U.S. President Barack Obama and Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi walk back to her home following the conclusion of their joint news conference in Yangon, Myanmar, on Friday.
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resident Barack Obama gave a blunt assessment of the need for further reform in Myanmar’s move toward democracy, weighing into sensitive controversies over the treatment of religious minorities and a prohibition keeping opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running for president.
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China’s hunger for clean energy to leave no rooftop behind
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hina, the world’s biggest solar market for two years running, is pushing to install more panels at factories, schools and even greenhouses as it seeks to meet its goals under a historic climate agreement with the US.
Dirtiest air
PrOduCIng so much power in isolated areas creates bottlenecks
Identifying sites
ThE agency asked local authorities to identify potential sites for rooftop plants and smaller, ground-mounted projects. These would include industrial and commercial companies with large rooftops, and public buildings,
A nEIghborhood in Tieshan, huangshi Prefecture-Level City, hubei, where buildings are equipped with solar water heaters WikimediA Commons
such as railway stations and airport terminals. China has set a goal of installing 8 gigawatts of small systems this year and 6 gigawatts for larger projects. distributed solar will look different in China, where land is stateowned and single-family houses are still relatively rare. While homeowners are driving the rooftop solar market in the uS and Europe, panels in China will be mostly found atop industrial and commercial buildings, as well as vacant lots, greenhouses, intertidal zones and the empty spaces around fishponds and lakes.
Solar bankruptcies
ChInA is expected to add as much as 8 gigawatts of distributed solar systems in 2015, out of 15 gigawatts of total photovoltaic power, according to Bloomberg new Energy Finance. That forecast has China installing in one year about twice as many panels atop factories, office
buildings and other distributed sites as there are currently in operation in Australia, one of the world’s sunniest countries. Chinese manufacturers sold about $5 billion of shares from 2005 to 2010, and wrested control of the market from companies in the uS, germany and Japan. The added capacity drove down prices and pushed dozens of manufacturers into bankruptcy. Solar panels sell for 72 cents a watt now, compared with $2.01 at the end of 2010. The price has slipped 12 percent this year. “Beijing’s solar policy of concentrating on distributed generation with ongoing tweaks to make it more effective is actually very solid in the mid- to long-term,” said Charles Yonts, head of sustainable research at brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in hong Kong.
More projects
JInKOSOLAr holding Co., China’s third-largest panel maker, arranged in July as much as 1 billion yuan
($161 million) in financing from China Minsheng Banking Corp. for distributed solar. An 88.8-millionyuan loan for a 20-MW rooftop solar project in Zhejiang province will be the first under the agreement. JinkoSolar is planning three more projects of comparable size in Jiaxing, also in Zhejiang province. “Policies are relatively good, and companies are competing for rooftop space,” said Sebastian Liu, Jinko’s director of investor relations. rooftop projects will account for a third of Jinko’s developments in 2015, up from 10 percent this year. “Investors have hesitated to start projects in the past because returns weren’t clear,” said Meng Xiangan, vice chairman of the China renewable Energy Society, which acts as a liaison between the government and industry. developers “should grasp the opportunities favorable for distributed projects to install more panels.” Bloomberg News
Makeshift schools for Syrian refugee children By Elena Becatoros The Associated Press
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uruC, Turkey—It’s only a blue tent at the back of a refugee camp in the Turkish border town of Suruc. But for dozens of children who study in the makeshift school, it’s a glimmer of hope. Inside, brightly colored drawings are pinned to the plastic walls, and wooden desks stand in two neat rows. For some of the Kurdish kids who fled with their families from the besieged Syrian town of Kobani, this is the only school they’ve known. “The whole world was collapsing, how could they go to school,” said ghazi Mammo darwesh, father of 7-year-old diyala. The shy, browneyed girl says she likes learning Kurdish writing and drawing pictures of flowers and girls. her father is overjoyed that, at last, she is learning something. “how can I not like it? I can fly for happiness. I hope that my children will study abroad,” said darwesh, who has seven children. School also provides some psychological support for traumatized youngsters, who have lost their homes and family members during a ferocious onslaught by Islamic State militants on Kobani that began in mid-September. The lessons are basic—only reading and writing in Kurdish is taught, and only for the ages of 7 to 10. But children, parents and teachers agree it’s better than nothing. “It’s very important for the children to be in school and concentrated
In this november 2 file photo, Syrian Kurdish refugee children from the Kobani area attend an English lesson at a makeshift school at a refugee camp in Suruc, near the Turkey-Syria border. AP/VAdim GhirdA
on education instead of having flashbacks to the war,” said rukan Sheikh Mohammed, a 19-year-old teacher who is a refugee from Kobani herself. The war, she said, had deeply affected the children. “We teach the students to try to provide some confidence, motivating them and telling them they will go home one day and all will be well.” The school where Mohammed teaches was set up about three weeks ago. In a nearby camp,
volunteers initially began organizing simple activities to keep the refugee children occupied, but soon decided to try a more formal education. The Viyan Amara school, named after a woman killed fighting in Kobani, started classes a few days ago. Volunteer teacher Fidan Kanlibas said the school is funded solely by charitable donations. For now, she said, they only have enough materials for rudimentary lessons.
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“In the beginning we were doing activities and getting the children to do drawings,” Kanlibas said as she carried newly donated desks into the tent-school, with some of the camp’s older children rushing over to help. “They were doing drawings of beheadings and weapons. The fear they saw was reflected in their drawings,” she said. “now, you can see they are smiling and recovering from the things they saw and the pressure of
war.” diyala’s friend, 7-year-old Shirin Ahmad, had been registered to go to school in Kobani, but the war broke out and she never made it to first grade. now, she has started school in the camp where she lives with her two younger brothers and parents. “This school isn’t enough, of course,” said Shirin’s mother, Warda Ahmad. “But at least having this is better than illiteracy.”
By Adam Schreck The Associated Press
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uBAI, united Arab Emirates—Amnesty International said the 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar is lagging behind on addressing concerns about the abuse of migrant workers six months after it laid out plans for labor reforms. The wealthy Organization of Petroleum Exporting Country nation has come under increasing scrutiny over its labor practices since world football governing body Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) awarded it the rights in 2010 to host the tournament. Like other energy-rich gulf nations, Qatar relies heavily on migrant workers drawn mainly from South Asia to build its roads, skyscrapers and stadiums. In a new report, the Londonbased human-rights group criticized Qatar for failing to substantially tackle issues, such as the kafala employee sponsorship system that ties expatriate workers to a single employer, and requirements that workers obtain exit permits from their employers in order to leave the country. Amnesty notes that Qatari officials increasingly acknowledge the existence of labor problems and the need for improvement. But it also warns that a failure to put serious changes in place in the coming months “will call into question whether the Qatari authorities are serious about reform.” “The legacy of the Fifa 2022 World Cup would be the hundreds of thousands of workers who were exploited to make it happen,” the group said in the 12-page report. In May Qatari officials announced plans for new legislation that could eventually end the controversial sponsorship system in its current form. Currently, migrant workers— who make up the bulk of Qatar’s work force—typically must be sponsored by their employer to work legally. That gives employers considerable sway over workers’ lives and leaves employees open to abuse, as bosses must approve workers’ departure from the country or their requests to change jobs. Qatar’s labor and social affairs minister, Abdullah Saleh Mubarak al-Khulaifi, told local Qatari newspaper editors last week that new labor legislation should be ready by the end of the year. An advisory council must still weigh in on the draft law before it goes to the ruling emir for his approval. Qatar’s sports minister, Salah bin ghanem bin nasser al-Ali, separately told the Associated Press this week that the country plans to implement labor reforms in the “next few months.” “We understand this problem. For us, it’s a human question,” al-Ali said. Qataris aren’t “vicious people who are like vampires.... We have emotions, we feel bad.” The draft legislation was introduced after Qatar hired international law firm dLA Piper to examine its labor issues. The firm outlined dozens of recommendations, including changes to the sponsorship system and the eventual phasing out of exit visa requirements. reforms proposed by authorities this year would automatically grant workers exit permission 72 hours before their scheduled departure, though there would still be limits on how soon they could leave. Amnesty says those proposals don’t go far enough—though even they have yet to be implemented. As a first step, it is calling on authorities to do away with exit permits, investigate the causes of worker deaths, scrap fees for workers to file court cases against employers, publish names of “exploitative” recruiters and companies, and give domestic workers the same protections as other laborers.
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THE GREATEST PLEASURE “A PERFECT performance is the most boring performance. When the feeling is right, mistakes cannot be heard.” Every time Leotta performs onstage in front of a live audience, he said that the most difficult part about the performance is to “make the public be with you.” “Music requires the highest level of concentration, knowledge...everything,” he said. “The greatest moment is when you hear that what you are playing [with your hands] is exactly what you are feeling [inside you]. That’s the greatest pleasure for a performer—sharing what is in your heart with the public, without any walls.” He added that music, to him, is a language not unlike reading a poem because you do not need to imagine anything further, the meaning will be right in front of you. “The beauty of music is that it does not need to describe anything. Pure music describes what your
mind is able to reach.” Leotta is grateful to his teachers, who explained to him the tradition and the importance of music. “They really knew the meaning of the pieces. If anything was missing [in my performance], they would stop me and point it out,” Leotta said. “[Performers] are interpreters and have to do what is written on the score. Beethoven knew what he wanted and all we have to do is understand and perform what the music wants without adding anything.” At the end of the day, however, Leotta said that he would prefer to rest his ears than listen to other music when he is not onstage performing. “When I do not play, I am tired. I do not want to hear anything else because when I hear something, I end up analyzing it,” he said. “Music becomes work, and when it starts playing, [I cannot help but to] think about the structure, the harmony, the form.” IT’S ABOUT FEELING ASKED to comment about the pianists of this generation compared with before, Leotta said that piano schools of the previous generation started to lose what the music was all about.
