Manila Standard - 2016 September 26 - Monday

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SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

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NOMICS: SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS HEALTH OF (SECTIONS E-G)

VOL. XXX • NO. 226 • 7 SECTIONS 40 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph

THE NATION

PH to nations: Don’t interfere

MISS UNITED CONTINENTS.

Jeslyn Santos of Bulacan took home the Philippines’ first Miss United Continents crown from Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Saturday, besting 27 other candidates from around the world.

Yasay blunts criticism on drug war, killings

U

NITED NATIONS—Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. on Saturday pushed back against criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, telling the United Nations not to interfere.

“We urge everyone to allow us to deal with our domestic challenges in order to achieve our national goals, without undue interference,” Yasay told the UN General Assembly.

There has been growing international alarm over the rising death toll from Duterte’s crackdown on crime, with human rights groups saying that security forces are engaging in extrajudicial killings.

Duterte won elections in a landslide in May after vowing to eradicate the illegal drug trade in six months, and promising that 100,000 criminals would be killed in the process.

Since he took office on June 30 about 3,000 people have been killed, about a third of them suspects shot dead by police and the rest murdered by unidentified at- ADDRESS. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. addresses the tackers, according to police 71st session of the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York on statistics.

Next page Sept. 24. AFP

Tugade’s traffic crisis powers on hold

By Christine F. Herrera THE House drew closer to approving emergency powers for President Rodrigo Duterte to deal with the traffic crisis, with the formation of a technical working group to consolidate 10 bills into a substitute measure that the committee on transportation can consider by November.

The committee, however, set aside a draft bill from the Transportation Department that proposes to assign Trans-

port Secretary Arthur Tugade as the “traffic crisis manager” for three years until possible conflicts of interest within his department are settled.

Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, panel chairman, said Tugade and his men had also failed to provide details and define the parameters in their draft bill about which parts of the country should be covered by the extra powers.

“We want to know which part of the country is in traffic crisis. Where is the crisis? In

Metro Manila or the whole of the Philippines? We need specifics,” Sarmiento said.

Earlier, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, author of one of the bills seeking emergency powers for Duterte, expressed fears that Tugade and other department officials would use these powers to benefit their former principals in the private sector.

House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez expressed the same fears, noting that Tugade and Undersecretary Noel

PH, US set Oct. ‘war games’ THE Philippines and the US have scheduled military drills next month, the US Embassy in Manila said, days after President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged that his country did need American troops in the South China Sea. About 1,400 US servicemen based in Okinawa, Japan, and 500 Philippine Armed Forces personnel will conduct an amphibious-landing exercise and live-fire training in multiple

locations on the main island of Luzon and in Palawan, according to a statement on the embassy’s website on Saturday.

The drills, aimed at making troops better prepared to operate together during a natural disaster or armed conflict, are set for Oct. 4 to12.

Duterte has sent conflicting messages about Philippine foreign policy and the nature of his nation’s tie-ups with overseas partners since

he was sworn in late June, sowing confusion at a time of rising concern about China’s claims to most of the South China Sea. The former mayor last week acknowledged that his country needed American troops after earlier calling for the end of joint patrols in the strategic waterway.

The US alliance with the Philippines has for decades been a bedrock of American influence in the region.

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Bulacan lass WEATHER wins ‘united’ ‘Helen’ drenches beauty tilt Batanes THE Philippines took home its first Miss United Continents crown on Saturday in Guayaquil, Ecuador, following the victory of 23-year-old beauty queen from Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Jeslyn Santos bested 27 other candidates from around the world.

Miss Denmark was named 1st runner-up, Miss India 2nd runner-up, Miss Brazil 3rd runner-up, Miss Mexico 4th runner-up, and Miss Panama 5th runner-up.

The winners were crowned at the Palacio de Cristal.

This was the fourth year that the pageant has been opened to beauty queens from across the globe. From 2006 to 2012, Miss United Continents was a regional contest known as Miss American Continent.

Santos, who stands 5’7,” answered the question “How to unite the continents of the world?” in Spanish. She wore a “Sinulog” national costume designed by Lemuel Rosos of Cebu.

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TYPHOON “Helen” will not make landfall but will continue to dump rain into Batanes and the Babuyan group of islands―where Typhoon Signal No. 1 remains hoisted―until Tuesday, the weather bureau said Sunday.

The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph, and was moving west-northwest at 22 kph.

Weathermen said it will also be rainy in Metro Manila and the Visayas. Rio N. Araja

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Kintanar were both former executives of the contractors involved in the Metro Rail Transit-Light Railway Transit Common Station project.

“I have to be very straightforward with my concern.

This concerns the Ayalas. Two of the executives—Secretary Tugade and Undersecretary Kintanar are from Ayala firms or have done business with the Ayalas. They might favor the Ayalas’ business interests.

That’s not right,” Suarez said.

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Drug lord may testify vs De Lima

By Rey E. Requejo and Christine F. Herrera THE drug lord accused of raising money for Senator Leila de Lima, Jaybee Sebastian, will be presented as a hostile witness at the next hearing of the House panel investigating the proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison if he is subpoenaed, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Sunday.

Aguirre said he was not sure whether Sebastian, whom De Lima identified as a government informer, would Next page

Dick urges cops: Abide by the rules

BIGGEST. China is set to complete the installation work on its 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope known as FAST, the largest radio telescope in the world, to detect alien life.

PPA: No port congestion during holidays THERE will be no port congestion despite the expected surge in cargo volumes during the “ber” months, the Philippine Ports Authority said Sunday.

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S

PPA general manager Jay Daniel “Despite the surging numbers, Santiago said the country’s cargo we guarantee that our ports will volume climbed another 11 percent remain clog-free and can accomin the first seven months of the year modate the increasing cargo, compared with last year.

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LAW enforcement agencies must go by the rules and not kill with impunity in their fight against drug pushers, Senator Richard Gordon said Sunday.

“Kill drugs not people,” Gordon said.

“It’s not justifiable killing people to get the drug addicts. We do not throw the Rule of Law book out of the window,” said Gordon who replaced Senator Leila De Lima as head of the Senate’s justice and human rights committee.

He made his statement even as Malacañang said there would be Next page

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Du30 sets Vietnam visit P

PH, US...

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“Exchanging expertise and cultivating our longstanding security alliance provides a cornerstone for security and stability in the region, and has for decades,” Brig. Gen. John Jansen, Commanding General, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, said in the statement.

Duterte has proved to be unpredictable, as well as blunt and provocative, in his opening weeks in office, and has often made conflicting statements.

These have included remarks on whether the Philippines intends to negotiate with China over territory in the South China Sea, a region in which Manila also has claims.

Bloomberg

GLOBAL BEAUTIES. Winners of the Miss Global 2016 beauty pageant pose during the grand coronation

night held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Saturday evening September 24, 2016.From left : 4th runner-up Britt Rekkedal of Norway, 2nd runner-up Caitlynn Henry from Australia, 2016 Miss Global Angela Bonilla from Ecuador, 1st runner-up Camille Hirro of the Philippines and 3rd runner-up Nikola Bechynova of Czech Republic. Danny Pata

RESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte is

set for an official visit to Vietnam this week, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said on Sunday.

This will be the first visit of Duterte in Vietnam since he assumed the presidency last June 30.

The Palace official, however, has yet to confirm on who will be the officials and groups the President will meet during his trip to Hanoi.

He noted that Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who will accompany the President in his trip, has lined up programs related to trade and commerce While the President is in Vietnam, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea will again head the

caretaker committee to oversee government operations.

Meanwhile, with regard to Typhoon ‘‘Helen,’’ that threatens Batanes, Andanar said all concerned agencies continue to monitor the weather disturbance.

“At ito po’y sa pangunguna ni Undersecretary Ric Jalad. At ang ating DSWD ay handa naman para tumugon sa anumang problema,” he said.

Batanes is still recovering from the devastation brought by Super Typhoon ‘‘Ferdie,’’ which hit the island province last September 13.

PH....

involved. We have our own problems to solve and they also have their own problems to solve,” said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on state-run radio dzRB. On the other hand, Andanar said, President Duterte had invited the European Union and the United Nations last week investigate the so-called extrajudicial killings and alleged human rights violations.

“This means that the President is open to international organizations to check on the records on extrajudicial killing,” Andanar said.

Asked if the government impose certain restrictions on how the investigation would be conducted and if these were a form of censorship as Senator Leila de Lima suggested, Andanar said he had not seen any restrictions.

“The President is willing to write a letter to invite them,” he said.

“We are not hiding anything and we are not pretending,” he said, referring to the President’s tendency to use expletives.

“When the President became a candidate, he always mentioned ‘PI’ in his sorties. But still, he won... This means our countrymen sees our President in a deeper way,” he said.

Earlier, De Lima said she found it questionable that the administration would decide which places could be visited and which persons were to be interviewed

by UN special rapporteurs during a planned visit to the Philippines.

“What kind of investigation can we expect if the government is going to decide how the investigation is going to be conducted

by UN rapporteur’s team?” she asked.

“What is the sense of inviting independent probers if they are not going to be allowed freedom of movement and action, and are going to be dictated upon on the extent of their visits and sources of information?” she added. Sandy Araneta and AFP

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Tugade’s...

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Other department officials with possible conflicts of interest are Undersecretary for Air Operations Bobby Lim, who was formerly country manager of the International Air Transport Association; and Undersecretary Felipe Judan, who has a shipping business, which counts Petron, owned by businessman Ramon Ang, as a customer.

Tugade has his own forwarding business.

The Ayalas, businessmen Manuel Pangilinan and Ang also have ongoing multi-billion-peso stakes in bigticket infrastructure projects such as the Metro Rail Transit System and Light Railway Transit.

“Let us not fool ourselves. In every administration, private corporations put their people in departments covering their business.

Whose interests are you serving?” the Speaker asked Tugade and his officials during a House hearing.

Ang’s San Miguel Corp. also has stakes in MRT and Tugade, according to National Economic and Development Authority director general Ernesto Pernia, wanted to allow Ramon Ang-owned Manila North Harbour Port Inc. to engage in international trade, even though it has an existing contract with the

Drug...

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implicate or clear the senator, but said he could not refuse a subpoena from the House panel.

“If he refuses to comply with a subpoena [for him attend the House inquiry], we will forcibly take him from his detention cell because it a compulsory process,” Aguirre said in a radio interview.

However, Aguirre clarified that the House committee on justice has yet to issue a subpoena to Sebastian.

Seven witnesses presented by Aguirre at last week’s hearing, including several NBP inmates, all pointed to Sebastian as the one who allegedly ordered them to collect money from their fellow inmates by selling illegal drugs to raise money for the senatorial candidacy of De Lima in the May 9 polls.

Aguirre said if the Department of Justice is directed to produce Sebastian before the House inquiry, they have to comply.

Besides, Aguirre noted that prisoners’ political rights are suspended while serving their term.

“So they don’t have rights to refuse a subpoena,” he said.

Because he is not a DoJ wit-

PPA: ...

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passenger and ship call volumes,” Santiago said in a statement.

“The strong performance of the cargo segment underscores the country’s economic resilience.

The strong numbers in the passage sector also suggests the continuing vibrancy of both the local and international travel industries and more people are now considering traveling using ships.”

The combined yard utilization at the Manila ports is now at 40 percent, with about 32,600 TEUs inside the terminals while yard productivity ranges from 20 to 30 moves an hour.

Philippine Ports Authority to operate only in domestic trade.

Port stakeholders are opposing Tugade’s preferential treatment of MNHPI. Once emergency powers are in place, Tugade told lawmakers, his department could forgo time-consuming public biddings to expedite procurement and allow negotiated contracts.

In the department’s 40-page draft bill, Tugade would have “single authority and overall traffic management and control over land, sea and air-based traffic.”

“The traffic crisis manager may modify, amend, or expand the functions of [all agencies involved in traffic in land, sea and air-based] and override their permits and licenses, as well as relevant rules and procedures,” the department’s bill said.

In land, sea and air-based transportation, Tugade will take over control of powers vested in Metro Manila Development Authority, Land Transportation Office, local government units, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Toll Regulatory Board, the Philippine National Police, Philippine National Railways, Philippine Ports Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board and the Manila International Airport Authority.

For three years, under Section 19 of the Tugade-proposed emergency powers bill, the amount needed for the implementation would be taken from the budget of the agencies he would take over, the Motor Vehicle Users Charge Fund and 10 percent of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s annual aggregate gross earnings that would amount to billions of pesos.

While under national emergency, “no court, except the Supreme Court, may issue any temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction… to restrain, prohibit or compel” the government from carrying out the transportation projects.

Tugade would also have power over seaports, including but not limited to the expansion of capacity of the Port of Manila, and shifting international container traffic to Batangas and Subic ports.

In air-based transportation, Tugade would have the power to develop new airports; optimize existing airports and transfer functions to alternative airports. He would also be able to grant exemption from travel tax and excise tax on aviation fuel for Clark International Airport and other airports to increase their use.

Tugade was president and chief executive officer of the Clark Development Corp. under the previous administration.

During panel hearings, Sarmiento had asked Tugade to identify and define the traffic and transportation crisis to be fixed by the proposed emergency powers.

“Failure to determine the crisis may lead to a grant of power that is misplaced or beyond what is required,” Sarmiento had said.

In the same hearing, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate backed the idea of carefully scrutinizing the plans and programs included in the emergency powers to erase fears over possible abuse of the powers.

Alvarez and Suarez said Tugade had to assure Congress that possible conflicts of interest will not come into play.

Sarmiento said he would chair the the working group and set a hearing after Oct. 7.

“After Oct. 7, that will be the time the working group can meet and invite resource persons. Before the congressional break on Oct. 22, we will meet and then present to the mother committee what we’ve agreed upon,” said Sarmiento.

Sarmiento expressed hope the the working group will be done with the substitute bill by November and be able to present the measure to the committee on transportation.

He said the bill would subsequently be referred to the committee on appropriations because of the funding component.

ness, it is unclear what Sebastian will tell the committee, Aguirre said.

“I won’t speculate. He will only do two things: tell the truth or tell a lie,” he said.

The next hearing is on Oct. 5.

Aguirre earlier said the testimony of the inmates as well as that of Philippine National Police Deputy Chief for Operations Director Benjamin Magalong have strengthen the government’s case against De Lima but he said he would wait for additional evidence to build an airtight case before filing the charges.

“We have more than probable cause but I want an airtight case,” he said.

In his testimony, Magalong said De Lima prevented the PNP-CIDG, which he headed at that time and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency from taking part in a surprise raid to get rid of illegal activities inside the national penitentiary in 2014.

Magalong said his men and the PDEA were supposed to be part of the operation as agreed upon, but eventually the raid was carried out by the Bureau of Corrections and the PNP-National Capital Region Police Office then headed by Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo.

Garbo was one of the police

generals linked by President Rodrigo Duterte to the illegal drug trade.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House committee on justice, said De Lima was “talking out of tune” when she complained that convicted criminals should not be believed when they testified against her.

“We summoned witnesses who have first hand-knowledge of the illegal activities in prison. Who else can they be but convicted criminals themselves?” Umali said.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Antonino said De Lima “should be thankful that she’s not in shackles.”

“Senator Leila De Lima should stop the drama,” Antonino said.

“Allegations by witnesses that she personally abetted the peddling of illegal narcotics inside and outside of the NBP is a very serious accusation and it would take more than just a sweeping denial to refute it.”

In an interview over radio dzBB, Aguirre said Sebastian, if he would tell the truth, would pin down De Lima and confirm the allegations made by President Rodrigo Duterte that the senator was the top official in the drugs matrix that was the recipient of drug money in the NBP.

Inmates had testified that De Lima had frequented the NBP and would stay as long as two to three hours alone with Sebastian in the latter’s air conditioned hut.

They also said Sebastian had paid De Lima some P10 million to effect the transfer of his competitors known as the Bilibid 19 so that Sebastian could lord it over the drug trade at NBP for eight months from Dec. 15, 2014.

They also said Sebastian forced his fellow inmates to sell drugs to “raise funds for De Lima’s senatorial campaign amounting to P3 million to P5 million a month.”

De Lima has denied all the allegations and said Sebastian was a “government asset.”

Aguirre said the DoJ was still trying to locate Ronnie Dayan, De Lima’s alleged ex-driver-lover, to also testify against her.

The inmates said Dayan acted as De Lima’s bagman and collected the drug money on her behalf.

Aguirre said he has already instructed the National Bureau of Investigation to dig deeper into the drug connection of De Lima based on what the DoJ had gathered as evidence so far.

“I expect before the end of the year, the NBI will be able to file a case against De Lima,” Aguirre said.With Sandy Araneta

Santiago said the efficient yard management for the Manila terminals was partly due to the truck Terminal Appointment Booking System or TABS imposed recently that increased port efficiency by at least 96 percent.

Before the TABS, the average daily gateouts at the Manila ports was at 4,500 to 5,000 TEUs as compared to the post-TABS imposition of 7,000 to 7,500 TEUs daily gateouts.

“With this kind of yard utilization, we can say that Philippine ports are ready to handle the expected increase in the volume of cargo due to the run-up to Christmas,” Santiago said.

Data from the PPA showed that the total cargo throughput reached

141.770 million metric tons this year from 128.217 MMT in the first seven months in 2015.

Foreign cargo volume rose 12 percent to 86.302 MMT while domestic traffic recorded a ninepercent increase.

Similarly, passenger volume registered an 11-percent hike at 42.492 million for the same period, up from 38.213 million last year.

Foreign passenger volume rose 69 percent to 71,514 passengers while domestic passenger volume posted an 11-percent increase to 42.420 million passengers.

Santiago said the ports of Agusan, Mindoro, Panay/Guimaras, NCR North and Negros Oriental/ Siquijor posted the biggest growth percentage in local and foreign

cargo, while North Harbor remained the top performer in terms of domestic cargo volume.

Manila International Container Terminal Services Inc. remained the country’s top handler of foreign boxes, processed 1.241-million TEUs for the first seven months of the year followed by the Manila South Harbor with 584,598 TEUs. North Harbor posted the highest volume of domestic boxes handled with 696,495 TEUs. The ship calls for the same period went up nine percent from 234,468 in 2015 to 255,037 this year, with domestic and foreign ship calls growing by 8.45 percent and 21.91 percent, respectively.

Rey E. Requejo

“We have not and we will never empower our law enforcement agents to shoot-to-kill individuals suspected of drug crimes,” Yasay told the General Assembly.

“Extrajudicial killings have no place in our society, and in our criminal justice system.”

The top diplomat told the General Assembly that Duterte enjoyed a 92-percent approval rating at home for his stance and suggested that his campaign was misunderstood.

“Our actions, however, have grabbed both the national headlines and international attention for all the wrong reasons,” he said.

He argued that corruption and drugs had “torn apart many of our communities, destroyed our families and snuffed out the hopes and dreams of our people—young and old—for a bright future.”

Invoking the UN’s new sustainable development goals adopted last year, Yasay said his country would not be able to meet those goals without tackling corruption and drugs.

Relations between Duterte and the United Nations have been tense after the newly-elected leader launched several tirades against the world body for its criticism of his tactics, even threatening to pull out—a threat he later withdrew.

Earlier this month, Duterte declined a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of a meeting in Laos of South East Asian leaders, and later referred to him as a fool.

The Palace on Sunday reiterated Yasay’s call for non-interference, and said this reflected the stance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“It’s the Asean way, part of the Asean values that whatever happens in other countries, we will not get involved. Whatever happens to us, they will also not get

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enough money soon to put up drug rehabilitation centers for drug dependents.

“By next year, we will have a sufficient budget for the program of the President for the drug rehab centers,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told the state-run dzRB radio.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas II said the police drive against illegal drugs could get much easier and less dangerous if a bill he had filed was approved authorizing the police to issue administrative subpoenas.

In Quezon City, Police Chief Guillermo Lorenzo said they would soon take their campaign against illegal drugs to the highend bars and clubs.

De Lima was ousted from her post after presenting Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed Davao Death Squad hitman who testified that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killing of 1,000 suspected criminals and personal enemies when he was Davao City mayor.

Gordon said he supports President Rodrigo Duterte’s stance to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs.

He said illegal drugs should be eradicated or the day would come when drug lords and drug pushers were more heavily armed than law enforcers, citing Mexico and Colombia.

“Nevertheless, this [the campaign against illegal drugs] cannot be used as an excuse to flout the law and kill people indiscriminately,” Gordon said.

He said his committee would focus on creating new laws or injecting amendments to correct the flaws in existing laws to prevent incidents like convicts being released to kill people.

His committee would also ensure that policemen would strictly follow the rules of engagement. ‘‘The resolution covers the recent and rampant killings in our country,” Gordon said.

Senator Win Gatchalian has also called on the President to work with the judiciary in implementing reforms that will strengthen the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. Macon Ramos-Araneta, Sandy Araneta and Rio N. Araja

and 2016 contests, and was named Binibining Republica Filipina 2015.

From A1 She also represented the Philippines in the inaugural edition of A pageant veteran, Santos was a fi- Miss World Peace in Hong Kong. nalist in the Binibining Pilipinas 2014 Bernadette Lunas

Bulacan...

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

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Du30 men dunned on pledges

By MaconAraneta

S

ENATE Minority Leader Ralph Recto on Sunday asked Malacañang to familiarize itself with the “anti-red tape and quick response” targets that its appointees have promised the public during the 2017 national budget deliberations.

The senator said sanctions must be meted out to agencies that would fail in their pledges of fast document processing and rapid reaction to distress calls.

“Is it not the President who is angry at long lines? The Palace should know the fast services

promised by his appointees’” said Recto.

He noted that the pledges, attached to budget requests of agencies, range from “a sevenminute response time of firemen to alarms, to a 15-minute maximum crime scene arrival

of police officers, to delivery of car plates and stickers in seven days, to a ‘gone in 40 seconds’ in immigration arrival gates,” Recto said.

Other targets include the pledge of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration that “100 percent of all OFW requests for assistance be acted upon within 24 hours and the Department of Transportation’s vow that light rail trains will have an average speed of 50 kilometers per hour.”

Recto said that the Philippine Statistics Authority, keeper and issuer of civil registration records, said 96 percent of request-

ed documents will be released within the prescribed time.

While it gave no specific target, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it would render service that will be rated “good or better” by 90 percent of passport applicants.

The senator said the Bureau of Customs has also issued timetables in the processing of cargoes.

He said the National Bureau of Investigation pledged to process clearances within 10 minutes, while the Land Registration Authority has promised a 20-day deadline in the issuance of land titles.

Even infrastructure projects, Recto said, are now bound by performance guarantees, with the Department of Public Works and Highways boldly assuring that 100 percent of road projects will be completed on time.

Recto, however, called for a change in many perfomance benchmarks as some are misleading and do not guarantee fast service.

“Processing time” target for some documents is clocked the moment the document is handed over to the government employee and “does not count the time spent in queues.”

As part of recent budgeting

reforms, “countable outputs” are linked to appropriations, with specific funds given to an agency in exchange for a specific set of deliverables.

But Recto’s call is limited to anti-red tape pledges only which, he said, the Palace must closely monitor as President Duterte was elected on the promise of quick government action “and given his legendary disdain for government offices that make people wait.”

Recto said Malacañang should also take a second look at the performance guarantees and assess if the deadlines are religiously met.

Andanar clarifies info on UN visit

PRESIDENTIAL Communications Secretary Martin Andanar today clarified a news report that said he committed an error regarding an 18-member United Nations team that will visit the Philippines on September 28-29.

“I did not confirm in a radio interview that a UN team would arrive next week to look into accusations of extrajudicial killings in the country’s war against drugs and upon the invitation of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Andanar said.

“What I said in a radio interview is that there should be an official invitation from the Philippine government, coursed through formal channels, for such a visit to become official,” he said.

Andanar explained that the UN 18-member team is actually from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

“As one of the 164 state sig-

natories to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [ICESCR], the Philippines is required to undergo regular review. The review to be conducted by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights review will not cover alleged extrajudicial killings,” he said.

The ICESCR is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 16, 1966 which the Philippines signed on Dec. 19, 1966 and ratified on June 4, 1974.

Andanar said that if ever there is going to be a UN investigation of alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) in the Philippines, it should be conducted by the UN Special Rapporteur on EJK. “No formal request on this matter has been sent to the Philippines, and no letter-invitation has been sent by the PH government,” he said.

HISTORIC RIDE. Medical technology students of Arellano University take a snapshot onboard a jeepney during a weekend stopover at Rizal Park’s Nayong Pilipino. Ey Acasio

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Opinion

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Slow-moving traffic

T

HERE are less than two weeks before President Duterte’s first 100 days are over—but short of lobbying Congress for emergency powers, Transport officials have done precious little to alleviate the daily woes of millions of commuters and motorists, particularly in Metro Manila.

This week, Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said he was optimistic that Congress would grant Duterte emergency powers before the end of the year to ease the country’s traffic woes.

In the Senate, the committee on public services last week wrapped up its series of hearings on the

Adelle Chua, Editor

emergency powers the administration seeks. A final draft of the bill is expected to be submitted for debate by November.

The House, meanwhile, is consolidating 10 bills with different proposals seeking to give Duterte the emergency powers. A working group will tackle the consolidated bill,

and hopes to have it ready for the House committee on transportation by November, as well.

We can appreciate that it takes time to push legislation through Congress—even though the previous administration demonstrated that it could ram through an impeachment complaint in just one day. Assuming that this administration is more serious than its predecessor about the need for a thorough debate in Congress, the process will indeed take some time.

What is disconcerting, however, is how little has been done in areas that do not need emergency powers.

Back in July, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said Tugade’s presentation of transportation solutions was one of the highlights of a Cabinet meeting the day before, saying the secretary had discussed “a menu of changes which could very positively impact the rate of flow of traffic soon, very soon.”

He added: “Within the next 100 days, you should be feeling something.”

Sadly, we have not.

In July, Tugade made a similar presentation at the World Trade Center Up Close and Personal forum in which he said that projects to ease

road congestion in Metro Manila that don’t need the grant of special powers by Congress were part of his department’s plans for the first 100 days.

Within 100 days, he said, the department aimed to sustain traffic enforcement at choke points and enforcing the no-parking, anti-colorum, and anti-smoke belching policies.

He added that he had already started taking back streets that belong to the government—and that illegally parked cars would be brought to impounding areas outside Metro Manila because their owners “are not entitled to convenience” after the

inconvenience they bring to other commuters.

Again, none of this has happened in any significant manner. In fact, there has not been a single news report of any of these programs being carried out during the last 89 days.

During his first few days in office, Tugade promised two things would be achieved by the first 100 days: cleaner toilets and faster Internet service at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He might pull that off yet—but we’d say he is aiming far too low—and like the traffic in Metro Manila—moving way too slowly.

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

Drugslinging contest

OUT OF THE BOX RITA LINDA V. JIMENO THERE is no evil worse than that inflicted on innocent, defenseless children by ruthless men and women who sexually and physically abuse them for pleasure and profit.

Until I had the occasion to speak with the Chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division of the National Bureau of Investigation, lawyer Janet M. Francisco, I did not realize the extent of evil men can do to children. She told me about, and gave me a copy of, the Resolution by the Department of Justice, involving an Australian, Peter Scully, aided by his Filipina partner, Liezyl Margallo, who did the most savage acts against children.

The couple would entice poor families to let them “adopt” one or two of their daughters, saying they were looking for children they could care for and send to school.

They were able to collect eight little girls, seven of whom were

Crimes against children between three and 11 years old, while the youngest was only 18 months of age. They then brought the kids to their rented house.

Instead of caring for them, they sexually and physically abused them and used them to create pornographic videos of the most perverse kind.

The most gut-wrenching video they made, which I read from the DoJ Resolution, was of the 18-month-old baby and titled it, “Daisy’s Destruction.” The baby was hanged upside down, naked, legs spread apart. From that position the accused beat her up in different parts of her tender body; urinated on her; clipped her little breasts with clothespins; and poured melting wax on her private parts.

Sometimes the baby’s mouth would be taped to stop her incessant cries.

One of the girls, an 11-yearold, died from the frequent rape, torture and abuse inflicted on her by the accused while

Poverty plays a big role here.

being videotaped. When she died she was buried underneath the kitchen floor, a fact confirmed by the NBI operatives who exhumed her body. Before they were videotaped for perverse sexual acts, the girls were either drugged or forced to take hard liquor, sometimes making them pass out.

These barbaric criminal acts

by Sully, Margallo and other conspirators came to be investigated by the NBI Anti-Human Trafficking Division when NBI’s representative, lawyer Janet Francisco, attended the Interpol Human Trafficking Conference in Bermuda in October 2014. She was shown a

series of videos on the “Destruction of Daisy” which had been uploaded in cyberspace and believed to have originated from the Philippines. Upon her return to the country, Francisco immediately reported the matter to her then Chief, Attorney Czar Eric Nuqui. The Netherlands Law Enforcement Unit which investigated the Daisy videos gave the case files to them. After in-depth investigations akin to what we normally see only in movies, the NBI succeeded in arresting Scully, Margallo and their conspirators. Numerous pornographic and sadistic videos and photographs were recovered from them. In June this year, the Department of Justice indicted them for conspiracy in numerous counts of qualified trafficking in persons (which absorbed the crime of murder), rape, child abuse, voyeurism, and child pornography.

The lives, the psyche, the

emotional and mental state of the young children victimized by the accused Scully and Margallo are forever ruined and scarred. What is even more saddening is that this case is not an isolated one. There have been, and there still are, many such crimes against children being committed in the Philippines and other vulnerable countries of the world. Francisco said that they have identified the hot spots in the Philippines but their work is tough and riddled with challenges.

Poverty plays a big role as poor families unwittingly give their children away in the hope that their children will have better lives, only to find that their offspring have fallen prey to predators. Still, there are those who knowingly allow their children to be abused in exchange for their economic survival. To my mind, more than poverty, society’s collective failure

THE issue of illegal drugs has become a mud-slinging contest. In the House of Representatives, five convicted felons were paraded as witnesses against former Justice secretary and now Senator Leila de Lima. It was supposed to be a hearing conducted by a House panel but Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguiree did most of the direct questioning of the convicted witnesses and guided them through what seemed like a pre-conceived script on how to inflict the most damage to De Lima.

But in the end, to those of us watching the House proceedings on live TV coverage, nothing much was proven from the surfeit of hearsays from the high-value but lowcredibility witnesses presented by Aguirre. The convicts’ testimony gave an insight into how things work at the National Bilibid Prison and how the incarcerated drug lords still lord it over the state penitentiary. By their account and narrative to the House justice committee, it’s still business as usual as they carry out their illicit trade inside the NBP. They use mobile phones to sell drugs outside and transfer money to certain parties.

That De Lima allegedly received drug money used in her campaign for a Senate seat didn’t stick. De Lima may now be damaged goods but Aguirre and his DoJ team so far were unable to establish that drug money was directly given to De Lima. The convicted witnesses testified that money was transacted through money remittance centers to trusted henchmen, including De Lima’s driver Ronnie Dayan, but not directly to the former justice secretary.

Aguirre claimed De Lima received millions in dirty money but he has to show his predecessor stashed the loot in her bank account. He should have solicited the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) before making his claim that drug money went to De Lima’s bank book.

Let me make it clear that this piece is not in defense of De Lima but of due process and transparency in the prosecution of wrong- doing by our Turn to A5

Turn to A5 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher

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Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

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Opinion five-percent increase in the minimum wage effective January 1 next year. I met with the Minister of Labor in Taipei last Thursday and he confirmed this news.

This is a happy development for the 130,000 Filipinos who currently reside and work in this First World island economy which has become a leader in high-tech manufacturing. Most overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan work in the island’s factories mostly centered in Taipei, the capital in the north, Taichung in the center and Kaohsiung to its south. Our OFWs in Taiwan enjoy better pay and benefits than in other countries, and are highly regarded by their employers because of their skills, dexterity and bilingualism.

Taiwan, which is our sixthlargest trading partner, is expanding its foreign investment horizons to south of the island, underscored by the new president’s “Southbound Policy” which covers the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India, among others. It has thus become a challenge for our country to get a big slice of the Taiwanese private sector direct investments.

In a future article, we shall write about our government’s efforts at trying to get Taiwanese business to invest more in the country, as well as cooperative efforts to advance our friendly ties as next door neighbors.

*** Speaking of good news, some big things are LITO soon to be anBANAYO nounced from the Chinese front. Apparently warmed by President Duterte’s friendlier and forward-looking approach to the West Philippine Sea issue that has soured our bilateral relationship, the government of the People’s Republic of China has agreed in principle to assist in major infrastructure projects that the country badly needs.

Once the President’s visit to China materializes, and we have learned it will be soon, agreements and MOUs will be signed on major projects that will ease traffic and solve some of our major transportation problems.

