The pact has allowed industries to reorganize their supply chains around the continent to take advantage of the three countries’

differing resources and strengths, lifting the continent’s economies and more than tripling America’s trade with Canada and Mexico since its inception. Economists contend that many workers have benefited from these changes in the form of higher wages and employment, but many workers have lost their jobs, as manufacturing plants relocated to Mexico or Canada, making Nafta a target of labor unions, many Democrats and a few industries. But most business leaders had hoped that the president, whose Nafta criticism has been unrelenting, would be content to oversee tweaks to modernize the agreement, and then call it a political transformation. It sometimes looked as if that might be the case. The appointment of Robert Lighthizer as US trade representative, who pledged in his confirmation hearing to “do no harm” to Nafta, reassured many on Capitol Hill, where Lighthizer had long served in aide roles. And when the administration released its negotiating goals in July for the deal, they echoed many priorities of previous administrations. But now, eight weeks into trade talks that were originally supposed to conclude by year’s end, the administration continues to push for concessions that the business community warns would essentially undermine the pact, and which few observers believe Canada and Mexico could agree to politically. “Everyone knows that much of what is being proposed in key areas are, in effect, nonstarters, which begs the question as to what, exactly, the administration is trying to achieve,” Michael Camuñez, a former assistant secretary of commerce under President Barack Obama, wrote in an e-mail. It’s not unreasonable to think that by accommodating the president’s most extreme positions, American negotiators are “simply giving Trump cover to do what he really wants: withdraw from the agreement,” he said. New York Times News Service

Tass: N. Korea’s top diplomat says Trump lit ‘fuse of war’

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orth Korea’s foreign minister told Russian journalists that Donald J. Trump lit the “ fuse of war” when the United States president labeled Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man” in a recent speech at the United Nations. R i Yong Ho w a s quoted b y t he Tass ne w s a genc y a s say ing P yong yang w i l l never

hold t a l k s over it s nuc lea r a rsen a l a nd won’t enter d ia log ue w it h t he US a s long a s Wa s h i n g t o n m a i nt a i n s s a nc t ion s on t he reg i me. “We have nearly achieved the final point on the way to our ultimate goal, to achieving a real balance of force with the United States,” Ri was quoted as telling the reporters visiting

Pyongyang this week. All North Koreans demand “final scores be settled with the Americans only with a hail of fire, and not with words.” Ri was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee last Saturday, cementing his status as a key official in the regime. The bureau is led by

Kim and serves as the party’s core decision-making body. Nor th Korea is prepar ing to fire mu ltiple shor t-range rockets around the opening of the Chinese Communist Par t y’s t w ice-a-decade congress on October 18, a South Korean daily newspaper repor ted on Wednesday. Bloomberg News

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The World BusinessMirror

Friday, October 13, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Witness: 4 more suspects in Kim murder

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HAH ALAM, Malaysia—A Malaysian police officer testified on Thursday that the two women on trial for the murder of the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader were seen on airport security videos with two men believed to have provided the VX nerve agent used to kill him. Video footage presented in court showed Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong walking in the airport with a man wearing a baseball cap. Separately, Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah was seen meeting with another man also wearing a cap at an airport café just before the attack was carried out in a crowded departure terminal of the Kuala Lumpur airport the morning of February 13. The faces of the men can’t be seen clearly. Chief investigating officer Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz identified the men as only Mr. Y and Mr. Chang. He testified the two men were believed to have smeared VX on the women’s hands before the pair smeared the oily substance on Kim Jong Nam’s face. Wan Azirul said the two men are among four people at large whom prosecutors accuse of having the common intention with the two women to murder Kim. He named the two other at-large suspects as James, the suspected recruiter of Aisyah, and Hanamori, who is nicknamed grandpa or uncle and who is suspected of giving directions to Mr. Y. No further details about those four suspects were disclosed in open court, though the police have previously said at least seven North Koreans who have left Malaysia are suspected of involvement. Huong and Aisyah are the only two suspects detained in the brazen assassination of Kim, an outcast from North Korea’s ruling family who lived abroad in virtual exile for years. Both women have pleaded not guilty to murder charges that carry mandatory death sentences if they are convicted. Their defense lawyers have said Huong and Aisyah were duped by suspected North Korean agents into believing they were

Two women sort through the rubble of the property on 106 West Gate Drive in Napa, California, on Wednesday. The property is where an elderly couple died during the fire last Sunday. Ray Chavez /San Jose Mercury News via AP

Ex-congressman turned ex-con seeks return with Bannon’s help

Deadly, vast wildfires becoming deadliest in California’s history F

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ONOMA, California—Wildfires already well on their way to becoming the deadliest and most destructive in California history could gain momentum on Thursday and erase even the modest gains firefighters have made.

Steady winds with gusts up to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) with nearly nonexistent humidity are expected to descend on the areas north of San Francisco, where at least 23 people have died and at least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed. “It’s going to continue to get worse before it gets better,” state fire chief Ken Pimlott said on Wednesday. Entire cities had evacuated in anticipation of the next wave, their streets empty, the only motion coming from ashes falling like snowflakes. They included Calistoga, the historic resort town of wine tastings and hot springs, whose 5,300 people are all under evacuation orders. Tens of thousands more were also driven from their homes by the flames. A few left behind cookies for firefighters and signs that read, “Please save our home!” The 22 fires spanned more than 265 square miles (686 square kilometers) as they entered their fourth day, many of them completely out of control. Modern, strategic attacks that have kept destruction and death tolls low in recent years just haven’t worked against their ferocity. “We are literally looking at explosive vegetation,” Pimlott

playing a harmless prank for a TV show. Prosecutors, however, contend the women knew they were handling poison. Security videos presented at the trial on Wednesday showed the women hurrying off to separate washrooms after the alleged attack on Kim, with their hands held away from their bodies as if to avoid contact. Experts have testified that VX can be safely removed by careful handwashing within 15 minutes of exposure. Aisyah’s lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, has told reporters previously that she was recruited in early-January by a North Korean man known just as James to star in what he said were video prank shows. The lawyer said James had Aisyah go to malls, hotels and airports and rub oil or pepper sauce on strangers which he would film on his phone, and paying Aisyah between $100 and $200 for each prank. James later introduced Aisyah to a man called Chang, who said he was the producer of Chinese video prank shows. On the day of Kim’s death, Chang had pointed Kim out to Aisyah as the next target and put the substance in her hand, the lawyer has said. The police say Chang was actually Hong Song Hac, one of four North Korean suspects who left Malaysia on the day of the killing, while James was Ri Ji U, one of another three North Koreans who hid inside their country’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur to avoid questioning. Those three were later allowed to fly home in exchange for nine Malaysians being allowed to leave Pyongyang in a deal easing a diplomatic standoff that brought relations between the two countries to historic lows. Malaysia never directly accused North Korea, but South Korea’s spy agency has said the attack was part of a five-year plot by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to kill a brother he reportedly never met. Kim Jong Nam was not thought to be seeking influence over his younger brother but had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic rule. The trial will resume on October 24 with a visit to the crime scene at the airport. AP

