Businessmirror september 14, 2016

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 340

D.O.H. ORDERED TO CRAFT RULES FOR CONTRACEPTIVES DISTRIBUTION

SC deals another blow to RH law 77 P T

By Joel R. San Juan

INSIDE

@jrsanjuan1573

he government’s reproductive-health program suffered another setback, after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered concerned agencies to formulate rules on the evaluation and distribution of contraceptive drugs and implants before fully implementing the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

See “RH law,” A2

LAMUDI PHILIPPINES HOLDS FIRST VR EXHIBIT BusinessMirror

E1 | Wednesday, September 14, 2016

The number of contraceptive drugs and implants that are no longer FDA-certified

Editor: Tet Andolong

BMReports

Jacqueline van den ende, founder and ceO of lamudi Philippines TeChpATroL.CoM

vr goggles

360-degree virtual tour hArdWArezone.CoM

Lamudi Philippines holds first VR exhibit

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By Rizal Raoul Reyes

home in a 360-degree environment wherever they are,” she added.

She said buyers now have the option not to fully immerse in visiting actual sites to see the property. A high-quality and fully interactive image in today’s world is a time and money saver, especially in real estate. “With VR, buyers were able to experience what it is like to be in the property for sale. Armed only with a pair of VR goggles, investors could view properties and make investment decisions from the comfort of their own homes,” the company said. The VR Expo was open to all buyers, sellers, renters, landlords, brokers, investors and everyone who wanted to experience cutting-edge technology applied to one of the most bustling sectors in the Philippines.

The guests were able to virtualize their dream homes, as well as interior, through the VR goggles at the activity center. The major sponsors of the event were Robinsons Communities, Right Homes and SM. The exhibitors include New San Jose Builders, Hamilo Coast and Union Bank, while the event’s official provider of VR goggles was VRLABPH.

@brownindio

ROPERTY portal Lamudi Philippines is bullish on the prospects of virtual-reality (VR) technology in the country, especially in the property sector. real-estate market, as many VR equipment, such as VR goggles, were launched in the local market.

Moreover, van den Ende noted that VR will be a great enabler for people who want to invest in real estate in the future.

Aside from helping investors in promoting their projects, VR also heavily influences the buying process. With the availability of VR, van den Ende said homebuyers nowadays will be able to view the property they are interested in even while they are on the move or from their own homes. “Today’s buyers want more than photos, so through virtualization, they can now experience their prospective

“This revolutionary upgrade in real-estate buying is likely to open up the market to international buyers and can make homebuying a faster and more efficient process,” said Jacqueline van den Ende, founder and CEO of Lamudi Philippines and MyProperty.ph in a media briefing held recently in Makati City. In order to bring more awareness on the benefits of VR, Lamudi held the country’s first-ever Virtual Reality Real Estate Expo (VR Expo) on September 3 and 4 at the Bonifacio High Street Activity Center for the public.

Just like other sectors in the country, van den Ende said VR is set to introduce changes in the

The vr expo hArdWArezone.CoM

The comforts of southern living StA. LuCIA exPANDS W

S

TA. Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) has set up a commercial business unit to spearhead the development of its current and future commercial properties. These include office spaces (business-process outsourcing, call centers and offices), retail/mall development, industrial (factories and warehouses), institutions (schools, public and private entities) and tourism/leisure assets. The main objective of the company is to increase recurring income and improve property values, either through project development or through lease income. It will also be supporting the efforts of SLI in terms of land banking, business development and master planning.

The company has initially identified the following commercial projects for development:

prone, there are also certain cities known to be safe from floods. The good news is, most of these floodfree areas are in the South. Parañaque, Muntinlupa and Las Piñas are safe areas in the Metro so families need not worry about flooding in East Bay Residences.

HEN things go awry in the city, people begin to consider moving away from business districts to be able to enjoy quality time with their families and move freely within the confines of their own homes. Rockwell Primaries understands this need and will soon be transforming Tribeca to East Bay Residences, a 6.5-hectare residential space in Sucat, Muntinlupa, that will make living in the city feel like you have the best of both worlds—city living experience but with a more laidback approach.

East Bay Residences is Rockwell Primaries’s biggest development to date and its first residential property in the south side of Metro Manila. Parents and young families always take into consideration the location and convenience of the homes they choose. This is why Rockwell Primaries is sharing how they are redefining the comforts of southern living.

Attainable desired lifestyle

them to grow and create childhood memories in a safe and outdoor environment while, at the same time, still be situated in a prime location where everyday necessities are just around the corner.

Work-life balance

LIVINg in the South situates you in the middle of the city center and nearby provinces for quick weekend getaways. It’s near the Makati and Bonifacio global City Central Business Districts, giving you convenient access to work on weekdays via the Skyway in Alabang and the South Luzon Expressway in Sucat, which are just minutes away from East Bay Residences. It is also a short drive from favorite weekend spots in Laguna, Tagaytay, Cavite

Living safe and sound

WITH the expansive on-ground amenities of East Bay Residences, as well as its pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, one doesn’t need to choose between city life and enjoying life outdoors. Just like how they experienced growing up, parents can finally give their kids the best of both worlds by allowing

and Batangas, perfect for having fun with the family.

Foodie haven

ONE of the Metro’s top food destinations can be found in the heart of the South. Lined with hole-in-thewall restaurants and third wave coffee shops, Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes is home to some of our favorite restaurants, and is just minutes away from East Bay Residences. With all the enticing dining options, the whole family will be looking forward to Sunday dinners.

Staying dry

EVERy Metro Manila resident knows that flooding is a serious problem in the country. While there are areas notorious for being flood-

UNLIkE living in the heart of the city, Rockwell Primaries also considers the lifestyle that its homeowners love and by choosing the south for its next development, it is aiming to make a better living environment for its residents with more spacious land to move in, and a more reasonable cost of living while still within minutes from the hustle and bustle of the city. Since East Bay Residences is only just a few minutes away from the heart of the city, the cost of living in the area is significantly lower than that from business districts.

These are just some of the key benefits of living in the south.

And this is why Rockwell Primaries commits to deliver homes that demonstrate tasteful aesthetics and design, and put a premium on your family’s convenience, security, and exclusivity. East Bay Residences brings the Rockwell lifestyle to the South, so you and your family can find a new place to call home.

Sta. Lucia Business Center (Pasig City)

A propoSed commercial six-story building on a 3,955-square-meter property, which will be leased out to offices and commercial retail establishments. This will also be the lay-by connecting to the Light rail Transit Line 2 extension, which will greatly ease traffic congestion in the area once finished and operational; and, at the same time, provide convenience for commuters as a transit point to Cainta, Taytay and pasig City.

Ponte Verde (Davao)

A 28.5-heCTAre residential community located right across davao International Airport with 31,402 sq m earmarked for commercial use.

Davao Riverfront Business Park (Davao)

ThIS master-planned community will house a 45-hectare business park, a 10-hectare residential subdivision and a 5-hectare tourism center. Within the 60-hectare area, major tourist attractions, like the Crocodile park, davao Butterfly house and Tribu K’ Mindanawan Cultural Village, can be found. The area is also home to Saint paul’s College—one of davao’s premier schools, and rancho palos Verdes Sports and Country Club—Mindanao’s first one-stop sports and recreation spot for the whole family. A total of 195,176 sq m are allocated for commercial use.

For future commercial developments, SLI’s board of directors have approved a total of 4.18 million sq m of joint-venture agreements and 3.65 million sq m of land acquisitions for year 2016 to date. These new projects will have a significant portion allocated for commercial development.

“We will leverage our expertise in retail, mall management and resorts operations, as we expand our commercial assets portfolio to complement our residential developments. We would like to see a revenue mix of 60 percent to 40 percent real-estate sales to recurring income ratio in the next two to three years,” david M. de la Cruz, SLI-eVp/CFo, said.

SLI currently has a 220,000-sq-m total gross floor area mall in rizal with a gross leasable area of 128,092 sq m.

property Neopolitan Business Park (Fairview, Quezon City)

A 22-heCTAre business park near the site of one of the stations of the Metro rail Transit 7 with 32,858 sq m available.

Greenmeadows (Iloilo)

A 172-heCTAre residential community with Iloilo’s first residential lake community with 7,084 sq m allocated for commercial use.

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REINVIGORATING OLD SPACES WITH FRESH CONCEPTS AND NEW FLAVORS

Alcohol sector drinks in impact of ‘sin’ tax law

Reinvigorating old spaces with fresh concepts and new flavors

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to acquire and operate hotels and resorts with a commitment to leisure, elegance, comfort and, most especially, to highlight what the Filipinos are known for: friendliness and hospitality,” Lee shared.

“From the very beginning, what we wanted is to be able to offer travelers a place that is comforting and relaxing, where the people are kind, helpful, friendly and offer top-notch service.”

The lounge wall of The Oriental Bataan is adorned by intricate and upcycled wood panels from antique shops in Manila. Photo courtesy of the oriental Bataan

Creative renovation as a differentiator

FOR The Oriental, the idea of employing “creative renovation” as a business strategy is largely aimed at injecting a new and invigorating ambience to existing developments.

At the moment, the company manages five boutique luxury hotels in various parts of the country—The Oriental Legazpi, The Inns Bacolod, The Oriental Bataan, The Oriental Leyte and Swagman Manila in Ermita. All of these developments used to be old hotels that have been abandoned to rot, but which have been handpicked and redesigned to conform to the taste of the current market.

“We always had a love for old things, buildings included. There are buildings that just ‘speak to people,’ and these structures would have been perfect for leisure businesses, like an old theater that could make a nice boutique hotel,” Lee added. “It’s a waste of good

The different aspects that make a leisure development a lot more “social”—and, thus, more profitable—has a lot to do with how these spaces appeal to the design curiosities of today’s travelers. Photo courtesy of the oriental Bataan

CreaTively renovating built spaces lend a new “personality” into the end products because of the rich history etched unto the walls of these structures. Photo courtesy of the oriental legazPi

space, buildings, and even art if we demolish and build anew, so we try, as much as we can, to find sites that still have life in them.”

The Oriental Bataan in Mariveles, for example, used to be an old, run-down hotel that ceased operation a long time ago. When the Lee family chanced upon it and saw the potential for the space, they wasted no time working with their trusted team of architects and interior designers to make their vision of a thriving leisure property come to life.

For one, creatively renovating built spaces lend a new “personality” into the end products because of the rich history that has been etched unto the walls of these structures. “Generally, old buildings are solid, well-built,

DESPITE being a truly satisfying endeavor, creative renovation also has its share of challenges that every developer and business owner must successfully hurdle.

“When we start repairs, we don’t know what we are going to find. We have to figure out where the pipes are, where the wirings are, or where we need to put braces on, those kinds of things,” Lee narrated. Once ad-

and if you’re a romantic, then you can almost hear it—the soft sound of laughter, the clinking of wine glasses, maybe even a piano or a violin playing in the background,” Lee shared.

“The conservation of history is the stark difference that an old building has over the cookie-cutter buildings of the more modern structures. Nowadays, you get sleek lines and glass, but if we use another building—an old building with a storied past—we get the painstaking details that you won’t be able to get anywhere else.”

It is also the sense of nosta lg ia t hat d ist ing u ishes re designed properties and helps create a more defined stor y for The Oriental Hotels as a brand.

“People are always interested

about our histor y and those of our sites and buildings. Sometimes we get people who actually knew what the buildings were before and they are happy to see that it’s still there, that it’s still standing, and that we’ve given it a new lease in life.”

A rewarding challenge

dressed, though, the fulfillment that they get comes back tenfold.

“For one, we can adopt themes for our hotels and restaurants to revolve around certain ‘characters’ that the previous structures have been known for,” Lee added.

Beyond just aiming to be an outstanding business, leisure developers must also be conscious of the role that they play in enriching the experience travelers can associate with a particular destination.

“We want people to come in and exchange stories with us. We want The Oriental Hotels to be something more than a place to stay in,” Lee shared. “We want to be known for this uniqueness and warmth that our properties lend and our people bolster.”

Balikatan gives back on first 300 resolutions

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OR its 10th anniversary, Bahay Financial Services (BFS) launches “Balikatan Gives Back ”, extending highly discounted resolution packages forthe first 300 qualified accounts which resolve.

For the past decade, BFS has been ser vicing the Balikatan portfolio, comprised of more than 52,000 delinquent housing loans acquired from the National Home Mortgage Finance Cor p. Through BFS’s various programs, more than 30,000 accounts have been resolved, providing homes to more than 150,000 Filipinos, and collecting more than P11 billion from mortgages that were deemed nonperforming for over 25 years.

“We have been helping account holders own their homes even if they have not been able to pay up to 25 years. We waive all penalties and up to 100-percent interest, then base the settlement

amounts on appraised values so that the original borrowers or their assumers can afford to own the properties. In effect, t hey h ave been l iv ing rentfree and are given a discount to resolve t heir mor tgages,” BFS volunteers said.

“Now, change is here for us, too. Balikatan wants to give back even more with this promotion for its account holders.

With Balikatan Gives Back, BFS gives an additional discount on the already very low settlement amounts being offered. But it is only good for the first 300 qualified accounts that resolve.

It is important for borrowers to call their account specialists as soon as possible to start the process so that they can avail themselves of this promo,” BFS volunteers said.

Ba lik atan account holders may visit any of the BFS offices in Taguig, Alabang and Davao.

property

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campi stages 6th Philippine international Motor show CAMPI

6TH PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

Project Manager: Rodel Suarez

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

F1

CAMPI STAGES 6TH PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW T

A storekeeper passes by racks of bottles of alcohol at a store on Gil Puyat Avenue, Pasay City. According to reports, alcoholic-beverage consumption was affected by the hike in taxes during the first year of implementation in 2013. ALYSA SALEN

WITNESS THE LATEST VEHICLES AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL ‘STEER THE FUTURE’ OF AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

HE Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) brings back the much-awaited Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) from September 14 to 18 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

For its sixth staging, the prime industry-led motor show gathers 17 of the top car manufacturers and distributors as they showcase their latest vehicles and automotive technologies. BAIC, BMW, Daewoo Bus, Foton, Honda, Isuzu, Jeep, KIA, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Peugeot, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen.

The theme of this year’s PIMS is “Steer The Future,” with the tagline “Campi: Driving Progress, Empowering Society.”

It highlights the automotive industry’s valuable contributions to the advancement of the country and its economy.

“PIMS is proof that the automotive industry remains robust these past few years. We are excited to stage it this year as we lead Filipinos to a future of better mobility and transportation, and contribute to the country’s progress,” said Campi President Rommel Gutierrez.

In 2015 the automotive industry surpassed its sales target of 272,000 vehicles when Campi

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

members sold a total of 288,609 units. This year, Campi is confident of achieving its initial target on the back of continued supply of vehicles, attractive promos and affordable financing schemes, among other economic indicators.

Apart from showcasing the best and the latest vehicles from top brands, showgoers will also be thrilled by other activities such as Campi Brand Heritage Exhibit, car-club conventions, test drives, drift-box activity, car-wash activity, and kiddie day care activities. These are perfect for car enthusiasts, prospective car buyers, automobile business owners and anyone who wants to be in the know with the Philippine automotive scene.

The 6th PIMS is made even bigger and better with Total Philippines Corp. as Diamond Sponsor and BPI Family Savings Bank as the Official Auto Loan Partner. Tickets to the showcase are available at SM Tickets for only P100. For more information, visit smtickets.com or dial 470-22-22.

Correspondent

OUTLANDER PHEV The new SUV from Mitsubishi flaunts an incomparable power and refinement. It fully embodies the best qualities of a premium car in its class.

FOTON TOPLANDER 4X4 The freshest and first sport-utility vehicle (SUV) launched by Foton.

CAmpi supplement

ALL-NEW MAZDA CX-3 Breaks the mold of the subcompact SUV genre to deliver elevated levels of style, class, comfort, safety and performance through emotive and functional design.

