Businessmirror october 24, 2016

“I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense.”—Donald Trump, when asked whether he would accept the outcome if Hillary Clinton wins next month’s election. AP

media partner of the year

“He’d rather have a puppet as president of the United States.”—Hillary Clinton, charging that Russian President Vladimir Putin was backing Donald Trump’s candidacy. AP

“[It is going] more quickly than we thought.”—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, on the progress of the military offensive to oust Islamic State extremists from Mosul. AP

BusinessMirror

United nations

2015 environmental Media Award leadership award 2008

A broader look at today’s business

www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Monday, October 24, 2016 Vol. 12 No. 12

Visa reforms to hike tourist arrivals–DOT 12M

T

P25.00 nationwide | 6 sections 36 pages | 7 days a week

Utilizing the Performance Governance System for PPPs

@Pulitika2010 Special to the BusinessMirror

INSIDE

PERSPECTIVE

PPP Lead

The DOT’s target visitor arrivals by 2022

Alberto C. Agra

W

In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo also said she achieved major breakthroughs with Chinese investors and leaders that will enhance the Philippine tourism industry.

hat is the Performance Governance System (PGS) and how does this enhance publicprivate partnerships (PPPs)? Can the PGS help “future-proof” PPP policies and projects?

What systems must be in place so that PPPs will serve the interests of the people and will be powered by the people themselves?

Continued on A4

BMReports

Advocates move South to perk up PHL coffee

Continued on A14

e4

Make It Easier for Happy Customers to Buy More

AYALA POWER FIRM STILL BETS ON COAL AS BASE-LOAD FUEL

monday morning

NONIE REYES

BusinessMirror

C1

| Monday, oCtober 24, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

By Manuel T. Cayon

Mindanao Bureau Chief @awimailbox

FAITH REWARDED! Cubs make history on eleCtriC night at Wrigley Field

C

By Paul Sullivan Chicago Tribune

HICAGO—A little bit of faith was all the Cubs asked for, and all they really needed.

Forget about all the things that happened to their predecessors and think about all the hard work and preparation that got them to this moment.

When it mattered most, the Cubs were ready, and so was Wrigley Field.

On an electric night at the 102-year-old ballpark, the Cubs beat the Dodgers, 5-0, in Game Six of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) to clinch their first pennant since 1945.

Kyle Hendricks turned in another made-for-Maddux outing in the biggest game of his life, shutting out the Dodgers on two hits in 7 1/3 innings and beating Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

“I thought we played one of our best games we played

all year tonight, under these circumstances,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “The defense, the pitching, the hitting. That was a complete game of baseball.”

The Cubs have had history thrown in their faces all year long, and they know the numbers by heart—1908 and 1945, 1969 and 2003.

“The history means a lot,” Hendricks said. “It puts it in perspective for us. We enjoy it more, because we know it means to the fans of this city. At the end of the day, it’s about baseball, it’s about winning games, and it comes down to making pitches.”

A crowd of 42,386 made every pitch a life-and-death experience, while thousands of fans congregated outside to share in the glory. It was a day they’d waited their entire lives for, and no one was ready to go home.

A 71-year wait for a pennant seemed like a lifetime, and for most of them, it was. There were a few near-misses along the way, most notably in 1984 and 2003, but for the most part, the franchise seldom came close to getting this

far, earning its reputation as lovable losers.

Hendricks may not be the best pitcher on the planet, but he just might be the smartest. He was lost in Kershaw’s shadow in all the pregame hype, despite leading the majors in earned-run average.

“Honestly, it’s nothing new for me,” Hendricks said. “That’s kind of how it’s been my whole life, my whole career. But you don’t think about it. That’s all outside forces. When you make good pitches, you’re going to get hitters out.”

All the pregame anxiety subsided when Dexter Fowler sliced a ball into right field that bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double leading off the game. Everyone was well aware of the Cubs’ mantra surrounding Fowler.

“He goes, we go.”

FANS celebrate on the street outside Wrigley Field after Game Six of the National League Championship Series. The Cubs won, 5-0, against the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. AP

STRANGERS IN STRANGE LAND C

HICAGO—Cubs fans, the World Series calls and the Cleveland Indians are waiting.

Forget the history. Instead, think of yourselves as discoverers, as pilgrims in some strange new world created by Theo and the Ricketts family.

With your team in the World Series, Cubs history is irrelevant. History is like armor; it shields you from the moment.

It’s heavy and it gets in the way. So drop it.

It’s been more than a century since the Cubs won a World Series, and if you’re a true fan and not some bandwagon jumper, you already know the past.

You know the October wind that has mocked you year after year, while others had the Series in their towns. You

know the wet of all those cold Novembers. You’ve said, “Wait till next year” so many times that it began to curdle on you, like a shriek at a grave.

There have been generations of futility, and reason alone couldn’t explain it. So you had to rely on curses and goats to make sense of things.

That’s all gone. You’re here, with the Cubs, and your hearts are pounding.

Baseball history, that weak, church-of-baseball history, is fine for some nine-part PBS documentary. But ballplayers aren’t nerds. They think of now, not then. History just doesn’t belong on a baseball diamond in October.

You think Javy Baez thinks about Cubs history? You think

he wants to redeem what happened when the ball bounced through Leon Durham’s legs in San Diego? Or 1969 and the Mets, and the black cat and Ron Santo’s rage?

No. He makes his own history. He let that soft liner fall with men on base the other night, so the Cubs could turn a double play against the Dodgers. His mind wasn’t calcified by memories.

Kyle Hendricks played for Dartmouth, so he must have read some history. Go ask him. I wouldn’t, but you could. And here is what I’d like him to say to you about Cubs history: “History? So bleeping what? Shut up, nerd, and give me the ball.”

Here’s what historians do as kids if they have an autographed baseball: They keep it in a glass case and worship it. They collect baseball cards. They know about the

D

ChICAGo Cubs players celebrate after winning the National League baseball championship series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Inset) Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) is embraced by catcher Willson Contreras (40) after sending their team to the World Series with a win in Game Six. AP

Another double to right by Kris Bryant brought a giant sigh of relief, and when left fielder Andrew Toles botched an Anthony Rizzo fly ball, the Cubs were on their way. Fowler’s run batted in (RBI) single in the second made it 3-0, and Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo cranked solo home runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pile on.

“It’s hard to put into words, when you see a guy like David Ross on the podium,” Jake Arrieta said. “It’s been a storybook year, not only for him, but for the team.”

On a gorgeous fall afternoon in Chicago, the “W” flags were flying all over Wrigleyville, and the whole town seemed to be in a self-induced, Cubbie coma.

“I love to be in a city that’s playing October baseball, where you can just feel everyone captivated by the ballclub, everyone walking around tired from staying up late, prioritizing baseball above all else,” President Theo Epstein said. “It’s a great phenomenon.”

The Cubs pulled out all the stops on Saturday, almost as if the day was scripted.

Kyle Schwarber’s unexpected return from knee surgery was announced in the afternoon, precluding a possible return as designated hitter (DH) in the World Series. Kerry Wood threw out the first pitch wearing a Ron Santo jersey and the Cubs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, forcing Kershaw to throw 30 pitches.

A video of Santo played on the video board after the bottom of the first and a premature fireworks display went off outside the centerfield scoreboard during the second.

The players were ready for anything, and nothing seemed

sports “Homer in the Gloamin’.”

But here’s what ballplayers do as kids if the only baseball they’ve got is one with autographs on it: They hit it. They catch it. They play with it in the dirt.

The only history that counts is what the Cub scouts and players and Manager Joe Maddon put before them in reports, one of pitches and tendencies, who’s on form and who’s not, who can’t hit, who can.

Ballplayers aren’t tweedy professors, smoking pipes like some geezer in the Narnia stories. Don’t be the geezer. And they’re not some Sox fan who writes a newspaper column and is now vaguely apologizing for baiting Cubs fans with talk of goat soup. MCT

to faze them. Series Most Valuable Player Javier Baez got the crowd into it by pumping his chest a few times after starting a double play in the first and stealing a popup from Rizzo in the fifth despite Rizzo waving his arms calling for it.

Like a couple of kids in Little League, Rizzo pretended to go after Baez. Maybe that’s why this team is as good as it is. They’ve never lost the kid in them, even when the stakes were the highest.

The Cubs have been so ready to party they had their own DJ on call for the pennant-clinching bash in the clubhouse.

So will the Cubs have a DJ ready for a World Series bash?

“There’ll be a lot more than just one DJ,” Rizzo said.

“There will be a zoo.”

c1

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

C

e1

faith rewarded!

Sports

business news source of the year

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

HE Department of Tourism (DOT) is working to simplify visa procedures for more foreign visitors, especially Chinese nationals, in a bid to further increase the number of tourists in the country.

In Philippine drug war, a family struggles to stay safe

2016 ejap journalism awards

Part One

AVAO CITY—Call it colonial mentality, but an American brand coffee shop’s popularity among conios has brought fame to a bean the size of a pencil eraser.

Almost month after month, coffee shops sprouted after the first Starbucks opened on December 4, 1997, at the

PESO exchange rates n US 48.0410

6750 Ayala Building in Makati City.

Sadly, the popularity hasn’t rubbed off on the Filipino farmer or coffee-farm investor. Hardly could the Philippines meet even its domestic demand, with production only able to supply a third of consumption—currently estimated at 100,000 metric tons annually. The local market, likewise, is dominated by the processed or instant coffee.

The price of the preferred red beans, at P100 a kilo to P120 a kilo, failed to titillate the country’s farmers tilling

almost 120,000 hectares of coffee farms. Hence, many coffee farmers remained terribly poor, according to industry leaders.

It was different then, even when Starbucks opened its first shop in the United States in 1971.

Going South

DURING the heydays of Philippine coffee in the 1980s, the country exported as much as $100 million worth of

OAL would still be the country’s main source of baseload energy for the next two decades, an official of AC Energy Holdings Inc. said, but added that there is a need for the government, particularly the Department of Energy (DOE), to clarify its position on the role of coal in the country’s energy-fuel mix.

Like many others, AC Energy shares the view coal-fired power plants are still the cheapest and fastest to build in this country, amid environmental concerns raised by some sectors.

It is still the most dependable source of power.

“We won’t veer away from coal,” AC Energy President Eric Francia said.

Latest data from the DOE showed more than half of the country’s power supply comes from coal- and diesel-powered plants, with more to be built. In fact, 70 percent from the 47 identified new power plants being or will be built are coal-based.

See “Power firm,” A2

Continued on A2

n japan 0.4622 n UK 58.8694 n HK 6.1924 n CHINA 7.1217 n singapore 34.5172 n australia 36.6265 n EU 52.5184 n SAUDI arabia 12.8133

Source: BSP (21 October 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, October 24, 2016

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Advocates move South to perk up PHL coffee Continued from A1

coffee beans a year. A Department of Agriculture (DA) account of the period said that in 1989, however, an international coffee agreement on supply collapsed and prices went south. The drastic fall in prices was blamed on oversupply in the world market.

Since then the market supply dropped immediately by as much as 30 percent. In the Philippines the plunging bean price has dampened coffee growers to this day.

A report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted that the decline in coffee production is due to shift from coffee to banana, banana, rubber and palm-oil production in Mindanao. The USDA report was in 2009, referring to the previous year’s performance of the commodity. It has nearly been a dozen years after Starbucks entered the local market.

Industry leaders today, however, still find the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. And they are looking at Mindanao.

Fresh excitement

JORGE M e n doz a J uda n ,

corporate secretary of the Philippine Coffee B oa rd ( PC B), s a id t h at t he lackadaisical aura among coffee farmers could be easily turned around. He believes growers like him could do so by showing the farmers “the domestic market is so big there is no question that it should be filled.”

However, Judan said at a recent conference here “just filling up the domestic market is a big challenge.”

“The quality of coffee we are seeing here [displayed outside the venue of the summit] is very encouraging,” he said during the closing rites here of the two-day Ninth National Coffee Summit.

“The aroma, the taste is so good.”

However, Judan admits that “the coffee that we are seeing” is only 10 percent of what is being planted across the country.

“After this [summit] and having seen the coffee samples coming out from the mountains of Mindanao, we know the great potential of coffee revival, with Mindanao coffee products still untapped,” he said on October 12.

The interest to continue with planting coffee could be gleaned from

Power firm. . .

Continued from A1

“In terms of electricity production, we have noticed a high dependency on coal, recorded at 44 percent as of March 2016. Natural gas and renewable energy [RE] supplied 22 percent and 25 percent, respectively,” the DOE said during the recent fourth Annual Philippines Power and Electricity Week.

At the same time, the Department of Energy is strongly pushing for RE. “We believe RE has a strong potential. That’s the future, no doubt. But for a country like the Philippines, we don’t have the benefit of indigenous natural gas, other than Malampaya, which is ending its life term,” said Francia.

He said coal and RE will “coexist, at least for the next decade. “I can only see for the next 20 years to 25 years. Beyond that, I don’t know,” he said.

Francia said the role of coal in the mix must be clarified because “we are definitely getting mixed

the increasing attendance in the annual summit held, according to Judan.

“When we came down here in 2014, there were a hundred participants. In 2015 attendance almost doubled—there were 190,” he said. “Today, 640 people came from Mindanao. About 10 percent came from Manila and abroad.”

Incorrect practices

JUDAN agreed about the low yield per hectare currently besetting coffee farms.

“On the average, [the yield admittedly is low] because farmers are not doing it correctly.”

However, Judan said coffee is not difficult to till. But doing what is necessary in producing it well is another thing, he explained.

Alejando C. Mojica of Cavite State University (CSU) said the average potential yield of coffee farms should have been already in 1.2 tons per hectare.

Except in Cavite, whose farmers are averaging 700 kilos, “the rest of the country produces only 300 kilos,” said Mojica, vice president for research and development of the National Coffee Research Development and Extension Center

signals from different parts of the government.”

He echoed the concern of other power-plant operators that a clear policy on energy mix would guide investors on which type of power plants must be built in the future.

“That needs to be spelled out with reality in mind,” Francia said. “When you say energy mix, it must also spell out the implications. Ano ba talaga ang technology, and role and framework so that we will be properly guided?”

A “strategic” energy-mix policy is now being crafted by the DOE, following President Duterte’s pronouncement his administration will not honor the December 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which the Philippines adopted along with 200 countries.

“The Department of Energy is formulating a strategic fuel-policy mix to propel the country’s growing economy,” Cusi said. “While we signed the Paris agreement last year, committing ourselves to limit our carbon emissions, we cannot ignore the fact that our level of economic development

in CSU. According to Judan, compare this to farms in Vietnam that produces 3 to 5 tons per hectare.

Mojica said the huge potential may lie in the untapped gourmet market providing “what we call as specialty coffee.”

“These are the coffee shops and other food outlets that brew coffee and offer different concoctions for coffee lovers,” he said. “This is apart from the processed- or instantcoffee market, where 90 percent of the country’s production is geared for that market.”

Gourmet market

DESPITE the huge output for the instant-coffee market, there is still much room for filling up the demand of the gourmet market, Mojica said.

“With good farm practice and good genetic material, production could be increased to as much as 1 ton per hectare, and satisfy both markets.” Besides, the gourmet market offers a better paying price of P120 per kilo, compared to only P100 per kilo of the coffee beans that the instant-coffee market buys, he said.

at this point does not allow us to rely completely on renewable-energy sources or clean energy,” the energy chief said.

“We need to build more baseload power plants while also aggressively pushing for clean energy,” Cusi said. Cusi’s predecessor, Zenaida Monsada, earlier pushed for the industry to source 30 percent of its energy requirements from coal, 30 percent from RE, and another 30 percent from natural gas.

The remaining 10 percent will come from oil-based power plants.

When she was still the energy secretary, Monsada was hoping the new administration would push for the legislation of a power-mix policy.

Francia, however, believes the proposed policy doesn’t have to be legislated. “I don’t believe it has to be legislated…Executive lang iyan.”

Just recently, Aboitiz Power Corp. stressed the need for a balanced mix of power, including coal, to ensure a reliable and affordable power supply.

“Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about coal and whether we should be building ad-

A 2009 government survey of tourism establishments in the Philippines shows a total of 13,120 establishments engaged in food and beverage service activities.

It listed restaurants, cafés and fast-food centers as comprising the biggest number, with 10,282, or 78.4 percent of the total; while refreshment stands, kiosks and counters, which still offer coffee drinks, ranked second with 1,997 (15.2 percent).

Uncoordinated

THE DA coffee industry profile shows the farms as still dominated by small farmers, with average size of one to 2 hectares.

“Most of the farms are intercropped, such as with vegetables, coconut, fruit trees and even forest trees [especially in the case of Arabica coffee],” the report said. “There are very limited commercial scale plantations in the country.”

The DA noted that all the common coffee varieties are planted in the country, with Arabica preferred in other countries over its excellent flavor and aroma. This is known locally as kapeng Tagalog.

This variety yields between 500

ditional coal capacity. However, technology and best practices of clean and responsible coal are available today. In fact, if you visit these modern coal plants, you will see that the host communities are thriving and unaffected negatively by these power plants,” Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) President and CEO Erramon Aboitiz said.

AEV’s power arm Aboitiz Power supports RE. While it strongly encourages the use of renewables, “we cannot be totally dependent on them.”

RE, he said, is intermittent and dependent on the availability of the resource used, whether it be the sun, rain or wind, let alone the cost of impact.

“As a developing country sourcing about 40 percent of our power requirements from renewable sources and a carbon footprint much lower than the developed world, with a need to be globally competitive to protect our jobs and our economy, we should be careful not to get ahead of ourselves and cognizant of the increased cost in adopting renewables. Bottom line, we need to have a balanced mix of responsible power,” he said.

kilograms and 1,000 kg of dry coffee beans per hectare, DA documents revealed. It added that this variety “is an early bearer, it bears fruits two to three years from planting.”