Recently, on a trip from Hong Kong to Macau and back, I was able to see what would be the longest bridge in the world built over the sea, in the Pear River estuary, that extends from Hong Kong’s three main islands (Hong Kong, Kowloon and Lantau), past its massive Chep Lap Kok airport complex, and into Macau— a 55-kilometer long span. It takes almost two hours to reach Macau from Hong Kong, or vice-versa. With the bridge cum underwater tunnel, that should be cut to some 40 minutes by car on regular speed.

It is an engineering marvel, with almost half of the connector submerged more than 50 meters deep into the ocean bed, via a tunnel that was principally intended to save the

SO I SEE

existing reef and marine life from being disturbed. Wow! An additional 5 billion dollars, I am told, just to preserve the marine environment.

The Philippines may not get as huge a project, which is akin to connecting Bohol island to Cebu and then to Negros, but it certainly will get a mind-boggling sum by local standards in infrastructure and other economic assistance from our giant neighbor.

The problem that we can foresee is the absorptive capacity of our bureaucracy to implement the projects quickly enough, which is one other reason why we must give our President those emergency powers soon to fast-track solutions to our infrastructure and transport mess.

Yes, Manila and yes, Philippines. Other than the unrelenting efforts to secure the peace and fight drugs and criminality, things are moving quietly, but surely, on the economic front.

Rodrigo Duterte may not be an economist, and does not pretend to have grandiose visions of a “First-world” economy as others before him touted as possible shortly. Still, his political will, his nationalism, and his courageous persona are getting noticed by unbiased neighbors to our north and to our west, and soon even to our south, and they look forward to a peaceful Philippines where their investments will be protected from official indecision and changing rules, and where their people, coming in as investors or tourists, will be secure and safe.

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Drug-slinging...

From A4

Neighbors THERE’S a bit of good news coming from the land of the rising sun, and just in time for our President’s forthcoming state visit there.

Masahiko Shibayama, a close adviser of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in Singapore last week that “doubling the number of foreign workers cannot be avoided in this global market situation.”

“We have to make a sustainable system for accepting more foreign workers”—this is seen as a solution to the demographic woes in Japan’s ageing society with a low birth rate.

Discussions are ongoing in Japan’s official circles, including the Diet, about bringing in technology industry workers from India and Vietnam, as well as the creation of a new visa category for tourism workers. Japan has been experiencing a visitor boom, which is expected to continue in the coming years.

This is certainly good news for Filipinos who wish to work in a country closer to home.

Filipino IT professionals are as good as their Indian counterparts, and certainly, we can well apply for tourism-related jobs.

The only hitch is learning to speak their language, but then Filipinos have time and again shown how easy it is for them to learn foreign languages— which cannot be said of their Indo-Chinese competitors —and how easy it is for us to adapt to foreign cultures. *** In Taiwan, meanwhile, the new government of President Tsai Ing Wen has announced a

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

government officials. De Lima, according to a conscripted DoJ witness, had talked privately with one or two of the high profile drug convicts during her much publicized raids of facilities at the NBP in Muntinlupa.

If true, then that’s more than a lapse in judgment by a justice secretary. That would be incrimination through reckless imprudence. What transpired during those tete-a tete with drug lords can only be the subject of speculation and loose talk among the convicts themselves.

The DoJ wants the National Bureau of Investigation to probe De Lima. Aguirre should provide the NBI with probable cause and documentary evidence instead of a House inquiry. The paper trail of fund transfers must be shown to end up in De Lima’s bank account. Otherwise, the government’s case would be deemed weak.

Short of asking what drug Duterte himself is taking, De Lima has thrown back the drug dirt to Duterte claiming he’s now allied with the convicted traffickers and is using them as witnesses to pin her down.

That’s what happens when you throw mud at someone: the mud sticks in your hand. One cannot engage in mudslinging without getting one’s own hands dirty.

Crimes...

From A4

What’s this we hear Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo wants all drug addicts in the country to be placed on one island to serve as rehabilitation center? Where—in Corregidor, Sulu or Panatag Shoal?

Panelo didn’t specify.

Drug dependents according to Panelo, are potential robbers, potential rapists, and potential killers and ultimately, to maintain their habit, become drug pushers themselves. While true, Panelo didn’t provide the logistics of transferring more than a million drug addicts on an island and the cost of building them the necessary shelter and the airlifting or ferrying by boats their basic supplies, not to mention the qualified personnel needed to run and maintain the facility.

What about the relatives who want to visit these drug dependents? How will they go to the island? It is during this time in their lives that these drug users who want to rehabilitate themselves need the support and love of their family. Otherwise, they will feel forsaken, marooned on an island like the US island prison of Alcatraz in the bay of San Francisco.

While the island rehab center is a capital idea, this is a case of talk first, think later. Maybe Sal Panelo might want to head the island rehab center himself.

Then he, too, would feel and understand what it’s like to be isolated and desolate.

the way it treats its children.”

And according to Kofi Annan, “There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace.”

to raise and develop people with moral values is the bigger culprit in crimes perpetrated against children. This is a task we, as citizens, are all called upon to help in.

Nelson Mandela said: “There can be no keener rev- Email: ritalindaj@gmail.com elation of a society’s soul than Visit: www.jimenolaw.com.ph

News

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Fix road users’ tax fund’ “I fear that huge part of the MVUC funds is lost to graft and corruption as there is no check and balance in place for this public fund. So how do we make the Road Board, DPWH and DoTC accountable?” he added.

At present, he said, the MVUC fund could not be properly reviewed by Congress because it is not reflected in the General Appropriations Bill.

“Under this prevailing condition, MVUC funds and releases could therefore be easily overlooked, or worse, concealed,” Bravo said. “This leaves us clueless if the fund is being properly dispensed according to its intended use. It deprives Congress of its

By Christine F. Herrera

A

party-list lawmaker has urged Congress to fix a “gray area” in the utilization of the accumulated P113.4-billion Motor Vehicle Users Charge or road users’ tax as this may have resulted in revenue losses due to corruption.

In a privilege speech, CoopNATCCO Rep. Anthony Bravo said that since 2000, the Department of Public Works and Highways and then Department of Transportation and Communications failed to account for the tax fund as this did not pass through congressional scrutiny.

Even in the 2017 national budget, Bravo said the expenditures under MVUC were placed in a special fund “without details.”

“Is there a report on the breakdown of this MVUC funds? Is there full disclosure of all the transactions? Sadly, there is none,” Bravo said.

control of the expenditures of this particular public fund.”

“Let us explore this gray area.

It is high time that we take closer scrutiny of the expenditures of the DPWH and DoTC, relative to the utilization of the MVUC funds so as to stop further wastage of public funds,” the lawmaker added.

The MVUC, he said, is the third largest source of tax revenue in the country with P11.3-billion collections in 2015 alone, as reflected in the Budget Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) for 2017.

The MVUC accounts for 88 percent of the total vehicle registration fee paid to the Land Transportation Office and was intended

to finance the road maintenance projects.

Bravo said some 80 percent of the MVUC fund goes to Special Road Support fund under the DPWH to be used for national primary roads and national secondary roads while five percent goes to the Special Local Road fund also under DPWH to be used for local roads’ traffic and safety devices.

The remaining 15 percent is split equally between the Special Road Safety Fund, again under DPWH, for installation of road safety devices throughout the country and the Special Pollution Fund under the transportation department for prevention and control of air pollution from mobile sources.

#TEACHERFEST. Educators line up to attend the Gabay Guro grand gathering at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday to mark World Teachers’ Month. DANNY PATA

Solon wants Higher FDI to result in 1 million jobs a year federalism By Macon Ramos-Araneta in brgy talks

By Christine F. Herrera CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. on Sunday urged the Department of Interior and Local Government to include federalism in the topics to be discussed during the national assembly of barangay officials scheduled on October 9 to unofficially kick off the information drive on the proposed shift to new system of government.

The theme of this year’s barangay general assembly focuses on “real change,” which makes the subject of federalism via Charter Change highly appropriate for discussion among barangay officials, Villafuerte said.

“The proposed shift to a federal system of government through Cha-Cha is the game changer that would bring about the real change that would uplift Filipinos by making economic growth beneficial to all and not just a few. Thus, federalism fits the theme of ‘tunay na pagbabago’ or real change in this year’s barangay assembly,” he said.

Villafuerte stressed that knowledge about federalism would serve barangay officials well in educating their constituents ahead of the upcoming deliberations in Congress on the proposed shift.

late to better competition which is good for every Filipino,” Villanueva said.

Engaging the business sector in skills training and development, he said, would also provide better and more opportunities to many Filipinos who are seeking employment.

Villanueva earlier filed Senate Bill No. 208 or the “EnterpriseBased Education and Training Act of 2016” which seeks to strengthen Technical Vocational

A MILLION jobs per year await Filipinos should the country be able to get $7.5-billion foreign direct investments, Senator Joel Villanueva said.

Villanueva urged President Rodrigo Duterte to attract foreign investments to create more jobs even as he remained focused on his administration’s campaign against illegal drugs and criminality.

“More investments would trans-

Education and Training in the country by incorporating apprenticeship and “dual training” in the business sector.

“Engaging the business sector in training and educating people will ensure adequate supply of skills that businesses need right now,” the senator said.

Villanueva also urged the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines—a coalition of various foreign chambers from the United

States, Australian, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, Japan and South Korea—to invest more in the labor-intensive domestic business process outsourcing industry.

Aside from committing to work toward increasing FDI flow into the country, the JFC also agreed on the importance of skills training and development for workers, especially those employed in the agri-business, mining, tourism, and manufacturing sectors.

PC revival divides lawmakers

By Rio N. Araja LAWMAKERS were split on President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposal to revive the Philippine Constabulary, which Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said was a dreaded trademark of Martial Law. But Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the PC will help the Armed Forces of the Philippines combat terrorism and criminality.

“We really need a fourth military branch dedicated solely to quashing internal threats. This way, the three existing service commands—the Army, Navy and the Air Force—could concentrate entirely on external threats,” said Pimentel, a member of the House committee on national defense and security.

“Our sense is that the President is not inclined to field existing military forces to suppress the escalating threats from the inside, particularly terrorism and illegal drug trafficking. That’s why he wanted the return of PC as the fourth military group with civil duties,” he added.

Lagman, however, cautioned against bringing back the PC, which was merged with the Integrated National Police to form the Philippine National Police in 1991.

The lawmaker said several abuses during the Martial Law period were blamed on the now defunct PC. “The plan of President Rodrigo Duterte to revive the Philippine Constabulary [PC] is a vestige of Martial Law even as it is unconstitutional,” Lagman said.

“It must be recalled that the late President Ferdinand Marcos extensively used the PC as the police force in implementing Martial Law by arresting, detaining and torturing the victims of atrocities during the Martial Law regime as well as the takeover of private establishments and media outlets,” Lagman added.

Pimentel, however, said the Philippines needs the PC just like France needs the Gendarmerie Nationale, Italy needs the Carabinieri, and Spain needs the Guardia Civil.

“As a matter of policy, we understand the President wants the Army, Navy and the Air Force to focus totally on their primary role to secure the national sovereignty and territory against foreign threats,” Pimentel said.

The country remains in a state of emergency following a bombing in Davao City that claimed the lives of 15 people and left 70 others wounded.

Senator pushes for more protection for freelancers

By Macon Ramos-Araneta which can impose a pen alty WITH freelancing now a growing sector in the country’s labor force, Senator Bam Aquino has filed a measure seeking to protect the rights and welfare of freelancers.

“With more and more freelancers in the country, we are confronted with an urgent need to protect this new sector and empower them with ease of doing business,” Aquino said in Senate Bill No. 351.

He said the bill gives freelancers the power to demand from their employer what are righfully due them.

If an employer refuses to pay a freelancer for services rendered, the latter can file a complaint before the Department of Labor and Employment,

of up to P250,000 on the noncompliant party if found liable.

“Civil penalties will also be imposed for every day that the employer refuses to compensate the freelancer.

The aggrieved party has the option of filing a civil case against his or her employer,” Aquino said.

The measure also makes it easier for freelancers to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and mandates that they be exempted from tax payments for the first three years.

“Let us waste no time in ensuring that they are not inconvenienced by red tape and that they are protected from difficult, even fraudulent clients,” said Aquino.

MARITIME PROTECTOR. SM Prime Holdings president Hans T. Sy (left) receives a plaque of appreciation

from Apostleship Of the Sea (AOS) Fr. Bruno Ciceri during the 21st National Seafarer's Day which had the theme 'Pilipino:Tatak Ng Kahusayan.' Manny Palmero

Angara wants progressive teaching to improve education quality

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Sonny Angara stressed the need to develop new teaching strategies to improve the quality of education in the country.

Angara, a known advocate of

educational reform, pointed out that while many laws have been passed to increase access to education, the government should now focus on improving the quality of education in the country.

“Progressive teaching is key in improving the quality of edu-

cation in the country. I think the traditions have to change. Some of our teachers are very bookish and non-critical in their approach—very dogmatic. Teaching should really encourage our kids to love learning and develop critical thinking,” he said.

The lawmaker has also pushed for higher salaries for public school teachers in order to attract highly competent employees in public schools.

Angara’s Senate Bill 135 aims to upgrade the salary grade level of teachers from SG 11 to

19, nearly doubling their current monthly base pay from P19,077 to P36,407.

“I have been pushing for laws that ensure greater access to education and scholarships especially for poor and deserving students,” the senator said.

“These laws will provide them with opportunities to succeed in life as we value education as a tool to fight poverty,” added Angara, who was also the author of the Free Kindergarten Law and the Unified Student Financial System Act.

Sports

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Mighty Sports 5, Sharks eye crown

S

INGAPORE––It was Kiefer Ravena’s turn to shine for Mighty Sports Apparel Philippines as the country’s representative squeaked past the Singapore Slingers, 72-70, to set up a final showdown with the taller Shanghai Sharks Saturday in the 2016 Merlion Cup basketball tournament here.

Taking a break from his NBA Developmental League workouts, the two-time UAAP MVP made the go-ahead basket with a strong drive, while Joseph Yeo made clutch a three-pointer that gave Mighty Sports a 72-68 cushion with 42 ticks left.

The Slingers, however, were not done yet.

They trimmed the lead to two with 28 seconds, but a crucial turnover by Filipino import Jeff Viernes following a

botched inbound by Dewarick Spencer sealed the win for Mighty Sports.

Mighty Sports coach Charles Tiu rued the team’s woeful shooting as they made only 36 percent of their shots from the field.

Good thing for Mighty Sports, they managed to hold the gritty Singaporean team with a defensive gem in the dying seconds.

“We had a horrible shooting night, just 36 percent, and (Al) Thornton had an off

night. But the boys found a way to win,” said Tiu said.

Backed by HC Technology Pte. Ltd., Huishi International Group Co. Ltd., Cebuana Lhuillier and Scratch It, Mighty Sports is eyeing back-to-back international titles after winning the Jones Cup in Taiwan last July.

But to achieve its goal, Mighty Sports must hurdle the Shanghai Sharks, a team co-owned by former NBA star Yao Ming.

The Sharks, who advanced to the semis by also completing a two-game sweep of their group elims, downed the Seoul Samsung Thunders, 76-70, to earn the first final berth in the tournament revived after a 20-year hiatus.

The final match between the Mighty Sports cagers and the Sharks are being played at press time.

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark reacts as she celebrates her victory over Naomi Osaka of Japan during their women’s singles final match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo. AFP

Wozniacki ends title wait with Tokyo win

Perlas PH crowned SEABA champ MALACCA—After six long years, a women’s basketball team was able to win a gold medal for the Philippines in the SEABA Women’s Championship.

The Perlas Pilipinas team became the latest gold medalist in the tournament after pulling off a gripping 77-73 win over Malaysia Saturday at the Bukit Serindit Indoor Stadium here.

It was the fifth straight win in as many games for the Filipinas, who have already secured the gold medal regardless of their game against Thailand on Sunday.

Even if the Philippines loses to Thailand, only Malaysia could catch up with the Blackwater Women-backed team at 5-1.

By virtue of the win over the other rule, the Philippines will still be declared as the champion.

“This is a defining moment for Philippine women’s basketball.

I’m happy for the girls. I’m happy for our supporter, Blackwater and I’m happy for the country. We did it,” said Perlas Pilipinas coach Patrick Aquino.

Allana Lim led the way for Perlas Pilipinas with 16 points, while two other mainstays, Afril Bernardino and Ambi Almazan finished with a double-double performance.

Bernardino tallied 14 points and 10 boards, while Almazan had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Perlas Pilipinas, which equalled the feat of the 2010 Philippine women’s team coached by Heidi Ong.

Officials of the SLCUAA link hands as a sign of unity during the opening ceremonies of the league in De La Salle Lipa.

SLCUAA: Celebrating next athletic heroes

By Catherine Perez AWED and inspired by De La Salle Lipa’s hosting standards of the 17th Season of the Southern Luzon Colleges Universities Athletics Association, the league’s President, Francisco Viola, Sports Director of the St. Francis of Assisi College, commended DLSL for the splendid opening ceremony.

The successful event marked the start of the new season themed “Celebrating the Next Athletic Heroes.”

Leading the DLSL delegation at the commencement of the program was

PH jins join Peru meet NINETEEN well-prepared athletes will carry the Philippine colors in the 2016 World Poomsae Taekwondo Championsips slated on Sept. 22 to October 2 in Lima, Peru.

Three officials – delegation head Igor Mella, foreign coach Ji Ho Chui and international referee Stephen Fernandez – are also included on the national squad which will also banner PLDT Home Ultera and MVP Sports Foundation.

The Filipino athletes who will vie against 74 other countries like Korea, China, France, Spain, Iran, Turkey, Germany, Chinese Taipei and the United States are: Male – Jean Pierre Sabido, Ernesto Guzman Jr., Dustin Jacob Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella, Rodolfo Reyes Jr., Jeordan Dominguez, McAvynger Alob, Jerel

Anthony Dalida, Mark Lorenz Balcita, June Ninobla, Joel Lacsamana and Glenn Lava.

Female – Rinna Babanto, Juvenile Faye Crisostomo, Joecel Lyn Ninobla, Angelica Joyce Gaw, Janna Dominique Oliva, Elisabeth Cesista and Ailleach Dulce Amor Perez.

The competition will serve as a vital exposure for the Filipinos who are preparing for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

Poomsae or forms is a vital element in taekwondo. An athlete follows a systematic movement in consecutive sequences against an imaginary opponent or multiple opponents. The participant uses the hands and feet and interconnected techniques like blocking, punching, striking, thrusting and kicking.

Members of the Peru-bound national team are (front row, from left) Amor Perez, Rinna Babanto, Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Angelica Joyce Gaw, Janna Dominique Oliva Oliva, Elisabeth Cesista (second row) Ernesto Guzman, Jean Pierre Sabido, officials Igor Mella, Ji Ho Chui, Joel Lacsama, June Ninobla (back row) Mark Lorenz Balcita, Glenn Lava, Raphael Enrico Mella, Dustin Jacob Mella, Jeordan Dominguez and McAvynger Alob.

DLSL Vice Chancellor for Mission, Violeta Ramirez.

Following the remarks of the VCM was the guest speaker, Chris Macasaet, DLSL alumnus, who gave his own words of wisdom. As a fellow athlete, he shared basically the same sentiments. But as a veteran sportsman, his experience during his stint in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines earned him lessons worth emulating.

Subsequently, the mood was further hyped-up by the cheer dance of the DLSL Danz Com PEP Squad and the

stellar hip hop performance of the Salindayaw Dance Company.

The eventful opening concluded with the ceremonial toss, led by the administrators of the member schools: Brent International School, Colegio De San Agustin-Biñan, De La Salle-Health Sciences Institute, De La Salle University, Malayan Colleges Laguna, St. Francis of Assisi College, St. Michael College of Laguna, San Pedro College of Business Administration, STI College of Sta. Rosa, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta-Molino Campus, and host school, De La Salle Lipa.

TOKYO—Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki overpowered Japan’s Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 to capture the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday, her first tournament victory since February 2015.

The Dane, who has battled back from a wretched run of injuries this year, weathered an early storm from her teenage opponent before running out a comfortable winner, claiming a second Tokyo title and the 24th of her career.

“I’m very proud to win the tournament,” Wozniacki told reporters.

“Somebody just told me I’ve won a tournament every year since 2008. That’s a nice little streak and hopefully I can keep it going and keep moving forward.”

Wozniacki, the Pan Pacific champion six years ago, survived a health scare after dropping serve to go down 4-3 in the first set.

After feeling a twinge in her left thigh, she left the court for treatment and returned with her leg heavily bandaged.

But it appeared to have little adverse effect as Wozniacki took complete control, ripping a fierce backhand down the line to take the set.

Wozniacki, who reached the US Open semi-finals earlier this month to signal her return to form, roared into a 5-0 lead in the second as Osaka’s game unravelled in the Tokyo sunshine.

Playing with the roof open after a week of typhoon rains, Osaka paid for her youthful exuberance, her strategy of attempting to hit the fur off the ball on every shot backfiring badly against a vastly more experienced opponent.

The 18-year-old, who called a medical timeout of her own for a sore right shoulder after losing the first set, produced some spirited resistance to avoid the dreaded ‘bagel’, but it was too little too late.

Wozniacki completed victory with a crisp backhand which forced Osaka into yet another wild shot, giving the 26-year-old her first title since Kuala Lumpur last year. AFP

Injuries hit hard HAVE you ever been injured? It’s never a pleasant experience, even in the world of fantasy basketball. Because we rely on real-life players to perform their best and deliver our imaginary teams to victory in our make-believe hoops leagues, fantasy managers should make every effort to know who’s been hurt, how long will they be sidelined, and perhaps most important, who will step up to take the injured one’s place.

Knowing what injury a player suffers - in our case, players in the NBA - and what adjustments a team will make to compensate for the player’s absence can spell victory or defeat for a fantasy team, and is vital to know before the season and drafting for fantasy leagues begins. When a player gets injured during the season, fantasy managers should be quick on the draw in adding or trading for a player that can approximate the injured NBAer’s production.

Case in point is Chris Bosh, who sat out the rest of Miami’s season from the All-Star break onward after having another situation with blood clots. The Heat also just released a statement saying they cannot clear the forward to return to the court this season after he took a preseason physical exam, meaning Bosh is still out indefinitely and practically undraftable for fantasy purposes. This is an All-Star who at his best gave teams 22 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals and blocks combined a game, making him an early-round pick in most drafts.

Apart from Bosh, here are other players you should avoid on draft day, not just because they’re injured right now but also because there’s a great chance they get hurt again during the season - and speaking from experience, it’s never easy to replace an injured player on your fantasy roster: Khris Middleton -- It was such a bummer to learn that Milwaukee’s starting shooting guard

FANTASY FANATIC JIMBO GULLE

would miss the next six months to recover from a torn left hamstring sustained in a preseason workout after I had drafted him in the third round of an early Yahoo league I joined.

If Middleton did return on schedule, it would be in mid-March when most fantasy leagues would be in the playoffs, and hanging onto him while expecting him to post his averages of 18.2 points, 1.8 three-pointers, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and excellent percentages in the final 10 games of the Bucks’ season would simply be wishful thinking. It’s certainly a waste of a top-30 talent in fantasy, but you simply cannot hang on to or draft a player hurt this bad.

Nikola Pekovic -- Minnesota just announced that the big man from Montenegro won’t be able to play for the Timberwolves this season, as his right foot hasn’t healed despite Achilles tendon surgery and over nine months of rest since playing just 12 games in 2015.

“Pek” was a fantasy force about three seasons ago when he was a strong candidate for Most Improved Player and averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds a match, but with Karl Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng holding down the slot there’s little incentive for the Wolves - or for fantasy managers - to keep him on the roster.

Jrue Holiday -- To be clear, Holiday isn’t injured; it’s his wife Lauren who has a benign brain tumor while pregnant with their daughter (who was just born last week). The New Orleans point guard thus decided to take time off indefinitely to take care of his family, and the Pelicans have supported him fully while hoping backup Tim Frazier

can hold down the one spot.

While fantasy managers can still gamble that Holiday plays some time this season – and he is worth it, considering his 2015 averages of 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 triples a game – it’s better to let another manager draft him while you aim for someone like Victor Oladipo, Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley, who all offer tantalizing upside.

Other injured players to stay away from heading into fantasy drafts are Caris LeVert (Brooklyn Nets rookie), Kelly Olynyk (Boston Celtics), Brandan Wright and Jordan Adams (Memphis Grizzlies), and CJ Wilcox (Orlando Magic).

Next week, I’ll discuss players who are injury risks – that is, NBAers that are playing this season but could get hurt anytime owing to their previous injury history, thus wasting a slot on your fantasy roster. Then again, the gambler in you might think, “No pain, no gain.”

Comments and suggestions are welcome at jimbo.gulle@yahoo.com.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Tams, Bulldogs prevail Games Wednesday: (Mall of Asia Arena) 8 a.m. – ADMU vs UP (Women) 10 a.m. – UE vs DLSU (Women) 2 p.m. – ADMU vs UP (Men) 4 p.m. – UE vs DLSU (Men)

Riera U. Mallari, Editor Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@thestandard.com.ph sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

A8

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Sports

Donnie Nietes’ hand is raised by the referee after the longest-reigning Filipino world champion put on a masterful performance against former WBC light flyweight titlist Edgar Sosa at the Philippines vs Mexico fight card at the Stub Hub Center in California. Jhay Otamias/PhilBoxing.com

DEFENDING champion Far Eastern University and National University posted hard-earned wins to forge a four-way tie in second place in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Monbert Arong drilled in a key jumper in the last 14.6 seconds as the Tamaraws posted their 10th straight win at the expense of University of the Philippines, a 5149 squeaker, while the Bulldogs overcame a poor fourth quarter to prevail over University of Santo Tomas, 75-68.

FEU and NU joined idle squads Adamson and Ateneo at 3-2, two games behind powerhouse La Salle, which has not tasted defeat in five starts.

“It was a struggle but we knew along that this game will be difficult. We are learning the ropes at this point,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.

Masterful win by Nietes

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

D

ONNIE Nietes, the longest-reigning Filipino world champion, put on a masterful performance to score a shutout victory over former WBC world light flyweight champion Edgar Sosa and win the WBO Intercontinental flyweight title.

with ABS-CBN and The Filipino Channel.

Nietes, who is ranked No. 1 flyweight by the WBO, completely outclassed Sosa, who was ranked No. 5 by the WBC, with all three judges in Max DeLuca, Alejandro Rocin and Pat Russell having Nietes the winner by a 120-108 shutout.

This demonstrated the class, the skill and the resolve of ALA Gym’s national legend, who aims to become a world champion at 112 pounds after having earlier ruled as minimum weight and light flyweight champion for over nine years before he de-

cided to relinquish his title and go after bigger-named fighters at 112 pounds.

Nietes, a veteran of 15 world title fights, wobbled Sosa a number of times with his uppercuts and right straights, but never lost his composure by recklessly going for a knockout even as he sidestepped or blocked anything the Mexican threw at him with ease.

Sosa’s cornerman Jorge Barrera, brother of Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, kept pleading with Sosa to throw more punches going into the championship rounds, because he was los-

ing the fight, telling him: “If you want to win you have to throw more punches.”

Nietes’ trainer Edmund Villamor, his brother and former twotime title challenger Edito “Ala” Villamor and cutman Dr. Ed De La Vega told Nietes to stick to his fight plan, “throw the jab and use the right hand as a counter when Sosa throws his jab.”

Nietes executed this with precision, prompting ABS-CBN’s Dyan Castillejo to refer to Nietes as “Doctor,” because of his surgical perfection in the ring.

With the Filipino fans chanting “Nietes! Nietes!,” it was ob-

vious that Sosa needed a knockout to salvage a win, with his corner telling him: “Fight for your country, your people and your family.”

But their efforts to motivate Sosa failed against the total domination of Nietes to the utter delight of the predominantly Filipino crowd, while a few Mexicans, who carried banners extolling Sosa, felt a major letdown but had no complaints.

In a post-fight interview, Nietes said he didn’t take any chances although he wanted to go for a knockout but that Sosa was resilient.

Sosa, who made 10 successful title defenses, was no match for Nietes, who wielded his stinging left jab like a rapier and his right like a scalpel, to cut to shreds the Mexican’s hopes of making an im-

pact in the main event of the Philippines vs Mexico fight card at the StubHub Center in California.

A good crowd clearly enjoyed the fights staged by ALA International Promotions, in cooperation

Johnson, Chapelle share lead at USPGA

Villanueva, Magsayo crush opponents

WASHINGTON—Dustin Johnson’s path to the biggest payday in golf got more complicated on Saturday as a third-round 69 left him tied for the lead with Kevin Chappell at the USPGA Tour Championship.

The second-ranked American had led by four shots after his third straight birdie at the sixth hole at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia.

But he fell a stroke behind Chappell with a double-bogey at the 17th before regaining a share of the lead with a birdie at the par-five finishing hole.

Chappell, meanwhile, was a model of consistency, and patience, with two birdies in his two-under 68 that left him level with Johnson eight-under par 202.

They were two strokes in front of Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy and American Ryan Moore, who both carded four-under par 66 for 204.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was alone on 205 after a 68.

Jason Dufner was a further stroke back, while South African Charl Schwartzel, who had back-to-back eagles in his 66 was tied with England’s Paul Casey on 207.

Johnson, who started the day with a one-stroke edge over Chappell, wasted no time in stretching his lead.

He slowed with a bogey at the seventh, and a birdie at 12 was followed by back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14.

Johnson rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-three 15th, but his double bogey at 17, where he was twice in the rough and in a bunker, saw Chappell take the lead with a 10-foot birdie putt at the same hole.

“I thought I played pretty well, just a couple of loose drives on the back side,” Johnson said. “Other than that, I thought the round was pretty solid. AFP

BANTAMWEIGHT King Arthur Villanueva erased the memory of a controversial win over Juan Jimenez last May in Bacolod City by scoring a devastating knockout in two rounds in their rematch at the StubHub Center in Carson City, California, before a predominantly Filipino crowd Sunday morning (Manila time).

After his loss, Jimenez begged for a rematch from ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, who gave him the opportunity, only to lose this one in front of a fair number of Mexicans.

With the impressive victory, Villanueva, who is ranked No. 1 by the WBO, redeemed himself after losing in a battle for the IBF super flyweight title in a somewhat controversial 10th-

round technical decision to Puerto Rico’s McJoe Arroyo in July last year at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas.

In this WBO division, another Filipino Marlon Tapales was recently crowned champion with a spectacular 11th-round KO of Thai champion Pungluang Sor Singyu.

Villanueva didn’t have the power of Jimenez, but after a feeling-out opening round, the Filipino threw a right hook that Jimenez blocked, but ripped a second, perfectly timed hook that caught the Mexican on the jaw and dropped him flat on his back, with referee Jerry Cantu not even bothering to count.

The time of the KO was 2:20 of the second round and re-established the championship

contender credentials of Villanueva, who improved his record to 30-1 with 16 knockouts.

A disappointed Jimenez, who was forced to wear 10-ounce gloves after he failed to make the weight after two attempts but still came in one pound over the limit, dropped to 22-11 with 15 knockouts.

In a post-fight interview with Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN, Villanueva said he “wanted a convincing win, but didn’t realize it would come so soon. I merely followed the instructions of my coach.”

He then thanked strength and conditioning coach Nick Curson for his help.

Meanwhile, Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo retained his WBO International featherweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over

late substitute Ramiro Robles, who had lost four of his last six bouts, but battled gamely against the Filipino, who dropped him with a right hook to the head in Round 2 and a thundering right hook to the body in Round 7 in a dominating performance that fell short of hopes for a knockout.

Magsayo ripped punches into Robles’ body all throughout the fight, but eased up in the championship rounds as he completely dominated the over-matched Robles, who weighed in at 123 pounds compared to Magsayo’s 125.

With the win, Magsayo raised his record to 15-0 with 11 knockouts, while the game Robles fell to 13-6-1 with 8 knockouts. Ronnie Nathanielsz

U14 booters rank 3rd in Borneo

The PRU-LIFE UK-backed Philippine Under 14 national football team ranked third at the recent Borneo Cup in Sabah, Malaysia, the highest finish ever of a Philippine team in this international tournament that attracts teams from all over the world. Spears FC and the Azkals Foundation also supported the team, which is eyeing the U-18 World Cup in 2018.

THE U14 team from the Philippines, represented by players of the youth teams of Global Football Club and Laos FC, bagged third place in its age-group at this year’s Borneo Football Cup, a tournament organized by the Football Association of Malaysia, through its member Sabah Football Association.

The team defeated SM All Saints of Malaysia, 2-0, drew with Garuda Bankinang Satu and lost to Tabs, 1-0 and 2-1. With the better quotient, they ended up Top 2 in their group and eventually clinched third spot with a win over the All Saints.

The matches for the division were held from Sept. 21 to 23 at the Penampang Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia.

It was the highest-ever finish by any Philippine team in the said tournament, where the Filipinos have been regular participants since 2013.

Members of the PRU-LIFE UK-backed winning squad included discoveries from grassroots development football programs such as Jill Pillora of Iloilo, Nicolai Abalos

of Laguna, Josh Asignar and Tristan Enad of Cebu and Drexler Valencia of Dumaguete.