F1

Teddy Locsin Jr.

free fire

RESIDENT Duterte said the Philippines will not be a US lackey. This is good. The only thing worse than being a US lackey is being a Chinese one. China tends to buy governments like that of Vietnam. Next thing, China acted as if it also bought Vietnam and its surrounding waters.

Some are alarmed at Mr. Duterte’s nationalism. They worry he may be deposed. That would bring back a disaster (the past six years). And yet, every government, since Carlos P. Garcia’s Filipino First, opposed American dictation with varying expressions of emphasis.

Continued on A11

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HERE’S something fulfilling about seeing old, dilapidated developments “rebirthed” into new and welcoming spaces.

Hospitality remains to be an evolving art form. Today the different aspects that make a leisure development a lot more “social”—and, thus, more profitable—has a lot to do with how these spaces appeal to the design curiosities of today’s travelers.

Here in the Philippines, there has been a significant shift among hotels and resorts toward adopting creative renovation ideas that reflect a seamless marriage of contemporary and local design.

“There are so many buildings and sites here in the Philippines that have genuine characters, but, unfortunately, have fallen into disuse,” said Rebecca Marie Abigail Lee of The Oriental Hotels and Resorts, one of the most notable leisure companies that specialize in integrating creative renovation ideas into properties within their portfolio. “The Philippines has been very good to us, and so in our business, we try to repay the country, as well, by helping conserve, reuse and generally save the buildings that would have been demolished otherwise.

The success story of The Oriental Hotels and Resorts started being written about in 1995.

However, because of the Asian Financial Crisis that occurred a few years after, all plans were put on hold until, finally, the group successfully introduced The Oriental Legazpi in Bicol in 2006. “The business was created

Love lamb chop

DUTERTE’S BAD-BOY ACT CHANGING PHL’S IMAGE

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E2 Wednesday, September 14, 2016

P25.00 nationwide | 6 sections 40 pages | 7 days a week

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Conclusion

EARLY half of the adult Filipino population consumes alcoholic drinks, advocates of higher taxes on “sin” products disclosed.

While men account for 70 percent of alcohol consumed, alcohol

PESO exchange rates n US 47.0980

consumption by females is also high with almost 30 percent, Dr. Maricar Limpin of the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said.

Limpin said in a forum on alcoholharm reduction in late-August that this consumption of alcoholic drinks is on a “regular” basis.

She added that a big percentage of annual deaths is attributable to alcohol, with special emphasis on vehicu-

lar accidents currently ranking as the fifth cause of death among Filipinos.

BAC

ACCORDING to toxicologist Lynn Panganiban of the University of the Philippines Poison Center, a 300-milliliter bottle of beer at 0.36 BAC, or blood alcohol content, is enough to impair the driving skills of a Continued on A2

resident Duterte stepped onto the world stage last week with the swagger of a bad-boy rock star. Despite a patchy debut, including a rebuff from the US president, Mr. Duterte has shown no loss of appetite for confrontation.

Returning from his first international trip as president— to Lao PDR for a global summit and then to Indonesia—President Duterte called the head of the United Nations a “fool”, and repeated his vow for his nation to chart an independent foreign policy. He also denounced US military killings when the Philippines was an American colony, and thanked China for “being generous to us.” On Monday he called for US troops to leave the southern island of Mindanao.

While Mr. Duterte, 71, can say different things on different days—in part because his nationalist outbursts help bolster his strongman image in the Philippines—for now, at least, he seems to be moving away from close military ally the US and toward main trading partner China, even though the countries have a long-running territorial distpute. That has ramifications for geopolitics well beyond the Philippine archipelago.

One risk is that President Duterte ends up making concessions to China in return for financial incentives, frittering away any advantage Manila gained from the international arbitration ruling in July that found China’s extensive claims over the See “Bad-boy act,” A2

Duterte is going to be a constant source of uncertainty and instability in terms of our understanding of the Philippines and where it is going.”—Australian Strategic Policy Institute

n japan 0.4625 n UK 62.8429 n HK 6.0711 n CHINA 7.0501 n singapore 34.7330 n australia 35.6202 n EU 52.9193 n SAUDI arabia 12.5601

Source: BSP (13 September 2016 )

A2 Wednesday, September 14, 2016

BMReports BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Alcohol sector drinks in impact of ‘sin’ tax law Continued from A1

154-pound man. BAC refers to the amount of alcohol for every 100 ml of blood, Panganiban explained.

Three times that number can lead to the deterioration in thinking, not to mention slowed reflexes, she said. Different types of alcohol yield different BAC levels because of their alcoholic content, according to Panganiban.

A 300 ml of a local beer with 5-percent alcohol content taken by a 154-pound male will have the same 0.36 BAC levels if he takes a 30-ml shot of hard liquor at 50-percent alcohol or a 120-ml glass of wine with a 12-percent alcohol content, Panganiban said.

Types

THERE are three basic types of alcoholic drinks, Panganiban said.

Beer, made from fermented grains, has an alcohol content of 3 percent to 6 percent.

Wine, made from fermented fruits, has an alcohol content of 11 percent to 14 percent.

RH law. . .

Continued from A1

The SC issued the order as a consequence of its decision to nullify the certification and recertification issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) covering 77 contraceptive drugs and implants. The FDA was also ordered to determine whether the contraceptive drugs and devices are abortifacients.

Some wine drinks, such as wine coolers, have fruit juice and sugar added, lowering alcohol content to between 4 percent and 7 percent, Panganiban explained. Fortified wines, such as port, have alcohol added, bringing alcohol content to between 18 percent and 20 percent, she added.

Spirits are made by distilling a fermented product to yield a drink that usually contains 40-percent to 50-percent alcohol. The alcohol content in a spirit is sometimes indicated by degrees of proof.

Panganiban qualifies, however, that not all drinkers are the same.

“Some will get drunk faster than another,”she said. “You see, a BAC level does not just depend on the number of bottles consumed.”

According to her, BAC also takes into account a person’s weight, built, gender, the time when alcohol is being consumed and even how much food was eaten.

she said—on alcohol products as reason for the increase in consumption.

Diosana, senior economist of nonprofit group Action for Economic Reforms (AER), noted that companies were able to adjust pricing and products with the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 9334 in 2005 and RA 10351, or the sin-tax reform law, in 2013.

“Companies would still depend on demand,” she said. “They wouldn’t produce without demand.”

Diosana explained “if the market shrunk” after 2013, then companies “will adjust accordingly because that [excise tax] is added cost to them.”

Likewise, an increase in consumer’s purchasing power also abetted the adjustment of the market. “ This means that the drop in consumption for 2013 is not enough,” Diosana said. “It [drop in alcohol consumption] has to be sustained.”

Low

Ads

ECONOMIST Jo Ann L. Diosana pointed to the excise tax—still low, At a press briefing following the regular en banc session of the magistrates, SC Spokesman Theodore Te said the Court issued the order due to the failure of the Department of Health (DOH) to observe and comply with the basic requirements of due process.

“The Court found that the FDA certified, procured and administered contraceptive drugs and devices, without the observance of the basic tenets of due process, without notice and without public hearing,

ANOTHER factor that softened the impact of excise tax on alchohol despite the constant opposition of petitioners,” the SC said.

“The Court is of the view that the certifications and recertifications and the distribution of the questioned contraceptive drugs should be struck down as violative of the constitutional right to due process,” it added.

However, the Court remanded to the FDA the two consolidated petitions filed by the Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines (AFFP) and a certain Maria Con-

products is advertising.

Citing a study by Henry Saffer of Kean University, Limpin said “alcohol advertising was significantly related to vehicle fatalities.”

Analyzing the relationship between fatality rates and alcohol advertising in the top 75 media markets, Saffer strongly recommended a total ban on alcohol advertising to reduce alcohol-related risks.

“Total ban can be expected to save several thousand lives per year,” Limpin said, citing Saffer.

The Philippines has quite a number of alcohol-control measures, according to Limpin. But these are not strictly implemented against tobacco-related and other non-communicable diseases, she added.

generating additional revenue earmarked for the universal health care program of the government.

NONETHELESS, the National Tax Research Center (NTRC) has noted the sin-tax reform law has successfully achieved its objective of reducing alcohol consumption.

According to the NTRC in 2014, this was “indicated by the general

decreases in the volume of removals of sin products.”

The NTRC said the increase in the volume of removals in 2013 resulted to 161.7 percent, or a P6.8billion, increase in collection over the P4.2-billion collection in 2012.

“The significant increase could also be attributed to the shift in the excise-tax structure from specific tax to compound,” the NTRC said in its assessment of RA 10351.

According to government, the total excise-tax collections from fermented liquor in 2015 reached P28.26 billion, higher by 14 percent, or P3.52 billion, from that of 2014 with P24.74 billion.

Total excise-tax collections from distilled spirits in 2015 reached P13.51 billion, increasing by 7 percent, or P99 million, from the P12.52 billion recorded in 2014.

Total excise-tax collections from wines in 2015 registered at P5 million, a 25-percent, or P1-million, increase from the P4 million recorded in 2014.

The NTRC said the law was successful in meeting its objective of

cepcion Noche seeking to stop the government from “procuring, selling, distributing, dispensing and administering, advertising and promoting” contraceptive drugs and implants, such as Implanon and Implanon NXT with alleged “abortifacient” side effects.

The Court agreed with the petitioners that the FDA should “observe the basic requirements of due process by conducting a hearing, and allowing petitioners to be heard” on the matter.

In light of this, the SC directed the FDA to formulate rules of procedure in the screening, evaluation, and approval of all contraceptive drugs and devices that will be used under Republic Act (RA) 10354, or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

It should contain, according to the Court, the minimum requirements of due process, such as publication, notice and hearing; allowing interested parties to intervene; strictly following the standard laid down in the Constitution and RA 10354 as to what constitute allowable contraceptives should be followed.

“A l lowable contracept ives” are those which do not harm or destroy life of the unborn from conception/fertilization; and in weighing evidence, all reasonable doubts should be resolved in favor of the protection and preservation of the right to life of the unborn from conception/fertilization.

Meanwhile, the Court tasked the DOH in coordination with other concerned agencies to formulate the rules and regulations, which will govern the purchase and distribution of contraceptives covered by the certification from the FDA that the product will not be used as an abortifacient.

The DOH was also directed to come up with the complete and correct list of government reproductive-health programs and services under RA 10354, which will serve as the template for the complete and correct information standard and to distribute the same to all health-care service providers covered by the law.

The Court has given the FDA within 30 days from receipt of the decision to start the conduct of the hearing. The SC also denied

the plea of the Office of the Solicitor General to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued on June 17, 2015, enjoining the government from “procuring, selling, distributing, dispensing and administering, advertising and promoting” contraceptive implants.

The Court granted the plea of AFFP for a TRO barring the DOH from acquiring and distributing contraceptive products Implanon and Implanon NXT to the public.

The implants, thin rods inserted under the skin, release hormones that prevent pregnancy for up to three years.

The group claimed that the use of Implanon was against the spirit of the reproductive-health law.

It also accused the DOH of implementing the reproductivehealth law “without observance of due process and with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.”

The SC issued the TRO a year after ruling that the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 was constitutional. The law became effective on January 17, 2013.

released photographs on September 7 of Chinese ships gathered around Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcrop seized by China from the Philippines in 2012.

Later that day, however, President Duterte—sporting a blackvelvet suit—was seen at the venue walking over and introducing himself to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for the first time. “If you want to work on the side of peace, you shake the hand of the person right next to you,” Martin M. Andanar, Mr. Duterte’s communications secretary and former television news anchor, told reporters.

toll on Mr. Duterte. On the morning of the final day, he canceled a meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, skipped both the US-Asean leaders summit and the India-Asean leaders summit, and was absent for the traditional leaders portrait.

Pressed by reporters, a frazzledlooking Andanar said President Duterte had a migraine. “It’s not regular, but when he is tired and he is always working,” the spokesman said. When Mr. Duterte finally arrived in the cavernous marble foyer of the National Convention Center looking pale and deflated, he was met by his protocol chief, who handed him an elegantly wrapped gift to pass onto Obama.

Back in the Philippines the story changed: “I purposely did not attend the bilateral meeting between the Asean and the US,” Duterte said in a speech. “The reason is not that I am anti-West,” he said. “It is simply a matter of principle.”

Missing was an explanation for why he missed the India-Asean summit that preceded the US-Asean meeting, or why he sent Yasay to take his place for the leaders portrait.

Success

Bad-boy act. . .

Continued from A1

South China Sea had no legal basis.

That’s “a dangerous situation” for the US and the Asean, according to Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.

“Duterte is going to be a constant source of uncertainty and instability in terms of our understanding of the Philippines and where it is going,” he said.

Mr. Duterte’s trip got off to bad start before he’d even left the Philippines. He told reporters that if US President Barack Obama questioned him about the drugs war that has seen almost 3,000 suspects killed since the end of June, “I will curse you in that forum.”

“I don’t care about him,” President Duterte said. “The Philippines is not a vassal state,” he said. “We have long ceased to be a colony.”

When Obama consequently canceled their first one-on-one meeting set down for later that week, Mr. Duterte found himself on the defensive. He issued a statement on September 6 expressing regret that his strong language had “come across as a personal attack.”

The episode may have impacted the markets. On September 7 overseas investors pulled the most money out of the Philippines in almost a year, as local stocks tumbled 1.3 percent. Perhaps, to reassure both investors and fellow claimants to disputed areas in the South China Sea, Philippine officials attending the summit in Lao PDR suddenly

Shaking hands

More important, Andanar said, was how much his boss was impressing his fellow Asian leaders, many of whom crowded around him to take selfies. The spokesman also announced that President Duterte would be seated at that evening’s gala dinner between Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

That statement turned out to be an embarrassing blunder. Duterte instead found himself sitting between Indonesia’s Joko Widodo and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Still, before the dinner, President Duterte approached Obama to talk things over. “They were the last persons to leave the holding room,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said, insisting that relations with the US were “firm, very strong.”

Bearing gifts

The tension appeared to take a

Little

BUT for AER, the 4-percent increase on the excise tax on alcohol products beginning January 1, 2018 and onward is miniscule. “[The annual increase] is very little,”Diosana said. “The price increase can easily be reached by consumers in line with the increase in income, especially when the economy gets better.”

According to Diosana, an improvement in the performance of the Philippine economy leads to higher income.

Hence, the 4-percent increase “wouldn’t be enough anymore.”

“We have to increase the taxes further so that prices will increase further more than the increase in income,” Diosana said. She noted that the country’s surveillance on alcohol is not very well established yet. “We still need to do a lot in terms of regulation of alcohol.” With additional reporting by Dennis D. Estopace

Open for business

Asked on Friday if Mr. Duterte’s behavior had impacted the Philippine economy, central bank Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo told reporters in Manila that the president’s more colorful rhetoric wouldn’t make a difference as “long as the economy is doing well, and it’s expected to continue doing well.” It’s a bet that President Duterte clearly intends to keep on taking. Bloomberg News

BMReports BusinessMirror

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016 A3

Chinese bizmen waiting for relations to normalize, keen on infra projects

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

N

@jearcalas

ANNING, China—Chinese businessmen are interested in investing in the Philippines, especially if relations between Manila and Beijing will improve under the Duterte administration, according to the head of a regional business council.

Xu Ningning, executive president of the China-Asean Business Council, made this pronouncement in his speech before the Philippine delegation here on September 13.

“We can see that there really is a good future for us. Economically and politically, we can all improve

together. If we improve [political relations], we believe there are more mutual benefits for our entrepreneurs,” Xu said.

He said Chinese businessmen are keen on investing in the Philippines, particularly in infrastructure, where they see “appealing” opportunities.

“[But] first, we need to trust each other, particularly in the area of economic cooperation. I believe that the chambers of commerce of the two countries could find a way to establish a production chain in the Philippines,” Xu said.

Citing his experience during his visit to Manila leading a delegation of 30 Chinese businessmen last month, Xu said he saw the “huge” investment potential of the country’s infrastructure sector.