Other variety

THE other favored variety is Robusta, a high-yielding coffee plant and more resistant to pests and diseases, local DA documents said.

“It yields a higher 1,200 kg or more per hectare of dry beans.”

The other varieties include Liberica, locally known as kapeng barako. citing it for high tolerance to drought and which could be grown in other soil types. The variety starts bearing four to five years after transplanting and yields approximately 500 kg of beans per hectare.

The Excelsa variety is common also in many hinterland areas, and the indigenous tribes in northern Davao City have been known to mix this variety with corn kernels to produce their own native coffee.

The DA said this variety is resistant to drought, which bears fruit four to five years after transplanting, and yields 1,000-kg beans per hectare. To be continued

Solon. . .

Continued from A16

However, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua, in an interview, said there is no need for a law to implement these tax-collection efficiency measures.

“Most of them [tax-collection efficiency measures] are tax administration, it doesn’t need to be legislated. They just have to be implemented. So we are working with the BIR and BOC to make sure that they are being implemented,” Chua said.

“If the proposal is point of sale, the proposal is to link with the other agencies it is already in the tax code. As I mentioned these are administrative measures, so on our part, we are just going to supervise the BIR better,” he added. Last week the 17th Congress went on a Halloween break without acting on their joint version of the comprehensive tax-reform package. According to Cua, the lower chamber and the DOF are still conducting meetings to settle contentious provisions in the proposed DOF bill, which it submitted to Congress.

Lawmakers are opposing some of the offsetting measures being pushed by the DOF to make up the revenue lost from lowering the personal income tax. Among the DOF’s offsetting measures are imposition of excise tax on petroleum, and removal of VAT exemptions for senior citizens and PWDs. Also, Cua said there’s no final decision yet on the adjustment of personal income tax (PIT) brackets.

The lower chamber and President Duterte want to exempt workers earning P25,000 monthly, or P300,000 annually and below from PIT. But this runs counter to the proposal of the DOF, which seeks to exempt from PIT only workers with a monthly salary of P20,833, or P250,000 annually.

In the current setup, those earning P10,000 or less per month pay a 5-percent income tax, while those with yearly earnings of P500,000 and above pay a 32-percent income tax.

Pragmatism. . .

Continued from A16

Most clients of Philippine-based callcenter companies are from the United States, the analysts had noted, adding that investors might also put out from property stock, which have benefited from the robust rental revenues from BPO firms.

US banks might also be more reluctant to lend to Philippine firms, they said.

And finally, there is the matter of comparative FDI flows between the old friend America and the newly revived friend China. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data reflected $78.28 million in FDIs from US in the first 7 months of 2016, nearly 25-fold that of China’s $3.3 million in the same period.

However, analysts hope the FDI from China would grow as result of the reported $13-billion investments promised during the visit.

Whichever way it goes, pragmatism as the anchor of the President’s foreign-policy moves will apparently be the norm in the days to come.

BMReports BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, October 24, 2016 A3

House leaders want to look into tax incentives granted to BellTel L

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

eaders of the House of Representatives have recently questioned the franchise granted to San Miguelowned Bell Telecommunication Philippines Inc. (BellTel) in the 16th Congress.

House Deputy Speakers Raneo Abu of Batangas and Romero S. Quimbo of Marikina said they are planning to investigate the approval of its franchise, after Smart Communications asked for tax incentives similar to those given to BellTel last year.

Smart Communications is now in the process of renewing its franchise. “There was a lapse in the approval of the franchise of BellTel. It appears that it was approved without the knowledge of the members of the ways and means panel,” Abu said.

“The approval of this franchise is highly irregular. The tax provisions in this franchise were never discussed by the panel,” he added.

BellTel’s legislative franchise, which is valid until mid-2040, was approved as Republic Act (R A) 10900 by House Committee on Legislative Franchise, chaired by former representative and now Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro during the 16th Congress. Abu said applications for franchises should be referred jointly to the House franchise committee and the House ways

The approval of this franchise is highly irregular. The tax provisions in this franchise were never discussed by the panel.”—Abu

and means committee.

Under Section 44 of the House Rules, whenever a bill or a resolution covers a subject matter that relates to the jurisdiction of more than one committee, the bill should be referred to the committee whose jurisdiction the subject matter directly and principally relates to.

“Smart said they should be given the same tax privileges as those contained in BellTel’s franchise.

The members, including myself,

were surprised to see that the franchise had been approved without passing through my committee,” said Quimbo, who was the head of the ways and means panel in the 16th Congress.

“It’s a requirement that all measures that contain tax provisions should pass through the [panel].

And this did not. It effectively makes this tax privilege dubious and with deep legal infirmity. It violated basic procedures of our rules,” he added.

According to Quimbo, he will ask the current House leadership to investigate the franchise, particularly its tax provisions, granted to BellTel through RA 10900. Section 9 of RA 10900 exempts BellTel from paying taxes for expenses related to equipment and infrastructure used in its core business.

Abu said the incentives given to BellTel under RA 10900 would “adversely affect” local government units, as the company is exempted

from paying many local taxes.

The lawmaker also said he is now drafting a bill that would provide “uniform incentives” to all telecommunications companies.

“These incentives should be uniform for all the telcos,” Abu added.

Before selling its telco assets to PLDT and Globe in May, San Miguel had planned to enter the mobilephone business and become the fourth player in the local telecommunications industry.

BMReports BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, October 24, 2016

DA to set aside ₧800M a year for farmers in poor provinces

www.businessmirror.com.ph

HSBC rings in support for Globe, PLDT’s frequency buy

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

S

T

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

he Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will allocate at least P800 million a year to fund programs aimed at helping Filipino farmers in the poorest provinces.

“That’s the target. That’s in line with the direction of [President Duterte]. Our farmers should be empowered and that should be our view to lift them from poverty,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Lerey A. Panes told reporters recently.

“At the end of his [Mr. Duterte] term, you should be proud that you are a farmer and you’re earning more than enough,” Panes added.

He said the government is targeting to reduce the poverty incidence in the 10 “priority regions” by at least 25 percent within two

60

The number of provinces the government is targeting to help via the SAAD program years via the agency’s flagship program, dubbed as Special Area for

Agricultural Development (SAAD).

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has earlier targeted to achieve this in three years.

“We want the program to have an impact in two years. We will monitor and evaluate after two years to determine how the interventions of the DA affected the provinces,” Panes said.

Under the SAAD, 10 identified priority provinces per year will receive livelihood programs and other related support from the DA amounting to at least P80 million, he said.

“The DA would provide them with livelihood programs suitable in each region that would have an immediate impact on farmers. It may be a hog program, vegetable or dairy program, as long as the business is viable in the region,” Panes said.

The 10 poorest regions, which the DA has included in the SAAD program, are Apayao, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato, Sarangani, Maguindanao, Eastern Samar, Western Samar and Northern Samar.

Panes said the DA would identify

10 more provinces to support under the SAAD program every year.

The goal is to increase the number to 60 provinces before Mr. Duterte steps down from office in 2022.

Throughout the implementation of the program, the DA would request a bigger budget for the SAAD, the bulk of which would be given to new enrollees in the program.

“Actually, the P80 million to P90 million budget per province is the minimum. We could always submit a budget proposal every year to make sure that there would be no interruption of support to those who were given already,” Panes said.

The DA has already started implementing the SAAD program in the provinces of Apayao and Negros, Panes added.

“This week, on Monday and Tuesday, [DA officials] will go to Lanao and Zamboanga to meet with the provincial directors there to brief them about the SAAD,” Panes said.

Last month the DA had also unveiled a P200-million loan program which the 10 poorest provinces in the SAAD program could tap to augment their budgets.

@lorenzmarasigan

ANS explanation on their role in a government case against two telecommunication companies, the HSBC issued a statement supporting the monopoly by Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc. of the country’s frequency control.

According to HSBC, the P70billion paid by PLDT and Globe Telecom to buy San Miguel Corp.’s telco assets is “beneficial to consumers.” The bank, sans citing why it is issuing its statement, contradicts claims made by industry experts and the competition watchdog.

The mega deal in the telco industry is “potentially transformational for both the carriers and the consumers alike,” according to the world’s fourthlargest bank.

The London, UK-headquartered multinational banking and financial services company explained the purchase gives Globe Telecom and PLDT a “critical” asset that allows them to aggressively expand their network coverage and capacity. “ The deal to acquire the spectrum is potentially transformational,” the document obtained by the BusinessMirror read. “This enables them to rapidly improve capacity and coverage.”

The multinational financialservices company noted that it is beyond question why the two carriers started rolling out cell sites on the bandwidth that they acquired with the purchase deal, particularly the 700-megahertz (MHz) band.

“There is no surprise that the telcos began to roll out infrastructure on this bandwidth even before receiving full clearance from the deal from the regulatory bodies,” the document read.

But the deal is currently being questioned by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), which claimed that the transaction might have a negative impact on the country’s telco industry.

The competition council said the transaction “will weaken a ny potent i a l compet itors, such that they w ill impose less competitive constraints than they would have done in the counterfactual.”

But such a review is currently in limbo, as the appellate court

Visa reforms to hike tourist arrivals–DOT

During a meeting with China National Tourism Agency Administration (CNTA) Chairman Li Jinzao, Teo emphasized the need to simplify visa-application procedures for Chinese tourists by offering visas on arrival or e-visas.

“I am coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs [DFA] and the Bureau of Immigration [BI] to implement this,” she said.

Under the BI’s Memorandum Order 2012-002, visas on arrival are allowed for Chinese tour groups of at least three persons up to 20 persons, with a maximum stay of 14 days.

The DOT is targeting visitor arrivals to reach 12 million by the end of Mr. Duterte’s term in 2022.

Citizens from 158 countries can enter the Philippines visa-free for tourism and business purposes, including the US, the United Kingdom, most European Union (EU)

countries, as well as members of the Asean, according to the DFA web site. Most are allowed to stay in the country for 30 days, but for India, Hong Kong and Macau, they are allowed to stay for 14 days, visa-free.

Previously, even tourists from India had difficulty in securing visas for the Philippines. In 2011 the Philippines announced visas on arrival for Indian nationalities, but shortly after doing so, a planeload of Indian tourists were turned back upon arrival in Kalibo, because they had no visas, tourism industry sources told the BusinessMirror.

The visa-on-arrival rule for Indian citizens, in congruence with a similar privilege for Filipinos visiting that country, even encouraged Philippine Airlines to mount direct flights to New Delhi in April 2011. This was scrapped

by November 2011, however, due

to low passenger load factors.

Since then, the government has allowed Indian tourists who can enter the Philippines visa-free only if they have existing visas to the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, the EU (Schengen visa), Singapore and the UK. Since last year, tourists who have such visas can land in any international airport in the Philippines.

Teo was recently in China as part of the official delegation led by President Duterte, who was there on his first state visit.

Another way to attract more Chinese visitors, said the DOT chief, was to implement a languagetraining program for tour guides.

“We will train them to speak Mandarin under DOT-accredited training centers,” she said. Many luxury hotels have already been hiring Mandarin-speaking locals of Chinese descent, as well as Chinese

nationals, to cater to the market.

She was also successful in her bid to attract investors to the country, intimating that “one of the richest businessmen in China committed to developing a town in Iloilo.” Teo declined to identify the Chinese businessman pending formalization of the investment.

“He will build a township that has seaports, airports, malls, theme parks and hotels,” she added.

Teo also met with Clarence Chung, chairman and president of Melco Crown Philippines Resorts Corp. (MCP), which established the City of Dreams Manila, the first foreign branch of City of Dreams Macau. The DOT said Melco is looking for more investments in the Philippines.

“I am positive that more and more tourists will go to the Philippines, with the infrastructure being built and development in

granted the relief sought by PLDT. The Court of Appeals on Wednesday asked the parties involved in the case to wrap up their claims and submit comments before the judicial body early next month.

The competition regulator has vowed to submit a “strong opposition” to the telco players’ plea.

Despite this, HSBC believes that the two telcos will win the case.

“It looks less likely that this deal will be blocked,” the document read sans giving the reason for the statement.

In a nutshell, the two Filipino telcos acquired San Miguel’s telco business for almost P70 billion on May 30. This transaction freed up the coveted 700-MHz frequency band, which, according to the players, is the key to improve the current state of the Internet in the Philippines.

Aside from giving access to the incumbent players access to 90 MHz of the 700-MHz band, the transaction, likewise, gave the two players additional frequencies across all other bands.

Before the acquisition of the telco business of San Miguel, which used to hold 345 MHz across different bands, PLDT Inc. held 290 MHz and Globe, 210 MHz. After the transaction, the pair returned 20 MHz of the 700-Mhz band, 15 MHz of the 2,500- to 2,700-MHz band, 40 MHz of the 3,400- to 3,500-MHz band, and 10 MHz of the 800MHz band to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to ensure that “a third player can still operate” in the near future.

The remainder was divided equally, giving PLDT 420 MHz in total spectrum holdings, and Globe, 340 MHz. The telco regulator has issued a “co-use agreement” on the frequencies, and has ordered the two telcos to improve their services in a year.

Experts in the telco industry and foreign credit watchers have been very vocal of their warning that the transaction will result in curbed competition in the hotly-contested industry lorded by the duopoly.

To further drive competition, they said there is a need for the market to have a new core player, one that will force the two telcos to be more aggressive in expanding their coverage and capacity using existing resources.

Continued from a1

tourism zones. We are looking at new investments,” the agency quoted Chung. MCP is a subsidiary of Melco Crown Entertaintment Ltd., a joint venture of Macau gaming industry leader Lawrence Ho and Australian hotelier and media mogul James Packer.

Casinos in Macau have been posting lower profits for the past three years as Beijing implemented a crackdown on luxurious spending overseas and corruption among its government officials. MCP had looked to its Manila integrated casino resort property to help shore up its sluggish income.

The DOT secretary also announced charter flights between Guangzhou and Clark, which will be inaugurated in December, aside from the Guangzhou-Laoag flights launched earlier.

In a related development, Teo signed an agreement with SM Prime

Holdings Inc. President Jeffrey Lim, for a project to promote Philippine tourism.

As per the agreement, which was signed at the Hyatt Hotel in Beijing, SM will provide exhibit areas and ad spaces across its malls in China to create awareness of Filipino culture and Philippine tourist destinations.

“We hope to increase tourist arrivals with the help of SM. We are planning to do road shows by next year and we will be inviting tour operators to promote Philippine tourist destinations,” Teo said.

According to Lim, about 100 million Chinese shoppers pass through its malls yearly. “China is a huge market for the Philippines; if we could just get 5 percent to 10 percent of that, we can double the tourist arrivals,” he added. SM operates seven malls in China, while one more is under construction.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

AseanMonday BusinessMirror

Somali pirate says 26 Asian sailors freed after 4 years

M

OGADISHU, Somalia—A Somali pirate said on Saturday 26 Asian sailors held hostage for more than four years have been released after a ransom was paid, and international mediators said it “represents the end of captivity for the last remaining seafarers taken hostage during the height of Somali piracy.”

The crew from Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and the Philippines had been among the few hostages still in the hands of Somali pirates.

The pirate, Bile Hussein, said the sailors were the crew of the FV Naham 3, a Taiwan-owned fishing vessel seized in March 2012. The ship later sank.

Hussein said $1.5 million in ransom was paid for the sailors’ release.

That claim could not be independently verified.

The 26 sailors “are currently in the safe hands of the Galmudug authorities and will be repatriated using a United Nations humanitarian flight shortly and then on to their home countries,” John Steed, the coordinator of the Hostage Support Partners for the US-based organization Oceans Beyond Piracy, said in a statement.

The statement included a photo, stamped August 14, showing the thin, grim crewmen standing or squatting together, as proof they remained alive. Steed said only one other group of hostages had been held longer than this one, which spent 1,672 days in captivity.

“They are reported to be in reasonable condition, considering their ordeal. They are all malnourished.

Four are currently receiving medical treatment by a doctor in Galkayo.

They have spent over four-and-a-half years in deplorable conditions away from their families,” Steed said.

He added that another member of the crew died in the hijacking and two died of illnesses in captivity.

Piracy off Somalia’s coast was once a serious threat to the global shipping industry, but attacks have dropped dramatically in recent years, after ships began carrying armed guards and European Union naval forces increased patrols.

No commercial vessel has been successfully attacked since 2012, but the threat of piracy remains, Steed said. AP

Monday, October 24, 2016 A5

US Navy destroyer conducts operation in islands claimed by Vietnam, China

W

ASHINGTON—A United States Navy warship on Friday passed through waters claimed

by China near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Defense Department said, drawing Chinese condemnation.

A department spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross, said the destroyer ship USS Decatur conducted the transit operation near the Paracel Islands. He said it was done “in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident.”

A Chinese defense ministry statement called it “a gravely illegal act” and “intentionally provocative.” The Chinese navy sent a guided missile destroyer and an escort vessel that “spotted and verified the American ships and warned them to leave,” the statement said.

Ross said there was just one US vessel involved.

The Paracels, a group of islands and reefs, are occupied

by China but are also claimed

by Vietnam and Taiwan. Ross said the ship passed within an “excessive” claim of territorial

waters by China between two land features, although it did not go within 12 nautical miles of them.

He did not specify where in the Paracels the ship sailed.

The US Navy has now conducted four freedom-ofnavigation operations in the past year in the South China Sea, where China has reclaimed land on a massive scale to assert its claim to disputed features — mostly in the Spratly islands that lie further south.

China has looked dimly upon the US operations, which it views as meddling in waters where the US does not have territorial claims. Friday’s operation comes a day after the leader of the Philippines, one of the six governments with claims in the South China Sea, announced during a visit to Beijing his nation’s “separation” from the United States, as it seeks to deepen ties with China.

Ross said the operation was unrelated to any such event.

The Chinese statement accused the US of being a

“troublemaker” in the South China at a time when “under the joint efforts of countries in this region” the situation is developing positively.