The players were scouted in their hometowns in 2013 and brought to the UK for elite training by the British Council and Pru Life UK. The team also included Gregory Tacondong, who was a standout at the Football for a Better Life event held early this year in Gingoog, Misamis Oriental.

Alfredo Ray Estacion and Richard Jay Alipar served as coaches of the delegation, which was also supported by Spears FC and Azkals Foundation.

The boys’ participation at the 2016 Borneo Football Cup was sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation.

“The PFF Affiliate clubs, Global FC and Laos FC have been joining the Borneo Cup for two years to date. The teams these local clubs send are not national teams, although they may have players who are in the national pool,” said PFF General Secretary Edwin Gastanes in a message posted on the PFF website on Sept. 22.

Titans Beermen, Gin Kings start PBA semifinal showdown

By Jeric Lopez EXPECT fireworks when longtime rivals San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra start their best-of-five semifinal showdown in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup. The much-anticipated Game 1 clash between the No. 2 seed Beermen and the No. 3-ranked Gin Kings is scheduled at 7 p.m. today at

the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Coaches of both squads both know that they will have a tough mountain to climb when they go up against each other.

“It feels good to be in the semis.

It’s great to be back here and our reward, we get San Miguel,” said Kings’ coach Tim Cone, who is happy to be in his first semis stint as Ginebra coach, but also wary given that they will face

the defending champion. “In no way this is going to be easy, but we’re up to the challenge.”

“The semis is not easy for any team. We will face Ginebra and we know what they’re capable of. This will be an exciting and hard series,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.

Both teams took the same path to the semifinals.

They both had twice-to-beat

advantages in the quarterfinals, had big leads, lost them, before eventually hanging on to arrange this marquee duel.

San Miguel first qualified last Friday as it ousted NLEX, 114110, after losing a 17-point lead in the third quarter.

Elijah Millsap came up big, scoring 39 points to help his Beermen clinch the series.

Hours later, Barangay Ginebra

followed suit after it withstood a tough stand from rival Alaska to carve out a thrilling 109-104 victory despite losing a 21-point fourth-quarter lead.

LA Tenorio and Justin Brownlee continued to shine, scoring 32 and 29 points, respectively, to carry Ginebra to the semifinals.

Drawing first blood will be critical as both teams want to gain a vital upperhand.

SteelAsia’s P7.2-b mill OK’d B3

Business

Metro Pacific planning to bid for Naia project

By Alena Mae S. Flores

M

ETRO Pacific Investments Corp. expressed interest in bidding for the P74.5-billion contract to operate and maintain the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“Yes, [we are interested in bidding for Naia]. I heard about it…

We are discussing. We will look at it. We don’t know the terms yet obviously,” Pangilinan, who chairs Metro Pacific, told reporters over the weekend.

The National Economic and Development Authority board headed

by President Rodrigo Duterte on Sept. 14 approved the Naia project, which involves awarding a 15-year to 20-year concession to the private sector to improve, operate and maintain Naia and its four terminals.

Transportation undersecretary for aviation and airports Robert Lim said the agency was in the process of finalizing the terms for the bidding of the redevelopment, operation and maintenance of Naia. “By January next year, we will release the advertisement to invite interested companies to bid in the project,” Lim said.

Other companies also expressed interest in joining the bidding. “We are very interested in the Naia when that is privatized,” Aboitiz Equity Ventures president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz said earlier.

The private partner of the Naia PPP project will improve, upgrade and enhance the operational efficiencies of all existing terminals covering both landside and airside (except air traffic services) to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization standards and develop the main gateway airport of the Philippines.

It is a project of the Transportation Department and Manila International Airport Authority.

Meanwhile, Pangilinan said he would also support the government’s proposal to pursue a pro-consumerbased approach to PPP. “It’s a different approach, more responsive approach to consumer. If it’s tollways, one model is to bid on the basis of the highest price or premium payable by the winning bidder to the government. The other model, based on lowest fare to consumers, the benefit goes directly to the motorist. So that’s a scheme that we will happily favor so if that’s the mode of bidding of the government, we will totally endorse it,” Pangilinan said.

Metro Pacific is an active participant of the PPP program.

The Naia PPP project was one of

nine projects approved by the Neda board, with a total cost of P171.14 billion.

“Once implemented and completed, these approved projects will help attain our medium- and longterm development goals of making the agricultural sector competitive, improving mobility by making our transport system safer and more efficient, increasing disaster resiliency, and improving health services,” said Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.

Other projects approved were the Inclusive Partnership for Agricultural Competitiveness of the Agrarian Reform Department, the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center Modernization Project of the Health Department, the Modernization of Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital Project and the Metro Manila Flood Management Project Phase I. The other approved projects were Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit – Edsa of the Transportation Department, Increase in Passenger Terminal Building Area of the Bicol International Airport, the Change in Scope of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project and the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project Phase II of the Transportation Department and the Philippine Coast Guard.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

B1

BSP sees peso gaining strength

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas expects the peso to regain strength, as the market begins to digest the country’s strong economic fundamentals.

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo issued the statement after the peso fell to an eight-month low of 47.99 against the US dollar Friday.

“The recent weakness of the peso abstracts from both macro-fundamentals and negative sentiment. Based on our sound market indicators, including the sustained external payments surpluses and significant gains in our dollar reserves, the peso should be firm,” Guinigundo said in a text message over the weekend.

Guinigundo said given both external and domestic factors driving market sentiment, soft patches were seen in the foreign exchange market and foreign investors were nervous because of the uncertainty surrounding the latest US Fed decision and general weakness in global economic activity.

He said any concern about the sustainability of macroeconomic policy should be tempered as the government vowed to pursue the same policies that produced robust growth, low inflation and interest rates, sustainable fiscal position and sufficient external buffers in the next six years.

“Over time, we expect that market to digest the solid macroeconomic foundation of the Philippine peso,” Guinigundo said.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the decision of the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged Wednesday would slow the weakness of the peso against the greenback.

The Fed decided to maintain interest rates unchanged but hinted that it could still raise the rates before the year ends.

“The recent weakness in the peso has been due to a number of factors. In the last two weeks, the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and the Fed held policy meetings. It is normal price action that in the runup to these meetings, volatility heightens and markets become defensive and take profit on positions,” Tetangco said.

B2

Business

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market seen trading sideways

By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

TOCKS are expected to move sideways this week, amid the lack of market movers on overseas and domestic fronts.

Analysts said, however, that stocks could draw strength from window-dressing, referring to the strategy by listed companies to improve the appearance of a stock’s performance before presenting it to clients or shareholders at the end of the quarter.

“We can expect a sideways direction for [this] week’s trading as there are no big risk events in sight both locally and globally.

But then again, the third quarter will end next Friday so we will not be surprised if a windowdressing takes place,” RCBC

Securities analyst Ralph Christian Bodollo said.

Stock broker F. Yap Securities Inc. said the market’s current sideways movement could be used by fund managers as an opportunity to scout for stocks that were likely to outperform, especially in the last quarter of the year.

“Run-ups may also come from spilled over positive sentiment from the latest Federal Reserve decision and reduced possibility of an interest rate hike in its next meeting in No-

vember due to US elections,” F. Yap Securities said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 2.3 percent last week to close at 7,723.60 Friday, while the broader all-share index climbed 0.6 percent to 4,586.71, after the Federal Reserve decided to keep benchmark interest rates steady.

All subindices ended in the green, led by mining and oil which jumped 4.4 percent, services which rose 3.8 percent and property which advanced 3.6 percent.

Foreign investors continued to cut their positions in the local equities market, as net foreign selling reached P1.91 billion.

Average value turnover dropped to P7.4 billion from

the previous week’s average of P9.83 billion.

The foreign outflow of funds is expected to be decrease after credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings retained the Philippines’ long-term credit rating of ‘BBB’ with ‘stable’ outlook.

Top gainers last week were International Container Terminal Services Inc. climbed 7.1 percent to P81.60, Globe Telecom Inc. which rose 6.6 percent to P2,092 and GT Capital Hildings Inc. which increased 5.4 percent to P1,480.

Heavy losers were Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. which fell 5.1 percent to P5.17, LT Group Inc. which retreated 2.8 percent to P16.36 and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. which went down 2.7 percent to P35.95.

PAL expects strong Auckland operations

By Darwin G. Amojelar AUCKLAND, New Zealand— Philippine Airlines is optimistic on its four-times-weekly flights from Manila to this city on increasing tourist flow between the two countries.

“The Philippines is really an emerging destination. That is why it’s exciting for us in promoting it. We have done several road shows already and the response of the agency is very positive,” PAL area manager in New Zealand Ma. Divinagracia

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

SEPTEMBER 19-23, 2016 Close Volume

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

3.64 48.25 111.10 105.50 38.05 3.72 1.42 16.2 21.45 6.80 0.7 1.87 605.00 0.970 85.15 0.92 14.2 23.30 59.30 98 249.6 272 35.95 253 1410.00 73.35 1.46

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ MG Holdings Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

45.15 3.32 1 1.63 16.5 52 173.00 12.1 16.94 118 23.9 57 2.18 6.03 12.26 11.740 7.21 5.97 7.97 1.74 25.4 72 13.00 16.60 6.15 2.180 247.80 54.70 1.95 4.38 27.40 29.45 28.95 14.98 314.00 0.260 4.76 3.23 10.24 11.60 2.24 6.00 1.58 3.58 4.20 2.21 3.4 223 3.1 0.165 1.79 183.3 4.67 2.35 33.05 1.27

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor `A’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ BHI Holdings Inc. Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp.

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica `A’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Transgrid Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.390 78.00 16.40 1.25 6.01 0.365 0.365 872 1199.00 8.53 11.94 6.38 8.12 0.211 1480 6.34 76.35 4 5.3 8.25 0.81 16.36 0.450 7.19 3.09 0.0370 1.180 2.020 2.69 82.50 2.45 669.00 1.23 1.01 188.10 228.000 0.3200 0.1980 0.275

8990 HLDG Anchor Land Holdings Inc. A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Cebu Prop. `A’ Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’

7.500 7.00 1.30 2.700 0.275 39.000 2.91 5.1 5.5 0.590 1.10 0.990 0.167 0.600 59 0.780 0.143 1.02 1.91 1.18 4.79 0.230 0.2750 0.415

Value

FINANCIAL 833,130.00 4,639,260.00 585,425,376 813,044,807.00 27,327,065.00 2,047,430.00 643,700.00 5,596,464.00 82,880,680.00 36,460 25,900 654,930.00 1,650,100.00 21,479,970.00 1,620,805,271.00 745,380.00 17,047,932.00 44,740.00 10,755,739.00 204,104.00 11,829,282.00 18,370,246.00 34,945,980 1,177,285,994.00 2,117,690 243,264,224.50 946,100.00 INDUSTRIAL 8,331,300 378,375,485.00 3,712,000 12,162,710.00 20,738,000 20,920,900.00 9,504,000 15,403,720.00 115,800 1,890,124.00 570 29,645.50 1,670 288,565.00 99,826,700 1,189,880,108.00 9,722,100 164,674,128 2,230 265,851.00 4,712,500 112,844,345.00 1,086,390 61,923,210 2,514,000 5,377,260.00 1,625,600 9,937,278.00 265,900 18,113,006.00 31,642,600 378,887,744.00 20,700,400 146,774,499.00 42,957,700 255,596,864.00 2,851,600 22,639,532.00 24,000 42,200.00 12,145,900 307,109,105.00 1,504,570 108,270,615.50 20,000 256,728.00 2,605,700 43,208,304.00 4,413,200 27,333,761.00 4,372,000 9,541,770.00 1,471,380 364,763,170.00 2,980 155,771.00 41,000 79,940.00 127,000 547,950.00 11,100 295,960.00 23,934,600 706,979,425.00 2,273,600 64,721,965.00 20,318,200 297,394,604.00 765,760 240,151,060.00 1,648,000 615,950.00 10,000 47,300.00 1,156,000 3,654,230.00 21,838,200 225,256,982.00 604,900 7,013,970.00 3,047,000 6,710,300.00 2,945,700 17,670,726.00 1,080,000 1,698,840.00 846,000 3,050,790.00 601,000 2,520,590.00 2,000 4,420.00 132,000 453,980.00 32,230 7,194,954.00 12,147,000 37,641,180 43,730,000 7,349,090.00 3,607,000 6,342,380.00 7,872,550 1,460,777,210 75,000 349,050.00 111,722,000 290,578,940.00 300 9,915.00 740,000 914,000.00 HOLDING FIRMS 2,101,000 837,600.00 6,775,830 522,774,194.00 20,272,800 330,676,230.00 183,000 222,360.00 61,400 374,534.00 8,700,000 3,142,400.00 880,000 321,200.00 2,484,720 2,137,645,585 50 58,010.00 12,424,000 104,197,205.00 43,690,900 520,452,594.00 30,600 188,608.00 6,706,300 53,581,304.00 2,070,000 422,690.00 840,305 1,220,187,120.00 6,300 39,651.00 12,886,980 1,001,505,700.50 1,000 4,000.00 200 1,060.00 14,593,600 119,711,842.00 1,438,000 1,161,440.00 30,322,200 502,425,912.00 160,000 72,700.00 201,603,200 1,394,512,246.00 4,000 12,370.00 89,900,000 3,276,100.00 70,000 83,000.00 1,805,000 3,659,450.00 145,000 386,470.00 703,960 57,839,637.00 23,000 55,390.00 1,890,050 1,253,572,390.00 482,000 596,620.00 447,000 434,630.00 20 3,762.00 27,090 6,006,572.00 4,954,000 2,009,800.00 3,830,000 777,810.00 1,880,000 518,750.00 PROPERTY 1,266,600 9,406,156.00 24,600 167,329.00 4,763,000 6,159,670.00 8,217,000 22,490,970.00 9,090,000 2,478,950.00 50,665,100 1,945,689,260.00 4,530,100 14,520,940.00 46,500 237,896.00 100 550.00 23,821,000 13,994,120.00 469,000 521,630.00 222,000 223,930.00 65,990,000 11,005,300.00 10,932,000 6,487,540.00 2,493,580 147,041,309.50 186,000 144,240.00 70,000 10,010.00 26,825,000 27,506,960.00 51,365,000 96,676,440.00 489,000 562,560.00 155,161,000 726,574,160.00 1,385,600,000 309,962,020.00 310,000 80,750.00 210,000 88,050.00 233,000 96,400 5,284,120 7,784,560 719,600 551,000 459,000 343,900 3,907,000 5,400 37,000 351,000 2,660 21,805,000 18,870,250 812,000 1,221,500 1,900 186,760 2,090 42,550 67,780 970,100 4,689,800 1,490 1,339,320 648,000

SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016 Close Volume Value 3.53 48 111.00 105.80 38.1 3.85 1.38 16.4 20.4 6.80 0.7 1.9 580.00 1.000 86.15 0.89 14.08 23.20 56.35 99.95 396 274.4 36.95 248.6 1410.00 73.25 1.47

16,000 105,900 10,999,070 7,145,010 108,500 479,000 436,000 896,900 2,274,900 6,200 196,000 141,000 1,220 64,974,000 14,246,180 79,000 309,700 1,300 189,500 1,420 3,310 11,520 3,168,800 9,749,580 120 469,430 180,000

55,770.00 5,057,360.00 1,204,681,018 744,849,535.00 4,123,205.00 1,781,880.00 596,570.00 14,696,980.00 46,290,145.00 42,195 137,680 278,990.00 741,650.00 63,758,190.00 1,228,781,655.50 70,140.00 4,362,124.00 30,475.00 10,739,517.00 136,411.00 1,596,670.00 3,129,434.00 112,522,380 2,382,408,086.00 169,380 34,414,628.00 263,520.00

44.75 3.29 1.03 1.62 16.88 52.05 200.00 11.68 16.88 125 24.05 57 2.11 6.2 11.8 11.800 7.01 5.97 8.00 1.81 25.1 71.4 12.48 16.36 6.2 2.220 245.20 50.00 2 4.45 29.45 29.3 29 14.9 311.80 0.265

5,779,400 6,042,000 93,908,000 7,093,000 58,000 80 100 33,079,000 6,657,400 3,400 1,777,000 1,042,620 1,238,000 4,798,500 273,100 42,693,500 52,702,200 62,869,000 4,235,100 13,000 6,587,600 883,870 800 801,800 8,847,200 1,783,000 2,085,620 1,980 111,000 177,000 6,100 8,360,600 2,500,100 14,189,300 765,240 22,440,000

259,481,140.00 11,624,720.00 104,561,560.00 11,583,540.00 1,001,578.00 4,237.50 20,000.00 387,427,608.00 110,797,806 421,939.00 42,576,910.00 59,432,147 2,595,750.00 30,134,943.00 3,190,328.00 484,324,096.00 370,287,261.00 373,709,005.00 32,494,901.00 23,620.00 163,721,110.00 63,176,915.00 9,896.00 13,136,558.00 55,013,105.00 3,957,060.00 512,754,866.00 99,000.00 220,820.00 781,080.00 162,885.00 242,452,730.00 72,427,320.00 215,797,692.00 237,548,884.00 6,004,350.00

3.08 10.20 11.60 2.19 6.00 1.56 3.52 4.20 2.25 3.2 220 3.01 0.159 1.71 185.7 4.64 2.63 33.00 1.28

34,019,000 26,387,300 118,800 2,080,000 2,061,800 1,156,000 321,000 510,000 4,000 7,000 14,090 321,000 173,580,000 2,907,000 8,886,930 50,000 111,610,000 600 17,000

104,047,180.00 260,837,030.00 1,369,070.00 4,529,560.00 12,293,501.00 1,785,240.00 1,119,930.00 2,136,720.00 9,000.00 22,400.00 3,077,766.00 985,030 29,490,120.00 5,086,830.00 1,637,883,268 220,700.00 268,575,250.00 19,825.00 21,350.00

0.385 75.10 16.20 1.21 6.13 0.365 0.365 854.5 1001.00 8.15 11.36 6.5 7.75 0.214 1401 6.35 77.20 3.9 5.3 8.07 0.84 16.84 0.490 6.51

1,390,000 11,131,990 17,021,700 219,000 50,400 19,130,000 2,340,000 1,661,580 160 11,543,200 23,026,500 547,920 3,029,500 1,160,000 1,219,670 50,700 11,337,180 1,000 3,800 22,474,000 3,061,000 11,505,000 40,000 213,265,000

534,700.00 830,228,122.00 276,869,064.00 273,320.00 312,459.00 7,130,500.00 865,000.00 1,420,226,495 193,215.00 94,580,065.00 266,619,902.00 3,534,400.00 22,922,898.00 238,330.00 1,757,055,080.00 317,743.00 853,428,807.50 3,900.00 20,140.00 181,431,457.00 2,550,080.00 193,729,202.00 19,600.00 956,826,783.00

0.0350 1.190 2.050 2.70 81.95 2.27 660.00 1.27 0.98

27,100,000 1,000 2,123,000 70,000 666,660 478,000 2,099,020 391,000 209,000

953,200.00 1,190.00 4,317,070.00 188,270.00 54,111,018.00 1,085,060.00 1,397,397,675.00 489,210.00 207,250.00

217.800 0.3200 0.2090 0.275

51,550 11,562,000 2,600,000 1,690,000

11,127,788.00 6,067,500.00 541,010.00 475,650.00

7.330 6.20 1.27 2.750 0.280 37.050 2.83 5.1

8,134,600 8,100 4,459,000 20,134,000 52,590,000 149,191,500 20,977,000 247,000

61,111,515.00 49,951.00 5,680,100.00 54,525,740.00 15,705,650.00 4,668,528,265.00 59,682,860.00 1,263,247.00

0.560 0.98 0.990 0.169 0.590 58.8 0.790 0.143 1.00 1.86 1.14 4.55 0.186 0.2750 0.420

49,607,000 11,000 109,000 140,880,000 14,627,000 3,292,900 834,000 460,000 26,915,000 30,329,000 508,000 159,834,000 1,053,860,000 3,590,000 30,000

29,574,610.00 11,290.00 109,290.00 23,317,420.00 8,693,160.00 191,159,054.50 643,440.00 66,170.00 27,018,040.00 55,994,740.00 577,340.00 728,907,680.00 194,437,010.00 931,400.00 12,650.00

STOCKS

SEPTEMBER 19-23, 2016 Close Volume

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

Robinson’s Land `B’ Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

35.00 3.81 30.85 1.65 3.36 27.90 1.07 7.15 1.030 5.170

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7.4 49 1.29 0.560 11.3 5.54 5.35 0.1020 3.45 119 10.12 2.59 7.00 3.18 952 2092 6.28 13.70 20.20 1.89 81.6 18.70 149.6 11.7 0.0099 9.24 0.260 1.4400 3.82 12.3 4.40 2.32 1.10 2.32 21.05 0.570 1.99 4.35 5.66 3.620 11.36 5.62 2.8 8.66 148.20 5.98 1752.00 0.420 1.040 43.95 78.60 6.09 3.00 0.630 3.31 0.355 5.430

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Atok-Big Wedge `A’ Basic Energy Corp.

Benguet Corp `A’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto `A’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining `A’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. `A’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Philex `A’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. `A’ Semirara Corp.

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0038 3.10 4.22 9.66 0.220 2.1200 2.1700 0.62 0.420 8.35 0.860 0.270 0.210 0.221 0.0120 0.0110 1.61 6.94 2.93 0.5100 0.9700 0.0110 0.0110 4.16 8.60 3.31 0.0120 116.50 3.15 0.0097

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen G FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

49.05 531 535 105 120 505 541 6.05 1.03 112.4 1098 1184 1022 110 114.9 77.8 81 76.5 78.2 80.5 79 78.2 78 1.9

LR Warrant

2.440

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

2.88 3.1 4.9 14.22

First Metro ETF

127.8

SEPTEMBER 13-16, 2016 Close Volume Value

Value

6,500 10,447,000 75,039,470 1,230,000 347,000 55,449,700 18,412,000 200 2,103,000 77,065,600

227,450.00 38,124,280.00 290,949,750.00 2,011,810.00 1,153,090.00 1,538,858,460.00 19,409,940.00 1,430.00 2,146,080.00 405,053,712.00 SERVICES 817,200 5,928,138.00 110,100 5,400,680.00 39,000 50,750.00 1,779,000 1,002,450.00 600 6,750.00 31,700 174,108 76,715,100 421,663,076.00 645,340,000 65,325,490.00 10,998,000 28,199,580.00 3,150,240 373,381,435.00 7,900 79,794.00 125,000 309,530 2,410,400 16,957,520.00 5,000 15,190.00 1,490 1,434,890.00 501,305 1,025,093,695 347,800 2,181,280.00 339,800 4,744,704.00 1,300 26,340 16,774,000 30,849,900.00 5,568,440 449,367,752.00 50,200 951,036 50 7,376 15,700 182,168.00 455,000,000 4,548,320.00 2,386,900 22,054,685.00 169,670,000 43,704,350.00 3,056,000 4,304,360.00 3,325,000 13,129,630.00 2,700 29,006.00 13,095,000 57,032,060 13,516,000 32,474,710.00 10,000 10,860.00 23,000 54,610.00 400 8,233 284,000 162,130.00 42,000 84,160.00 75,101,000 335,341,720.00 24,251,100 136,883,652.00 23,801,000 87,496,370.00 31,300 355,380.00 35,200 196,646 11,000 29,180.00 100 866.00 46,940 7,013,144.00 12,224,100 76,176,496.00 810,545 1,402,507,360.00 10,460,000 4,326,300.00 78,963,000 82,601,760.00 15,845,900 697,266,675.00 4,646,110 369,789,067.50 1,518,800 9,246,937.00 20,515,000 61,074,560.00 57,711,000 35,083,510.00 6,356,000 21,511,480.00 2,680,000 975,600.00 383,000 2,034,210.00 MINING & OIL 437,000,000 1,657,200.00 1,939,000 5,524,700.00 998,000 4,088,990.00 1,200 12,338.00 250,000 51,960.00 99,000 210,820.00 27,000 62,060.00 3,373,000 1,966,910.00 4,720,000 1,962,750.00 33,400 280,247.00 25,567,000 21,537,840.00 2,990,000 806,800.00 23,270,000 4,789,750.00 6,735,000 1,555,340.00 47,600,000 525,100.00 102,700,000 1,129,700.00 2,120,000 3,443,910.00 47,307,300 312,133,076.00 508,000 1,486,750.00 285,000 145,350.00 1,362,000 1,310,530.00 133,200,000 1,397,300.00 800,000 8,800.00 1,585,000 4,994,180.00 4,408,500 37,543,770.00 11,854,000 38,840,110.00 22,100,000 256,500.00 3,758,190 433,566,539.00 365,000 1,128,690.00 11,000,000 106,300.00 PREFERRED 524,100 25,739,600.00 8,620 4,578,050.00 2,450 1,308,885 346,940 36,414,554.00 10,000 1,200,000.00 5,000 2,525,000.00 14,000 7,574,740.00 329,300 1,982,849.00 810,000 834,300 148,400 16,706,439.00 1,200 1,337,650.00 380 449,000.00 20,600 21,322,095.00 10,000 1,095,163.00 120 13,788.00 83,840 6,362,996.00 171,660 13,919,210 44,800 3,465,990.00 18,100 1,425,080.00 26,500 2,126,205.00 260,400 20,599,175.00 606,590 47,339,710.00 1,535,190 119,384,816.00 27,000 52,540.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 2,734,000 6,886,420.00 SME 21,302,000 60,851,940.00 330,000 1,039,250.00 765,000 3,620,620.00 8,055,200 112,263,138.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 36,020 4,545,536.00

37.00 3.28 30.20 1.61 3.33 27.10 1.07 7.11 1.030 5.450

12,000 1,478,000 12,113,400 467,000 298,000 81,185,200 43,849,000 21,100 2,182,000 46,597,900

437,290.00 4,835,990.00 366,417,405.00 760,230.00 986,210.00 2,210,504,755.00 48,069,390.00 149,215.00 2,249,320.00 248,396,781.00

7.25 49.5 1.33 0.570

352,600 98,300 62,000 3,708,000

2,551,042.00 4,842,020.00 84,730.00 2,101,430.00

5.65 5.08 0.1010 3.62 118.4 10.12 2.35 6.70 3.10 945.5 1961 6.34 13.68 20.30 1.78 76.2 19.28 150 11.7 0.0100 9.25 0.255 1.4000 3.43 12.4 4.12 2.13 1.03 2.21 21.25 0.600 1.98 4.18 5.50 3.450 11.36 5.55 2.8

20,500 70,003,600 762,040,000 12,070,000 1,259,400 19,600 27,000 2,867,200 1,000 41,600 589,450 1,507,500 416,100 52,000 23,469,000 7,910,320 58,900 200 15,200 3,302,400,000 1,748,500 92,510,000 2,917,000 374,000 6,300 8,937,000 881,000 122,000 48,000 2,500 155,000 47,000 57,166,000 9,642,600 10,984,000 71,500 114,800 80,000

108,750 368,375,233.00 74,608,940.00 44,682,410.00 148,540,961.00 196,870.00 62,660 17,782,690.00 3,100.00 39,332,800.00 1,165,656,265 9,402,821.00 5,689,146.00 1,055,600 38,224,260.00 613,061,699.50 1,116,110 30,724 176,400.00 41,867,300.00 16,162,379.00 23,930,900.00 4,154,270.00 1,292,440.00 77,860.00 35,440,540 1,888,200.00 127,020.00 106,560.00 48,088 89,930.00 93,220.00 233,179,580.00 52,985,637.00 38,334,900.00 808,610.00 620,938 224,810.00

143.00 6.13 1666.00 0.425 1.030 44.95 79.05 5.95 3.00 0.600 3.36 0.355 5.550

1,560,190 7,006,400 1,211,930 3,830,000 111,138,000 10,074,200 8,775,670 1,757,500 20,822,000 14,762,000 2,544,000 1,010,000 127,700

211,124,286.00 42,578,728.00 2,061,299,700.00 1,614,400.00 111,795,450.00 443,518,650.00 681,572,433.00 10,359,259.00 63,614,090.00 8,627,550.00 8,561,950.00 355,200.00 679,655.00

0.0039 2.68 3.95

431,000,000 1,168,000 1,057,000

1,654,600.00 3,268,790.00 4,146,820.00

0.218 2.2000 2.1800 0.58 0.400 8.50 0.850 0.270 0.204 0.207 0.0110 0.0120 1.66 6.42 2.97 0.5100 1.0000 0.0110 0.0110 4.00 8.45 3.22 0.0110 110.80 3.19 0.0099

170,000 58,000 32,000 1,118,000 1,050,000 35,100 19,480,000 1,000,000 21,420,000 3,590,000 14,200,000 22,900,000 1,670,000 25,251,500 403,000 1,000 1,815,000 18,000,000 3,700,000 466,000 1,907,400 21,898,000 193,200,000 1,985,730 214,000 24,900,000

35,580.00 123,970.00 71,280.00 656,190.00 428,700.00 292,212.00 16,393,040.00 273,600.00 4,364,280.00 740,090.00 205,700.00 274,800.00 2,741,020.00 169,037,576.00 1,235,800.00 510.00 1,814,300.00 183,300.00 40,700.00 1,863,350.00 16,189,621.00 70,287,230.00 2,317,200.00 218,062,303.00 679,300.00 244,440.00

49.4 531 540 105 119.5

655,300 3,120 3,050 193,140 9,960

32,438,910.00 1,653,980.00 1,647,480 20,248,744.00 1,175,310.00

541 6.01 1.03 112.8 1091 1160 1040 104 115 78 82 78.5 80.3 80.65 79 78.5 78.5 2.18

21,770 2,635,500 1,931,000 13,020 8,380 1,115 2,890 20,000 200 63,460 28,960 29,350 280,680 408,580 161,520 185,870 113,910 8,000

10,446,550.00 15,813,424.00 1,975,930 1,458,264.00 9,142,670.00 1,293,150.00 2,994,060.00 2,082,120.00 23,000.00 5,016,485.50 2,369,343 2,301,935.00 22,423,846.50 32,875,376.50 12,902,714.00 14,625,830.00 8,979,555.00 15,800.00

2.320

1,690,860

2,676,370.00

3.2 3.6 4.61 14.12

18,407,000 76,000 450,000 9,745,500

60,292,890.00 281,850.00 2,098,200.00 135,828,746.00

124.9

196,710

24,510,049.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS MRC Allied Ind. Boulevard Holdings IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Abra Mining Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Island Info Megaworld Oriental Pet. `A’ Vitarich Corp.

Manila Mining `B’

VOLUME 1,385,600,000 645,340,000 455,000,000 437,000,000 201,603,200 169,670,000 155,161,000 133,200,000 111,722,000 102,700,000

STOCKS Ayala Corp `A’ Ayala Land `B’ Metrobank SM Prime Holdings Universal Robina PLDT Common Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

SM Investments Inc. GT Capital Cemex Holdings

VALUE 2,137,645,585.00 1,945,689,260.00 1,620,805,271.00 1,538,858,460.00 1,460,777,210.00 1,402,507,360.00 1,394,512,246.00 1,253,572,390.00 1,220,187,120.00 1,189,880,108.00

Virata said.

Virata said passenger volume between Manila and New Zealand had grown 31 percent since PAL made the maiden flight in December 2015.

“We are targeting a load factor of 80 percent by end of the year,” Virata said.

PAL currently has a load factor of 70 percent to 75 percent for the Manila to Auckland service via Cairns, Australia.

“We are doing our best to be competitive. The competition is quite stiff,” Virata said.

Virata said 44,000 Filipinos were living in Auckland, a number that was expected to double by 2020.

Immigration New Zealand earlier streamlined the visitors visa applications for members of PAL’s Mabuhay Miles.

Under ANZ’s visitor visa application streamlining project, visa applications of members of PAL Mabuhay Miles Elite, Premiere Elite and Million Milers along with their partners and dependents traveling are processed within five days.

Mabuhay Miles Card holders can present their Elite card and field-up allocation form to INZ visa application centers in Manila and Cebu.

Applications through INZ website are also accepted.

The shortened visa application process for travel to New Zealand will be effective until May 31, 2019.

Semirara welcomes results of mine audit

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE government’s audit report clearing Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the country’s largest coal producer, likely prevented power outages, an executive said over the weekend.

“The closure of the Semirara coal mine would have been disastrous for the economy and the public, and possibly could create unnecessary political risks for the administration. Without coal, there would be outages, business disruption and retrenchment, and, in the case of affected cement companies, perhaps a supply lack that could affect infrastructure and housing,” Semirara resident manager Ruben Lozada said in a statement.

Lozada said Semirara was consistently protecting the environment while extracting coal.

“The audit reports confirm that commitment. We are responsible miners and keep upgrading our systems and processes when new technologies come to the market,” Lozada said.

The Energy Department and the Environment Department’s Environmental Management Bureau issued separate audits last week, saying that Semirara complied with all government regulations on the protection of the environment.