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The estimated number of people who have died, and at least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed said. “Make no mistake,” he later added, “this is a serious, critical, catastrophic event.” The community of Boyes Hot Springs in Sonoma County also was told to clear out on Wednesday, and the streets were quickly lined with cars packed with people f leeing. “That’s very bad,” resident Nick Hinman said when a deputy sheriff warned him that the driving winds could shift the wildfires toward the town of Sonoma proper, where 11,000 people live. “It’ll go up like a candle.” The ash rained down on the Sonoma Valley, covering windshields, as winds began picking up toward the potentially disastrous

forecast speed of 30 mph (48 kph). Countless emergency vehicles sped toward the flames, sirens blaring, as evacuees sped away. Residents manhandled canvas bags into cars jammed with possessions or filled their gas tanks. State fire Spokesman Daniel Berlant said 22 wildfires were burning on Wednesday, up from 17 the day before. As the fires grow, officials voiced concern that separate blazes would merge into even larger infernos. “ We have had big f ires in the past. This is one of the biggest, most serious, and it’s not over,” Gov. Jerry Brown said at a news conference on Wednesday, alongside the state’s top emergency officials. They said 8,000 firefighters and other personnel were battling the blazes and more resources were pouring in from Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. Flames have raced across the wine-growing region and the scenic coastal area of Mendocino farther north, leveling whole neighborhoods and leaving only brick chimneys and charred appliances to mark where homes once stood. In Boyes Hot Springs residents had watched the ridges over the west side of town for days to gauge how close the billowing smoke and orange flames of the wildfires had come. On Wednesday the ridges were obscured by the growing clouds of smoke. With fires advancing from several sides in Sonoma Valley, lawenforcement officers on loan from other areas of Northern California barred residents of evacuated communities from returning to see how the homes and businesses had fared. Manned roadblocks were set up between Sonoma and devastated areas of Santa Rosa.

A lejandro Rodr ig uez had been evacuated from one tiny Sonoma Valley town, only to have deputies come to the neighborhood to where he had relocated and tell residents there to pack up and go. “I want to see my house, see if anything’s left,” Rodriguez said, gesturing at officers at one roadblock. “They won’t tell us nothing.” Sonoma County Sheriff Robert Giordano said hundreds of people were still reported missing. But officials believe many of those people will be found. Chaotic evacuations and poor communications over the past few days have made locating friends and family difficult. The sheriff also expects the death toll to climb. “The devastation is enormous,” he said. “We can’t even get into most areas.” Helicopters and air tankers were a ssist i ng t hou sa nd s of firefighters trying to beat back the f lames. Until now, the efforts have focused on “ life safety” rather than extinguishing the blazes, partly because the f lames were shifting with winds and targeting new communities without warning. Fires were “burning faster than firefighters can run, in some situations,” Emergency Operations Director Mark Ghilarducci said. In Southern California cooler weat her a nd moist ocea n a i r he lp e d f i re f i g hte r s g a i n ground against a w ildfire that has scorched nearly 14 square miles (36 sq km). Orange County fire officials said the blaze was 60 percent contained and full containment was expected by Sunday, although another round of gusty winds and low humidity levels could arrive late on Thursday. AP

ormer United States Representative Michael Grimm of New York, who spent seven months in federal prison for felony tax evasion, wants his old job back. He’s betting Republicans in Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn will forgive his criminal past. He’s enlisted Steve Bannon, President Donald J. Trump’s former chief strategist, to help him convince voters that Dan Donovan, the district’s scandal-free incumbent, is a GOP traitor for voting against the House bill that would have repealed Obamacare. “This race, like many other races around the country, will be a referendum on those members of Congress who have not supported our president,” Grimm said in an interview. “Republican voters, they’re very frustrated with Republicans who have not had his back and not forwarded his agenda.” Encouraged by last month’s Alabama Senate primary victory by Bannon-backed Roy Moore, Grimm basked in Bannon’s support after the two met last week in Washington. Grimm’s campaign for the June 2018 primary is one of a number of challenges the Breitbart News executive chairman plans to sponsor against incumbent Republican House and Senate members. Bannon is seeking candidates who will vote to dump Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and back changes to Senate voting procedures that have blocked Trump’s agenda. “It’s time for anti-Trump Republicans to pay a price for opposing the president,” said Michael Caputo, a Buffalo-based Bannon ally and former Trump campaign communications adviser, who helped set up Grimm’s meeting with Bannon. “We saw this as a natural alliance.”

Long shot

Some Republicans say Grimm is not to be underestimated in his long-shot bid to regain the congressional seat from which he resigned in 2015 after pleading guilty to one count of felony tax fraud. He was released from prison in May 2016. Grimm, 47, a Marine veteran of the first Iraq war who later worked as an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, drew national attention in 2014 when he threatened to throw a New York reporter off a balcony inside the Capitol for asking him about a federal investigation into his campaign. He was captured on camera saying “I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.” Later, he released a statement that

accused the reporter of taking a “cheap shot” and added, “I doubt that I am the first member of Congress to tell off a reporter.”

District attorney

Donovan, 60, previously served for 12 years as Staten Island district attorney, an elected office. During a Wednesday interview on MSNBC, Donovan said he has a strong record of supporting Trump. “I think if Mr. Bannon will examine our race and look at my record, I’ve supported the president 90 percent of the time with my votes,” Donovan said. He added: “The people of Staten Island and Brooklyn have a clear choice. They have a choice of a person who was a prosecutor and put people in prison for 20 years and a choice between that and a person who went to prison.” Grimm is known for his dapper wardrobe of crisp business suits and button-down shirts, and a tireless campaign style he displayed during Superstorm Sandy’s catastrophic flooding in 2012. Residents across Staten Island encountered him as he assessed damage, helped clear debris and pledged aid. “I know my constituents very well; I know them personally,” Grimm says. “They want me back because they know from experience no one will give them their heart and soul like I will.”