“I was really worried [about the heavy traffic] and I was thinking, the China-Philippines cooperation will definitely help [your country] upgrade its infrastructure,” Xu said.

“If you cooperate with America or Japan, they cannot do it. It can be done by cooperating with us. China has cooperated with other Asean countries and infrastructure has improved, for example in Lao PDR and Cambodia,” he added.

Chinese businessmen, Xu said,

₧1.45B The amount invested by China in the Philippines last year

are taking a second look at the Philippines because of President Duterte’s political will and his socioeconomic agenda.

“We realize that the new Philippine President wants to ensure good bilateral and economic relationship [with China]. That is why I brought more than 30 delegates to the Philippines,” he said.

Xu said the Philippine delegation presented its business and investment proposals, particularly in agribusiness, to some Chinese officials and businessmen during its annual promotion conference, dubbed as “Invest Philippines.”

The country’s government officials and businessmen made a pitch for parts manufacturing, light industries manufacturing, component s m a nu f ac t u r i ng , manufacturing of building materials, processing of high-valueadded food and fisheries products and tourism.

Felicitas R. Agoncillo-Reyes, assistant secretary for investment promotions group of the Board of Investments, earlier said the Philippine delegation aims to secure more agricultural investments from China and Asean, given the “ailing” status of the country’s agriculture sector.

The Philippine delegation to the 13th China-Asean Expo (Caexpo), led by Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, was composed of seven congressmen, three governors and one mayor.

According to Reyes, China is one of the country’s major trading partners. China is the fourth-largest

buyer of locally made products and is the No. 1 source of imported goods for the Philippines.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that investments from China declined by nearly half to P190.1 million in the first quarter, from P337.8 million recorded a year ago. China accounted for only 0.7 percent of total approved investments in the January-to-March period.

Last year investments from China reached P1.45 billion, according to PSA data.

Data from the PSA also showed that China ranked fourth in the top 10 market destinations for local products in July.

China accounted for 11.1 percent of total export receipts during the period. Purchases made by China in July went down by 6.5 percent to $520.93 million, from $557 million a year ago.

SENATE COMMITTEE Duterte seeks arms from China, ends joint patrols with US OKAYS AUGMENTED P 2017 D.O.T. BUDGET

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror

T

HE Senate wants to raise the budget of the Department of Tourism (DOT) to be able to boost the latter’s marketing campaign and increase foreign visitor arrivals to the Philippines.

In a news statement, the DOT said the Senate Committee on Finance “approved with augmentation” the agency’s proposed budget for 2017.

DOT Undersecretary for Administration and Special Concerns Katherine de Castro said, “The agency would only need to submit a branding and media campaign to get the proposed raise in the budget.”

The DOT defended its budget on Tuesday in its meeting with said Senate committee.

During the meeting, lawmakers had expressed concern that the proposed budget of the agency for 2017, as submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), was only P2.5 billion, about 32 percent lower than this year’s P3.6-billion allocation.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin M. Drilon urged the DOT to move for a higher budget for 2017, especially in the marketing aspect, to raise the country’s chances of attracting more foreign visitors. “With more exposure, more tourists will come to the country,” he said.

Drilon told Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo to specifically increase the agency’s P300-million marketing budget, considering it is targeting 6.5 million foreign visitors to come to the Philippines, and 73.3 million domestic travelers in 2017. “Dagdagan niyo [increase it],” suggested the Liberal Party stalwart, comparing next year’s marketing budget to the current P1.1-billion allocation.

The news statement cited the DBM’s contention that it reduced DOT’s budget for 2017, because the agency’s previous management, under Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, had “unspent funds for maintenance, as well as miscellaneous and other operating expenses.” A DOT source said the agency had originally proposed a budget of some P4 billion to the DBM for the 2017 NEP. De Castro welcomed the Senate committee’s support to the agency’s tourism objectives.

“On the whole, the meeting was a breath of fresh air for us, a [shot] in the arm, as our lawmakers themselves [recognize] the tourism sector’s 8-percent contribution to our country’s gross domestic product and that it generates job for many Filipinos, despite the lower budget allocation compared to other government agencies,” she added.

Sen. Loren B. Legarda, Finance Committee chairman, expressed high hopes that Philippine tourism would eventually be at par as India and Malaysia in terms of branding and media exposure on major international channels worldwide.

She also asked the DOT to work closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in addressing issues on environmental degradation, sustainability of natural resources and cleanliness, especially in Palawan, Boracay and Bohol.

Of the proposed P2.5-billion budget of the DOT, P218.8 million will go to the National Parks Development Committee and some P42.4 million to the Intramuros Administration—both are attached agencies.

Special provisions in the DOT budget, however, include a P4.6million Tourism Development Fund to be used “for the development, promotion and marketing of tourism in the country,” which is provided in Republic Act 9353 (Tourism Code of 2009). Said fund shall be sourced from accreditation, identification card, sticker and code fees.

Also, some P150 million is made available for the DOT’s use, in the form of “trust receipts…sourced from the net profits of the merchandising operations of the Duty Free Philippines,” which shall be used for tourism-related projects and activities.

No budget was given to the Tourism and Promotions Board, the marketing arm of the DOT. (See “DBM cuts DOT’s budget for 2017 despite higher arrivals goal,” in the BusinessMirror, August 23, 2016.)

hilippine President Duterte said he’s considering buying weapons from Russia and China, while also ending joint patrols with US forces in the South China Sea. In a televised speech on Tuesday before military officers in Manila, Mr. Duterte said that two countries—which he didn’t identify—had agreed to give the Philippines a 25-year soft loan to buy military equipment. Later, he said Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and “technical people” in the armed forces would visit China and Russia “and see what’s best.”

While President Duterte said he didn’t want to cut the “umbilical cord” with his allies, the remarks were the latest to signal a shift away from the PhilippineUS defense treaty in place since 1951.

Since engaging in a public spat with US President Barack Obama last week, Mr. Duterte has denounced American military killings during the early days of

colonial rule and called for US forces to leave the southern island of Mindanao. “[President] Duterte seems to be putting into action his latest remarks about trying to implement an independent foreign policy,” said Eduardo Tadem, a lecturer of Asian Studies at the University of the Philippines. “The problem is what’s the quid pro quo? What will the Chinese especially get in exchange?”

On Tuesday Mr. Duterte said the Philippines needs propeller-driven planes that it can use against insurgents and fight terrorists in Mindanao. He said he wanted to buy arms “where they are cheap and where there are no strings attached and it is transparent.”

about 75 percent of the Philippines’s arms imports, according to a database from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Russia and China haven’t supplied any weapons in that time, it showed.

President Duterte also said the Philippines won’t participate in expeditions patroling South China Sea to avoid being involved in a “hostile act.” “I just want to patrol our territorial waters,” he said.

The US began joint patrols with the Philippines earlier this year prior to Mr. Duterte’s election win in May. The allies had sought to boost military cooperation to counter China’s claims to more than four-fifths of the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

‘Hostile act’

‘Rock solid’

“I don’t need jets, F-16—that’s of no use to us,” Mr. Duterte said. “We don’t intend to fight any country.”

Since 1950, the US has accounted for

In an e-mailed statement on Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that defense relations with the US remain “rock solid” and activities planned

this year would continue without interruption. The military had yet to receive a specific directive on how President Duterte’s pronouncement on Mindanao would be carried out, it said.

Reacting to Mr. Duterte’s pronouncement on Mindanao, Pentagon Spokesman Commander Gary Ross said on Monday the US-Philippine relationship “has been a cornerstone of stability for over 70 years.”

“We will continue to consult closely with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance to whatever approach the new Administration adopts,” Ross said.

Duterte Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella said in a televised briefing earlier on Tuesday the President’s statement that American soldiers should leave Mindanao was not yet policy, but the basis for possible action. “Those statements are not policy set in stone, not policy yet,” Abella said. Bloomberg News

BMReports BusinessMirror

A4 Wednesday, September 14, 2016

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Malacañang clarifies Duterte statement on kickout of US troops in Mindanao

By David Cagahastian

M

@davecaga

ALACAÑANG on Tuesday backtracked from President Duterte’s earlier pronouncement to kick out American troops from Mindanao, saying he was only warning them against a possible backlash from the Muslims because of their “unatoned” atrocities in the past.

Palace Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella clarified that Mr. Duterte’s pronouncement that US soldiers in Mindanao should leave to avoid worsening the security situation on the island “was not a policy yet, which is already executory.”

“It’s simply an injunction, a warning to them, because of the atrocities for which the US had not atoned yet,” Abella said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Abella added that President Duterte was merely providing a historical background as to why there is conflict in Mindanao and why there is a lot of distrust among the Muslims for US-backed initiatives.

Abella said the Muslims have not yet forgotten the massacre of the Moro people in 1906 during the American occupation, pictures of which Mr. Duterte flashed in his speech before fellow heads of state, including US President Barack

Obama, at the Leaders’ Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) last week.

Malacañang is adamant that no foreign leader could criticize the domestic affairs of the Philippine government, particularly the alleged human-rights violations committed by the police in their operations against the illegal-drugs trade.

“It is a lingering skeleton which removes the moral ascendancy of critics of the Philippines for supposedly human-rights infractions,” Abella said.

Meanwhile, Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said the security treaties between the Philippines and the US subsists, and that the RP-US Exercise Balikatan will still push through.

“It was clearly stated by the President that he will respect the treaties between us and our allies, and the

agreement that we have regarding security and defense. The President will not disregard them. Our cooperation with our allies is continuing,” Andanar said.

“The interpretation of his pronouncements should be that the US soldiers should be wary in Zamboanga, and that it is better for them to leave because something might happen to them. That’s what he meant, and he was not kicking out the US soldiers or abrogating our treaties, like the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,” Andanar added.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces said President Duterte’s order for the pullout of American Special Operations Forces who are in Mindanao for counterterrorism operations “will only affect a small number,” as it assured the shipping out of US forces will not affect the country’s defense relations and military cooperation with the United States.

The recent pronouncement will affect only a token number of American servicemen who are confined mainly in Zamboanga City. They provide technical assistance and training to their Filipino counterparts in combatting terrorism in the Philippines. The number has dwindled, following the deactivation and pullout of JSOTF-P (Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines) several years ago, the military said in a statement through Public Affairs Office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo.

On Monday Mr. Duterte said US forces who are operating in Mind-

anao must leave the country, saying there would be no peace in that part of the country so long as they are there. Besides, they are also prone to kidnapping by Abu Sayyaf bandits who could kill them, thus, adding up to the prevailing problem of peace and order in the region.

US forces were basically in Mindanao to help the country, particularly the Armed Forces, in fighting or ending the problem of terrorism posed by the Abu Sayyaf and its international affiliates, including the regional terror group Jema’ah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda network.

The Abu Sayyaf and other selfstyled “terrorist groups,” such as the Maute Group based in Lanao del Sur, have also already pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State.

The President also rubbed the ebbing animosity between the Americans and the Moros by revisiting the “massacre” of Moros in the 1900s by American forces in Mindanao.

Arevalo said they recognized President Duterte’s concerns for the Americans operating in Mindanao.

“We take due notice of the pronouncement of the Commander in Chief, President Rodrigo Duterte, expressing his concern of the safety of US servicemen in Mindanao. Pursuant to the same statement, he desires that our American counterparts should be eased from harm’s way. This refers to Western Mindanao [in particular areas like Zamboanga, Basilan and Sulu], where intense military

It’s simply an injunction, a warning to them, because of the atrocities for which the US had not atoned yet.”—Abella

operations combatting terrorism are ongoing,” Arevalo said.

Despite Mr. Duterte’s order for the pullout, the military said it has yet to receive directives as to how the removal of US troops in Mindanao would be implemented.

“We are yet to receive any spec i f ic d i rec t ive a s to how t h i s pronou ncement w i l l be effected. We understand that the implementation of the said pronouncement is the subject of deliberations by concerned departments, like the DND [Department of National Defense] and the DFA [Department of Foreig n A f fairs], to mention some,” Arevalao said.

Both President Duterte and the Armed Forces did not say how many American soldiers would be affected by the order.

However, former Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin said in 2014 that the US will only maintain about 200 soldiers for the counterterrorism operations in Mindanao, following the staggered downsizing of its troops there that began in 2013.

The downsizing of US military troops assigned in the region was brought about by the improvements in the overall campaign against ter-

rorism during that time.

Currently, the military is conducting intense operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and Basilan following Mr. Duterte’s order for the Armed Forces to finish off the bandits “to the last man.”

The US Special Forces came into the country in 2002 through the JSOTF-P and under the former George W. Bush administration’s global fight against terrorism.

Their arrival followed the 9/11 attacks in the US. During its peak, the US contingent numbered at least 500, or the size of a battalion.

Arevalo said the pullout will not affect the military relations of the country with the US, its strongest ally.

“We assure our people and allies that RP-US defense relations remain rock-solid. Activities lined up for the year continue without interruption. Consultative planning activities for 2017 and beyond, likewise, remain on track,” he said.

The Armed Forces conducts a number of joint trainings with American forces and this include the annual Balikatan military exercise, which is the biggest in Southeast Asia. With Rene Acosta

news@businessmirror.com.ph

AseanWednesday BusinessMirror

Zero-dollar clampdown hits arrivals in Thailand

T

he recent crackdown on zerodollar tour operations is having a short-term impact on the tourism industry, with the number of Chinese visitors expected to drop 20 percent this month.

Arrivals of Chinese tourists during the September 1 to 11 period tallied 690,375, falling 16 percent shy of the targeted figure, according to a post-crackdown report by the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

“The impact will only be shortlived and the number of Chinese tourist arrivals is expected to fall by 20 percent this month,” Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said.

Last week the Anti-Money Laundering Office confiscated more than 2,000 coaches and over 4.7 billion baht in cash from OA Transport Co. in Lat Krabang district. The company was suspected of involvement in illegal zero-dollar tour operations.

Year-to-date Chinese tourist arrivals have surged 19.3 percent to 6.88 million. Arrivals during the September 1 to 11 period were up 33.7 percent year-on-year.

Of total Chinese tourist arrivals, 60 percent are so-called free independent travelers and 40 percent come in tour groups.

Among the tour-group visitors, 50

percent are lured to Thailand with zero-dollar tour packages.

Despite the zero-dollar tour crackdown, Kobkarn is still confident that Thailand will achieve its tourism revenue target of 2.4 trillion baht this year.

“Chinese tourists will remain the growth driver for tourism in the last quarter, which is expected to generate 133 billion baht in revenue,” she said.

Last year Thailand welcomed 7.9 million Chinese tourists. The number is expected to increase to 11 million to 13 million this year.

Surachet Hakpan, commander of the Tourist Police Division, said the crackdown on OA Transport, which is considered the biggest zerodollar tour network in Thailand, is expected to wipe out this kind of illegal tour operation.

Zhang Xinhong, director of the China National Tourism Administration, said it will cooperate with the Tourism and Sports Ministry and related agencies to improve tourism standards and quality for Chinese tourists.

“We hope there will be more quality tour programs at affordable prices for Chinese tourists, thanks to the crackdown by Thai authorities,” she said. TNS

Editor: Max V. de Leon • Wednesday, September 14, 2016 A5

Malaysia plans $1-B spending to improve congested airports

M

alaysia plans to spend about $1 billion over the next five years to refurbish and expand its airports, as the Southeast Asian country paces infrastructure growth with a surge in passenger traffic, its main airport operator said.

“My main terminal may require some upgrade,” said Badlisham Ghazali, managing director of statecontrolled Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd., referring to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. “There are other airports that have grown beyond capacity,” including the tourist island of Langkawi, Kota Bharu in the north and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, he said.

The upgrade of facilities is likely

45M

The peak annual passenger capacity of Kuala Lumpur’s new budget terminal

to benefit regional airlines, such as AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia’s largest discount carrier, which are expanding their fleets and adding more routes as rising incomes and competitive fares encourage more Asians to fly. Boeing Co. is projecting 100 million new passengers annually in the region. Malaysiabased AirAsia, the biggest operator of Airbus Group SE’s single-aisle aircraft, signed a deal in July for 100 A321neos to help maintain its industry lead.

