BusinessWeek Mindanao (March 11, 2016)

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

GOD IS GOOD

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YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS paper

Volume VI, No. 110

Market Indicators

As of 6:10 pm march 10, 2016 (thursday)

FOREX

PHISIX

US$1 = P46.74

7,048.08

X X Briefly

19.6

99.90

cents

points

Coco choir ILIGAN City -- The Department of Trade and lndustry (DTl) - Lanao del Norte Provincial Office has provided shared service facility (SSF) coco coir geonet production to Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation, lnc.

The facility is composed of 25 units heavy duty, four hub twining machine and three units loom with collapsible steel platform. These will add to their existing wooden twining and loom weaving machines from the local government of Linamon, Lanao del Norte for their beneficiaries in the three puroks of this municipality.

These new machines are improved version of the existing ones and expected to last for years as they are made of steel.

At present, there are 33 homeworkers--unemployed housewives of small fisherfolks and farmers who do the twining, roping and weaving.

Fire safety MARAWI City -- The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Lanao del Sur is reminding the public to be cautious against the dangers of fire during summer season.

BFP Provincial Information Officer FO1 Sahara Macunte Gania said safety precautions should always be taken to prevent fires in homes, offices and communities Always unplug electrical appliances and switch off the main source of power when leaving your house to avoid fire incidents, Gania said.

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PHILIPPIANS 4:13 I CAN DO ALL THIS

THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES

ME STRENGTH

Gov’t urged to relax tariff rates on banana www.businessweekmindanao.com

Friday | March 11, 2016

By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV, MindaNews

A

N association of banana exporters appealed to the Philippine government to re-negotiate with its Japanese counterpart the imposition of tariff rates on the country’s export products as the country’s banana industry “is in a very bad situation.”

NGCP workers barred from repairing lines

By MIKE BAÑOS, Editor-at-Large

CONSTRUCTION work along a portion of the new Matanao-General Santos 138-kiloVolt transmission line in Malungon, Sarangani was stalled after a landowner along the new line’s Right-of-

Way (ROW) denied workers access to his property.

Edmundo C ejar, the owner of the property in question, stopped NGCP from continuing the project, ngcp/PAGE 7

Pilipino Bananna Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) executive director Stephen Antig said the government must take up this issue during the resumption of the Japan-Philippines E c o n o m i c Pa r t n e r s h i p Agreement negotiation slated to happen this year.

“We cannot afford not to be hopeful,” he said of the negotiation.

A nt i g s a i d a l e t t e r addressed to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala tariff/PAGE 7

P15.00

Mindanao’s banana industry is slumping from the onslaught of natural disasters and the oncoming El Nino phenomenon.

ERC brings CREST program to Mindanao Energy Media AS MINDANAO is currently plagued with several concerns in its power system, t he Energ y R egu l ator y Commission is bringing its Continuing Regulatory

Education for Stakeholders Training (CREST) program for the media to General Santos City on April 7, 2016 at the Microtel by Wyndham crest/PAGE 7

BAMBOO RAFT. A bamboo raft is perfect for the calm sea in the pebble beach of Barangay Mabua in Surigao City, as picnic goers discovered on Tuesday.

MindaNews photo by Roel Catoto

MisOr, CdO brace for Holy Week FREE RIDE. Three boys share fun while riding their carabaodrawn sled in Songco, Lantapan, Bukidnon.

MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno

BOTH the Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro City’s dis aster r isk re duc t ion management offices are now all set for the coming observance of Holy Week.

Both offices made their resp ective preparations for the public’s safety as massive devotees and tourists are expected to visit the key destinations

in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro during the countr ywide annual religious obser vance on March 24 and 25. brace/PAGE 7

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US exchange studes in Mindanao ‘pass on’ governance training

By MARK FRANCISCO, Staff Writer

A GROUP of former exchange students to the United States from Mindanao have banded together to pass on to young community leaders from the island about the governance training they have learned.

The group calling itself United States Alumni for Institutional Reforms (USAIR) has already conducted two training programs – one

in 2015 for the environment and another one last week on governance.

The July 2015 training has netted 60 participants from all over the island.

All of them have submitted project proposals relating to environmental concerns and were evaluated by the US-AIR for funding consideration from the United States

Student initiatives bring awareness to fellow youth

By MERCY I. SONOGAN Bonifacio Central School Teacher I

THE Philippine society today is sadly plagued with kids who are on drugs, kids who easily get pregnant, kids who are drunk. Of course, there are laws banning the sale of tobacco and alcohol to minors, laws on the age of consent, etc. but this has not prevented these realities.

To counter this, the government encourages our kids and youth to channel their brains into more extracurricular activities so that they can in turn encourage their fellow youth to be responsible citizens of society.

There is a running joke that states, “If you are the youth of today, where will you be tomorrow?” But this joke has actual a flip seriousness. If

you reflect on that, where will be the youth ten years from now? Will they become corrupt politicians once they enter the adult mainstream?

Or will they become change agents as developmental organizations all over continue to espouse?

Surely, there is hope for this nation. Every now and then, we hear of students from the basic education excelling not just academically but in other fields as well. Here in our school, kids as young as fifth graders are already exposed to politics by voting for their respective class presidents and other officers. I hope that this minute exercise can certainly have an effect on their lives as they grow older.

Embassy. “ Their proposals are just micro-level ones to be implemented in the villages. But at least, they can jump-start awareness on whatever advocacies they are, whether on environmental or governance,” Jerlie LuisRequerme, United States Alumni for Institutional Reforms coordinator, said.

Luis-Requerme, now serving as a judge serving on the municipal circuit trial court in Bukidnon, was a US exchange student grantee in 2012 when she was already

practicing law.

After she returned a year later, she founded the United States Alumni for Institutional Reforms to help up and coming leaders in Mindanao.

Together with a dozen other exchange student alumni f rom Nor t her n Mindanao, the US-AIR helped craft the syllabuses in their short-term trainings.

One of the trainees, a community organizer from Zamboanga Del Norte, said the training has done much to help him improve the

voluntary services that he and his group has done in that province.

“I have learned a lot of things here, especially in community development and how to encourage the people to participate in governance in their respective villages by actively engaging not just the village officials, but involving the whole community,” Rancid Cszar Villano, one of the leaders of the Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation, said.

The Yel low B o at of Hope Foundation started

as a movement to help children who used to swim to school in a farfetched village of Zamboanga City.

The foundation is one of the groups that gets assistance from the United States Alumni for Institutional Reforms.

“I hope through the coordination of the United States Embassy, we will be able to help more organizations here in Mindanao as they assist the underprivileged in their respective communities for the betterment of society,” Ms. Luis-Requerme said.

(PNA)

Phivolcs acquires new data satellite device THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in the region has installed a new and hightech equipment donated by the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA), an official said Thursday.

The donation includes a Data Satellite Communication device and a Solar power system that could assist the “less

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equipped and understaffed” office in monitoring earthquake incidents in the region, Marshal Labidinay, the Phivolcs regional director in Northern Mindanao, said.

He said that the new equipment has the capacity to “read, record and transmit data through SMS to the central office in events of earthquakes.”

The modern device, already installed at the Phivolcs office would automatically perform the reading, recording and transmission of data without the need for any personnel, Labidinay said.

He said that the equipment boosts the Phivolcs monitoring systems as it is capable of providing accurate and realtime information.

“These are a big help to us

since we really lack manpower to do the monitoring,” Labidinay said.