Republican stronghold

That kind of gesture resonates in this most suburban and sparsely populated of New York’s five boroughs, where Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential race, 101,437 to 74,143—in a city that Clinton won by 78 percent to Trump’s 18 percent. Grimm’s candidacy poses the question of whether in New York City’s most Republican stronghold, the president remains so popular with GOP voters that they would cast out a longtime Republican vote gatherer in response to Grimm’s depiction of Donovan as disloyal to Trump and to traditional party values. His biggest hurdle is explaining how he ran for reelection in 2014 while under federal indictment and won while protesting his innocence, only to turn around and admit guilt, using his congressional seat as a pleabargaining chip to reduce his prison sentence, said Susan Del Percio, a Republican consultant not involved in the race. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

F&A outsourcing–not just an option but a necessity

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itH the drive toward digital disruption, service providers and clients are up and about chasing technology. The role of service providers has become more a necessity than just an option, especially for clients who have limited resources investing in information-technology (IT) infrastructures. It will take a huge investment for a company to catch up with automation. They can focus on improving their core business if they outsource to a third-party provider whose main service is finance and accounting (F&A) and leverage the cost of investing in technology by servicing several clients. Aside from investment in infrastructures, there is a scarcity of people who have the skills to run a highly sophisticated automation, much more the judgment skills necessary to perform certain tasks. Companies find it increasingly difficult to hire qualified people and the time to train them. For instance, if your business is in retail, your core business is selling your products. You focus on training your sales people and invest in automation, such as software to track sales and monitor client preference, maintain a client database, prospects, etc. As for accounting, which is also crucial to any business, your can outsource accounting functions to a thirdparty provider who has the automated infrastructure and trained people to perform the tasks since that is their core business. The company is not also stuck with people you may not need later, if, for instance, you are doing a special project lasting only for a brief period. If one cannot source talents internally or by hiring outsiders, outsourcing can be an effective solution. The Philippines, for instance, should improve the nonvoice outsourcing, such as F&A. Although we are still No. 1 globally in the call-center industry sector, the threat of technology disruption is imminent since robotics, artificial intelligence and other forms of automation are taking over tasks formerly done by people in call centers. On the other hand, F&A outsourcing consist of jobs that are judgment intensive that cannot be replicated easily by automation, although there are those that are transaction intensive, such as procure to pay and order to cash that can be automated or done by robots later. Call centers still account for 69 percent of total outsourcing revenue in the Philippines in 2016. F&A is gaining ground at 19 percent followed by human resources at 5 percent, procurement at 3 percent, engineering at 6 percent and other

FINEX free enterprise Wilma C. Inventor-Miranda outsourcing services at 6 percent (source: Contact Center Association of the Philippines). For F&A outsourcing to grow in the Philippines, we need to train more people capable of handling technological advancements. This takes time and effort for technology is growing at a speed faster than we can train people. But even as we train people using current technology, new ones develop and are adopted—so this is a constant chase after technology updates. We also need more accounting graduates to handle the judgmentintensive aspect of the job. Companies no longer go for cost arbitrage alone but also on process improvement and digital transformation. There is a growing demand for F&A outsourcing worldwide, according to a KPMG survey in 2017, generating almost 60-percent demand among global business services in tandem with IT outsourcing. The KPMG survey shows us that for the Philippines to cope with digital transformation we need to see where the big investments are. The list shows that companies tend to invest more on analytical tools, such as business intelligence and others. The second is hiring more staff with data and analytics skills. It is no longer enough for one to be an accounting or finance graduate. One must have technical skills and respect for digital innovations, as well. Ready or not, the world is fast evolving and certainly it cannot wait for everybody to catch up. It is up to the adopter or the provider to be at speed with the pace of technology development. Inventor, Miranda & Associates, in cooperation with Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is sponsoring a seminar, entitled “Outsourcing Trends and Opportunities”, in Bacolod City at Business Inn Hotel from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 17...eight Board of Accountancy Certified Public Accountant units Competence Area B...for details call 0917-5000517. Wilma C. Inventor-Miranda is the Chairman of the Media Affairs Committee of Finex, Treasurer of KPS Outsourcing Inc. and managing partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these other institutions.

Editor: Jun B. Vallecera • Friday, October 13, 2017

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‘PHL now among Asia’s fastest-growing economies’

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inance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told the American business community in New York that the Philippines has started to deliver on its anticipated economic breakout under President Duterte, turning the country into one of Asia’s growth engines, despite the political noise and the recent terrorist attack in Marawi City. He highlighted the accelerated actual economic expansion from 6.4 percent in the first quarter to 6.5 percent in the second quarter and prospects of greater growth down the line no matter that both the United States and China, who are some of the country’s largest trade partners, look to tighten their respective monetary-policy structures over the medium term. Such an event could help tame the country’s growth potential and by extension, the government’s ability to deliver on its growth commitments. Dominguez also said the Philippines expects greater foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the years ahead as the government steps up efforts to modernize infrastructure and reform business policies to sustain the growth momentum, create more jobs, attack poverty and achieve a more inclusive economy He, likewise, said in New York that the US is an “ally of long standing” helping the country beef up not only its defense capability, but also build effective institutions of governance.

Over the years, Dominguez said the US has been most generous in providing official development assistance (ODA) in support of the country’s priority programs on education, health, energy and environmental protection. Dominguez added the US has also supported the government with projects to help the Philippines meet its millennium challenge targets and, just recently, provided financial assistance for the rehabilitation of Marawi City, following its attack in May by terrorists aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He also thanked the American business community in the Philippines for supporting the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) designed to ensure a steady revenue flow for infrastructure and social services. “Our cooperation agreements perfectly complement the strategy for rapid and inclusive growth espoused by the Philippine government. We are looking to both

expand and deepen our development cooperation as our economy emerges more rapidly in the following years,” Dominguez said at the briefing held at the Morgan Stanley Auditorium. With Dominguez at the briefing were secretaries Alan Peter S. Cayetano of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto M. Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority and Benjamin E. Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Gov. Diwa C. Guinigundo; and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman and CEO of the Ayala Group. The event was jointly organized by Deutsche Bank, Citi Group, Standard Chartered Bank and Morgan Stanley. “Our people fully appreciate the cooperation between our two countries. As the polls show, the US remains the country Filipinos trust most. We are happy to welcome American investments that will assist us in providing quality jobs for our people,” Dominguez said. He added over the years the US supported the Philippines “not only in helping us build a credible defense capability but, more significantly, in helping us build more effective institutions of governance”. The finance chief also cited the “accumulated numerous collaborative agreements” between the Philippines and the US, “the most prominent” of which are the “Mutual Defense Treaty as basis for regular interoperability exercises between the armed forces of our two countries”, along with accords “for sharing of information in our common effort to combat terrorism and transnational crime”. Dominguez also said that since