Third runway

The proposed investment is a fraction of Hong Kong International Airport’s estimated spending plan of HK$141.5 billion ($18 billion) to add a third runway. Singapore’s Changi Airport will have a fourth terminal by 2017 at a cost of S$1.28 billion ($941 million) to handle 16 million passengers annually.

The Malaysian government will

foot part of the planned $1-billion investment, with the rest coming from Malaysia Airports, Badlisham said in an interview in New Delhi on September 7.

Malaysia’s transport ministry didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Shares of Malaysia Airports Holdings have gained about 17 percent this year, compared with little change in the FTSE Malaysia KLCI Index in the same period.

Kuala Lumpur’s new budget passenger terminal probably will hit its peak annual capacity of 45 million passengers much earlier than projected, although it won’t require much fresh investment as most facilities for planned capacity have already been built, Badlisham said.

The terminal’s main user is AirAsia Bhd., Asia’s largest budget carrier, which last year criticized the facility over water-logging and taxiway cracks. Bloomberg News

Malaysian billionaire Kuok reportedly seeking sale of cinema unit for $500M

B

illionaire Robert Kuok is seeking a buyer for Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn., Malaysia’s largest movie-theater chain, in a deal that could fetch as much as $500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

PPB Group Bhd., a Kuala Lumpur-listed company controlled by the Malaysian tycoon, has received first-round bids for the cinema business, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

The potential sale of Golden Screen Cinemas, which has 345 digital screens in Malaysia and Vietnam, comes as Asian film exhibitors have been expanding outside their home markets. Companies in the region have announced $16.1 billion of entertainment acquisitions in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“This is definitely an attractive target, as ticket prices in Malaysia are still low relative to its peers in the region,” said Chris Eng, head of research at Malayan Banking Bhd.’s insurance and takaful arm Etiqa, which manages about 25 billion ringgit ($6.1 billion). “The sale will attract companies from the rest of Asia because there is growing acceptance of cinemas as a place for friends and families to get together.”

Cinema M&A

South Korea’s CJ Group agreed to buy control of Turkish cinema operator Mars Entertainment

Group earlier this year. Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, who acquired US chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. in 2012, added to the purchase this year with deals for Carmike Cinemas Inc. and the UK’s Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group.

PPB Group regularly evaluates strategic options for its businesses, including Golden Screen Cinemas, to optimize shareholder value, it said in an exchange filing on Tuesday. No decision has been made to pursue any particular option, and no transaction has been agreed, according to the filing. Koh Mei Lee, chief executive officer of Golden Screen Cinemas, didn’t immediately respond to phone calls and an e-mail seeking comment.

Kuok is Malaysia’s richest person with a net worth of $13.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. PPB Group is a diversified company that controls the country’s biggest flour miller, distributes Johnson & Johnson personal-care products, sells “Marina” brand frozen chicken nuggets and makes formaldehyde.

PPB Group’s film exhibition and distribution division generated 65.6 million ringgit of profit last year, making it the biggest contributor after its grain and agribusiness operations, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Kuok controls the conglomerate through his holding company Kuok Brothers Sdn., which owns 50.8 percent of PPB Group, according to its annual report.

Bloomberg News

‘SAVE MARY JANE’

Student-protesters hold slogans calling on President Duterte to save the life of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino convicted drug trafficker in Indonesia, during a rally near the Malacañang in Manila on Tuesday. President Duterte visited Indonesia last week, where he discussed the fate of Veloso with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo. AP

Asean defense ministers to meet Carter in Hawaii

A

sean defense ministers will meet with US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in Hawaii later this month for an informal dialogue cohosted by Lao PDR to discuss common interests and regional security, the US Pacific Command said.

As part of the strategic rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, the United States has increased engagement with regional institutions like Asean—including sending its first dedicated ambassador to Asean, the Hawaii-based command said.

“Southeast Asia lies at the heart of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, which is diplomatically, economically and strategically central to US interests in the 21st century,” US Pacific Command said in a release.

“The United States and Asean share a strong and enduring interest in building and sustaining a rulesbased international order in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”

The 11th East Asia Summit was held last week in Vientiane, Laos, and was attended by heads of state

from the 10-member Asean nations, as well as officials from the United States, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia.

President Barack Obama led the US delegation to the US-Asean Summit, becoming the first US president to visit Laos. Mindful of its involvement in Laos during the Vietnam War, the United States said it was committing $90 million over three years to conduct a comprehensive unexploded ordnance survey and

for continued clearing operations.

Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said in a statement after the summit that the group “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation in and overflight in the South China Sea.” Philippines media said Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana would travel to Hawaii to continue discussions of security in the South China Sea, where China has made sweeping territorial claims. MCT

The W

Business

A6 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

US flies bombers over S. Korea in show of force against North

O

SAN AIR BASE, South Korea—The United States on Tuesday sent two nuclearcapable supersonic bombers streaking over ally South Korea in a show of force meant to cow North Korea after its recent nuclear test and also to settle rattled nerves in the South.

The B-1B bombers, escorted

by US and South Korean jets, were seen by an Associated Press photographer as they f lew over Osan Air Base, which is 120 kilometers from the border with North Korea, the world ’s most heav i ly ar med. T he bombers were likely to return to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, without landing in South Korea.

Such f lyovers are common when always high animosity rises on the Korean Peninsula, which is technically in a state of war as there has never been a peace treaty to officially end the 1950 to 1953 Korean War. South Korea does not have nuclear weapons and relies on the US “nuclear umbrella” as a deterrent to North Korea. Washington also stations more than 28,000 troops in the South, and tens of thousands more in Japan.

28,000

The total number of American troops in South Korea Test successes

NORTH Korea is keenly aware of the US presence on the peninsula and of what it considers the US nuclear threat. It uses such flyovers and the American military influence in the South in its propaganda as alleged proof of US hostility that it claims as the reason it needs a nuclear bomb program.

Last week’s nuclear test, the North’s fifth, was its most powerful to date. Pyongyang’s claim to have used “standardized” warheads in the detonation makes some outsiders worry that it is

making headway in its push to develop small, sophisticated warheads that can be mounted on missiles that can reach the US mainland. Nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, who has regularly visited the North’s nuclear facilities, estimates the North may have enough nuclear fuel for about 20 bombs by the end of 2016 and the ability to add about seven new bombs a year.

“Left unchecked, Pyongyang will likely develop the capability to reach the continental United States with a nuclear tipped missile in a decade or so,” Siegfried wrote on the North Korea-focused web site “38 North.” He said that more troubling was the recent test successes may give Pyongyang a false sense of confidence.

Unspecified measures

SI X-nation diplomatic talks aimed at ridding the North of its bombs have been stalled since the last round of meetings in late-2008.

Since then, Pyongyang has ramped up both its ballistic missile and nuclear-bomb development, despite an increasing raft of sanctions.

After the test, the North ’s nuclear weapons institute said it will take unspecified measures to further boost its nuclear capability, which analysts said hinted at a possible sixth nuclear test.

South Korea’s Defense Ministr y said on Monday that South Korean and US intelligence authorities believe North Korea

has the ability to detonate another atomic device at any time at one of its tunnels at its main Pung g ye-r i nuclear test site, where the five previous atomic explosions took place. Ministry officials refused to say what spec if ic ev idence pointed to another possible nuclear test.

Stronger sanctions

SEOUL, Washington and their allies have vowed to apply more pressure and sanctions after the test, the second this year.

“The United States and [South Korea] are taking actions every day to strengthen our alliance and respond to North Korea’s continued aggressive behavior,” Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of US Forces Korea, said in a statement.

Sung Kim, the US special envoy for North Korean policy, met South Korean officials in Seoul on Tuesday and said Washington is working closely with other nations to work out new, stronger sanctions on North Korea.

In yet another tough statement against North Korea, South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday ordered her military to be ready to “finish off ” North Korea if it fires a nuclear missile toward South Korea. She already said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “mental state is spiraling out of control” and that his government shows “fanatic recklessness.” AP

Brazil’s ex-speaker latest to fall in corruption scandals

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IO DE JANEIRO—The once powerful speaker of Congress’s lower house is the latest top politician to fall before the mammoth corruption scandals that have caused widespread anger among Brazilians.

In a 450-10 vote late Monday, the Chamber of Deputies stripped the congressional seat from Eduardo Cunha, who has been accused of corruption and obstruction of justice. Nine legislators abstained. Although prosecutors allege Cunha received millions of dollars in bribes linked to the mammoth corruption case at state-run oil giant Petrobras, lawmakers considered only the issue of whether he had lied about having secret bank accounts in Switzerland.

Cunha, who said the accounts belonged to a trust, was pressured into resigning as speaker in July after the accounts came to light, but he had refused to give up his post as a lawmaker. He was in his fourth term and was considered one of the most powerful men in Brazil.

As speaker, Cunha was the main driver behind the impeachment process that led to the Senate trying left-leaning President Dilma Rousseff and removing her from office last month for allegedly violating fiscal rules to hide problems with the government’s budget.

Harsher

CUNHA has been a key ally of new President Michel Temer, who was Rousseff ’s vice president, but after the vote he criticized Temer, saying his administration did not stand by him. He blamed his removal on the impeachment of Rousseff.

“This was a political process because I kicked off the impeachment proceedings.

They wanted a trophy,” Cunha said at a news conference.

“The current administration adopted the agenda of removing me from office,” he said,

adding that he planned to publish a book telling about the behind-the-scenes dealings that led to the impeachment of Rousseff.

With the loss of his congressional seat, Cunha also loses a legislator’s partial immunity from prosecution. In Brazil only the country’s Supreme Court can decide to charge and try federal lawmakers.

Now the corruption allegations against him will be investigated by a lower court judge seen as harsher than the top court, which was dealing with the cases until now.

Accusations

PROSECUTORS accuse Cunha of corruption and money laundering for his role in negotiating Petrobras contracts for drill ships and say he received an illegal payment of $5 million.

Swiss prosecutors say Cunha held secret bank accounts at Julius Baer bank, with media reports putting their value in December at 2.4 million Swiss francs ($2.5 million). Brazilian investigators say Cunha also has had undeclared accounts in the US since 1990 totaling more than $20 million.

He denies any wrongdoing.

Against a backdrop of Brazil’s worst recession in decades, the Petrobras scandal has ensnared some of the country’s most powerful lawmakers and business executives.

Prosecutors say a total of more than $2 billion was paid in bribes by companies to obtain inflated contracts from the energy company.

If he had remained speaker, Cunha would have been next in line for the presidency if anything happened to Temer.

He entered politics in the 1990s as a fundraiser for President Fernando Collor de Mello, the first Brazilian leader elected after military rule ended in 1985. Cunha’s power began to erode in the middle of last year after a plea bargain deal led to testimony linking him to multimillion-dollar Swiss bank accounts. AP

Cease-fire enters into effect, but Syria rebels don’t commit B EIRUT—A cease-fire came into effect in Syria at sunset on Monday in the latest attempt led by the United States and Russia to bring some quiet in the five-and-a-half-year civil war.

Residents and observers reported quiet in most of the country hours after the truce came into effect, though activists said air strikes took place on contested areas around the northern city of Aleppo.

But the most powerful rebel groups have shown deep misgivings over the cease-fire deal, which was crafted without their input last weekend in Geneva between the top US and Russian diplomats. Hours after it came into force, a coalition of rebel factions put out a statement that stopped short of committing to the cease-fire, a reflection of their distrust of the government.

The first week of the truce will be crucial. During that time, all fighting between the military of President Bashar al-Assad and rebels is to stop. But, Assad’s forces can continue air strikes against the Islamic State group and al-Qaedalinked insurgents from the group once known as the Nusra Front.

However, the al-Qaeda linked insurgents are closely allied to many rebel factions and are a powerful force in the defense of Aleppo, in particular. That raises the danger that continued air strikes will draw rebels into retaliation, eventually leading to the cease-fire’s collapse, much as previous attempts earlier this year fell apart.

Noncommittal

COMPOUNDING the situation, a group of 21 rebel factions issued a statement on Friday in which they warned against targeting alQaeda-linked militants. The statement was noncommittal about whether the groups would abide by the cease-fire.

After a week, however, the conflict would potentially enter a dramatically different stage. A new US-Russia coalition will step in to target former Nusra Front

militants, and Assad’s forces will no longer be permitted to. That will effectively remove Assad’s pretext for war on opposition areas, which he calls a war on terror. Government forces will be allowed to fight defensively, target the Islamic State group and, in some designated areas, go after Nusra forces.

The deal’s architects hope that would pave the way for an extended period of restraint that can serve as the foundation for peace talks between the war’s many sides.

As the cease-fire came into effect, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that rebel factions must distance themselves from the al-Qaeda-linked militants, whose group recently changed its name from Nusra to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, or Levant Conquest Front. He also said the Syrian government must allow deliveries of humanitarian aid into besieged areas, including the rebelheld districts of Aleppo.

Dim

RUSSIA’S Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said peace talks between opposition groups and the government could resume as early as next month.

Multiple rounds earlier this year in Geneva failed to make progress. Ultimately, talks have run into the question that neither side is willing to budge on—the fate of Assad and his government.

As a result, the war has continued the grinding violence that has so far killed more than 250,000 people and driven some 11 million people, half of Syria’s population, from their homes since 2011.

That same roadblock makes prospects for a peace dim even if the cease-fire does hold, Syria analyst Aron Lund said.

Nonstarter

OPPOSITION groups have demanded Assad’s departure as a condition to lasting peace, which has so far been a nonstarter for government negotiations.

“It’s an existential question for

In this photo released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (fourth from right) prays at the dawn Eid al-Adha prayers at the Saad ibn Muaaz Mosque in Daraya, a blockaded Damascus suburb, Syria, on September 12. AP

the regime as it currently stands. It’s about the regime or not,” Lund said.

In a letter to rebels disseminated last weekend, US Special Envoy for Syria Michael Ratney promised them that, “our priority remains calming the situation to allow the launch of a credible political operation that leads to a true political transition that Syrians want most determinedly, a new Syria without Bashar Assad.”

A copy of the letter was given to The Associated Press by an opposition official.

Earlier on Monday, a main opposition group linked to several small, moderate rebel factions said they will deal “positively” with the truce brokered by the US and Rus-

sia. The Syrian National Coalition said any effort that aims to end the suffering of the people “is a step in the right direction and we will deal with it positively.”

Uncertainty

STILL, other rebel factions showed deep uncertainty. Some have complained that the cease-fire deal does not mention Assad’s future and keeps in place the government siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

“There is no balance in the agreement,” said Col. A hmad Hamada, an army defector who is now with the rebel group known as the Northern Division.

When the cease-fire went into effect at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT), the

Syrian army issued a statement saying it would abide by a ceasefire until Sunday at midnight, while maintaining its right to defend itself against any violations.

Hours before the cease-fire went into effect, Assad vowed that his government would take back land from “terrorists” and rebuild the country. Assad spoke during a rare public appearance that included attending prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid alAdha in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, where rebels surrendered last month after a four-year siege.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around Syria to monitor the conflict, said

“calm is prevailing on most of Syria’s territories.”

Aid corridors

STILL, residents in Aleppo reported some air strikes and shelling, including a barrel bomb attack by government helicopters. It was not immediately known if the targets where Fatah al-Sham or other factions. One of the more immediate goals of the US-Russian agreement is to allow the UN to establish aid corridors into Aleppo, the contested northern Syrian city. Over 2,000 people have been killed in fighting over the past 40 days in the city, including 700 civilians and 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group. AP

World

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www.businessmirror.com.ph | Wednesday, September 14, 2016

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Nobel laureate Yousafzai urges schooling for all refugee children

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NITED NATIONS—Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai wants world leaders to guarantee all refugee children access to a full 12-year education—something she says is necessary to avoid a lost generation as the planet struggles with the largest number of displaced people since World War II. The question of how to deal with over 21 million refugees tops the agenda at this month’s 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, and Yousafzai says because more children than ever are spending their schooling years as refugees, education is crucial.