“Under these circumstances, for the US to deploy ships to violate Chinese territorial waters is to wish for the whole world to be in chaos” and to cause troubles from which the US can profit, the statement said.

Ross denied the operation was provocative.

He said the US conducts these operations on a regular basis around the world. He said the operation “demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea” that all states are entitled to exercise under international law.

“This operation was about challenging excessive maritime claims, not territorial claims to land features. The United States has been clear that we take no position on competing territorial sovereignty claims to naturally formed land features in the South China Sea,” he said. AP

A6 Monday, October 24, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

The World BusinessMirror

Victory in sight, Clinton still grapples with negative views

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gestures at supporters during a campaign event at the Taylor Allderdice High School on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. AP/Mary Altaffer

W

ASHINGTON—Hillary Clinton bested Donald Trump in three debates.

She leads in many preference polls of the most competitive states. Barring a significant shift in the next two weeks, she is in a strong position to become the first woman elected US president.

But Clinton will end the campaign still struggling to change the minds of millions of voters who don’t think well of her, a glaring liability should the Democratic nominee move on to the White House.

While many see her as better prepared to be commander in chief than Trump, she is consistently viewed unfavorably by more than half of the country. Most voters also consider her dishonest.

Clinton’s advisers have spent months trying to erase that perception. They’ve set up small events where she had more intimate conversations with voters. They’ve tested a seemingly endless stream of messages aimed at assuring the public that the former secretary of state was in the race to do more than fulfill her own political ambitions.

As Clinton starts making her closing argument to voters, her team appears to have come to terms that the mission remains unfulfilled.

“Honest and trustworthy has become our most talked about metric because it’s not great,” said Jennifer

Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director. “But we’ve never thought it’s the metric people make a decision on.”

If Clinton wins, that theory may be proven true.

Just 36 percent of voters believe Clinton is honest and trustworthy, according to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll.

That’s compared with about 60 percent who believe she has the qualifications and temperament to be commander in chief.

The public’s perception of Clinton has bounced up and down throughout her time in public life. Her favorability rating fell below 50 percent at times during her years as first lady, but rose to its high water mark then and while she was as secretary of state under President Barack Obama.

Democrats blame some of the current negative personal perceptions of Clinton on the hard-charging tactics she’s used to try to discredit Trump, though they believe her sustained assault on Trump’s character and temperament has been crucial.

36% The percentage of voters who believe Hilary Clinton is honest, while 60 percent think she is qualified to be president

Pa r t y operat ives a l so say Trump’s personal attacks on Clinton have made it all but impossible for more positive messages to break through. He’s called her a “liar,” a “nasty woman” and pledged to put her in jail.

“When you’re under relentless assault from a reality TV star, it’s hard to come out of that with anybody feeling good about anyone,” said Bill Burton, a former Obama aide.

Still, Clinton’s advisers acknowledge that some of her troubles have been of her own making, including her penchant for privacy.

She’s spent nearly the entire campaign struggling to explain why she used a private e-mail server in the basement of her home while she led the State Department.

She hid a pneumonia diagnosis this fall from nearly all of her senior staff, then left the public unaware of her condition and whereabouts for 90 minutes after the illness caused her to rush out of a public event in New York.

“She is a politician that does not

seek to be the center of attention and is inherently more private than most politicians, certainly presidential candidates,” Palmieri said. “That doesn’t always serve you great in a campaign for president.”

Clinton frequently shoots down questions about the public’s negative perceptions by saying she’s viewed more positively when she’s doing a job rather than running for one. There’s some evidence to back that up.

When she ran for reelection to the Senate from New York in 2006, she won with 67 percent of the vote, a big jump from the 55-percent share from her first race in 2000. Her approval rating when she left the State Department, where her job kept her out of day-to-day politics, sat at an enviable 65 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.

But if Clinton is elected president, she won’t have the luxury she had as secretary of state to stay away from the political fray—with Republicans in Washington in the opposition, and possibly Trump, too.

The businessman keeps flirting with the idea he could contest the election results if he loses. There are also persistent rumors that, if he is loses, he might try to harness the enthusiasm of his millions of supporters into some type of media venture.

“The notion that Trump is going to go quietly into the night and wish her Godspeed is highly unlikely,” said David Axelrod, another former Obama adviser. “She’s going to have to contend with that and whatever it is he chooses to make his vehicle.”

Clinton has begun acknowledging the challenge that could await her in the White House, if she wins, centering her closing argument to voters on a call for unity after a bitter campaign.

“My name may be on the ballot, but the question really is who are we as a country, what are our values, what kind of a future do we want to create together,” she said on Friday at a rally in Ohio.

Some Democrats see the transition—the two month-plus stretch between the November 8 election and the January 20 inauguration— as a crucial opportunity for her to signal, if she wins, that a Clinton White House would be different from a Clinton campaign.

In a nod to bipartisanship, she could nominate a Republican for her Cabinet. Clinton could start moving on some of her more broadly popular policy proposals as a way of boosting her appeal, assuming no crisis demands immediate action.

Still, Axelrod said changing the public's view of Clinton would be a "long-term project.”

“There’s no silver bullet to turn around years of wear and tear on her image,” he said. AP

Venezuela braces for unrest after prexy recall is stalled

C

ARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuela is bracing for turbulence after the socialist government blocked a presidential recall referendum in a move opposition leaders are calling a coup.

The opposition is urging supporters to take to the streets, beginning with a march on a major highway on Saturday led by the wives of jailed activists, while a leading government figure is calling for the arrest of high-profile government critics.

Polls suggest socialist President Nicolas Maduro would lose a recall vote. But that became a moot issue on Thursday, when elections officials issued an order suspending a recall signature drive a week before it was to start.

“What we saw yesterday was a coup,” said former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who had been the leading champion of the

recall effort. “We’ll remain peaceful, but we will not be taken for fools. We must defend our country.”

International condemnation was swift. Twelve western hemisphere nations, including the US and even leftist-run governments such as Chile and Uruguay, said in a statement on Friday that the suspension of the referendum and travel restrictions on the opposition leadership affects the prospect for dialogue and finding a peaceful solution to the nation’s crisis.

In another sign of growing regional tensions, Colombia’s flagship airline briefly grounded all flights to Caracas after a Venezuelan air force jet came close to an Avianca Boeing 787 with about 200 people aboard.

The commercial jet landed safely at its intended destination of Bogota 90 minutes later. The airline said on Saturday that flights would be

resumed on Sunday following clarification from the two governments.

The socialists won power nearly two decades ago with the election of the popular former President Hugo Chavez, and for years enjoyed easy election victories. But with the economy in free fall, polls show most Venezuelans have turned against the party, and over the years, the administration has gradually become increasingly autocratic.

Critical television stations have been closed and several leading opposition activists have been imprisoned. The country’s supreme court, packed with government supporters, has endorsed decree powers for Maduro and said he can ignore Congress following a landslide victory for the opposition in legislative elections.

The election commission, which has issued a string of pro-government rulings, halted the recall

process on grounds of alleged irregularities in a first-round of signature gathering.

Polls suggest 80 percent of voters wanted Maduro gone this year, and the electoral council on Tuesday also ordered a delay of about six months in gubernatorial elections that were slated for year-end which the opposition was heavily favored to win. It gave no reason for the delay.

The opposition charges that the socialist party has simply decided to put off elections indefinitely in the face of overwhelming voter discontent.

The opposition coalition has called for a massive street protest Wednesday, on what would have been the start of the signaturegathering campaign.

Maduro was traveling outside the country, but in a televised address on Friday he urged calm at home. AP

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Trump’s lawsuit threat overshadows his agenda

Park ranger Caitlin Kostic speaks to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as she gives him a tour at Gettysburg National Military Park on Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

AP/ Evan Vucci

G

ETTYSBURG, Pennsylvania—Donald Trump is laying out an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days as president, but pointedly noting that he will find time to sue the numerous women who have accused him of groping and other unwanted sexual behavior.

“All of these liars will be sued once the election is over,” Trump said on Saturday during an event near the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg that was meant to be policy-driven. He added: “I look so forward to doing that.”

Asked about Trump’s remarks, Hillary Clinton told reporters between rallies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia that she was done responding to what her Republican opponent is saying as Election Day nears and would, instead, focus on helping elect other Democrats.

To that end, she attacked Pennsylvania’s Republican senator, Pat Toomey, say ing in Pittsburgh that he has refused to “stand up” to Trump as she praised his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty.

Noting Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants and his attacks on a Muslim-American military family, she said of Toomey: "If he doesn't have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump after all of this, then can you be sure that he will stand up for you when it counts?”

To ome y S p ok e s m a n Te d Kwong said Clinton’s comments highlight McGint y’s lack of independence.

“Today is just further proof that hyperpartisan, ethically challenged Katie McGinty will be a rubber stamp for everything Hillar y Clinton wants to do in Washington,” he said.

“Pat Toomey has been, and will continue to be, an independent leader in the Senate on issues ranging from gun safety to ending Wall Street bailouts.”

Clinton rejected Trump’s allegation, offered without evidence, that the dozen or so women who have come forward are being prompted by her campaign or the Democratic National Committee.

The accusers emerged after the former reality-TV star boasted of kissing women and groping their genitals without their consent. On Saturday an adult film actress said the billionaire kissed her and two other women on the lips “without asking for permission” when they met him after a golf tournament in 2006.

Trump has denied that all the other allegations, while insisting some of the women weren’t attractive enough for him to want to pursue. His broadside against the women on Saturday came at the start of an otherwise substantive speech that sought to weave the many policy ideas he has put for-

ward into a single, cohesive agenda.

T he Republ ic a n nom inee vowed to lift restrictions on domestic energy production, label China as a currency manipulator and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, familiar themes to supporters who have flocked to his rallies this year.

“This is my pledge to you, and if we follow these steps, we will once again have a government of, by and for the people,” Trump said, invoking a phrase from President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Though mostly a recap of policies he’s proposed before, Trump’s speech included a few new elements, such as a freeze on hiring new federal workers and a two-year mandatory minimum sentence for immigrants who re-enter the US illegally after being deported a first time.

In a pledge sure to raise eyebrows on Wall Street, he said he’d block a potential merger between AT&T and media conglomerate Time Warner.

Throughout the GOP primary, Trump was criticized for shying away from detailed policy proposals. But his speech, which aides said would form the core of his closing argument to voters, underscored how the billionaire has gradually compiled a broad—if sometimes vague— policy portfolio that straddles conservative, isolationist and populist orthodoxies.

Still, any headway that Trump may have made was likely to be diluted by his legal threats against his accusers, just the latest example of Trump stepping on his intended message at inopportune moments.

Days earlier, during the final debate, his otherwise well-received performance was marred by an alarming statement near the end that he might not accept the outcome of the election if he loses.

With the debates over, Trump and Clinton have few apparent opportunities to alter the course the race substantially—a reality that benefits Clinton more than Trump. The Republican is trailing his opponent in polls in most of the battleground states while Clinton eyes potential upset victories in traditionally safe GOP territory, with Arizona at the top of the list.

An increasingly confident Clinton on Saturday made what’s become her closing pitch, stressing unity during events in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and asking her backers to carry her message to any Trump supporters they meet.

“I understand that they need a president who cares about them, will listen to them and I want to be their president,” she said. AP

The World BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, October 24, 2016 A7

Attacks on the Internet keep getting bigger, nastier

N

EW YORK—Could millions of connected cameras, thermostats and kids’ toys bring the Internet to its knees? It’s beginning to look that way.

On Friday epic cyber attacks crippled a major Internet firm, repeatedly disrupting the availability of popular web sites across the United States. The hacker group claiming responsibility says the day’s antics were just a dry run and that it has its sights set on a much bigger target. And the attackers now have a secret weapon in the increasing array of Internet-enabled household devices they can subvert and use to wreak havoc.

Meet the fire hose

Manchester, New Hampshirebased Dyn Inc. said its server infrastructure was hit by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

These work by overwhelming targeted machines with junk data traffic—sort of like knocking someone over by blasting them with a fire hose.

The attack temporarily blocked some access to popular web sites from across America and Europe, such as Twitter, Netflix and PayPal. Jason Read, founder of the Internet performance-monitoring firm CloudHarmony, owned by Gartner Inc., said his company tracked a halfhour-long disruption early on Friday affecting access to many sites from

companies that build the devices, or the consumers that unwittingly use them, companies have little incentive to boost security, Cottrell said.

What’s behind the attacks

1.2 trillion The volume of bits of data at Dyn’s servers that were affected every second when New World Hackers attacked on Friday the East Coast. A second attack later in the day spread disruption to the West Coast, as well as some users in Europe.

Members of a shadowy hacker group that calls itself New World Hackers claimed responsibility for the attack via Twitter, though that claim could not be verified.

They said they organized networks of connected devices to create a massive botnet that threw a monstrous 1.2 trillion bits of data every second at Dyn’s servers. Dyn officials wouldn’t confirm the figure during a conference call later on Friday with reporters.

Make that, many fire hoses

DDoS attacks have been growing in frequency and size in recent months.

But if the hackers’ claims are true,

Dyn, a New Hampshire Internet-service company, in the old mill section of the city, is shown in the photo on Friday in Manchester, New Hampshire. Cyberattacks on a key Internet firm repeatedly disrupted the availability of popular web sites across the United States on Friday, according to analysts and company officials. The White House described the disruption as malicious. AP/Jim Cole

Friday’s attacks take DDoS to a new level. According to a report from the cyber-security firm Verisign, the largest DDoS attack perpetrated during the second quarter of this year peaked at just 256 billion bits per second.

A huge September attack that shut down security journalist Brian Krebs’s web site clocked in at 620 billion bits per second. Research from the cyber-security firm Flashpoint said on Friday the same kind of malware was used in the attacks against both Krebs and Dyn. Lance Cottrell, chief scientist for the cyber-security firm Ntrepid, said that, while DDoS attacks have been used for years, they’ve become very popular in recent months, thanks to the proliferation of “In-

ternet of Things” devices ranging from connected thermostats to security cameras and smart TVs. Many of those devices feature little in the way of security, making them easy targets for hackers.

The power of this kind of cyber attack is limited by the number of devices an attacker can connect to.

Just a few years ago, most attackers were limited to infecting and recruiting “zombie” home PCs. But the popularity of new Internetconnected gadgets has vastly increased the pool of potential devices they can weaponize. The average North American home contains 13 Internet-connected devices, according to the research firm IHS Markit.

Since the attacks usually don’t harm the consumer electronics

Like with other online attacks, the motivation behind DDoS attacks is usually mischief or money. Attackers have shut down web sites in the past to make political statements.

DDoS attacks have also been used in extortion attempts, something that’s been made easier by the advent of Bitcoin.

For its part, a member of New World Hackers, who identified themselves as “Prophet”, told an Associated Press (AP) reporter via Twitter direct message exchange that collective isn’t motivated by money and doesn’t have anything personal against Dyn, Twitter or any of the other sites affected by the attacks.

Instead, the hacker said, the attacks were merely a test, and claimed that the next target will be the Russian government for committing alleged cyber attacks against the US earlier this year.

“Twitter was kind of the main target. It showed people who doubted us what we were capable of doing, plus we got the chance to see our capability,” Prophet said. The claims couldn’t be verified.

The collective has in the past claimed responsibility for similar attacks against sites, including ESPNFantasySports.com in September and the BBC on December 31. The attack on the BBC marshalled half the computing power

EU’s Schulz ‘optimistic’ trade pact with Canada can be saved

E

uropean Parliament President Martin Schulz said he’s optimistic he can salvage a trade deal between Europe and Canada after talks broke down on Friday amid opposition from the Belgian region of Wallonia.

Schulz met Canada’s International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland in Brussels on Saturday and had separate talks with Wallonia’s Minister-President Paul Magnette.

Negotiations to rescue the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) seemed all but over on Friday afternoon, with the Canadian minister fighting back tears as she walked out. European officials said they still hoped to reach a deal.

“The Canadian side is prepared to sign,” Schulz told reporters after the meeting with Freeland. “I’m very optimistic that we can solve the problems that we have within the European Union [EU].”

The Belgian region of Wallonia, which accounts for less than 1 percent of the EU’s population, blocked progress of the deal, citing the need for more time to negotiate.

The stance is tying the hands of the Belgian federal government, which is in favor of the deal, but needs the endorsement of regional authorities.

The other 27, out of 28, EU nations support the bloc’s first commercial accord with a fellow member of the Group-of-Seven industrialized countries.

New text

Magnette is now waiting on a new text from the European Commission that he can present to the Walloon parliament, Le Soir newspaper reported, citing unidentified people.

“We still have a couple of small difficulties within Europe and more work and discussions are needed,” Magnette told reporters after meeting Schulz. “We never wanted to create problems, but we want a treaty, which would have the highest level of social protection in the world and would serve as a standard for

of Friday’s attacks.

A shifting global assault

Dyn said it first became aware of an attack around 7 a.m. local time, focused on data centers on the East Coast of the US Services were restored about two hours later. But then, attackers shifted to offshore data centers, and the latest wave of problems continued until Friday evening Eastern time.

Prophet told the AP that his group actually had stopped its attacks by Friday afternoon, but that others, including members of the hacker collective, known as Anonymous, had picked up where they left off. Anonymous didn’t respond to a request for comment via Twitter.

The US Department of Homeland Security is monitoring the situation, White House Spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday. He said he had no information about who may be behind the disruption.

Cottrell noted that there are several firms that offer protection against DDoS attacks, by giving companies a way to divert the bad traffic and remain online in case of an attack. But monthly subscription fees for these services are generally equal to a typical DDoS extortion payment, giving companies little incentive to pay for them.