The company accounts for 97 percent of local coal production which is used mostly for power generation. Cement companies also use local coal as fuel.

Coal accounts for 45 percent of total power generated in 2015 and is considered a cheap source of electricity.

Data showed that electricity from coal plants owned

by Semirara’s sister company was sold to power retailer Manila Electric Co. for P2.517 per kilowatt-hour, the lowest cost of power produced.

Business Finance confident of credit ratings

By Gabrielle H. Binaday FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III assured investors there will be no downgrade in the investment grade rating amid concerns of alleged extra-judicial killings in the Philippines.

Dominguez noted that credit rating agencies has expressed concerns over the spate of extra judicial killings.

A downgrade in the investment rating will trigger an increase in interest rates on existing and new loans.

“When the interest rates go up, for the government that means to say we have less budget to spend on our program.

If the interest rate goes up domestically, of course the companies will be hard hit... But definitely... people who buy cars or motorcycles... on credit are going to pay a higher rate,” Dominguez said.

He said lower foreign direct investments would also mean less jobs. But Dominguez said global interest rates were relatively low and the local inflation rate was benign.

“We have a lot of excess liquidity domestically so we have no problems. And I said we haven’t changed anything so how can you say that our rating is going to go down? It’s crazy,” Dominguez said.

Global debt watcher Standard and Poor’s affirmed the Philippines investment grade rating of “BBB” on the back of the country’s strong external position.

S&P, however, warned the Duterte regime’s bloody war on drug crimes was threatening the economy and the country’s investment rating.

The credit rating agency said a higher rating was unlikely over the two-year horizon, but it might raise the the level if continued fiscal improvements under the new administration would boost investment and economic growth prospects.

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 extrastory2000@gmail.com

SteelAsia’s P7.2-b mill OK’d

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE Trade Department endorsed the P7.2-billion rolling steel mill project of SteelAsia Manufacturing. Inc. to President Rodrigo Duterte amid opposition to the site of the factory.

SteelAsia has already suffered an 11-month delay in the project after a group of environmental organizations opposed its proposed location in Plaridel, Bulacan.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez in his recommendation to Malacañan dated September 20, 2016 cited a group opposing the conversion of irrigated agricul-

tural lands into an industrial estate in Plaridel.

The group also lobbied with President Rodrigo Duterte despite SteelAsia’s compliance to most of the government requirements, including an environment compliance certificate from the Environment Department.

The conversion certificate

from agricultural to industrial land use remains pending with the Agrarian Reform Department, however.

The Sangguniang Pambayan of Plaridel, Bulacan earlier approved SteelAsia’s plan, but the company said it was considering other sites that could assure viable and unimpeded operation over the long term.

The Trade Department considers the project significant, saying it will fill up the slack in local production and offers 300 regular and 2,400 more indirect jobs.

The steel mill is also expected to open up opportunities to many support industries, such as logistics for services and materials for

the supply sector.

The construction of the Bulacan and Cebu plants of SteelAsia will add another 2 million metric tons of capacity in three years to the company’s current 2.1 million MT production.

SteelAsia is the country’s dominant player in rebar production with a 50 percent share of the market. Twelve companies account for the balance of the rebar steel market.

The production of and employment in the country’s iron and steel industry are declining due to direct and unfair competition from cheap Chinese imports.

The Trade Department said while there was supply surplus,

Mining audit is tainted —CoMP

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

FREE AIRPORT WI-FI. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade (right) and PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan make a ‘Digong’ fist sign at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City as they lead the launching of free Smart Wi-Fi. All four Naia terminals will now have a back haul capacity of up to 1 gigabit per second, providing 3,000 concurrent users of Smart Wi-Fi a seamless digital experience in checking their special media accounts, email or keeping connected to home and office while traveling. DANNY PATA

Manila North Harbor open to tariff increase in 2 phases

By Darwin G. Amojelar MANILA North Harbor Port Inc. said it is open to a gradual tariff increase after shipping operators and consumer groups opposed the petition before the Philippine Ports Authority.

“Our original submission was 37 percent increase, PPA has to decide if that’s fair or not or whatever increase they wanted.

It might be approved in two [tranches]. Let say in October 1st they grant x percent and six months later the balance for that.

We’re open to that,” MNHPI

chief executive Richard Barclay said.

MNHPI under a concession agreement is to increase tariff every two years.

“But it’s already 6 to 9 months over. We are still awaiting for the PPA go give us the feedback form all the position papers submitted,” Barclay said.

Elvira Medina, president of the National Center for Commuters Safety and Protection, had said that the port tariff increase was “unjustified” because of MNHPI’s monopoly in the domestic shipping market.

“It will have a heavy impact on the public, not just on cost of freight and consumer goods but also on petroleum products, which eventually will jack up transportation costs,” Medina said.

The Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association and the Philippine Liner Shipping Association rejected the cargo-handling tariff increase as it could increase consumer goods.

Barclay refuted the claim of the oppositors, noting that the company invested P11 billion to modernize the Manila North

Harbor, which includes the modernization of passenger terminal and other facilities, acquisition of heavy equipment and dredging operation equipment.

MNHPI, which is now majority owned by San Miguel Corp., won the 25-year contract to manage, develop and operate the 52-hectare seaport terminal.

San Miguel earlier acquired a majority interest in MNHPI after San Miguel Holdings Corp. subscribed to and fully paid for 13 million common shares, resulting in SMHC owning a 43.33-percent equity interest in MNHPI.

Labor-management disputes DIVINA M. EDRALIN

GREEN LIGHT Part II

ANOTHER interesting result of the survey pertains to the degree of importance of the traits/qualities and ethical behavior that the effective conciliator-mediator-arbitrator should possess in resolving labor-management disputes. The top three in the list which were rated extremely important were: (1) justness and sincerity; (2) integrity; and (3) good listener.

Important traits Justness and sincerity means the conciliator-mediator-arbitrator shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor, and respect the rights of others at all times. Integrity means the conciliator-mediator-arbitrator values honesty in the proper discharge of duty and personal demeanor. Good listener means that the conciliator-mediator-arbitrator at-

the cost of steel would become cheaper, with the gradual phaseout of most favored nation tariffs, influx of cheap imports and technical smuggling.

Expensive power rates and power outages are also discouraging foreign investments on steel.

The department though cited opportunities in unserved markets of infrastructure, construction, shipbuilding and other manufacturing business.

Total steel consumption in the Philippines stood at 8.76 million metric tons in 20156. The local industry imports 4.84 million MT with a combined value of $2.25 billion.

tentively absorbs the ideas and feelings conveyed by both parties and acknowledges these as important. As one management representative expressed: “Nowadays, I personally find it difficult to talk to the union representatives who sit is the bargaining table and immediately resolve our differences.

We always end up at the DoLE facing the conciliator to resolve our deadlock. That is why I strongly believed that any conciliator must be just, sincere, honest, and professional in dealing with us in the shortest possible time.”

Last but not the least On the other hand, the bottom three in the list, which were rated important are: (1) patience; (2) perseverance; and (3) common sense. Patience demands that the conciliator-mediatorarbitrator has the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Perseverance compels that the conciliator-mediatorarbitrator is steadfast in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

Common sense entails that the conciliator-mediator-arbitrator has good sense and sound judgment in practical matters. As one union officer commented: “We always passionately fight for our demands especially when it comes to wage increase and other economic issues. Many times we have put our jobs in the line of fire when we decide that we will go on strike. It is in this trying time that we need an arbiter who has the patience, perseverance, and commitment that they will be fair in the resolution of our deadlock. No politics and corruption should come in to the picture to favor one party especially the management” Upgrading the level of competencies I believe that success of all these dispute settlement modes is basically dependent on a number of factors, but the level of competencies of the conciliator-mediator-arbitrator is one of the key drivers. Therefore, there is a need to upgrade the competencies of all conciliators, mediators, and arbitrators.

A continuing upgrading of the technical and behavioral skills of the conciliator-mediator-arbiter in dispute settlement should be undertaken since they are the third party who are expected to help in the speedy but just resolution of the dispute.

Give emphasis on learning the labor laws and acquiring the ethical behavior and traits to improving their methods of negotiation, conflict resolution, and cooperative decision-making that will make them effective in the performance of their function.

A Full professor, Prof. Dr. Edralin teaches Human Behavior, Strategic Human Resource Management, Labor Relations and Research. She is also a management consultant of SME’s, schools, and NGOs. She may be reached at divina. edralin@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.

Along with a 35-percent held by San Miguel-owned Petron Corp., the conglomerate as a group now controls a 78.33-percent interest in the port terminal company.

The port operator also asked the PPA to allow it to handle foreign cargoes pursuant under R.A. 10688, or the Cabotage Act Amendments, and the applicable orders of the Bureau of Customs.

But PPA on June 21 issued a memorandum prohibiting MNHPI from providing terminal services to foreign vessels at the Manila North Harbor due to the contractual limitation of MNHPI.

THE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines reiterated its concern over the integrity of the pending results of the mining audit being conducted by the Environment Department due to the “questionable role of anti-mining civil society organizations.”

“We are not questioning the strict implementation of the law.

In fact, we welcome a technical, environmental and social development audit of all mining operations. That has been our call for the longest time,” said CoMP vice president Ronald Recidoro.

“What we do question is the bias and partiality that was ingrained in the audit review process with the inclusion of anti-mining groups in the audit teams.”

“Their actions have seriously tainted the impartiality of the audit, sending very negative signals not just to legitimate mining projects but even to other industries,” Recidoro added.

Earlier, the Department Environment and Nautral Resources issued a directive requiring the inclusion of third party experts in the audit teams.

CoMP said none of the civil society organization representatives qualified as social development experts and could claim no relevant expertise.

“We find it objectionable that public resources were likely used to transport and billet these private individuals when they are biased against mining and add no technical expertise to the review process,” Recidoro said.

The government earlier conducted an audit on the operations of mining companies in the country. The audit aims to determine which companies are strictly following the laws and guidelines issued by the government.

The results of the mining audit wil be announced by Environment Secretary Regina Lopez on Tuesday.

No congestion despite surge in cargo volume THE Philippine Ports Authority discounted the possibility of port congestion despite the expected upsurge in cargo volumes in the last three months of the year.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the country’s cargo volume climbed another 11 percent in the first seven months of the year from a year ago.

“Despite the surging numbers, we guarantee that our ports remain clogged-free and can accommodate the increasing cargo, passenger and ship call volumes,” Santiago said.

“The strong performance of the cargo segment underscores the country’s economic resilience. The strong numbers in the passage sector also suggests the continuing vibrancy of both the local and international travel industries and more people are now considering traveling using ships,” he added.

Combined yard utilization at the Manila ports is now at 40 percent, with approximately 32,600 TEUs inside the terminals while yard productivity

ranges from 20-30 moves an hour.

Santiago attributed the efficient yard management in the Manila terminals partly to the recently-imposed truck Terminal Appointment Booking System. The new system improved port efficiency by at least 96 percent.

Prior to the TABS, the average daily gateouts at the Manila ports was at 4,500 to 5,000 TEUs compared with the postTABS imposition of 7,000 to 7,500 TEUs daily gateouts.

“With this kind of yard utilization, we can say that Philippine ports are ready to handle the expected increase in the volume of cargo due to the run-up to Christmas,” Santiago said.

Data from the PPA showed that total cargo throughput reached 141.770 million metric tons this year from 128.217 mmt registered in the first sevenmonths of 2015.

Foreign cargo volume rose 12 percent to 86.302 mmt while domestic traffic recorded a nine percent increase.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Business

G. Sachs plans 24% job cuts in Asia GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc. plans to cut about a quarter of its investment-banking jobs in Asia, excluding Japan, because of a slump in deal-making in the region, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The New York-based bank plans to make the cutback of about 75 jobs in the region later this year, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. The job reduction comes as the bank faces its worst Asia ranking in equity issuance since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg data. A Goldman Sachs spokesman said he was unable to comment.

Asia ex-Japan equity offerings have declined 29 percent this year, and Goldman’s ranking plummeted to 11th from second in 2015, its worst showing in about eight years, the data show. The company also has come under scrutiny by authorities for its role in underwriting $6 billion of bond sales for 1MDB, the Malaysian government fund at the center of several international investigations into suspected corruption and money laundering.

Chinese securities firms are mounting a challenge to western banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in Asia, with mainland companies occupying seven of the top 10 positions in advising on Hong Kong initial public offerings this year, data compiled

by Bloomberg show. Postal Savings Bank of China Co. raised $7.4 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering this week, the world’s biggest first-time share sale this year.

Global investment banks have reduced headcount to trim costs after reporting declines in profit this year. UBS AG trimmed senior management ranks in the region, removing an Asia investment banking co-head position in July. The bank’s pretax profit at its investment bank slumped 48 percent in the second quarter, which the bank partly blamed on a slowdown in its Asia-Pacific equities business.

Nomura Holdings Inc. and Macquarie Group Ltd. also cut jobs this year. Bloomberg

Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s minister of energy and industry (center), in this file photo speaks to journalists ahead of the 169th Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna, Austria, on June 2, 2016. Saudi Arabia is ready to consider a surprise deal with fellow Opec members, attempting to mend divisions that had grown so wide many dubbed the group as good as dead. Bloomberg

Opec heads to key meeting this week P

ARIS—Cartels only work when their members stick together—but precious little unity is likely to be on show among Opec producers at a key meeting in Algiers on Wednesday.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries seem doomed to disagree on whether to freeze production to reverse a collapse in oil prices.

At most, say analysts, the group will agree on the need to stabilize the market after two years of surpluses that have sloshed around global markets, depressing prices.

Early flutters of optimism that the informal gathering could hammer out a deal to actually drain the surplus have yielded to skepticism.

A previous bid to freeze output, led by Opec linchpin Saudi Arabia, fell apart in Doha in April when Iran refused to play ball, arguing it needed to bring its production back up to pre-Western sanctions levels.

“An agreement on a production freeze accepted by everyone would be a surprise,”

said Didier Houssin, head of research group IFPEN. “Analysts expect more a comment that’s a bit calming on the need to continue to follow the market... and to stabilize production.

Without binding measures, without specific quotas.”

Prices have plunged from peaks of more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to near 13year lows below $30 in January.

They rose this month when non-Opec Russia pledged with Saudi Arabia to work on addressing the supply glut, but the governments provided scant detail on their plans.

The Opec talks will take place on the sidelines of a three-day International Energy Forum gathering—in which Russia will participate—from Monday.

So far the two major producers have not taken any action to reduce the oversupply, which has resulted from a boom in US fracking and from Opec’s nearly two-year-old strategy to throw open the spigots to defend market share.

Opec chief Mohammed Barkindo, of Nigeria, has himself dampened expectations, describing the meeting as consultative.

On the other hand, mutual desperation

could favor a consensus, given the toll that low prices have inflicted on Opec economies.

Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa has notably said Opec could call a special decision-making meeting in Algiers.

Bloomberg has reported Saudi Arabia is willing to cut production provided Iran freezes its output at current levels.

Tehran lifted production to 3.6 million barrels per day last month, according to the International Energy Agency, approaching its pre-sanction 4.0 mb/d levels.

Even so, the Saudi concession could founder on old rivalries.

“Opec, in the current context, no longer exists, because the political divergences are such that the secretary general finds it difficult to control anything at all,” said Olivier Appert, head of the French Council of Energy.

Like Iran, Libya and Nigeria are reluctant to limit production after conflicts that have weakened their economies and left pumping below capacity.

Last week, an oil tanker left the key Libyan port of Ras Lanuf with the first crude shipment from the terminal since fighting halted exports in 2014. AFP

Japan’s sake bound for overseas as local market dries up

By Natsuko Fukue OME, Japan—Ozawa Shuzo brewery hums with activity as boxed bottles of sake are loaded onto trucks. But with the domestic market shrinking, more and more of it is bound for burgeoning overseas markets where the centuries old drink is all the rage.

The small establishment has recently drawn interest from potential new customers in Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea, on top of a coterie of existing ones in the United States, France and Singapore.

Sake, a fermented drink made of rice, has hit hard times in its homeland amid changing tastes, but manufacturers are welcoming growing popularity overseas.

A steady flow of tourists visiting Ozawa Shuzo could be a sign of things to come.

“We cannot easily go abroad to explain what sake is all about, so by doing this (tours) at our brewery I hope visitors will get a better understanding of its value,” Junichiro Ozawa, president of the 300-year-old Ozawa Shuzo, told AFP at his brewery on Tokyo’s mountainous western fringe.

Underlining sake’s increasing global renown, the influential guide Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate this month issued ratings for the beverage.

Sake exports have doubled in the past decade to some 18,180 kilolitres, according to Japanese government figures, with the

This photo taken on September 14, 2016 shows an employee of the Ozawa Shuzo brewery putting bottles of sake into crates in Ome, on the western fringe of Tokyo. Sake, a fermented drink made of rice, has hit hard times in its homeland amid changing tastes, but manufacturers are welcoming growing popularity overseas. AFP

United States the largest single foreign market, accounting for about one-quarter of the total.

Impressive growth, but that is just three percent of total shipments, suggesting plenty of room for further expansion abroad.

Promoter-in-chief Major export destinations are the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea, according to the agriculture ministry, making up 70 percent of the total.

Shipments to fastest-growing market China shot up more than three-fold between 2008 and last year, while they more than doubled to South Korea during that time.

In Hong Kong, where Japanese food and culture are popular, sake has been appearing on more and more restaurant menus in recent years.

“Compared to when I first started out in the business, peo-

ple have increasingly become more interested in appreciating and learning more about sake,” said Stephen Tse, who manages a Japanese restaurant in Tai Hang, an upscale neighborhood in the southern Chinese city.

Authorities have actively pushed sake overseas, part of a “Cool Japan” strategy aimed at highlighting the country’s soft power, along with manga comic books and Japanese food.

“Exports are increasing thanks largely to the soaring popularity of Japanese cuisine overseas,” said an official familiar with the sake industry at the National Tax Agency.

Government data show some 89,000 Japanese restaurants existed outside Japan as of July 2015, up sharply from 55,000 just two years before.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who recently dressed as Nintendo game character Super Mario at the Rio Olympics, is more than happy to serve as promoter-inchief for Japanese sake.

In 2014, he presented bottles of the brew from his home region to US President Barack Obama and in 2013 to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Historical references to sake date to the eighth century and the drink has played an important role in seasonal festivals. Drinking it was believed to drive away impurities and evil spirits, according to an industry association.

But despite its long pedigree and status as national alcohol, it’s popularity has been waning as consumer tastes increasingly turn to western beverages including whisky and wine.

Sake sommelier Domestically, sake consumption dropped to about 557,000 kiloliters in 2014, compared with 746,000 kiloliters a decade earlier, the government said.

Younger people see the drink as decidedly uncool. AFP

Turkey protests Moody’s ratings ANKARA, Turkey―Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hit out at Moody’s on Saturday, claiming it was biased after it cut Turkey’s sovereign debt rating to “junk” status.

Amid months of political turmoil, the ratings agency cut Turkey to “Ba1” level, saying the country’s finances had weakened while its reaction to the July 15 attempted coup set back expected reforms.

Yildirim dismissed Moody’s concerns, insisting the Turkish economy was built on solid foundations and that Ankara would not neglect fiscal discipline.

He pointed out that the central bank did not feel the need to give money to the markets, referring to the fact that there was no mass panic in the markets post-putsch.

“Just two days ago this ratings agency said ‘the Turkish economy had easily overcome the shock of the attempted coup.’ What changed in two days?” he told reporters in Istanbul.

“Frankly we do not think these assessments are unbiased,” he said, suggesting Moody’s wanted to create a “perception” of the Turkish economy, but he did not elaborate further.

The ratings agency said on Friday the rule of law was affected by the government’s reaction to the failed putsch, dismissing and detaining tens of thousands of people in the education sector, the military and judiciary.

But Yildirim suggested agencies’ assessments did not mean that much to Ankara, though his cabinet stressed that Turkey was still committed to structural reforms.

“The Turkish economy is not an economy that will get into line because of three or five pieces of assessment from agencies,” Yildirim said. AFP

Caesars closer to a rehab package CAESARS Entertainment Corp. is getting closer to a deal to finance the reorganization of its bankrupt operating unit and end two years of rancorous court battles that embroiled the casino giant and its controlling shareholders, Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Co.’s bondholders and lenders are hammering out the framework of a deal as a midnight deadline looms, according to people with knowledge of the matter. They must determine how to divide a $400 million payout called for in a new plan the casino operator offered two days ago to get holdout second-priority creditors on board with a restructuring, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

A proposal under discussion would require the operating unit’s most senior bondholders and lenders to give up $170 million of their original recoveries, while Caesars provides $200 million, the people said. The unit’s lower-ranking, second-lien bondholders, a group that includes Appaloosa Management, would forgo the remaining $30 million, the people said.

Caesars has given creditors until midnight Friday in New York to sign onto a settlement.

No final agreement has been reached yet and the deadline could be extended, the people said.

Stephen Cohen, a Caesars spokesman, declined to comment on the talks, as did Eric Kuo, an Apollo spokesman, and Luke Barrett at TPG. Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for Appaloosa, didn’t immediately comment. Bloomberg

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

C1

HAVEN. Many couples hold their pre-nuptial photo shoots and weddings at La Virgen Milagrosa Chapel in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. Erwin Leyros

Piñol launches DA lending program AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel Piñol launched the nationwide Program for Unified Lending to Agriculture (Punla) in Northern Samar (Catarman) and Eastern Samar (Borongan) in the middle of this month.

Together with Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) executive director Jocelyn Alma Badiola, Piñol opened the lending facility that will serve marginal farmers and fishers of the country in 10 of the country’s poorest provinces.

During the visit, the DA distributed 50 units fiberglass boats with gears to local fishermen.

“These 20-footer motorized boats may be used for your fishing and Bantay Laot activities, and so I expect you to take care of it,” Piñol stressed.

Aside from the fishing boats, rice, corn and vegetable seeds were also turned over to farmer/ fisher-beneficiaries as well as various farm machinery and equipment under the banner programs of the department.

“The problem with the current credit systems is that they have too many requirements, so farmers are often afraid to approach a bank officer especially when he is wearing his usual rubber slippers,” the secretary said.

So, Punla, which has an initial funding allocation of P200 million, will provide non-collateralized loans for agri-fishery production and agri-microfinance.

Badiola explained that a borrower may take out a P150,000

loan at six percent interest with a one-year maturity.

“However this will be made available through farmers’ organizations, cooperatives or non-government organizations,” she said.

Badiola added that the institutional capability of conduits will be built before the approval and release of loans “to enable them to implement the credit system effectively.”

On top of this, insurance coverage by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. will be made available.

Punla, is designed to be implemented in Apayao, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato, Sarangani. Maguindanao, Eastern Samar, Western Samar and Northern Samar.

The launching coincided with the Aragtubang; Gobyerno ug Mulopyo (Tapatan: Government and Citizens) forum held in Catarman and Borongan.

Piñol reminded the Catarman forum that it was already his second visit to the province after only 70 days in office.

“You are a priority of the government, and so this is not my last visit,” he announced.

“I will come back to see if the interventions that we provided today have helped your lives and livelihood,” Piñol said.

The total amount of agricultural interventions delivered to the municipalities of Northern Samar has reached more than P20 million. PIA

La Union students top KL symposium L

a Union students were hailed champions in the Fully Residential Schools International Symposium held in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia recently.

The two teams from Science High School of Lorma Colleges in San Juan bagged two gold medals after their research project anchored on the theme “Education nurtures solidarity and harmony” bested entries from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India, and host country Malaysia Organized by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, the annual international research competition gathers the brightest high school students to exchange ideas, and experiences by applying the skills of effective

communication, management, public-speaking, leadership, social ethics and creative thinking in the international arena.

“We decided on ‘socio-cultural development and human rights advocacy’ because the country has diverse culture, tradition and religion,” Grant Ganuelas, a Grade 10 student who led the second team, said.

Ganuelas also cited that ‘despite the diversity, people give a high value to human rights.’

According to international researches, the Philippines ranks seventh among the most gay-

friendly countries in the world and 10th out of 17 countries in terms of gender equality. The Lorma students highlighted these in their discourse entitled “Mainstreaming the Culture of Peace through Education” which they presented before the Malaysian panel.

“Peace is something the world has wanted to achieve and we want to join our heroes and the people who are fighting for peace,” Maurin Marron, from the other team, said.

They proposed the conduct of a Peace Summit for students who will be Persons of Peace (POP). The latter be part of the Persons of Peace Movement (POPM) to promote a culture of peace.

Dr. Jose Mainggang, executive director of Lorma Colleges,

Bistek eyes brgy mental health care

New PVAO building to house vets’ records THE Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) inaugurated a new building for its veterans records and management division (VRMD) on its 44th founding anniversary Friday.

The building in the PVAO compound in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City will house and integrate all records of veterans and their dependents, PVAO administrator Ernesto Carolina said.

These records are the 201 files or the pensioners/veterans records of both deceased and active pensioners, Carolina said, including application forms, documentary requirements and military service records, proofs of identity, evaluation/processing forms for benefits applied for by the pensioners, and attachments on approved and disapproved applications.

These will be consolidated into

one veteran file that will be transferred from the Bonifacio Hall and the former division’s facility to the new building.

Files gathered from the year 2001 to the present will also be stored there. As a pension management institution, the PVAO’s lifeblood are the records, thus the need for the facility.

Carolina said it was named the VRMD to honor the selfless and heroic sacrifices made by Filipino veterans.

“The digitization of records will facilitate the availability of veterans’ information and documents to using entities through their respective computer terminals, thus drastically reducing the processing time for benefit claims and validation of pensioners under the PVAO Validation Program,” deputy administrator Raul Caballes said. PNA

said he hoped to sit down with the Department of Education and other educators to share the achievement of their students.

“We want to present the fruit of the hard work of these students on their research to excite interest and discussion,” Mainggang said.

The students’ coach Fernando Oringo said they researched the socioeconomic and cultural issues of the different municipalities in the province, such as the pottery industry of San Juan town.

Meanwhile, other international youth engagements to be attended by Science High School students here include the Asean International Youth Camp in Fuijan province, China and the Final Thailand- Asean Youth Camp, both on October 17. PIA

JOLLY APP. Jollibee launched its first mobile app using augmented reality at the Jolly Dance Showdown event in Ascott, Bonifacio Global City on Saturday with Bettina Carlos and daughter Gummy, Camille Prats and son Nathan, Marco Masa and radio host Chico Garcia. AFP

DSWD cites Caloocan social center

By Jun David MAYOR Oscar Malapitan announced that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has given the city social development center—Tahanang Mapagkalinga in the northern part of Caloocan—Level 1 accreditation.

A letter to Malapitan from DSWD-Standards Bureau Director Marites Maristela noted

that “the local government unit has met the delivery of quality services for the welfare of the disadvantaged clients, geared toward family reunification.”

“This accreditation shows that my administration is prioritizing the quality care and protection of orphaned and abandoned children,” the mayor said Tahanang Mapagkalinga scored high in organizational and management, human re-

source development, helping process, case recording and documentation, homelife atmosphere, facilities and accommodation, educational services and medical-psychological-dental services in DSWD’s assessment.

Malapitan congratulated Roberto Quizon, oversight committee head of the CSWD, for meeting high standards for shelter services for the disadvantaged.

THE Quezon City Health Department is planning to implement a community-based mental health program to provide underprivileged residents access to mental health care and services.

Doctors and barangay health workers have been trained in mental health care to establish a mental health care delivery system in each community.

The City Health Department is also completing a referral system with other health and social-welfare institutions under programs for preventing and managing mental illness and disorders related to substance abuse.

“Since we cannot hire psychiatrists, we trained our doctors and health workers,” said city health officer Verdades Linga.

Linga said the city government has set aside P7.4 million for the development of the city’s communitybased mental health program, mandated by an ordinance approved by Mayor Herbert Bautista in October 2015.

The measure, principally authored by Councilor Anthony Peter Crisologo, calls for a system and mechanism for providing free mental health care to city residents, especially the poor. PNA

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LGUs

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

NCIP blocks power project LA TRINIDAD—The Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) ordered Coheco Badeo Corp. to shelve feasibility studies, drilling, boring tests and rock sampling in its project site in barangay Badeo. Kibungan for its proposed 500-megawatt pump storage hydro project.

The commission said these preliminaries require a free and prior informed consent process under Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act supplemented by NCIP Administrative Order 3, series of 2012, and the customary laws of indigenous peoples and cultural communities.

NCIP-CAR regional director Roland Calde lambasted How on Kim alias Larry, chairman of Coheco Badeo Corp., for reportedly intruding into the ancestral domain of Kibungan, Benguet and planning to conduct geo-technical works for its proposed hydropower project without the consent of the affected communities.

“This office reserves the right to bring necessary civil and criminal suits and actions for any and all causes of action arising from unlawful or unauthorized intrusion into any of the ancestral domains. Failure and refusal to comply with this cease and desist order shall likewise prompt this office to file any available action, including actions to the offices of the Department of Energy, Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration,” Calde stressed.

However, the NCIP-CAR official admitted that Coheco Badeo Corp. had applied for a certificate of pre-condition for the proposed 500-megawatt pump storage hydro power project situated in Badeo, Kibungan town before it was told to stop its feasibility work.

The commission obliged the company to submit endorsements from regulatory agencies, a profile of the project proponent, a report on the nature and purpose of the project, a complete feasibility study including systems design, solar layout plan, location of the proposed project with an indicative map showing the names of sitios and barangays that will be affected and an indicative map of the route of transmission lines from substation to grid, tapping points, required right-of-way, sub-station layout, and capacity load.

Paul Bagano, Coheco Badeo Corp. chief executive officer, said their personnel will close their campsite in Badeo and will move the drilling machines in Bacnotan, La Union to Badeo, Kibungan.

Concerned villagers expressed their gratitude to the NCIP-CAR for the timely issuance of the cease and desist order. Dexter A. See

Philex workers collect Benguet river garbage

By Dexter A. See

T

UBA—A hundred employees and other workers of Padcal mine, the gold-and-copper operations of Philex Mining Corp. in this province, cleaned up the Sal-angan River, in Itogon town’s Barangay Ampucao last Saturday.

Julius Bayogan, manager of Padcal mine’s environment, quality monitoring and evaluation departmernt (EQMED), said the cleanup drive was in line with the “Bayan Ko Linis Ko” program spearheaded by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, which promotes cleanliness in coastal and inland waterways, creeks, public places, and private establishments nationwide.

For four hours, volunteers from the different Padcal departments and security force picked up trash dumped in the two-kilometer river where Padcal gets water for its mill operation.

After dividing themselves into three groups—to be assigned in the river’s upstream, downstream, and the middle sections—the volunteers, wearing personal protective equipment like hard hats, rubber boots and reflecting vests, collected 14 sacks of refuse that weighed 465 kilograms. They segregated the garbage they collected into biodegradable, recyclable and residual wastes.

Residual wastes, Bayogan explained, include what remains of agricultural, industrial, and mining materials after a treatment process, as well as household garbage that cannot be reused or recycled.

Bayogan said they will next clean up the Balog Creek, in Barangay Ampucao’s Sitio Balog. The 2.5-kilometer creek, which converges with the Agno River, and the Sal-angan River are both tributaries of Agno. Traversing the provinces of Benguet and Pangasinan, the Agno River is the Philippines’ third-largest river system with a drainage area of 5,952 square kilometer.

Philex said it maintains multi-sectoral teams that monitor compliance with environmental standards for air and water quality, solid waste management, reforestation and mine rehabilitation under the mine’s Annual Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (AEPEP).

Last year, Philex Mining revealed that it spent P269 million for its AEPEP. This year’s environment-related expenses have been estimated to reach P493 million, it said.

Zambo hotels to profile guests QUEEN. Eva the cat perches serenely on a treetop in Molino in Bacoor, Cavite. Jesse Esplana

Cordillera typhoid incidence rises

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—The Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DoH-CAR) reported a 56-percent increase in the number of typhoid fever cases from January to September 10 this year compared to the yearago incidence.

Dra. Amelita Pangilinan, DoHCAR assistant regional director, said the number of deaths of typhoid did not change.

Typhoid cases in Apayao rose 254 percent, the highest jump, to 138 this year from 39 last year. Cases in Ifugao grew 215 percent to 129 this year from 41 last year.

Kalinga saw a 137-percent increase in typhoid cases to 235 cases from 99 last year, while Benguet recorded a 109-percent uptick to 1,582 cases from 758 in 2015.

Abra reported the highest incidence drop of 36 percent to 48 from 75 last year. Baguio City posted a 31-percent decrease in typhoid patients to 164 from 237 last year, while Mountain Province said it had 13 percent less cases this year—406 cases compared to last year’s 465.

Pangilinan revealed that typhoid cases from non-CAR areas that were treated in the different hospitals in the region also decreased by nine percent to 39 cases in 2016 from 43 last year.

According to her, the age range of the typhoid fever victims is from one month old to 93 years old and females accounted for 50.1 percent of the victims.