“It’s not just giving attendance, a bit of food that will protect these families in the future, it is also education. You give education to the children of these families and you guide them and you make their future,” Yousfzai said, taking time off from her homework to talk to The Associated Press by telephone from Birmingham, Britain.

Yousafzai, now 19, became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate in 2014 when she was recognized for her advocacy of the right of all children to education.

She went to Britain for medical treatment after she was severely wounded in a Taliban assassination attempt in northwestern Pakistan, where she and her father had defied the Islamic militants by promoting education for girls.

More protracted

YOUSAFAZI will miss this year’s General Assembly because she is focusing on her education, taking exams and applying for college.

But she is sending along a report from the Malala Fund, which she founded with her father, detailing the size of the problem and proposing a new framework enshrining the right to a secondary education much as the 1951 Refugee Convention guaranteed all children a right to a primaryschool education.

“We’re not calling for secondary to the detriment of primary, we’re calling for both. I think that one of the main things that has happened since the ’51 Convention came into being is that the refugee situation has got much more protracted,” said Philippa Lei, one of the report’s authors.

In 2015 there were 11 million refugees under the age of 18, accounting for 51 percent of the refugee population and up from 41 percent in 2009.

21 million The total number of refugees Meanwhile, the average amount of time a refugee spends in exile is now nearly 20 years— more than double what it was in the 1980s—which has led to a situation where almost 80 percent of the adolescent refugees are out of school, according to the report.

Woefully underfunded

YOUSAFZAI said the situation is especially precarious for young women refugees who are less likely to receive secondary schooling than their male counterparts.

“I’m in the last year of secondary school and when I imagine children who drop out after primary school and when I imagine girls who get married as teenagers when they should be in school, it worries me,” Yousafzai said. “Because when they drop out from that level, they’re not even able to go further in their lives and go to university and achieve their dreams.”

Education for refugee children, regardless of the level of schooling, remains woefully underfunded because refugee crises are generally still perceived as temporar y arrangements. According to the report, donornations have, so far, only come up with $111 million of the $536 million the UN says it needs for education programs in its 2016 humanitarian appeal.

Compounding the problem, the 10 countries hosting 58 percent of the world ’s refugees, account for just 2 percent of global wealth, making it hard for them to provide education for their own citizens let alone a large inf lux of displaced people. To remedy the situation, Yousafzai is calling on the international community to provide $2.9 billion by 2019 to the Education Cannot Wait Fund to support more than 25 million of the world’s most vulnerable children including refugees. AP

An Indian riot police officer walks past burning trucks that belong to the neighboring Tamil Nadu state after they were set ablaze by angry mobs in Bangalore, Karnataka state, India, on September 12. India’s top court on Monday ordered the southern state of Karnataka to release water from a disputed river to neighboring Tamil Nadu after violence erupted in both states over water sharing. AP

Violence eases as curfew imposed in Bangalore

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EW DELHI—Incidents of looting and vandalism eased Tuesday in parts of India’s information-technology hub of Bangalore, after authorities imposed a curfew amid widespread protests overnight over India’s top court ordering the southern state of Karnataka to release water from a disputed river to a neighboring state.

On Monday police fired at a group of protesters who set on fire a police jeep and motorbike, killing one protester and wounding another in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state, police officer Madhukar Narote said.

Authorities then imposed the curfew in the troubled parts of Bangalore, bringing the situation

under control, he said. The curfew came after rampaging mobs set fire to dozens of buses, trucks and cars and attacked shops and businesses in Bangalore and some other parts of the state, the police said.

Te le v i sion i m ages showed dozens of buses, with license plates from neighboring Tamil Nadu state, burning in a private

transport company depot in Bangalore. The company’s managing director, Rajesh Natarajan, said nearly 40 buses were burned or damaged, PTI reported.

The Cauvery River, which originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu, has been the source of a bitter water dispute for decades. Karnataka officials told the court that the state did not have enough water reserves to share.

Angry mobs

EARLIER on Monday, protesters in Tamil Nadu vandalized a hotel in the city of Chennai owned by people from Karnataka, triggering violent protests in both states.

Last week the Supreme Court ordered Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) for 10 days to Tamil Nadu, a move that led to protests by Karnataka farmers, who say they have no water for their fields.

The Karnataka government then appealed the ruling to the top court, which reduced the daily supply to Tamil Nadu.

The police in Bangalore passed prohibitory orders preventing the gathering of more than five people after angry mobs smashed the windows of several buses from Tamil Nadu and attacked bus drivers.

Many schools in Bangalore were closed on Monday. Offices and shops were closed, as groups of you ng men wa ndered t he streets attacking property owned by people from Tamil Nadu.

In the city of Mandya, 100 kilometers southeast of Bangalore, protesters set fire to trucks and buses bearing Tamil Nadu license plates. K arnataka authorities have stopped bus services to Tamil Nadu for an unspecified period of time to prevent passengers from being attacked.

Farmers in India are largely dependent on monsoon rains and rivers to irrigate their crops.

But with successive poor monsoons, rivers and reservoirs have been running dry and farmers in many places have been forced to cut the number of crops they grow. AP

China suppresses protests in fishing village, arrests 13 Clinton scrambles to head off fallout from brutal weekend

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EIJING—Chinese police fired rubber bullets at villagers and arrested 13 people on Tuesday in an overnight crackdown to suppress demonstrations in a southern fishing village that became internationally known five years ago for protesting land seizures.

The police stormed into the village of Wukan in the southern province of Guangdong and arrested leaders of ongoing demonstrations in their homes. Videos posted on social media show one person with blood on his arm and chest, and another being treated for an apparent bullet wound on his hand.

Another video shows a line of black police vans streaming into the village, a hamlet of about 13,000 people on the South China Sea near Hong Kong.

Wukan carries symbolic importance due to the success of 2011 protests that broke out over land seizures and corruption. Villagers were able to expel government officials and police, and barricaded the village. The siege was resolved only after the provincial secretary of China’s ruling Communist Party agreed to allow a local election.

The winner of that election was Lin Zuluan, a former protest leader. Lin was planning to lead a new round of protests this year over more land grabs. Instead, authorities detained him and then charged him with taking bribes.

Lin’s supporters say he was wrongfully charged and have staged more than 80 straight days of rallies since he was detained.

Those protests continued after his sentence was announced on Thursday despite official state warnings to disperse. An official statement issued on Tuesday said 13 villagers in Wukan were arrested, allegedly for inciting a mob and spreading rumors.

Disregard

THE statement levies several allegations at “a small number of lawless persons,” including disturbing school, preventing fishermen from working and hampering shopkeepers. It says officials tried to “educate and persuade” protest leaders, but that guidance was evidently disregarded.

“In order to safeguard the interests of the masses and restore the normal order of production and local people’s lives, local police decided to take action and apprehended them,” the statement said.

Chinese law requires official permission be granted for all protests, a condition that is almost never met. Large-scale protests are usually met with action intended to quell dissent. In recent decades, China has allowed a small number of elections for positions below the township level, though national and provincial party officials continue to be selected internally. AP

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A SHI NGTON —Hi l lar y Clinton and her campaign scrambled on Monday to head off any lasting damage from a brutal weekend, promising to release more of her medical records following her bout of pneumonia and conceding they were too slow in providing information about her condition.

“I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal,” the Democratic nominee said late Monday in an interview with CNN, when asked why she didn’t immediately tell voters about her recent diagnosis of pneumonia. Democrats said Clinton’s health incident alone is unlikely to fundamentally alter the presidential race, but some also said it adds to a growing sense of uncertainty less than two months from Election Day. For many supporters, Clinton’s batt le w ith Republican Donald Trump is worryingly close, raising concerns not only about holding the White House but also retaking control of the Senate.

“If you look at the way the last couple months have gone, it feels like

the race should be further apart,” said Greg Haas, an Ohio-based Democratic strategist and former county party chairman.

Aaron Regunberg, a Democratic state representative from Rhode Island, said he was “surprised and concerned” that the race is so tight.

“I still think that we are likely to win, but I think anyone who’s not concerned about a bigoted, KKK-endorsed sociopath being this close right now in the polls is not living in reality,” Regunberg said of Trump.

Hot, humid

CLINTON abruptly left a 9/11 anniversary event on Sunday in New York and was seen on video stumbling and being held up by aides.

Clinton said on Monday night she did not faint, but did feel “dizzy and I did lose my balance for a minute.” “ W hat happened yesterday was that I just was incredibly committed to being at the memorial,” Clinton told CNN. “I could feel how hot and humid it was.

I felt overheated. I decided that

I did need to leave. As soon as I got into the air-conditioned van, I cooled off, I got some water and very quickly I felt better.”

At the time, roughly 90 minutes passed before aides said Clinton left because she was overheated.

Several hours later, her doctor acknowledged she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier. “In retrospect, we could have handled it better,” Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said Monday. He pledged to release “additional medical information” about Clinton in the next few days.

Clinton spent Monday at her home in Chappaqua, New York, after canceling a fundraising trip in California. It was unclear when she planned to return to the campaign trail.

Surprising restraint

TRUMP, who is also promising to release new medical records this week, showed surprising restraint regarding Clinton’s health. He wished her well and did not repeat questions he has previously raised about whether the former

secretary of state has the strength and stamina to be president.

He did hammer Clinton for her assertion on Friday night that half of his supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables” and are racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic.

Clinton later said she regretted applying that description to “half” of Trump’s backers, but stuck by her assertion that the GOP nominee has given a platform to “hateful views and voices.”

Speaking in Maryland on Monday, Trump said he was shocked to hear Clinton “attack, slander, smear and demean these wonderful, amazing people who are supporting our campaign.”

After a staff shake-up in August, Trump has largely abandoned the freewheeling style of campaigning that energized his supporters but also led to an endless string of controversial comments about women, minorities and others. The Republican nominee’s newfound ability to stay on script has coincided with tightening in national polls and surveys in some key swing states. AP

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The World

Wednesday, September 14, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

BusinessMirror

China’s electric-vehicle sector shaken by scandal

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EIJING—China’s electricvehicle industry, a flagship for Beijing’s technology ambitions, has been rocked by scandal after five companies were caught collecting millions of dollars in subsidies for buses they never made.

The affair of the phantom buses has prompted questions about whether the ruling Communist Party’s financial support to an industry it is spending heavily to promote might be disrupted.

T he Finance Ministr y a nnounced that five manufacturers were fined for fraudulently collecting a total of more than 1 billion yuan ($120 million) in subsidies. Chinese news reports, citing unidentified industry sources, say as many as 20 others might be in trouble.

The government gave no indication whether managers at the companies might be prosecuted. The Finance Ministry said 90 companies were investigated but didn’t identify any of the others. “‘Subsidy fraud’ will do a lot of damage to development of the new energ y-vehicle industr y,” Deputy General Secretary of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Xu Yanhua told the newspaper Economic Observer.

$120M

The total subsidies China’s Finance Ministry said were fraudulently collected by five electric-vehicle manufacturers Promising fields

COMMUNIST leaders see electric cars, solar and w ind power and other “new energ y” as promising fields w ith no established competitors, where China can take a leading global role and reap higher-paid jobs and economic growth.

Boosted by government subsidies, China passed the United States last year to become the biggest electric-vehicle market by units sold.

The biggest Chinese manufacturer, BYD Auto Ltd., passed Gen-

eral Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co. last year as the top-selling global electric vehicle brand. It was not among the five manufacturers cited as improperly receiving subsidies. Most Chinese-made electric vehicles are sold in China, but BYD has sold buses in California and taxis in Europe.

Beijing paid 33.4 billion yuan ($5 billion) in subsidies to electricvehicle makers in 2009 to 2015, according to the Finance Ministry.

On top of that, Shanghai and other cities encourage sales by waiving license plate fees of up to 100,000 yuan ($15,000). Manufacturers can receive rebates of up to 500,000 yuan ($76,000) per bus or 50,000 yuan ($7,500) per car.

Improper subsidies

A Cabinet statement said authorities were ordered to “tighten control” over subsidies. It told local authorities to prevent finance officials from helping automakers to obtain improper subsidies but did not indicate how payouts might change.

The scandal is likely to lead to stricter standards in a system that lacks controls to ensure companies that receive subsidies are creating technology, said John Zeng of LMC Automotive Consulting.

Zeng said for now, companies can collect government money for assembling parts bought from other suppliers to make a truck or bus while doing no research or development (R-&-D) of their own.

“Definitely, the government will

keep a closer eye on this,” Zeng said.

“I think it’s a good thing. All the money can be used more properly.

Companies that are real and invested money in R-&-D will benefit.”

Improper payments

THE Finance Ministry said last week investigators found four companies reported inflated manufacturing figures, while the fifth, Gemsea Bus Manufacturing Co. in the eastern city of Suzhou, made no electric buses at all. Gemsea collected 261 million yuan ($40 million) in public money.

The companies were ordered to return the subsidies and pay fines equal to 50 percent of the improper payments, the Finance Ministry said.

T he big gest rec ipient wa s King Long United Automotive Industry, also in Suzhou, west of Shanghai, which got 520 million yuan ($80 million). The company’s chief executive committed suicide this year after news reports accused manufacturers of inf lating sales figures.

Zeng said any additional subsidy abuses found by regulators will likely also be in the bus market because of the bigger payments and because auto sales can be tracked more closely when drivers register their vehicles.

Beijing plans to phase out subsidies financed by public money in 2020 and instead pay automakers for each electric car sold by imposing a charge on gasoline and diesel vehicles. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Oklahoma, EPA shutter 32 wells in new earthquake-prone area

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K L A H O M A C I T Y— A 5. 8 -m ag n it ude ea r t hquake and a series of smaller aftershocks in Oklahoma led to the discovery of a new fault line and stoked fears among some scientists about activity along other unknown faults that could be triggered by oil-and-gas wastewater that’s being injected deep underground.

State and federal regulators on Monday said 32 disposal wells in northeastern Oklahoma must shut down because they are too near the newly discovered fault line that produced the state’s strongest earthquake on record on September 3. Jeremy Boak, head of the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS), said it’s possible that a large “pulse” of disposed wastewater is slowly moving deep underground and triggered the temblor along the new fault located near the town of Pawnee, farther east than most of the previous earthquake activity in Oklahoma.

“My inclination is to worry about the [fault] we don’t know about yet, more so than about another very large earthquake in this area,” Boak said. “My general feeling is that the rate of earthquakes is declining. I’m more concerned, I think, about whether there’s another one of these faults out here that is cued up and ready to go.”

Boak said it’s also possible that some aftershocks greater than magnitude 4 could still be triggered along the newly discovered fault that has yet to be named.

The Pawnee quake damaged more than a dozen buildings and slightly injured one man when part of a chimney collapsed. It shook several states, including nearby Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, and was reportedly even felt more than 1,000 miles away in places, like Florida and Nevada, according to the US Geological Survey.

Good science

SCIENTISTS, including those at the OGS, believe the vast majority of the earthquakes in Oklahoma are triggered by the injection of wastewater from oil-and-gas production that is injected deep into the earth.

A f t e r t h e Paw n e e q u a k e , st ate a nd federa l reg u l ators immediately ordered disposal wells to shut down or reduce volumes of wastewater within a 1,880-square kilometer area.

That area was expanded on Tuesday to encompass 67 total wells in more than 2,850 square kilometers. Some of the disposal wells that were initially ordered to completely shut down will be allowed to resume at lower volumes, regulators said.

In all, the 75,000 barrels a day of wastewater that was being injected in the area is being reduced to about 35,000 barrels a day, said Jim Marlatt with the oil-and-gas division of the Oklahoma Corp. Commission.