2011, the US and the Philippines have engaged in a bilateral strategic dialogue (BSD) that covers important areas as defense and security; rule of law and law enforcement; economics, development and prosperity; and regional and global diplomatic engagement. At the sixth PH-US BSD held in Washington last year, the two countries agreed on the following 1) deepen trade relationships by removing barriers to both trade and investments; 2) encourage more extensive US participation in infrastructure development in the Philippines; 3) sustain development cooperation, through the completion of the Philippine first compact and the development of both the second compact and the partnership for growth; 4) continue close cooperation on science, technology, agriculture, environment and health; and 5) explore ways to increase US private-sector investment and commercial opportunities in conflict- and disasteraffected areas. Moreover, Dominguez said the US ODA “has been generous and targeted to support, among others: the improvement of our basic education and health programs; assistance for our energy, water and environmental programs; projects to improve regulatory quality and fiscal space; technical assistance to achieve peace and development in Mindanao; grants to help us achieve our millennium challenge targets; and, most recently, financial support to help us rebuild Marawi after the long siege of terrorists aligned with the ISIS.” Similar briefings were earlier held by the economic team in Singapore, China and Japan to inform business leaders in these countries of investment prospects in the Philippines.

ING bullish on PHL as ‘captive offshoring’ market

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NG Business Shared Services (IBSS), the only shared services hub in Asia of Dutch financial giant ING Bank, renewed its vote of confidence in the Philippines as a “captive offshoring” market for global companies. This was amid concerns that the country’s business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to slow down due to many headwinds in both the domestic and global markets. In its latest market report, ING Bank Manila branch senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng forecast that revenues from outsourcing are expected to slow to less than 10 percent this year and would likely slow further in the coming years. These revenues account for around 47 percent of the Philippines’s structural inflows in 2016 and, thus, have a huge impact on the strength of the local currency.

Cuyegkeng said investment pledges in the outsourcing industry already contracted by 22 percent year-on-year and can be attributed to “competition from other Asian economies, onshoring threats for US companies, security concerns and uncertainties over incentives”. Despite the headwinds, ING remains deeply invested in the country’s potential growth, particularly as a market for captive offshoring. “The trend for captive shared services centers is to move more knowledge- and skill-based operations to countries where labor is not only available, but also adaptable. So the Philippines continues to be a good location for many global companies,” said Hans B. Sicat, incoming country manager of ING Bank’s Manila branch. Unlike the typical business model in the Philippines where a BPO serves

third-party vendors, IBSS, as a captive shared services center, caters to ING’s in-house processing requirements in its Asia, Europe and North America businesses. This business model also enables ING to keep its staff attrition low, as well as expose its staff to global practices and standards. “Being a captive shared services center allows IBSS to develop a corporate culture and build employee loyalty and pride,” IBSS Country Manager Cees Ovelgonne said. “In fact, more than 40 percent of the people we hired were referred by our employees. This means our employees love working at ING that they would even ask their friends and family members to join them.” There is a vast amount of Filipino talent with knowledge and skills that can fuel the growth of captive offshoring

companies like ours,”Ovelgonne added. He cited as proof the continued growth of IBSS’ local operations that prompted its transfer to a new and bigger office at the newly built World Plaza of Daiichi Properties on 5th Avenue corner 30th Street on a Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered information-technology site in Taguig City to accommodate more in-house processing from ING’s global business. From the current four floors, IBSS expects to double its office-space occupancy over the next few years. In addition to financial markets, tradefinance services, lending services and client due diligence/onboarding activities, the shared services center now also handles the back-end processing needs of ING’s corporate audit, legal, risk management and financial services, among others.

Fed minutes show support for next hike was a close call for some

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ederal Reserve (the Fed) officials held a detailed debate last month over whether forces holding inflation down were persistent or temporary, with several policy-makers looking for stronger evidence of price gains before supporting a third interestrate hike this year. “Many participants expressed concern that the low inflation readings this year might reflect not only transitory factors, but also the influence of developments that could prove more persistent,” according to minutes of the September 19 and 20 meeting, released on Wednesday in Washington. Several policy-makers said their decision on whether to raise rates this year “would depend important on whether the economic data in coming months increased their confidence” on inflation rising toward their 2-percent target. At the meeting, the United States central bank left the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged while

projecting another increase before the end of the year and announcing an October start for a gradual unwind of its $4.5-trillion balance sheet. The minutes suggest that the forecast for another rate increase in 2017 is conditioned on economic data showing that the inflation target is within reach over the next couple of years. “It was noted that some patience in removing policy accommodation while assessing trends in inflation was warranted,” the minutes said. Before the release of the minutes, investors saw about a 78-percent probability of one more rate increase by the end of the year, according to pricing in fed funds futures markets. Fed officials have meetings scheduled from October 31 to November 1 and on December 12 and 13. Getting a clear read on economic data may be difficult as some prices, such as gasoline, are affected by recent natural disasters in the US. The Fed’s post-meeting statement on September

20 said the hurricanes would affect the economy in the near term but were “unlikely to materially alter” its course over the medium term. The minutes said Fed policy-makers expected third-quarter growth “to be held down by the severe disruptions caused by the storms but to rebound beginning in the fourth quarter as rebuilding got under way and economic activity in the affected areas resumed”. Even though the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have deemed tax reform a top priority, most Fed participants had either not assumed any fiscal stimulus in their projections made in September, the minutes said, “or had marked down the expected magnitude of any stimulus”. When officials met last month, they were grappling with low unemployment that hadn’t translated into consistently higher wages or inflation, while buoyant asset markets have kept financial conditions easy.

Many officials said US financial conditions would support the economic expansion, while a couple of participants “expressed concern that the persistence of highly accommodative financial conditions could, over time, pose risks to financial stability”, the minutes said.