The Phivolcs central office received from JICA last October 2015 the first real-time warning equipment worth about 1 billion yen or nearly PHP400 million. The equipment is now installed throughout the country.

Labidinay said that Japan and the Philippines share common experiences and vulnerabilities when it comes to disasters since both lies atop the Pacific Ring of Fire.

He said that JICA is committed to continue helping the Philippines prepare better for disasters and other emergencies by sharing technology and experience.

(PNA)

CAGAYAN DE ORO MAIN BRANCH P & J Lim Bldg., Tiano Brothers Kalambagohan Sts., Tel. # (08822) 727-829 * Telefax # (088) 856-1947 CAMIGUIN BRANCH B. Aranas St., Poblacion, Mambajao, Camiguin Tel. # (088) 387-0491 CORRALES BRANCH Corrales Ave., Cagayan de Oro City DIVISORIA BRANCH Atty. Erasmo B. Damasing Bldg., #61 Don A. Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 857-3631 LAPASAN BRANCH Lapasan Hi-way, Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-6739 CARMEN BRANCH Vamenta Blvd., Cagayan de Oro City Tel. # (088) 231-2011

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Car sales up 22% in February A UTOMOTIVE vehicle sales for Februar y 2016 increased by 21.7 percent, with 25,150 units sold as compared to the same period last year with 20,663 unit sales.

The figures were included i n t h e j oi nt re p or t of Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

Sales growth was recorded above 20 percent for two consecutive months this

year, the report also noted.

Car segments including passenger car, commercial vehicle, Asian utility vehicle (AUV), and light commercial vehicle (LCV) posted sales growth ranging from 21 to 24 percent.

Bulk of sales last month was attributed to commercial vehicles with a total of 15,331 units, expanding by 22.5 percent from 12,514 units in February 2015.

LCV sales grew by 21.7 percent to 10,071 units this year from 8,274 units last year while sales of passenger

cars jumped by 20.5 percent to 9,819 units from 8,149 units and AUV sales by 24.1 percent to 4,419 units from 3,562 units.

For the same month, sales of trucks and buses c ate gor i e s a l s o p o s te d positive growth.

Light trucks sales increased by 29.7 percent to 555 this year from last year’s sales of 428 units.

Tr u c k s a n d b u s e s categories IV and V likewise ha d i nc re me nt s of 3 . 9 percent and 31.3 percent, respectively, with combined

sales of 186 units.

Meanwhile, twomonth sales of the largest organization in the Philippine auto industry improved by 24.5 percent to 48,958 units from 39,325

units in the same period last year.

“So far, it has been a good start for the auto industry.

Demand for mobility continues and industr y players are ready to respond

3

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to the needs and demands of consumers,” said CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez.

Top five market leaders for the period are Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Isuzu, and Honda. (PNA)

Aboitiz Equity profit falls in 2015 as property, bank earnings drop ABOITIZ EQUITY Ventures, Inc. (AEV) reported a 4% decline in its 2015 consolidated net income to P17.7 billion from P18.4 billion in the previous year as two of its major subsidiaries posted a double-digit decline in their contribution to the listed holdings company.

In its disclosure to the stock exchange, AEV said it incurred a nonrecurring loss of P602 million last year, a reversal of 2014’s gain of P436 million, because of t he mark-to-market revaluation of the power

business unit’s consolidated dollar-denominated assets and liabilities.

“Adjusting for these oneoff ’s, AEV’s core net income amounted to P18.3 billion, which was 2% higher than [in 2014],” it said.

AEV said its banking and financial services unit Union Bank of the Philippines and its property business Aboitiz Land, Inc. recorded a drop in net income by 22% and 15%, respectively. The two accounted for 14% and 9% to the parent firm’s business, or a corresponding contribution

of P2.5 billion and P536 million.

UnionBank, which posted a net income of P5.3 billion, did not register trading gains last year although growth in recurring income was strong.

AEV’s lower income for the year comes despite Aboitiz Power Corp.’s (AboitizPower) strong showing, with a 5% year-on-year increase in its bottom line to P17.6 billion from P16.7 billion. The power generation and distribution subsidiary, which made up 73% of the holding firm’s business, contributed P13.5

billion, up 6% from P12.7 billion in 2014.

In mid-September 2015, AEV’s infrastructure unit, the newly acquired Republic C e m e nt a n d B u i l d i n g Mater i a ls, Inc. st ar te d contributing a share in the business, at P194.4 million during review period.

“The income contributions from our infrastructure and offshore food businesses affirm our growth strategy to diversify our earnings base through our fifth business leg, infrastructure, as well as gradually expand overseas,

not just locally,” said Erramon I. Aboitiz, AEV president and chief executive officer.

He said the company would continue to pursue “selective” leads in publicprivate partnership projects “as the government opens up unique opportunities in key infrastructure segments.”

“We expect to invest time and resources in finding the right local and international partners that can provide the market and technical know-how, in addition to our local market knowledge and industrial expertise,” Mr.

Aboitiz said.

AEV’s nonlisted food subsidiaries Pilmico Foods C or p., Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp. and Pilmico Inter nat iona l Pte. Ltd. recorded a 31% growth in after-tax income to P1.7 billion from P1.3 billion.

POWER BUSINESS STILL STRONG In a separate statement, AboitizPower said its power generation and distribution business segments contributed 79% and 21%, respectively, to its earnings. This corresponds aboitiz/PAGE 6

Araw ng Davao at SM Lanang Premier:

Great Sale, Women’s Fashion, Eats, & More

Davao Gourmet Collective Food and the City

Featured artists at Urban Sounds in The Fountain Court ground

From March 11 to 20, get ready as the metro’s premier shopping and lifest y le destination bring shoppers a fun-tastic Araw ng Davao feast.

With enticing sale promos and a series of exciting activities, SM Lanang Premier marks the city’s 79th Araw ng Davao with a 10-day celebration like no other.

Starting March 11, enjoy up to 70% off on great finds mallwide. Sale runs until March 20. For shopping convenience, mall hours are extended from 10am to 10pm on March 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16.

On March 12, 6pm, get your fashion fix at the ‘Young Davao Designers’ runway show at the mall Atrium.

Catch the city’s 15 emerging designers with 30 fresh fashion pieces as they pay homage

to today’s women. Featured designers include Andi Amora (Mûre), Bianca Sabellano (Be. young.ca), Wilson Limon (NiñoFranco), Jozel Ignes (Zel), Frances Tendencia (Haberdashery), Jun Artajo (Artajó), Ian Manglicmot (The Skip), Mandy Velasco (Amanda), Denise Guirgen and Kethley Uy (Artickles), Joey Hambala (Inpart), Grand Ravacio (Ravacio), Shiriel Magalong, Jude Suarez, and Mo. Indulge in Davao City’s best eats with the Davao Gourmet Collective ‘Food and the City’ at The Fountain Court grounds on March 11 to 13. Participating food concepts are: Bistro Selera

by Googie Sanga, Cucina Ilocana by Philip Pimentel and Jose Tabbada, JR Pastry

by Jonathan Ramirez, Café

El Gato by Kath Marfori, Kai Artisan Chocolates by Karla Mae Royo Caguiat, Backyard Burgers by Juan and Rica Gadi, The Crazy Cook by Carmina Mapa-del Rosario, Stellina’s Lemonade

by Oliver Lee, Sugarcane Bar by Vera Murcha, Aling Foping’s Halo (Fe Ayala), The Grillery (also by Juan and Rica Gadi), The Griddle Burgers and Sandwitches (Juan Carlos Angeles), Kakimkris Lechon Haus (Katrina Ano-os), The Fatboy’s Kitchen (Mervin and Rosanna Loseo) and Manilabased B. Wings Resto (Marc Castro).