A 71-year-old woman from Sadanga, Mountain Province and a 33-yearold man from Tuba, Benguet died of the disease.

Clustering of typhoid fever cases were reported in Pudtol, Apayao; Atok, Bokod, Buguias, Kabayan.

Kibungan, La Trinidad, Benguet; Tinoc, Ifugao; Tabuk city, Kalinga; Besao, Sagada, Mountain Province, Pangilinan added.

Typhoid fever is transmitted by food and water contaminated by feces and urine of patients and carriers.

ZAMBOANGA City Mayor Ma. Isabelle ClimacoSalazar has directed local hotel owners to conduct an efficient and regular profiling of guests to strengthen the city’s anti-terror and anti-criminality efforts.

Salazar said the management of hotels should require guests to submit valid identification (ID) cards, so that coordinating with proper authorities would be easy “when the need arises.”

The directive also covers inns, motels, pension houses, boarding houses, guest houses, bed and breakfast, hostels and lodges.

Eleven people were injured in an explosion in a pension house in Barangay Guiwan on Oct. 9, 2011, while three people were killed and 27 others were wounded in another bombing at a pension house in Barangay Canelar on November 27 in the same year.

Salazar said requiring valid IDs began last year and the same could be done, not only during the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival next month, but on a regular basis.

She reiterated her call for all sectors to cooperate in the anti-terror and anti-crime efforts of the police, the military and the local government.

“The people should provide information on security threats to the proper authorities,” Salazar added. PNA

Mindanao youth sing for peace CHILDREN’S agency Unicef and partners recently held a Peace Concert to commemorate the International Day of Peace. Young people affected by conflict in Mindanao came together to express their hopes and dreams of peace through song and dance in support of National Peace Consciousness Month.

The concert was organized

by Kalimudan Arts and Culture Center, Mindanao State University and Unicef.

During the Peace Concert, young people in Mindanao shared their visions and dreams for peace through traditional art forms. One of the highlights is an original song, Sabay-Sabay Tayo Para Sa Kabataan (All of us Together for Children), composed by young people from Sarangani Province. Through the song, boys and girls expressed their desire

that young people come together and work for peace in Mindanao.

Unicef believes that adolescence is a time of opportunity for children. Young people across the world crave for their voices to be heard. Whilst they are often viewed as a problem for society, young people are also assets who can contribute to positive change and help build peace in their families, communities and the wider world.

“Participation helps adolescents to become the architects of their own lives, developing themselves and their communities and becoming a collective and creative force for a better future. The young people’s performances in the concert showed that they not only have a deep appreciation of the rich cultural traditions of Mindanao, but also bright dreams of a peaceful future and

the roles they can play in making this future a reality,” Unicef Philippines deputy representative Julia Rees says.

Working with partners, Unicef supports adolescent development and participation across Mindanao, with a focus on their engagement in peace building. Since 2015, Unicef and its partners have provided nearly 10,000 adolescents in Mindanao—including students and out-of-school youth—access to adolescentfriendly spaces in which they can develop life skills.

This work includes a focus on engaging young people in peace building through the use of arts and culture, which are a powerful medium for young people to explore and express themselves in relation to the peace and conflict issues they face in their daily lives.

BONDING. A family enjoys a joy ride on a pedicab to downtown Tacloban City. Manny Palmero

World

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

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Aleppo reels from airstrikes A

LEPPO―UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Saturday he was “appalled by the chilling military escalation” in Syria’s battleground city of Aleppo where residents cowered indoors as air strikes toppled buildings and killed at least 45 civilians.

The Security Council was set to meet Sunday to discuss the upsurge in violence since the Syrian army announced an offensive to retake the rebel-held east of the devastated city.

Nearly two million civilians were left without water in Aleppo after regime bombardment damaged a pumping station and rebels shut down another in retaliation, the UN said.

Ban warned the use of bunker buster bombs and other advanced munitions against civilians may amount to war crimes, after the

army Thursday launched the offensive backed by Russian air raids that has cost around 100 lives.

Top EU officials said that the attacks on civilians amount to a “breach of international humanitarian law,” and called for intensified peace efforts.

Washington and leading European powers said Saturday that “the burden is on Russia... to salvage diplomatic efforts to restore a cessation of hostilities.”

A week-long ceasefire agreed between the United States and Russia ended on Monday and ef-

forts to revive the truce failed.

That same day, an aid convoy was hit by an air strike that US officials have said was carried out

by Russian planes, although Moscow has denied responsibility.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who failed in talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to revive the ceasefire, earlier said: “What is happening in Aleppo today is unacceptable. It is beyond the pale.”

“If people are serious about wanting a peaceful outcome... they should cease and desist bombing innocent women and children, cease cutting off water and laying siege in medieval terms to an entire community,” he said.

Kerry had harsh words for Moscow’s involvement in the conflict, in comments at a meeting with his European counterparts.

“Russia needs to set an example, not a precedent -– an unacceptable precedent, I might add, for the entire world,” he said.

Syria’s regime said it was confident of victory, with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem telling the UN General Assembly that the army and its allies were making “great strides” in the conflict.

He said a US-led coalition air strike that killed at least 62 Syrian soldiers on September 17 was intentional “and not an error, even if the United States claims otherwise”.

Rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo came under intense air and artillery fire for a fifth night on Friday ahead of an anticipated ground offensive by the army to recapture the whole of the divided city.

Muallem told the UN: “Our belief in victory is even greater

now that the Syrian Arab Army is making great strides in its war against terrorism, with the support of the true friends of the Syrian people,” singling out Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Saturday’s death toll of 45 in Aleppo city was expected to rise because people remained trapped in the rubble, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group.

It said another seven people were killed elsewhere in Aleppo province on Saturday.

“We were home when a missile crashed into our road,” said one resident of the Bab al-Nayrab district who gave his name as Nizar.

“Half of the building just caved in and our baby was hit on the head. He died on the spot,” Nizar said, the body of his son on the ground wrapped in a blanket.

- Massive destruction -Seven people were killed in a strike as they queued to buy yoghurt at a market in the Bustan al-Qasr district on the front line dividing the government-held west from the rebel-held east of the city.

The attack left a pool of blood and body parts strewn across the site, said an AFP correspondent on the scene.

Medics said they were carrying out many amputations to try to save the wounded, while supplies of blood and IV drips were running out.

On Friday, at least 47 people were killed in heavy bombing, among them seven children, the Observatory said.

There was massive destruction in several neighborhoods, including Al-Kalasseh and Bustan al-Qasr, where some streets were almost erased by the bombardment. AFP

Concert promises help for refugees NEW YORK―Top names in music including Metallica and Rihanna joined leaders Saturday in a concert that brought promises of action to support refugees and improve sanitation in the developing world.

The Global Citizen Festival, broadcast live from the vast lawn of New York’s Central Park, distributes tickets to fans who commit to petitions and other actions aimed at ending extreme poverty.

Interspersing performances from some of the world’s most sought-after artists with rapid speeches and videos, the fifth edition of the festival put a special focus on solidarity with refugees amid the mass exodus from war-ravaged Syria.

Electronic duo Major Lazer kicked off the more than six-hour festival that also brought out leading pop singers Demi Lovato, Ellie Goulding and Rihanna―who noted to the crowd that she herself migrated from Barbados.

Metallica played one of the band’s few shows ahead of the metal icons’ upcoming album, ripping through five of their most classic tunes at a decibel level rarely heard in the halls of international diplomacy.

Yusuf, the folk rocker known as Cat Stevens before his conversion to Islam, appealed to the crowd to ensure that no one is “stigmatized” on account of identity.

“This globe is big enough for everybody to share,” he said.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder teamed up separately

with Yusuf and with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, with whom he sang a two-guitar version of Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power.”

Vedder, long outspoken in his left-leaning politics, made veiled criticism of US presidential contender Donald Trump, saying that election-season “bigotry” would not endure in “this modern world of communication and acceptance.”

“This is one last gasp―they know that these are antiquated ideals that are going away.”

Rapper Kendrick Lamar put on the festival’s most extensive set, culminating in an energetic “Alright,” his unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In one of the evening’s more unlikely stars, a six-year-old New York boy named Alex took the stage, waving with precocious grace.

Alex recently wrote a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to bring “the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria” to his home, promising to care for him.

He was referring to five-yearold Omran Daqneesh, who was filmed dazed, bloodied and covered in dust after being rescued from the rubble of his family’s home last month.

Obama shared Alex’s letter Monday at a UN summit on refugees as he appealed for more compassion for refugees amid the rise of Trump and other politicians who have advocated closing doors. AFP

Best actress. Chinese actress Fan Bingbing checks her phone prior to receiving the ‘Concha de Plata’ (Silver Shell) award for the best actress during the 64th San Sebastian International Film Festiva’sl closing ceremony on September 24, 2016 in the Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian. AFP

Pangolins need spotlight to survive JOHANNESBURG―Reclusive, gentle and quick to roll up into a ball, pangolins keep a low profile.

But they are also the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal, and experts at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species or CITES conference this week are ringing alarm bells over their survival.

Demand for pangolin meat and body parts has fueled a

bloodbath, and driven the scalecovered, ant-eating mammal towards extinction.

More than a million pangolins are believed to have been poached from the wild in the past decade.

Most are used to supply demand in China and Vietnam, where they are highly regarded as a delicacy and an ingredient in traditional medicine.

Sake pours abroad

OME, Japan―Ozawa Shuzo brewery hums with activity as boxed bottles of sake are loaded onto trucks. But with the domestic market shrinking, more and more of it is bound for burgeoning overseas markets where the centuries old drink is all the rage.

The small establishment has recently drawn interest from potential new customers in Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea, on top of a coterie of existing ones in the United States, France and Singapore.

Sake, a fermented drink made of rice, has hit hard times in its homeland amid changing tastes, but manufacturers are welcoming growing popularity overseas.

A steady flow of tourists visiting Ozawa Shuzo could be a sign of things to come.

“We cannot easily go abroad to explain what sake is all about, so by doing this (tours) at our brewery I hope visitors will get a better understanding of its value,” Junichiro Ozawa, president of the 300-year-old Ozawa Shuzo, told AFP at his brewery on Tokyo’s mountainous western fringe. AFP

At the CITES meeting in Johannesburg, conservationists will discuss moving pangolins into the highest protection category, which bans all international trade.

“The pangolin today is regarded as the most heavily trafficked mammal in the world,” CITES chief John Scanlon told AFP. “There has been a massive surge in the illegal take of the pangolin for

its meat and for its scales.”

Currently CITES allows for trade in pangolins but under strict conditions.

“Existing laws are clearly failing to protect pangolins from the poachers. A complete international trade ban is needed now,” said Heather Sohl, WWF-UK’s wildlife advisor.

There are four species of pangolin in Africa and four in Asia. AFP

Pulling a rip cord over North Korea

Jubilee Priests and bishops attend a mass marking the Jubilee for Catechists in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican on September 25, 2016. AFP

WONSAN, North Korea―When he booked his tour, Swiss lawyer Rafael Studer hadn’t seriously considered the option of jumping out of a Russian-made helicopter at 2,000 meters strapped to a North Korean soldier.

“It wasn’t really part of the plan,” the 27-year-old admitted after landing his tandem parachute jump at North Korea’s first aviation show held in the eastern port city of Wonsan.

The two-day festival was part of efforts by the sanctions-strapped and diplomatically isolated country to boost hard-currency tourism in the Wonsan region.

Coming just weeks after the North conducted its fifth nuclear test, triggering global condemnation and the threat of fresh sanctions, the show drew several hundred foreign aviation enthusiasts who paid for brief flights in Soviet-era aircraft.

So it was that Studer found himself half-hanging out the door of a Mil Mi-8 helicopter, 2,000 metres above the newlyrenovated and upgraded Wonsan airport, strapped to a North Korean military parachutist.

“There was a ‘what the hell am I doing moment’ and then we jumped. Terrifying at first, but then surprisingly enjoyable,” he said.

Studer landed gently, unlike

Dutch flight instructor Niels Linthout, who landed barefoot― ”I lost my flip-flops”―and face down underneath his tandem partner, much to the amusement of the large crowd.

A number of foreign professional skydivers took part in the show, including American Douglas Jaques, a 68-year-old veteran of more than 11,400 jumps.

The US State Department strongly advises US citizens against traveling to North Korea in any capacity, citing a “serious risk of arrest and long-term detention.”

In March this year, American student Otto Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years hard labor for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from a hotel.

Jacques said the travel advisory had given him “pause for thought” but the prospect of skydiving “in the most exotic location I could think of” had proved too shiny a lure.

“It’s like the warning on a drug label,” he said of the State Department warning. “They have to cover the worst-case scenario.”

Jacques and fellow pro-skydiver Klaus Renz from Germany said the equipment used by the North Korean parachutists was generally high quality. AFP

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

World

EXPLOSION. Hungarian police investigate in downtown Budapest after an explosion of unknown origin rocked a building late at night on September 24, 2016 , injuring two passing police officers. AFP

Gunman in mall shooting caught L

OS ANGELES―Authorities on Saturday arrested a Turkish-born man suspected of shooting five people dead, including a teenage cancer survivor, at a shopping mall in the US state of Washington.

State Patrol spokesman Sergeant Mark Francis named the suspect as Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old resident of the nearby town of Oak Harbor, saying he was arrested about 24 hours after the killings. There were no other suspects.

Police had initially described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his late teens or early 20s.

A Facebook page that appeared to belong to Cetin said he

was born in Adana, Turkey, went to Oak Harbor High School and had worked at a grocery store on the town’s Whidbey Island.

In February, he posted a link to a “Call of Duty” first-person shooter videogame practice session, in an eery foreshadowing of the real world violence he was to perpetrate.

YouTube users posted lewd comments on that page and Cetin’s Twitter page Saturday in

response to the mall shooting.

The gunman opened fire with a rifle in the makeup section of a Macy’s department store late Friday, killing four women and a man, according to police.

The FBI office in Seattle said it had no evidence the shooting was terror-related.

The shooter later left the store on foot, triggering an intense manhunt.

A weapon was recovered at Cascade Mall in Burlington, a town of about 8,000 people some 110 kilometers north of Seattle.

“I don’t know what his motivation was to do this,” Chris Cammock, police chief in the larger nearby town of Mount Vernon, told a news conference.

“But I certainly plan to find out through the investigation, to the best of our ability.”

The youngest victim was named as Sarai Lara, 16, who survived cancer as a young girl. Relatives named another victim as 52-yearold Shayla Martin, who worked as a Macy’s makeup artist.

“We’re really having a tough time right now,” her sister Karen Van Horn told The Seattle Times.

It was the latest chapter in America’s epidemic of gun violence.

Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton’s voice trembled as he noted that the randomness of gun violence in America―which causes an estimated 30,000 deaths a year―had hit his small town. AFP

Museum opens amid racial strife WASHI NGTON―President Barack Obama hailed Saturday the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a long-awaited testament to black suffering and triumph in the United States.

The first black president of the United States cut the ribbon to inaugurate the striking 400,000-square-foot bronzeclad edifice before thousands of spectators gathered in the US capitol at a time of growing racial friction.

“African American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story. It’s not the underside of the American story,” said Obama. “It is central to the American story.”

The star-studded public ceremony, just four months before Obama leaves office, included Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey.

The Smithsonian’s 19th addition to its sprawling museum and research complex is the first

Call to pardon whistle blower

Migrants facing dangers in Russia MOSCOW―Kyrgyz migrant worker Belek Asanbekov sits at the kitchen table of his cramped Moscow apartment, scrolling through pictures on his mobile phone of friends killed days earlier in a fire at work.

One of his seven flatmates, Gulbara Boobekova, a 45-yearold mother of two, was minutes away from finishing her 12hour night shift at a Moscow printing warehouse last month when a faulty lamp set ablaze the four-story building, killing her and at least 13 other women from the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan.

“I called Gulbara, no answer,” said Asanbekov, who worked at the printers for more than seven years. “I called again, no answer.”

Boobekova is one of the latest victims of lax workplace safety in Russian industries that rely

on migrant labor, often from exSoviet Central Asia, as employees cut corners to save money with little fear of official punishment.

For the millions of unskilled workers who come to Russia it is yet another hazard they face beyond the daily discrimination, low wages and bureaucratic red tape.

Authorities have pledged to probe the incident and punish those responsible for the blaze, the second major fire that has killed migrants in Moscow this year.

“This is negligence. This is a violation of the fire safety regulations outlined by Russian law,” Maxim Reshetnikov, head of Moscow’s economic policy and development department, told AFP. “Given the magnitude of this tragedy, the (city’s) reaction will of course be harsh.” AFP

Festival. The atmosphere at Ozzfest at San Manuel Amphitheater on September 24 in Los Angeles. AFP

Boko Haram leaves Nigeria a lifetime of trauma MAIDUGURI―The soldier clutched his book with both hands. He shouted his name, rank and Nigerian Army number to no-one in particular.

He stood up straight and ended every reply with a bark of “sah” (sir).

But his eyes were fixed to a

slowly cranking ceiling fan in the hospital ward -- the thousand yard stare of someone who had seen too much and didn’t want to remember.

The soldier said he was caught up in a Boko Haram ambush and colleagues were killed. A bullet hit him in the leg and he hadn’t

national museum tasked with documenting the uncomfortable truths of the country’s systematic oppression of black people, while also honoring the integral role of African American culture.

“A clear-eyed view of history can make us uncomfortable,” Obama said.

“It is precisely of that discomfort that we learn and grow and harness our collective power to make this nation more perfect.

That’s the American story that this museum tells.”

Guests of honor on stage included four generations of the Bonner family, led by 99-yearold great-grandmother Ruth, the daughter of a slave who went on to graduate from medical school.

After Obama declared the museum “open to the world,” it was she―stooped in stature but smiling broadly―who tugged on a rope to ring an antique bell from a historic black church, sealing the inauguration. AFP

seen combat since.

Instead, he saw the inside of beer bottles, the smoke of cannabis joints, then the drug dependency ward of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri.

Nurses said he was violent and abusive when he was ad-

mitted, but after a week he calmed down.

“In times of war, when we are fighting war, it’s very good for a man to be a man, to boast that he is a man, to fight the enemy,” he said, trying to explain his state of mind.

“But unfortunately due to the

ways of the enemies that come to you or due to the ways you meet the enemy, or due to the way you kill him, (or) you deal with the command...”

His voice trailed off and he apologized. “At times that’s how we fell into [a] battle that we don’t expect in our life... .” AFP

HONG KONG―Activists and refugees staged a protest in Hong Kong on Sunday calling on Washington to pardon fugitive whistle blower Edward Snowden, with protesters describing the refugees in the city as “heroes” for helping him evade authorities in 2013.

The former National Security Agency contractor, who released thousands of classified documents revealing the vast US surveillance put in place after the September 11 attacks, currently lives in Russia.

He fled with documents to Hong Kong, where he hid among Sri Lankan refugees in cramped tenements, and later received political asylum in Russia after the United States revoked his passport while he was en route to Ecuador.

The New York Times reported he stayed with at least four refugees with the help of a human rights lawyer in the southern Chinese city.

Protesters said the city’s refugees, many of them forced to live in slum-like conditions, and Snowden both suffered rights abuses. AFP

Life

Double-smoked bacon with pulled chicken in baguette, with tomatoes, cheddar, arugula, grilled pears and fries

THE JOYCE OF EATING JOYCE BABE PAÑARES

F

SIP & SAVOR

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Coldest Beers, Warmest Hearts

ILIPINOS can outdrink everyone in the world except South Koreans and Russians, according to a study made by international research firm Euromonitor in 2014.

The study showed that adults in the Philippines each take 5.4 shots of distilled alcohol weekly, making the country third in the list of the world’s heaviest drinkers after Russia’s 6.3 shots per week and South Korea’s sizable 13.7 shots per week.

This love affair with alcoholic drinks is matched only by Filipinos’ passion for pulutan or bar chow. Chef Gene Gonzalez, in his The Little Pulutan Book, wrote that coming together over a round of drinks is one of the most popular and effective ways to celebrate and strengthen friendships, and wherever there is drinking, there is sure to be a plate of pulutan.

“The pulutan, after all, whether it is a plate of peanuts or a sumptuous seafood dish, is as much an essential part of the inuman, as the beer or liquor itself, and deserves some special attention,” Gonzalez said.

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

Bar chow: slab of pork belly served with spiced vinegar and soy sauce; five kinds of sausages served with curry ketchup and Dijon mustard; and chicharon. Pair these pulutan with beer at its coldest possible state before freezing at -8 to -13 degrees Celsius.

The art of eating pulutan during drinking sessions may be attributed to the Spanish culture of tapas, and over the years, some of the pulutan cuisine even became regular meals themselves, such as sisig and barbecue.

It is perhaps with this in mind that when Luigi Nuñez opened his BBZ Bistro at the corner of Rockwell Drive and Kalayaan Ave., he made sure the food

that they serve would be at par with the subzero beer that they pioneered.

Nuñez has been dubbed as the “King of Cool” for inventing the Beer Below Zero freezer together with his friends Vinson Co-Say and Jay-jay Angala in 2008. A product of their usapang lasing – the trio felt their beers were never cold enough – BBZ freezers serve beer at the coldest possible state before freezing, which is at

-8 to -13 degrees Celsius.

And at BBZ Bistro, guests can enjoy their ice-cold beer and have their gastronomic fix as well, all the while surrounded by friendly and unobtrusive staff who are always reminded by Nuñez to serve with a smile.

“Filipinos are known to be hospitable and warm. We want our guests to experience that,” he said. “We serve the coldest

D1

beer in town with the warmest hearts.”

“Initially, we thought customers would only patronize our bistro because of our BBZ beers. But eventually people came here because of our food,” Nuñez added.

BBZ Bistro’s beef salpicao (beef tenderloin and mushroom sautéed in garlic and olive oil) and chorizo and gambas (Pamplona chorizo and black tiger prawns in garlic and olive oil), for example, are classified as bar chow. But these savory dishes can be meals on their own – just order a cup or two of plain or garlic rice and you are good to go.

Other flavorful dishes include salmon tartare (fresh Norwegian salmon and ripe mango tossed in wasabi mayo, served with sweetened nuts, garlic puree, tobiko, pickled vegetables, and ginger jelly); foie gras au torchon (duck liver served with caramelized banana and apple balsamic reduction, garlic puree, pickled vegetables, and fried onions); chipirones (baby squid sautéed in garlic and olive oil); and cinco formaggi pizza (thin crust hand-stretched dough topped with five kinds of cheese: Roquefort, Ewephoria, Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Gruyere).

For the really hungry customers, the bistro offers its signature Tomahawk steak (minimum of one kilogram per order), full rack of US Angus beef ribs marinated in sticky barbecue sauce, and whole crispy pata served with chicharon on the side.

And true to the drinking principles of BBZ’s founders, the restaurant serves alcoholic ice cream, too -- Mango Margarita, Butter Pecan Baileys, Ube Coconut Rum, Jack Chocolate and Tequila Rose.

Sure, you’d probably walk out of BBZ Bistro a little lightheaded and with a full stomach, regardless of whether it’s 10 in the morning or midnight. But you’d definitely leave with a smile.

“Our guiding principle has always been to have fun. That’s how we roll, and that’s what we want our guests to experience,” said Nuñez.

For feedback, send comments to joyce.panares@gmail.com

How to get the most out of your cooking gas ELECTRICITY, water, food and fuel costs are among the many other household expenses that continue to bloat our budget, hence, the importance of closely monitoring the items that we can conserve or maximize the use of― such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Here are a few practical tips on how to get the most out of the cooking gas at home, courtesy of LPG provider Solane.

Use the right pot for your burner.

To make the most of your LPG, use a pot or cookware that is suitable for your gas stove burner and vice versa.

If you’re cooking using a big pot, use the big burner and if it’s just soup for one in a tiny pot, use the smallest burner. This way, the amount of gas dispensed will be equal to the size of the burner. Using small cookware on a big burner will just be a waste of cooking gas.

Thaw frozen food before cooking.

For faster cooking, thaw frozen food before cooking. It lets you maximize your LPG as you save on the heat energy required to bring it down to room temperature.

Invest in a pressure cooker. Compared to ordinary pans that cook food

at around 100 degrees centigrade only, pressure cookers cook at around 125 degrees centigrade, which means it helps get the food cooked quickly, thus reducing cooking time.

Check your gas flames. Is your gas flame blue or yellow? Does it burn steadily or not? Blue gas and steady flames indicate that your burner is clean. If the flame is yellow or orange in color, your burner is chocked with soot, grease or food residue, causing it to not burn properly, and therefore waste fuel. To avoid this, clean the gas stove regularly.

Cover the pan while cooking.

Placing the lid on your pan while cooking blocks the steam from escaping and makes your food cook faster.

It also reduces cooking time since the heat energy is used more efficiently.

Check your LPG tank and gas stove. To ensure safety and to maximize your LPG, check the following regularly: regulator, pipes/hoses and burner for leaks. To avoid wastage, make sure that the regulator is switched off after cooking.

Discover more about LPG on www.solane.com.ph

Using the right size of pot for the right size of burner is vital in maximizing LPG and in making sure the food is cooked efficiently.

Life

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Pancake House’s ‘Choose any two’ C

ASUAL and comfort dining favorite Pancake House, understands that good food feels good, so they’re letting you and your friends choose two well-loved dishes for only P370.00.

That seemingly complicated question of “Where do you want to eat?” gets a lot easier when you’ve got delicious duos to choose from at the beloved dining destination.

With the special promo, you can choose any two of their featured meals or even two of the same kind. You’ve got a choice between the special Salisbur y Steak, Pan Grilled Pork Belly, the famous 2-piece Pan Chicken, and their newest combo made especially for this promo, the Spaghetti with

Grilled Cheese sandwich.

Ever y meal comes with a glass of Iced Tea. Head on over to your nearest Pancake House branch and let them welcome you home as you dig into these all-time favorite comfort food choices. It’s time to make your meals a lot more satisfying. Promo runs until Oct. 15 at all outlets nationwide.

DELICIOUS DUO. Pancake House offers any two of its well-loved food choices: (clockwise from top left) 2-Piece Pan Chicken, Grilled Pork Belly, Salisbury Steak and Spaghetti with Grilled Cheese Sandwich for P370.

Competition promotes local baked goods FILIPINO bread has come a long way ever since the Spaniards introduced it in the 16th century. One can get this baked item from bakeries on the street to vendors on their bicycle.

“They say that a country’s plate, or a breadbox in this case, reveal a lot about its culture and history. If you take a closer look at ours’, I guess you’ll find that we’re an ingenious people capable of bringing a multitude of creations from just one kind of dough and salvaging mistakes or leftovers into profitable breakthroughs,” said Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement Convenor Chef Jam Melchor.

Thus in a bid to promote local bakers and baked breads, flour milling company Pilmico,

Max’s Corner Bakery’s Pinoy baked breads

together with Max’s Corner Bakery, launched the Tinapay Natin Bread Baking Contests open to teams of two students each, aged 18 to 35 from anywhere in the Philippines.

“We chose students because we want the youth to champion the pride of product and place. Our youth today is very exposed to the world, we want to pull them back, be proud of being a Filipino, be proud of the roots, be proud of their local food,” explained Pilmico Brand and Quality Manager Pamela Liwag.

The said competition is part of Pilmico’s Mahalin Pagkaing Atin movement.

According to Liwag, their partnership with Max’s propels their Mahalin Pagkaing Atin

Spanish Roll, Cheese Ensaimada, Choco Ensaimada and Ensaimada Special

movement further through mainstream market.

“Hopefully, with our partnership with them, the movement will be promoted further with larger audience.”

Participating students entered their bread stories of one regional bread and one modern bread inspired by any local bread but with a modern twist. The most compelling bread stories will be chosen to qualify for the eliminations to be held in Bulacan, Batangas and Iloilo.

The three winning teams from the elimination rounds will compete in Manila on October 13, in celebration of the “World Bread Day.” The grand winner will receive a cash prize of P50000.00 plus a trophy and medal. In addition, one of their bread entries will be offered at all Max’s Corner Bakeries.

As a part of giving back and as a response to malnutrition among Filipino children, proceeds of the winning bread will be used to fund a feeding program in a public school chosen by the winning team.

“We hope that through the Mahalin Pagkaing Atin movement and the Tinapay Natin National Bread Competition, more and more Filipinos from all generations will foster pride of place and of product as they become ambassadors of our culture in every bite,” expressed Pilmico Vice President for Sales Norie Bermudez.

For her part, Max’s Corner Bakery Director and

Max’s Corner Bakery’s Pan de Keso

President Carolyn Trota-Salud said, “We’re really hoping it will inspire more people, local bakers and the youth to continue the craft of bread making.”

Learn more about our #TinapayNatin on www.facebook.com/TinapayNatin. Michelle Buencamino

MEALS AND DEALS

How to get free steak AS part of its latest wave of dining treats, Citi Credit Cards teams up with House of Wagyu and Cebu Marriott Hotel’s Garden Café to reward cardholders. PayLite at least P25,000.00 from now until Oct. 31, 2016 to avail of a wagyu steak set meal or buffet treat absolutely free.

Valued at P2090.00, House of Wagyu’s complete steak set meal includes a signature Wagyu Top Sirloin grade 10, 220 grams steak, hearty bowl of soup, vegetables and potatoes as sidings, plus bread and butter. Companions of the dining cardholder can also get 15 percent off on Wagyu items for his companions.

Cardholders who find themselves in the Queen City of the South may enjoy a free buffet for one, plus 20 percent off on the buffet of your companions, using their Citi card at Cebu Marriott Hotel’s Garden Cafe.

To avail these deals, Citi cardholders can log on to their Citibank Online account from today until Jan. 17, 2017 to

get their Citi PayLite Redemption ID. Redemption ID must be provided when making reservations at any House of Wagyu branch (The Podium, Eastwood, Greenhills and Manila Bay) along with these details from the charge slip with the qualifying PayLite transaction: last four digits of the Citi Card, the IPP Sale/Installment tag, transaction date, approval code “APRCODE,” transaction amount and the “Customer Copy” tag.

Cardholders in Cebu may redeem at Cebu Marriott Hotel’s Garden Café from Mondays to Fridays for breakfast and lunch, and Mondays to Thursdays for dinner. Upon dining, bring and surrender the valid original charge slip of the qualifying PayLite transaction.

Redemption is valid from Monday to Friday, except on the following blackout dates: Nov. 20 to 27; Dec. 25, 30 to 31; and Jan. 1 to 15, 2017.

Visit www.citibank.com.ph or call (02) 995-9999 for more details.

Citi cardholders will be treated to a free wagyu steak set meal for free

Pancit Batil Patong, also known as Pancit Tuguegarao, (left) and Pancit Kamuning paired with pan de sal (right)

Good Life holds first ever ‘Pancit Festival’ celebration

WHEN it comes to festive celebrations of all sorts and sizes, a platter or bilao of pancit is sure to grace and delight at the dinner table. A thoroughly filling noodle dish that caters to all occasions and budgets, it is no wonder that pancit is an all-time favorite among Filipinos.

In celebration of this versatile noodle specialty, the leading food brand Good Life, in partnership with the 77-year-old Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City, recently held the first ever Good Life Pancit Festival. This grand culinary event proudly showcased the different varieties of pancit dishes across the regions in the country. Present at the festival were Fly Ace Corporation President Jun Cochanco, Fly Ace Corporation General Manager Ramon Daez, Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza, and Salvador Panelo, chief presidential legal counsel.

The Good Life Pancit Festival is the brand’s way of recognizing pancit as a significant part of the Filipino diet and countless family meal celebrations. It also served as a perfect vehicle for the Asian food brand to encourage Filipino consumers to try out new noodle dishes, flavors, and explore variety in their choices.

To brief and engage food connoisseurs about the festival, Chef Gigi Angkaw and award-winning Chef Claude Tayag, two of the foremost culinary authorities in the country, gave insightful talks about the flavorful evolution of pancit and the different kinds of

From left: Fly Ace President Jun Cochanco, General Manager Ramon Daez, Chefs Mitchie Sison, Claude Tayag, Gigi Angkaw and Kamuning Bakery owner Wilson Lee Flores

noodle dishes in the Philippines.

Another highlight of the festival is the cooking demo that gave the audience an opportunity to better grasp useful cooking tips and learn how versatile Good Life Egg Noodles is when cooked with different pancit recipes whether the noodle dish be fried, stir-fried, or a soupy noodle course. Chef Mitchie Sison, an executive chef of a popular commissary, rendered her own version of Pancit Batil Patong and La Paz Batchoy.

“Filipinos take pride in our food, not

only in cooking and appreciating the food itself but also discovering the real story behind it. Hearing the raw story, how the recipes and ingredients came about, bring more life and identity to the dish. Just like the story of pancit and its many different regional variations, the diversity makes the pancit recipes more interesting and more colorful,” said Chef Mitchie.

For more information about Good Life, visit www.facebook.com/ goodtastegoodlife.