Employment, inflation

U.S. unemployment dipped to 4.2 percent in September, the lowest since 2001, while average hourly earnings rose 2.9 percent on a year-over-year basis, a pickup that may be partly related to effects from two major hurricanes. Fed officials expected employment to be “temporarily depressed” by the storms; data last week showed payrolls fell in September for the first time since 2010. The Fed’s preferred gauge of prices rose by 1.4 percent in the 12 months through August and has been below policy-makers’ 2-percent target for most of the last five years. In quarterly projections prepared for the meeting, policy-makers forecast a

Case clippings

By Justice S J Ranada Jr. APPEALS—different from certiorari A special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65 is not the same as an appeal. In an appeal, the appellate court reviews errors of judgment. On the other hand, a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 is not an appeal but a special civil action, where the reviewing court has jurisdiction only over errors of jurisdiction. We have consistently emphasized that a special civil action for certiorari and an appeal are “mutually exclusive and not alternative or successive.” A petition filed under Rule 65 cannot serve as a substitute for an appeal. PNB v. Gregorio G R No 194944 18 Sept 2017 Jardeleza, J labor market running hot, with the jobless rate at 4.1 percent in the final three months of 2018 and 2019. That’s below the 4.6-percent rate they estimate as the longer-run sustainable rate of unemployment that keeps supply and demand in balance. The minutes said “many” partic-

ipants “continued to believe” that labormarket pressures would show through to higher inflation eventually. The committee also discussed trends that could be holding inflation lower, such as technological innovations and their impact on business pricing.

A10 Friday, October 13, 2017 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Jobs-skills problem

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ometimes it is difficult to truly understand what is going on when you are reading what seems like conflicting stories. A British newspaper runs a story headlined, “Robots will destroy our jobs—and we’re not ready for it”. One solution seems easy enough. Learn to repair the robots that take away a previously human-based job. Of course, that is an overly simplistic answer to the growing trend in automation, but it is a place to start the conversation. Further, “Robots could take over 38 percent of US jobs within about 15 years”, so we do have some time to figure things out. But of more immediate concern is found in a local newspaper (The Manila Times) headline: “1 million graduates face job-skill mismatch”. If graduates are not trained to be able to do specific occupations, then we need to embark on a program to get education up to speed to supply the workplace. However, if you dig deeper, you will read, “The Department of Labor and Employment [DOLE] identified key 275 occupations as in-demand and 102 occupations as hard-to-fill. These include abaca pulp processor, bangus diver, banquet supervisor, bamboo materials craftsman, fish-cage caretaker, mussel grower, and whale shark interaction officer.” How many jobs are available for “whale shark interaction officer” to justify a college degree in that discipline? The DOLE also reports: “Hard-to-fill occupations include agricultural designer, bioinformatics analyst, cosmetic dentist, cosmetic surgeon, ethanol machine processing operator and mechatronics engineer.” Perhaps, it is not an educational jobs-skills mismatch. Maybe, making dentures and doing tummy-tucks just do not appeal as a profession to enough Filipinos. Further, we then read this from Reuters.com about the situation in France: “We just can’t get people into factories,” said Pierre Tisseau, whose company makes house terraces in Cholet in western France. The local business federation in Cholet said 9,000 people were looking for work but that firms were finding it hard to fill 1,500 vacancies in sectors such as construction, transport and the agri-foods, with employers, saying they cannot fill vacancies despite a jobless rate of close to 10 percent, higher than in many European countries. On one hand, certain occupations may be taken over through some sort of automation. However, how soon and how far this will go is complete speculation. Your hamburger prepared by a robot at a fast-food restaurant is one thing, but are we really going to pay a five-star price for a “robot meal” at a five-star restaurant? Eventually, this automation situation will all work itself out. But, in the meantime, there are unfilled jobs and unemployed people that need to be matched, and this is a condition that is not unique to the Philippines. Everyone—especially the politicians—are talking about it and the potential solutions. But the solutions always seem to be something like, “The economy and businesses need more plumbers. Let’s graduate more plumbers.” What happens if, three years later, we need more carpenters? We tried all that with nursing. We graduated thousands of nurses for the immediate demand that three years later had disappeared. What we should be graduating are young people who have the skills to be able to be trained into whatever occupation businesses are going to need today and in the future. Communication skills, reasoning skills and the skill to be able to learn are more important than going to the classroom to learn how to use a hammer. Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

A fishy story James Jimenez

spox

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N a paper written for the United Nations Development Programme Asia-Pacific Regional Centre, the concept of “democratic space” was defined as referring “to the arena that exists between the state and the individual in which people interact to hold the state accountable, shape public debate, participate in politics, and express their needs and opinions. It can only be deemed to be democratic when it is underpinned by the values of liberal democracy, such as individual autonomy, political freedom, representative leadership, accountable governance and respect for human rights [Horner, Puddephatt, 2011].” To simplify, imagine a fishbowl with fish in it. The bowl itself represents the state, with all its governmental authority and power. With the fish representing the people, the water stands for democratic space. In that water, the fish can swim peacefully, contemplating their fishy existence, with the only real restriction being the glass walls of the bowl. Or they can be not peaceable at all. Instead of introspective fish, you could have

adventurous guppies, exploring in and around the plastic water plants, encouraging other fish to protest the levels of chlorination in the water. You could also have an ambitious goldfish taking over the fake castles and promising the peasant fishes all the fishfood they can eat. The fish can do all that and more, in the water—their democratic space—without worrying that the bowl would object. Since the only limitation on these

The antidote to smuggling

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Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza Continued from A1

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S such, the volume of finished products to be re-exported by the manufacturer should be proportionate to its volume of imported raw materials withdrawals from the bonded warehouse, less its approved wastage allowance. Thus, all CBWs are supposed to be guarded 24/7 by Customs officials, and its flow of imported raw materials, both inbound and outbound, closely monitored.

How is smuggling done in CBWs? Smuggling in CBWs is a scheme that is, perhaps, not getting sufficient public scrutiny because it is being done outside BOC-regulated ports and premises. And, yet, despite its being a low-profile smuggling scheme, the government is losing hundreds of millions of pesos in duties and taxes each year to smugglers at CBWs. And the most common forms of smuggling in CBWs are done in the withdrawal of duty-free imported materials from the warehouse and in the formula of manufacture or formula of conversion. In the withdrawal of imported materials from CBWs, smuggling

happens when the BOC official tasked to monitor and regulate the materials withdrawals from the bonded warehouse connive with the manufacturer and allows the latter to withdraw more than its declared volume of withdrawal. This would enable the manufacturer to produce finished products more than what it is supposed to re-export. The rest of the finished products, which the manufacturer would not be accountable for re-export based on its declared raw materials withdrawal, would find its way into the domestic market with unpaid duties and taxes. Smuggling in CBWs is also being done through the formula of manufacture or the formula of conversion.