Finally, on March 1113, 6pm-9pm, catch ‘Urban Sounds’ at The Fountain Court grounds. Enjoy a good musical weekend from Freestyle and Re-versed on March 11, Yolanda Moon and Muses

on March 12 and Next Option on March 13. Urban Sounds is co-presented by Air Asia and Park Inn by Radisson Davao.

For sale alerts and event updates, follow SM Lanang Premier on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Be.young.ca by Bianca Sabellano will be featured at SM Lanang Premier’s Young Davao Designers runway show.

(Photo by Paul Borromeo)

Mûre by Andi Amora (Photo by Paul Borromeo)

Inpart by Joey Hambala (Photo by Paul Borromeo)

Artajó by Jun Artajo (Photo by Paul Borromeo)

Zel by Jozel Ignes (Photo by Paul Borromeo)

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We must accept SC Poe ruling LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… L e t e v e r y o n e b e subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. C ons equently, who e ver rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves...”

(Romans 13:1-2, the Holy Bible).

-ooo POINTERS ON HOW TO UNDERSTAND SC POE DECISION: The explanation as to how or why the Supreme Court voted 9-6 in favor of Sen. Grace Poe’s presidential candidacy is yet to come, but there are certain points that should be understood now by our people on how the tribunal decides the cases that are brought before it.

First, the Supreme Court is a collegial body.

Its decisions and verdicts are dictated by the justices who comprise the majority in any given case or issue, which is to say, any case or issue which is brought before them will be decided according to the view that is supported by a bigger number, or by the majority, of the justices.

M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y, whatever the bigger number

of just i c e s s ay on any particular matter, even if many lawyers would later on contradict them, becomes a part of the law of the land and is required to be obeyed by all citizens, whether in government or in the private sector. In effect, the Supreme Court is infallible in its decisions, because it must be obeyed at all times.

-ooo SC BECAME MORE POWERFUL UNDER 1987 CHARTER: This right of t h e Supre m e C ou r t to pronounce a judgment on the cases brought before it is long recognized here and abroad. Under the 1987 Constitution, the tribunal alone, together with the courts under it, is vested with judicial power. And this power extends not only to settling cases and disputes.

Under an innovation introduced in the 1987 Constitution, the Supreme C ou r t w as ma d e more p ower f u l t hat its 1973 counter p ar t b e c aus e it has also been given the power to look into act of any government official or agency, and say whether the official or the agency committed abuse in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities and in the exercise of their powers and responsibilities.

In 1936, the Supreme Court itself, in deciding a

case entitled “Angara vs.

Electoral Commission”, G.R. No. L-45081, July 15, 1936, justified this power of the Supreme Court to adjudicate disputes and controversies by and among citizens and other entities by saying that under the Constitution at that time, it is only the Supreme Court which has been given the authority to resolve legal and judicial cases.

-ooo WE MUST ACCEPT WHAT THE SC SAID IN POE CASE: It would do well, therefore, for those who feel aggrieved by any decision or resolution of the Supreme Court to simply accept what the high tribunal issued as its ruling. This is the system that the Philippine Constitution has established, and it is the system that all of us must obey.

O f c ou r s e , a g it at e d l it i g a nt s or i nt e re s t e d third parties may pursue the filing of a motion for reconsideration or, if one is p owe r f u l e noug h as President Aquino has shown at the start of his term, impeach the chief justice or the other justices of the court who decided adversely against his interest. At the end of the day, however, the system remains the same--the Supreme Court must be obeyed.

Obedience to the tribunal

K akampi

Mo A ng Batas

Atty. Batas Mauricio is not only the legal---and therefore the most logical--way of doing things. It is even the most spiritual, considering the dictates of the Bible that each and every citizen must subject themselves to the governing authorities, because there is no authority that was not established by God. We have also been told that anyone who fights the authorities is fighting God Himself, and would suffer punishments.

-ooo PLEASE LISTEN: “Ang Tanging Daan” (The Sole Way): a Bible study and prayer session online could now be heard, 24 HOURS a day, in the Philippines and the world at www.facebook.com/ angtangingdaan or www. facebook.com/ANDKNK (and look for “Ang Tanging Daan” broadcasts). Phone: 0922 833 43 96, 0918 574 0193, 0977 805 9058. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

Tolerance and intolerance

Oro Chamber

Under the Surface Think a Minute…Remember Greg Louganis? The young, strong, superstar athlete who won gold medals in all his events at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. He was the first athlete in history to do it, and was elected to the Olympic Hall of Fame.

But at the Olympics, no one ever suspected that under the surface Greg Louganis’ body was full of AIDS. It’s true that you really cannot know what’s inside a person just from looking on the outside.

Many people are not what they appear to be.

For example, that tough football or rugby player you know may actually still be an insecure little boy on the inside, because he could never be good enough for his hard, strict father. That shy young woman you see around town might still be a broken, hurting little girl, because she was abused by her uncle or stepfather when she was young. Maybe e v e n t h at 6 0 - y e a r- o l d political leader or successful businessman is still full of hurt and anger from when he was badly treated as a child because of his skin color, or because he grew up in a poor family.

Many people look

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THINK

A Minute

Jhan Tiafau Hurst strong and mature on the outside, but inside they’re still hurting emotionally and need healing. They still have deep wounds, scars and painful memories of terrible things that were said or done to them when they were young children or teenagers.

Friend, if you’ve been living with pain, fears or anger from what people said or did to you in the past, these hurts and bad memories can be like chains that hold you in prison emotionally.

Well, Jesus Christ sure knows how you feel. Jesus is probably the most hurt, abused person in history.

His own family thought He was crazy, and His own people had Him tortured and killed as the worst of criminals. But not only does hurst/PAGE 6

Now that we are living in a world that is fast becoming very complicated, with a mu lt iply i ng v ar i e t y of mentalities, cultures, lifestyles, ideologies, beliefs, etc., we need to know how to be tolerant and intolerant that is proper to our dignity as persons who are the image and likeness of God, children of his, and who need to love everybody else as Christ himself has loved us.

Obviously, the model for this is Christ himself, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, who in his great love for wounded mankind became man himself and assumed all the sins of men by offering his life on the cross even as he was clear about what is the truth about God, about ourselves and everything else in our life.

As we can see in him, he was tolerant with everyone, including especially the sinners, those who are far from him, crippled by their sins. But he nonetheless told them what the truth is in a clear way, but also in a very charitable manner, full of mercy and compassion.

He was, and he continues to be tolerant with all persons, irrespective of their errors

and sins, but intolerant with their erring behavior and ideas. But such intolerance was always expressed and accompanied by merc y and compassion. He never resorted to insults, mockery.

He was patience personified as he had to be tolerant with his apostles and disciples who had their share of weaknesses and errors.

The only thing that got his goat was the selfrighteousness of some people who precisely imposed their own idea of what was right and wrong in a manner devoid of understanding and forgiveness. Rather, these people were full of rash judgments, condescension and arrogance.

A n o t h e r t h i n g t h at angered him was when Peter tried to prevent him from fulfilling the ultimate expression of his love by going to Jerusalem to face his eventual crucifixion. “Get behind me Satan,” he told Peter, “you are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Mt 16,23) Christ was always open to anything that anyone can think, say or do, and was quite game with it, no matter

how wrong that person was.

He would go to the extent of asking for forgiveness for those who crucified him.