Meanwhile, not much is required in the way of resources or skill to mount a botnet attack, he said, adding that would-be attackers can rent botnets for as little as $100. Cottrell said the long-term solution lies in improving the security of all Internet-connected devices. AP

India’s small caps may gain more amid Modi plans

A

Protesters march against trade deals with Canada and the US in Warsaw, Poland, on October 15. Hundreds of people in the Polish capital are protesting free-trade agreements the European Union is pursuing with the US and Canada, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, saying they will hurt Polish farmers and the environment. AP/Alik Keplicz

future negotiations. ” The collapse of the agreement, known as Ceta, would be another sign of headwinds facing free trade, as politicians around the world fend off a populist threat that taps into voters’ fears that such deals destroy jobs.

It could also damage the EU’s credibility as a global player at a time when it’s already struggling to deal with crises across its frontiers, from Brexit to Russia and Syria. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Tr udeau has said failure to ratify the pact would raise questions about the EU’s viability.

The EU says the pact, which has been in the works for five years, would boost its economic output

by about €12 billion ($13 billion) a year and expand EU-Canada trade by about a quarter.

The deal’s failure would complicate separate negotiations with the US, Japan and other countries as a wave of populist parties around the world challenges the benefits of free trade.

Regional approval

The European Commission, which negotiated the pact, decided in July that national and even some regional parliaments in Europe should be involved in the approval process after some countries warned against bypassing their lawmakers.

EU officials are trying to retain support for their free-trade agenda

as they pursue parallel negotiations with the US on the separate deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

“If Europe fails with Ceta, it’s very difficult to imagine we can be successful with TTIP,” Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas said on Friday.

The accord would end 98 percent of tariffs on goods traded from the outset and 99 percent after seven years. Each side would dismantle all industrial tariffs and more than 90 percent of agricultural duties. Markets for services and public procurement would also be opened.

In Canada a failure of the talks would deal a blow to the country’s

struggling export sector, adding to questions about what will drive the economy forward.

The nation is already facing three straight years of growth below 2 percent, the weakest stretch since at least the 1960s.

Business spend ing is st i l l hurting from the oil-price shock, as well as volatility around a fractious US election and Brexit.

The breakdown in negotiations will chill two-way trade worth about C$93 billion ($70 billion) a year and about C$380 billion of direct investment.

“It’s time for Europe to fini sh doi ng it s job,” C a n ad a’s Freeland said on Saturday. “We very much hope that that will happen.” Bloomberg News

three-year rally for Indian small-cap stocks may extend further on growing signs interest rates are headed down in the world’s fastest-growing economy, Mark Mobius said.

India is forecast to grow as much as 7.2 percent this yea,r as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to boost infrastructure and open up industries, such as railways and defense to foreign investment, have also bolstered consumer spending.

Mobius, the executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said the company has made the South Asian country a top pick in emerging markets and invested as much as $2 billion in its equities.

“India is in a very sweet spot,” Mobius said at a Bloomberg event in Mumbai on Friday. “There is so much variety and so much opportunity, particularly in the small- and medium-cap stocks.”

Mobius, 80, who is closely associated with raising the status of emerging markets as a place for investment, said Modi’s plans to overhaul the country’s economy are one of the most exciting things about India.

While the plan to introduce a nationwide sales tax by April 1 may not be fully implemented in 2017, it’s a step in the right direction, Mobius said.

Templeton has $600 million of its total Indian investment in small companies, he said in an interview in June.

Small-caps outperform

Investor demand has been especially strong for small-cap stocks in recent years, as they beat every other major Indian asset class. The S&P BSE SmallCap index has jumped 149 percent since Modi was named the prime ministerial candidate of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party in September 2013, compared with a 51-percent gain for the large-cap S&P BSE Sensex and a 12.5-percent return on local government bonds.

India’s growth prospects don’t come cheap. The small-cap index has risen 13.5 percent this year to an all-time high, almost double the gains in the MSCI Emerging Markets Small-Cap Index. The Indian index traded for 2.1 times net assets last month, nearing the ratio of 2.2 that signified the start of a brief bear market in August 2015. Pricey valuations don’t deter Mobius. Bloomberg News

A8 Monday, October 24, 2016

The World BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

France’s ‘Calais Jungle’ refugee camp to be closed

I

t’s squalid and dangerous, crowded and muddy—and home to thousands of migrants desperate to reach Britain.

French officials said on Friday the sprawling encampment, known as “the Jungle,” outside the port city of Calais, will be closed in the next few days and its inhabitants sent to hundreds of reception centers across the country—a move that threatens to set off a new wave of antimigrant sentiment.

The camp has been seen as a symbol of the failure of President François Hollande’s government to deal with the migrant crisis roiling all of Europe.

Human-rights activists decry miserable living conditions in the camp, and inhabitants are often injured or killed trying to make their way to Britain aboard trains or trucks heading into the Eurotunnel under the English Channel.

In French towns where the migrants will spend up to four months awaiting a determination on whether they can apply for asylum or are to be sent home, there are already signs of angry dissent.

Many of the migrants are from war-torn countries, such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria; others, including many from African nations, are trying to escape desperate poverty.

In one small southern town, Beziers, the far-right mayor caused a stir recently when he put up posters reading ominously: “They’re coming.” Demonstrations have been staged in other communities, despite efforts by French officials to calm fears. The camp and the fate of its inhabitants have already emerged as contentious issues in France’s presidential elections to be held next year.

After Britain’s June vote to exit the European Union, there has been a groundswell of sentiment in France in favor of revoking an agreement that essentially puts Britain’s southern frontier on French soil, allowing British officials to carry out border checks there.

French center-right politician Alain Juppe, considered the presidential front-runner, said this week such checks should take place on the English side of the channel.

“We cannot accept making the selection on French territory of people that Britain does or doesn’t want,” he told the Guardian newspaper. “It’s up to Britain to do that job.”

Far-right politicians have long seized on the burdens and disruptions caused by the camp, adding fuel to fears galvanized by a string of terrorist attacks. Those attacks included the July truck rampage in the Riviera city of Nice carried out by a Tunisian deliveryman, and the slaying of a French priest by two teenagers of Algerian descent who claimed allegiance to Islamic State (IS).

After months of delays—including a court challenge on humanitarian grounds, which was rejected this week—French officials on Friday unveiled their timetable for closing the camp. On Sunday authorities will fan out and inform migrants—6,486 of them, by official count—that they must gather at 8 a.m. on Monday at a huge hangar adjacent to the camp.

From there, they are to be sorted into groups depending on age, family and special conditions, such as being unaccompanied minors or, otherwise, vulnerable.

Buses are to begin leaving that day, and the camp’s dismantling is meant to be completed within a week, officials said. But all may not go according to plan. Activists advocating free movement for the migrants have previously staged protests, and may seek to do so again.

Heavy security is expected to be in place, with more than 1,200 police deployed to oversee the operation.

Hollande, facing a tough battle for reelection, plans to visit Calais on Monday as the dispersal is getting under way.

Aerial view over the “Calais Jungle” in France on Saturday. The refugee camp on the coast to the English Channel is to be cleared on Monday, according to the French government, with the approximately 8,000 refugees distributed to various reception centers in France. Markus Heine/NurPhoto/Sipa USA/TNS

The unpopular French leader has been trying to lay the groundwork for temporarily resettling the migrants around the country. On a recent visit to the city of Tours, where some of the migrants are to be sent, he cited the “unacceptable” conditions in the camp, and pointed to the hardships that many there are fleeing.

Some migrants have spent years in the camp—various precursors have existed around Calais since 1999—and many in France’s political establishment view it as a problem that has resisted all attempts at a solution. The camp was partly disassembled this year, but even more migrants arrived,

6,486 The number of migrants at Calais refugee camp

nearly doubling its population.

In an effort to minimize animosity in the host cities and towns, the reception centers are to be relatively small, holding between 40 and 50 people, authorities said. Unaccompanied teens and children are to be housed separately from adults.

Hollande has tried, at least indi-

rectly, to make a case that France needs to do its part to help migrants, noting that Germany saw some 1 million arrivals last year. That position appears to have only increased his unpopularity, however.

Britain has barred most of the migrants from entry, citing European Union rules requiring that they seek asylum in the first European country they reach. It has accepted small numbers of unaccompanied minors with family ties in the United Kingdom, and humanitarian groups are pressing Britain to take in more.

But anti-immigrant sentiment in Britain, illustrated by the Brexit vote, has muted calls for larger numbers to be resettled.

Last week’s arrivals triggered a social-media outcry over whether they were all genuinely under 18, or lying about their ages. Humanitarian groups said the youths had all been carefully assessed before being fasttracked for family reunions in Britain, but that hardships made some appear older than they were.

At the camp, conditions have only become more wretched over the years. Most people live in tents or makeshift shacks, or even sleep in the open. Sanitation is poor and disease is rampant. Medical care is limited; all the migrants are to receive medical checks at the reception centers when they arrive next week. Los Angeles Times/TNS

Demands for Assad’s departure Rejected report on domestic are ‘thoughtless,’ Kremlin says terror rings true 8 years after

M

OSCOW—T he ent i re territory of Syria must be “liberated,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said in remarks televised on Saturday, dismissing demands for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure as “thoughtless.”

The Russian statement came as intense clashes were reported in northern Syria between Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters with Kurdish-led forces.

The Syrian army command condemned the fresh offensive by Turkish troops inside Syria, describing it as “an occupation that will be dealt with by all available means.”

The Turkish military intervened in the Syrian war in August this year under orders from Ankara to clear the border area of Islamic State (IS) fighters and United States-backed Syrian Kurdish forces linked to Turkey’s own outlawed Kurdish insurgency. The Turkish government considers both to be terrorist groups.

In the northern city of Aleppo, government forces shelled eastern rebel-held neighborhoods on Saturday night, marking an apparent end to a lull announced by Russia.

Russia’s Dmitry Peskov said Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from falling into the hands of jihadis. “There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus,” Peskov said in a reference to the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria that renamed itself Fatah al-Sham

Front earlier this year. “And Assad must sit in Damascus to ensure a political settlement.”

Peskov’s statement comes as the break in the fighting Russia has declared in the besieged city of Aleppo entered its third day before seemingly collapsing on Saturday night. He said Russia’s decision to extend the break, which was initially declared for just one day on Thursday, wasn’t a concession to Western pressure.

The United Nations greeted the lull intended to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians and fighters from the rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo that had been devastated by air strikes. But the rebels rejected the offer to evacuate and no evacuations were seen along the corridors created by the Syrian government.

A UN official told The Associated Press that Syrian opposition fighters were blocking the evacuations because the Syrian government and Russia were not holding up their end of the deal and were impeding deliveries of medical and humanitarian supplies into Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the truce collapsed while the Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, reported artillery shelling on different neighborhoods and an attempt by government forces to advance south of the city. They had no word on casualties.

Russi a n Foreig n Min ist r y Spokesman Maria Zakharova said

the West was turning a blind eye to the al-Qaeda militants blocking humanitarian aid deliveries to Aleppo and trying to shift the blame onto Moscow.

“It’s mean and cynical to...watch the Nusra block the delivery of food and medicines to civilians while blaming Russia for the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo,” she said.

Russia launched an air campaign in support of Assad a year ago, helping his forces win back some key ground. The relentless bombing of Aleppo, the country’s largest city and its commercial hub before the war, has caused international outrage. Peskov said the goal of the Russian campaign is to fight “terrorists,” saying that the fall of the Syrian government would cause new flows of refugees and more terror attacks in Europe.

“Some countries are trying to play with the devil and use terrorists to get rid of Assad, and some just say thoughtlessly that Assad must leave,” Peskov said. “If Damascus falls and terrorists take hold there, there will be no political settlement then.”

He said there is little hope that the Syrian conflict could end soon, adding that it will require a “long and hard work by the international community.” “The territory of Syria must be liberated,” Peskov said. “It must be liberated and everything must be done to prevent the country’s breakup, which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region.” AP

W

ASHINGTON—In April 2009 Daryl Johnson was caught in a firestorm because of a report he wrote at the Department of Homeland Security.

It warned of a surge in activity by right-wing groups, including militias, white supremacists, antigovernment activists and others motivated by racial grievances toward the nation’s first black president and the consequences of a faltering economy.

Republicans in Congress called the report an attack on conservatives. Janet Napolitano, then- secretary of homeland security, apologized for the report and it was withdrawn. Johnson’s unit was disbanded.

Nearly eight years later, Johnson’s warnings have proved prescient in a string of incidents, including the killings of a Kansas abortion doctor and a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, and mass shootings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and an African-American church in South Carolina.

Last week a foiled alleged plot by three men to attack an apartment complex inhabited by Muslim Somali immigrants in western Kansas further demonstrated that it isn’t just foreign terrorists or those sympathetic to them that Americans have to worry about.

“This is exactly the type of threat we were talking about,” said Johnson, who is now a homeland security con-

sultant. “It’s continued to grow over the past eight years.”

Three K ansas men— Curtis Allen, Gavin Wright and Patrick Stein—were indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday on one count of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. The three are accused of plotting to detonate truck bombs around the complex in Garden City, Kansas, where 120 people live and worship.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the men last Friday in Liberal, Kansas, after an undercover investigation.

According to a complaint filed last week in the US District Court for the Western District of Kansas, the men belonged to a militia group called the Crusaders, known for its anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and antigovernment views.

The group referred to the Somali immigrants, who work at a local meatpacking plant, as “cockroaches,” the complaint said.

The men had discussed using rocket-propelled grenades to attack the complex, proposed dipping bullets in pigs’ blood and considered using something like the fertilizerand-fuel-oil combination that Timothy McVeigh used in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, according to the complaint.

“I’ll blow every goddamn building up right there,” Stein allegedly said.

The three talked about attacking area churches that supported the

Somali migrants, according to the complaint, and said they wouldn’t even spare the children any mercy.

“The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim,” Stein allegedly said.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks the activities of extremist groups, the number of anti-Muslim hate groups has increased 42 percent since 2014.

“This is just symptomatic of the really unprecedented rise in antiMuslim bigotry in our society,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Hooper and others say the federal government’s focus on terrorism from abroad, or domestic terrorism carried out by people sympathetic to foreign terrorist groups, diverts attention from threats against Muslims. “The attitude seems to be it cannot be terrorism unless a Muslim commits an act of violence,” he said.

Hooper said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had fueled anti-Muslim bias by calling for, among other things, prohibiting Muslims from entering the country and widespread surveillance of mosques.

“All of this stuff adds up,” he said.

The suspects in Kansas allegedly planned to carry out their attack on November 9—the day after Election Day. Trump’s campaign has struggled in recent weeks, and he’s fallen behind Democrat Hillary Clinton in the polls. TNS

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Monday, October 24, 2016

Cuban officials, Communist Party members can get US remittances

M

IAMI—The US government has amended regulations to allow Cuban government officials and members of the Communist Party to benefit from the softening of sanctions, including receiving cash remittances and other perks.

The new beneficiaries include members of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (Minint), the Central Committee of the Communist Party (PCC) and other branches of the Cuban government.

The change is part of the new round of regulations announced by the Obama administration.

Along with measures that attracted widespread attention—such as the removal of the restrictions on the purchase of rum and tobacco

by American travelers—this more discreet provision debunks a longstanding policy of prohibiting US transactions with most members of the Cuban government, its political organizations and defense system.

As the updated Cuban Assets Control Regulations now stand, the prohibitions remain only for the members of the Politburo of the PCC, members of the Council of Ministers and high-ranking officials in the Cuban armed forces.

The category of “prohibited members” of the Cuban government and

the Communist Party previously included members of Minint; the PCC secretaries and members of its Central Committee; members of Parliament; the Supreme Court; state media editors; deputy ministers and midlevel officials within the ministries; directors of companies and other state institutions; secretaries of the Confederation of Cuban Workers; and local chiefs of the Defense Committees of the Revolution.

These officials can now receive remittances without limits and take advantage of other benefits, such as having their mobile phone accounts recharged from the US. Minint has under its jurisdiction the police, the Department of State Security and the Directorate for Immigration and Naturalization, among other agencies.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party, on the other hand, controls all state institutions, including the media.

The US government has begun a low-key cooperation with Minint,

Egyptian court upholds Morsi’s 20-year jail term

C

A IRO —A n Eg y pt ia n court has upheld a 20year jail sentence passed against ousted President Mohammed Morsi for his role in the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012.

Saturday’s ruling by the Court of Cessation is the first final verdict against Morsi since his ouster and subsequent detention in July 2013. He has been convicted and sentenced to death and life imprisonment in three separate cases, but these rulings are under appeal.

Freely elected in June 2012, the Islamist Morsi was ousted a year later by the military, then led by his successor, President AbdelFattah el-Sissi, who was elected with a landslide in June 2014.

Meanwhile, suspected Islamic militants on Saturday gunned down a senior Egyptian army officer near his home in an eastern Cairo suburb, according to two security officials.

The officials identified the victim as Brig. Gen. Adel Ragai, commander of the army’s 9th armored division, which is headquartered in the sprawling military base of Dahshour west of Cairo.

They said Ragai recently served in the restive north of the Sinai Peninsula, for years now the theater of operations in what has effectively become a war of attrition between security forces and Islamic militants. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The Cabinet denounced the attack in a statement, quoting Prime Minister Sherif Ismail as saying such attacks only strengthened the resolve of security forces to defeat the militants.

The statement did not name the

victim. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing, but the attack bore the hallmarks of the militant Islamic groups fighting security forces in the Sinai Peninsula. It was not immediately clear why Ragai was targeted, but the militants have in the past killed army and police officers.

Hasm, or “Decisiveness,” a shadowy group suspected of links to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, has claimed responsibility in recent weeks for a series of attacks in Cairo, including a shooting against the country’s former mufti, or chief Muslim theologian, and a car bomb against the chief prosecutor’s deputy. Both escaped unhurt.

Ragai’s home is in the relatively quiet El-Obour suburb that straddles the road between Cairo and the Suez Canal city of Ismailia. The location would have allowed the assailants a better chance of getting away than in the capital’s traffic-choked streets.