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 isahred@gmail.com

Special Movie Screening for the

Blind and Deaf

Officials from MTRCB, SM Cares and other partner agencies grace a special movie screening at SM Mall of Asia’s Premiere Cinema where the blind and hearing-impaired children are treated to an exclusive cinema experience

T

HE Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) joined forces with SM Cares and other partner agencies (Deaf Blind Support Philippines, AKAP Pinoy, Philippine Blind Union, National Council on Disability Affairs, and Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled) to hold an audienceempowering event dubbed as Special Movie Screening for the Blind and Deaf.

The special movie screening took place at Premiere Cinema, SM Mall of Asia on Sept. 20 and was attended by more than 900 participants, mostly students from the Philippine School for the Blind and Philippine School for the Deaf and members of Resources for the Blind.

The event brought together MTRCB Chairperson Atty. Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, President of SM Supermalls Annie Garcia, Vice-President of SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. (SMLEI) Edwin Nava, President of Deaf Blind Support Philippines Edgardo “Bong” Garcia, and Director of SM Cares Program on PWDs Engineer Bien Mateo.

Also present were MTRCB Executive Director Atty. Ann Marie Nemenzo as

well as MTRCB Board Members Atty.

Noel Del Prado and Bibeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna.

The participants, many of whom were accompanied by family members and teachers, enjoyed the animated film, Frozen, which was presented with both closed captioning and audio descriptive features. Both the hearing-impaired and the blind were thus treated to an inclusive cinema experience. Key visual elements were supported by detailed audio narration, while sound was mirrored by text lines of both dialogue and scene description.

Chairperson Toto emphasized in his message that through this special event, the second in three years, our blind and hearing-

HOLLYWOOD BRIEFS

Marion Cotillard rebuffs rumors of fling with Pitt French actress Marion Cotillard took to Instagram to belie rumors that she’s the reason behind the high-profile split of Brangelina

impaired brothers and sisters are given equal opportunity and access to media content.

The initiative, he added comes at the right time due to the recent passage of the closed captioning law for television championed by former MTRCB Chairperson and now Senator Grace Poe. While it is now in the process of drafting the implementing rules and regulations for the said law, the MTRCB looks forward to more legislative innovations in the near future such as requiring closed captioning for cinema and video as well as extending descriptive audio, when economically feasible, to television and optical media materials.

The film screening is simultaneous with two other SM Cinemas: SM City Clark and SM City Bacoor.

PARIS—French actress Marion Cotillard has rebuffed suggestions that she helped cause the split between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie by having a fling with the A-list actor.

“This is going to be my first and only reaction to the whirlwind (of) news that broke 24 hours ago,” she said on Instagram late Wednesday.

“Many years ago, I met the man of my life, father of our son and of the baby we are expecting,” wrote the 40-year-old Cotillard, who has been with her partner Guillaume Canet since 2007.

“He is my love, my best friend, the only one that I need,” she said.

Soon after entertainment website TMZ reported Tuesday that Pitt and Jolie were divorcing, speculation arose of an affair between Pitt and Cotillard.

They are co-stars in the soon-to-bereleased wartime thriller Allied that was filmed in London.

Though Pitt and 41-year-old Jolie married two years ago, they have been a couple since 2004 and have six children together, three of whom are adopted.

Cotillard wrote: “I do very much wish that Angelina and Brad, both (of) whom I deeply respect, will find peace in this very tumultuous moment.” AFP

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, September 26, 2016

ACROSS 1 Wham!

4 Bell sound 8 Sis and bro 12 Make it snappy 13 Slight advantage 14 Mr. Rockne 16 Grades 1-12 17 Hang in there (3 wds.)

19 Jupiter, for one 21 Ottoman title 22 Jekyll’s other half 23 Lamb’s alias 25 Holy cow!

27 Without an acre 31 Fix leftovers 35 Pitching whiz 36 German steel center 38 Walk-on 39 Goes one better 41 Doctrine 43 Knitter’s supply 44 Pitfalls 46 Dragged along 48 Lassie’s refusal 49 Beat the draft?

51 Germane 53 Kind of jerk 55 Slant 56 “Bus Stop” author 59 Hosp. personnel

61 Flashes 65 Daydream 68 Form 1040 experts 69 More than uptight 70 Pro — (in proportion) 71 Superman’s alias 72 Cereal grains 73 Party-tray cheese 74 NNW opposite DOWN 1 Influence 2 Safety agcy.

3 Complained 4 Most trivial 5 Tokyo, once 6 Water, in Baja 7 Long-limbed 8 Slalom gear 9 Like obstacles (3 wds.)

10 Gull’s perch 11 Virile type 12 Sales agent 15 Summer in Nice 18 Narrow margin 20 La femme 24 Valuable thing 26 Delt neighbor 27 Coffee and steamed milk

28 Kind of squash 29 Himalayan country 30 Toledo gent 32 Fridge maker 33 Televised again 34 Water-lily painter 37 Banister post 40 “Crooklyn” director (2 wds.)

42 Pre-fax message 45 9-digit no.

47 Buy and sell 50 Prefix for “trillion”

52 Some sweaters (hyph.)

54 — nous (between us) 56 Labor org.

57 Roulette bet 58 Like horror flicks 60 Upstream spawner 62 Mimics 63 Lion’s pride 64 Sonic-boom maker 66 Mdse.

67 Depot info

Dingdong Dantes

busy with soap

DINGDONG Dantes is glad that at this point when he is busy with a new soap opera titled Alyas Robin Hood, his wife Marian Rivera is the one whose schedule is free.

“We don’t really have an agreement when it comes to work schedule,” he says. “In the first place, we are just employees of GMA so we can’t demand. Perhaps, it’s a lucky coincidence and perfect timing knowing that we have a ten-month old daughter (Zia) to attend to.”

The popular actor is grateful to the Kapuso management.

“They are the ones who decide on what projects we’ll do. They know what’s best for their talents.

Marian and I are thankful because even if we didn’t ask for it, GMA is so understanding of our stature as parents. Seemingly, they’ve arranged a work schedule in which we can alternate in taking care of Baby Zia. “Maybe, it wasn’t intentional but the situation works well for us. As parents themselves, our bosses are aware that Marian and I should take turns in taking care of our child.

This is an important phase in our parenthood and I’m happy that our mother studio is making the job easier for us, so to speak.”

During the first half of the year, he had more free time as compared to her equally popular wife.

“That’s right! While I was enjoying quality domestic time then, she was busy with ‘Yan ang Morning. Add to that her weekly exposure in Sunday Pinasaya. I was glad that we weren’t both busy during those times or else, we’d hardly find time for our daughter Zia.” Now, the tables are turned as Marian is in a furlough from the showbiz scene while he is the one hugging the

spotlight with Alyas Robin Hood.

“I’m excited with this project since it’s inspired by the English folklore Robin Hood. I’m required to do archery here for my character. Megan Young and Andrea Torres are my leading ladies in the show. We also boast of a starstudded production with the likes of Ms. Jaclyn Jose, Ms. Cherie Gil, Sid Lucero, Paolo Contis, Gary Estrada and Mr. Christopher de Leon lending their stellar power to the soap,” ends Dingdong. ********* A television station on Sky Cable’s Channel 35 based in Bacolod City called Piaya Network is gradually making its presence felt on the boob tube.

“Primarily, apart from promoting Bacolod City as a top tourist destination, we want Piaya to be the medium for indie stars,” says owner Anthony Leo Aguirre.

The network’s schedule in programs consists mostly of their original television offerings that cover travel, food, lifestyle and current events. It also covers special events such as sports, festivals, concerts and stand-up comedy and short films.

“Our current line-up of shows are interesting and diverse. There’s L: Live, Laugh, Love, A Listed, The Real Talk, Project Negros, Festival Junkie, Travel N’ Taste, Straight No Chaser, Piaya Documentaries, SmArts, Backpacker Adventures and Food Infinity!”

Interestingly, all their programs are broadcasted in their own vernacular.

“I guess, that’s what makes us unique. The diversity of our shows aim to entice our audience from every angle and reach out to highlight the beauty of Negros,” states Anthony.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com

D4

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

Showbiz

‘The Voice Philippines’ alumni JK Labajo, Klarisse de Guzman and Jason Dy join forces to stage ‘One Voice,’ a one-night concert at the Music Museum

Three faces, one stage,

‘One Voice’ T

HREE of the country’s leading voices are finally sharing one stage for a night of world-class music and hard-hitting performances. We followed their journey through The Voice of the Philippines where their chair-turning voices captured the coaches’ hearts, and ours as well.

One Voice brings you Klarisse de Guzman, Juan Karlos and Jason Dy for their first major concert together on Oct. 1 at the Music Museum.

Klarisse was in the first season of The Voice where she showcased her full vocal prowess that led her to the finals. She has gone a long way after her first runner up triumph, staging her first solo concert in August 2014. This year, Klarisse returns on stage with more charttopping hits and covers.

Unlike his fellow performers, Juan Karlos is a graduate of The Voice Kids in 2014 where he finished third. His good looks and impressive

acting skills landed him in several TV shows in ABS-CBN soaps, like Hawak Kamay and Pangako Sa’yo, proving he’s more than just a beautiful voice. This well-rounded lad touches base with his love for music in the One Voice concert together with his ate and kuya in the music industry.

Winning the second season of The Voice, Jason Dy proved nothing could come between him and his passion. A consistent crowd favorite during his season, Jason did not disappoint his fans with his smooth falsetto and emotional covers throughout his performances. Having done several “haranas” as a source of income when he was younger, our haranista promises

a night of serenades you wouldn’t want to miss.

Produced by Hills and Dreams and under the musical direction of Marvin Querido and the direction of Frank Lloyd Mamaril, One Voice is happening on Oct. 1, 8 p.m. at the Music Museum.

One Voice is supported Jet 7 Bistro, Fernando’s Bakery, Lancer’s Hardware, Garage P., FLM Creatives and Productions Inc. and 10 Inch Lights and Sounds.

This is also in partnership with Silka, Circulan, Montosco, and Happy Scrub.

For ticket inquiries, you may visit any Ticketworld outlets or you may call them at 891.9999.

Lucas Till as the Handy Hero Angus “Mac” MacGyver

One-of-a-kind experience at Globe ICONIC entertainment zone THE ICONIC store, Globe Telecom’s premiere lifestyle destination, is revolutionizing the Philippine retail and entertainment industry. With the first phase of the entertainment facility completed in June, the venue was able to hold successful large scale events such as Green Day’s: American Idiot play, NBA Fit and HOOQ Hangouts.

Aside from being the ideal entertainment venue for events, the two massive Times Squarelike LED walls provide live video feed and on-ground entertainment.

Informative and engaging videos such as short clips by Globe Studios and lifestyle ambient visuals are showed daily. At 7:30 p.m., people are also treated to a lights and sounds show.

From 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the ICONIC store transforms into a carnival wonderland with the Omega Claw game, which uses augmented reality and face detection technology to capture the faces of anyone near the venue through live feed cameras. The pictures are then posted in the country’s largest interactive outdoor LED billboard with the tagline “You’ve been clawed.” People are encouraged to pose for the camera as they are seen by spectators around. This fun, unique and interactive technology will be refreshed regularly to give BGC Central Amphitheatre visitors something to look forward to.

Anyone within the area of the Globe ICONIC Store can, likewise, connect to the Globe ICONIC WiFi service to experience ultrafast Internet connection speeds

of up to 100 Mbps. They can also listen to the audio of the videos being played on the outdoor LED screens through Globe Soundplay App, an audio streaming app that lets you listen to the videos playing in the ICONIC store through your own smartphone. When connected to the Globe ICONIC WiFi, just open the app to stream high-quality real-time audio right from your smartphone.

This innovation lets you avoid unnecessary noise pollution within the area, allowing you to privately listen to the Globe Iconic outdoor LED screens’ video contents.

“The ICONIC store is set to be a premiere venue that will once again change the retail experience with multi-faceted store built to house the latest trends and live entertainment.

Customers can experience our latest products interactively, explore new content with our upcoming chroma studio and museum. And outdoors, we continue interaction with our customers through features and activities like Globe SoundPlay and Omega Claw, truly making the ICONIC store a oneof-a-kind venue in the Philippines.” says Globe Stores and Retail Transformation head, Joe Caliro.

Phase 2 will feature the complete Globe ICONIC Store with a glass bridge that connects two stores on both ends. Also within the store, is a chroma studio for recording and shooting videos that partners and customers can use, view and enjoy.

The ICONIC store is set to open by the end of the year.

Visit the Globe ICONIC store at BGC Central to experience the Globe Soundplay App and Omega Claw game

All-new ‘Macgyver’ only on AXN AXN has one ‘Gy’ to save the world with MacGyver, a dynamic re-imagining of the iconic hit television series that was hugely popular in the eighties.

Set to premiere Sept. 29, first and exclusively on AXN, this modern-day take is an action-adventure drama that features Angus “Mac” MacGyver who forms a clandestine organization within the U.S. government. Here MacGyver utilizes his extraordinary talent making inventive use of ordinary objects in a matter of minutes to decipher seemingly unsolvable problems.

The action-packed series follows the unconventional exploits of our young hardware hero as he undertakes high-risk missions to save lives around the globe. Highly resourceful and with vast scientific knowledge, MacGyver narrowly escapes life-and-death situations armed with a little more than common items, like a paper clip, duct tape, and his trusty Swiss Army knife. Joining him is the maverick former CIA agent Jack Dalton.

Lucas Till stars as MacGyver while CSI veteran George Eads plays Jack Dalton. Peter Lenkov, Golden Globe Award winner Henry Winkler, Lee Zlotoff, James Wan serve as executive producers for the series.

Expect lots of thrills in the premiere episode directed

by James Wan of The Conjuring and Insidious fame as MacGyver puts his troubleshooting skills to the test and cleverly implements unorthodox methods to hurdle over complex problems and eventually become triumphant in the end.

MacGyver premieres same week as the U.S. on Sept.29, and airs every Thursday at 9:45 p.m. on AXN AXN is seen on Cable Link Channel 38, Cignal Digital TV Channel 61, Global Destiny Cable Channel 61, Dream Channel 20, GSat Channel 51, and SKYCable Channel 49.

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

SUSTAINING THE

ECONOMIC GAINS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

E1

PH ends boom-and-bust cycle

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

T

HE Philippines has finally shed its image as the sick man of Asia, after the economy grew by an average of 6.2 percent in recent years.

All hopes are now pinned on President Rodrigo Duterte’s government to sustain recent economic gains in the next six years and beyond.

The administrations of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III are credited for establishing the strong macroeconomic fundamentals of the Philippines and it is up to President Duterte’s government to follow up on the reforms. Businessmen have so far welcomed the new administration’s initial economic thrusts, with the Philippine stock market index rallying past the 8,000-point mark to cheer Mr. Duterte’s assumption of office.

Overview

The Philippine economy had undergone a boom-andbust cycle, growing 2.0 percent on the average in 1980 to 1989; 2.8 percent in 1990 to 1999; and 4.5 percent in 2000 to 2009.

The past few years showed the Philippines had broken the wicked cycle, sustaining an economic boom with consistent growth.

Economic expansion has been uninterrupted in the past 17 years, with the average growth rate in the last six years at the highest since the 1970s.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the Philippines expanded 7.0 percent in the second quarter of 2016, bringing the first semester growth to 6.9 percent. This means the economy can just grow by about 5.1 percent in the next six months of the year to reach the lower end of the full year target of 6 percent.

Economic and Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the low inflation regime in the recent years fueled the expansion of the economy. He attributed the manageable inflation rate to the deceleration of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel rates as the average price of Dubai crude oil dropped 47 percent.

The inter-agency Development Budget and Coordination Committee projected that Dubai crude oil will hover around $40 to $55 per barrel this year and to $50 to $65 per barrel from 2019 to 2022.

The favorable macroeconomic performance of the country has allowed for higher increases in the country’s gross domestic product per capita in recent years.

GDP per capita recorded an annual average growth of 4.3 percent in the past six years. The Philippines’ GDP per capita in 2015 stood at P74,770, up 4.2 percent from that in 2014.

Pernia also noted that the current account surplus had been supported by resilient remittances from migrant Filipino workers, strong business process outsourcing or BPO earnings, and rising tourism receipts.

Fast growing economy

The country’s chief economist said the Philippines was expected to remain one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, next to India and Vietnam which are expected to expand 7.4 percent and 6.2 percent in 2017, respectively.

Multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund see the Philippine economy growing 6.1 percent, 6.2 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, in 2017.

“These only show that market players are keen that the country is growing its potential,” Pernia said.

On the demand side, household consumption, government spending, investment and exports of services were seen to be drivers of growth.

Pernia said low petroleum prices on the supply side may encourage business expansion, construction and infrastructure development, manufacturing resurgence, and real estate development following the business process outsourcing demand and tourism-related services. Wholesale and retail trade will also boost growth expansion.

Risks to growth

Despite the positive outlook for the country, risks to growth persist such as the uncertainty of the global economy with the fragile growth in Japan and the European Union, the slowdown in large emerging economies especially China, and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East which may extend the period of low oil prices that will affect jobs of migrant Filipino workers and remittances.

The recent impact of the Brexit, or the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, may also harm the economy, along with the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea. On the domestic front, logistics bottlenecks could constrain economic activity and the growth performance,

along with the delays in government infrastructure and reconstruction projects.

Pernia said weather shocks, like La Niña, while increasing agricultural production, may result into floods and destruction in

urban areas.

He noted that despite the minimal share of mining in the economy (0.7 percent), the closure of mines as part of the campaign of the new administration toward responsible mining, could displace significant

number of workers.

Challenges There are still challenges the new administration must face and eventually surpass in the next six years.

The Neda chief noted that income inequality

remained high across income classes and geographical location.

“Income inequality remains a big challenge for the country,” Pernia said.

Data showed that half of the country’s income goes Turn to E4

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

DUTERTENOMICS:

SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS

Govt shifts to deficit-spending

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

F

ROM one government that failed to spend the budget, the economic team of the Duterte administration is doing the opposite. The new administration is throwing caution to the wind, but it seems to be more of a calculated risk.

The government is expanding the budget deficit ceiling up to 3 percent of the gross domestic product, funding a massive infrastructure plan and a broader social services and human capital development program in the country.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the economic team, composed of his department, the Finance Department and the National Economic and Development Authority, is increasing the deficitto-GDP ratio from 2 percent to 3 percent.

Diokno said the higher ration implied a budget deficit target of P478 billion in 2017, rising up to P777 billion by 2022, the last year in office of the Duterte administration.

“The expansionary fiscal stance would allow us to spend more to support our desire to make up for the past neglect of public infrastructure,” Diokno said.

He assured investors the planned deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3 percent was manageable, appropriate and sustainable.

“The three percent deficit-to-GDP ratio is appropriate for as long as the deficit is spent for well-selected public infrastructure, with high economic payoffs, and for investment in human capital,” Diokno added.

The Aquino administration lagged behind its infrastructure and capital outlays target in its last full year in office in 2015.

Data showed infrastructure and capital outlays stood at P345.3 billion in 2015, missing a fifth of the programmed spending.

Latest disbursement data from the DBM showed that infrastructure and capital outlays in 2015 missed 20 percent of the P431.6-billion programmed spending.

To further boost economic expansion and get away with budget mismanagement of the past, the new administration plans to increase infrastructure spending to about P860.7 billion in the first national budget proposal of the Duterte administration for 2017.

The figure will account for about 5.4 percent of the P3.35-trillion budget proposal.

The DBM said the amount of P355.7 billion would fund transport infrastructure projects such as railways, seaports, airports and road networks. About P31.5 billion will be set aside for the Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network to lower transporting cost in the island.

The agency said P124.5 billion would fund the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings, while P75.8 billion would finance flood control systems, such as the Manila Core Drainage Project and the Mindanao River Basic Flood Control Projects.

“To ensure food security and equitable growth, particularly in rural areas, the government allocates P120.5 billion for the agriculture and agrarian reform sector,” the DBM said.

The department said P206.6 billion would be provided for public order and safety, while P147.8 billion would be earmarked for defense to ensure public safety.

Diokno said the government would implement a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week construction among public projects to ensure that the budget for infrastructure would not sleep with the implementing agencies and clog the flow of investments.

“This is recognition of the economic cost of project delays. The estimate is something like P2.3 billion everyday... so to get things done much faster, we will work 24/7 and that will also have an impact on employment,” Diokno said.

Aside from increased spending, infrastructure development will be accompanied by procurement and implementation reforms. The implementing rules and regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Law will be simplified to avoid delays in project implementation.

The government plans to revitalize the public-private partnership to fully tap the potential of the private sector.

The administration also aims to speed up the PPP approval process and implementation in at least 18 months.

The present administration has noted that the previous government approved 12 PPP projects at an average of 29 months.

In contrast and with barely three months in office, the National Economic and Development Board headed by the President already approved nine projects worth P171.4 billion, including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport PPP project of the Department of Transportation.

Infrastructure projects will also be equally distributed to the regional areas to balance the share of growth across the country.

“The Duterte administration is serious in pursuing a pro-growth but disciplined fiscal policy. Indeed, change is coming for a more positive business climate, a better, safer, more peaceful and beautiful Philippines,” Diokno said.

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS

Manufacturing key to economic growth

By Othel V. Campos

B

USINESSMEN have welcomed the revival of the manufacturing sector as a growth engine and as promised by the new administration. But the private sector is still waiting for the blueprint that will make the sector resurgent.

“Manufacturing growth is high and that’s a good sign. However, that’s a carryover from the past administration,” businessman and beverage magnate Alfredo Yao said.

“The challenge now is how to sustain, more so, surpass the gains,” he said adding manufacturing is a base of growth in any country, unless the agriculture is strong enough to push the local economy.

Industry data showed that the manufacturing sector grew by an average of 12.7 percent in the last six years from 2010 to 2014 from 0.4 percent in 2005 to 2009.

Businessmen like Yao, however, sees disincentives like taxes as deterrent to the manufacturing sector.

“For private companies like us, the real challenge is the proposed additional tax measures on raw materials. As a beverage producer, my company is very much concerned about the proposal to increase taxes on sugar as sweeteener. For the households the increase may not be so much, but if you are a producer of beverage consuming tons and tons of the sweetener, it is big deal,” said Yao. The Lower House is considering to impose a sugar tax of P10 per liter for beverage.

The measure, for one, will effectively increase the price of softdrinks by 70 percent. A liter of softdrink is equivalent to four bottles of the beverage adn when translated, softdrinks will be sold at P6 per bottle from the current price of P3.50 per bottle,.

“Sugar is a very sensitive product, it is a poor man’s trade. And if raw materials like sugar are burdened with additional taxes, the industry will become uncompetitive,” Yao said.

Yao noted that the new thrust on manufacturing is vaguely encapsuled in the government’s 10-point agenda. The agenda actually did not cite a specific, or even a general plan, for manufacturing.

Manufacturing could broadly fit into the first and third agenda, which promised to continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies, including fiscal, monetary, and trade and increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business, respectively.

The Trade Department and the Board of Investments have launched several projects to pursue an integrated approach in implementing the manufacturing resurgence program.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

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SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

E4

DUTERTENOMICS:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS

Trade starts focus on small industries

By Othel V. Campos

President Rodrigo Duterte in the recent Asean meeting in Vientiane, Laos, stressed the role of women, the youth, e-commerce and MSMEs in shaping the economy and as a way out of poverty.

While there has been remarkable growth in the general condition of the industry, high poverty incidence remains in agricultural areas, which contribute 60 percent to the country’s total employment.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said MSMEs under the proposed 2017 budget will get 60 percent of the proposed P4.6-billion budget of the Trade Department.

“The budget for MSMEs was dispersed in many functions within the department. We have it in industry promotion, locallyassisted prgrams, and with the MSME cluster, itself. Our budget is not much compared to other departments, but we will make it work. Some congressmen pity our budget. Unfortunately, that was what was in place even before we started office,” he said.

The Trade Department’s budget is almost neglible at 0.3 percent of the proposed total budget of

P3.35 trillion for 2017, despite a 16-percent hike that came with the creation of fiscal space.

“We just have to work within the pie. If we will recalibrate (the budget), we will do it for 2018,” said Lopez.

The department will prioritize trade promotions in 2018, a mission that has not given full support during previous administrations.

Exporters will get the push they have been asking in the last several years, Lopez said.

The department, though, is yet to assess a proposal by the exporters group to allocate at least P1 billion for export promotions.

There are many programs supporting the development of MSME in the Philippines. Lopez who had once headed Go Negosyo, one of the more active programs of the government devoted to developing and assisting the MSME cause, still champions the advocacy.

In August, 2016, the Trade Department and Go Negosyo launched “Kapatid: Angat Lahat!”.

Kapatid is an initiative that encourages medium and large corporations, or the so-called “Big Brother,” to help micro and

small enterprises, or the “Small Brother,” through the use of Inclusive Business models.

Kapatid Project will develop programs to partner MSEs with medium and large enterprises as part of their value chain.

Another enduring program is the SME Roving Academy, which is a continuous learning program for the development of MSMEs to become competitive in the domestic and international markets.

By October 2016, the department will be launching “The Best of OTOP” stores within the country’s top four malls—Robinsons Malls, SM Malls, Rustans Malls and Puregold Price Club.

“This new project concept will provide market access to MSMEs. We will let the malls run the show it but we will get a certain percentage from the

proceeds that will go for a very good cause,” Lopez said.

Participating MSMEs will profit from the scheme but the malls will be retailing the products which will be showcased inside the main malls.

“It will not be difficult for the malls to sell OTOP products. In fact, based on recent reports consumer expenditure in the Philiplines grew by 7 percent in the first quarter (of 2016), about 69.81 percent of total expenditures of of the country,” Lopez noted.

Another MSME market model that caught the fancy of the President, he said, was a retail building in Indonesia, where locally-manufactured products are sold from all sort of accessories down to apparels and food at the 5-storey edifice in a marketplace they visited.

Lopez said the “tiangge-like” setting was more like how a fledgling business should operate—in an environment that is close to the masses.”

“We would like to replicate that model in the Philippines but for lack of immediate structure, we will again tap our local malls for assistance. They’re there already, it will be easier for us if we can maximize the malls’ potential for business. So, we’ll have The Best of OTOP for the more globallyready MSMEs and then we’ll have GoLokal for the general public,” he said.

PH ends...

From E1

and Development Authority, the agency in charge of the formulation of the Philippine Development Plan, said the government would try to address the issue of underemployment rate in the country before Duterte stepped down in 2022.

He said while unemployment rate was difficult to trim, the reduction in the underemployment numbers would be a good start to further pull down the problem in the long term. “… we will resolve to reduce unemployment rate, especially underemployment rate, which is really the bigger problem.

That should be doable and that should be good enough because it’s very hard to reduce unemployment,” Pernia added.

Pernia said the way to reduce the underemployment numbers was to create better quality jobs.

“The way to do that is to create better quality jobs that are more regular and therefore more full time, that would reduce unemployment by itself, as well as...

Reduce the unemployed family workers and self-employed, meaning also those in the informal sectors, so they’re not really full-time workers,” he said.

The unemployment rate in the country dipped 5.4 percent in July 2016 following the upbeat performance of the country’s economy, latest data from PSA showed.

Data from PSA’s Labor Force Survey for July this year showed that about 41 million Filipinos were hired during the period comprising 94.6 percent of the total labor force in the period.

The jobless rate, however, which is at 5.4 percent in July 2016, is equivalent to about 3.7 million unemployed persons. The unemployment rate recorded in the period was 1.1 percentage points lower than 6.5 percent in the same period in 2015. It is also 1.2 percentage points below the 6.6 full-year unemployment target of the government.

With the economy growing at a faster clip over the years, Pernia said the slow poverty reduction rate remained a “nagging” puzzle.

“Part of the explanation is the imbalance in the distribution of the benefits of growth across regions, sectors, and socio-economic classes. In particular, the dismal performance of agriculture, fishery and forestry needs urgent attention,” Pernia said.

“The rapid pace of population growth, with an additional 10 million Filipinos in just six years, has made poverty reduction a steep challenge,” he added.

Amid the risks and uncertainties, as well as structural challenges in the country, the Duterte administration through Neda is constructing the PDP for 2017-2022 that will spell out its 10 socio-economic agenda.

opportunity to accumulate stocks that are expected do well under the current administration.

“We see sell-offs to be good entry points to position for next year. We are not changing in our picks, as we still value in consumer staples and defensive stocks with high dividend yields,” First Metro said.

Over the past weeks prior to the sell off, the PSEi has been trading at around 20x 2016 P/E, making it an expensive market compared with other emerging markets.

BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said it was still possible for the PSEi to go back to the 8,000 level by

the end of the year, especially if corporate earnings remain strong to justify continued high valuation.

Aside from external factors, analysts said there was also a growing concern that government’s plan to cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending could lead to a higher budget deficit and eventually a downgrade in the country’s credit rating.

While the government has already indicated plans to reduce corporate and individual income tax, which could lower revenue collection, Ravelas said investors now wanted to know how the government would be able to implement its plan to impose

higher taxes on soft drinks and junk foods, also known as “fat tax,” as well as the imposition of higher excise tax on oil products to boost revenues.

Analysts said the economy though remains stable, fueled by consumer spending from increased inflow of dollar remittances and a strong business process outsourcing sector.

They expect the Philippine economy to sustain a 6 percent to 7 percent annual expansion rate as the government focuses on improving the peace and order situation in the country, building infrastructure and spreading growth across the region.

M

ICRO, small and medium enterprises may finally get the ettention they deserve.

only to the upper 20 percent or 49.6 percent while the bottom 20 percent is sharing just 5.9 percent.

In 2015, per capita income in all regions grew, except for Region VIII and ARMM, which experienced a contraction. The per capita income of the national capital region is still almost triple the national average.

“This shows that economic growth appears to be uneven across regions. We are hopeful that the new administration’s focus on equalizing spatial economic opportunities would ensure that all regions will benefit from and contribute to the country’s high economic growth,” Pernia said.

The problem of unemployment and underemployment in the country continues to persist.

The new administration, according to Pernia, aims to lower underemployment rate in the country to below 14 percent from the latest available data of 17.3 percent.

“Underemployment I think needs more attention actually.

Still double-digits so we should try to reduce that, maybe by another five percentage points,” he said.

Pernia, who is also the director general of the National Economic

Bulls...

From E5 growth, good dividend yield and strong balance sheet of listed companies as among the factors that will continue to attract investors to the domestic equities market.

While the market will remain volatile over the next few weeks, a possible Fed rate hike by the end of the year, uncertainties surrounding Brexit and the upcoming US presidential elections may weigh on investors’ sentiment.

First Metro Investment Corp. said the current market sell-off could provide investors a good

30-year...

From E8

earlier won the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project.

Under the concession, LRMC will assume the operations and maintenance of the existing 20-kilometer LRT1 and construct the 11.7-kilometer extension of the rail line southward from the Baclaran station all the way to Bacoor, Cavite.

Gavieta said the LRT Line 1 extension project hopes to take out some 350,000 passengers from using the road networks from the part of Cavite going to Metro Manila.

He added the development of a commuter rail from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba in Laguna would take out around 400,000 passengers from using the South Luzon Expressway.

The commuter rail will also be extended from Calamba, Laguna to Batangas City and from Legazpi to Matnog, Sorsogon.

The Transportation Department is also set to bid out P108.2 billion worth of regional airport projects under PPP scheme.

The five provincial airports in the PPP bundle are the P20.26billion Bacolod-Silay International Airport and the P30.4billion Iloilo International Airport under package 1, and the P14.62-billion Laguindingan Airport, P2.34-billion New Bohol (Panglao) Airport and P40.57-billion Davao International Airport under package 2.

In its first meeting under the administration of President Duterte, the Neda Board approved nine projects worth P171.14 billion.

These projects were the P37.- billion Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit-EDSA; P74.6 billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport PPP Project; P4.8billion increase in passenger terminal building area of the Bicol International Airport; and the P7.4-billion New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project.

Other projects include the P8-billion Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the Philippine Coast Guard Phase II; P2.2-billion Metro Manila Flood Management Project Phase 1; P2.4-billion Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center Modernization Project; P2.2-billion Modernisation of Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital Project; and the P10.2-billion Inclusive Partnership for Agricultural Competiveness of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

“Once implemented and completed, these approved projects will help attain or medium-and long-term development gaols of making the agricultural sector competitive, improving mobility by making our transport system safer and more efficient, increasing disaster resiliency and improving health services,” Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

E5

Bulls to rule stock market

By Jenniffer B. Austria

T

HE stock market bulls will continue their rampage even with the recent change in administration.

April Lynn Tan, research head of online brokerage firm COL Financial, said the Duterte administration inherited a strong balance sheet from the Aquino government that includes low debt levels and cheap production cost.

It also found a rich pipeline of infrastructure projects that are in the late stages of planning that could immediately be implemented by the Duterte administration to improve infrastructure in

the country.

She cited 14 infrastructure projects worth P459 billion that are currently in the bidding process, and five projects waiting for final approval from the National Economic and Development Authority.