“Forgive them Father,” he said, “for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23,34) As we tackle the unavoidable differences and conflicts we can have among ourselves, not only in the area of opinions and personal preferences, as in our political views, but also in our beliefs and faith that are supposed to be universally held, and especially when done in our public discourse, we should see to it that our love for everyone is unshaken even as we try to sort out and resolve our differences and conflicts as charitably as possible.

We need to have a good grip over our emotions and passions, our biases and prejudices which all of us have, as we try our best not only to be rational, but more importantly, to be patient and charitable. Yes, we have to go beyond our sensibilities and rationality. We have to step into the world of faith, hope and charity.

We should not be as concerned about making points, winning an argument,

HINTS

and

Traces

Fr. Roy Cimagala getting the upper hand on a subject matter as we should about keeping charity, mercy and compassion with everyone. Not even a trace of animosity should be found in our heart.

We should try our best that our desire to clarify our position as strongly and as lucidly as possible never falls to the snare of anger, hatred, impatience and hostility.

We have to find a way to be properly tolerant and intolerant.

We may need to learn the finer points of tact which should not be a cover for cowardice. We have to learn to be patient and to prefer to suffer setbacks instead of wanting to lord it over others. roycimagala@gmail.com.

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Banking&Finance

DBP officials cleared in cases on alleged ‘wash sales’ DEVELOPMENT BANK of the Philippines (DBP) officials were relieved of criminal and administrative charges over the supposed “wash sale” of the bank’s assets, which reportedly deprived the government of P717 million.

The state-run bank said in a statement yesterday that the Office of Ombudsman in its resolution dated Dec. 15, 2015 -- received by the bank on March 8 -- dismissed both the criminal and administrative charges filed against DBP officers and members of the Board by the DBP Employees Union (DBPEU).

“As to the alleged violation of Sections 24.1 (a)(1), 28.1, 28.2 and 30.2 of RA (Republic Act) No. 8799, this Office finds insufficient evidence to establish probable cause against the respondents.

Since the issue hinges on the violation of pertinent provisions of RA No. 8799 which is pending investigation before the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), the same is intertwined with the elements required under Sections 3(a), (e) and (g) of RA No. 3019,” the DBP said, quoting the Joint Resolution of the Ombudsman.

“In this case, it is still not sufficiently established that there was a violation

of a rule or regulation or an offense, an element required in Section 3(a) of RA No. 3019,” it added.

DBP went on to quote the anti-graft court ruling which said the complainant failed to show manifest partiality, evident bad faith, gross inexcusable negligence and undue injury as the questioned transactions have not been established to be “wash sales.”

Moreover, it added that the transactions were not also shown to have been g rossly and manifest ly disadvantageous to the government with the issue of the alleged “wash sales” pending with the SEC. “Complainants also failed to present any evidence to establish that the respondents were directly or indirectly interested, for personal gain or have a material interest in the transaction for them to violate Section 3(i) of RA No. 3019,” DBP added.

DBP said the dispositive portion of the Ombudsman decision read: “foregoing considered, the present criminal and administrative complaints are dismissed for insufficiency of evidence. So ordered.”

On May 29, the DBP E mp l oy e e s Un i o n a n d cleared/PAGE 6

EASTWEST Bank, one of the country’s fastest growing universal banks, reported a 3 percent dip in net income to P2.0 billion last year due to lower trading gains, higher credit provisions, and higher tax expense.

How e v e r, t h e b a n k informed the Philippine Stock Exchange that it continues to post healthy growth in its core revenues (net revenues ex-trading) driven mainly by the 23 percent growth in net interest income (NII).

The bank said the growth in its NII was driven by the expansion of the loan portfolio.

Total assets stood at P232.9 billion or 24 percent higher than end-2014 as the bank starts to benefit from its expansion program.

In the last 3 years, the Bank put up 141 branch stores and likewise expanded its lending organization to deploy the expected increase in deposits from its expanding customer base.

Total loans grew by 29 percent while deposits increased by 25 percent.

Consumer loans grew by 38 percent to P90.8 billion, led

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EastWest profit drops on lower trading gains

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by Auto loans and Personal loans, while corporate loans grew by 18 percent to P66.4 billion.

Consumer loans accounted for 58 percent of total customer loans, making EastWest still the most consumer loan focused universal bank.

The bank’s operating income grew by 10 percent to P16.3 billion as the P2.3 billion increase in NII was partially offset by P587.7 million higher credit provisions and P616.7 million lower trading gains.

The Bank’s Net Interest Income, driven by its above industry net interest margin (NIM) of 8.0 percent, grew by 23 percent to P12.3 billion from P10.0 billion the previous year.

NII net of provisions for loan losses, grew by 26 percent to P8.4 billion. NIM net of loan loss provisions was at 5.3 percent, still higher than industry average of NIM of around 3.0 percent.

Fee-based Income, mainly from transactional and service fees of consumer lending and the branch stores is flat at P3.3 billion. This was due to accounting adjustments

during the period totaling P695.6 million. Considering the impact of these one-off adjustments, fee income in 2015 grew by 21 percent.

The rest of the operating income declined by 56 percent to P690.0 million due to lower trading income.

“We are pleased with the continuing growth in our core operations. We ramped up investments to strengthen and expand our operations in the last three years and we’re just beginning to realize

the positive impact of these investments. The growth of our core businesses shows we’re on the right track,” said EastWest Bank chief finance officer Rene K. de Borja Jr. He added that “we will continue to focus on the consumer and middle market sectors. We will complement our current line-up of products and services with new offerings, starting with bancassurance products through our newly formed joint venture with Ageas.”

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Aboitiz... from page 3

to an income share of P13.9 billion and P3.8 billion.

Growth was stronger for the distribution business, at 19%, as against 3% for generation.

Excluding one-off items, AboitizPower’s generation business generated P14.8 billion for the period, up 9% from the earlier year.

“The growth was attributable to the higher sales volume from the coal

and large hydro groups that offset the decrease in revenues from the geothermal group due to steam decline.

Moreover, the impact of Magat, Binga, and Therma Marine plants’ ITH (income tax holidays) expiration were offset by the large hydro group’s lower financing cost and the geothermal group’s and oil business unit’s lower operating expenses,” the company said.

AboitizPower registered an 11% increase in power generation to 12,550 gigwatt-

hour (GWh) from 11,272 GWh, as electricity sold via bilateral contracts, which accounted for 91% of total energy sold, rose by 18% to 11,383 GWh. In terms of capacity, higher sales through bilateral contracts and ancillar y s e r v i c e s i n c re a s e d t h e company’s attributable sales by 6% to 1,900 megawatts (MW).

“We remain on track with our project pipeline as we welcomed new capacity from a number of power plants last

Hurst...

year. This puts us well on the path to hitting 4,000 MW in national capacity by 2020 to meet the country’s energy needs,” Antonio R. Moraza, AboitizPower president and chief operating officer, was quoted in a statement as saying.

“Our portfolio of power plants composed of a right mix of renewable and nonrenewable technology is a testament to our commitment to provide reliable, ample, and reasonably priced power with the least impact on our environment and our host communities,” he added.