Since the only limitation on these fishy endeavors and dreams is the bowl itself, it follows that a larger bowl would mean more democratic space; more democratic space means more fishes can have the freedom to do whatever they want, even if what they want to do is to rant against the walls of the bowl. The opposite, of course, is true. The smaller the bowl, the less space there is for the fishes to pursue their goals and aspirations, not to mention their protests against the bowl. fishy endeavors and dreams is the bowl itself, it follows that a larger bowl would mean more democratic space; more democratic space means more fishes can have the freedom to do whatever they want, even if what they want to do is to rant against the walls of the bowl. The opposite, of course, is true. The smaller the bowl, the less space there is for the fishes to pursue their goals and aspirations, not to mention their protests against the bowl. Earlier this week, it was reported the military top brass had said that the Philippines “enjoys so much

Smuggling in CBWs is a scheme that is, perhaps, not getting sufficient public scrutiny because it is being done outside BOC-regulated ports and premises. And, yet, despite its being a low-profile smuggling scheme, the government is losing hundreds of millions of pesos in duties and taxes each year to smugglers at CBWs. The formula is about the allowable wastage of imported raw materials in the manufacture of goods and/or commodities for re-export. This type of smuggling happens when manufacturers and government officials from concerned government agencies tasked to formulate the conversion rate to determine the imported raw materials’ allowable wastage in the production process connive with each other, and the latter gives a conversion formula that would enable the former to have allowable wastage that would be higher than its actual wastage. I had the chance to engage this type of smuggling when we questioned the unusually high wastage allowance of a tin-can manufacturer. This company had an approved wastage allowance of 30 percent when the industry’s average was only about 3 percent to 4 percent. Meaning, this company only had to re-export

democratic space that is being exploited by terror groups and also criminal groups”. Naturally, the police agreed; and at that moment, somewhere in that fish bowl, some fishes trembled. Whenever someone notes that you have “so much” of something, there is simply no escaping the implication that so much might soon be considered synonymous with “too much”; and when you have too much, that it will then be taken away. What’s a fish to do? Well, a fish could point out that the solution to so much democratic space is, most emphatically, not less democratic space but more vigilance—better utilization of the tools and resources that are available for fighting terrorism, for instance—and greater effort directed at solving fundamental problems like widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, a glacial justice system and social inequality. And, of course, a fish would argue that rather than even considering lessening the democratic space, there should be even more democratic discourse that de-stigmatizes dissent, encourages principled participation and, yes, less chlorination in the water.

finished tin cans that would be equivalent to only 70 percent of its total importation of raw materials. About 27 percent of its tin-can production were being sold in the domestic market with impunity and with untaxed imported raw materials.

Smuggling through consolidation

Another smuggling scheme is through cargo consolidation. Under the law, consolidators are allowed to issue bills of lading and invoices for their consolidated shipment. Smuggling happens when consolidators change the values and, sometimes, the volume declarations of exporters (consolidators’ clients) to lower the dutiable values of its consolidated shipment. This would result in lower taxes being collected by the government. I discovered this type of cheating by some consolidators when, in one of our anti-smuggling initiatives, and after getting a copy of the exporter’s bill of lading (BL), we saw the difference in the values of the consolidator’s issued BL against the exporter’s declared values. Incidentally, I partly share with the position of Sen. Franklin Drilon that implementing the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) policy in the BOC, where declarations of imported goods will be checked prior to its departure from the port of origin, can help curb the country’s smuggling problem. However, contrary to the See “Arranza,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Friday, October 13, 2017 A11

Be a Kapanalig this Christmas, be with the Holy Family Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

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hristmas is fast approaching. Let us all remember that the true essence of our celebration is the birth of Christ. Celebrate in Christ, celebrate with the Holy Family, and celebrate with your Kapanalig community!

Radio Veritas, the leading faithbased AM station in Mega Manila, invites the public to be part of the Kapanalig community as Christmas is fast approaching. Individuals who will join the Kapanalig community this Christmas season who will pledge P1,200 yearly will be given a free Belen, or image of the Nativity, and other gifts. The Belen, a traditional Filipino Christmas symbol, is a crèche or tableau representing the Nativity scene that depicts the infant Jesus Christ in the manger, surrounded by the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, the shepherds, their flock, the Magi and some stable animals and angels. Established in 2008, the Veritas Kapanalig Media Community On-Air is composed of individuals, Church institutions and organizations supporting the Church’s social communications ministry. In turn, they are provided with

formation programs, special prayer intentions, blessings by bishops during their birthdays, and are able to take part in Biyayang Kapanalig and other on-air and online promotions by Radio Veritas. To be a member you may visit Radio Veritas station at 162 West Avenue corner Edsa, Quezon City. You may also call at 925-7932-41 and look for any Kapanalig coordinators. For more inquiries, e-mail kapanalig@veritas846.ph, or through the station’s Facebook page, www. facebook.com/Veritasph. To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www. caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph and follow its Twitter and Instragram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

IMF risks raining on its own pretty good parade By Daniel Moss Bloomberg View

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obody would ever accuse the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of getting carried away. Just when we are getting used to the notion of a synchronized global expansion, the lender feels it has to pad its upgraded forecasts with some dampeners. It’s almost as though there is too much good news. That’s a pity. Muffling the good news under warnings and to-do lists risks contributing to the false notion that the modern economy is somehow broken. Growth is on a firmer and broader footing now than at any point since 2009. Is it perfect? No. But we should take it. The IMF’s global forecast on Tuesday affirmed that strength. You would never know it from popular discourse. At a global economic conference in India last week, some panelists at public discussions blamed poor world growth for India’s lagging performance. That kind of sloppy thinking could do real harm. The IMF risks inadvertently fueling that and giving credence to those merely seeking to wreck political systems under the guise of populism. In the case of India, there was a significant cut in growth estimates in this week’s numbers, in part because of a couple of one-offs linked to demonetization and the rollout of a new tax system. There were a few other special cases, like the United Kingdom, which continues to deal with the fallout from

Arranza. . .

continued from A10

earlier proposal to charge the importers for the cost of inspection at the port of origin, the government should pay for the cost of inspection abroad. After all, it’s the government that would benefit from the implementation of PSI. Thus, the government

last year’s Brexit vote. They really are the exceptions to the worldwide trend. The global economy will expand 3.6 percent this year and 3.7 percent in 2018, up a tad from the lender’s previous estimate. (And remember: Those previous estimates were pretty rosy; the IMF sounded more upbeat earlier this year than it had for a while.) The upswing is in its eighth year and looks pretty broad-based. Japan and Europe—often seen as laggards—got an upgrade, as did China. That debt binge in China that everyone is so concerned about isn’t derailing things yet. There are plenty of things that can spoil this scene: a sudden tightening of financial conditions, trade wars, actual wars and that annoying political polarization fed by inequality. That polarization, by the way, could be aggravated by warnings that drown out the good news. It contributes to an unfounded sense of decline. The IMF is right to include caveats along with its upgraded forecasts. Inflation and wage growth are too low for where they should be at this point. And a premature monetary tightening in Europe could stall the pleasant little rebound there. It has to be said, higher interest rates in Europe don’t seem to be in the cards. At the most, we are talking about a prolonged tapering of bond buying from the European Central Bank. So there are plenty of dangers lurking in the undergrowth. But world growth looks pretty solid. I’ll take it. should pay for its cost, as well. Besides, would it not be awkward to let the importers pay for the services of a load surveyor abroad to conduct the PSI on their shipment, when the load surveyor would be checking and investigating their shipment for possible violations of the country’s tariff laws? For my next column, I will discuss the various solutions or the antidote to smuggling.