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MAESTRO Christian Leotta PHOTO FROM CHRISTIANLEOTTA.COM
“It’s about feeling. It’s about magic. It’s about making the public dream,” Leotta said. “All the rest is not important—but, unfortunately, that was became the focus.” He lamented that piano schools forgot the important aspects of the music, and this is why the present generation rarely plays or even listens to Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert. “[People] are intimidated by classical music because it is nowhere. Where do you listen to classical music today? They should start to put classical music in all the shops and all the restaurants,” he said. However, Leotta added that the decline is not just the problem of pianists and piano schools, but of piano manufacturers, as well. “Pianos from 50 years ago sound much better. Today’s piano-makers have become more mechanical, producing pianos that are powerful but less sensitive,” he said. For Leotta, the best pianos are those which yield the most beautiful, most sensitive sound, from the softest pianissimo to the loudest fortissimo.
poetry of Beethoven’s music, while the US magazine Fanfare defined his complete recording of the maestro’s 32 piano sonatas as “a major addition to other sets currently available.”
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CULTURAL attaché of the Italian Embassy in Manila Emanuela Adesini, Maestro Christian Leotta, Philippine Italian Association Director JP de la Vega, Philippine Italian Association Vice President for Culture Silvana Diaz
EXTRAORDINARY TALENT LEOTTA began lessons in piano at the age of 7 and furthered his studies at the Milan Conservatory under Mario Patuzzi, and is a former pupil of the acclaimed pianist Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Christian also studied at the Theo Lieven International Piano Foundation, and with Rosalyn Tureck at the Tureck Bach Research Foundation in Oxford, England. Leotta has collaborated with major orchestras, such as the Münchner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Kammerorchester, the Italian RAI National Television Orchestra, and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (Symphony Orchestra of Milan Giuseppe Verdi). He also has performed in important theaters and concert halls, such as the Philharmonie at the Gasteig in Munich, the Konzerthaus of Vienna, the Tonhalle of Zurich, the Sala Verdi and the Auditorium of Milan, the Salle Claude-Champagne of Montreal, and the Great Hall at the Bunka Kaikan Theater of Tokyo. His successful Philippine debut was presented by the Embassy of Italy in Manila, the Philippine Italian Association and the CCP. The classical albums of Maestro Christian Leotta are available in CDs and in digital formats from iTunes and Amazon.com. ■
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| Saturday, November 15, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao
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ONDON—Roger Federer blew away Andy Murray, 6-0, 6-1, to finish the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Finals round-robin unbeaten, and hand Murray his worst defeat in seven years in front of his home crowd on Thursday. Federer, the most successful player at the year-end championship with six titles, equaled Ivan Lendl’s record of 12 semifinal appearances in winning his group ahead of Japanese debutant Kei Nishikori. “I knew I was qualified, so maybe I went in a bit more relaxed,” Federer said. “It’s not the way I thought it was going to go, but there’s always next year for Andy.” It was a ruthless win for Federer, and humiliation for Murray, who last won only one game in 2007 at Miami, against Novak Djokovic. “It was a tough night. I’ve lost slam finals and stuff, which has been very tough,” Murray said. “But in terms of the way the match went, it was not ideal from my side of the court, far from it.” In the other group, Djokovic will be guaranteed the year-end No. 1 ranking for the third time in four years if he beats Tomas Berdych on Friday. Going into the last round-robin matches, all four players can still make it to the semis; US Open champ Marin Cilic takes on Australian Open champ Stan Wawrinka. Before playing Murray, the second-seeded Federer had already secured a semis berth after Nishikori defeated David Ferrer, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the afternoon. That left Murray needing to defeat the 17-Grand Slam champion in straight sets to make it to the last four at the O2 Arena and thwart Nishikori. But Federer, yet to drop a set, made a perfect start, losing only eight points in a 23-minute first set without even serving well. Murray, who fought hard this autumn to qualify for the season finale, continued to struggle in the second set. Federer opened a 5-0 lead and moved 30-0 up on Murray’s service but missed an easy volley before the Scot managed to hold to salvage some pride, and give British fans a cheer. “If I played well, he probably still would have won anyway,” the fifth-seeded Murray said. “He was striking the ball very, very clean. After the first few games of the match, he played exceptionally well. Made very few mistakes. Was hitting the ball off the middle of the racket on serve, returns. He maybe didn’t hit his first serve as well as he can, but apart from that, everything else was very clean.” Nishikori, the US Open runner-up, is one of the three debutants at the tournament. He was rapt to advance at Ferrer’s expense. “The final set was almost perfect,” said Nishikori, who hit 41 winners and won 80 percent of his firstservice points. The Spaniard, who replaced the injured Milos Raonic at the last minute, took advantage of Nishikori’s 18 unforced errors in the first set and made the decisive break in the 10th game when the Japanese player netted an easy smash. AP
ROGER FEDERER »thrashes Andy Murray (below) at the Association of Tennis Professionals Finals on Thursday. AP
LOST triple-double leaves LeBron James asking questions. AP
A LEBRON THING? It marks the second time LeBron James has lost a triple-double. It also happened in 2009 when he scored 52 points at Madison Square Garden, but the league took away one of his rebounds after reviewing the tape. He officially ended that night with nine rebounds and 11 assists.
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ORONTO—Pau Gasol had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick Rose scored 20 points before leaving with a sore left hamstring and the Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors, 100-93, on Thursday night. Jimmy Butler scored 21 and Mike Dunleavy had 14 as the Bulls won for the sixth time in seven games and snapped Toronto’s five-game winning streak in the matchup of teams with the best records in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are 7-2. Rose stumbled on a drive to the basket late in the fourth and was replaced by Dunleavy with 1:53 left,
taking a seat at the end of the bench. Kyle Lowry scored 20 and James Johnson had 16 against his former team, but the Raptors lost for the first time in six home games this season. Elsewhere in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Thursday, it was Memphis 111, Sacramento 110; Dallas 123, Philadelphia 70; and Golden State 107, Brooklyn 99. In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points while playing only 20 minutes and Dallas had its largest victory ever while keeping Philadelphia winless. The 53-point margin for Dallas surpassed its
50-point win over the New York Knicks in January 2010. At 0-8, Philadelphia is the only NBA team without a victory. The only time the 76ers have gone deeper into a season before winning a game was 1972-1973, when they lost their first 15 games, according to STATS. The 76ers, who scored the last five points to avoid their largest loss ever, matched Utah’s 0-8 start from a year ago. The last NBA team with a longer losing streak to begin a season was the New Jersey Nets during their record 0-18 start in 2009-2010. AP
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By Jason Lloyd
The Akron Beacon Journal
FTER having his triple-double revoked by the National Basketball Association (NBA), LeBron James was left to wonder: Whose job is it to review the stats from every game and why does this keep happening to him? This is the second time James has lost a triple-double. It also happened in 2009 when he scored 52 points at Madison Square Garden, but the league took away one of his rebounds after reviewing the tape. He officially ended that night with nine rebounds and 11 assists. James insisted on Thursday he didn’t really care that the triple-double was rescinded, but he was quick to recall it happening before. “I don’t know if it’s a Cleveland thing or a LeBron thing,” James joked. He said his kids were annoyed the triple-double was taken away, but he was more fascinated with wondering whose job it is to review every statistic from every game. “If we’d have lost and the assist was taken away I would’ve had a problem with it, but we won,” James said. “But I just want to know who is actually in the office, 13 games a night, recording every statistical category. And if that’s the case, why am I the only one that’s been the guy?”
Homecoming for coach
FRIDAY’S game against the Celtics marks a homecoming game for David Blatt, who grew up 20 miles west on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Framingham, Massachusetts. Blatt hasn’t lived in the Boston area since he graduated from college 33 years ago, but he grew up a huge Celtics fan idolizing Bill Russell. “I never imagined I would be either coaching or coaching in the NBA, but I did want to be in the NBA,” Blatt said. “Those days I was playing.” Most of his friends and family have moved away over the years, but he’ll still have a few close acquaintances in attendance, including his old high-school coach who still lives in the area. Blatt joked on Thursday that he has long since lost his Boston dialect, but can recall it quickly anytime he’s back in the area. “When I get back theyah, I’m gonna staht pahking ma
cah in Havahd Yahd,” Blatt joked in his native accent. “It’s easy for me to fall back into it, but it’s gone now that I’ve managed to move on. See, I speak four languages, but 17 dialects. I’ve been a lot of different places. Bahstan talk is easy for me.”
Waiters expected back
BLATT is expected to get Dion Waiters back on the floor. Waiters missed Monday’s win, but returned to practice on Thursday and is expected to play against the Celtics. “He’s probable for tomorrow,” Blatt said. “We’ll see how his body responds to the work he did [Thursday], but we’re hoping he can get out there and play.” Waiters scored 17 points off the bench last week against the Nuggets and seems to be settling into a reserve role. James has already suggested it’s the best role for him on this team and Waiters said he’s the one who went to Blatt and offered to come off the bench. “I can definitely be more aggressive coming in doing a lot of things differently that I haven’t done with the first unit,” Waiters said. “You might not get as many touches with the first unit as you do with the second unit, so you’re able to come in there and play your game, bring that spark, bring that energy that you need to bring. Just make sure you stay consistent. “I know my role now and I know that’s what the team needs, it’s best for the team.”
No football
JAMES said his young boys aren’t allowed to play football until they get to high school. The topic will be revisited then. “We don’t want them to play in our household until they understand how physical and how body-demanding the game is,” James said. “Then they can have their choice in high school. We’ll talk over it. But right now there’s no need for it. “It’s [a] safety thing. As a parent you protect your kids as much as possible. I don’t think I’m the only one that’s not allowing his kids to play football. It’s just that I’m LeBron James and it gets put in the headlines for no reason.” James, of course, was an All-Ohio receiver at Saint Vincent Saint Mary, but stopped playing football after his junior year. “I needed a way out when I was a kid,” James said. “My kids don’t need a way out. They’re all right.”
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to discuss,” he said, adding that “an airline serving more destinations” is a good choice. “It will be better if it’s an airline, or it can be a company with investments in an airline. No preference of location of an airline operator but I would prefer an airline with more destinations so we can expand our presence,” Bautista said. Continued on A2
‘Manila can use government procurement pact to lure FDI’ By Catherine N. Pillas
A lebron thing?