Un d e r t h e p owe r distribution segment, electricity revenues increased by 6 % t o 4 , 7 5 9 G W h from 4,480 GWh as sales grew across all customer segments. Gross margin on a per kilowatt-hour basis decreased to P1.61 from P1.71 previously.

from page 4

Jesus understand and feel your pain, He’s also the One Who can heal your broken heart and painful memories. So today, why don’t you put your whole life, including your painful past, into the strong, healing hands of Jesus? He’ll even help you forgive those people who hurt you. Then, you’ll finally be free from your emotional pain and prison to start living the full, new life Jesus has planned for you. Just Think a Minute…

Cleared... from page 5

Association of DBP Career Of f icials (AD C O) f iled before the Office of the Ombudsman graft charges against 14 officials of the bank, who approved the

allegedly illegal sale and purchase of some P14.3 billion worth of government securities.

D B P ’s Tr e a s u r y department allegedly engaged in “wash sale” transactions where an i nv e s t or s e l l s a l o s i n g security to claim a capital loss, only to repurchase it again for a bargain. The transactions resulted in P717.07 million in losses for the bank, according to state auditors.

They alleged that the D B P Tr e a s u r y G r o u p got involved in “market manipu lat ion” to inc ur 28 transactions with First Metro Investment Corp. to sell and reacquire the government securities.

The bank officials were also charged for violating the Securities Regulation Code as a result of these allegations.

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Tariff... from page 1

was submitted last week to inform him of the banana industry’s concerns regarding the Japan’s tariff rates that range from 8.5 percent during the April 1 to September 30 season, and 18.5 percent of total value from October 1 to March 31. Japan reportedly imposes higher tariffs in the latter period as this is the fruit season in Japan, and they thus want to protect their own fruit growers.

“We are in a very bad industry situation… We urge the government to be more supportive,” he said.

Antig stressed that the Japanese government and importers are willing to relax, if not eliminate the tariff rates, but the Philippine government “is not doing

anything” to help its farmers.

“Mindanao will not be Mindanao without the banana industry,” he pointed out.

A two-percent increase on tariff is implemented every 10 years, according to Antig.

He said Japan remained to be the biggest market of Phi lippine b ananas, comprising a whopping 92 percent of its total banana imports. Japan’s other sources are Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Taiwan, Mexico, Colombia, Thailand, Costa Rica, China, Mozambique, and the Dominican Republic.

Citing data from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Antig said the value of banana exports registered in 2015 was $430.94 million, down by $1.3 billion in 2014.

But emerging banana producing countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia,

Is Federalism the Answer to Mindanao’s Multifarious Problems?

Dr. Belinda Satorre-Tagolimot T-I, Macasandig National High School

The national election is fast approaching. Many presidential candidates from different parts of the country have different platforms.

What make them contentious presidential candidates? How do they offer themselves to the electorate? Their programs may anchor on the following: weed corruption in the government, stop drug trafficking, fight crime and criminality, end poverty, push for federalism among others.

Most of these issues are common but serious concerns that must be addressed if the people want to live peaceably and in harmony with others.

Many attempts were made by the past administrations to bring about the delivery of basic services to meet the needs of the people. But, have we attained all of these?

These attempts have been a dismal failure. So, what is the answer to all these multifarious problems that beset the country as a whole.

Is it federalism? Federalism is a political concept describing the practice by which groups of members of political community like provinces and regions are bound together by certain agreements of which a representative head is either elected or appointed by a council or assembly.

This type of governance is referred to a system in which the sovereign authority is shared constitutionally between the central governing authority and the local government units like the states or provinces, which are independent yet interactive. In a federal type of government, political power is shared and divided among states and the central governing authority. It should be noted that the central national government has exclusive federal powers and in which case, some powers may also be shared by state governments.

Federalism is an offshoot to maximize self-management and the people’s involvement in the socio-economic cultural and political affairs of every state or province. This concept will provide avenues in which the people actively participate in shaping the present and future times. They become active participants in nationbuilding which must start at the grassroot level. This type of government is practiced by the great democracies of the world like the United States of America, Germany, Malaysia and some other countries of Latin America.

At face value, we must take note that federalism is not just autonomy as in the case of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

It is more than that because Federalism has various degrees in its conceptual framework. It will require the suitability of a country which can provide productive results.

There are various models that the country can choose from.

Since not all issues are local, these can be directed to the central governing authority for solution in order to develop and coordinate common policies to deal with urgent common problems. In almost all federated states, the federal national government enjoys the exclusive power of foreign affairs policy and the national military. If this is not the case, a federation would be a single state. The social political structure of federalism is self management where the people take back the control of the government from a bureaucratic centralized form of government.

Federalism is a tedious and very intricate process to be in place. Let us wait and see how will the next president of our country address Mindanao’s multifarious problems to attain peace, unity and progress.

Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao threaten to eat up the Philippine’s market share, as the Japanese buyers might consider sourcing from these countries that sell bananas at even lower prices.

Records from the PBGEA also showed that banana growers were able to produce 85,324,491 boxes from January to September 2015, which reduced by 5.35 percent as compared to 90,147,480 boxes of the same period in 2014.

Antig said the El Nino, which is expected to last until June this year based on the weather forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical, Astronomical, and Services Administration ( PA G A S A ) , h a s e v e n worsened the situation of the banana industry.

“The worst is yet to come,” he said, as he emphasized that the impact of the El Nino will be felt three to six months after it ends.

Antig said that he is hoping the industry would recover next year.

The PBGEA has a total of 27 member companies, covering 40,000 hectares of the 83,000 has. planted to bananas in Mindanao.

NGCP... from page 1

insisting that the property should be evaluated first for just compensation for the damages caused by the project. This, despite Mr. Cejar’s previous acceptance of NGCP’s partial payment of almost half a million pesos (in the form of a provisional deposit with the court), and DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE This DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE is made and executed this March 9, 2016 in the City of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, by and between: LOLITO SUMILE BALABAG JR. of legal age Filipino citizen, married, with residence and postal address at Poblacion, Talisayan Misamis Oriental hereinafter referred to as the VENDOR; and RUTH E. SALVAÑA of legal age Filipino citizen, single with residence and postal address at Talisayan, Misamis Oriental hereinafter referred to as the VENDEE; That the VENDOR is the absolute owner and legal possessor of a PARCEL OF LAND WITH ALL ITS IMPROVEMENTS FOUND THEREIN, which are more particularly described as follows: TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION Tax Declaration No. 08-030001-00907 A parcel of land, known as Lot 802, Cad-326-B, situated in Sitio La Verdad, Talisayan Misamis Oriental containing an area of .2194 Hectares declared in the name of VICTORIANO LLIDO is the subject of the DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE Under Notary Public of EMELITO J. MARQUIÑO per Doc, No.189; Page No. 37; Book No. XII; Series of 2016.

BWM: Mar. 11, 18 & 25, 2016

the clear wording of the writ of possession issued

by RTC of Sarangani Branch 23, which allows NGCP “to enter and place in possession and acquire an easement of right-of-way” over the property of the Cejars to construct Matanao-General Santos 138kV line.

NGCP was already implementing the project, which will strengthen the reliability of the Mindanao grid, when Cejar ordered the stoppage of construction, with the aid of the Chief of Police of Malungon.

“These developments are d ishe ar te n i ng . Mr. C ejar already accepted NGCP’s provisional deposit, which is considered partial payment for the property.

By participating in the expropriation proceedings, and accepting partial payment, Mr. Cejar submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the court, and its processes.

The court already issued the Writ of Possession, which authorizes us to continue with the transmission project, pending the determination of just compensation,” explained NGCP. “Mr. Cejar is bound by the lawful issuance of the court. He cannot obey court procedures when accepting payment, and then unilaterally change his mind and defy the court whenever it suits him,” stressed NGCP. “A s t r a n s m i s s i o n concessionaire, NGCP was granted the right of eminent domain under our congressional franchise.