Forcing oil-and-gas operators to stop injecting wastewater or reduce the amount they can inject means they can’t produce as much oil and natural gas, which can cause a serious financial hardship, said Chad Warmington, president of the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association. “ T h e s e a r e mu lt i m i l l i o n dollar wells in some cases that you can’t operate any more, period,” Warmington said. “If you take away your disposal activity, there’s nothing else you can do with that water.”

Still, Warmington said the industry also is concerned about the quakes and is working with regulators to try and stop them.

“As long as we’re making decisions based on good data and good science, we’ll live with it,” Warmington said. AP

Yelp not liable for negative rating ‘stars’ on site—Court

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In this April 21, 2015, file photo, a man fishes in Guanabara Bay, where an oil platform floats, backdropped by Sugar Loaf Mountain (left), in Niteroi, Brazil. AP/Leo Correa

Brazil ratifies Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases

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IO DE JANEIRO—The Brazilian government on Monday ratified its participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change, a significant step by Latin America’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases that could spur other countries to move forward.

With a landmass a little bit larger than the continental United States, Brazil emits about 2.5 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide and other polluting gases, according to United Nations data.

“Our government is concerned

about the future,” President Michel Temer said during a signing ceremony in Brasilia. “Everything we do today is not aimed at tomorrow, but rather at a future that preserves the living conditions of Brazilians.”

Temer said Brazil’s ratification would be presented formally to the UN later this month.

The Paris Agreement will enter into force once 55 countries, representing at least 55 percent of global emissions, have formally joined it. Climate experts say that could

happen later this year. Countries set their own targets for reducing emissions. The targets are not legally binding, but nations must update them every five years. Using 2005 levels as the baseline, Bra zi l comm it ted to c ut t ing emissions 37 percent by 2025 and an “ intended reduction” of 43 percent by 2030.

In the last decade, Brazil has achieved significant emissions cuts, thanks to efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon and increase in the use of energy from

hydropower and other renewable sources, including wind, solar and biomass. The Paris accord got a boost earlier this month when US President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping sealed their nations’ participation.

“Brazil is now the next major country to move forward. It will add even greater momentum,” said David Waskow, director of the International Climate Initiative at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the World Resources Institute. AP

AN FR ANCISCO—Online review site Yelp’s star-rating system does not make it responsible for negative reviews of businesses because it is based on user input, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday, dismissing a libel lawsuit filed against Yelp by a Washington state locksmith company owner.

The ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals said the star rating system that Yelp features is not content created by the company that helps guide people to everything from restaurants to plumbers. Under federal law, the decision said, Yelp is not liable for content its users post.

The ruling focused on the libel lawsuit filed by Douglas Kimzey, a locksmith business owner in Redmond, Washington. The court said Kimzey’s business received a negative review on Yelp in 2011.

The review by a person identified in court documents only as “Sarah K” gave Kimzey’s company one star out of five, saying it was slow to respond to a car lockout and then overcharged.

Kimzey said he plans to appeal the decision to a larger panel of the appeals court. He claimed the negative review was actually about another business, and said Yelp attached it to his company in an attempt to extort him to pay to advertise with Yelp.

‘Threadbare’

THE appeals court called Kimzey’s allegations “threadbare” and said there was no evidence presented that Yelp fabricated content under a third party’s identity.

“We fail to see how Yelp’s rating system, which is based on rating inputs from third parties and which reduces this information into a sin-

gle, aggregate metric, is anything other than user-generated data,” said Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel decision. The appeals court has ruled previously that the 1996 Communications Decency Act lets web sites provide “neutral tools” to post material online and that they cannot be held liable for libelous or potentially libelous material posted by third parties. The issue has come up in a closely watched California case in which a state court ordered Yelp to take down defamatory statements about a law firm.

An appeals court upheld the decision, and Yelp is now asking the state Supreme Court to review it. Critics argue that the ruling is a broad assault on protections Internet companies have long enjoyed under the Communications Decency Act and could threaten the free exchange of ideas online.

Monday’s ruling affirmed a lower federal court decision that also dismissed Kimzey’s claim that Yelp should be held liable for distributing reviews to search engines.

The appeals court said distributing the content does not make Yelp the creator or developer of the content.

The appeals court “rightly confirmed Yelp’s ability to provide a forum for millions of consumers to share their experiences with local businesses,” said Aaron Schur, Yelp’s senior director of litigation.

Kimzey said he lost 95 percent of his business after getting one star.

“If you have a one-star rating, people won’t go near it,” said Kimzey, who represented himself in court and did not have a lawyer. “They don’t care if you’ve been in business for one week or 25 years.” AP

news@businessmirror.com.ph

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Wednesday, September 14, 2016 A9

DTI pushes for global marketing of PHL brands

By Gliceria N. Cademia | Trade and Industry Development Specialist DTI-EMB

T

HE Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), in cooperation with Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Thailand, pushed the global marketing of Philippine brands as it organized one-onone business matching, market sensing, and networking activities and site visits for Philippine franchisors recently in Thailand, in time for the Thailand Franchise and Business Opportunities (TFBO) 2016 show.

As recommended by PTIC, the DTI hired the services of diversified communications in Thailand. The company is a professional events coordinator and sole and exclusive trade-fair organizer of TFBO 2016.

It collaborated with the media in promoting Philippine franchises, translated print flyers and catalogues from English to Thai, prepared the business-matching session venue, assigned interpreters and facilitated the sessions.

Prior to the business mission, the EMB provided the franchisors a presentation on Doing Business in Thailand, held recently at the Innovation Hub in the DTI International Building in Makati, to prepare them not only for the business mission in Thailand, but also possibly later in the United States and Canada.

Representatives from the five participating franchisors, namely, Philippine Food Asia (Bibingkinitan), Canadian and Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Fruit Magic/Fruit Nectar, Suyen Corp. (Bench) and Potato Corner, attended the session.

Suraida U. Guro, assistant division chief of DTI-EMB’s Market Innovation Division (MID), said in the past five years, Philippine exports to Thailand posted positive growth from a low of $1.91 billion in 2011 to a high of $2.33 billion in 2015.

In 2015 Thailand was the Philippines’s eighth-biggest export market at $2.33 billion and sixthbiggest import supplier at $4.94 billion. Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. It has well-developed

infrastructure, free enterprise economy and proinvestment.

Guro presented a study by Eric Elnar, commercial attaché of PTICBangkok, showing that importation is on the rise in Thailand because of emerging consumerism; and a demand for healthier options (organic, halal, less/low saturated fat, light beer) is increasing. The markets in the main cities (Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai and Udon Thani) are already saturated, which caused outward expansion to Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

Based on market surveys, Thai shoppers are tops in Asia in trying new food and drink products; 97 percent of Thai consumers bought at least one newly launched foodand-beverage (F&B) product in the past six months; and 68 percent of consumers preferred new brands.

The key to product introduction is marketing communication, such as TV ads. In-store presence is important since 84 percent claimed to buy new products on display.

Philippine food and beverage brands, such as San Miguel light beer and Jack ‘n Jill, have potential in Thailand. Design-related products, including furniture, branded children’s wear, fashion accessories, gifts and houseware, are in demand.

Automobiles and their parts and accessories, metal ores and scrap metal have also bright prospects.

Guro said business cards with Thai translation and interpreter are appreciated by Thai businesspeople.

She said Thailand puts premium on good relationship. Thais also ask personal questions as they want to know the hierarchy of the person they are meeting and how to treat clients more personally. Decisionmaking falls on the highest ranking officials of the company, who

DTI intensifies consultations on PHL’s Europe Strategy

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will hold a series of stakeholder consultations in Manila, Cebu and Davao to discuss the Philippines’s Europe Strategy.

The consultation aims to solicit inputs on the ongoing free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union (EU); and provide a briefing on the PhilippinesEuropean Free Trade Association (Efta) and the EU Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+).

Members of the business sector, civil society and government agencies are expected to participate in the consultations this month.

“We act with deliberate speed to nurture our trade and investment relations with Europe and ensure that our local enterprises can take advantage of the opportunities in the European market. The One Country, One Voice [OCOV] consultations is an important pillar in our unified industry and trade strategy that helps ensure our trade-negotiating position remains rational, responsive to and grounded on the needs of our stakeholders,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said.

The DTI has been conducting stakeholder consultations through its OCOV program, which allows

stakeholder participation in trade policy formulation. OCOV, launched in 2011, facilitates transparency and accountability, as government undertakes the process of engaging in dialogues, building mutual trust, and arriving at rational, sound and balanced trade policies in pursuit of national development. To date, consultations have been conducted in key cities in the country, particularly on the country’s trade engagements with Japan, EU and Efta— Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Rodolfo said the DTI is set to foster dialogue and gather stakeholder feedback on cross cutting trade and industry policy issues.

“Our goal is to build on our offensive interests, identify possible roadblocks and determine the necessary measures to better prepare and strengthen industries to upgrade, thrive and compete with the country’s European partners,” he said.

Trade Assistant Secretary Anne Robeniol said the upcoming OCOV consultations will focus on promoting wider involvement of stakeholders in the Philippines’s trade engagements with Europe, particularly in further defining the country’s offensive interests and sensitivities in FTA negotiations.

“While we are working to create a more robust trading and investment relationship with the EU and EFTA, our priority is to utilize the current tangible and concrete gains of our trade engagement through the EU-GSP+ and build on these gains through FTAs,” Robeniol said.

The EU-GSP+ is a preferential tariff scheme, which allows the country to export more than 6,000 products to any EU member-country tariff free. Last year, with the EUGSP+ in force, Philippine exports to the EU market grew by 27 percent as compared with total figures recorded in 2014.

Robeniol said this is part of DTI’s parallel three-pronged strategy to establish a stronger foothold in the European market, which also include securing long-term duty-free market access in the EU and the EFTA through separate FTAs. At present, the Philippines is preparing for the second round of negations with the EU on a possible FTA as well as the executive ratification and Senate concurrence of the recently signed PHL-EFTA FTA. The consultations will be held on September 16 at the DTI International; September 19 at the Seda Abreeza Davao; and September 21 at the Quest Hotel Cebu.

FASHION PHILIPPINES LAUNCH ATTRACTS FRENCH, GLOBAL BUYERS

Philippine Ambassador to France Maria Theresa P. Lazaro (fourth from left) is joined, during the Fashion Philippines launch at the Maison & Objet, by Hannah Oamil (third from left) of Mele+Marie, a fashion-accessories design company in Cebu, and representatives from Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, led by Katrina Pineda (from left), head for the buyer marketing and sales team; Maria Dominique Rustia, project manager for Fashion Philippines; Consul General Aileen Mendiola-Rau; Chiqui Veneracion, Maison & Objet representative for the Philippines; Froilan Emil Pamintuan, commercial attaché of Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Paris; and Eduardo Francisco, PTIC-Paris trade assistant.

are known to be willing to accommodate business partners.

Guro reminded participants not to wear pure black, show shoulders, cut food with fork, gossip about the royal family, shake hands with a male monk, touch people on the head, give things overhead and open gifts in front of the giver. She said Thais are hygienic and don’t wear shoes inside the house.

Meanwhile, Rudolph Jay Velasco, DTI development specialist, also of MID, presented the US and Canada-General Scheme of Preferences (GSP) for franchisors to

consider other markets. The GSP is a program designed to promote economic growth in the developing world and provide preferential duty-free treatment for 3,400 products from 136 designated beneficiary territories. At present, it gives zero tariff to 122 developing country beneficiaries, including the Philippines.

He also discussed consumer trends in Canada. He said people are becoming conscious of their health and well-being. They are into sensory experiences; people would like products to appeal to their

DTI-EMB conducts info session for OBM to Middle East region

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HE Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently held an info session for interested exporters and participants to discuss the upcoming Outbound Business Mission (OBM) to the Middle East from November 8 to 22.

The session provided an overview of trade opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and included a briefing on the do’s and don’ts in doing business, Middle East pricing and labeling requirements and updates on halal regulations. The outbound mission seeks to boost the competitiveness of local companies and develop opportunities in the growing overseas foreign market and strengthen business tie-ups in mainstream halal-driven markets in the Middle East.

The delegation will consist of participants from various sectors, including food, personal care, cosmetics and franchising. Participants will have the opportunity to visit conventions and exhibitions, conduct trade checks and engage in networking sessions with companies and chambers to establish or deepen their presence in the Middle East market.

The first leg of the mission will kick off in Dubai from November 8 to 11, followed by Doha from November 11 to 13; Riyadh from November 13 to 16; Dammam from November 16 to 19, and will finally conclude in Jeddah from November 19 to 22. Gari Ann Valera

upcoming events

D.T.I.-R.O.G., OWWA SIGN M.O.U. TO ASSIST OFWs The

Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Operations Group Supervising Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya speaks during the signing of the memorandum of understanding of the Enterprise Development and Loan Program between the DTI and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to assist overseas Filipino workers adjust on their return to the country through entrepreneurship.

senses, such as through texture, packaging and smell. They explore new places where they can immerse in community. Retro and vintage clothes are in demand. They are looking for “authentic food” that have novelty, such as the so called Asian 2 cuisine, which includes the Filipino adobo and sinigang.

He said individualism, or people liking exclusivity and customization, such as in furniture, is growing. Single-people household is higher for developing countries, so single-serve packaging should be considered, he said.

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

SEPT 15-17

Event: KakaoKonek2016-Asia Pacific Cocoa Conference Venue: SMX Convention Center, Davao City Attended by: AD Agnes Legaspi

SEPT 20

Time: 7 to 10 a.m.

Event: NYFTI 2.0 launch Venue: QBO Innovation Hub, Ground Floor DTI International Building, 375 Sen. Gil. Puyat Avenue, Makati City

SEPT 20

Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Event: QBO Open House/Data Science Speaker: Jake Levy

A10 Wednesday, September 14, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

What to say

W

HAT did President Duterte tell Indonesian President Joko Widodo about Mary Jane Veloso, condemned to be shot for possession of illegal substance? We have only the word of Widodo that Duterte said, “Go ahead.”

In fact, President Jokowi (isn’t his name Widodo?) said: “President Duterte allowed her to be executed.”

Now, what is the duty of a Philippine president with regard to a Philippine national about to be killed by a foreign government? That duty is singular and not susceptible to any other interpretation.

He must do, and he must say; he must resort to, and he must exhaust every means to save the condemned from death. This is true, even if the Philippine President has a strong law-and-order bias; even if he believes in the death penalty; and even if he believes in the death penalty outside the courts. He cannot let a foreign government take a local life if he can help it. A Philippine president who lets a foreign government kill a Philippine national establishes a bad precedent that is thoroughly unpresidential.

But, let’s face it. All our presidents were annoyed whenever the need arose to plead for the life of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), especially OFWs who patently committed a capital offense. At the end of the road, you can avoid taking a life whatever the circumstances, short of self-defense from a mortal threat—and always within reason. And that includes Sarah Balabagan’s defense of her sexual honor by stabbing her randy employer some 60 times.

It is one thing to say “No!” It is another thing to kick and scream “No!” It is a whole other enchilada to say “No! No! No! No! No!” over 60 times, punctuating each “No” with a stab.

Halfway through that, even a horny Arab will have gotten the message. That is why, every Philippine president did his or her utmost to get a death sentence in a foreign land commuted.

No president says about a Filipino on death row, “Go ahead. Follow your law. I won’t interfere.” It is stupid to argue that a profession of noninterference is only consistent with the President’s strong feelings about American interference in our national affairs.

Speaking of American interference, why is Mr. Duterte going ahead with substantial parts of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), even if the BBL was crafted by Americans for the sole purpose of giving the only living pro-American Muslim terrorists on the planet an independent homeland of their own in Mindanao? Why not give them Texas, instead?

The heat and dryness there are more congenial for Islamists. Besides, the United States took Texas from Mexico.

In the case of Veloso, it would not even be interference in Indonesian law, which surely makes allowances even for an accused patently guilty of possession of illegal substance but which was planted on her by her Filipino recruiter. It would have been more consistent with President Duterte’s inclination and international repute to have told Widodo—or Jokowi, as the case may be—not to shoot Veloso just, yet, because the world will soon get news that the Filipino recruiter, who made Veloso an unwitting drug mule, was killed in a police encounter.