Federer clobbers Murray
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he management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) disclosed that it would be seeking a new investor, just weeks after the group of tycoon Lucio Tan took back full control of the country’s flag carrier from Ramon S. Ang’s San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
At a news conference on Friday, PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said the airline is working on a strategic plan that will shape the airline’s future in hopes of becoming one of the best airlines in the world. Included in the medium-term plan is for PAL to seek a strategic investor in the next three years, Bautista said. “There are names that we are looking at, but I am not at liberty
TABLE DECORATIONS SET THE MOOD... »D2
‘A perfect performance is a boring one’ O have achieved so much at such a young age, the award-winning pianist Christian Leotta is as much as a genius as he is modest. Considered as one of the few pianists in history who has successfully recorded all of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, Leotta graced Manila last Tuesday night to make his debut performance in the country, titled “An Evening with Christian Leotta: From Bach to the Romantic Piano of Schibert, Rossini and Beethoven,” at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The Italian virtuoso’s program consisted of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettismo BWV 992” (Capriccio on the departure of his most beloved brother), Franz Schubert’s “Piano Sonata in A minor Opus posth. 143, 0784,” Gioachino Rossini’s “Memento homo” and “Une caresse a ma femme,” and Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor Op. 57 ‘Appassionata.’” “Each city is different so I’ll treat Manila in a way like no other,” Leotta told the media the day before the big event. Born in Catania, Italy, Leotta, 34, is considered to be the youngest pianist since Daniel Barenboim to have performed and recorded all of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, a musical milestone that is no easy feat. He began performing the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas at the early age of 22, which he completed in a period of less than a month. Since then, he has successfully performed 15 cycles around the world’s international music capitals, such as Madrid, Mexico City, Vancouver, Venice and Rio de Janeiro. “Every day I play,” Leotta said. “[To become a great pianist,] the first rule is practice. The second rule is practice. The third rule is practice.” “The masters [who were based in] Vienna—Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert—their pieces are the most difficult, the most profound, and they require the performer to know their style, otherwise there is no point in performing their pieces,” he said. But for Leotta, Beethoven is “the most universal of all composers,” and he has been hailed by international press as one of the major Beethoven soloists of our time. The Canadian magazine WholeNote considers Leotta’s prodigious technique to be better expressive of the
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By Lenie Lectura
Qatar lagging on addressing labor reforms
‘a perfect performance is a boring one’ OME, Holy Spirit, and fill our mind and heart with Your presence. As we read the holy scriptures, let us hear Your voice speaking to us from within. Give us wisdom to understand Your message, the grace to love it, and the determination to live by it. Let the sacred Word be the joy of our heart and the lamp to our feet. Like Mary, the Mother of the Word, we pray: “Let it be done to me according to your Word.” Speak. Lord, your servant is listening. Amen.
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PAL to seek new investor PHL TO ATTRACT MORE BRITISH T TOURISTS AS U.K. CUTS AIR TAX
china’s hunger for clean energy
in the grid. So-called distributed power, smaller systems installed locally, eliminates the need for costly transmission cables and will speed the country’s transition away from the coal-fired power plants that help create some of the world’s dirtiest air. SunEdison is in talks with a Chinese partner to build a factory in the country and agreed last month to jointly create a $220-million fund to develop as much as 1 gigawatt of solar projects there. China’s distributed solar market is going to be “enormous,” Chatila said. China’s national Energy Administration introduced policies in September aimed at boosting the use of distributed solar power. Companies both in China and in other regions are responding. For instance, Solar Power Inc., a uS developer backed by the Chinese manufacturer LdK Solar Co., said it would build 19 megawatts (MW) of rooftop systems in Shandong. The country installed about 13 gigawatts of panels last year, almost matching the total amount of solar power in operation in the uS, and 94 percent of that capacity came from utility-scale projects.
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China expects to install as much as 8 gigawatts of small solar systems this year, more than 10 times what was built last year. The country had almost 20 gigawatts of solar capacity at the end of 2013, a figure comparable to about 20 nuclear reactors. Most of that came from massive solar farms in remote locations and policy-makers are now promoting smaller systems closer to where they’re needed. The push to promote wider use of rooftop solar comes amid growing health concerns tied to smog within its own population and from foreign companies. It also adds to the nation’s push to be a leader within the global climate community. The figures show the changes. Coal made up 64 percent of China’s electricity mix in 2013, down from 68 percent in 2010, according to Bloomberg data. Solar’s proportion of electricity generation capacity rose to 2 percent, from 0.08 percent four years ago, doubling nuclear power’s share last year. “Solar is actually the most attractive when you do rooftop because it eliminates transmission and distribution investment,” said Ahmad Chatila, CEO of Saint Peters, Missouri-based SunEdison Inc.
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Obama, Suu Kyi call for more reforms in Myanmar
he European Union (EU) is encouraging the Philippines to seek an observer status in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), noting that this will show to the international investment community the country’s commitment to promote competition here. “Most of the investment stocks in the Philippines comes from the EU, but that is only a fraction of the almost € 200 billion the EU is investing around the world. The Philippines can get a much bigger share. By joining the GPA of the WTO as an observer, the government can show its engagement toward transparency, nondiscrimination and
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international competition, and benchmark its own policies against international ones,” EU Ambassador to Manila Guy Ledoux said during the Philippine Economic Society’s 52nd Annual Meeting. The Philippines, as of 2012, only received 4 percent of the €208-billion EU foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Asean region, according to data from the EU. Ledoux said estimates of FDI gain from EU cannot be definitely pegged. However, in the case of Taiwan, which joined the GPA, the rewards are evident. Ledoux championed a more transparent public-procurement process during his speech, underlining the move as essential to attracting more
A double-decker bus wrapped with photos of Philippine destinations is seen in London, site of the World Travel Market, where the Philippines kicked off its “Visit the Philippines Year 2015” campaign in Europe and featured various provincial destinations and resorts that Europeans may find attractive. By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
Special to the BusinessMirror
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N anticipated cut in air-passenger duties in the United Kingdom is expected to boost British arrivals in the Philippines in 2015, a ranking official of the Department of Tourism (DOT) said. In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Spokesman and Assistant Secretary for Market Development Benito Bengzon Jr. said: “We welcome the news on the reduction of the Air Passenger Duty [APD], as it now makes the cost of flying to long-haul destinations, including
the Philippines, less prohibitive.” He added that the DOT will “take advantage of this development by stepping up our marketing efforts in the UK, in cooperation with our flag carrier, which currently provides the only direct service to Europe.” The DOT hopes to encourage 180,289 visitors from the UK in 2015, up almost 15 percent from the 2014 target of 157,297. Pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines relaunched its direct flights between Manila and London last year. At the World Travel Market in London last week, the Philippines kicked off its “Visit the Philippines Year
2015” campaign in Europe, and featured various provincial destinations and resorts that Europeans may find attractive. These include Camiguin; Samal Island; Siargao; Sta. Cruz Island in Zamboanga City; Dakak Resort in Zamboanga del Norte; Mount Apo in Davao del Sur; Palawan; Banaue; Baler; Camarines Sur; Huma Island in Coron; Boracay Island in Aklan; Cebu; Bohol; Baler; and Metro Manila. Several London double-decker buses, wrapped with photos of Philippine destinations, have also been going around, trumpeting the “fun” activities that visitors can enjoy. See “British tourists,” A2
See “Procurement,” A2
n japan 0.3877 n UK 70.5089 n HK 5.7866 n CHINA 7.3265 n singapore 34.7556 n australia 39.2144 n EU 55.9836 n SAUDI arabia 11.9598 Source: BSP (14
November 2014)
A2
News BusinessMirror
Saturday, November 15, 2014
British tourists. . .
news@businessmirror.com.ph
PAL to seek new investor
continued from a1
In March UK’s chancellor of the Exchequer—the equivalent of the Philippines’s Department of Finance— announced changes in the four-tiered APD, after steppedup lobbying efforts from UK exporters, airlines and the tourism industry. Under the UK tax system, duties are applied on travel between London and the destination country, using a band method on the distance to be traveled. As of April 2014, Band A is from 0 to 2000 miles and imposed a levy of £13, Band B is from 2001 to 4000 miles (£69); Band C is from 4001 to 6000 miles (£85); and Band D is over 6,000 miles (£97). These levies have discouraged British citizens from traveling long haul, especially to emerging destinations in Asia and the Pacific. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said the APD was introduced in 1994 with a flat £5 rate for the UK/ EU and £10 elsewhere. Under the new tax rules, Bands C and D have been abolished, putting flights to long-haul destinations in the same band as flights from London to the US. According to the World Travel Market 2014 Industry Report released last week, more than 68 percent of the respondents surveyed “think tourists will be more likely to fly to long-haul destinations after the top rates of APD fall in April 2015.” Abta estimated that moving long-haul flights into Band B would save passengers more than £200 million annually, and should boost travel and tourism, as well as promote greater UK connectivity. In a press statement, World Travel Market Senior Director Simon Press said: “It is welcome news that the industry anticipates an uptick in long-haul business as a result of the forthcoming change to APD. The four-tier banding system has priced many families out of taking flights, and has had a negative impact on economic competitiveness of the UK.” He added: “We hope that the boost in business from this initial reform will highlight the benefits of cutting the burden of taxation on flights, and encourage the government to freeze, or even reduce, the rates levied in the remaining two bands.” According to the DOT, visitors from the UK improved by 13.09 percent to 90,606 in the period January to August 2014. Visitors from the UK accounted for almost 3 percent of the 3.27 million total tourists who arrived in the eightmonth period. The DOT aims to encourage 6.8 million foreign visitors to travel to the Philippines this year, rising to 8.2 million in 2015 and 10 million in 2016.
Continued from A1
The prospective investor can own up to 40 percent of the airline pursuant to Philippine laws, Bautista added. Tan paid as much as $1.3 billion to SMC to regain full ownership of the airline. Bautista said, at this time, PAL is not in need of additional equity infusion, since the airline’s refleeting program has already been funded. “So, we are concentrating now on how we can efficiently operate PAL.” At the news conference, PAL launched its return to New York on March 15, 2015. PAL, according to Bautista, is prioritizing its US network expansion after the lifting of Category 2 rating.
PAL’s return to New York after 1997 and plans to increase flight frequencies to London, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Guam and Australia are already included in the airline’s short-term plan. Bautista also said PAL intends to operate its Cebu hub again. “The short-term plan will be out before the end of the year,” he said, while adding it will take a year to implement it. Medium-term plans could be implemented not longer than three years, while the long-term plan is envisioned to be implemented for three to 10 years. “The long-term plans include acquisition of new long-haul aircraft,” Bautista said.