The end of fables and my little monk Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

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call him “my little monk”. The first time he came to class with his companions, I was a bit intimidated by the habit they wore. It was voluminous and its regulators seemed unaware of time, weather and social change. The bulk of the cotton wrapped around their bodies occupied spaces that threatened the basic notion of spirituality, which was simplicity.

The color of their habit also did not bear any metaphor about the blue eternity and the whiteness of purity. If the sessions with me in the old seminary were a battle of symbols, they would have lost that first day. The gray color that their ancient superiors opted for was of the tainted, the nearly impure tone. But symbols operate also on inversion; in which case, they triumphed by self-effacement. In the group, I immediately noticed the smallest member. The rest appeared to comport themselves in the bounty of their appearance. The person—the little monk—looks lost

in the gray ocean of his identity. In a discipline that is hallmarked by positivism, the notion that everything can be measured, I could have subjected him to rigorous measurement. Yet, I stayed with the impression that he was small. It was perhaps his delicate features and his tiny fingers peeping from the swath of the sleeves that made him look tiny. How physical is priesthood? If he would be a missionary, would he survive the jungle or the scarcity of resources around his assignment? Would he even survive his grand vestment? One day, I called him to recite. He

had an odd inflection but his logic was brilliant and his voice, loud and clear. It was an impressive performance. He stood tall for a moment but when he sat, he was again small. On the last day, during the final exam, he was hunched over his exam sheet. He became the monk of old presiding over the preservation of illuminated manuscript. He even looked like one of those unpopular saints in churches. He constantly moved his lips. He was praying, I concluded. Finishing the exam he handed me his paper with his two hands. They were tiny, I confirmed my impression. As he walked away, his habit made a sweep of the floor. There was majesty in that quick gesture. He looked tinier as he vanished from the door. I do not know if it was right to call him a monk. I was playing with the cliché of church histories. I wonder how he would face the dark nights of his body and soul when the shadows loomed and confronted him. I am even not sure if he would last the years of penance and prayers clothed in that sacred uniform of penitence. Last Friday I was in the old cathedral of my city. It was the rehearsal of the wedding of my niece. The

What inspires teachers to teach By Emma G. Atanacio

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ll of us have had a teacher in our life who may have changed our outlook or made significant impact on our lives. Even the best teacher, for that matter, was once a student who looked up to her teacher. But what really inspires a teacher to teach? Many educators believe that there is nothing more satisfying than to inspire students to open their minds. They wish to make learning easy and full of fun, especially now that digital learning is taking over our educational system. Being part of the transformative force that is education can be a powerful thing, but so, too, is experiencing the reward of everyday moments

shared with young minds. As some of the most influential role models for developing students, teachers are responsible for more than just academic enrichment. If you want to be a great educator, you must connect with your students and reach out to them on multiple levels. Understanding students is very important to effective teaching. In order to plan how to teach your students, or to device ways to present a subject in an interesting manner, a teacher needs to know what motivates the students, what background the students are bringing to the classroom, as well as the students’ general interests. To be a model teacher, educators are not only encouraged to seek continuous professional development. They can also ask for observation

on a regular basis, to be given opportunities to grow and learn from masters or from more experienced practitioners. Teachers to the barrios are the most neglected force in our education program, yet they are the most overworked and underpaid teachers around. They walk several kilometers a day, and even brave rough rivers just to reach their school. Some skip their breakfast in order to arrive early for their morning duty, and some even forget to marry because of their love to their profession. Teaching is one of those professions that keeps you on your toes and keeps you young at heart. It allows you to use your brain and, at the same time, continue learning every day. Teachers, however, also need a

rains that came in the afternoons brought the wind inside where we were. As we waited for the members of the entourage, I walked around with my friend to survey the saints on the walls. They looked magnificent and regal but, except for a few, were not life-sized. They were, in fact, small. Their hands were pink or pale. The fingers of the monksaints were so tiny as they peeped from the golden and red and black sleeves. They were the fingers of my little monk. At the side altar, the patron saint of the land stood sacral and was even smaller than the smallest saints. My little monk deserves a space in this holy hall. I prayed that he survive the exam of my secular subject. I prayed, too, that he live healthy inside that huge habit, the grayness of that cloth, in the color that is tainted and a bit impure. I prayed for all the grayness in our human lives, in a universe that is drained of brightness, in a lifetime that begins in gray mornings and ends in sad, obscure nights. I prayed for all the little saints. I prayed for all the little monks with their huge habit and powers.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

variety of professional development methods for their growth. Teaching is a profession that allows you to be creative, and work with a variety of different people. Each school day brings with it a new beginning. Teachers possess a passion for the subjects that they teach, and they also have genuine care for their students. They inspire young minds to play with ideas, think deeply about the subject matter, take on more challenging work, and even pursue careers in a particular field of study to become successful in life. Seeing their students reach their goals and become productive members of the community is the ultimate reason why teachers teach. The author is Teacher 3 at Quinawegan Elementary School in Buguey, Cagayan.