That would have satisfied Widodo, who would not need to free Veloso but can keep her in prison, because unwitting possession is still punishable—but not in a capital way.

There is no way around this embarrassment, except for President Duterte to pick up the phone—now!—and tell this to Jokowi, “I will deliver on the recruiter, unlike Noynoy before me. Just give me a day.”

Noynoy didn’t even try to indict the recruiter. Sometimes, killing is the solution. One’s just gotta pick the right who.

Since 2005

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

SSS: Service on Saturdays of September Susie G. Bugante

All About Social Security

I

n commemoration of its 59th anniversary, the Social Security System (SSS) is opening the doors of more than a hundred SSS branches all over the country for its members, especially calamity-affected SSS borrowers who want to apply for the SSS Loan Restructuring Program (LRP).

From its initial announcement of 109 participating branches, the SSS has added three more branch offices—Eastwood, Congressional and Batasan Hills—that would accommodate transacting members in all Saturdays of September. This means a total of 112 branches nationwide would be open for LRP transactions every Saturday of this month.

Members in the National Capital Region (NCR) can go to 46 branches, namely, SSS Antipolo, Alabang, Alabang-Zapote, Batasan Hills, Cainta, Congressional, Cubao, Deparo, Diliman, Eastwood, Fairview, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Novaliches, Paso de Blas, San Francisco del Monte, Valenzuela, Mandaluyong, Mandaluyong-Shaw, Marikina, Marikina-Malanday, Pasig Pioneer, Pasig Rosario, PasigRotunda, San Juan, San Mateo, Tanay, Binondo, Legarda, Manila, Pasay-Roxas Boulevard, Pasay-Taft, Recto, Santa Mesa,

Tondo, Welcome, Las Piñas, Makati-Ayala, Makati-Gil Puyat, Makati-Guadalupe, Makati-J.P. Rizal, Parañaque, ParañaqueTambo, Taguig and Taguig-Gate 3.

For those in Luzon provinces, they can visit 31 SSS branches, including La Union, Cauayan-Isabela, Tuguegarao, Balanga, Dagupan, Tarlac, Angeles, Baliuag, Malolos, Meycauayan, Olongapo, Pampanga, San Jose del Monte, Santa Maria, Bacoor, Biñan, Calamba, Dasmariñas, Lucena, Rosario (Epza), San Pablo, Batangas, Boac, Calapan, Lemery, Lipa, Odiongan, Puerto Princessa, San JoseOccidental Mindoro, Iriga and Legazpi.

Fourteen SSS branches are participating in the Visayas, such as SSS Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Tagbilaran, Talisay, Ormoc, Tacloban, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Kabankalan, Victorias, Kalibo, IloiloCentral and Roxas. Meanwhile, Mindanao residents can transact at the 21 branches in Butuan, Cagayan de Oro (CdO), CdO-

Insurance investment in equities

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Launched on April 26, the LRP was created to assist members who struggle to pay their short-term SSS loans after suffering from natural calamities and other disasters. The borrower must have a loan that is past due for at least six months prior to the month of availment and must be living or working in calamity area declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or the national government to be covered by the LRP. The LRP provides borrowers the golden opportunity to settle their loan under a restructured payment term of up to five years, with a minimal 3-percent annual interest rate. Those who can afford can also fully pay their delinquent loan principal and interest within 30 days with no additional interest.

A key feature of the LRP is the conditional condonation of loan penalties.

This means borrowers who fully pay their loan delinquency under the LRP will benefit from having all of their loan penalties waived by the SSS. However, to instill credit discipline, those who avail themselves of the LRP would no longer be covered by penalty-condonation programs that may be offered by the SSS in the future.

Depending on the branch’s facilities, manpower and resources, other SSS transactions, apart from the LRP, may

INSURANCE FORUM

T

here are generally five categories of investments available for insurance companies: bonds, mortgages, real estate, stocks and “other” assets. Stocks include both common and preferred shares. The acquisition of stocks is usually subject to statutory limits. Nonmortgage bonds, on the other hand, may be limited as to quality and not in terms of a quantity, such as a percentage of admitted assets or capital. Investment regulations in different jurisdictions have varying limitations. In any case, according to an authority, “a life insurer’s primary responsibility is to safety and soundness, rather than investment return.”

Under the Amended Insurance Code, insurance companies may invest in equities or shares of other companies. It may invest in common (Section 206 [b] [6]) or preferred shares (Section 206 [b] [5]) of domestic companies.

For investment in common shares, life companies may not exceed 10 percent of the total admitted assets of the insurer for any single institution (Section 206 [b] [6]). It must also be an investment in the shares of a financially solvent corporation (Section 206 [b] [5 & 6]) and by recognized practice, the company must be rated.

For preferred shares investments by

life companies, it may not exceed 10 percent of the total admitted assets of the insurer for any single one institution (Section 206 [b] [5]). And, if the stocks are guaranteed, it may not exceed 50 percent of the preferred or common stocks of the guaranteeing company (Section 206 [b] [5]).

Insurance companies may invest in the equities of other financial institutions (Section 207 [1]). There is no need of prior approval by the commission for listed equities of other financial institutions (Section 207 [2]).

For nonlife-insurance companies, there is a uniform limitation. No

investment in stocks shall exceed 20 percent of the net worth of the insurance company as shown in its latest financial statement or 20 percent of the paid-up capital of the issuing company, whichever is lesser, unless approved by the insurance commissioner (Section 211).

Investments may also be made in mutual funds and UITFs under Section 202 (j) and CL 2014-50, provided total placements in each fund do not exceed 10 percent of the total admitted assets for a life-insurance company and 20 percent of net worth for a nonlife-insurance or professional reinsurance company. Investments in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are allowed under CL 2014-30.

Although not expressly stated in the Amended Insurance Code, insurers may also invest in foreign equities and they are allowed as surplus investments (Section 2.1.7 of CL 2014-19).

In 2014 the total investments in stocks by life-insurance companies totaled P47.36 billion. This represents a 20.20-percent growth from the previous year’s figure. In nonlife companies, investment in stocks totaled P11.61 billion as of 2014. The total invested funds of the nonlife companies totaled P56.73 billion in 2014. Accordingly, total insurance industry investment in equities totaled P58.97 billion in 2014.

The valuation of equity investments is governed by CL 2015-08, dated March 6, 2015. Investment in equities through

also be accepted during the special Saturday schedule. However, it is important to note that branch counters for disability, death and retirement (DDR) claims and tellering services will not be available on these four Saturdays.

LRP applicants and other members who need to file their DDR claims may do so during the regular weekday branch hours, while those who need to pay can transact at SSS-accredited collecting partners, such as Bayad Centers. Another option for them is to visit the 10 select SSS branches that are regularly open every Saturday, namely, SSS Diliman, Makati-Ayala and Makati-Gil Puyat in the National Capital Region; Cebu, LapuLapu, Bacolod and Iloilo in the Visayas; and Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Zamboanga in Mindanao.

Members are urged to take advantage of the convenience granted by extended branch hours during the SSS anniversary month. Preserving the amount of future benefits and the resulting peace of mind and relief for those who finally pay off their SSS loan obligation under the LRP are also something to celebrate long after the SSS anniversary month has ended.

For more details on SSS programs, members can drop by the nearest SSS branch, visit the SSS web site (www.sss.gov.ph), or contact the SSS call center at 920-6446 to 55, which accepts calls from 7 a.m. on Monday all the way to 7 a.m. on Saturday.

Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.

the Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. is governed by CL 7-97, dated May 8, 1997.

It should be noted that investment “tracks” vary between premiums for whole life policies and those for variable policies. Whole life premiums are invested through a general account where the investment risk is borne by the insurer.

With respect to variable policies, the policyholder is allowed a certain degree over investment choices and, therefore, retains some of the investment risks.

There was a time when investments in common stocks and real estate were forbidden in most states of the US as a result of the Armstrong Committee Report, which investigated the insurance business in New York State. It came out with its report in 1906 disclosing certain derogatory effects of such investments.

In fact, only seven states permitted it. It found that many insurance companies had invested in several corporations where its directors had also invested, raising issues over money trust. It was only in 1951 when New York allowed the investment in common stocks. In several states, it came with strict conditions.

In Wisconsin, for example, it allowed no more than 1 percent of its assets to be invested in the corporate stocks of a single corporation.

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

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Love lamb chop

When a housing developer ‘abuses’ a hapless widow

BusinessMirror

No insurance, no licenses?

Teddy Locsin Jr.

Michael Makabenta Alunan

Free fire Continued from A1

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acapagal had a run-in with America, which opposed his plan to invade and split Borneo with Indonesia. (The US invasion of Vietnam was, that early, turning into a disaster already).

Marcos tried it, too (by organizing Jabidah) but somebody (Abadilla) stole the lunch money of the invasion force that was training on Corregidor. So it was wiped out. But why not fed instead? I don’t know.

Might be a Twist on Oliver! (the musical).

“May I have more soup?”

“More?!?!” Fagin said.

Bang. (Actually, as Ninoy found out, and I reported in the Free Press, it was more like ratatatatatatatat and all the Jabidah recruits fell off a cliff into Manila Bay and only one swam to safety in Cavite, where the Montanos turned him over to Ninoy).

The Cold War was blazing, so Marcos caved in to the US demand for a Philippine military contingent in Vietnam. Marcos knew it was a bad war, but you could not say no to Americans then. They toppled you— and worse, like Ngo Dinh Diem.

So Marcos was happy when my father, with Agbayani, opposed Philippine participation in the Vietnam War before the Philippine Senate.

Pleading the distinguished local opposition, Marcos sent only an engineering battalion without a combat role. But so the Americans got the real message he encouraged my dad to visit Red China—no-no at the height of the Cold War. I tagged along to cover the Cultural Revolution. (I met the writer Alberto Moravia and his wife who were visiting on the same assignment).

In her fight to topple the USbacked Marcos dictatorship, Cory unleashed a wave of such intense anti-Americanism that her Constitution ended up banning the US bases. (I got apoplectic. I was in the US, meeting American officials to assure them of our abiding friendship, which, I assured them, was deepened, even more by their support of Marcos. I’d say anything for their support against the Reform the Armed Forces Movement).

Later, Cory refused to join the coalition of the willing for the liberation of Kuwait, because it involved the invasion of Iraq. Kuwait is in the south; Iraq is in the north; so why invade? She wondered. She pleaded fear for the safety of millions of overseas Filipino workers working among Arabs. And thereby, earned the eternal enmity of Richard Cheney.

American boy Fidel V. Ramos did nothing for the Americans but wave to them good-bye as they left our shores. By then, America could

Wednesday, September 14, 2016 A11

not care less. The Cold War was over.

Russia was an ally. And China was lending money to the United States.

Erap was ignored in his US visit.

Bill Clinton had to beg him to stop his all-out war against the Muslims.

(On Assignment for ABS-CBN, I covered the hugely successful military thrust to Abu Bakar. Later, we’d find out that there was an American plan to carve out a homeland in Mindanao for Muslim terrorists friendly to the United States: to wit, GMA’s memorandum of agreement, which was struck down by the Supreme Court. It came back to life as Noynoy’s Bangsamoro basic law, which was rejected by Congress, thanks to Bongbong Marcos’s spirited and brilliant effort). GMA refused to join the coalition of the shilling (British currency) for another invasion of Iraq.

But clever she still got a state visit.

Bush doubled the honor with a state visit to the Philippines.

Noynoy was a mystery. He seemed as leery of America as he was hostile to China—and friendly only to Malaysia, a longtime enemy of our country.

So, in President Duterte’s vow not to let the Philippines be a lackey of America, he has plenty of presidential company. To be sure, he took the added unprecedented step of insulting the US President. But Obama took it manfully on the chin because of Chee-nah.

So for those who worry about Mr. Duterte, thinking of Arbenz in Guatemala, Mosadegh in Iran, and Allende in Chile—all dead, and the coup against Chavez that failed, there’s no cause for worry. As each Philippine president got more assertive toward America, America became more indifferent to the Philippines.

The world was changing. Power was no longer in bases but in armadas and in missiles. While with each passing decade the United States remains always 500 years ahead of the rest of the world in armed might and technology. The US has less and less reason to care about a country of less and less military value, and of zero economic importance to the United States. Our problem, really, is facing up to the possibility of China allied with America, finding common ground in putting our country on the altar of their mutual advantage.

You see, the Philippines is like sheep in the Middle East: made love to in the evening but eaten as lamb chops the next day.

on the contrary

A

widow, Mrs. Carmen Ramos, is currently under threat to be evicted from her house anytime soon by a housing developer, who reportedly unjustly bullied her, even if she has overpaid her amortizations with the help of her sisters by over P1.4 million, or 58 percent more than the original contract price of P920,000.

Housing reforms will boost growth

Her case is worth the scrutiny by the government, as it is not an isolated one, as the same modus is probably affecting thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), young couples forced into bankruptcy owing to surging penalties on their backlog housing loans as a result of irregular short-term work contracts, popularly called “endo,” and hard-up senior citizens, like Mrs. Ramos, who are allegedly victimized by some “erring” housing developers, who abuse lax policies, laws and enforcement.

Both houses of Congress may have to probe this case in aid of legislation to tighten the screws on laws so as to stop abuses by unscrupulous developers, like many celebrated cases in the past and, possibly, many more lurking somewhere and preying on ordinary citizens.

The courts and enforcement agencies need to be reformed as they seem to have also been abused by these developers. Perhaps, Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, now our housing czar, could put the housing problem in order. GDP growth potentials could even hit as much as 10 percent to 12 percent a year if people have more regular, not contractual jobs, Albay Gov. Joey S. Salceda said. This means they can now go into long-term housing contracts, purchase more consumer durables on financing, and thus, trigger manufacturing and solid

physical wealth creation that’s good for the economy.

Chief of Malice?

Ramos’S problem all started after her husband Celso Ramos died of pancreatic cancer in 2002. She said she informed the developer, Durawood Construction & Lumber Supply Inc. at 177 Sumulong Highway, Barangay Mayamot, Antipolo City, of her husband’s death only to be surprised the developer’s secretary tore their housing contract into pieces, telling her it was no longer valid and had to sign a new one.

Unless ordered by developer-owner Orlando Bongat, no employee would have the nerve to tear off an official document and be discourteous to an elderly, a public-school teacher. This, by itself, smacks of “malicious mischief” violating Article 327 of the Penal Code, making this developer the “Chief of Malice.”

Legally, the old contract remains valid, owing to the conjugal nature of the property. But she had no choice, and was reportedly forced to sign a new contract, followed much later by a “more onerous” compromise agreement, after her arrearages started compounding interests, surcharges and penalties at a fast clip. Both documents are considered null and void ab initio or from the very start, as they were reportedly signed under duress and deception.

Supposedly, a mortgage redemption insurance (MRI) is required with a housing loan so in case of death, the developer is paid the balance by the insurance, while the surviving spouse is also protected and no longer penalized.

Why there was no MRI is apparently Durawood’s negligence, and not the fault of widowed Ramos.

It turns out the developer, starting as a mere hardware of construction supplies, had no license to develop houses nor the permit from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to engage in financing at the time of transaction in 2000. Its accountant admitted in court that it was only in 2005 that a license to develop housing was issued under a new subsidiary, Duraville.

It appears Durawood has exploited her emotional vulnerability ever since her husband died, more so when she was out of job, prompting her sisters to take Government Service Insurance System salary loans to cover the backlogs, making them effective stakeholders to the property.

Durawood reportedly even demanded that on top of the arrearages Mrs. Ramos had to pay additional rentals of P10,000 a month as ownership allegedly has not been turned over to them yet. Durawood seems to usurp full ownership in violation of Article 312 of the Revised Penal Code, as the case was still under litigation.

Her sisters sought the legal opinion of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), being the authority on housing laws, with the courts simply as interpreters and arbiters of laws. It has not replied yet with its legal opinion, except to push for a dialog, which is unnecessary, given the deadlocks in court.