This is in recognition of the public service nature of the transmission business,” NGCP said in a statement.

“This grants the holder the right to take property while just compensation is being discussed. This is to prevent undue delays in the implementation of national d e v e l o p m e nt p r o j e c t s .

Mr. Cejar, by his unlawful defiance, defeats this very purpose,” it said.

NGCP says that the project construction will still push through as scheduled.

“Crucial transmission projects of national relevance cannot be stymied by the acts of those who do not respect the rule of law. A lawful Writ of Possession was issued, and it must be respected, regardless of who it is being implemented against,” stated the company. “If the landowner has concerns, he should go through the proper legal processes, and not bully his way into resisting lawful orders of the court. We just cannot tolerate lawlessness,” said NGCP. The Matanao-General S a n t o s 1 3 8 - k i l o Vo l t transmission project spans 72.60 kilometer and is being completed in compliance with the N-1 contingency requirement of the Philippine Grid Code. N-1 contingency is the ability of the grid to withstand the loss of a major system component with minimal disruption in the system.

NGCP is a privately owned

7

2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting

corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits highvoltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets. The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power transmission network, is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led by Henry Sy, Jr., Calaca High Power Corporation led by Robert Coyiuto, Jr., and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) as technical partner.

where end-users shall be educated about the proper use of electric power and other matters.

Such education shall include, but not limited to, the existence of regulated transmission and distribution services, systems reliability, aggregation, market, itemized billing, low-income bill payment, energy conservation and safety measures.

The second day of the training program will involve facility visits to the NGCP Klinan Substation, General Santos City.

CREST...

Misamis Oriental would be on “blue alert” during the long weekend, said Fernando Q. Dy, the officer-in-charge of the Provincial Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO).

He said that the personnel from the PDRRMO would be stationed in various convergence areas in the province.“We will put up tents in these key areas and double our efforts for our devotees and visitors,” said Dy. Dy identified these areas as Balingoan Port for those who will visit the Camiguin Island; Poblacion, Medina for its local festival; the beaches of Birhen Milagrosa and Tubajon both in Laguindingan; and the Sipaca Point in Talisayan, all coastal towns in Misamis Oriental.

In C agayan D e Oro City, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Of f ice (CDRRMO) has recently activated its Incident Management Teams (INT) c omp o s e d of d i f fe re nt agencies whose personnel were all trained to respond to any incidents, Vergil Lago, the city’s weather specialist, said.

“Rest assured that all activities in the City would be monitored against people who might take advantage,” said Lago.

Lago identified the areas of concern in the city as the village of Cugman where people would trek the uphill climb to Malasag for the Stations of the Cross, and in the village of Tablon where pilgrims would trek the mountains and cross the rivers for the “Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine.” (PNA)

from page 1

General Santos hotel located at Valley High, National Highway,.

Francisco Jose S. Villa, Jr., ERC Director for Planning & Information said this event will serve as the followthrough activity to the one undertaken for Metro Manila and several regional journalists last January at the Oakwood-Joy Nostalg Premier Hotel in Pasig City.

For the Mindanao leg of the ERC Crest Knowledge And Capacity Enhancement Training For Journalists, ERC will focus on four core topics: i) tariff and capital expenditures setting for regulated utilities including the electric cooperatives; ii) fuel mix policy of the government; iii) update on Mindanao power supply outlook as well as the overall Philippine Energy Plan; and iv) unraveling the right-ofway (ROW) and security issues of energy facilities.

The invited speakers are officials and officers of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Department of Energy (DOE), Mindanao Development Aut hor it y (MinDA) and a representativeexecutive of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Vi l l a u r g e d i nv i t e d p a r t i c i p a nt s t o at t e n d this event that the ERC is pursuing following the mandate set by R.A. No. 9136 (the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPIRA), particularly Section 76. Education and Protection of End Users

Brace... from page 1

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EMPRESS M

by

Michelle Francisco

www.EmpressMichelleFrancisco.com

You can follow me at the following social media: https://www.facebook.com/ EmpressMCF https://instagram.com/ empressmichellefrancisco https://twitter.com/ empressmcf

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YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS paper

B1

What I’m Hooked With These Days

I love watching movies, reality shows and tv shows on my free time. It’s my relaxation, I should say.

It makes me really happy watching all kinds of movies be it comedy, romance, biography, cooking shows, lifestyle shows, drama, animations and so on.

I am so thankful that I discovered Netflix and iflix.

To those of you who don’t know what it’s all about…

Netflix and iflix are both subscription services for online streaming your favorite shows on your phone, tablet, laptop, desktop and/or smart tv.

What I love with their services is that I can watch movies and tv shows anytime and anywhere. iflix is currently only available in The Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand but they are planning to expand to other Southeast

Asian markets particularly Vietnam and Indonesia.

What I love with iflix is that they have some local tv shows and movies to choose from. Yes, if you love those Tagalog teleseryes then you will love iflix.

Netflix has 74 million subscribers as of 2016 and they serve a worldwide audience except China, Crimea, North Korea and Syria.

I love them both so I subscribed to both of them for more selections.

My bedroom has a huge tv so I love watching here more than on my iPhone or

laptop. My son, Dominic, uses a Mac Mini so I was like, …I also want that! It sure looks like he’s having fun with it. So, my husband, Elmer, and I decided to buy one for our own use so we could directly watch our favorite shows on tv.

It’s so much better than the laptop.

Last weekend, we bought a Mac Mini at Digital Hub Limketkai Mall. It’s so worth it because it made my watching more fun! To know more about this product visit my website for the specs.

I’ve been hooked! I

find myself always looking forward to watching! I’m like a kid who’s excited to go home to watch their favorite tv shows.

My top picks for the tv shows are, HOUSE OF CARDS, which is an original Netflix series featuring Kevin Spacey as US President and Robin Wright as US First Lady and my all time favorite comedy tv series, FRIENDS. Finally, I can watch all the seasons anytime I want. So, every Sunday, our family bonding is to watch at least 6 episodes of this show. empress/PAGE B3

FWD Life grateful to clients on first year in Oro FWD Life Philippines, the fastest growing life insurance company in the Philippines today, sees the fwd/PAGE B3

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Smart named Company of the Year at Anvil Awards

Mobile leader Smart Communications was the big winner at the recently concluded 51st Anvil Awards, bringing home the Company of the Year distinction after receiving the highest number of Gold Anvils for its public relations programs.

Smart was presented with a seven Gold Anvils and seven Silver Anvils in a ceremony organized annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.

Receiving a Gold Anvil was Smart’s Free Internet campaign, an initiative to bring the benefits of mobile Internet to more Filipinos. From September 2014 to February 2015, Smart gave the 70 million subscribers of Smart, Sun, and TNT free access to 30 MB of data on a daily basis. Smart also released educational materials that taught Filipinos how mobile Internet could make their lives better.

Another Gold Anvil winner was the Sun Choose Better campaign, which encouraged the youth to celebrate practicality – to not go along with the hype and choose options that give them more than what they pay for.

To concretize Sun’s promise of providing better value, Sun Postpaid increased its text and data allocation for Plan 450. Sun Broadband improved its Non-

Stop Surf Plan 450 and Non-Stop Surf 25 load with a hybrid wallet, allowing subscribers to have an unlimited-like surfing experience for light Internet activities, while giving them a different allocation for downloading and streaming. Moreover, Sun prepaid boosted its Call & Text Unlimited 100 load with 100 MB of free data.