Jica: Government should start securing excess power supply Continued from A8
demand for power from the system will be reduced to a more manageable level, helping ensure the availability of supply during the season. The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has so far signed up 155 MW of accumulated committed interruptible load capacity from various ILP participants. Meralco is the largest distribution utility in Luzon.
Export. . . continued from a8
month, the DBS Bank said the trade sector of the economy would still contribute a large portion of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the year. “Even at the current pace, net exports are likely to contribute about one-third of GDP overall this year—which we still estimate to be circa 6.4 percent,” the bank added. In its earlier estimates, the government proj-
Officials from the energy department, however, noted that only half of that capacity will turn out as actual capacity that can be deloaded based on previous incidents. The looming power shortfall would consist of 14 weeks yellow alert and two weeks of red alert for a total of 16 weeks of approximately one to three hours of brownouts for a day per week.
ects exports of the country to grow by 6 percent this year compared to that of the previous year, reaching an absolute amount of $47.4 billion by year-end. This, however, is still subject to review for possible revision in the end of the year, as the Development Budget Coordinating Committee conducts a biannual review and revision of the country’s economic projections.
3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST
TODAY’S WEATHER
NOVEMBER 15, 2014 | SATURDAY
NOV 16 SUNDAY
NOV 17 MONDAY
METRO MANILA
22 – 33°C
23 – 33°C
TUGUEGARAO
21 – 30°C
20 – 30°C
Procurement. . . continued from a1 FDI, especially in the wake of the visit of President Aquino to four European countries in September, to seek fresh investments. “While the global markets are becoming more and more integrated, procurement markets are still lagging behind. The world’s governments have started to recognize the benefits from undertaking government-procurement reforms,” Ledoux added. Gains from an open-procurement system include “better value for money” in terms of goods and services that the public may enjoy. It can also be used as a tool against corruption, which can increase costs by 25 percent to 50 percent. An ideal government-procurement system works on the principles of transparency, competition and nondiscrimination, Ledoux added. The system is especially important as the share of public procurement in gross domestic product (GDP) around the world is generally from
10 percent to 25 percent. “The Philippines has an ambitious infrastructure agenda, aiming to double infrastructure spending from some 2 percent of GDP currently to 5 percent of GDP by 2016. In addition, the Aquino administration has awarded eight public-private partnership projects worth P128 billion since 2010— the highest number and amount recorded since 1992. Another six projects worth P190 billion are ongoing. I am looking forward to seeing European companies delivering a constructive and competitive contribution to these projects,” Ledoux said. Undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy Adrian S. Cristobal earlier told the BusinessMirror that they are studying the proposal to gain an observer status in the WTO GPA. Sought for comment, Cristobal said there are no updates yet, and the proposal is still under study.
G-20. . . continued from a8 is likely to press other member-nations to step up their game, making tough structural reforms; refraining from budget cuts; and increasing spending and investment to boost global demand. Ahead of Obama’s major policy speech and individual meetings planned for the weekend, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew this week said emphatically that the world should not count on the US to be the sole driver of growth. “The global economy cannot prosper broadly relying on the United States to be the importer of first and last resort,” Lew said in Seattle, as he
NOV 18 TUESDAY
3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST
prepared to leave for Brisbane. Lew had particularly pointed words for Europe, offering a list of prescriptions that included an overhaul of labor regulations and other impediments to growth in France and Italy, and greater infrastructure spending by stronger nations, such as Germany. “The world cannot afford a European ‘lost decade,’” he said, in a reference to the decades-long deflation and stagnation that Japan is still battling, most recently by flooding the financial system with central bank-purchased bonds. MCT
NOV 16 SUNDAY
NOV 17 MONDAY
NOV 18 TUESDAY
21 – 32°C
METRO CEBU
24 – 32°C
25 – 33°C
25 – 33°C
20 – 31°C
TACLOBAN
24 – 32°C
24 – 32°C
23 – 31°C
20 – 32°C
CAGAYAN DE ORO
23 – 32°C
23 – 32°C
23 – 32°C
METRO DAVAO
24 – 33°C
25 – 34°C
25 – 34°C
24 – 33°C
24 – 34°C
24 – 33°C
Tail-end of a cold front is the extended part of the boundary, which happens when the cold air and warm air meet. This may bring rainfall TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING SOUTHERN LUZON AND EASTERN VISAYAS. eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread cloudiness with rains and showers.
NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL LUZON. (AS OF NOVEMBER 14, 5:00 PM)
LAOAG
LAOAG CITY 20 – 32°C
SBMA/CLARK 24 – 33°C METRO MANILA 22 – 33°C
14 – 24°C
13 – 28°C
SBMA/ CLARK
24 – 33°C
24 – 33°C
TAGAYTAY
TAGAYTAY CITY 19 – 28°C
PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)
20 – 28°C
20 – 28°C
13 – 24°C
23 – 32°C
ILOILO/ BACOLOD 25 – 32°C
TACLOBAN CITY 25 – 31°C
METRO CEBU 24 – 32°C CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 22 – 31°C ZAMBOANGA CITY 23 – 33°C
PUERTO PRINCESA
ILOILO/ BACOLOD
23 – 29°C
24 – 30°C
ZAMBOANGA SUNRISE
SUNSET
MOONSET
MOONRISE
5:56 AM
5:24 PM
----
12:25 AM
19 – 27°C
LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 29°C
LEGAZPI
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 31°C
20 – 31°C
BAGUIO TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 30°C
BAGUIO CITY 14 – 24°C
20 – 31°C
23 – 29°C
HALF MOON
NOV 14
24 – 32°C
25 – 32°C
NOV 22
8:32 PM
CELEBES SEA
2:40 AM
0.77 METER
Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms.
25 – 32°C
25 – 32°C
24 – 33°C
Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers.
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SABAH
11:17 AM
0.04 METER
Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and/or thunderstorms
Watch PANAHON.TV everyday at 5:00 AM on PTV (Channel 4).
METRO DAVAO 24 – 33°C
LOW TIDE MANILA HIGH TIDE SOUTH HARBOR
11:16 PM
24 – 32°C
NEW MOON
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The Nation BusinessMirror
Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, November 15, 2014
QC prosecutor arrested for extortion CA affirms suspension of Lung Center exec
T
HE Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the preventive suspension imposed by the Ombudsman and the Department of Health (DOH) against an official of the government-owned Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) who was allegedly involved in the anomalous purchase of 98 hospital beds amounting to P2.4 million. In a nine-page resolution written by Associate Justice Nina AntonioValenzuela, the CA’s Special Tenth Division denied the petition filed by Arsenio Bautista, Buyer IV of LCP’s Procurement Property and Supply Division, assailing the order issued by the Ombudsman on May 7, 2007, which placed him under preventive suspension without pay for six months, as well as the order issued by the DOH dated March 28, 2011, which directed the implementation of the Ombudsman’s order. Bautista argued that the Ombudsman committed grave abuse of discretion in placing him under preventive suspension, since he was not in bad faith and his actions in the procurement of the hospital beds were merely recommendatory. He added that the purchase of the hospital beds was not attended by overpricing and that prearranged
participation of suppliers or splitting of contracts is a valid alternative mode of procurement. In his complaint filed before the Ombudsman, LCP Deputy Director Jose Pepito Amores alleged that on November 9, 2001, the requisition to purchase was issued to for the procurement of 98 hospital beds with side rails for LCP. Amores said Bautista and two other LCP officials issued the certification of canvass, which listed the unit price quotations of the hospital beds submitted by four different suppliers. On the same day, the purchase order was signed by LCP Executive Director Fernando Melendres, allocating P2.4 million in favor of the lowest-priced supplier, the Philippine Medical Dental Specialties (Philmed). Amores argued that the procurement was irregular because it violated LCP’s previous order, directing that purchases exceeding P1 million should be subjected to public bidding while purchases below P1 million should be through alternative modes of procurement. Aside from Bautista and Melendres, Amores named Albilio Cano, Administrative and Ancillary Department head; Angeline Rojas,
Budget and Accounting Division chief; and Maria Nicolas Torres, Billing and Collection Division chief. In upholding Bautista’s preventive suspension, the CA held that the Ombudsman did not commit grave abuse, considering that the evidence of guilt is strong. “After receiving evidence of petitioner Bautista, the Ombudsman studied the evidence, and then made a conclusion based on the evidence that the evidence of petitioner Bautista’s guilt was strong,” the CA explained. In addition, the CA said it is the policy of the court not to interfere with the Ombudsman’s exercise of its investigatory and prosecutory powers. “We cannot substitute our judgment for that of the Ombdusman absent clear showing of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Omnbudsman. Notably, evidence against petitioner Bautista were presented before the Ombudsman,” it pointed out. Likewise, the CA said it is necessary to place Bautista under preventive suspension because his continued stay in LCP could have influenced the outcome of the case filed against him and his corespondents. Joel R. San Juan
J
By Joel R. San Juan
USTICE Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday confirmed the arrest of a Quezon City prosecutor during an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly extorting P80,000 from a physician.
De Lima identified the suspect as Assistant City Prosecutor III Raul Desambrana, who is now in the custody of the NBI pending inquest proceedings. “I said it before and will say it again, at the risk of causing occasional embarrassment to us as an institution, I don’t mind authorizing such entrapment operations even on a regular basis, if only to rid our ranks with misfits and scalawags,” de Lima told reporters in a text message. “Integrity should be, and ought to be, our bedrock, and is still the best and only policy, especially on the part of our frontline service providers, such as our prosecutors,” de Lima added. Desambrana was arrested at 11:21 a.m. on Friday at Serye Restaurant in Quezon City Memorial Circle.
DE LIMA: “I said it before and will say it again, at the risk of causing occasional embarrassment to us as an institution, I don’t mind authorizing such entrapment operations even on a regular basis, if only to rid our ranks with misfits and scalawags.”