Courting disaster or disaster at courts

There were two courts handling the same case, with Regional Trial Court Branch 222 in Quezon City

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resident Vladimir Putin’s recent appointees to posts that handle the administration’s relations with civil society all have something in common: They embody the Russian autocrat’s version of conservative ideology. Some of them have highly unorthodox ideas, and all have little sympathy for Westernstyle intellectualism.

The new appointments began in April, when Putin named Tatyana Moskalkova, a police general who had also been a legislator, to be Russia’s humanrights ombudsman. Moskalkova’s police career is not the only reason she is a strange choice for the job. She is a fervent Orthodox Christian, and she was a vocal advocate of punishing the punk band Pussy Riot for trying to perform an anti-Putin song in a cathedral. She has also accused the West of using human rights as a political weapon. In a recent interview, Moskalkova insisted that

there was no problem with gay rights in Russia, despite laws that ban “gay propaganda.” She also asserted that Russia had no political prisoners, despite tough and arbitrary “extremism” laws.

In August Putin replaced Sergei Ivanov, his chief of staff, with a career diplomat, Anton Vaino. In Russia the presidential administration oversees politics and the civil society, so this is another important “interface” job. Vaino had cowritten some dense academic papers on what is probably best described as futurology. Some of

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com

Immigration policy for a post-Brexit Britain

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key demand of Brexit voters was to take back control of the United Kingdom’s immigration policy. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised she will—but hasn’t said what she’ll do with this control once she has it.

Many Brexit supporters are hoping for a severely restrictive system. This would be a mistake, and May ought to say so. Liberal rules on immigration, exercised at Britain’s discretion, would best serve Britain’s interests.

As things stand, the ruling Conservative Party is pledged to bring net migration down to the “tens of thousands.” A figure in the lower part of that range would certainly be too tight. Even if such a policy were feasible, which it isn’t, it would injure the economy and make friendly post-Brexit relations with the European Union (EU) all the

harder. Control doesn’t require, and shouldn’t mean, excessively tight restrictions.

What would a fair and enlightened system involve? First, expedited, low-cost access for the skilled workers in information technology and other specialties that Britain’s economy needs. Second, preferential rules for the EU citizens who currently enjoy guaranteed free entry.

Third, a means to curb sudden surges that would overstretch the country’s public services.

Britain saw net inward migration of 327,000 people in the year to March 2016; of those, 180,000 were EU citizens. Those are large numbers, reflecting the relative strength of the UK labor market.

May will want to reduce them, but she should do it judiciously. She has ruled out an Australian-style points-based system (Britain uses a

points-based system for non-EU immigrants already), saying it affords too little control over total numbers.

That could easily be remedied with a hybrid system based on pointsbased permits and overall caps.

The real challenge will be political: dealing with the disappointment many Brexit supporters will feel if the new system fails to stomp on overall numbers. For the sake of the economy, May should be willing to disappoint them—and to explain the benefits of a liberal approach, under British control.

Public discontent with immigration in Britain is nothing new; for half a century, opinion polls have shown majority support for lower immigration. But successive governments have often surrendered to misplaced fears rather than trying to challenge them. May will have to do better—pointing out, for

Putin promotes the next generation of ideological cronies

By Leonid Bershidsky | BloombergView

under Judge Edgar Dalmacio Santos, declaring on June 7 a “failure of Judicial Dispute Resolution,” and passing on the case that was reraffled to a third court, Quezon City RTC Branch 96, which scheduled new round of hearings on September 23, 2016.

Unfortunately, another court, under Judge Joel Socrates Lopena of Manila Trial Court Branch 33, has issued three eviction orders since February 2016, with the recent one on August 10, with a certain Sheriff Conrad reportedly threatening to effect the eviction, and force the sisters to come across again. The August 10 order has not been received yet, either due to snail mail or possible deliberate delays so they won’t have time to prepare.

The courts could not just effect the eviction pending third court’s new trials, HLURB’s pending legal response, etc. In the meantime, they claim they have lost four lawyers, one after the other, as they softened stance with one unethically joining the rival party, with some paid P200,000 in acceptance fees, which they raised through loans. The sisters believe their case is not isolated, as they are the only ones left in their subdivision with the others possibly forced out in the same manner.

All they want is a fair trial, but they could no longer afford to pay lawyers, who were never helpful anyway, as they never raised pointed questions, like why the original contract was not subpoenaed, why there was no MRI, or why both the main complainant landowner Bernardo Evangelista and his Atty.-in-Fact Developer Orlando Bongat never surfaced in the hearings and many more issues. It is rumored Evangelista was not paid, and is believed dead already. Whether these are true, the truth must come out in a fair trial. And before the government can aim to house everybody, it needs to inquire first how’s everybody doing with their housing.

these mention an invention called the nooscope, which is described this way in a book cowritten by Vaino: Design-wise, the nooscope uses the principle of the Russian nesting doll, this colorful image of geospheres— concentric shells of different density and composition that make up the Earth. The seven shells of the nooscope represent the main spheres in which changes takes place and are registered....

The nooscope, which consists of a network of special scanners for receiving and registering changes in the biosphere and human activity with the help of transactions (film frames of collective being) in the image of the crossroads of space, time and life, allows us to forecast and preempt crisis events on the road map of development.

Also in August, Putin named a former member of his staff, Olga Vasilyeva, to the post of education minister. Vasilyeva’s academic interest is

the Russian Orthodox Church in the Stalin era. She suggested that the Soviet strongman’s manipulation of the church during World War II, when the regime stopped killing priests and relied on religion to help stoke patriotism, was a useful approach. Statements she has made also suggest that she believes the West destroyed the Soviet Union by, among other things, overdramatizing the history of the Stalin period.

Finally, Putin appointed Anna Kuznetsova as Russia’s children’s rights ombudsman. Married to a Russian Orthodox priest, she holds extremely conservative religious views. A nongovernmental organization she managed in the Volga river city of Penza ran a competition among women’s health centers, rewarding the ones that performed the fewest abortions.

Kuznetsova, a mother of six, isn’t just prolife, though: She is also a participant in a group on the VK social network that

is dedicated to denying the reality of the human immunodeficiency virus. And in 2009, in an interview to a Penza web site, she spoke of her belief in telegony—the theory that a woman’s sexual contacts affect her future progeny, even if they don’t result in conception.

After her appointment, Kuznetsova said she didn’t remember these statements—though she said they sounded like they could be the words of “a qualified biologist, at least a PhD”—but the interviewer came forward to confirm that he had recorded her remarks.

If Putin were a US president, these appointments would have been the equivalent of drafting top officials from the most extreme church congregations and conspiracy theory web sites. This is something new for Putin: For most of his reign, his regime was distinctly nonideological. Its interactions with society were handled by career bureaucrats who were interested in efficiency and

instance, that concerns over asylumseekers are exaggerated. Asylum applications peaked in the early 2000s. Nearly two-thirds are refused, and asylum-seekers represent only around 7 percent of total immigration.

Britain will most likely have to accept some restrictions on its access to the EU’s single market in exchange for resuming control of immigration— but the terms of this deal are open to negotiation. They shouldn’t be, and needn’t be, punitive. There are signs that some European policy-makers, at least, are open to compromise.

If May does the right thing, there’ll be some unhappy Brexit supporters. That’s too bad—but with luck, the majority can be persuaded to see sense. Britain can resume control of immigration policy without needlessly blighting its prospects.

Bloomberg View

budgets and whose views were irrelevant or extremely flexible. The more recent appointments show that Putin’s embrace of what he calls conservative values—a mix of Orthodox moral principles, Russian mysticism and anti-Western convictions—is not just a ploy to distract Russians from recent economic difficulties.

Putin is doing his best to fill the ideological vacuum in Russia since the fall of Communism. His officials are now messengers of a new platform that roughly matches the views of the religious right in Europe and the US, but with a Russian flavor.

The ideology is a work in progress, but its bearers appear to share the same basic tenets and the same emotions, even if they don’t all share the same idiosyncratic beliefs. If the Putin system persists, its ideological platform will eventually crystallize, just as Soviet Communism did.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Liberal Party: No plot to impeach President Duterte

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embers of the Liberal Party (LP) in the House of Representatives on Tuesday denied that there is a plot to impeach President Duterte. “ I n t he f i r st place, the majority DUTERTE of the Liberal Party members in the House belong to supermajority coalition, which would resist any attempts to impeach the President,” Liberal Party Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay, a member of the minority bloc, said in a news conference.

“It is President Duterte who may be impeaching himself because of this inordinately improvident and i l l-conceived rhetor ic unmindful of compromising consequences,” Lagman added.

Former Speaker and Liberal Party Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City said LP is not a Trojan Horse in the supermajority.

“Definitely, LP is not a Trojan Horse,” said Belmonte, vice chairman of LP, who is one of the 28 members of LP who joined the supermajority.

“The chances of that is zero and nobody will even think of it. First, he is overwhelmingly popular, which amounts to a public approval of his programs. Second, he has overwhelming majority in the House where impeachment starts,” Belmonte said.

“We should think positively as people. Let’s look forward to having great achievements instead of talking about negative things, like impeachment,” he added. Earlier, President Duterte said the LP is using his campaign against illegal drugs to destroy his image and plot an impeachment case against him. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Lawmakers spurn Tugade’s ‘state of mind’ traffic alibi

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By Butch Fernandez & Cai U. Ordinario

@butchfBM @cuo_bm

enators spurned Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade’s claim that the crippling traffic gridlocks in Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares is only in the commuters’ “state of mind.”

At a Senate committee hearing on proposed emergency powers for President Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and Sherwin T. Gatchalian disputed Tugade’s assertion as lawmakers affirmed the need for administration officials concerned to acknowledge its existence in order to effectively address the worsening traffic problem.

Poe, who chairs the Senate Public Services Committee, reviewing the Palace’s emergency powers proposal, said: “Our state of mind is such because traffic is a deplorable reality.”

Daily struggle

Also disputing Tugade’s state of mind alibi, Gatchalian reminded Tugade that the traffic gridlocks affect not just the commuters’ lifestyle but many Filipinos’ livelihood, as well.

Citing his daily “struggle” to report for work at the Senate, Gatchalian said: “Well the reality is, there’s really heavy traffic.

That’s the reality of it.”

Poe, for her part, added: “We should not be naïve to the problem but we need to focus on solutions, as well. As ordinary citizens, complying with traffic rules is a start.”

She also affirmed her determination to push early passage of remedial legislation

to enable the government to fast-track completion of proposed traffic-reduction projects, even as she asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) officials to “make sure that they implement a wellstudied traffic plan and solution, and follow through with it.”

At the same time, Gatchalian admitted he was not impressed with the submitted plan of action, as well as the list of sectoral projects that the DOTr plans to implement during the proposed three-year effectivity of Mr. Duterte’s emergency powers.

“It was not justified in the report. It needs to be detailed some more,” he said, pointing out, for instance, it did not provide an overview on the volume of traffic reduction ensuing from the plan.

Justification

He reported having a chance meeting with Tugade “and I told the secretary that what is important here is, why are you asking for that emergency power?

And with that emergency powers what is the volume of traffic reduction and the improvement we can expect from its implementation?”

According to Gatchalian, the salient

point of the proposed emergency powers is to cut the lead time in the bidding process to fast-track the implementation of the projects.

“The question is, with these projects what is the traffic-volume reduction? These are the basic questions? Because, in the list submitted to us it says there that it will cut three to six months but did not mention effectivity dates...so I think they should really do some pencil pushing,” he said.

Gatchalian added he reminded the Duterte Cabinet official to provide details for information of lawmakers and the taxpaying public. “We have to be answerable because if you give them emergency powers, they can bid fast and implement projects fast, but what is the impact?”

“And you have to remember, those biddings, it will be the people who will pay for them. Those are taxpayers’ money.

We don’t want them to end up paying for a white elephant?” he added.

Solving transport woes

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), meanwhile, said solving countries’ transport woes is crucial in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The Manila-based multilateral development bank said eight of the 17 SDGs are directly or indirectly linked to transport.

The SDGs or Global Goals is a set of 17 socioeconomic goals that 193 United Nations member-countries, like the Philippines, committed to meet by 2030.

“Buses, bicycles, boots. However, you get around day to day, there is no getting away from transport and the same is true if we want to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline. The fact is that eight of those goals are directly or indirectly linked to transport,” ADB Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department Transport Specialist Nana Soetantri said.

These goals, she said, include SDG 3 on universal health, particularly on halving the number of traffic-related deaths and injuries; SDG 11 on creating sustainable cities; SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production; SDG 2 on achieving zero hunger, particularly in preventing lost or spoiled produce.

The ‘bad guys’

Soetantri said proper emphasis should be made in making the case for sustainable transport, which addresses the transport needs of urbanizing Asia without worsening the air-pollution problem in many Asian cities. This, Soetantri said, requires cooperation between multilateral

development banks, governments and even the “bad guys,” such as car manufacturers. While multilateral development banks are on track to meet their joint target of providing $175 billion in loans and grants for transport between 2012 and 2022, more needs to be done.

“Sustainable transport needs to bring traditional opponents onboard. Car manufacturers, for example, have better bottom lines when they sell more cars. Ditto airlines want to encourage more plane travel. But government agencies also enjoy tax revenues from more vehicle licensing or landing rights,” Soetantri said.

She added sustainable transport solutions are critical in boosting productivity and improving the health situation in the region.

GDP loss

Soetantri said road congestion, on the average, costs Asian economies 2 percent to 5 percent of the GDP every year in lost time and higher transport costs.

This makes the case for long-term sustainable transport solutions, she added, and that many decision-makers choose the easy but short-term solutions that could worsen the situation in the long term.

Expedient solutions

“Too often, decision-makers tackle only the expedient, easy-to-implement solutions that, over the long term, are detrimental. For a mayor with a defined term of office, building a new expressway to alleviate traffic jams is often much easier than changing taxes to discourage car purchases or imposing—and enforcing— strict emission standards or starting new public-transport networks that will only be finished during the tenure of the successor,” Soetantri said.

The SDGs are composed of around 169 targets and over 300 global indicators. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015.

The Global Goals aim to end poverty and hunger, promote universal health, education for all and lifelong learning, achieve gender equality, sustainable water management, ensure sustainable energy for all, decent work for all, resilient infrastructure, and reduce income inequality between and among countries.

The goals also include create sustainable cities, ensure sustainable consumption and production, take action against climate change, conserve and sustainably use oceans and marine resources, reduce biodiversity loss, achieve peaceful and inclusive societies, and revitalize global partnership for development.

Govt awards ₧1.59-B CRS project to Unisys

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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@lorenzmarasigan

he government has finally awarded the P1.59-billion deal for the computerization of the country’s Civil Registry System (CRS) to sole bidder Unisys Public Sector Services Corp. after being reviewed by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC).

According to a media advisory from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, the P1.59-billion CRS-Information Technology Project Phase II contract was awarded to Unisys “after proper review and evaluation of the bidding documents and successful negotiations as required” under the buildoperate-transfer (BOT) law.

“The government found the corporation compliant with all the technical and financial proposal requirements of the PPP project,” the advisory read.

Three bidders were previously prequalified: Morpho-Filmetrics-Frey Consortium,

Unisys Public Sector Services Corp. and PNJ Partnership Consortium. However, only Unisys submitted a bid for the project on June 10.

Unisys, the current concessionaire for the first phase of the project, is now tasked to finance, design, develop, operate and maintain the system. As the private partner, it will upgrade the current service levels of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in providing the various civil registry documents: birth, marriage, death and no-marriage certificates.

There will be additional 40 CRS outlets that will be established around the country once this project is completed. Currently, the PSA has 40 CRS outlets nationwide.

A new building that will house the servers of the information-technology system will also be constructed. It is estimated to take two years to complete the construction and development of the project.

Unisys has 20 calendar days from the receipt of the notice of award to submit the required documents in the instructions to bidders.