Saturday’s shooting came amid a spike in violence in the turbulent northern part of Sinai, including airstrikes and raids targeting suspected militants’ hideouts.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, himself a career army officer, said in a recent interview that he expected the war in Sinai to continue for a long time and that both sides in the conflict were getting better at fighting each other.

Security forces have fought militants in Sinai for years, but the insurgency grew deadlier after el-Sissi led the military’s 2013 ouster of an elected but divisive Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The insurgency is now led by a local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group. AP

Bottles of Cuban Havana Club rum are displayed on the bar at the Rum Museum in Havana, Cuba. The Obama administration announced on October 14 it is eliminating a $100 limit on the value of Cuban rum and cigars that American travelers can bring back from the island. AP/Desmond Boylan

which has been present in several official dialogues, including one that took place in Miami in February of this year. Members of this ministry also visited US military installations in Key West, Florida, in March.

As part of the efforts to normalize relations, the US removed Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Some Cuban companies were also eliminated from the list of entities that are blocked by

the Treasury Department. Critics of the Obama policy toward Cuba immediately questioned the measure.

“The Obama administration has just opened the door for the overwhelming majority of Castro regime officials to take advantage of the sanctions relief that was purportedly aimed to support the Cuban people and, more specifically, for Cuba’s independent entrepreneurs,” Mauricio Claver-Carone, director

of the US-Cuba Democracy political action committee that seeks to maintain the embargo, said in a scathing statement. Claver-Carone added that “neighborhood repressors,” members of “its puppet legislature, secret police” and intelligence officials can “enjoy unlimited remittances, gift parcels, U-turn banking transactions, communication devices and even employ USbased Internet-related services.” TNS

May revives meeting of UK nations over Scotland issue

A9

Cameroon train crash kills more than 70, injures 600

E

SEKA, Cameroon—Authorities in Cameroon rushed more than 600 injured people to hospitals in the country’s two main cities on Saturday in an effort to save lives a day after an overcrowded train derailed, killing more than 70 people.

Bodies remained strewn along the tracks as rescue workers searched for more injured or dead. The injured were being taken to hospitals in the capital, Yaounde, and the port city where the train was heading, Douala, officials said, as the president declared Monday to be a national day of mourning.

“My sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the derailment” of the Camrail train,” President Paul Biya said on his official Facebook page. About 70 people died and 600 were wounded, he said, and the cause of the crash was being investigated.

The local hospital had been overwhelmed, with only about 60 beds, said transport minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o.

“I am calling on everyone to double efforts to save the lives of the injured,” Ngo’o said.

Eseka is about 125 kilometers west of Yaounde.

Rescue workers and medical staff at hospitals put the death toll at 73, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the press about the issue.

State radio reported more than 75 dead. The train had been carrying about 1,300 passengers, instead of its capacity of 600. The passenger load was higher because a road had collapsed due to landslides following heavy rains between Yaounde and Douala.

The 30-year-old railway line and train could not carry the load, officials told state radio.

One of those injured died as he arrived in Douala, and “we are doing everything possible to save the lives of the close to 200 victims sent to Douala,” Gov. Ivaha Diboua Dieudonne of the western Littoral region said. AP

N. Dakota pipeline protest prompts more than 80 arrests

M

United Kingdom Prime Minister Teresa May Bloomberg News

P

rime Minister Theresa May is reviving regular meetings with devolved UK governments as Scotland expressed skepticism that she can strike a good deal in negotiations to leave the European Union (EU).

May convenes her first Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) on Monday with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss how they can work together to get the best outcome from Brexit, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The JMC hasn’t met since December 2014.

“We are much more than the sum of our parts,” May said in the statement. “I want Monday’s meeting to be the start of a new grown-up relationship between the devolved administrations and the UK government.”

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is already preparing legislation for another referendum on inde-

pendence if May strikes a Brexit deal that takes the country out of the EU single market for goods and services.

Scotland and Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK to share a land border with the EU, voted overwhelmingly to remain part of the union. “The Scottish government is becoming increasingly concerned that the UK is heading for a hard Brexit with all the damage that will bring to the Scottish and UK economies,” Michael Russell, the minister for UK negotiations on Scotland’s place in Europe, said in a statement.

“Four months on from the referendum, we have yet to see a proposal from the UK government on how the views of people in Scotland will be taken into account.”

Financial firms planning to leave UK before EU exit

Meanwhile, the head of the British Bankers’ Association says finan-

cial firms are planning to leave London within weeks because of uncertainty about the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Anthony Browne says banks fear EU politicians will erect trade barriers with Britain in a bid to undermine the City, London’s financial district. They also fear UK-based financial firms will lose the right to conduct business across the bloc.

Browne wrote in Sunday’s Observer newspaper that bankers’ “hands are quivering over the relocate button.”

He said “many smaller banks plan to start relocations before Christmas; bigger banks are expected to start in the first quarter of next year.”

Browne said tariffs would hurt both Britain and the EU, but that economic arguments might lose out amid hardening political rhetoric from both sides.

Bloomberg News and AP

ANDAN, North Dakota— More than 80 people protesting the Dakota Access pipeline were arrested on Saturday during a demonstration that gathered about 300 people at a construction site in North Dakota and prompted law-enforcement officers to use pepper spray.

Morton County sheriff’s office spokesman Rob Keller said authorities were called at 5:20 a.m. on Saturday to a pipeline construction site located about five miles from an area where protesters have been camping out for weeks near the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball rivers.

The confrontation between officers and protesters lasted five hours.

The sheriff’s office released a statement, saying officers used pepper spray when some protesters attempted to breach a line that lawenforcement officers had formed between demonstrators and construction equipment. The statement said one protester attempted to grab an officer’s pepper spray canister, spraying the officer in the face and blinding him for five minutes.

Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said on Saturday’s incident showed that “this protest is not peaceful or lawful.”

“It was obvious to our officers who responded that the protesters engaged in escalated unlawful tactics and behavior during this event,” he said. “This protest was intentionally coordinated and planned by agitators with the specific intent to engage in illegal activities.” AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, October 24, 2016

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Deer hunting (for selfies)

and heritage sites in Nara, Japan Story & photos by Marky Ramone Go

‘O

h, deer,” I muttered to myself as I sensed how these lovely creatures seem to almost outnumber us twolegged humans, who are all trying to corner them into taking selfies in the park that day.

Feeding one of the many deers with deer cracker

Kofuku-ji Temple and the five-story pagoda

Heijo Palace

An estimated 1,200 sika deer romp the grounds of Nara Park every day in paramount freedom enjoying an almost rock-star status, brought about by their historical designation as messenger of the Gods for many centuries. According to a story handed down from more than a thousand years ago, Takemikazuchi, a Shinto God from Kasuga Shrine, descended from his world and appeared at Mount Mikasa riding a white deer. In the aftermath of World War II, the deer’s ‘divine’ distinction was replaced by a ‘national treasure’ designation, to ensure their protection while at the same time, tapering down their religious significance.

Holding a pack of ‘deer crackers’ seem to signal an invitation for them to approach me. Typifying the polite nature of this country, the deer appear to imitate the bowinglike gesture widely practiced by the Japanese people. Mere seconds into opening the pack, a trio of deer had already bent their heads beside my hips before raising it to expose their wide open mouths – in a final plea for me to feed them the crackers.

Fellow travel writer Kara Santos pets one of the deer in Nara Park.

The Culturally and HistoricallyRich Grounds of Nara

As the lawn covered gardens of Nara Park lead us to narrow pathways surrounded by bamboo and pine trees, we tramped and come across a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites clustered together inside this historic grounds. A total of eight landmarks encompasses the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara – most are within walking distance of each other.

As the morning dew mist over the grass, I smell the fresh leaves from the high rising trees. Rambling gingerly under the canopy of swaying greens, I realized how the current season is a month away from the onset of the autumn. I looked around at the teeming garden around me and wondered at the changes of the colors the impending fall season will bring. Walking further, we passed by a group of park buskers performing a catchy Japanese song that has a few onlookers banging their heads sideway and swinging their hips.

I stood and listened long enough to feel my head pounding up and down in slow unison to the song’s

melody. Situated at the foot of Mount Wakakusa and established in the early 1300s, Nara Park is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Designated as one of the “Places of Scenic Beauty” by the country’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, a day’s meander over a large part of its 660 hectare property, provides you a combination of visual and historical incursion deep into the rich and fascinating culture of Japan.

Kōfuku-ji

Built in the 7 th Century, this Buddhist Temple features a ‘fivestoried pagoda’ that quickly attract your eyes upon approaching it. We arrived here by foot under gloomy skies and few patches of rain drops.

The mood couldn’t be more muted but as I stare at this small marvel of Buddhist Architecture, I can’t help but notice the striking patterns and lines – while almost similar to other of its own kind, I feel a certain sacred vibe emitting from the all corners of its wall. Kimono-clad women passes by me and as a local family took a group portrait in front of the

towering Pagoda, I noticed a hint of pride at the faces of the elders, suggesting a sense of opulence as they enjoy their own preserved culture persisting in this park.

Kasuga-taisha

At the doorsteps of this Shinto Shrine I briefly chatted with an English speaking Japanese man traveling with his family. I accidentally stepped on his foot and when I apologized, he asked me where I’m from.

“I am living in the states but I do come home with my family as much as we can” he told me. “You enjoying your trip here so far?” he asked me. I said “Very much”.

“We have fascinating culture, even myself who is pure Japanese I am still amazed. What more for you from the Philippines?” I nodded in agreement and before I could expound at my own marveling at their rich culture, he excused himself to buy tickets to enter the shrine.

Built in 768 by the powerful regent Fujiwara family, it is highlighted by the many bronze lanterns that surrounds the path leading to the main shrine. While I sat at the

one of the corridors and let myself get lost in my thoughts, a lone deer approached me as if trying to relay a message. Being a mile away from being superstitious, I found myself wanting to believe how the deer sensed that something was bothering my mind that moment.

After it sniffed my hands, I figured the female deer was just on a lookout for more crackers. I remember being clouded with uncertainties that morning, but as we walked towards another UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Kasugayama Primeval Forest, a burst of Zen-shot through my mind and in an instant, I just let the environment carry my consciousness and off it went with the flow of our surroundings. It seems like, the beautiful mesh-up of modernity and the olden past that still flourishes in Nara Park worked wonders into clearing my mind that day.

Tōdai-ji

Once a part of the Seven Great Temples of Nara, this Buddhist Temple appear to be the biggest in Nara Park. Housed inside is the world’s biggest bronze statue of the Buddha, the Daibutsu or otherwise known as Vairocana. The vast grounds fronting the main temple are dotted with smaller shrines, belfries, towering gates and a lush garden that surrounds a snaking lake where glass-like waters remains tranquil still.

Inside the temple, I noticed a thick wooden post that has a hole near the bottom. I saw a line of visitors trying to crawl up through the tiny passageway that could barely fit a medium built body. I overheard

an English speaking guide telling her guests that “anyone who passes through it shall be enlightened up until their succeeding life”. I thought about lining up and entering the hole myself but decided against it at the last minute.

Immersing at the Overwhelming History and Culture of Nara Park I always associate my traveling to freeing my mind of a bordered mentality. Discovering and learning new philosophies, while on the road has become a life-long journey for myself. A big part of it stems from educating myself of the worlds’ many culture, religion and history. Just by stringing my way from end to end of Nara Park’s significant grounds, I felt like I have covered a lot of grounds into attaining a decent amount of new knowledge.

As our legs starts to show signs of weariness, we persevered with more long walks at casual pace – while ogling at the passing sights and festivity occurring at the park.

A couple of train rides afforded us to cover additional places included in the historic monuments list of Nara.

Other than ticking off these places, the experience left me with more than a visual banquet.

Seeing with my own set of eyes, these old and sacred structures that stood almost similar to the originals that sprung up many centuries ago, elevates my continuing cultural discovery of the country of Japan into greater heights.

Travel Tip: Nara is an hour away from Osaka by train. Travelers can avail of a single ticket day pass for trains and buses to explore Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara for a day or two.

Weavemanila connects Philippine weavers to international market through Manila FAME

The Phytotherapy garden is interestingly designed according to organs and the plants that relate to them. It is aimed at educating visitors of the value of agricultural products for the prevention and cure of illnesses, as well as to encourage healthy living.

Farm tourism thrives on wellness buffs T

he Department of Tourism (DOT) is banking on new types of tourist attractions, like farm and wellness enclaves, to lure international and domestic visitors into the country.

“Farm tourism is relatively new, but once developed, especially with the mandate of the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016, inclusive growth becomes achievable for the benefit of farmers, micro to small business enterpreneurs and other community stakeholders,” Tourism Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre said.

He said there is an increasing community engagement and appreciation for tourism as a way of life in the countryside. More important, we continue to deepen our brand of hospitality, giving more essence to the unique Filipino tourism experience, Alegre continued.

The DOT official made the assertions as he joined travel and tour promoters,

mass media and stakeholders during the launch of the Nurture Farmacy in Tagaytay last Saturday.

Alegre congratulated Dr. Mike and Catherine Turvill, owners of the Nurture Wellness Village for the opening of the Farmacy, a DOT-accredited ecotourism wellness, heritage and farm destination that provides a wide range of activities for varied guests, including tour of the Phytotherapy garden; weaving and cooking demos; interactive heritage activities and many others.

The Farmacy is a logical adjunct to the 15-year-old resort and spa, serving as source of agricultural produce for the catering services, as well as for application and treatment at the spa outlet. Situated just an hour drive from Manila, the Nurture property is perfect for honey mooners, families, corporate team-building activities and young professionals who seek a quick get away from city life.

A

nn Hernandez’s abaca carpets are not for the stingy. Their creations, all handmade and transported straight from the Philippines’s abaca capital, Albay, are sold almost twice as expensive as most of the natural floor coverings in the market, like sisal or jute.

Now who would buy such luxury from a two-year-old start-up enterprise?

A lot of people, apparently.

Hernandez’s brand, Weavemanila, has earned the trust and admiration of a good number of buyers in the Philippines and in the United States. “Ours is a small, new company, but we’ve been getting great feedback since we started in 2013 and clients are steadily learning about what we can bring to the market. We’ve surprised ourselves and we feel so blessed,” she happily tells Center for International Trade Exposition and Missions (Citem).

It is love at first sight that makes many clients invest in a Weavemanila carpet. With outstanding quality that is distinguishable to the trained eye, the handwoven home furnishings are easily a must-have if one wants to add a distinct elegance, comfort and class into a room.

But what makes these abaca products truly adored by patrons in many countries around the globe is

the company behind it who values the hard work and craftsmanship of the weavers at the base of its production line. The owners care for and improve the lives of the carpet makers as the brand grows and prospers.

“Weavemanila’s first priority is the weavers,” Hernandez says. “It’s important to us that our weavers are always paid on time and that they are well compensated for their hard work,” Hernandez adds.

One of the company’s plans for the welfare of its weavers is to hire a professional who could coach them on personal finance and investment. “One of our biggest dreams is to get insurance and investment plans for each of them,” she tells Citem. “For us, it’s not enough that their livelihood

provides for what they need today.

We want them to earn and save for their future,” she emphasizes.

Weavemanila also conducts programs and activities that teach values and useful, marketable skills.

They hold weekly Bible studies and enroll their workers in classes for new weaving and dyeing techniques, and, just like an extended family, Weavemanila takes them to unwind in vacation spots or celebrate at favorite restaurants on special occasions.

The weavers believe that the company cares for their needs—putting them first before anything else. In return, they dedicate themselves to their craft. They work better, strive for excellence and focus on creating the best products for the clients who

support their handiwork and art.

The company’s generosity extends beyond their workers and their home province of Albay.

Two years ago, the company supported one of the communities in Bohol affected by the 2013 earthquake, the deadliest since 1990, and Supertyphoon Haiyan (local code name Yolanda), which struck the region only a mere three weeks after the earthquake.

Thinking about the sorry plight of Bohol’s seaweed farmers, whose crops were destroyed by the two consecutive natural calamities, Weavemanila donated the company’s earnings to enable the farmers to purchase new crops and reestablish their livelihood.

Weavemanila has also initiated several outreach programs helping out students, orphans and poverty-stricken families by donating cash, canned goods, rice and school supplies. And just in February they purchased the first of three wheelchairs they will give to elderly patients in their community in Santo Domingo, Albay.

“We are blessed to be a blessing to others,” Hernandez says. Weavemanila recently launched their new designs at the Manila FAME held from October 20 to 22 at the World Trade Center and the Philippine Trade Training Center, Pasay City.

Locale publisher Ingga Cabangon Chua (fifth from left) with DTI Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado and CITEM Executive Director Rosvi C. Gaetos (sixth and seventh), with KATHA awardees

LOCALE ENTERS THE PRINT INDUSTRY VIA KATHA AWARDS PHOTOS Stephanie Tumampos

O

n October 21, publisher Ingga S. Cabangon Chua unveiled Locale, a coffee table style magazine on the modern Philippines’ lifestyle and culture, during the KATHA Awards ceremony held at the CITEM for International Trade Expositions and Mission’s (CITEM) Hall One in the International Trade Complex, Pasay City.

“Filipinos are some of the most hardworking, innovative and resilient people. And I believe that their stories need to be heard. And that’s where Locale comes in,” says Cabangon Chua.

“We bring to life the stories of modern Filipinos and we do this through beautiful photos, rich text and easy to read clean pages.”

For its first issue, Locale showcases the design landscape of the country by curating stories on the victories and struggles of Filipino designers and master craftsmen.