Another top awardee was Smart’s Employee Rockstar Program. This is an organizationwide rewards and recognition program for employees who promote innovation, an awesome customer experience, and collaboration in the workplace.

Smart’s education programs recognized Four of Smart’s education programs likewise bagged Gold Anvils. One of these is the Smart TechnoCart, a compact mobile laboratory donated to public schools to develop literacy among kindergarten students. Each TechnoCart contains tablets for students, a laptop, projector, and mobile WiFi. The tablets are preloaded with the Batibot mobile application, the first educational app for kids in Filipino which is aligned with the official kindergarten curriculum.

So far, 29 schools from as far as Pangasinan in the

Representatives from Smart led by public affairs head Mon Isberto [standing center] pose with their trophies at the Anvil awards dinner

North and TawiTawi in the South have received Smart TechnoCarts.

Fifteen of these were donated by Smart, while the rest were contributed by sponsorships from Smart’s partners.

The Batibot app also won a Gold Anvil. Smart partnered with the Community of Learners Foundation and startup OrangeFix to develop the Batibot app, in response to the lack of localized content for literacy.

The app takes off from the popular children’s TV show.

Through the app which can be downloaded for free on Android devices, children can learn how to write letters properly, sing along to Batibot songs, and play classic Batibot games like “Alin ang Naiba” or “Pagsama-

SHJMS GPTA holds thanksgiving fellowship. GPTA president Ann Lynette Sia is visibly moved after her being given accolade by parents and teachers alike during the yearend thanksgiving fellowship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori School General Parents-Teachers Association last March 8. photo by mark francisco

samahin.”

Also receiving recognition was the 13-year-old Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP). Under this program, Smart partners with colleges and universities to improve engineering and information technology education in the country. It also seeks to help schools produce industryready graduates or future technology entrepreneurs.

Through SWEEP, Smart provides faculty and students with learning opportunities and onthe-job training.

The SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards also won a Gold Anvil this year.

The program has evolved from simply recognizing innovative student

projects, to helping students establish startup companies that will help commercialize their solutions.

Silver Anvil Awardees Smart programs receiving Silver Anvils were: Agile Coaching Movement, which seeks to boost the mentoring and coaching capabilities of Smart leaders.

Digital X, a rewards and recognition program specifically for employees under the technology group.

Simple Joys of Christmas, a simple thanksgiving celebration among employees focusing on the joy of doing what you love, the joy of giving back, and joy of being part of a family.

Smart-Mystery Manila: Escape from the Earthquake, a fun, experiential

event organized to educate Smart employees on the survival skills needed during an earthquake.

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BusinessWeek MINDANAO

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friday|march 11, 2016

PIDS bares framework to address market competition issues

S

tate think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) presented a framework that would help government in assessing competition issues and in measuring the impacts of competition reforms on consumers, businesses, and the economy as a whole. Called the Framework for Competition Reform (FCR), this methodology is the product of the Competition Reforms in Key Markets for Enhancing Social and Economic Welfare (CREW) project conducted by the Institute in partnership with New Delhibased Consumer Unity and Trust (CUTS) International and the Action for Economic Reforms (AER).

Using the FCR, the CREW project initially looked at competition issues and the impact of competition reforms in the country’s rice and bus transport sectors. According to PIDS President Gilberto Llanto, the same framework can be applied in assessing market competition in other sectors.

“Learnings from this project would be useful to policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders in tackling competition issues and in measuring the impact of competition reforms in other sectors such as retail trade, air transport, as well as banking and finance,” Llanto explained during a workshop held last March 2 at the PIDS office in Quezon City.

The completion of the CREW project is timely given that the country is in the initial stage of implementing the Philippine Competition Act of 2015, which took 25 years before passing the legislative mill. The end goal of this law is to benefit consumers with more choices and lower prices, which are products of market competition.

According to CUTS International Senior Research

Associate Neha Tomar, the CREW project is aimed at fixing the “gap between knowing the competition law and implementing the same” by providing policymakers and practitioners a robust evidencebased methodology to understand the impact and value of reforms.

Thus, the FCR is designed to enable practitioners to map out the variables for producer and consumer welfare, and determine the impact of reforms.

The CREW project was implemented in Ghana, India, Philippines, and Zambia, and studied two basic sectors—staple food and passenger transport.

In assessing the state of competition in the rice sector, the PIDS project team looked into the major reforms introduced by government in the sector in view of the imminent abolition of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice importation. The study specifically provided evidence of the impact of QR on the domestic price of rice and on consumer welfare, and did an evidencebased assessment of options for protecting the interest of rice farmers. These include a proposal to provide adjustment package upon the abolition of QR in 2017, which is a transfer scheme over and above the existing production support provided by government.

In 1995, the Philippines was granted special treatment in rice, which allows the country to set a ceiling on the amount of rice to be imported over a given period.

The ceiling is determined by the state-run National Food Authority, which has the import monopoly for rice.

PIDS Senior Research Fellow and CREW Project Director Roehlano Briones cautioned that the removal of the QR on rice will result in massive fall in domestic rice prices, hence, it is imperative to provide farmers a measure for income support.

“The inevitable transition to

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continued emergence and development of Cagayan de Oro as a strong indication that it will continue to significantly contribute to the company’s presence and business performance in the country. The company, the first life insurer to have been granted a license to operate in the Philippines under the new Insurance Code, opened its business hub and Customer Connect Center in Cagayan de Oro in May 2015. The office located at the ground floor of the East Annex building in Limketkai Mall was FWD’s first expansion area outside of Metro Manila.

“We are very bullish on the growth prospects for our business in Cagayan de Oro. It is a strategically important geography for FWD Philippines and it carries the distinction

from page 9

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from page 9

a more open rice trade regime should be accompanied by safety nets for smallholders suffering from intensified competition from imports. We have evaluated a compensatory transfer scheme combined with a 35-percent tariff equivalent as a possible support scheme once special treatment is removed,” Briones explained.

For the bus transport sector, the PIDS study looked at options for consolidating buses as part of a strategy to decongest Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare—the Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue or EDSA. These options include consolidating bus operators into a consortium to bid the right to operate on a specific route and converting the buses into bus rapid transit systems. In her presentation, PIDS Consultant Hope Gerochi also enumerated the benefits, costs, and risks involved in the consolidation strategy, as well as implications for fair competition, compared to major alternative strategies.

Assessments of the state of competition in other industries in the country, such as airline, banking and finance, and retail trade, were also presented during the forum.

In her discussion, REID Foundation President Cherry Lyn Rodolfo, enumerated the positive impacts of competition reforms on the airline industry. These policies include the liberalization of air service agreements, which allowed Cebu Pacific to enter the Hong Kong and Singapore markets, and the passage of Pocket Open Skies, which opened up secondary gateways to international flights in 2011, and the recent ratification of ASEAN Open Skies, which allows airlines from all 10 ASEAN member-states to fly freely throughout the region.

According to Rodolfo, although the Philippines is “still not at the same level of growth as Indonesia in terms of passenger

of housing our best performing agency sales team nationwide in our first year of operations,” FWD Life Philippines president Peter Grimes said.

“CDO is emerging as the economic and financial center of Mindanao primarily because of its positive peace and order situation, stable power supply, steady stream of capable human resource, government efficiency, appropriate infrastructure and the continued surge of investors in the area.”

The commitment to integrate technology as a pillar of progress is one of the things that FWD proudly shares in common with Cagayan de Oro. “The rapid modernization of the city’s telecommunications and technology infrastructure has enabled us to more effectively reach larger numbers of clients in the region,” Grimes

carrying capacity of airlines, growth has been positive since 2009.”