And with the Dutuerte administration’s thrust to reduce the approval time, Tan said awarding of contract would be cut to an average of 18 to 20 months from an average of 29 months during the previous administration.

Tan said the Duterte administration’s 10-point socio-economic action agenda would also provide numerous growth opportunities for the country.

The government’s move to keep the

attractiveness of the Philippines to foreign direct investments by addressing the restrictive economic provision in the Constitution as well as accelerating infrastructure spending to five percent of the country’s GDP are likewise favorable to sustained economic growth.

The Philippines in 2015 entered the demographic window, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the expansion in the share of the productive population to over 55 percent of the whole population.

“This rapid period of economic growth is expected to last for 40 years until 2055,” Tan said. She added the Philippine economy, being largely domestic driven, was less vulnerable to external threats and

developments.

Short-term correction Analysts are maintaining a positive outlook on the stock market despite the drop in the the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange Index from its peak of 8,102.30 on July 21.

First Metro Investments Corp. assistant vice president and research head Cristina Ulang expects the PSEi to test the 8,000-point level, buoyed by the strong momentum of foreign flows, increased investor confidence in the sound fundamentals of the economy and the clear political mandate of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Ulang cited the double-digit earnings Turn to E4

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

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DUTERTENOMICS:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS

Peace and order key to luring invesments

By Julito G. Rada

O

PTIMISTS say that the initiative of the Duterte administration to improve the peace and order situation in the country, coupled with the war against drugs, will be good for the flow of investments in the long term.

Simply put, foreign in- pinas Governor Amando vestors will have peace of Tetangco Jr. does not see mind if they see the gov- it that way, yet. ernment doing all it can “That is going to be efto make sure that their in- fective for the flow of investments will not be put vestments over the lonto waste. ger term,” Tetangco said But the recent declara- at the sidelines of the tion of “state of lawless recent Euromoney Philipviolence” by the President pine Investment Forum after a bomb explosion held in Taguig early this in Davao City early this month. month that killed around He said what could pose 14 people alarmed citizens more risks to the domesand sent fears it could be a tic financial markets were prelude to the declaration the developments in the of martial law. world’s advanced econoBangkoVermosa Sentral ngx 11p75.pdf Pili- mies, PA 8p75 1 particularly 3/4/16 5:55 the PM high-

ly-anticipated interest rates hike by the US Federal Reserve by the end of this year, the slowdown in the Chinese economy, the erratic movements in the price of oil in the global markets, and the lingering effects of “Brexit,” or the exit of Great Britain from the 28-nation European Union recently.

“So it [volatility in the domestic financial markets] is more externally driven... ,” Tetangco said.

But Tetangco said that the Duterte government must explain better the objectives of its policies to avoid any possible misunderstanding. “We must avoid the lack of information that could lead to a different picture,” the governor said.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said in a report that

the peace and order situation in the country, especially the spate of extra-judicial killings, could have a significant dent on the markets and the economy if not checked at once.

“For now, the impact is likely to be marginal and is likely to be offset with favorable macroeconomic fundamentals—structural inflows, higher foreign exchange reserves, strong domestic demand and monetary and fiscal leeway,” Cuyegkeng said.

Cuyegkeng said the concerns on extra-judicial killings and statements that might antagonize longtime allies were also making international news which elicited growing concerns also from investors.

But economic managers expressed optimism

that the Duterte administration’s economic agenda remained intact, and the declaration of state of lawlessness should be welcomed by investors because it showed the President’s decisiveness as a leader.

10-point economic agenda In line with the Duterte administration’s 10-point economic agenda, Bangko Sentral expressed its full commitment to adopt policies consistent with the delivery of its mandate of price and financial stability in the country.

Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said there were many areas where improvements in the past have been made and the regulator would continue to bring about positive changes in its areas of concern.

Banking...

From E7 by cyber thieves from the account of Bank of Bangladesh in the Federal Reserve in New York. The dirty money entered the domestic banking industry through a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. on Jupiter Street in Makati City.

The illegal funds later found its way into local casinos where it was laundered by a number of individuals.

One of the conduits in the transfer of funds was Philrem Services Corp., a remittance company.

Tetangco said in a Senate hearing early this month that the regulator “only requires registration” of remittance companies but it has no supervisory powers over them. However, Philrem’s involvement in the money laundering scam gave enough reason for Bangko Sentral to revoke its license in May 2016.

Tetangco assured in previous statements that the domestic banking industry remained solid and strong in the wake of the biggest money laundering scam that happened in the country. In fact, he said foreign banks continued to show interest to expand here to take advantage of the more liberalized banking industry.

Positive outlook

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Location: Daang Hari, Cavite Developer: Ayala Land Inc.

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Redefining suburban living, this future city will showcase the Vermosa Sports and Lifestyle Complex that will house world class sports facilities including an Olympic size pool, oval track, motocross track, bike skills trail, and the country’s first Sports Science Laboratory.

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The Philippine banking system remains one of the strongest in the region. From 2012 to 2014 alone, global debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service singled out Philippine banks, giving them a positive outlook from all the jurisdictions it rates.

Despite their strength, Tetangco said local banks must continue findings ways on how to further solidify their operations amid the threats posed by foreign banks taking advantage of the more open banking industry.

Latest Bangko Sentral data showed banks’ total deposits as of the first half of 2016 grew 12 percent to P9.638 trillion from P8.585 trillion a year ago.

Of the total, peso accounts reached P8.005 trillion, higher than P7.150 trillion a year ago. Foreign currency-denominated accounts, meanwhile, increased to P1.632 trillion from P1.434 trillion a year ago.

Total resources of the country’s financial system as of end-June 2016 reached P15.834 trillion, an increase of P212.8 billion from P15.621 trillion a month ago.

Universal and commercial banks accounted for the bulk or around P11.568 trillion, significantly higher than P11.365 trillion as of end-May. There are 41 universal and commercial banks in the system.

Total resources of thrift banks stood at P1.065 trillion, higher than P1.056 trillion a month ago. Resources of rural banks, meanwhile, remained unchanged at P220 billion.

On the other hand, nonbank financial institutions had total resources of P2.979 trillion as of endJune.

Last year, total resources of the banking system grew by 7.6 percent to P12.4 trillion as of end-December 2015 from the P11.5 trillion a year ago. As a percent of gross domestic product, total resources stood at 93.4 percent.

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

E7

Banking sector to get stronger

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE banking sector is about to get stronger and become more transparent in fulfilling its role in economic development.

The government recognizes the vital role the banking industry plays for the sustainable growth of the economy.

Banks extend loans to different sectors of the economy to be used for productive activities.

A few days after he took office, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would push for the amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law. He supported amendments to the New Central Bank Act that created Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as an independent entity in 1993.

The New Central Bank Act is also known as Republic Act 7653, while the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law is Republic Act 1405. The Senate has been doing public hearings on these two bills.

Duterte believes that easing the bank secrecy law could be one of the measures that will increase tax collections of the government. He conceded his proposal to reduce income taxes would result in lower revenues for the government. “... measures to strengthen our fight against tax evasion will be pursued [such as] the relaxation of Bank Secrecy Law, while the Anti-Money Laundering Act will be amended to make tax evasion a predicate crime to money laundering,” Duterte said in a budget message.

Senator Francis Escudero said relaxing the Bank Secrecy Law would allow authorities to investigate highly suspicious bank accounts.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the Philippines and Lebanon were the two remaining countries in the world with stringent bank secrecy laws.

Tetangco reiterated that a relaxed bank secrecy law could prevent the entry of dirty money in the financial system, like the one that occurred in February involving $81 million. “... The concern is really that since many countries have already lifted their bank secrecy regulations, the Philippines might attract dirty money or laundered money because of the existence of strict bank secrecy laws here. That was the concern,” Tetangco said at the sidelines of a Senate hearing of the committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies.

He said after a fraud was committed, the proceeds of the crime would normally be deposited in a bank account. Once that happens, Bangko Sentral could no longer pursue its investigation because it could not look into those bank accounts.

RA 1405 in 1955 was enacted to encourage people to deposit their money in banking institutions, and to discourage private holding so that the same may be properly utilized by banks in authorized loans to assist in the economic development of the country.

Under this law, all deposits are strictly confidential and may not be inquired or looked into except upon the permission of the depositor; in cases of impeachment; upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty; and in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of litigation.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said in his own proposal that unfortunately, this provision of the law prohibiting the disclosure of or inquiry to bank deposits had been exploited time and again to hamper and stall investigations of government officials and employees suspected of enriching themselves while in public office.

Lacson said government officials and employees, whether elected or appointed, thus, should be excluded from the coverage of the Bank Secrecy Law “so that law enforcement authorities will be equipped with the tools needed to go after crooks in the government.”

All these efforts of lawmakers in Congress run parallel with President Duterte’s promise of a “clean government.”

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said these bills, if enacted, would accelerate the development of the banking system.

and authority to issue negotiable certificates of indebtedness even during normal times, both of which were powers granted to the old Central Bank of the Philippines.

Escudero also wants Bangko Sentral to have stronger financial stability functions, enhanced prudential supervision function, and corporate and financial viability. Escudero, Drilon, and Recto support Bangko Sentral’s earlier call for an additional capitalization of P150 billion, on top of the existing P50 billion, for it to function more effectively.

Deterrent against scams

Amendment bills

Escudero introduced on Aug. 16, 2016 in the 17th Congress Senate bill 1027, whose main purpose is to amend RA 7653 or the Central Bank Act. Senator Ralph Recto has his own version, Senate bill 859 filed on July 21, 2016, and Senator Frankin Drilon’s Senate bill 16 filed on June 30, 2016.

Lacson introduced on June 30, 2016 Senate bill 47 that aims to amend Section 2 of RA 1405, exempting government officials and employees from the prohibition against disclosure of or inquiry into deposits with any banking institutions and for other purposes.

There is also Senate bill 115 filed by Senator Aquilino Pimentel III and Senate bill 196 of Senator Leila de Lima for the same purpose. These bills are currently pending in the Senate’s banks, financial institutions and currencies committee.

In 1993, the Philippine Congress enacted RA 7653 that created the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as an independent central monetary authority. Bangko Sentral replaced the old Central Bank of the Philippines, which was established by RA 265 in 1948.

Twenty years later, the economic landscape in the country has significantly changed, globalization has increased the integration of financial markets, and the scope of operations of financial institutions has evolved.

Escudero said there is undoubtedly a need to respond to contemporary challenges by amending RA 7653 so that Bangko Sentral would remain effective in its conduct of monetary policy and supervision of entities within the financial system. “... This bill proposes to strengthen the tools which the BSP excercises in performing is mandates, supplement the mechanisms in protecting savings of depositors and in ensuring the smooth flow of transactions in the financial system as well as to enhance the corporate viability of the BSP... ,” Escudero said

Escudero is particularly batting for the restoration of BSP authority to obtain data from private persons or entities for purposes of statistical and policy development, as well as ascertaining compliance with laws and banking regulations,

Recto in his bill said Bangko Sentral’s supervisory powers must include credit card companies, e-money issuers, remittance agents and institutions doing similar functions. In including these financial institutions under the supervision of Bangko Sentral, Recto might have taken note of the fact that the recent $81-million money laundering scam that rocked the domestic banking industry in February could have been prevented had the Bangko Sentral already been exercising supervisory powers over remittance agents.

Senate investigations in May this year found out that the $81 million was stolen Turn to E6

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30-year transport plan up T

By Darwin G. Amojelar

HE infrastructure gap in the Philippines has grown so big that it will now require a long-term plan to bridge it.

The Transportation Department is finally offering a solution to the problem—a 30-year plan to enable the Philippines to catch up with its neighbors.

“We are actually looking at developing a 30-year

transportation plan which we hope to be legislated so that the transportation plan will not be subjected to changes in any administration to provide a sustainable and stable plan for infrastructure development for 30 years,” Trans-

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port Undersecretary for planning Rommel Gavieta said.

The Philippines, according to the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report from 2013 to 2014, the Philippines ranked 98 in the overall quality of infrastructure compared with its Asian neighbors.

The Philippines was behind Singapore at 5th place; Malaysia, 25th; Thailand, 61st; Indonesia, 82nd; and Vietnam, 110th.

In order to address infrastructure deficit in the country, the government plans to increase infrastructure spending from a low 5 percent to a high of 7 percent of the gross domestic product.

The government, though the Transportation Department, also plans to speed uo the approval and implementation of publicprivate partnership projects that are now in the pipeline at the National Economic and Development Authority.

Gavieta said the agency was looking at accelerating the rollout of the Bus Rapid Transit in Cebu and Metro Manila.

The Transport Department earlier awarded the contract to design and supervise the construction of the P9-billion bus rapid transit project in Cebu province to Kunhwa Engineering & Consulting Co. Ltd The project would entail building segregated BRT bus-ways from Bulacao to Ayala, with a link to the South Road Property, a feeder service between Ayala and Talamban with signal priority, 33 stations to service 330,000 people per day in 2015, 176 buses, an area stop light control for the entire Cebu City and a central transport control room.

Once completed, the project can field 433,000 individual trips per day, resulting in savings of 25 minutes of travel time and P7.50 in fares.

The government is also bidding out the extension of LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension from Bacoor to Dasmarinas, which will serve around 400,000 passengers.

The joint venture of Ayala Corp and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—Light Rail Manila Consortium— Turn to E4

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Govt vows to ease traffic woes T

By Darwin G. Amojelar

HE Duterte administration is facing an uphill battle to ease traffic congestion along major thoroughfares and at the main airpor t as more Filipinos can now afford to buy cars and travel by air.

President Rodrigo Duterte is seeking emergency powers from Congress to resolve the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila and other major urban centers.

“You want to address traffic situation, give us special power,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

The Transportation Department submitted documents containing the list of priority projects and a draft bill to justify the emergency powers for Duterte to reduce traffic congestion.

Under the draft bill, the department proposed to unify the rules on traffic management which is currently handled by various agencies such as Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the local government units.

Single traffic authority

“Different rules for the same thing would bring confusion on the street.

The DOTr has nothing to do with traffic management… Traffic is handled

by MMDA, Highway Patrol Group and LGUs,” he said.

Tugade said a single authority for traffic management would address the traffic congestion.

He said emergency powers were needed at this point because of the economic and health issues related to the traffic problem.

“The average Filipinos spend more time waiting for their transportation going to office and waiting for transpiration going home. That is not the family life in Filipino way. If you don’t call that crisis, what is,” Tugade said.

He cited a study by Japan International Cooperation Agency, which estimated the cost of traffic at P2.4 billion a day. Without intervention, Jica estimated that traffic costs would increase to P6 billion a day.

According to the online database Numbeo, the Philippines was the 10th country in the world with the worst traffic conditions as of mid-2016.

The Philippines had a traffic index score of 199.66 based on Numbeo’s Traffic Index for Country 2016 MidYear report.

Traffic index is a composite index of time consumed in traffic due to job commute, estimation of time consumption dissatisfaction, carbon dioxide consumption estimation in traffic and overall inefficiencies in the traffic system.

The time index in the Philippines— or the average one way time needed to transport before people reach their destination—was about 44.55 minutes.

Egypt topped the worst traffic list with an index of 247.12, followed by Iran (226.58), Jordan (220.72), Indonesia (214.58), Turkey (213.00), South Africa (209.62),Thailand (203.96) Brazil (203.93) and Russia (202.93).

for two years,” he said.

Tugade said special powers “would address unified traffic scheme or unified traffic rules, right of way and takeover of properties if needed for transportation requirements.”

“We do not intend to be arbitrary, capricious or whimsical or confiscatory. They will be asked for and negotiated for in the interest of common good following certain procedural matters to assure the public that it is not confiscatory,” he said.

Tugade said general aviation at Ninoy Aquino International Airport would be removed to increase the capacity of the terminal and transfer some of the domestic flights of airlines to Clark International Airport.

“When I remove general aviation, you will have an additional space of between 18 percent and 21 percent,” Tugade said.

Japan International Cooperation Agency said Naia was expected to exceed its maximum handling capacity this year, when the airport would handle 37.78 million passengers. Its maximum handling capacity stands at 35 million passengers a year.

Tugade said general aviation would be transferred to Sangley Point in Cavite.

The Duterte administration also proposed to build a cable car and a subway to address traffic congestion at Edsa.

Eduardo Yap, governor-in-charge for Management Association of the Philippines’s traffic, transportation and infrastructure committee, said the group was supporting the government’s plan to build a subway starting from North Ave. in Quezon City to Makati City.

“You want to address traffic situation, give us special power.”

Unclogging Edsa

Yap said a subway would provide the most efficient mass transit to complement Metro Rail Transit Line 3 on Edsa—the densest traffic corridor of Metro Manila—without causing disturbance to the above-ground environment.

“At the same time, it will afford the opportunity for government planners to follow progressive green and more pedestrian-friendly urban development practices abroad,” Yap said.

“This long and major Edsa road artery, currently noisy, heavily polluted and chaotic, can be transformed into a model that our country and people can be proud of and enjoy,” he said.

Jica Philippines senior representative Eigo Azukizawa said that efficient public transport system was a pro-poor investment as it provides reasonable ways of moving.

“As well, it enables people to commute from suburban areas where one can afford housing in a more spacious and safer area,” said Azukizawa.

Intelligent transport

One of the innovations proposed Special powers in the “Roadmap for Transport InfraTugade said the special powers structure Development for Metro Mawould be subject to certain condi- nila and Its Surrounding Areas,” was tions where they could not be abused. implementing a so-called “Intelligent “It is not good forever. It’s only good Turn to F2

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DoE wants to cut power cost

By Alena Mae S. Flores

W

ITH the Philippines known for having one of the most expensive electricity in the region, the Duterte administration aims to deliver on its campaign promise to reduce power rates.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, shortly after his appointment in July, vowed to bring down the cost of power as a part of the government’s energy reform agenda.

“To reduce power rates is my desire. We will work for it,” Cusi said.

He said bringing down the cost of electricity would require a lot of studies, in all areas—universal charges, power generation, transmission and distribution costs.

“We have to review them,” he said.

Cusi, however, faces the challenge of finding a balance between reducing power rates and attracting more investments in power plants to secure future power requirements.

There are also calls for more clean or renewable energy power projects to address the issue of climate change.

Hundreds of renewable energy projects are being lined up across the country, but many of them are now waiting for approval of the latest round of feed-in tariff allocation for solar and wind projects.

The Philippines is also building more

coal-fired power projects as developers find it cheaper to build, which is expected to translate into lower electricity cost for consumers.

“President Duterte is correct in saying that the country is still in the process of industrialization. We must therefore use whatever energy resources are available and affordable for power generation,” Cusi said.

“While we signed the Paris Agreement last year committing ourselves to limit our carbon emissions, we cannot ignore the fact that our level of economic development at this point does not allow us to rely

completely on renewable energy sources or clean energy,” Cusi said.

He said the Philippines needed diversified energy sources to support economic growth.

Cusi said the agency was still reviewing the National Renewable Energy Board’s proposal to increase the installation target for wind and solar by an additional 500 megawatts—a move that would increase the feed-in tariff allowance charged to consumers.

“We intend to review NREB’s proposal for the following reasons to ensure that power consumers are not unduly burdened with

preference for a continuous 24/7 electricity,” Cusi said.

He said “a cost-competitive, effective alternative is to go on open competitive selection process [such as] bidding the right to serve the requirements of distribution utilities and other mandated power industry players.”

Cusi said he would also look at how to bring down the power sector’s debt managed by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

The Energy Department is also studying ways to use the so-called Malampaya funds to pay off PSALM’s debts. PSALM, which manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp., has outstanding debts of about P555 billion.

“I’m looking at it from a perspective of a consumer, not discounting the responsibility to the utilities. I’m just finding a solution,” he said.

“That again is another story how to bring down the debt. There are many ways to reduce the pass-on charges. If we can stretch that out on a longer period of time,” Cusi said.

Cusi said he would also look at the best possible energy mix, while seeking justification for the current mix of 30 percent coal, 30 percent renewables, 30 percent gas and 10 percent other sources.

“As a developing country, we cannot afford not to have coal…We have to find that balance. Not everything is renewable.

I’m not against solar but what happens at Turn to F3

Govt...

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Transport System” or ITS to maximize the city’s existing road capacity.

ITS, according to the study, includes better traffic engineering and management that requires geometric improvements, pedestrian facilities, traffic surveillance, accident prevention, traffic safety education and traffic enforcement.

ITS requires a signal control system, travel time prediction, road maintenance, intelligent parking, incident detection and bus scheduling assistance among others.

By putting modern technology and discipline into traffic management, the Jica study said the Philippines could make better use of available infrastructure.

In terms of social impact, the study said that with interventions, the average transport fare of P42 by a commuter today would be reduced to P24 due because of improved connectivity and common fare. Travel time is also likely to be reduced from 80 minutes per trip to 31 minutes.

“By alleviating traffic, the Philippines can have more space for dynamic business and investment growth, and encourage economic activities in other areas outside Metro Manila in a sustainable way,” said Azukizawa.

New flyover projects

Meanwhile, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the agency is prioritizing the construction of the P3.03billion Edsa-Taft flyover, which was put on hold in 2013.

The planned flyover would span 1.2 kilometers with two lanes in both directions on Edsa from Malibay Bridge in Makati City to F.B. Harrison Street in Pasay City.

The Public Works Department is also pursuing the construction of a bridge that would cross Pasig River to connect Bonifacio Global City in the Taguig-Makati area and Ortigas Center in Pasig.

Phase one will connect Sta. Monica Street in Kapitolyo, Pasig City to Lawton Avenue in Makati, while the second phase will run from Lawton to the Bonifacio Global City viaduct, then from Shaw Boulevard to the Sta. Monica viaduct.

Other projects are the C5 Road to Julia Vargas Flyover in Pasig City; Katipunan to C5 Road Flyover and Miriam to Gate 3 of Ateneo de Manila University flyover.

“These are major flyovers, so that the traffic problems will be resolved,” Villar said.

The department has a total budget of P363.54 billion this year, higher by 33 percent than last year’s P273.91 billion.

Of the total budget, the agency will spend P204.12 billion for highways, P64.20 billion for flood control and P95.23 billion for other projects.

The bulk of the budget would be distributed in Mindanao amounting to P100.99 billion. Northern Luzon will get P73.14 billion; Southern Luzon, P62.53 billion; the Visayas, P59.13 billion; and Metro Manila, P23.63 billion.

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SEC trims procedures to expedite regulation

By Jenniffer B. Austria

C

OMPANIES continue to raise funds from the stock market to finance expansion plans in line with the rapid growth of the Philippine economy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in anticipation of companies tapping the equities and bond markets for fund raising, has been active in promoting efficiency-related measures.

This is to improve the quality of business regulation in line with the Duterte administration’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda to increase business competitiveness.

One measure recently implemented is the shelf-registration program of SEC under the amended implementing rules and regulations of the Securities Regulation Code.

Under a shelf-registration program, securities to be issued in tranches may be registered for an offering to be made on a continuous or delayed basis for a period not exceeding three years.

This means the issuers can hold their capital raising activities as they are needed and/or when market conditions are favorable.

SEC also provided flexibility in the payment of registration fees. The fees are now payable per tranche of issuance and proportional to the issued value.

Among the companies that have filed for the shelf-registration program are Ayala Land Inc., DMCI Project Developers Inc., Ayala Corp., SM Prime Holding Inc., SM Investments Corp., San Miguel Corp. and Petron Corp.

Meanwhile, SEC reduced the number of documentary requirements for companies that plan to venture into financing or lending activities.

SEC chairperson Teresita Herbosa said the documentary requirements for financing companies and lending firms were reduced by consolidating

DoE...

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night time. We have to find a happy balance that we meet the required load, required supply, minimizing smoke emissions, pollution,” he said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission supports Cusi’s bid to reduce power rates. “We will fully support any DoE initiative aimed at reducing electricity rates and will implement national government policies consistent with our mandate to set the rates and protect the interest of the consumers,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.

Salazar assured power consumers that the regulator was finding ways and means to guarantee that only just and reasonable costs were reflected in their electricity bill.

He said the agency would also scrutinize petitions for power adjustments. PSALM wanted to recover some P27.7 billion of the National Power Corp.’s stranded debt portion of the universal charge for the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids for 2015.

Salazar said ERC was closely scrutinizing the petition and would undergo due process before rendering a decision on the case.

“The ERC is studying the case meticulously and with a lot of caution since the petition is for pass-on charges.

The case will have to be evaluated on the basis of reasonableness and affordability,” Salazar said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez (center) joins Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. and Philippine Stock Exchange board members in ringing the bell during the P25.1-billion initial public offering and listing of CHP.

some of the required documents and dispensing with redundant ones.

Herbosa said reducing the documentary requirements would ease the burden on the transacting public who no longer need to bring

voluminous records and documents to SEC for the applications.

This would also speed up the processing for the issuance of certificates, as there would be less documents for inspection or evaluation.

Herbosa said SEC would continue to improve its services by eliminating excessive or inflexible administrative procedures and protracted decision-making processes that slow down public services.

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

F4

BSP works to boost financial inclusion

By Julito G. Rada

F

INANCIAL inclusion—where most of the population have access to financial products and services—is now more attainable, boosted by the Duterte administration’s bid to connect Philippine islands.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. believes that the focus of the new government on ramping up infrastructure and social development in underdeveloped areas was very positive for promoting financial inclusion and equitable economic growth.

“This approach is conducive to and is at the same time complemented by greater financial inclusion,” Espenilla told the Manila Standard.

“Rapid improvement of power supply and the digital infrastructure that makes telecommunications and broadband available everywhere and more reliable will be a particularly big help to financial inclusion by enabling affordable digital financial services,” Espenilla said.

Espenilla said that another important initiative of the government was the establishment of a centralized electronic ID registry system.

This initiative, he said, would greatly “simplify KYC” or know-your-customer processes of banks and other financial institutions, thereby allowing more people to enter the financial system.

The lack of infrastructure, aside from peace and order situation, is one of the reasons mentioned by investors, banks and other financial institutions why they hesitate to expand to far-flung islands, particularly those in the southern Philippines.

Financial inclusion is defined as a state wherein there is effective access to a wide range of financial products and services. It is considered a multi-dimensional objective

that can be achieved through combined effort of a broad range of stakeholders.

In the Philippines, it is an objective aligned with the Philippine Development Plan of the previous administration, which envisioned a regionally-responsive, development-oriented and inclusive financial system that provides for the evolving needs of a diverse Filipino public.

Golden age

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said earlier that infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration would be built simultaneously nationwide and not sequentially as practiced.

He said the Philippine economy was deficient in all types of infrastructure—roads and bridges, ports and airports, railways and urban transit systems, irrigation systems and water systems.

To address this, Diokno said the Duterte administration would hike infrastructure spending from a low of 5 percent to a high of 7 percent of gross domestic product. He claimed that the next six years would be the golden age of Philippine construction, both public and private.

The Duterte administration plans to increase annual infrastructure spending to P1 trillion beginning 2017 to spread development to other parts of the country. The plan is to raise infrastructure spending to as much as 6 percent of GDP. Diokno said that while agriculture would be the main priority in the 2017 budget proposal, infrastructure spending would account for the largest part at a range of

The Bank for International Settlements and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas jointly hosted the Research Conference on Financial Inclusion and Central Banks in Mactan, Cebu in June this year. The high-level conference brought together senior central bankers, leading academics and other experts to discuss key policy issues on financial inclusion.

P800 billion to P1 trillion.

Data from the Budget Department showed that as of the third quarter of 2015, the government spent only P243 billion in infrastructure or 2.55 percent of GDP, below the 2015 target of 4.47 percent of GDP. The Aquino administration set an infrastructure spending target of P595.7 billion in 2015.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia earlier cited the need to spread development outside Metro Manila. He said about two-thirds of GDP was currently concentrated in the National Capital Region.

initiatives and gains in microfinance and more recently in mobile financial services.

In 2014, the Philippines ranked first in Asia and third in the world in terms of having a conducive environment for financial inclusion, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s maiden survey on financial inclusion environments.

The Philippines posted the biggest improvement in overall score in digital and financial inclusion in 2016, according to a report of Brookings Institution, one of the world’s oldest think tanks.

Brookings recently released the 2016 Financial National strategy Queen Maxima of the Rapid improve- and Digital Inclusion Project Report: Advancing EquitaNetherlands, the United Nament of power ble Financial Ecosystems. tions Secretary General’s AdThe report said the Philipvocate for Inclusive Finance supply and the pines increased its overall for Development, said durdigital infrastruc- score by eight percentage ing her recent visit to Manila ture that makes points from its score in the that the National Strategy 2015 report. for Financial Inclusion spear- telecommunicaThe report said “this upheaded by Bangko Sentral ng tions and broadsurge was attributed to the Pilipinas was a vital first step launch of the Philippine to reducing poverty and cre- band available National Strategy for Finanating employment. everywhere and cial Inclusion; strong perShe said financial incluformance in terms of mosion also meant integrating more reliable will bile capacity, as measured everyone into the be a particularly through smartphone penformal economy. big help to fi nanetration; and highest rate of The queen cited the adoption of mobile money Philippines’ efforts cial inclusion by accounts among the South in financial incluenabling affordEast Asian countries includsion, which was reced in the Report.” ognized worldwide able digital finanIn 2016, Brookings inas the best model of cial services. creased its sample to 26 gebest practices for fiographically, economically nancial inclusion. and politically diverse counDespite the country’s efforts on financial inclusion, tries, from just 21 in 2015. These countries the queen said much needed to were assessed using varied criteria classibe done to improve the current fied under four general dimensions, such as condition. She said launching the country commitment, regulatory capacity, National Strategy for Financial In- mobile capacity and adoption of traditional and digital financial services. clusion was the first vital step.

Brookings also expanded the scoring criBased on data from the National teria to include existence of a consumer Baseline Survey on Financial Inclusion conducted last year by Bangko protection framework for financial services Sentral, only 43.2 percent of Fili- (under country commitment), smartphone pino adults had savings while 32.3 adoption and availability of merchant paypercent used to save in the past ments via mobile money (under mobile and the remaining 24.5 percent capacity) and frequency of account usage (under adoption). never saved.

The Philippines garnered the highest Of those with savings, 68.3 perscores in country commitment (100) and cent kept their savings at home, It also 32.7 percent saved in banks, 7.5 regulatory environment (100). achieved a high score in mobile capacity percent in cooperatives, and 2.6 percent in group savings or ‘palu- (94) and a more modest one in adoption (42). All these scores represented positive wagan.’

Meanwhile, 65 percent cited the improvement from 2015 levels.

The 2016 report also cited the work of lack of money as the main reason Bangko Sentral in leading the implementafor not having a bank account.

The survey also showed that tion of the Philippine National Strategy for Filipino adults were most aware of Financial Inclusion and advancing the forbanks (98.3 percent), pawnshops malization of the high-level inter-agency (95.7 percent) and automated teller Financial Inclusion Steering Committee.

Leadership role machines (93.5 percent). However, Bangko Sentral was also recognized for its there is low awareness of other access points such as microfinance past leadership role in the Alliance for FinanNGOs (30.5 percent), e-money cial Inclusion, an international organization agents (25.6 percent), and non- of policymakers pursuing financial inclusion; stock savings and loans associa- its commitment to the AFI Maya Declaration, a set of objectives aimed to deepen financial tions (13.6 percent). inclusion in the Philippines; and its support Thought leader The Philippines is considered a to the Better than Cash Alliance, a multi-secthought leader in financial inclu- toral international coalition working to shift sion specifically in light of its early global use of physical cash to Turn to F5

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digital transactions.

Bangko Sentral was cited as a front-runner among central banks in establishing a dedicated financial inclusion unit; for its work on financial inclusion data and reporting; and for the issuance of enabling and proportionate regulations.

However, the Philippines scored low in consumers’ adoption and usage of digital financial services, both in the 2015 and 2016 reports.

Recommendations

To further expand digital and financial inclusion in all countries including the Philippines, Brookings recommended the setting of quantifiable financial inclusion targets to measure the success of initiatives; and data collection focused on barriers to mobile ownership, connectivity, and SMS/data usage to better inform the development of inclusive mobile ecosystems, and consequently the provision of digital financial services.

Brookings also suggested greater coordination between financial and telecommunications regulators and industry players to address uncertainties in the regulatory environment.

It cited the need to scale up the provision of financial services to target markets and facilitate the development of digital identification mechanisms crucial for on-boarding of marginalized markets into the formal financial system.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

F5

DA aims for food sufficiency

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

T

HE Philippines can only attain progress if it transforms the agriculture sector into a strong segment of the economy.

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrickultura said with a renewed focus on agriculture, the government would be in a better position to achieve food sufficiency.

“No country has ever developed, without first developing its agriculture sector to produce staples and the necessary raw materials, beyond what the country needs,” Sinag said.

The group said trade and the quest for international market access in terms of agricultural commodities would be positive if the country could sufficiently produce its own food and export its surplus production.

“Dependence on imports for food and other needs only exposes the country to the vagaries of the world market,” Sinag said.