The NBI conducted the entrapment operation upon the request of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL). NUPL made the request after its client, Alex Montes, who is one of the Morong 43, reported that the prosecutor was asking P80,000 in exchange for a favorable ruling in an unjust vexation case filed by a
A3
retired military chaplain. “We cannot just look the other way and simply ignore the brazenness by which Prosecutor Desembrana tried to extort from our client, which indicates how audacious he was to fantasize that he can just get away with his criminal act and remain untouchable,” NUPL said in a statement. “We cannot imagine how many hapless litigants were victimized by the said prosecutor, who has been in the service for quite some time, has connections, and turns out to be ‘notorious’ in the legal circle. He and his likes must be sanctioned and punished to serve as exemplary deterrent for many others,” it added. NUPL claimed that Desambrana unilaterally contacted Montes’s lawyer from NUPL and openly asked for P80,000 as his “SOP,” in exchange for the dismissal of the case. After consultation with Montes, NUPL decided to entrap the prosecutor. Montes, a physician, was among the 43 alleged communist rebels who were arrested by a combined policeArmy team in Morong, Rizal, in February 2010. The 43, who claimed to be health workers, were later freed by President Aquino. Military authorities said some of the so-called Morong 43 returned to the hills after their release. At least one was later killed in an encounter with military forces.
Economy
A4 Saturday, November 15, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon
BusinessMirror
World Bank to support $3-billion Clark project
T
he World Bank has expressed interest in supporting the development of the 177-hectare Sabah Al-Ahmad Global Gateway Logistics City (GGLC) in Clark Freeport Zone, a project backed by KGL Investment Co. (KGLI) led by Kuwaiti investors.
The GGLC, a major development project that will cost a total of $3 billion, will create over 300,000 jobs and generate annual payroll of $600 million, once completed. World Bank Executive Director for the Middle East Hasan Mirza expressed World Bank’s interest in the project during a recent visit to the GGLC. Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co. Chairman Saeed Dashti said Global Gateway Development Corp. (GGDC), owner of GGLC, is attracting immense attention from international investors, including the World Bank and its private-sector arm, the International Finance Corp. (IFC).
Mirza said KGLI’s projects in the Philippines, such as the Global Gateway Logistics City and its investment in transport and logistics company 2GO Group are the kind of projects that boost the economy and provide for the development of decent life for the people, which are the World Bank’s. “Those are two promising and important projects for the Philippines,” Mirza said. He added that negotiation process to invest in GGDC began a year and a half ago, and that only minimal details were left for finalization. He said the World Bank is interested in such projects, which have significant financial, economic and social
yield and are in line with the World Bank’s strategy. Meanwhile, Dashti said the 2GO Group, which KGLI invested into, is the leading player in the Philippines’s sea-transport industry, with a dominant market share, in addition to being the country’s largest provider of door-to-door logistics services. Kuwait Ambassador to the Philippines Waleed Al-Kandari said KGLI’s projects provide job opportunities in the country. “I had the honor to represent His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in 2012 inauguration of Sabah Al-Ahmad Global Gateway Logistics City in Clark, which is considered one of the largest investment projects in the Philippines.” “His Highness, the Amir’s visit to the Philippines in 2012 strengthened the bonds of cooperation between the two countries and resulted in fruitful and beneficial cooperation in the fields of business, politics, trade, and investment, among others,” Al-Kandari said. Al-Kandari said the Philippines is one of the most promising emerging markets in Southeast Asia, and that several Kuwaiti companies have acquired interests from a group of Filipino companies working in different fields, including exploration sector,
particularly in the southwest of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, the export of oil to the Philippines, and agriculture in the south of the country, among other important sectors. Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, during a luncheon hosted in honor of Mirza, said the Philippine government will continue to exert all possible efforts to provide a positive atmosphere for investors in Sabah Al-Ahmad GGLC, and other future projects. Del Rosario cited the importance of foreign investment in the country and expressed his deep appreciation for the Kuwaiti government’s investments, as well as the support extended by the World Bank and the IFC. In July 2008 GGDC signed a lease agreement with Clark International Airport Corp. for 50 years with the possibility to extend for another 25 years, to develop a multipurpose logistics and aviation city on 177 hectares of property. In 2009 the Philippine government approved the master plan of the global logistics city, signaling the start of the construction. GGDC has, so far, invested $100 million in the vertical and horizontal development of the logistics city, which attracted renowned logistics corporations and partners to the site.
news@businessmirror.com.ph
Japan donates 20 emergency vehicles for Yolanda-hit areas By Henry Empeño Correspondent
S
UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The government of Japan has donated 20 emergency vehicles for distribution among communities devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda last year. The vehicles, consisting of three ambulances and 17 fire trucks, arrived here on Tuesday aboard the Panama-registered vehicle carrier MV Ligulao and were offloaded at the Naval Supply Depot terminal here. The donations are expected to help strengthen the capability of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire (BFP) in responding to disasters and managing emergencies. Mariko Watanabe, third secretary at the Economic Section of the Embassy of Japan, said the donated vehicles have a total value of $202,760, or about P8.5 million. The donation was sent a year after Yolanda hit the Visayas, and as the Philippine government reported the disbursement of 53 percent of the P199.48-billion rehabilitation fund sourced from foreign-aid donations and loans from international financial institutions. According to the United Nation’s Financial Tracking Service, Japan is the third biggest donor to the UN’s Strategic Response Plan for the Yolanda-recovery efforts, having contributed $30.5 million as of May this year.
Yolanda, said to be one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, made a landfall in Eastern Visayas on November 8 last year, causing catastrophic damage in the islands of Leyte, and killing at least 6,300 people. Watanabe added that the emergency vehicles offloaded at Subic were funded through a Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects facility and are part of “The Project for Providing Emergency Vehicles for the TyphoonAffected Areas in the Philippines.” The vehicles project was signed by Chargé d’Affaires to the Philippines Tetsuro Amano and Chief Superintendent Carlito Romero, BFP director for plans and standards. Watanabe, who personally supervised the unloading of the vehicles here, said the ambulances and fire trucks are all in right-hand drive and would be converted first before they are transported to Leyte. Watanabe added that Subic is the only place in the country that the government of Japan certifies to meet the safety standards in converting right-hand drive vehicles into lefthand drives. Following conversion and after the necessary test drives here, the vehicles are expected to be driven to their destinations in the Visayas on the second week of December. The send-off ceremony will be attended by Japan Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa and some Philippine government officials.
Economy BusinessMirror
news@businessmirror.com.ph
EDC to add 550-MW wind power generation capacity By Lenie Lectura
L
OPEZ-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is beefing up its wind energy portfolio as it eyes a potential of 550 megawatts (MW) more in additional windpower capacity. “Based on the concessions that we currently have, including Iloilo and the ones in Ilocos Norte, I think there’s a potential of about 550 MW. That’s [an] additional,” EDC President and COO Richard Tantoco said EDC earlier secured contracts from the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop wind projects in Batad and San Dionisio in Iloilo and Capiz, respectively; Concepcion in Iloilo; Matnog and Magdalena in Sorsogon; and Manapla and Cadiz in Negros Occidental. Tantoco did not cite the timetable as to when EDC intends to start developing these, saying “that’s going to take a long time since we have to wait for the feed-in tariff (FIT).” For now, EDC is focusing on its 150-MW wind farm in Ilocos Norte. “We want to just settle down and enjoy this project.” EDC Burgos Wind Corp., a unit of EDC, had just received a certificate of endorsement (COE) from the DOE for its Burgos wind project’s (BWP) eligibility under the FIT scheme. With the COE, the company now awaits for the issuance of a certificate of compliance (COC) under FIT from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Upon issuance of the COC, the wind farm can commence its commercial operation.
EDC had just commissioned the wind farm last week. Once operational, the BWP will be the largest wind farm in the Philippines comprising a total of 50 largescale Vestas V90-3.0-MW wind turbines and ancillary plant to be supplied and constructed by Vestas, the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturer. Aside from the wind farm, the project also includes a 115-kilovolt transmission line connecting the wind farm from the Burgos substation to the Laoag substation of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, as well as the expansion of the switchyard/ substations. EDC has poured in $450 million in the project. Of the amount, $315 million was sourced from a group of local and international banks. EDC is the world’s largest integrated geothermal producer and one of the leading renewable-energy companies in the Philippines with a portfolio of 1,150 MW of geothermal, and 132 MW of hydroelectric power generation. EDC reported the other day that profit shoot up by 94 percent to P10.4 billion at end-September this year, as against P5.3 billion in the same period a year ago on account of higher revenue. “The movement was mainly driven by the P3.2 billion increase in revenues and supplemented by the P1.8-billion net recovery of impairment of NNGP [Northern Negros Geothermal Plant] transferred to and installed in Nasulo,” EDC said. EDC’s revenues stood at P23 billion, up by 16 percent.
Saturday, November 15, 2014 A5
Expert says PHL ideal launch pad for Japan SME expansion
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By Lorenz S. Marasigan
OKYO, Japan—The Philippines could serve as a launch pad for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Japan to expand their businesses further to other developing economies, a trade expert said. Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) Institute of Developing Economies Chief Senior Researcher Hiroshi Sato said the future is bright for Japanese SMEs should they decide to expand their businesses in the Philippines given its “very comfortable environment.” “The Philippines is a big market. I think investing in the Philippines is good, because of its culture,” he said in a discussion on late Thursday. The trade expert was referring to the favorable investment climate in the Philippines, given its large English-speaking population, its relatively young demographics, and its very fast economic development. “Small and medium enterpris-
SATO: “The Philippines is a good entrance point for Japanese enterprises to further expand their businesses. After successfully setting up their offices in the Philippines, they could start penetrating into other developing countries, as well.”
es in Japan are located in rural areas, and their managers are not so internationalized, meaning they cannot speak English. They need some comfortable environment for them to operate in, and the Philippines has a very comfortable environment, which the
culture of the Philippines offers,” he noted. Sato added the Philippines is a good country for Japanese businesses to start as an expansion hub, given the phase of its growth during the past several quarters. “The Philippines is a good entrance point for Japanese enterprises to further expand their businesses. After successfully setting up their offices in the Philippines, they could start penetrating into other developing countries, as well,” he said. The official explained that Japanese companies would have to find another market to serve in order to continue their operations. “Expansion is the only way to survive. These companies are mainly focused on building spare parts, so mainly the sectors that comprise these companies are the IT [information technology], mechanical and semiconductor industries,” Sato noted. There are 4.2 million SMEs in Japan as of end of 2012, accounting for about 99.7 percent of all companies and 70 percent of employment in Japan, data from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. Hence, these enterprises form the very basis of the Japanese economy.