Coincidentally, Cabangon Chua also conferred the first Locale Editors’ Choice Award to the Brindle pendant lights from Industria Home Vico Design & Manufacturing Corp. The winning piece best exemplified the Filipino talent and ingenuity and will be featured in Locale’s succeeding edition of its Design Issue and in the Export Unlimited section of the BusinessMirror. Judges for the said award were composed of Locale Publisher Ingga S. Cabangon Chua, Editor in Chief Carla Mortel Baricaua, BusinessMirror Editor in Chief June Vallecera, Philippines Graphic Editor Joel Pablo Salud, Interior Designer Gerard Mendoza, Pinstripe

“Filipinos are some of the most hardworking, innovative and resilient people. And I believe that their stories need to be heard. And that’s where Locale comes in.”

—Ingga S. Cabangon Chua Locale publisher Ingga Cabangon Chua

Communications and Pezzo Philippines Managing partner Ferdi Salvador.

CITEM Executive Director Rosvi C. Gaetos conferred the KATHA awards to six companies chosen for their innovative and design forward products while DTI Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado gave the keynote speech.

The KATHA Awards gives distinction to ingenious designs and encourages exporters to raise their design standards for Philippine export products and pursue a skilful exploration of new materials/processes. The awards night was part of the recently concluded Manila FAME: The Design and Lifestyle Event, a bi-annual showcase of craftsmanship in Philippine products, with Locale, BusinessMirror, and Philippines Graphic as media partners.

LOCALE TEAM: ( from left) Layout artist Pauline Dycoco, Publisher Ingga Cabangon Chua, Editorial Assistant Jonalyn Fortuno, Advertising Manager Gina Verzosa, Editor in Chief Carla Mortel Baricaua, Circulation Manager Grace Conde, and Circulation assistant Mark Harvy Villardo

Malou Cantancio and Luz Sarmiento

Lexus Manila Executive Director Yuichiro Suzuki

Tommy Woudwyk, Lulu Tan-Gan, Ingga Cabangon Chua, and Jessica Tan-Gan

Mark Ocampo, Mica Cabangon Chua, Tommy Woudwyk, Rachel Ngan, Martin Duenas, Mia Ocampo, and Emilio Pulido

Agnes Desiderio, Cathy Songco, Bia Sy, Jessica Santos, Ingga Cabangon Chua, Ju Subido, and Adora Subido

Nikki Lopez and Ingga Cabangon Chua

Royal Pineda and Budji Layug

Locale Editor in Chief Carla Mortel Baricaua, Resorts World Manila Cristina Garcia and Kristine Mae Bernardo

Air 21 Ria Pantano, Emma Arceo, and BusinessMirror Vice President for Advertising and Sales Marvin Nisperos Estigoy

Ingga Cabangon Chua, Rhea Matute and Carlo Cordaro

Doan Cabangon and Chen Cabangon

Laurice Calvo, Richard Cucueco, and Michelle Cabangon Chua

Jim Torres

Kristel Blancas

Thian Rodriguez

Cathy Songco, Claire Pique, Ingga Cabangon Chua, Yna Pique, and Carol Fazon

Joey De Castro and Lally De Castro

Science Monday

A12 Monday, October 24, 2016

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

Fish parasite helps prevent human intake of heavy metals

N

ot all parasites are harmful.

Species of the thorny-headed worm, or acanthocephala (Acanthogyrus species), can infect fishes but they bring more good than harm—on humans.

This was found in a recent study by the Institute of Biological Sciences of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) on thorny-head worms—fish-parasites that accumulate heavy-metal concentration in their host’s tissues, such as on gills and intestines.

The study found that fishes infected with parasites (parasitized) have lower levels of heavy-metals, compared with fishes not infected by parasites (non parasitized).

The difference in the tissues of

the parasitized and nonparasitized fish is “remarkable,” according to the study.

Thorny-headed worm infection, the study said, affects only the host’s or fish’s size or weight and length but has no significant effect on the immediate health of the fish.

Dr. Vachel Gay V. Paller, National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) biologist/researcher, said that, as the number of parasites increases, the length of tilapia decreases.

a magnified image of the spiny-headed worm

Tilapia

“Smaller tilapia may not be so bad. Some may have parasites, but these parasites may just save the consumers from possible heavymetal intake. Besides, the parasites stay in those parts—gills and intestine—which the consumers most likely discard.”

Conducted in the seven lakes of San Pablo, Laguna (Bunot, Calibato, Mohicap, Palakpakin, Pandin, Sam-

paloc and Yambo), the study aims to help farmers understand and control the acanthocephalan infection among fishes in the lakes.

Thorny-headed worms were found in the following four species of fishes: tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), red nile tilapia, Parachromis Managuensis and Vieja species The highest rate of infection and intensity was recorded in Palakpakin Lake.

Among the heavy-metal sources of pollutants in the Seven Lakes come from transportation vehicle (car exhaust, worn tires, engine parts, brake parts, rust or used antifreeze); and fish cages, wherein the uneaten feeds that contain essential minerals for fish diet (copper, calcium, zinc, selenium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, iron and iodine) accumulate in the lake over the years.

Other sources include untreated wastes from hospital, residential, commercial and industrial establishments; and pesticides from agricul-

tural application in the nearby areas.

The study, funded by the NRCP of the Department of Science and Technology, is relevant at this time when the government is pushing for a cleaner environment, especially in the coastal areas, where many people live and obtain their livelihood.

NRCP will be hosting the Science and Policy Forum for Sustainable Laguna Lake Management on November 22 and 23 in Days Hotel, Tagaytay. The forum will be a gathering of fishers, farmers, environmental experts in the academic, administrative and legislative sectors. S&T Media

Expert uses science in Iran diplomacy, turns waste gases to useful chemicals U

nited States Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz was looking up at a 5-feet-tall glass cylinder filled with a turbulent milky white concoction. It was suspended several feet off the ground by a scaffold wound through with tubes and wires.

Surrounding him were scientists at the Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York in Manhattan, where they were gathered with a commercial development engineer as part of a long-term plan to turn pollution into profits.

The cylinder contained water and bubbles—oxygen bubbles. The scientists were testing just how tiny they can make them, and how uniformly they could be distributed.

The goal: Building chemical reactors that swallow industrial waste gases, feed them to naturally occurring or genetically engineered microbes and produce fuels or useful chemicals.

LanzaTech, a company based in Skokie, Illinois, hopes to mass-produce fuels and industrial chemicals from waste gases, including methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The technology could be one tool to help people manage dangerous compounds that humanity pumps into the atmosphere.

The research is funded in part by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the arm of a US Cabinet department that has seen its share of headlines over the past eight years.

Nobel Physics laureate Steven Chu preceded Moniz, 71, at Energy and became a news fixture when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 gave Americans a daily lesson in applied subaquatic petrogeology.

Moniz joined the Obama administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology three years later, and led the agency’s contributions to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and Paris climate accord reached last December.

In New York last week, Moniz emphasized the need to pursue long-term solutions to climate change that will stretch over many years and administrations—and the expense that will be involved.

“We need to keep working on the cost,” he said. “But we also need some of these big, additional breakthroughs that are going to take a long time to scale up. That’s why we’re doing it now.”

Moniz sat down with Bloomberg News to talk about the influential role science plays in diplomacy, as well as the critical role it plays in arresting global warming.

I came to understand and believe what he was saying: For him, having activities going on there was absolutely critical. So, as part of the deal, Iran and Russia are collaborating on some medical isotope production. The rest of the facility is going to be dedicated to science.

It’ll be under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision. That gave Iran something they insisted on, and it did not impinge on our central issues.

Duke Energy Corp. coal-fired power plant Bloomberg News

Where does the Iran story begin for you?

The Department of Energy, the labs, and I were involved in supporting the negotiations before I became part of them.

What does that mean?

The traditional role of scientists in these international negotiations, like arms control and other things, is to provide analytical support for the negotiators, the diplomats, the Department of State. The center of nuclear expertise in the country are the Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories.

So we had a group of seven national laboratories, plus two of our other nuclear sites, as a support team for the negotiators, analyzing alternative designs for the Arak reactor, looking at centrifuge issues, all kinds of questions. The secretary of energy is part of the, if you like, the national security sub-Cabinet, so I was certainly involved in the sitroom discussions.

In early February 2015, the negotiations weren’t progressing as rapidly as one wanted. It was going to be very difficult to achieve a dramatic scaleback of Iran’s nuclear activities if the (scientific) principal on the Iranian side and the principal on the American side weren’t fundamentally at

the negotiating table.

You knew ahead of time that you were contemporaries with Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, while at MIT?

His PhD adviser, it turns out, is a very dear friend. So we had something to talk about. And that was a tremendous benefit—to develop a sense of personal trust as the negotiations went on. That’s to be distinguished from the fact that the deal is not based on trust: The deal is based

on verification. But we had a trusting relationship. We were both trying to get to a place where we could solve the problem, recognizing that it was going to be tough.

And that helped you realize that, despite the differences, there wasn’t a fundamental conflict between the two nations’ positions?

When we were put into the negotiations, with our technical backgrounds, we came rapidly to that conclusion. We reached the framework agreement in Lausanne in early April. That was only two months. And then the final agreement was July 14, which was just over an additional three months.

Now those were very intense, very tough. John Kerry and I were literally 19 days straight in Vienna for the last negotiating session, along with Salehi and (Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad) Zarif.

It’s pretty unusual that you see even one minister in one place for 19 days, let alone four from two different countries. We always kept an eye on what were the essentials and, pragmatically, I would say, a physicistslash-engineer’s approach: OK, you got a problem. You solve it.

How do you turn technical expertise and an institutional connection into a diplomatic success?

I’ll give you an example. When we went into the negotiations, on the American side, we expected that a requirement would be that the Fordow facility, Iran’s underground facility, would have to be completely emptied and abandoned.

We talked and I came to the realization that, as long as we knew, it was not going to be used for purposes we didn’t approve of—any enrichment of uranium—that would satisfy our needs.

How have events changed the working relationship with Russia?

They just announced they’re eliminating most of our cooperative programs. Since the Ukraine incursion, obviously, our cooperation went down substantially. We still insisted that when there were joint national security benefits—nonproliferation, control of nuclear materials—that we would still work together. And we have, including very recently the elimination of highenriched uranium from Poland.

There’s no question that our degree of collaboration has dramatically decreased.

Let’s talk about the Paris climate negotiations: What for you was the most iconic moment?

The iconic moment was on the first day. That was when President Barack Obama and 19 other senior leaders, and with Bill Gates also there, announced something called Mission Innovation— that’s with a capital “M” and a capital “I.” It’s a commitment to double cleanenergy research and development over a five-year period. For the DOE, that’s going from nearly $5 billion to nearly $10 billion. We still have to work with Congress—the department’s innovation thrust has received very good bipartisan support.

What are the questions that people come to you with about climate change?

The public is largely to the place where they acknowledge the climate is changing. But the public is not nearly as far along in acknowledging the human role in global warming.

The general scale, like doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide and the several degrees centigrade rise in global temperature, has been known since the 19th century. What’s missing, I think, is connecting the amount of carbon dioxide we emit to the increase in its concentration, to the pace at which we double it. That’s not been clearly articulated. It’s just a question of the public getting it. Bloomberg News

Team securing strategies to battle papaya disease

B

acterial crown rot (BCR) has infiltrated the Philippine papaya industry. It spoils an entire papaya plantation, wiping out at least 50 percent of the trees.

This translates to production losses of up to $10 million per year, equivalent to 20 percent of the total papaya production. It results in the rapid collapse of a thriving business, drain in investments and loss to smallholder farmers.

This creates instability in the livelihoods of farmers, not to mention its corresponding adverse effects on food security. From a macro perspective, this could signal a reduction in the domestic supply of papaya or even a decline in the country’s export earnings from the commodity.

BCR, also called bacterial canker or bacterial decline, is one of the most critical diseases of papaya in the Philippines. Once infected, the plant’s stem and other growing points would rot, wilt and, eventually, collapse. Its leaves, flowers and petioles lose their vibrance as they fade and brown. Stench from the rotting of plant tissues would soon linger in the infected area.

Papaya is commonly grown in small farms of 1 hectare to 5 hectare in the Philippines with productivity period of three to four years.

From 2011 to 2015, the country produced an average of 16,000 metric tons of papaya, but the looming effects of BCR can cripple the growth of the industry, especially in the poor regions of South Cotabato and Bukidnon in Mindanao.

Recognizing the damages BCR bring, a team of experts is conducting the project integrated disease management (IDM) strategies for the productive, profitable and sustainable production of high-quality papaya fruit in the southern Philippines and Australia.

The experts are from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Davao National Crop Research, Development and Production Support Center (Davao Crop Research Center) and are working in collaboration with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

The Papaya IDM project is part of the ACIARDOST-PCAARRD collaborative horticulture program, which focuses on selected fruits and vegetables to improve food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

In essence, the project team seeks to identify what causes BCR and its survival, how it is trans-

mitted and how it can be controlled or managed.

Information learned through the project will be packaged as part of the IDM strategies. The project will work with Del Monte, Sumifru and the Tupi Papaya Growers Association of South Cotabato for extension and dissemination of the knowledge and technologies developed.

Through the project, the species associated with BCR has been identified, an important achievement since determining the causal organism of BCR is vital in disease diagnosis and in developing management practices.

Initial trials showed that the BCR pathogen is neither seed-borne nor soil transmissible, but red-spider mites appear to transmit BCR to healthy plants after being exposed to infected ones. Further trials will be conducted to confirm and supplement research on disease transmission.

The team is also screening papaya germplasm in the Philippines to find lines tolerant or resistant to BCR. From this study, it was observed that BCRinfected trees showed regrowth of the stem. This discovery will help identify papaya selections that are tolerant to BCR. Field trials to develop Integrated Pest Management-based strategies to manage BCR will be implemented at the Davao Crop Research Center once environmental conditions become suitable for the tests.

Implementation of IDM strategies is expected to generate benefits other than preventing the spread of BCR. The management practices being developed will strengthen farmer-researcher partnerships as communication and trust are enhanced. The conventional BCR management practice of applying copper-based fungicides poses health risk to farmers and contributes to soil, water and air pollution.

Its potential harm to farmers’ health and the environment, coupled with low effectiveness in managing BCR, calls for a better alternative, which can be developed through the project.

The project envisions producing a management strategy that will reduce the overall impact of BCR disease by 40 percent through yield increase, cost reduction and environmental sustainability.

The income of smallholder papaya farmers is expected to rise as a result. Employment opportunities for rural workers will spring from larger landholders expanding their production.

Ultimately, winning the BCR battle through IDM will improve food security and livelihoods for smallholder papaya farmers. S&T Media Service

Green Monday BusinessMirror

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

BusinessMirror

Monday, October 24, 2016 A13

Climate change puts agriculture on the hot seat

By Johnny f. Goloyugo | Special to the BusinessMirror

A

GRICULTURE is on the hot seat due to climate change, even as the agricultural development agenda undergo a major shift because of the significant reduction in food production and global food insecurity.

Agr icultura l scientists, econom ic e x per ts, academ ics a nd c iv i l i zed soc iet ies ag ree t hat “a dramatic increase in ef for ts a nd invest ment is requ ired to t ra nsit ion f rom v u l nerable nonsustainable systems to sust a inable ag r ic u lt u re.” In order to achieve food secur it y, reduce pover t y, safeg uard and restore ecolog ica l systems, the a l l-embracing concept of climate-smar t agr icu lture (CSA) may yet save the day for the projected 9 bil lion world popu lation by 2050. By then, accord ing to United Nat ions ( U N ) Fo o d a nd A g r i c u lt u re Organization (FAO) estimates made in 2009, crop y ields w il l need to increase by 70 percent.

U N def ines CSA as “ag r ic u lture that sustainably increases product iv it y, en ha nces resi lience [ad apt at ion], reduces/ removes greenhouse gases [m it igat ion], where possible, and enhances the achievement of nat iona l food sec u r it y a nd development goa ls.”

“Based on this definition, the bottom line is how countries look at their national interest and operationalize CSA in their respective countries,” said Dr. Leo Sebastian, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food SecuritySoutheast Asia (CCAFS-SEA) regional program leader of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

P ros a nd con s a b ou nd i n any science-based agricultural techniques, including CSA. For one, social movements across the globe blasted it as a mere

70%

Climate-smart agriculture in action in the Himalayas. N.Palmer/ccafs.cgiar.org

a project of agro-industr y that w i l l act ua l ly worsen c l imate change by failing to address such issues as governance, land uses and agricultural research.

Critics also fear that CSA is a “Trojan horse” set to marginalize smallholder farmers, journalist-author Fred Pearce writes in When the Rivers Run Dry: “They [critics] believe the arrival of carbon markets, brokers and traders in the fields of Africa can do nothing but harm.”

B y d i c t io n a r y d e f i n it io n , c a rbon m a rket i s a ny m a rket i n wh ic h c a rbon- em i ssion a llow a nces t rad i ng t a kes pl ace.

For e x a mple, compa n ies a re given a certain quota or p e r m it to p ol lute a ce r t a i n a mou nt of c a rbon d iox ide.

T hese companies can sel l t heir spa re per m its to ot her compan ies who w i sh to pol lute more t h a n t he i r a l low able l i m it.

In fact, talks have started among Brussels, China, South Korea and California (where carbon markets are in various state of development) about possible collaboration, although this move

sparked a rally in European Union against carbon permits.

On t he ot her ha nd, ot her critics fear that the high cost of employing consultants to monitor carbon uptake of farm soils will make it impossible for small farmers to earn income from the sale of the carbon absorbed by their soils. Only large landowners are able to reduce carbon market-transaction costs resulting in a new phase of landgrabbing called “soil grabbing.”

Gina Castillo, agriculture program manager at Oxfam America and a steering committee member of the African CSA Alliance, fears that farmers may be left out of any climate-adaptation efforts. Thus, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warns: “These efforts must have at their heart smallholder farmers. Without their participation we will fail.”