The group said to achieve this, the Department of Agriculture’s budget should be significantly increased. It said the government should extend incentives and subsidies to farmers and producers at the production, post-production and marketing stages.

The department is seeking a total budget of P71 billion next year to achieve higher rice production. The budget includes the first tranche of

Source: Philrice

the three-year rice productivity enhancement program which aims to achieve rice sufficiency.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the Rice Productivity Enhancement program pushed for a review of the water management and irrigation policies.

Piñol said the rice program would cost the government P64 billion over the next three years. The first tranche of the budget involves P31 billion.

Under the rice program, the government aims to achieve rice sufficiency by 2019.

Palay production is targeted to reach 18.517 million metric tons in 2017, 20.342 million MT in 2018 and 21.626 million MT in 2019.

“There is a need to attain rice sufficiency due to the effects of cli-

mate change because it changed the whole scene in the agriculture sector. Nobody could assure me that there will be no El Niño in the next years,” Piñol said.

President Rodrigo Duterte reduced the 2017 proposed budget by 30 percent to P50.6 billion.

Despite the lower proposed budget, Piñol assured that the government would do its best to improve the lives of Filipino farmers.

“I love challenges and with the budget given to us for 2017, I will make sure that it would be effectively spent for programs that would ensure greater food production and reduce poverty in the countryside,” Piñol said.

He said aside from focusing on achieving higher rice production, the department would also focus

on producing more white corn for corn-eating provinces.

“There must be a viable program to produce more white corn to supply the grains requirements of the corn-eating provinces like Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol, Cebu, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, the three provinces of Samar and Northern Mindanao,” Piñol said.

Piñol said for the livestock and poultry sector, the country would develop feed components supplies and lessen dependence on imported materials such as soya.

“For our fish and marine products sufficiency, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is now tasked to implement a nationwide program against illegal fishing and a three-month closed season during the spawning period of the distinct fish species in the different parts of the country,” he said.

Piñol said the agency would also intensify the funding and support for the production of high-value fish species such as lapu-lapu and maya-maya.

He said for irrigation, the government would focus more on small and community-based irrigation projects rather than mega-irrigation projects.

“The DA will be introducing solar-powered irrigation facilities, especially in remote villages which are not connected to the grid to provide water not only for the rice fields but also for vegetable gardens and for drinking purposes and most of all, to provide electric power to the community,” Piñol said.

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F6

Business groups support govt economic agenda

By Othel V. Campos

F

OREIGN and local business groups have thrown their support behind the administration’s 10-point economic agenda.

The Joint Foreign Chambers, a group of foreign business groups in the Philippines, gave a score of 9 (with 10 being the highest), for the new administration’s reform agenda. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry also rated it at 8 or 9.

While the reforms spelled out in the 10-point economic agenda have yet to take roots, business groups agreed that the path taken by the government would lead to lower poverty incidence and generate more jobs and livelihood opportunities for Filipinos.

“What we all want is basically more foreign direct investments. But having more foreign direct investments hangs on opening up the economy.

So we cannot have more foreigners coming in if investment restrictions are still in place,” European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines vice president Henry Schumacher said.

“Our understanding of the vision of the Duterte administration is that foreign direct investment is needed and that it would lead basically to more employment and that’s exactly what Duterte wants to do. I think basically we have the opinion that the growth we have seen the last few years will continue in 2016,” Schumacher said.

Average annual foreign direct investments increased from $117 mil-

lion under the Marcos administration to $644 million under the presidency of Corazon Aquino(1987 to 1992); $1.5 billion under Fidel Ramos; $1.74 billion under Joseph Estrada; $1.54 billion under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; and $4 billion under Benigno Aquino III. JFC said despite increasing investments, business and economic reforms failed to move faster in the 16th Congress with only 17 laws approved, compared to 34 laws in the 15th Congress.

JFC said several laws needed to be adjusted to open up the economy. It said there was a need to pass the Bangsamoro Basic law to render credence and flesh out the inclusive growth mantra of the current government.

Business groups said aside from attracting more investments, the government should induce consumption, fueled by growing remittances, business process outsourcing receipts which created a new social class and the recovery of the manufacturing sector.

JFC said the country should also work hard to revive exports and recharge the agriculture sector.

“We would also like agriculture to move. We have to see how the administration is going to address [them].

We see a sense of urgency that was not seen for many years,” it said.

Investors’ sentiments remain positive, despite the spate of killings in the name of war against narcotics.

PCCI lauded the president’s stance on finding harmony between a good economy and a peaceful “drug-free” existence. PCCI honorary chairman Turn to F7

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

F7

Greater value in mining eyed

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

A

MORE vibrant mining industry is possible if the country establishes more processing plants that will generate additional jobs, according to a senator.

Senator Cynthia Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources said the establishment of more processing plants should be the long-term vision for the industry.

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau show that the mining sector employs more than 200,000 workers. Mineral exports reached $524 million in the first half of 2016, representing just 4.1 percent of total merchandise exports.

Villar said while the mining industry generated jobs and helped reduce poverty in the provinces, more domestic processing facilities should be put up to boost employment in those areas.

“In the future, that should be the vision because now we are just exporting the raw materials. But as the country develops, we should export processed [mineral products]. That should be the long-term [goal] for the industry—to do more processing here,” she said.

“Mining projects that prioritize local suppliers and contractors should be topmost priority since this can spell the difference in inducing growth in both upstream and downstream industries such as agriculture and agro-forestry, which can thrive under responsible mining operations. These can also increase mining’s gross value added, which is around P80.9 billion or about 0.6 percent of the GDP only,” Villar said.

Chamber of Mines of the Philippines executive vice-president Nelia Halcon said, however, that establishing processing plants in the country would not be easy.

“You cannot do it overnight because that will need big investments.

You have to come up with economic feasibility study that would give both the investors and the government the benefit,” Halcon said.

Halcon said the industry could start producing iron rods and supplies that could be used for the car manufacturing industry.

“It will take some time for economic feasibility. The industry is willing [to invest] provided that the government will give incentives. But the government cannot impose just like what Indonesia did. They should just encourage,” Halcon said.

Business...

From F6

and treasurer Sergio Ortiz-Luis said the group had not received complaints that a member’s operations were hampered because of the ongoing campaign against drugs.

“Can you tell me if there are companies closing because of this. The government is taking away drugs and criminality. Duterte wants to make sure that there is no room for corruption in our system. What he wants is constitutional reform and that’s what many of us want. The government also wants a level playing field not hampered by land ownership and ownership restrictions,” Ortiz-Luis said.

He said the war waged against criminality and drugs is a war that can be won.

“The war is a matter of perception.

We are only concerned of what the investors will think,” he said.

Ground-based radar technology monitoring at Siana Gold Project Surigao del Norte

Mining audit To improve the mining sector, President Rodrigo Duterte asked Environment Secretary Regina Lopez to assess the operations of mining companies.

A government-led audit resulted in the suspension of several operating mines, most of which are nickel-producing projects.

These companies account for about 10 percent of the country’s nickel production.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Luis Jacinto said the government’s move to assess the operations of mining companies aimed to ensure that miners were addressing the environment and community concerns.

“Mining industry, especially the responsible miners I believe will continue doing what they do best. We focus on ensuring that they make sure that the environment, the community concerns are addressed properly,” Jacinto said.

“We must have responsible mining that is what is provided for in our rules and regulations.

That is also the instruction of the president, make sure that mining operations are compliant

with the existing laws, rules and regulations,” Jacinto said.

Jacinto said he believed that responsible miners would make extra efforts to ensure that the country’s resources were protected.

“Otherwise, it will also be very costly for them because the investments that are put on the ground is not something that can just be withdrawn or taken for granted,” Jacinto said.

Industry’s concerns

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines expressed confidence that the results of the mining audit would be fair, anchored on the promise of President Rodrigo Duterte to render a clean government.

“The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines is confident of positive results on its members following the commencement of the mines audit conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” said Halcon.

“That the audit was done with utmost objectivity and that the findings will be properly transmitted to the respective audited mining companies for them to

be able to address the gaps in their operations,” Halcon said.

Aside from the audit, the government is also creating a roadmap for the mineral industry.

National Economic and Development Authority director for agriculture, natural resources and environment Mercedita Sombilla said the roadmap would provide the government a view of the pros and cons of the mining industry.

“The roadmap started last administration and it’s still ongoing. The roadmap is just a roadmap and how to do it will be indicated there,” Sombilla said.

Sombilla said with the creation of the roadmap, the government is giving importance to the contributions of the mining industry to the economy.

“We really give importance to the continuation of the mining sector. The auditing will provide us with some directions on where we really should go,” Sombilla said.

Sombilla said the mining audit and the creation of the roadmap would also help the government improve the mining industry.

“She [Environment Secretary

Regina Lopez] has to consider this as a totality, how this could impact on the development of the economy. The audit will help us see what is happening in the existing operating mines, what can we learn from, how can we strengthen them, [and] how we make them more responsible in terms of how responsible mining is defined,” Sombilla said.

“We should not be looking only in the next 10 to 20 years, but also in the future. Because that is an extractive industry, we really need to put in place the mining that will have an economic value in the future. I think that is why she wants this auditing to be done. She wants to see what are the factors and the things that we can promote,” Sombilla said.

Consultations are on-going for the creation of the roadmap for the mineral industry.

“In some of the commodity roadmaps, such as the copper roadmap and the gold jewelry roadmap, our experts are being consulted. I think the government, particularly Neda is trying to find out how the industry’s contribution to the economy can be increased,” Halcon said.

Mining development

Halcon said the industry remained optimistic that the government would help the industry flourish.

“Members of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines vow to work for the national interest by fulfilling our obligations as prescribed by the law; by promoting the development of rural and indigenous communities and by complementing the delivery of government’s social services in education, health, livelihood and infrastructure,” Halcon said.

“We shall continue investing in human development and environmental protection through our strengthened environmental protection and enhancement programs. We will continue to adhere to our core values of discipline, accountability and integrity in all that we do,” Halcon said.

Artist’s render of Novotel Suites Manila’s Grand Lobby

A Studio Hotel Showroom Unit

Artist’s render of the pool

The Century Fractional Ownership Program:

A unique property investment

A 1-BR Hotel Showroom Unit

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As a preferred shareholder, you are entitled to 28-day stays each year at Novotel Suites Manila. You can opt to use these while enjoying its amenities and services or you can exchange your stays for hotel accommodations and dining options care of Interval International.

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And with this, you get to…

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A

NEW and hardworking investment opportunity has been made available in the local market, and its attraction lies in its ability to maximize the growth opportunities in the hospitality industry, provide branded hotel stays, and present an exciting array of international vacation privileges to its investors.

The Century Fractional Ownership Program is the first of such investment concept in the Philippines. Offered under Century Acqua Lifestyle Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Century Limitless Corporation, it is ideal for those who would like to enjoy short period hotel vacations in the Philippines and at the same time enjoy annual investment returns.

The program allows the purchase of preferred shares of Century Acqua Lifestyle Corporation, which owns 152 hotel units at Novotel Suites Manila.

Preferred shareholders are entitled to four weeks of stay in the hotel, access to multiple vacation destinations worldwide through an international travel exchange program, hassle-free property management and a share in the net room rental revenue at the rate of 40% for all the 152 rooms.

“Through Novotel Suites Manila, we are introducing to the country the concept of fractional ownership for a hotel real estate property. This gives the subscribers of the preferred shares a number of usage nights in the hotel in a year with the remainder of the fractional being leased out. Owners will then be able to enjoy the benefit of a financial return on the lease,” said Century Acqua Lifestyle Corporation.

This fractional ownership model is

different from a timeshare scheme, which comes without ownership and is limited to the usage rights of the property.

Another exciting benefit is that shareholders will get a one-year Gold Membership at Interval International, an independently-operated exchange company based in Miami, Florida, which allows for hotel stay exchanges at more than 3,000 affiliated properties in different parts of the world.

Preferred shareholders will also enjoy an ACCOR Plus membership. Under this program and subject to membership terms and conditions, a shareholder will enjoy exclusive accommodation and dining benefits at over 500 AccorHotels and Resorts throughout the Asia Pacific region. Participating countries include China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, New Zealand, and Indonesia.

Additional benefits include discounts and dining privileges at Novotel Suites Manila, the use of hotel amenities such as the gym and pool; access to hotel services upon request (such as room service, preorder breakfast service, housekeeping, engineering and transportation); as well as hotel signing privileges.

The Century Fractional

Novotel Suites Manila (leftmost tower) at Acqua Private Residences is Century Properties’ first hotel development under Century Limitless Corporation. The four-star hotel will be managed by international hotel manager Accor Group, the company behind some of the most popular hotel chains in the world.

Ownership Program is offered at very attractive terms. Preferred shareholders can pay off 80 percent of the total purchase price over 52 months after a two-month deposit, interest-free, and settle the remaining 20 percent upon turnover.

“This program is designed for those who want to personally enjoy and at the same earn from their investment. This is ideal for foreign nationals who enjoy vacationing in the Philippines, as well as Filipinos who are based or working overseas and come home each year. It’s similar to having a home away from home,” the company said.

Learn more by visiting

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

SUSTAINING THE

ECONOMIC GAINS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

G1

PH may face power oversupply

By Alena Mae S. Flores

T

HE Philippines may be facing an oversupply of power with an additional 6,260.9 megawatts of capacity coming in by 2020.

Latest data from the Energy Department showed around 4,101.375 megawatts of committed capacity for Luzon alone, 1,687.94 MW for Mindanao and 471.58 MW are committed in Visayas.

CUSI

The department listed some 17,145.415 MW of indicative capacity coming in by 2021 to 2022 across the three grids, with the bulk or 11,607.505 MW of indicative power capacity located in Luzon.

Meanwhile, there are around 3,027.97 MW and 2,509.94 MW of indicative capacity lined up for Visayas and Mindanao.

“Based on our supply and demand outlook, oversupply in Mindanao is happening now and will get worse next year. For Luzon, we have amply supplies and reserves now and the low WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices support this. If plants that have announced and have started contracting are built, Luzon and Visayas will also have increasing oversupply,” Aboitiz Power Corp. president Antonio Moraza said.

AC Energy president John Eric Francia said it was too early to say if there would be an oversupply scenario.

“Currently the power plants under construction are just enough to serve normal demand growth.

Let’s see how many power plants get to financial close in the next 12 months,” Francia said.

Phinma Energy Corp. president Francisco Viray said there would be “just enough” to meet demand in 2020.

GE Philippines chief executive officer and former energy undersecretary Emmanuel J.V. de Dios said that “with all the announcements being made of new power projects for development, it is not difficult to intuitively conclude that there could be an oversupply situation in 2020.”

“However, we all know that not all of these projects make it to financial close and even those that reach financial closing will be delayed. So while on paper there would seem to be a lot of capacity coming in, we can only conclude this with certainty once we know that all these announced projects have actually broken ground,” De Dios said.

He said the Philippines was facing a number of aging power plants whose capacity might no longer be as reliable.

“Moreover, a number of power

plants have been operating for many years and are not in the best condition, thereby requiring newer and more efficient plants coming onstream. If you look at Mindanao and even Visayas, we are seeing increasing power demand which need to be addressed beyond the current crop of capacity being developed over the next few years,” de Dios said.

The bulk of the power projects being built are coal projects of which 2,720 MW

are committed and 6,750 MW are indicative for Luzon.

Coal plants, however, are facing challenges with Environment Secretary Regina Lopez at the helm. A known pro-environmentalist, Lopez has publicly announced that she is anti-coal.

Coal plants are now required to get clearance not only from Environment and Energy Departments but also from the Climate Change Commission and the Office

of Senator Loren Legarda when applying for environmental compliance certificate.

The new requirement adds another layer to the more than 100 permits needed to build coal-fired power plants.

“Yes (there will be oversupply), but depends on how many plants DENR will allow,” Semirara Mining and Power Corp. chairman Isidro Consunji said.

Quezon Power managing director Frank Thiel earlier said coal Turn to G2

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

G2

DUTERTENOMICS:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

SUSTAINING THE ECONOMIC GAINS

Bourse lining up more investment instruments T

By Jenniffer B. Austria

HE Philippine Stock Exchange, the operator of the country local bourse, is lining up new products as it remains bullish about the domestic economy under Duterte administration.

PSE president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat said President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement about his plans to pursue reforms to ensure competitiveness and ease of doing business augured well for the Philippine economy, saying they will lure more investors into the country.

Sicat said such pronouncements were good for the Philippine capital markets as investors always look for stability in policies before making their investment decisions.

Sicat is hoping the exchange under the current administration would be able to finally launch the much anticipated Real Estate Investment Trust, whose rules are currently being reviewed to make them more attractive to potential issuers.

“We hope that the review

spearheaded by the Department of Finance will lead to the resolution of the contentious issues that have clearly prevented companies from applying under the REIT law. REITs should unlock the potential not just of the real estate sector, but also various infrastructure projects that are in need of significant funding and critical to the country’s economic growth,” Sicat said.

Big property developers have expressed interest in REIT if controversial issues like the high minimum public float and the imposition of value aded tax on the transfer of assets into a REIT firm would be addressed by the current administration.

Sicat said the easiest way for the government to address these concerns was to revoke all the revenue regulation pre-

viously issued by Bureau of Internal Revenue that imposed a 12 VAT on the transfer of assets to REIT firms and a memorandum circular issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring a multi-year increase in public float of REITs beyond the 33 percent minimum requirement prescribed by the original rules.

While the REIT law was passed in 2009, there have been no takers primarily because of unattractive features, particularly the 67-percent minimum public float requirement after the third year of listing and imposition of the

12 percent value added tax on the transfer of assets to REITs. At least $3 billion worth of capital raising activities from REIT, mostly from real estate companies, were put on hold because of these barriers.

The PSE is also just waiting for the SEC to approve its proposed listing rules for entities engaged in public-private partnership before its planned launch before the end of the year.

Under this new program, a company undertaking an infrastructure project under a PPP contract worth P5 billion and above can list on the PSE.

SICAT

The PSE hopes to attract various companies to list under the program since the previous administration has awarded serval PPP projects while several infrastructure projects are in various stages of bidding process.

Another exciting product in the pipeline is the trading of dollardenominated securities that will “allow issuers to tap the local dollar liquidity in the system.

DDS rules aim to provide issuers the flexibility to meet their capitalization requirements, serve as alternative investment instrument for those with US dollar deposit accounts, as well as attract offshore investors and reduce their currency risk exposure.

“We believe there is demand both from an issuer perspective and from a funding perspective. There’s excess liquidity in the system, including maybe an untapped asset class for dollar holders in the exchange,” Sicat said.

Tax...

From G3 of valuation close to market prices; and the review of valuation every three years.

The last package that will be submitted to Congress is the capital income tax that will reduce the tax on interest income earned on peso deposit and investment from the current 20 percent to a uniformed 10 percent rate.

This will be compensated by harmonizing capital income tax rates for dollar deposits and investment, dividends, equity, fixed-income rates towards 10 percent and increasing tax on stocks traded in the stock market from 0.5 percent to 1 percent on gross selling price.

The fifth package, which is yet to be finalized by the agency, includes taxes on fatty food, luxury tax on automobiles, yachts and jewelries; mining taxes; sin taxes on tobacco and alcohol (for health purposes); carbon tax; and lottery and casino tax.

“Tax reform is needed because we now have the tax system that is inequitable, complex and inefficient,” said Dominguez.

Mauban power plant in Quezon.

PH may...

lando Bacani said earlier.

Bacani, however, is optimistic From G1 the construction of coal plants plants were required to obtain would continue “until such time as many as 165 permits from that reliable sources of nonpre-development to construc- fossil-fired baseload plants are tion stage, which poses delay available and acceptable to the Filipinos, like natural gas and in construction.

“On average, take 4 to 7 years nuclear power plant.”

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi from the time you come up with a concept to the time you build,” said the department was balancing the country’s energy Thiel said.

GNPower chief operating of- mix and ensuring that not only ficer Ariel Punzalan said the baseload power plants are bepermitting process had already ing built but also mid-merit and been streamlined through the peaking plants.

Cusi said the agency was years but this new requirement studying all options “on what would add another layer.

Power generators are building source of power the country coal-fired power plants across should have not only for now, the country’s three power grids not only for tomorrow but in the as it is cheaper to build, which coming generation.”

Cusi acknowledged that gas translates into lower cost of supply from the Malampaya gas power to consumers.

“With a true-blooded environ- project in northwest Palawan mentalist heading the DENR, might be depleted by 2022 to getting an ECC for coal plants 2024 and that there was a need will really go through very strin- to replace the fuel for the three gent requirements,” Global Busi- natural gas plants with a comness Power Corp. president Ro- bined capacity of 2,700 MW.

“The Philippines is looking for cheap source of electricity...

There are those opposed to nuclear. But we have need to study.

We cannot leave any stone unturned. And many developed countries are using nuclear,” he said.

Cusi has directed the conduct of a technical audit to determine the status of the company’s operating power plants.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri urged the government to focus on renewable energy to address the power supply gap.

Zubiri said safety concerns on nuclear power must be addressed first, especially since the Philippines is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

He said renewable energy still needed incentives such as a third round of feed-in tariff, especially for solar which have received strong investor interest.

But businessman Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of Manila Electric Co., said the pub-

lic must be prepared to accept the higher cost of renewable energy and urged the government to come out with a clear energy policy mix.

“We need a policy direction, what is the appropriate fuel mix for our people. And once that’s decided, businesses will build the plants, whether its a gas plant, coal plant or renewable. plant. So we just need a direction,” he said.

Pangilinan said there was a push toward clean energy but the government must quantify the cost of building renewable energy, which is more expensive.

“The seduction for renewables is there. But can you build RE to build enough renewables... and more importantly, how much would it cost. You have to address that, it’s not cheap, it’s not going to be cheaper than coal or gas,” Pangilinan said.

“Remember, there’s always a price (when)you need to protect environment,” he said.

Low...

From G3

Spex sought assistance from the Energy Department as it could not comply with the Environment Department’s administrative order on effluent standards which could lead to its eventual shutdown due to its inability to comply.

“There are certain chemicals which have very short half life which do not do any damage. Unfortunately, it’s part of the new regulations. And Malampaya on this particular case cannot comply with it because it’s naturally coming from the well and there is no available technology which can remove it,” Quinones, who also serves as Spex managing director, said.

Abad said the department was aggressively finding ways “to resolve the pending issues affecting the stability of petroleum service contracts so we can proceed to the award of PECR 5 and PECR 4 and of course, for the certainty of the investment climate of the petroleum industry.”

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

G3

Tax reforms now under way C

HANGE is also coming to the tax system in the country, as the Duterte administration vowed to lift the tax burden from the poor and pass it on to high-income groups.

The Finance Department now focuses on crafting a comprehensive tax reform system which will be submitted to Congress.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III unveiled a fivepackage tax policy which would result in net revenue gain of P368.1 billion by 2019.

“Each of the packages will correspond to a bill that balances policy trade-offs. Other packages may be considered as needed,” Dominguez said.

Of the five packages, the first four packages would be submitted to Congress while the remaining package would be tapped later if needed.

The first package involves the adjustment in personal in-

come tax and consumption tax brackets. It aims to reduce the personal income tax rate to 25 percent over time, except for the highest income earners which will be taxed 35 percent. It also calls for a shift to modified gross system that will simplify the personal income tax system.

The package also involves the expansion of the value added tax base by limiting the exemptions enjoyed by senior citizens to raw food, education and health. A targeted subsidy program will be set up to protect the poor and the vulnerable.

“As a general rule, the rich will have to pay more in taxes while the vulnerable sectors of society will be protected through highly

DOMINGUEZ

targeted subsidies and the conditional cash transfer program.

We will ensure that ordinary workers and the bottom 50 percent of households will be fully protected through social pro-

tection programs,” Dominguez said.

The department also proposed to increase excise taxes on all petroleum products and index them to inflation, levy a tax on sugary products and index it to inflation, relax the bank secrecy law for fraud cases and include tax evasion as a predicate crime to money laundering, Package two of the proposed tax policy reform tackles the corporate income tax and other incentives. It aims to reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent over time from the current 32 percent. It also seeks to simplify other corporate and income tax provisions to improve the compliance rate among tax payers.

The second package’s offsetting measures are the rationalization of fiscal incentives to transparent, targeted, performance based and time bound;

sunset provisions to existing incentives; expansion of the coverage of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board which will include all incentive recipients beyond state-run –owned and –controlled corporations; replacement of the 5-percent gross income tax rate of 15 percent; strict implementation of the VAT zero-rating to direct exporters; giving full VAT refund in cash; and abolition of tax credit certificates.

The property tax is the third package of the proposal where it is expected to generate a net revenue gain of P40 billion. This measure seeks to reduce the rate of estate and donor’s tax to a low of 6 percent and lower the rate of transaction taxes on land such as document stamp tax, transfer tax and registrations fees.

These measures will be offset by the rationalization of property valuations; increase Turn to G2

Mining sector remains bullish

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

A reforested area in Padcal project in Benguet province.

Low prices dampen PH oil and gas exploration THE Philippine oil and gas industry faces the risk of losing steam, unless the government takes action to address the issues plaguing the industry.

The low oil price environment slowed down oil and gas activities in the country. This is compounded by a host of other issues such as the West Philippine Sea territorial dispute, a controversial Commission on Audit report, the Supreme Court ruling on service contracts and the new effluent standards.

“These issues are actually killing the industry,” Energy Department director Rino Abad said.

The need to find another Malampaya gas project has become crucial as the natural gas from Malampaya field in northwest Palawan is expected to be depleted by 2024.

The $4.5-billion Malampaya gas to power project, which started operations in 2001, provides fuel to the country’s natural gas power projects in Batangas with a combined capacity of 2,700 megawatts.

The West Philippine Sea territorial dispute with China and other claimants also hampered

the country’s ability to find other large oil and gas reserves.

Forum Energy Plc., operator of service contract 72 which is viewed as rich in petroleum reserves that could exceed the Malampaya gas find, was unable to conduct exploratory drilling operations in the area.

“In particular areas at the moment, there’s a moratorium. So some of the members have been told to pause for the meantime because of the issues. So currently, we have zero exploration within the West Philippine Sea,” Sebastian Quinones, president of the Petroleum Association of the Philippines, said during a recent Senate energy hearing.

Abad said the government was unable to develop SC 72 “which could be twice the size of Malampaya” because of the territorial dispute.

Abad said 11 service contracts were affected by the West Philippine Sea and COA notice of charge issues.

He said the government also failed to award new petroleum service contracts to winning bidders under the 5th Philippine Energy Contract Round due to

these issues.

The Commission on Audit issued a notice of charge to the Malampaya contractors to pay the government P150 billion, saying the corporate income tax of the project should not form a part of the government’s share.

Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., operator of the Malampaya gas project, filed two arbitration cases with the international arbitration courts to protect its interest.

We have brought this to the economic cluster…We need one national position.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi elevated the arbitration case to the economic Cabinet cluster to come up with a more decisive action.

“We see the urgency of resolving this matter once and for all.

That’s why we are rushing it and we have conferred with the SolGen [Solicitor General]. We have

brought this to the economic cluster…We need one national position,” Cusi said.

Abad, meanwhile, said another issue that needed to be resolved was the Constitutional challenge involving SC 46 or the case involving Japex Philippines Ltd. The department filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court “citing the validity of qualified political agency principle when the President allowed the DOE Secretary to sign [contracts] by virtue of a special authority,” said Abad.

Abad said the department’s position was that the income tax paid to the Bureau of International Revenue was not a tax exemption, but rather formed a part of the government’s share under President Decree 87 and PD 1459.

Abad also expressed concern over the Environment Department’s effluent standards, which meat that water discharges of service contractors would be tested under certain parameters.

The energy official said more studies should be conducted before the effluent standards could be released by the Environment Turn to G2 Department.

THE mining industry remains bullish as it expects to infuse $20 billion to $30 billion into the local economy over next five to 10 years.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said in 2016 alone, mining investments were expected to reach $2.25 billion with the entry of Asiaticus Mining Corp. in Davao Oriental and Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. in Palawan.

Mining investments next year would reach $6 billion with the start of operations of Philex Mining Corp.’s Silangan project in Surigao del Norte, Nadecor’s Kingking project in Davao del Norte and Balabag Gold-Silver project of TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. Projects that are expected to operate in 2018 are the Tampakan mine development of Sagitarius Mines in South Cotobato, Intex Resources in Mindoro, the Masbate gold project of Philsaga Mining Corp., a nickel mine of San Miguel Corp. through Philnico in Surigao del Sur and the Balatoc mines of Benguet Corp.

Investments from these companies are expected to reach $14.75 billion.

The group said the sole project expected in 2019 is that of Far South East Gold of Lepanto Mining Corp. in Benguet, which is expected to cost $2 billion.

“These pipeline projects are approved for implementation by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, with definitive feasibility studies,” said CoMP executive vice president Nelia Halcon.

“Of course, investors have already factored in their feasibility studies the current fiscal regime and if this will be changed, there might be some delays,” Halcon said.

Halcon was referring to the the government’s proposal to increase the taxes paid by mining companies.

Despite these challenges, Halcon said the industry remained optimistic that the projects in the pipeline would be able to start operations under the new administration.

“We are positive that the projects will be pursued under the Duterte administration after addressing the roadblocks that are hampering the progress of the projects,” Halcon said.

SPECIAL REPORT ON THE ECONOMY

DUTERTENOMICS:

SUSTAINING THE

ECONOMIC GAINS G4 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Telcos deploy free Wi-Fi services

By Darwin G. Amojelar

T

HE country’s two largest telecom companies are rushing the deployment of free Wi-Fi services in public places in response to the call of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte, in his first State of the Nation Address, promised to provide Wi-Fi access at no charge to users in selected public places including parks, plazas, public libraries, schools, government hospitals, train stations, airports and seaports.

PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. responded to the call by rolling out free Wi-Fi services in airport, seaports, train stations and bus terminals at no cost to the government.

Eric Alberto, executive vice president of

PLDT and Smart Communications, said the group would invest about P1 billion this year to roll out Wi-Fi service hotspots in key transport hubs, government offices, and business establishments across the country.

Smart Wi-Fi public hotspots are currently undergoing upgrades at all four terminals of Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City; Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao; Iloilo International Airport; Bacolod-Silay International Airport in Negros

Occidental; and Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport in Negros Oriental.

Smart Wi-Fi is also now available for use by waiting passengers at the terminals of major bus companies including Alps, Five Star Bus, Isarog Bus, Jam Liner, Philtranco and Victory Liner.

Aside from major transport hubs, Smart Wi-Fi also expanded to cover more public areas such as city halls, schools and establishments such as malls, restaurants and coffee shops to address the growing demand for more public Wi-Fi hotspots in the country.

With Smart Wi-Fi, users can take advantage of free connectivity for an initial number of minutes, after which the service allows them to conveniently purchase credits from Smart to extend and boost their Internet session.

Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program governance, network technical group said his company would also install fiber optic cable system to provide Light Rail Transit Line 1 and all its stations with free Wi-Fi services.

The telco provider will also enhance its wireless infrastructure by deploying cell sites in each LRT station.

“Globe will also deploy the new LTE700/1800/2600 MHz spectrum to provide adequate capacity to handle the massive mobile traffic volume at these stations,” he said.

Globe recently gained access to the 700-MHz band and acquired additional allocation in the 1800-MHz and 2600-MHz frequencies following its recent joint buyout of San Miguel’s telco assets with PLDT. Agustin said the deployment of fiber optic cables and enhancement of the company’s wireless infrastructure along LRT 1 would improve mobile coverage and enhance network capacities. Once completed, this is expected to improve customer experience not only of those riding LRT 1 but also those plying the Taft Ave. and Rizal Ave route.

Globe will also provide free Wi-Fi connectivity in all 13 MRT stations along Edsa.

To fast track the deployment of more cell sites nationwide, Globe and PLDT asked the Duterte administration to address permit and right-of-way issues that hamper infrastructure development in the telecommunication industry.

“A lot of the infrastructure backlogs in the telecommunications industry could be attributed to challenges in getting LGU permits. This is why Globe has been calling on the government to provide policy support for initiatives to improve Internet infrastructure in the country,” Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said.

Castelo said telecommunication companies were required to secure at least 25 permits, a few of which were also mentioned in the broadband policy paper and which caused delay in the deployment of Internet infrastructure such as cell sites and fiber builds.

Based on the study made by TowerXchange in February 2016, the number of unique physical cell sites in the Philippines was one of the lowest in Asia with a combined 15,000 cell sites.

China had the highest number with 1.18 million cell sites, followed

by India with 450,000, Indonesia with 76,477, Vietnam with 55,000, Thailand with 52,483, Pakistan with 28,000, Bangladesh with 27,000 and Malaysia with 22,000 sites.

A 2014 report by Ookla, an Internet broadband testing company, ranked the Philippines 160th out of 190 countries in terms of download speed.

The Philippines is also one of the most expensive among 64 countries with median monthly cost per Mbps at $26.60.