“Given the age of the people in Japan, and the decreasing population, I suspect that the Japanese market will shrink. Japanese companies cannot survive in the Japanese market, they should go out. The question now is where would they go? The US and Europe are the first markets in mind, but they are also shrinking as of the moment,” the trade expert said. “The next frontier now are the developing economies, which are expanding markets. But not many of them are even in the middle class,” Sato said, referring to a possible roadblock in the expansion. “The new trend is that development should be combined with the expansion to help the middle class grow,” he explained. Hence, the spending power of the developing economy’s population would grow, which, in turn, would result in a more rosy financial outlook. Thus, Sato said, the Japanese government could use its official development assistance (ODA), an aid flow, to help these enterprises expand overseas. “We could support them with the ODA,” he said, “but they need to have social significance for the country that they want to expand on.”
Opinion BusinessMirror
A6 Saturday, November 15, 2014
Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay
editorial
Another international winner from PHL
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EVERAL years ago a columnist in another newspaper was lamenting the behavior of fans during a Manny Pacquiao fight in the United States. His opponent’s fans were all yelling, “Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!” The Filipino fans were shouting, “Pacquiao! Pacquiao! Pacquiao!” The columnist speculated that this showed a lack of national identity, as none of Pacquiao’s fans was chanting “Philippines! Philippines! Philippines!”
Perhaps, there is something in our character that makes us think that Pacquiao, or any of our countrymen who excels in the international arena, is representing us “Filipinos,” rather than the “Philippines” alone, or that makes us feel connected to these winners because they are, in a sense, ordinary Filipinos who accomplished extraordinary things. With this in mind, allow us to share, as an example, the story of one such winner—a young Filipina—and, at the same time, congratulate on her success. Publicly listed American company Scholastic Corp. is the largest publisher and distributor of children’s reading materials in the world. It has been selling and distributing such materials, primarily through schools, for almost a century. It has a presence here in the Philippines and in over 150 countries. In 2000 the company started the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps, a news organization for children that reports on current affairs and feature stories. This year 32 reporters were chosen, including three from outside the US: a Filipina, a Puerto Rican and a Thai. The Filipina, 13-year-old Georgia Limcaoco, was selected out of many, many applicants from around the world. To be selected for the corps, a 400-word article about interviewing someone in the local community who is “making a difference,” a 250-word essay on “Why do you want to be a reporter?” and two news-story ideas are required. In many ways, Limcaoco seems like just another Filipino schoolgirl. She likes singing and yoga, and participates in the “Drama For A Cause” program that is held around the nation. She says she wants to be an actress or an author—that, too, sounds like a normal kid who could be our own. But who knows, after her stint on the virtual desk at the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps, she might become more interested in journalism and write for the BusinessMirror someday. Journalism, traditional and otherwise, is a large and important business that has seen many Filipinos make significant contributions internationally. While not given the notoriety they deserve, many local journalists have won acclaim and international awards. In the meantime, we congratulate Limcaoco and express our appreciation of her accomplishment by chanting “Georgia! Georgia! Georgia!”
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief
T. Anthony C. Cabangon Jun B. Vallecera
News Editor City & Assignments Editor Special Projects Editor
Dionisio L. Pelayo Vittorio V. Vitug Max V. de Leon
Online Editor
Ruben M. Cruz Jr.
Research Bureau Head Creative Director Chief Photographer Editorial Consultant Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP-Corporate Affairs VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Circulation Manager
Dennis D. Estopace Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Romeo M. del Castillo Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Frederick M. Alegre Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan
Get some focus on the economy John Mangun
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OUTSIDE THE BOX
T seems that the Philippines operates in an alternate universe, one that’s different from everything else, if what we focus on is any indication.
The following headlines appeared in the largest newspapers of Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, respectively, on the same day: “PM Prayut calls for tighter Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] ahead of union”; “RI [the Indonesian minster of trade] lays out new trade policy”; “Vietnam to be a key Apec [AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation] link”. Here in the Philippines, the headline that greeted us was: “P-Noy told: Back off from probe.” But this is the Philippines, where corruption in politics is an important issue. Guess what? The Philippines, once again, is not unique. Underneath the other countries’ headlines were the following stories: Thailand: “The National AntiCorruption Commission has declared that it will file charges against former Tourism Authority of Thailand Gov. Juthamas Siriwan, who has been accused of accepting bribes from Hollywood filmmakers.” Indonesia: “Indonesia’s new Oil
The G-20 doesn’t need a growth target William Pesek
BLOOMBERG VIEW
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Minister Sudirman Said pledged to repair the image of his ministry, which has been rocked by a series of high-profile corruption scandals that implicated several top oil officials.” Vietnam: “ The Ministr y of Health created a special taskforce to investigate Bio-Rad—a US firm that admitted to bribing Vietnamese health-care officials for procurement contracts.” The investigation into the alleged corruption of government officials and their prosecution is a very important issue. But it is not the only issue that the government, especially the legislature, needs to focus on. You have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. There are so many important changes occurring in the world outside the Philippines. It is as if humans have put a man on the moon and the Philippines is still trying to figure out if a flying machine is possible. Two events could potentially
bring literally hundreds of millions of dollars in investments to the country if government regulations and laws were in place to receive these funds. While the government is hyping the “massive” increase in foreign investments, everyone knows that it is more like a little boy telling a fantasy story about killing a roaming dinosaur. The Japanese yen just reached a seven-year low against the dollar. This is a direct result of the Japanese government’s currency-devaluation policy, which was clearly stated two years ago. At that time, Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe said he had wanted to see the yen down by 20 percent; now that is happening. Japanese companies with the ability to invest outside of Japan are going to do so as quickly as they can. According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the Japanese maker of stainless-steel vacuum flasks, Thermos Co., is investing P1.62 billion for a new factory in Batangas province. That is a decision that has been in the works, coincidentally, for two years. And we are going to see more of this investment, but not all that we should see. But why not invest in China? First, China is Japan’s bitter and economically deadly rival, and the devaluation of the yen is aimed to counter some of China’s power. Second, the Chinese banking system is a house of cards that continues
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USTRALIAN Prime Minister and Group of 20 (G-20) host Tony Abbott went to great lengths to keep one topic—climate change—off the agenda at this weekend’s confab in Brisbane. There’s little mystery why: While the world hails China and the United States for moving forward on curbing carbon emissions, Australia is backsliding by scrapping a tax on carbon and resisting pressure to expand the use of renewables.
Abbott’s justification? The need for growth. In fact, the prime minister wants the rest of the G-20 to also pledge to grow by an additional 2 percent or more over five years. The goal sounds unobjectionable, until one considers how much trouble arbitrary growth targets are already causing China. The mainland government’s annual pledge to generate a fixed expansion in gross domestic product—7.5 percent this year—is also the biggest roadblock to clearing its air and eventually reducing emissions. Pressure to meet that arbitrary target leads local officials to ignore antipollution directives. It could prompt additional stimulus, a second
wind for investment in smokestack industries and even more smog. China may be considering a reduction in next year’s target; it shouldn’t set one at all. Neither should the broader G-20. This indiscriminate emphasis on a specific data point encourages shortterm policy behavior. In the quest for higher growth at the lowest political cost, governments from Washington to Tokyo have abdicated their responsibility to unelected central bankers. The reliance on monetary easing to prop up growth is clearly dangerous. Too much liquidity chasing too little demand for credit and too few productive investments can
only lead to fresh bubbles in a world already filled with them. The consequences are worryingly unpredictable. Chinese officials, like Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, have begun to warn that “divergence” in monetary policies—ultra-loose ones among developed economies, tighter conditions among emerging ones—could have unforeseen effects. “It will create new risks and uncertainties for the global economy,” Zhu told Bloomberg News on Thursday, calling the global financial environment “uneven and brittle.” Ceding control to central banks relieves political leaders of the pressure to make more difficult changes—the kind that will sustain growth in the long run and broaden its benefits. The only way China can make good on its climate targets, for example, is by rebalancing the economy away from heavy industry. That requires a level of political will that Chinese President Xi Jinping has yet to display. In Japan, where the central bank’s aggressive easing efforts are winning plaudits, “the market is yet to be impressed by the pace of the revitalization plan” that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has put forward, Credit Suisse’s Daisuke Takato says. The same goes for India, where central banker Raghuram Rajan has
to stays upright only because of government intervention. Speaking of banking, the Group of 20 countries, which the Philippines is not part of, are meeting in Australia. Out of that meeting will come a resolution and proposed individual national legislation to establish conditions to “bail-in” failing banks. As seen in Cyprus in 2012, bank depositors, particularly large ones, will be obligated by law to lose some of their money in the event of a bank failure. So if you have the equivalent of several million dollars in a bank in Italy, South Africa or Turkey, are you going to leave it there, knowing that you may lose some or all of it, or are you going to look for a country with a more stable and sound banking system, like the Philippines? But we need a better regulatory infrastructure to take the Philippines off the “Worst Places to Do Business” list in order to attract these foreign funds. Look at the legislature’s record in 2014. The only bill addressing foreign investment is Republic Act 7721 that allows the full entry of foreign banks. It is time for the country to get back to the business of the economy. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my website at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter at @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.
acted boldly, while new Prime Minister Narendra Modi moves slowly on broader structural reforms. In Australia Abbott’s team is cutting spending, despite a modest budget deficit ($42.4 billion last fiscal year) that most other G-20 members would kill for. Abbott’s policies are putting the onus for supporting growth on the Reserve Bank of Australia. Fact is, the G-20 will struggle to meet current growth hopes, let alone elevated ones. Rather than obsessing over a nonsense target, Abbott should be focused on making investments at home that will raise productivity and fuel innovation. Infrastructure upgrades are needed to boost competitiveness. So is more money for education and training. And now that China and the US are racing ahead on climate change, Abbott should rethink Australia’s green policies ahead of next year’s climate summit. Part of that effort must involve moving beyond a mining-dependent economy. With China’s latitude to use coal set to decline along with its carbon footprint, falling demand for Australia’s underground treasures will force the issue anyway. Australia’s growth might be slower in the long run, but it’ll be healthier. That’s the goal Abbott should have set for himself, and his fellow leaders.