Concerns were, likewise, aired about CSA prioritizing mitigation and carbon sequestration in soils over food security and adaptation to climate change. Devlin Kuyek, a researcher for Grain, a small international nonprofit organization that supports small farmers and social movements that struggle for community-controlled

The percentage increase needed in crop yields for the projected 9 billion population by 2050

and biodiversity-based food systems in Africa, Asia and Latin America, called CSA a “meaningless label…meant to conceal the social, political and environmental implications of the different technology choices.”

“I do not want to be refuting other people’s analysis, opinions, perspectives, prejudices or biases on CSA. I think that’s for them to explain their position. For me, what matters most is what is really happening on the ground. What people are doing, not what they are arguing about,” Sebastian said.

“Climate change will impact on all of us. As such, inclusive and concerted efforts will be needed whether you are a big corporate entity or a small-holder farm. The big challenge is how we can bring everybody to start working and addressing the challenge.

“We cannot afford to make the issue of climate change an ideological debate. The sooner we can work together and start assuming responsibilities without antagonizing each other, the better it will be for our world. I think that the CSA approach and the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture are big strides toward that,” he said.

Sebastian, a former executive

director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, pointed out: “In the case of the Philippines, are we going to focus on addressing the interest of our smallholder farmers or the big corporate farms?

For countries, where CCAFS has been working, like in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR, the focus is very clear—CSA is for smallholder farmers, how we can improve their resilience to climate change, sustainably increase their productivity and contribute to green agriculture.”

Over at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna, scientists point out that “environmental stresses constrain rice production, affecting about 30 percent of the 700 million poor in Asia alone who live in rain-fed rice-growing areas. These stresses can be caused by extreme climatic changes, like drought, flooding or rising sea levels, while some can be inherent, like high-iron toxicity in the soil. Our breeding programs aim to develop rice types that can survive in these harsh environments.”

Dr. Bruce Tolentino, IRRI deputy director general for communication and partnerships, said: “When we at IRRI speak about CSA, we refer

$90-T infrastructure investment could combat climate change

U

NITED NATIONS—The world will need to more than double its current infrastructure stock over the next 15 years—a massive undertaking that could either contribute to or combat catastrophic climate change—according to a new report.

Two-thirds of the $90-trillion infrastructure investment needed will be in developing countries, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate noted in the Sustainable Infrastructure Imperative Report.

“The types of infrastructure we build—coal power plants versus wind farms and solar arrays, for example, or megahighways versus public transit systems—will determine whether we stay on a high-carbon growth path or move toward a climate-smart future,” the report said.

Despite the massive price tag, the commission of global experts said much of the money could be easily accessed by ending incentives to build dirty infrastructure, from fossil fuels to urban sprawl.

The report’s authors, including economist Lord Nicholas Stern, also emphasized that investing in green infrastructure can contribute to economic growth.

“Economic growth and climate action are mutually compatible,”

Stern, who is cochairman of the commission, told journalists. “We emphasized and demonstrated with solid economic evidence that we can do both.”

Additionally, the commission found that only a small additional investment is needed to ensure that the over $90 trillion worth of infrastructure, which needs to be built over the next 15 years, contributes to rather than undermines climate-change efforts.

Developed and developing countries will face different infrastructure challenges over the 21st century. Developed countries will have to replace or repair ageing infrastructure, while the majority of construction of new infrastructure will happen in low and middle-income countries.

“Developing countries, such as those in Asia and Africa, need infrastructure to improve access to basic services, drive development and meet the needs of rapidly urbanizing populations and an expanding middle class,” the report said.

“Clearly, developing countries will lead the sustainable infrastructure story of the 21st century,” said Naina Lal Kidwai, a member of the commission and former chairman of HSBC India, because of the “sheer quantity” of infrastructure to be built in

developing countries.

Lal Kidwai said the good news is that developing countries can “leap frog” a lot of the problems encountered by developed countries, which built their infrastructure with older technologies and designs.

“A lot of the investment can be designed to be a lot more new age than we have seen in the past,” she said.

Developing countries may be able to use climate financing— funds committed by rich countries to help poorer countries fight climate change—to help make their infrastructure investments greener. However, the report’s authors noted that this would not be the main source of funding.

“The hundred billion dollars in climate finance is absolutely essential and it is important for catalytic investments to really shift in the right direction,” Helen Mountford, program director of the New Climate Economy told Inter Press Service.

“What we’re focusing on here, through the report of the global commission, is that question of trillions…all of those investments need to go in a direction which help support growth, which help support, social and development goals and which support climate action.” IPS

Alexandra Cousteau

PHL ‘museums’ of biodiversity, rich marine life must-see for luxury travelers

A

lexandra Cousteau, filmmaker and environmental advocate for the oceans, represents a new wave of luxury traveler heading for El Nido Resorts in Palawan, these days. Together with her husband and two children, the granddaughter of legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a recent visitor to three of the four resorts named after the islands that host them: Miniloc, Lagen and Pangulasian.

According to Joey Bernardino, marketing director of El Nido Resorts, which also includes Apulit Island resort: “Cousteau is the epitome of the responsible traveler, one who favors destinations that support economic, social and environmental sustainability. And we expect that her visit will attract many other guests who share her passion for the environment.”

Cousteau was in the Philippines recently to muster support for the campaigns of Oceana, the largest international environmental organization concerned primarily with oceans conservation. She capped her stay in the country with a visit to El Nido Resorts that

included two days of diving with husband Fritz Neumeyer, a green architect based in Berlin, and to bring her 5-year-old daughter, Clementine, snorkeling for the first time.

She observed that there are places in the Philippines and in El Nido that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. They are like “museums of what [ocean life] was like hundreds of years ago.”

The National Geographic emerging explorer wanted her preschooler to experience them and “to see the extraordinary wonders the ocean has to offer.”

Among the diving spots that amazed Cousteau and her group was South Miniloc, a dive site that was brought to the attention of millions of televiewers by her grandfather Jacques when he visited Palawan on the boat Calypso in 1991.

El Nido Environmental Officer Elaine Tagudando, who was with Cousteau’s group, recalled: “Visibility was good and we got to see iconic yellow snappers and cabbage corals of the area. It was breathtaking to see

to the rice varieties developed that better tolerate drought, salinity, heat and flooding, and the tools that enable farmers to save water, reduce carbon emissions and plant on less-favorable soils.”

Surprisingly, funding for rice resea rc h comes most ly f rom western countries. As climate change threatens resource secur it y and ava i l abi l it y, IR R I scientists say, investment into research and development cannot be ignored.

IRRI Director General Matthew Morell revealed that over 95 percent of funding for rice research from 2010 to 2015 came from the West. Governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations “should seize the opportunity to drive the next Green Revolution and secure its own future food needs by increasing funding support for agriculture R&D [research and development],” Morell said.

On the whole, scientists from six research institutions—Wageningen University Research University of California Davis, French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, UN FAO, CGIAR CCAFS and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research— said “CSA is a way to achieve short- and long-term agricultural development priorities in the face of climate change and serve as an integrator to other development priorities.”

CSA needs support from countries in “securing the necessary policy, technical and financial conditions to enable them to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes, build resilience and the capacity of agricultural and food systems to adapt to climate change and seek opportunities to reduce and remove greenhouse gases while meeting their national food security.”

At the same time, more knowledge is needed about CSA, while continuous interaction between science, policy-makers and farmers essential not only to align research and decision-makers, but also to improve the efficiency of investments to successfully confront climate change. different schools of fish—soldier, snapper and barracuda—and a trumpet fish couple.

None of us wanted to surface even if our dive master was banging the tank and calling for a safety stop.”

Distinct sites teeming with marine life and other natural attractions remain the primary reason responsible travelers favor a destination, Bernardino said.

“But it works for us to adopt sustainable practices that help us maintain our natural attractions. We’ve realized that the key to our longevity as a resort is conservation of the attractions around us.”

Javi Hernandez, chief operating officer, observes that upscale travelers from the West eager to discover rare marine life, endangered species and undeveloped natural territories have become a niche market for El Nido Resorts.

The Philippines is part of the Coral Triangle, the global center of marine biodiversity. The Solomon Islands, Palau and Indonesia are also part of the Triangle. But in many of these places that boast a staggering number of species, it takes hours to move from one marine habitat to the next.

El Nido Resorts, on the other hand, offers guests the advantage of over 800 marine species, 400 kinds of corals and 500 marine vertebrae within an area of 200 kilometers.

Cousteau articulated the advantage offered by the Philippines and Northern Palawan: “It’s the center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world.”

Knowing only too well the difficulties and challenges of conserving natural heritage sites, responsible travelers “want to know that we sort and recycle our waste so that only 5 percent ends up in the dumpsite, that we offer a green menu and serve only seafood that remains bountiful, and that 95 percent of our employees are locals,” Bernardino said.

“All these ensure they will have a ‘museum’ of underwater life to come back to and to show off to their children.”

A14 Monday, October 24, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Uncle Sam: He needs me; he needs me not

O

n October 18 the New York Times published two viewpoints on the importance of the Philippines to the United States. We present these opinions without comment.

“The US Doesn’t Need the Philippines” was written by Doug Bandow.

Mr. Bandow holds a degree in economics from Florida State University and a law degree from Stanford University. Formerly, he was a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan and a regular contributor to several well-known publications, such as Fortune and Wall Street Journal.

Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a US think-tank. It must be noted that the Cato Institute is widely respected and is considered “conservative” to “neoconservative” in its outlook.

Mr. Bandow writes: “America cowers before international lightweights, begging the least significant nations to let it defend them. Such as the Philippines”.

“The Philippines needs America far more than America needs the Philippines. Its best ships are US cast-offs. It doesn’t help defend the United States from anyone. Rather, Manila expects Washington’s protection even though the archipelago matters little for the United States”.

“Manila relies on American support rather than its own military in confronting China and could drag the United States into a conflict easily. Washington should drop the “mutual” defense treaty and joint patrols. Moreover, such access is not worth paying any price: America lost no influence when Subic Bay and Clark Airfield closed decades ago.”

“The US Needs the Philippines for Its Strategic Location” was written by Malcolm Cook. Dr. Cook holds a PhD in International Relations from the Australian National University. He also holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the International University of Japan.

Cook is a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, a research institute in Singapore. It must be noted that the institute is an autonomous organization established by the Singapore parliament and is under the Ministry of Education.

Dr. Cook writes: “President Duterte clearly has a problem with the United States and his country’s alliance with its former colonial ruler.

If these presidential pronouncements are translated policy, they will be little more than an annoyance to Washington. If President Duterte’s more recent musings about reviewing or rescinding the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement [Edca] are followed through the situation would change. The actions of America’s weakest and most dependent ally will pose a danger to vital US and homeland security interests.”

“China’s recently activated nuclear-armed submarines are at Hainan Island. For these submarines’ missiles to pose a threat to the continental United States, they must transit the South China Sea and enter the Western Pacific. Their most suitable route would be through the Luzon Strait, between the Philippines and Taiwan. This year’s Malabar naval exercise with the US, Japan and India took place around this strategic passage and focused on antisubmarine warfare.”

“The Edca provides US forces greater access to Philippine bases, including some strategically located to better address this new nuclear threat. If access to these bases are reduced or stopped, there is no clear alternative.”

“This time, if Philippine identity politics leads to another rejection of the US military, it is unlikely the Americans could look across the strait to Taiwan to fill the void. Soon, the United States may clearly have a problem with President Duterte.”

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder

Publisher Editor in Chief Managing Editor Associate Editor News Editor City & Assignments Editor Senior Editors

L

ocal workers in the private sector have been clamoring for higher wages to ease the financial difficulties that they have been experiencing. It is no secret that the minimum wage (P454-P491) is barely enough to meet the needs of a big family. In response, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III will be filing in the current 17th Congress his proposal for a P125 across-the-board (ATB) wage increase for workers in the private sector.

Only recently, on October 19, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) released a statement saying that the agency, together with the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Department of Trade and Industry, is opposing the proposed wage increase.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the hike could have “adverse impacts” on economic growth, employment and inflation. The government agencies mentioned above further

explained that a wage increase will affect the cost of doing business in the country. Therefore, this might affect the important decisions that companies make about production, employment and pricing.

When the Neda conducted a simulation study to analyze the effects of a P125 ATB salary increase in all regions, the economic agency found out that an increase could result in “upward pressures on prices” between 2017 and 2018.

Inflation could increase from a baseline of 2.1 percent to 9.7 percent in 2017.

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Dante S. Castro

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

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

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–San Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila

When the Neda conducted a simulation study to analyze the effects of a P125 ATB salary increase in all regions, the economic agency found out that an increase could result in “upward pressures on prices” between 2017 and 2018. The Neda study also shows that the wage hike could displace around 500,000 workers in 2017, a figure that would pull the year’s unemployment rate to 7.3 percent.

The Neda study also shows that the wage hike could displace around 500,000 workers in 2017, a figure that would pull the year’s unemployment rate to 7.3 percent.

GDP growth in 2017 would be affected, as well, according to the Neda, reducing it to 5.5 percent, from a baseline of 6.5 percent.

To help the public-sector workers, economic managers have suggested the improvement of

infrastructure in the regions so that the investment climate becomes better, too. Ultimately, it will still be the fresh infusion of investment into the regions that will spell success and development for both workers and businesses.

To gain investments from other countries is one of the aims of President Duterte’s state visit to China last week. As I wrote in my last column, the President and his delegation hoped to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, as the businessmen negotiated for huge investments and loans from China-based institutions and companies. Many people are hoping that the new businesses, when they come, will further stabilize local economy and, eventually, benefit the government, businesses and the workers who need more earning opportunities. nnn

Results of the PCSO Anniversary Race held at the Metro Manila Turf Club Inc. in Malvar, Batangas, on October 16, are as follows: Kanlaon (V.R. Dilema) finished first, followed by Dinalupihan (J.T. Zarate) in second place, Cats Dream (J.A. Guce) in third and Low Profile (M.A. Alvarez) finished fourth. Congratulations to all the winners!

Utilizing the Performance Governance System for PPPs

By Alberto Agra

Max V. de Leon Jennifer A. Ng Dionisio L. Pelayo Vittorio V. Vitug

Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Angel R. Calso

MEMBER OF

RISING SUN

Jun B. Vallecera

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

HOM

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Online Editor Social Media Editor

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Why wage increase will do more harm than good

PPP Lead Continued from A1 The PGS, administered by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, is a strategy management framework for public-sector institutions converting them to islands of good governance. Public-sector institutions, such as national government agencies, governmental instrumentalities and corporations, and local governments, are envisioned to undergo rapid transformation. They shall be guided to move along the fourstage governance pathway of initiation, compliance, proficiency and institutionalization.

In the initiation stage, the vision or game plan is formulated and potential areas for development and growth are identified.

The strategy must be cascaded and the office of the strategy management is created to oversee the

strategy implementation. This is the compliance phase.

In the third phase, i.e., proficiency, the strategy is sustained through the involvement of the Multi-Sectoral Governance Council (MSGC). In the next stage, which is institutionalization, the organization becomes strategyfocused and is now equipped to achieve breakthrough results and transformative outcomes.

Sustainability of programs and policies, hopefully, is engrained.

Graduating from one stage to the next is determined through the use of a scorecard, after vetting in a revalida. “Graduates” are recognized in a public ceremony.

Anchoring these on PPPs: n Both are strategies, not outcomes. PGS and PPPs are not the desired outcomes. Both are strategies pursued and means employed to achieve transforma-

PGS and PPPs are not the desired outcomes. Both are strategies pursued and means employed to achieve transformative outcomes.

PPPs are intended to improve the quality of life of Filipinos through breakthrough results, which are promoted under the PGS.

tive outcomes. PPPs are intended to improve the quality of life of Filipinos through breakthrough resu lts, whic h a re promoted under the PGS. n Organizational readiness.

An organization that seeks to engage private-sector proponents in PPP arrangements must be ready. Organizations do not become ready overnight. The whole organization, not just the formal leaders, including the external stakeholders, such as the communities, civil-service organizations and business groups, through the four-stage journey and beyond, must be part of the process.

Readiness is gauged through the

maturation of the organization as evidenced by the four merit badges of the PGS. Ownership through cascading.

One of the hallmark features of PGS, also needed for PPPs, is collective and broad participation of all stakeholders. Per the PGS, the organizational vision, values, programs and projects must be developed and promoted by all stakeholders. Cascading is done in all directions. The series of workshops and the formation of the MSGC ensure this. PPP, in whatever form, and other developmental strategies must always be an agenda and action point of the MSGC. n Same core values. Transformation is not without values. PGS and PPPs are founded on the same values and principles. Everyone must advance transparency, accountability, democracy, trust, respect, collectivity, dialogue and progression. Without these, tyranny, patronage politics and personal interests will reign, and processes may become unethical.

The general welfare, the endgoal, is not elusive for as long as public-sector organizations, preferably into PPPs, embrace PGS.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Trump is a lesson in Coming soon dignity and democracy

By Francis Wilkinson | Bloomberg View

Joel L. Tan-Torres

D

emocracy requires dignity to sustain itself. This shouldn’t surprise. The ruling system that democracy replaced had been divinely chosen; the royals had Godgiven dignity, with all the trappings. For democrats to compete, they had to prove first that the electoral rabble could govern its passions and temper its prejudices, and next that their leaders would be chosen from the highest common denominator, not the lowest.

Democratic dignity is mutual dignity. That requires mutual respect and something more. The dignity of democratic institutions must be safeguarded even when the dignity of individuals collapses. Richard Nixon can be discarded if necessary, the presidency must be saved.

Since he began his campaign, Donald Trump has waged a sustained assault on democratic norms and democratic dignity. The first phase attacked individuals, Mexicans, followed by Muslims. Trump targeted vulnerable minorities, as demagogues do, but he also belittled and taunted his Republican primary opponents, who felt compelled to adopt his schoolyard tactics in turn.

As the campaign progressed, Trump’s past comments were afforded new scope, and gravity, by proximity to new transgressions. A Fox News host’s recount of Trump insults directed at women inspired a vivid new attack on the host herself.