This growth has been achieved despite major barriers such as poor infrastructure and congestion at the country’s main airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which prevent international airlines from entering the Philippine market.

Rodolfo also enumerated some competition issues in the airline industry such as market definition issues, drip pricing, impacts of code share arrangements, mergers and alliances, lack of access to essential inputs such as slots and check-in counters, and weak consumer and users group.

“These are issues that we believe we have to contend with and try to address because they are limiting the positive impact that the air transport can make,” said Rodolfo.

She insisted that solutions have to be holistic and long term. The airline industry would benefit a lot, she said, from implementing changes, such as having a new organization installed to oversee functions that should no longer be under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). She noted that CAAP’s primary concern should be the safety of consumers.

On the part of the banking industry, Dr. Alvin Ang of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Economics spoke about the sector’s shortcomings in balancing efficiency, financial stability, and access of firms and households to financial services.

“The banking sector faces a lot of competition problems like having high barriers to entry and exit. Lowering these barriers would generally lead to greater product differentiation, lower costs of financial intermediation, more access to financial services, and enhancing stability,” Ang explained.

added. “This in turn has resulted in FWD’s CDO agency sales team successfully contributing almost a third of our new business Annualized Premium Equivalent.

Furthermore, we now have approximately 200 financial wealth planners located in the thriving Northern Mindanao hub as well as FWD financial solutions consultants located in Security Bank branches locally and across the Philippines.”

Today’s expanding crop of Filipino achievers are highly experiential and place increasing importance on products, services and convenience that let them enjoy their individuality and pursue their passions worryfree. This is exactly why FMD is continually improving its userfriendly technology and is committed to creating a portfolio of products that people see as relevant,

Ang also underscored the problem of private banks disproportionately outranking the market share of thrift and rural banks. According to Ang, the top five banks in the country account for 54 percent of the total assets of the banking sector. On top of these, the banking sector is also concerned with improving financial inclusion and financial literacy.

Ang commented that it is necessary to undertake reforms to liberalize the financial markets not just to promote the domestic banking industry but also to prepare Philippine banks to participate and compete in the integrated ASEAN regional financial system. Currently, no Philippine bank has qualified to be an ASEAN bank, shutting them out from accessing a larger market.

“Philippine banks are among the smallest in the ASEAN in terms of asset. The Development Bank of Singapore, for example, is bigger than the entire Philippine banking system,” he added.

Lastly, Dr. Roberto de Vera from the University of Asia and the Pacific enumerated the competition concerns of the retail trade sector, including the need to develop and empower small and medium enterprises for a more inclusive market and more vibrant competition.

CUTS Associate Director Rijit Sengupta wrapped up the seminar affirming the importance of evidence-based research behind every competition-related change.

“The Philippines has shown great interest and strong intent in solving its competition issues.

Thus, the Philippine Competition Commission will find no shortage in partners from the academe, industries, regulatory bodies, and civil society to convey the message that competition will be promoted in every level of the economy without fear or favor,” he concluded.

intuitive and affordable.

In the health front, cancer statistics in the Philippines are a genuine cause of concern for all as 75 percent of Filipinos who succumb to this disease are under 50 years old. “That is why we created Fight Plan – a cancer plan that covers all types of cancer,” Grimes shared during a press conference last March 8 at Limketkai Luxe Hotel.

“Our endview for this product is simply that no forms of cancer should be excluded because even early detection treatments cost real money and can actually pose a financial burden to Filipinos with different circumstances.

We will continue to introduce new health and protection products this year as we need to offer a broader range of products that address protection needs to complement savings and investment goals.”

Knowing that Filipinos need greater access and convenience to products and servicing in order to make transactions easier, FWD also continues to build its momentum and distribution reach by strengthening its Bancassurance partnership with Security Bank. “2015 was also a banner year for our excellent partnership with Security Bank and we will see continued growth in this area with the introduction of new products, expanding distribution reach and almost doubling the number of branch-based advisers in 2016.”

At the end of its first full year of operations in 2015, FWD Life – with its customer base nearing 10,000 policyholders of which more than ten percent hail from Cagayan de Oro – has achieved close to P2.4 billion in total premium income. PR

BusinessWeek MINDANAO

2013 ppi’S Best in Business and Economic Reporting

YOUR Mindanao-wide BUSINESS NEWSPAPER friday | march 11, 2016

2014 ppi’S Best in ENVIRONMENTAL Reporting

B4

Sikat Ka Higala

I was invited by the Commanding General of the 4th ID MG Oscar T. Lactao to cover the CMRFD or the Conflict Manageable and Ready for further Development at Tandag,Surigao de Sur last March 8.It was a long 9 hour drive and had the privilege of meeting the dignitaries of the province along with the Governor of the province Gov. Johnny Pimentel.The efforts of the military suppressing insurgency has done a lot of impact to the entire region.The presence of its 4,000 soldiers had made the NPA to retract its offense thus resulting to 63 surrenderee and 43 arms surrendered and as far as the statistics is concerned there are only about 150 presence of NPA in the area as of

today.The fast ,agreessive and advancing force of the military has gained a momentum that being a province that is almost insurgency free is an ideal example that joint efforts of the military and the PNP with good efforts of the governor has attained Surigao de Sur CMFRD. In this case we are commending the efforts of the commanding general and his constituents and of course our brave soldiers who has done a non stop operation to accomplish the mission.I am witness of the military operation its commitment to suppress the insurgency i have been documenting these efforts as well as the programs implemented through the bayanihan project of the AFP.Their continuous acts as a subtle

peacemaker has caught my attention the sincerity to invite the civilians to come and submit its cooperation to the military.It was not an easy task to accomplish a mission that the whole Surigao del Sur will be insurgent free but with a devious strategy they are about to make this mission very possible.I have sat down and with the Commander of the 402nd Brigade Col Isidro L. Purisima and have deliberated how they have come up with a plan to further the presence and will continue to submerge until the declaration of insurgent free province will be a reality.I also have interviewed the PNP Provincial Director,PPOSDS PSSupt Romaldo G Bayting that when he was installed to be

the commander he have already outlined a 2 year plan to coordinate with local government to take heed to its operation of security specially in its preparedness level in the upcoming Election.

The Governor have commended both the PNP and AFP for doing a job well done and the confidence that soon Surigao del Sur will be a leader Province to obtain the insurgence to a big halt.I would like to thank the invitation of Captain Patrick Martinez of DPAO through our escort Sgt. Ian Vina and TSG. Dominador Oran Jr. of the 4th ID and the Host at ATF of Bancasi Butuan City and to the whole AFP and PNP you need a well deserve praise and commendation. Sikat Kayo Mga Higala.

By

Sheryl Macale

With Surigao Del Sur Governor Johnny Pimentel

2ND MINDANAO JOURNALISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS. (Front Row) Winners in various categories.

Lucky de lla Rosa - Liceo Univ. for Photo Journ, Karl John Wong- CDONHS (Photo Journ) H.S> ; Rezza Mae Tolinero - Xavier Univ for Science Reporting; Jose Angelo Gomez - Xavier Univ for Sports Writing, Jade Alfie Sale - Xavier Univ for News Writing, James Martin Ambat- Kong Hua School for News Writing High School; and Kaitlyn Cheyanne Tan- Kong Hua for Feature Writing H.S. pose with guest speaker Cong. Rufus Rodriguez, Publisher Dante Sudaria, project director Allan Mediante, judges and sponsors.

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