Opinion BusinessMirror
opinion@businessmirror.com.ph
Gross world product reaches $87 trillion, and it’s increasing
Evangelii Gaudium Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual
SERVANT LEADER
Cecilio T. Arillo
database
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ROSS world product (GWP) reached $87 trillion as the global economy grew at 4.49 percent in 2013, and the International Monetary Fund predicted that GWP will further increase as growths among developing economies may rise to 5 percent in 2014 and 5.25 percent in 2015.
The GWP is the sum of the gross domestic products (GDPs) of all countries. This typically includes levels of consumption, investment, government spending, the cost of imports and the proceeds from exports. “National progress is often measured almost exclusively by growth in the GDP. Yet, as the global economy inches upward, actual social and environmental well-being lags. Alternative measures for gauging progress are needed to determine true prosperity,” said Worldwatch Institute’s Mark Konold and Jacqueline Espinal in their latest analysis for the research organization’s Vital Signs. “Because of various transaction costs,” Konold and Espinal said, “economists apply a metric to put purchasing power for countries on an even footing, such as [a] floating rate exchange, tariffs and other barriers. This metric… is called the purchasing-power parity exchange rate.” GDP is the most widely applicable metric for gauging national progress and well-being. This year’s growth can be traced to the rise of an affluent middle class and the rapid migration of young workers to cities, which encourages more business investments in developing countries. “Asia and other emerging economies will account for two-thirds of the approximately 370 million people who will have moved to cities by 2015,” Konold and Espinald said, quoting a United Nations (UN) estimate. Growth was affected by numerous adjustments in macroeconomic policies, high unemployment rates and weak aggregate demand in the majority of the industrial economies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Here are the other issues that Konald and Espinal reported: “Growing inequality. Even as the global economy picks up, however, social challenges continue to mount. According to the UN Development Program, average household-income inequality in recent decades has risen in both industrial and developing countries. One billion out of 7.2 billion people live below poverty levels and experience most acutely the dark side of development, such as global climate change, water depletion, food shortages and biodiversity destruction. “There also continued to be labor shortages, increased globalization, and mismatches between current skill levels and job requirements. Developing countries were faced with a growing pool of willing workers in 2013, but limited access to credit for many small enterprises contributed to a lack of investment and job creation in these markets. In 2013 nearly 202 million people worldwide were unemployed, [representing] a 6-percent unemployment rate. “Growing consumption. World population is expected to reach 9.6 billion people by 2050, with much
of that expansion happening in developing countries. As the world’s population continues to grow, there is legitimate concern about depleting Earth’s resources faster than they can be replenished. The Global Footprint Network, an agency that tracks humanity’s ecological footprint and nature’s capacity to replenish its resources, estimates that the world is consuming resources at the rate of 1.5 planets per year. “Some studies have argued that the world must replace its growth economy with a steady-state economy, in which production is only replaced, not increased, while the economy continues to develop by improving and renewing its existing resources. “Measuring true progress. Studies suggest that, although people’s level of happiness increases significantly when societies develop, high levels of uncertainty and social and economic inequality may run counter to this development. Measures such as the Genuine Progress Indicator account for the social, educational, economic and environmental activities that contribute to economic growth, but [these] go unnoticed in current national accounting frameworks.” Other relevant highlights in the world: n Although employment rates improved in the United States in 2013, much of the improvement is attributed to fewer people participating in the labor force—mainly newly retired “baby boomers”. n In the US, baby boomers—individuals born between 1945 and 1965—continued to retire at an approximate rate of 10,000 per day. It is expected that, in retirement, boomers reduce their levels of disposable income, leading to a decrease in economic growth by as much as 0.7 percent. n In Japan, GDP growth between 2000 and 2013 shrank by 0.6 percentage points annually, due to an aging population retiring from the work force. n Worldwide, employment rates declined in all regions, except South and East Asia, which continued to experience higher levels of growth through 2013. Gaelle Gourmelon, the marketing and communications associate at the Worldwatch Institute, told the media that Vital Signs provides business leaders, policymakers and engaged citizens with the latest data and analyses they need to understand critical global trends. “It is an interactive, subscriptionbased tool that provides hard data and research-based insights on the sustainability trends that are shaping our future. All of the trends include [a] clear analysis and are placed in [a] historical perspective, allowing you to see where the trend has come from and where it might be headed.” E-mail: cecilio.arillo@gmail.com.
38th part
Personal accompaniment in processes of growth
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N a culture that is, paradoxically, suffering from anonymity and, at the same time, obsessed with the details of other people’s lives, shamelessly given over to morbid curiosity, the Church must look more closely and sympathetically at others whenever necessary. In our world, ordained ministers and other pastoral workers can make present the fragrance of Christ’s closeness and His personal gaze.
The Church will have to initiate everyone—priests, religious and laity—into this “art of accompaniment,” which teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Exodus 3:5). The pace of this accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze, which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life. Although it sounds obvious, spiritual accompaniment must lead others ever closer to God, in whom we attain true freedom. Some people think they are free if they can avoid God; they fail to see that they remain existentially orphaned, helpless, homeless. They cease being pilgrims and become drifters, flitting around themselves and never getting anywhere. To accompany them would be counterproductive if it became a sort of therapy that supports their self-absorption and ceased to be a pilgrimage with Christ to the Father. Today, more than ever, we need men and women, who, on the basis of their experience of accompanying others, are familiar with processes that call
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the north are stuck. Several journalists have been arrested recently, and one was brutally killed in army custody. Regime cronies still dominate the economy and, outside the energy sector, foreign investors haven’t followed up an initial burst of enthusiasm with signed deals. State policy continues to discriminate against minority Rohingya Muslims, tens of thousands of whom are trapped in refugee camps. Suu Kyi is also right to complain that the military, which has reserved a quarter of the seats in parliament for its appointees, maintains an effective veto over political progress. Most pointedly, Suu Kyi herself has been barred from becoming president.
Hence, the need for a pedagogy that will introduce people step by step to the full appropriation of the mystery. Reaching a level of maturity where individuals can make truly free and responsible decisions calls for much time and patience. As Saint Peter Faber used to say: “Time is God’s messenger.” One who accompanies others has to realize that each person’s situation before God and their life in grace are mysteries that no one can fully know from without. The Gospel tells us to correct others and to help them to grow on the basis of a recognition of the objective evil of their actions (cf. Matthew 18:15), but without making judgments about their responsibility and culpability (cf. Matthew 7:1; Luke 6:37). Someone good at such accompaniment does not give in to frustrations or fears. He or she invites others to let themselves be healed, to take up their mat, embrace the cross, leave all behind and go forth ever anew to proclaim the Gospel. Our personal experience of being accompanied and assisted, and of openness to those who accompany us, will teach us to be patient and compassionate with others, and to find the right way to gain their trust, their openness and their readiness to grow. Genuine spiritual accompaniment always begins and flourishes in the context of service to the mission of evangelization. Paul’s relationship with Timothy and Titus provides an example of this accompaniment and formation, which takes place in the midst of apostolic activity. Entrusting them with the mission of remaining in each city to “put in order what remains to be done” (Titus 1:5; cf. 1 Timothy 1:3–5), Paul also gives them rules for their personal lives and their pastoral activity. This is clearly distinct from every kind of intrusive accompaniment or isolated self-realization. Missionary disciples accompany missionary disciples.
Pull back, before Armageddon By Trudy Rubin
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Yet, this mixed picture is about what one would expect to see at this stage in Myanmar’s conversion from military dictatorship. The country—whose economy is about the size of Fresno, California’s—has only just begun to emerge from decades of isolation, brutal repression and underinvestment in areas such as infrastructure, health and education. The liberalizing measures adopted, thus, far, have been the “easy” ones, in many cases requiring little more than Myanmarese President Thein Sein’s signature: relaxing media censorship, freeing political prisoners, allowing labor unions and foreign investment. The next wave of reforms threatens
Centered on the word of God
IT’S not only the homily that has to be nourished by the word of God. All evangelization is based on that word, listened to, meditated upon, lived, celebrated and witnessed to. The sacred Scriptures are the very source of evangelization. Consequently, we need to be constantly trained in hearing the word. The Church does not evangelize unless she constantly lets herself be evangelized. It is indispensable that the word of God be ever more fully at the heart of every ecclesial activity. God’s word, listened to and celebrated, above all in the Eucharist, nourishes and inwardly strengthens Christians, enabling them to offer an authentic witness to the Gospel in daily life. We have long since moved beyond that old contraposition between word and sacrament. The preaching of the word, living and effective, prepares for the reception of the sacrament, and in the sacrament that word attains its maximum efficacy. The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer. It is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith. Evangelization demands familiarity with God’s word, which calls for dioceses, parishes and Catholic associations to provide for a serious, ongoing study of the Bible, while encouraging its prayerful individual and communal reading. We do not blindly seek God, or wait for Him to speak to us first, for He has already spoken, and there is nothing further that we need to know, which has not been revealed to us. Let us receive the sublime treasure of the revealed word. To be continued For comments, e-mail caritas_manila@yahoo.com. For donations to Caritas Manila, call (632) 563-9311. For inquiries, call (632) 563-9308 or 563-9298, or fax 563-9306.