Trump’s lashing of Megyn Kelly— was she out of his league?—provided the cathartic template for the general-election campaign against Hillary Clinton, which reached Peak Nuremberg with the spectacle of mobs chanting, “Lock her up.”

It’s impossible to calibrate the cost of this. The racism and misogyny and xenophobia, the deployment of falsehoods as a first resort, wear down a culture’s defenses. The vi-

rus seeps not only into the political arena, where hangers-on repeat Trump slanders and defend Trump outrages, but into schools and workplaces and homes. Democratic culture is self-referential, a perpetual mirror on itself. It cannot accommodate Trump’s rhetoric, or normalize his politics, without acquiring some of his ugliness.

In a lecture delivered to the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, Stanford University classics professor Josiah Ober said: “Citizen dignity is robust because it is protected by rules and by the cultural habits and interests of those who make, affirm, revise and obey the rules.

The responsibilities of citizenship that emerge within a regime of civic dignity include respect and recognition of others. Respect and recognition entail self-restraint.

We must voluntarily restrain ourselves from indulging in actions that would wrongly compromise other people’s dignity—even when acting arrogantly towards them might please us.”

We rationally restrain ourselves from arrogant behavior for three overlapping reasons: First, because we expect that we will be sanctioned for it. Next, because we have come to believe that it is in our real, long-term interest to deny ourselves short-term gratification at others’ expense.

Hope and recovery for Region 2 school kids

By Remedios A. Agbisit

L

yka and her three siblings huddled inside a makeshift shelter, waiting for aid after losing everything they have from one of the most powerful storms to hit the country.

Like many other school-aged kids in this community, Lyka is not thinking of returning to school. Her immediate concern is their next meal. Most of their neighbors in the town of Buguey also lost their homes. And their situation is being compounded by the lack of water and electricity.

While the Department of Social Welfare and Development has distributed relief goods to most typhoon victims like Lyka’s family, countless typhoon victims in farflung areas in the province remain hungry. They are hoping for aid from the government or the private sector.

Authorities say it will take a month or two to restore normal electric supply in typhoon-affected areas, while most towns have no clean-water supply. Most school buildings and classrooms were destroyed by supertyphoon Lawin, and we educators are at a lost on how to rebuild and help students return to their normal lives at school where we can at least do our part to make them “happy kids” again.

The challenge is whether schools will be able to provide students with the ability to cope and return to life’s usual routines after the widespread destruction left behind by Lawin. Students, mostly disadvantaged ones, will lose out on precious learning time and, as Christmas is approaching, the challenge for educators like us is how to bring back hope and how

to help our students recover from the trauma brought about by the latest natural calamity.

As local and national government agencies work hand in hand to speed up work in clearing roadblocks, like fallen electric posts and uprooted trees, students from far-flung areas continue to miss classes. The more important question, however, remains: Are these kids still interested to return to their classrooms given the state of their shattered dwelling places?

Some teachers in Region 2 have been bothered after seeing the extensive destruction. Concerned educators even go to the extent of going house to house to encourage children to go back to school. The more fortunate students are sending notes of encouragements to their classmates who are still housed in evacuation centers or whose houses were totally destroyed by the strong winds.

Given the massive destruction left by Lawin in Cagayan province, many people—including schoolchildren—remain in dire need of help. There must be sustainable aid for them for at least a year or two. Educators have joined the ranks of poor parents and concerned citizens in requesting government leaders for support. We are also knocking on the doors of altruistic citizens to help us rebuild our schools—disadvantaged schoolchildren in Cagayan, like Lyka, need your help.

Let us all join hands in helping our students return to school, which, as most everyone knows, is their second home.

The author is Teacher 3 at Dalaya Elementary School in Buguey, Cagayan.

DEBIT CREDIT Part One

S

o many events are arising and coming soon in our accountancy world that my fellow accountants (and even our nonaccounting colleagues) should anticipate and be involved in.

First is the forthcoming movie, entitled The Accountant, starring Ben Affleck (popularly remembered as Batman), which begins its theater run on November 2.

This thriller film about a forensic accountant follows a local film, entitled Whistleblower, featuring also a story about an accountant played by Ms. Nora Aunor. This movie of La Aunor was shown in the theaters in Metro Manila sometime in April 2016.

This movie dwelled on the travails and trials of an accountant and the decision that accountant took to disclose the truth gathered in the discharge of her work.

The Philippine Institute of CPAs (Picpa) and the Board of Accountancy (BOA) sponsored an exclusive screening of this film where the viewers were thrilled watching the suspenseful story of the beleaguered but ethical accountant. Will any accountancy group also sponsor a movie premier for The Accountant?

On November 15 the 5,249 new CPAs who passed the recent Oc-

tober 2016 board examinations will take their oath as accounting professionals. They will join the over 175,000 registered CPAs in the Professional Regulatory Board roster and ultimately start pursuing their accountancy careers.

According to the last CPA Tracker Survey that the BOA and the Punongbayan Foundation jointly conducted, seven out of 10 of the new CPAs are hired after about a month after the release of their exam results, with 47 percent of them going to public practice and about 14 percent working in commerce and industry. These positive statistics are very encouraging for our new CPAs. About 4,000 accountants are expected to go to and stay in Davao from November 23 to 26 to participate in the Annual National Convention organized by Picpa.

Annually, thousands of accountants go to this exodus to gather and listen to the important developments in the profession and network with their fellow professionals. For this convention, I

Monday, October 24, 2016 A15

understand that President Duterte will attend to deliver his thoughts on the role and responsibilities of accountants.

Soon after the Christmas season, the auditors will have to comply with the new Auditor Reporting Standards (including providing for information on Key Audit Matters for some audits) for their audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 31, 2015. These major changes in the auditing standards are intended to increase the transparency and enhance the information value of the auditors’ report. Are our auditors and the users of the financial statements ready for these important developments?

Also beginning in 2017, all accountants will have to comply with the recently passed Republic Act 10912 mandating and strengthening the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for all regulated professionals. The law and PRC Resolution 2016-990 provide for the completion of CPD requirements as a mandatory requirement for the renewal of the professional licenses. It is also mandated that all CPAs have to complete as many as 120 units of CPD over three years (by year 2019). It is noteworthy to remember that all our fellow accountants in most other countries have long been doing 120 hours of CPD pursuant to the International Federation of Accountants standards that the Philippines is required to comply as part of the global accounting community.

We have been deficient for some time since our profession is just meeting a lower number of

60 units for several years already.

Are there more developments forthcoming? Quite a number, including the full implementation of the Asean Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Accountancy Services, the congressional public hearings on the revision of the Accountancy law, the introduction of the reformatted accountancy learning and licensure tracks, the implementation of the Quality Assurance Review on the work of auditors, the adoption of the new ethical standard on Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations, the holding of events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Asean Community, which the Philippines will be hosting, and the release of new BOA publications.

The details of these will be featured in the second part of this article that will appear in this column next week.

Chairman Joel L. Tan-Torres is the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy.

He is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations.

He is concurrently a tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPAs. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general.

These can be e-mailed to boa. secretariat.@gmail.com

Why losing candidates should concede

By Noah Feldman Bloomberg View

I

f Donald Trump loses the election and doesn’t concede, it won’t violate the US Constitution. But it would break a tradition of concession that dates back more than a century and has achieved quasiconstitutional status. And like most enduring political customs, its value goes beyond graciousness: It helps ensure the continuity of government and offers a legitimating assist to democracy itself.

It’s a matter of interpretation exactly when the practice of concession began. Thomas Jefferson drafted a letter of concession to John Adams even before the election of 1796 was complete, in which he said he expected to lose and warned Adams to be careful lest Alexander Hamilton cheat him of his “succession by a trick.”

In the end, Jefferson didn’t send the letter, but instead gave it to James Madison, who passed on its contents indirectly to Adams.

In 1861 Stephen Dougl as, the defeated Democratic nominee, called on Abraham Lincoln to say “partisan feeling must yield to patriotism.” (Al Gore quoted Douglas in his own concession speech after the Supreme Court ruled in Bush v Gore that George W. Bush was the winner of the 2000 election.) With the preservation of the union in the balance, Douglas’s comment was especially important—although as it turned out, woefully insufficient.

The first modern concession required the aid of technology. On November 5, 1896, William Jennings Bryan sent a telegram congratulating William McKinley on winning the election and stating, in the language of a courtroom lawyer, “We have submitted the issue to the American people and their will is law.” McKinley replied by telegram the very next day acknowledging “receipt of your courteous message.”

Al Smith seems to have been the first to broadcast a concession speech—a nice coincidence given Trump and Hillary Clinton’s joint appearance on Thursday night at the Al Smith dinner.

Concessions have three different effects, each valuable in its own way. The first is to reduce uncertainty over succession. This may seem like a minor concern in a stable democracy, but it’s always there under the surface. To see how, think back to 2000, when legal wrangling over a recount in Florida created doubt as to who would be the next president.

In retrospect, the period from election day on November 7 that year to December 14, when the Supreme Court ruled, was actually a remarkably risky one. What if the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon had happened during that uncertain time instead of 10 months later?

President Bill Clinton was not only a lame duck, but one who had narrowly survived impeachment. Decisive action would have been necessary. Ideally in that circumstance, a departing president would consult with an incoming president before committing to a course of action that would have to be managed by the next administration. Yet, there was no president-elect.

The worries created by that extreme case are relevant to the delicate phenomenon of ordinary transfers of power. For millennia, most societies relied on some form of hereditary monarchy—not so much because kings are effective rulers, but because hereditary succession reduces the risk of a failed transition.

Democracy succeeds at transitions only when it’s able to reduce the costs of uncertainty. A concession signals to the public that the transition is going to happen smoothly.

Will Donald Trump concede if he loses in the coming US elections? Bloomberg News

The second effect of a concession is to make the election appear legitimate. No one likes to lose. But by acknowledging that the people have spoken, the loser affirms that the process was basically fair.

Tr ump seems unw illing to do that, at least in advance. The idea that the “system” is “rigged” entered political parlance this year as a more general critique, voiced in different for ms by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as by Trump. But Trump now proposes, with little or no evidence, that the actual voting procedures might themselves be literally rigged.

If the public doesn’t believe that voting has been conducted fairly, the outcome can lose legitimacy fast. Belief in the fairness of the voting results is, in fact, linked to an overall faith in the fairness of the system of gov-

ernment, precisely what’s been eroded in this campaign.

Third and finally, concessions say the losing candidate intends to treat the new government as duly constituted by law. In that sense, it’s a renunciation of open resistance. Douglas was making it clear to the nation that he would not support the secession efforts that were well along by the time of Lincoln’s inauguration.

Thankfully, we’re not on the brink of civil war. But after more than two years of race-related clashes between police and protesters, and occasionally violent incidents at Trump rallies, it’s worth remembering that even limited violence can harm democratic stability and security.

Trump probably wouldn’t start riots by refusing to concede. But it’s not something we should want to find out.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A16

Monday, October 24, 2016

Pragmatism shapes Duterte’s strategies W

By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

hile pragmatism may have driven President Duterte’s efforts to win China’s goodwill, despite the country’s maritime disputes with its giant neighbor, it is also pragmatism that underpins his calibrated strategy to prod the United States to treat the Philippines better while safeguarding undeniable gains from Philippines-US ties.

Senators agree that nowhere are those advantages more apparent than in the economic bonanza from substantial US investments and the for midable financial mu s c le of ne a r l y 4 m i l l ion Filipino-Americans.

Asked if they see the same pragmatism at work in the President’s cozying up to Beijing while professing to keep close ties with Washington,

3.6M

The average population of Filipino-Americans in the US, as tallied between 2010 and 2013

despite his tirades against the US, Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III said: “Of course. He apparently calculates his directions.”

In the view of Senate Economic Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, “US BPOs [business-process outsourcing] and foreign direct investments [FDI] will not be affected by the separation because these are purely private-initiated.”

Gatchalian said “we can have an independent foreign policy, yet a balanced one, wherein we keep our good relationship with all countries, especially old friends,” apparently referring to America, which accounts for substantialFDI, trade and hosts nearly 4 million Filipinos whose remittances make up a huge chunk of the annual dollar inflows that keep the economy stable.

The President’s Cabinet, led by Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, also underscored the trade ties by way of quickly clarifying what Mr. Duterte meant by “separation” from the US at a business forum in Beijing last Thursday. Hours later, President Duterte clarified at his arrival remarks in Davao airport

that, by separation, he did not mean a “severance” or cutting of ties, but only a recalibration to ensure that his “independent foreign policy” is given substance. Analysts pointed to the other stakes: The BPO sector, sugar and other exports.

But the Filipinos in the US are pulling in weight, as well, by way of remittances, which account for a big fraction of dollar inflows.

During a Washington forum in 2014, then-Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. and his guests underscored such remittances.

Cuisia reported that the economy is performing well as a result of a stronger industry and services sector, and robust remittances from overseas Filipinos. He said: “This should make the Philippines more competitive and more attractive to investors, particularly those in the US.” One of the guests at that same forum with Cuisia was Samish Kumar, CEO of Transfast, a leading international money-transfer company with a network of over 200,000 payment points across more than 100 countries in four continents.

Kumar underscored the key role of US-based Filipinos in the remittance sector in the Philippines. “The 3.5 million Filipinos in the US and the 850,000 in Canada send nearly $13 billion—or more than half of the approximately $25 billion—of global, cross-border remittances sent annually to the Philippines,” Kumar said.

Mr. Duterte himself remarked, in clarifying what he meant at the October 20 investment forum in Beijing, that he would never think of “severing” ties with the US lest the 4 million “Filipinos in the US would kill me.”

Fil-Ams’ higher incomes

Their remittance power is not surprising, given that Fil-Ams had a median annual household income of $80,000 a year, compared to the Asian-American households’ $71,709 and the average American household’s $53,046, according to the independent, nonprofit think tank Center for American Progress, in a 2015 study.

The center said the Fil-Ams were among the fastest-growing ethnic group. The Filipino-American population grew significantly faster than the US average between 2000 and 2013 (growing at 4.5 percent versus the US average of 2.4 percent). The Filipino-Americans are much more likely to be firstgeneration immigrants than the US average, the center added.

T he higher-than-average incomes of Fil-Ams may partly owe to their better educational attainment: 4 percent of the Fil-Ams had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to the American percentage of 29.6 percent, according to data cited by the Center.

The average population of FilAmericans between 2010 and 2013 was tallied at 3.6 million, versus 19.2 million Asian-Americans, and a total 31 6million Americans.

Of the 3.6 million Fil-Ams, 2.3 million are concentrated in just five states: California, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois and Nevada.

The BPO power

Equities analysts earlier raised the risk that the Philippines’s BPO sector will take a hit should Duterte’s “separation” mean a substantial downgrade of ties between the former colony and its colonizer.

See “Pragmatism,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror EDITOR RECEIVES SULO NG BAYAN AWARD

(from left) Tet Andolong, BusinessMirror Property Section editor; Sen. Joseph G. Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlements; and 2016 Miss Tourism Amy Sunio Abarquez

T

HE BusinessMirror ’s Property Section editor, Tet Andolong, was feted by the Gawad Sulo ng Bayan 2016 Committee of the Gawad Sulo Foundation Inc. during its Construction & Real Estate Awards ceremony, which was recently held at the Tanghalang Pasigueño in Pasig City.

Andolong received the 2016 Gawad Sulo Prestigious Seal Award for Real Estate Journalism.

The Gawad Sulo Prestigious Seal Award recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations in the fields of real estate, property development, construction materials, social welfare, business and mass media, whose contributions made a tremendous positive impact on Philippine society and helped improve the lives of Filipino citizenry through education, livelihood, health, social and humanitarian services, and people empowerment.

The other awardees were Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlements; Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), represented by Atty. Angel R. Ojastro III, secretary-general of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations; Alveo Land Inc.; E.U.Jingco Construction; G.G.UY Constructions; CB Richard Ellis; Arch. Jojo Tolentino; Megaworld Corp. for Township Project McKinley Hill; Deca Homes Cebu; and Monark Foundations Inc. Organized by a group of professionals from the creative industry known as Golden Torch Creative Consultants Association Inc. (Golden Torch CCA Inc.), Gawad Sulo Ng Bayan is an annual one-of-a-kind search for individuals, institutions and organizations who serve as “lights in the darkness”.

“The mission of Golden Torch is to search for role models who will inspire others to serve the people more. Just like a sulo, which is normally being used in the dark, farthest mountains, forests and islands, the Gawad Sulo ng Bayan awardees must provide brightness and bring hope, especially during times of calamities, disasters, crises and struggles, when darkness and hopelessness embed among the people and the society,” said Danny B. Mangahas, chairman and president of the Golden Torch CCA Inc.

Solon: Maximize collection efficiency in tax-reform bill

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

T

@joveemarie

he chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means said the government could collect P200 billion in additional revenues with the inclusion of tax-collection efficiency measures in the comprehensive taxreform package.

Liberal Party Rep. Dakila Carlo E. Cua of Quirino, the panel chairman, said this additional P200 billion in revenues may be used to cover an estimated P159 billion in foregone revenues from the comprehensive tax-reform package, which seeks to lower personal income tax (PIT) rates and impose additional taxes on certain commodities.

“If our collection efficiency measures are maximized, the additional revenue could reach up to P200 billion annually. This revenue

is also expected to grow every year because of additional investments,” Cua said. “This will happen if we address the loopholes, and lessen the corruption due to real-time [tax] collection and right implementation of our IT [information-technology] system,” he said.

Cua added that the lower chamber wants to include a provision on revenue-collection efficiency in the tax-reform package instead of removing the VAT exemptions for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs), as proposed by the Department of Finance (DOF).

“One of the tax-collection efficiency measures we are proposing is the improvement of our pointof-sale system. We want large retail establishments to directly connect to the revenue-collection agencies to address loopholes in the tax administration,” he said.

See “Solon,” A2