France opposes death penalty under all circumstances Statement of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty (October 10, 2017)

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N the occasion of the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty and the 40th anniversary of the last execution in France, France reaffirms its attachment to the universal abolition of the death penalty. France is opposed to the death penalty everywhere and under all circumstances. It is committed to the universal abolition of this unjust, in-

humane and ineffective punishment and calls on all states that still impose the death penalty to establish a moratorium with a view toward its definitive abolition. We therefore welcome the decision by Mongolia, in effect since July 1, 2017, to definitively abolish the death penalty, as well as the commitment to abolish it made by Gambian President Adama Barrow before the United Nations on September 21. We also welcome the abolition in 2016 of the death penalty for all crimes in Benin and in Nauru and the adoption by Guinea of a new criminal

code that no longer provides for this punishment. We want to signal our concern at the continued use of the death penalty, notably in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and the United States, and at the resumption of executions in Nigeria, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. France is also concerned about the determination of the Philippine authorities to reintroduce the death penalty, following its abolition in 2006. To mark this occasion, a series of televised interviews was held at the

Quai d’Orsay on October 10 from 6 p.m., which was broadcast live on social media. The discussions focused on the issue of the death penalty and poverty and included testimonies from Shreya Rastogi, an Indian lawyer, Joaquin José Martinez, a former death row inmate in the United States who was exonerated, Taieb Bessadok, the lawyer of Maher Manaï, a Tunisian who had been sentenced to death; and Urbain Yamaego, coordinator of the Coalition Against the Death Penalty in Burkina Faso. This event can be followed on Facebook.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Friday, October 13, 2017

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Senators prepare to do double duty as Bautista impeachment trial nears S By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

enators, who will sit as judges in the impeachment trial of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres D. Bautista for alleged corruption and unexplained wealth, will “find time” to simultaneously perform their lawmaking tasks, allaying concerns pending legislations will be relegated to the back burner.

Biodiversity. . . Continued from A1

Businesses that rely on natural raw materials, she noted, have more reasons to invest in biodiversity. The government has no accounting of biodiversity donation or investment from the private sector, but she said a few years ago, the DENR-BMB started to account government financing on biodiversity called BioFin, or Biodiversity Financing Initiative. The United Nations Development Programme, through its own BioFin, revealed that the implementation of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2028 will require financing of at least P24 billion annually until 2028. The projected spending for biodiversity, however, is estimated at a measly P5 billion a

year, based on the annual budget allocation by Congress. This leaves behind a financing gap of P19 billion a year. The government is encouraging public-private partnership to close the gap in biodiversity financing and is advocating biodiversity integration in business planning and programs. During previous interviews, biodiversity integration in the business plans and programs of companies, Lim said, should go beyond one-time environmental projects or programs, like tree-planting activities or coastal cleanups. She had said biodiversity integration also involves consideration of environment-friendly practices in all aspects of business operations. She noted that investing in biodiversity

“We will find time,” Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III assured on Thursday. “It is part of our job.” Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III, in a separate interview, confirmed the Senate’s readiness to take on the task when asked if they are preparing to adjust the Upper House’s calendar and order of business, even as it awaits transmittal of the articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives. “Yes. We are constrained by the Constitution,” Sotto told the BusinessMirror. “It says we must convene ‘forthright’; that is the wording of the Constitution.” Sotto suggested that one option

is for the Senate to split the weekly legislative work schedule, unlike the morning and afternoon formula when the Senate first convened as an impeachment court to try the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, sitting as legislators in the morning plenary session and as impeachment judges in the afternoon trial. The majority leader added the senators may also opt to adopt the three days-two days formula for splitting the work week for legislative work and impeachment trial. However, Pimentel pointed out that the Senate preparations may be “rendered moot” should Bautista fulfill his announced plan to resign

by December 31. “We have yet to see his resignation letter, but that is what he said,” Pimentel said. He added that the Senate impeachment proceedings will be aborted soon after Bautista steps down. “We will stop the proceedings since there is no reason to proceed,” the Senate President said, but added: “We will proceed with the preparations for convening the Senate as an impeachment court because “we have no right to assume”. This developed as Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon voiced misgivings that the legislative’s priority agenda, topped by the passage of the proposed

2018 national budget and the taxreform package, could be derailed by Bautista’s impeachment trial. “The deliberations on the proposed 2018 national budget and the TRAIN [Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act] will have to take a backseat once the Senate begins the impeachment trial against Chairman Andy Bautista,” Drilon said. “Our calendar is too tight, and the impeachment case will eat up a lot of our time when we resume session in November. Legislative work will be seriously affected and that is a matter that the leadership should highly consider,” the senator said.

entails additional costs, but emphasized that it pays to invest in biodiversity, as it boosts business sustainability, especially in the face of climate change-triggered natural calamities, such as intensifying typhoon, flood and sea-level rise. The BMB chief is backing the passage of the Expanded-National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-Nipas) bill, which, among others, will grant tax perks to businesses for donations made for the management of protected areas (PAs). The proposed measure will allow companies to deduct from their taxable income their donation to efforts to preserve the country’s PAs. Lim believes that this will encourage more businesses to invest in biodiversity and boost the protection and management of the country’s PAs. A provision in the consolidated E-Nipas bill, particularly Section 16-A, s t a t e s t h a t : “A l l grants, bequest and

endowments, donations and contributions made to the Integrated Protected Areas Fund (Ipaf) to be used actually, directly and exclusively by the protected area shall be exempt from donor’s tax and shall be considered as allowable deduction from the gross income of the donor for the purpose of computing the taxable income of the donor in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended”. The new E-Nipas bill, a consolidation of two earlier bills—House Bill (HB) 177 filed by Rep. Josephine Y. Sato-Ramirez of the Lone District of Occidental Mindoro and HB 133 of Party-list Rep. Rodel M. Batocabe of Ako Bicol—was approved by the Natural Resources, Appropriations and, lately, the Ways and Means. The Senate version of the E-Nipas, Senate Bill 144, was approved on third and final reading early this year. The DENR-BMB is coordinating with the various committees in further refin-

ing the bill, hoping that it will encourage more investment that will boost the current level of investment from the national government, local government units and the private sector. Asked how it plans to encourage biodiversity investment in the private sector and ensure that revenues generated will be used for the development and rehabilitation of PAs, Lim said the E-Nipas bill itself already outlines a process that was adopted under the previous law on the Integrated IPAF. “We hope that with the outlining of the provisions under the E-Nipas, more PAs will be encouraged to earn revenues, of course, through sustainable means, through sustainable livelihoods and sustainable generating activities. We will, of course, go into details when we craft the implementing rules and regulation,” she said. According to Lim, through the IPAF retention law, which allows the PAs to retain 75 percent of the revenue it generates, the

PA managers will be encouraged to lure private-sector investment. The Philippines is one of the megadiverse countries in the world but is suffering from the rapid rate of biodiversity loss. It is a party or signatory to various international treaties, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). The Philippines, the only Asian country which is a party to the CMS—also called the Convention—will be hosting the 12th Conference of Parties Meeting on CMS to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) from October 22 to 28. The BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum is covered by the Aliw Media Group, which includes the BusinessMirror, Pilipino Mirror, DWIZ, Philippines Graphic, CNN Philippines, Cook and Locale magazines.