It is also shaking Israel’s relations with key Arab allies, such as Jordan, and undermining Israeli hopes for new cooperation with moderate Sunni states in the fight against the Islamic State. In the worst case—a scenario that keeps Israeli intelligence chiefs awake— a Temple Mount explosion could put Israel at odds with the entire Muslim world. The national struggle between Israelis and Palestinians could shift into a wider Arab-Jewish religious war. What’s so surprising is that the situation has been allowed to deteriorate this far. After all, the immediate issue— whether Jews should be allowed to pray on the Mount, which the Israeli government doesn’t permit for security reasons—is hardly the main problem confronting Israelis. A majority of the rabbinical establishment, including Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, opposes prayer there for both religious and security reasons, while 56 percent of the public, according to polls, says Jewish prayer there should be restricted. Israeli analysts point out that it is the Western (“wailing”) Wall of the Temple
bookstore—which contains detailed architectural drawings for a third temple, as they head for the site. What worries Israeli security officials is where such agitation can lead. In 1984 intelligence agents accidentally discovered a well-organized plot by radical Jewish activists to blow up the Dome of the Rock in hopes of rebuilding the temple. Many similar, but less organized plots have been thwarted by Israeli intelligence since. “Blowing up the Dome of the Rock,” said former Shin Bet head Carmi Gillon in the gripping documentary The Gatekeepers, “could lead to total war by all the Islamic states—not just the Arab states, not just Iran, Indonesia, too—against the State of Israel.” While the second Palestinian intifada was sparked by a visit by Israeli leader Ariel Sharon to the mount in 2000, continued visits by Israeli ministers this time could lead to something far grimmer. No doubt that’s why hawkish Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called fellow ministers “stupid” for pushing the prayer issue now (would that Netanyahu was as blunt). “I think it’s the pursuit of cheap and easy publicity and a somewhat cynical exploitation of the complicated political situation,” Lieberman told Israel Radio. “Increasing the friction won’t bring security.” Let’s hope, for the sake of Israel, the region and the world, that the Temple Mounters get the message—before Armageddon starts.
institutions and longstanding ways of doing business, challenging powerful interests both inside and outside the military. At the same time, with elections due in a year, political jockeying is growing more intense. Cease-fire prospects have faded partly because ethnic rebels worry that a new government might renounce or try to renegotiate any peace accord. These challenges have no quick answers. While there’s no justification for preventing Suu Kyi from ascending to the presidency if she has the votes, even that wouldn’t guarantee progress. She has shown herself no more willing than any mainstream Myanmarese leader to defend the rights of
Rohingyas. Her economic vision is vague, at best, and she’s done nothing to groom capable successors within her National League for Democracy party. And were Suu Kyi elected, a revanchist backlash would probably make her job even harder. There remains deep suspicion within the military about her foreign ties, and many ethnic groups distrust her, as well. Rather than try to ensure a particular outcome from next year’s elections, United States President Barack Obama and other international leaders should continue to reinforce Myanmar’s institutions and democratic processes. That means strengthening political parties, the civil service and the
judiciary, as well as monitoring elections. The state must be held to international standards in the treatment of Rohingyas, and to greater efforts to prevent ugly hate speech and incitements to violence against the country’s Muslims. The military must be pressed to continue its gradual withdrawal from politics and the economy, and to end the culture of impunity within its ranks. All of this will require patient and sustained engagement, not renewed sanctions and isolation. Myanmarese leaders have made clear that they want to rejoin the world. The US should use all the usual tools of diplomacy—that is to say, carrots, as well as sticks—to encourage them. Bloomberg
HILE Shiites and Sunnis kill each other in Syria, an even more dangerous religious war could soon explode in Jerusalem, involving Jews, Muslims and Christians.
I refer to the mounting Israeli-Arab tensions over control of the Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif, as Muslims call it, in Jerusalem’s Old City, which is Judaism’s holiest site and the third holiest for Islam. “The Temple Mount is a powder keg, and arsonists have the upper hand,” blared a Wednesday headline in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. The mount is so sensitive—as the site of Solomon’s temple and the rock from which the Prophet Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven—that Israeli leaders left it under Palestinian and Jordanian control after they captured the Old City in 1967. Yet, at a time when the Middle East is in flames, right-wing Israelis, including Cabinet officials and parliament members, are agitating to change the Temple Mount’s status. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the status quo will remain, but Palestinians don’t believe him, as religious provocateurs press their case. The tension threatens to spark another Palestinian uprising—individual terrorist acts against Jews are multiplying. The issue has become a rallying cry for Palestinian radicals, including Hamas.
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Mount, where they pray freely, that has long been considered the most sacred site by most Jews, not the Temple Mount. More to the point, the Israelis pushing for the “religious freedom” to pray on the holy site really want something else. Read the websites of groups, such as the Temple Institute (whose former head, Yehuda Glick, just survived a Palestinian assassination attempt), and you see that the goal is to rebuild a “third” temple on the locale of the second one, which was destroyed under the Romans. That would mean pushing Palestinians off the Mount. “Uri Ariel [the Israeli minister of housing and construction] is praying openly on the Temple Mount and says on television he’d be delighted to rebuild the temple,” says Danny Seidemann, a leading Israeli expert on Jerusalem. Right-wing Knesset members are pushing for new laws permitting “religious freedom” on the mount, even as an increasing number of activists visit the site. This has meant a growing police presence, and violent opposition from organized Palestinian groups. Meantime, Temple Mounters are urged on by US Christian fundamentalists, who visit Jerusalem in droves. These groups believe the building of the third temple will lead to Armageddon, in which Jews will battle Arabs to the finish, while Christian believers are “lifted up” to heaven. Christian groups snap up books such as Ready to Rebuild by the Revs. Randall Price and Thomas Ice—available at the Tel Aviv airport
The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
Myanmar gets complicated
HE conflict in Myanmar was once easy to caricature: brutal generals on one side, pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on the other. At this point, however, to sustain Myanmar’s halting political opening, the world needs to adopt a less black-and-white view. Abroad at least, Suu Kyi is still the most heeded voice on Myanmar. Her pessimism about ongoing reforms has energized a chorus of critics in Washington calling for renewed pressure on the Myanmarese government. Huge problems continue to beset Myanmar. Negotiations toward a grand cease-fire agreement with ethnic rebels in
for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit, so that they can protect the sheep from wolves that would scatter the flock. We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing. Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart that makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word that shows that we are more than mere bystanders. Only through such respectful and compassionate listening can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal: the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what He has sown in our lives. But this always demands the patience of one who knows full well what Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us: That anyone can have grace and charity, and, yet, falter in the exercise of the virtues because of persistent “contrary inclinations.” In other words, the organic unity of the virtues always and necessarily exists in habitu, even though forms of conditioning can hinder the operations of those virtuous habits.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
2nd Front Page BusinessMirror
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Q4 export growth to slow–DBS
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By Bianca Cuaresma
fter a strong rebound in September, export numbers are seen to moderate yet again in the last months of the year, due to the still sluggish state of the global economy, an international bank said. In a research note released just recently, Singapore-based regional banking giant DBS Bank said it sees the country’s exports growth to wane in the last quarter of the year. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported earlier that the country’s exports grew by 15.7 percent in September, due largely to strong gains from electronics, machinery and transport products. The government also lauded the country’s exports, as it outperformed East and Southeast Asian economies during the period. However, the country, according to the DBS Bank, may see less-stellar growth in the coming months due to the state of global economy. “Expect to see some moderation in export growth in the fourth quarter. Total 2014 export growth may now come in lower than our earlier estimate of 9 percent,” the DBS Bank said. Despite the expectation of lower exports in the last quarter of the See “Export,” A2
Jica: Government should start securing excess power supply
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By Lorenz S. Marasigan
OKYO, Japan—The Philippine government should start securing additional power supply as early as now to at least alleviate, if not completely address, the looming power shortage that would hit Luzon in the first half of 2015. This was the recommendation of officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for the Aquino administration, which struggles to address the projected 700-megawatt (MW) shortfall in power supply next year. “The role of the government is very important in addressing the power shortage in the short time. The government should play a certain role, which is preparing for the shortage by securing excess power supply,” Jica Deputy Director for the Philippines Toru Yoshida said in an interview. Jica Southeast Asia and Pacific Department Advisor Shunei Shinohara
noted that his agency is planning to assist the Philippines in addressing this forthcoming problem. “Future assistance will put emphasis in improving and applying existing regulations. The law is there; we can propose something to better apply them,” he said. “One of the examples,” Shinohara quickly added, “is the financing of the action plan of the government to improve various aspects on the institutional side, and the application of existing regulations. We are also planning to do something in relation to improving disaster resilience.” Filipino energy officials earlier urged Congress to issue a joint
resolution to authorize President Aquino to deal with the power crisis. This venture would allow the country’s Chief Executive to establish additional generating capacity under certain terms and conditions. Such provision is enshrined in Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), a law that prohibits the government from setting up power plants. When approved, the draft resolution would grant the President the authority to negotiate contracts for the acquisition of additional generation capacity either via lease or purchase. Lawmakers, however, were lukewarm to the idea, citing a projected shortfall of only 31 MW at any given day from March to June 2015. But aside from the projected 31 MW of anticipated daily generation deficiency, the country is in need of three kinds of powerreserve requirements—regulating reserves, contingency reserves and dispatchable reserves, energy officials pointed out. Director for Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Myleen C. Capongcol explained a 350-MW regulating reserve is meant to ensure the system reliability of the power grid; 647 MW for contin-
gency reserve, which is equivalent to the highest online power plant when it suddenly conks out; and another 647 MW of dispatchable reserve for offline plants that can be switched on when power supply falls. She noted that the Philippines needs to raise all these kinds of reserves. But, since it is too huge, her agency is only eyeing to meet the contingency reserves of 647 MW. Given this, the Luzon grid is in need of 678 MW to cover the 647MW contingency reserve and the 31-MW gap. Energy Undersecretary Raul B. Aguilos said his agency has received 424 MW in firm commitments from industry stakeholders; but this was already factored into the government’s computation. For now, the government is banking on the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to cover the needed 700-MW capacity. Under ILP, its participants will be called upon to voluntarily use their respective generating sets. Through this, power supply from the grid that will not be consumed by participating customers will be available for use by other customers within the franchise area. Thus, the aggregate Continued on A2
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US seen airing concerns over global growth at G-20 talks
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s President Barack Obama and other world leaders arrive on Saturday in Brisbane, Australia, for the annual Group of 20 (G-20) summit, they will face a daunting challenge: steering a global economy that has seen most of its major players slowing down. One notable exception is the US, which has picked up speed since early this year and is now the main engine for the world economy. While that may seem like a big advantage for Obama, he and others in Washington have expressed mounting concerns that the economic problems overseas are threatening gains in momentum in the American job market and broader economy. “How long can the US be an island of growth?” said Clyde Prestowitz, a former trade negotiator in the Reagan administration and author of several books on the global economy. The big question at the summit will be whether Obama and other leaders in the G-20 major economies will do anything about it. Concerned that some countries will try to break out of their doldrums by ramping up exports to the huge American market, Obama See “G-20,” A2