BusinessMirror May 31, 2015 by BusinessMirror

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U.N. Media Award 2008

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A broader look at today’s business

n Sunday, May 31, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 234

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Health care, retail enterprises most at risk from cyber threats H By Roderick L. Abad

week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW

Foreign exchange

n Previous week: The local currency during the previous week mostly maintained its trading level at the upper band of the 44 territory. At the start of the week, the local currency hit 44.615 to a dollar, decreasing further on Tuesday to hit 44.705 to a dollar. Starting Wednesday, however, the peso started to appreciate again to hit 44.69 to a dollar and at 44.58 to a dollar on Tuesday. The local currency closed trading on Friday at 44.59 to a dollar. The total traded volume is slightly higher than that of the previous week at $2.649 billion. The average of the peso, meanwhile, during the week is at 44.636 to a dollar, weaker than the 44.527 seen in the previous month. n Week ahead: Bank of the Philippine Islands said the peso will continue to trade sideways in the week ahead, but with a slight upward bias as investors position themselves on the recent peso weakness and ahead of certain data from the US this week.

Inflation (May)

Friday, June 5 n April’s inflation: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported earlier this month that the country’s inflation—or the growth of consumer prices in the country—hit 2.2 percent in April this year. This is lower than the 2.4-percent inflation rate seen in the previous month, and from the 4.1 percent seen in the same month last year. The last time that inflation has been this low was 20 months ago in August 2013, when the growth of consumer prices hit 2.1 percent. The April inflation print—which was brought about by annual decreases registered in housing prices, water and electricity rates, transport and communication prices and oil prices—pulled the

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EALTH care and retail businesses are among the industries today where the cybersecurity problem is on the rise, according to Trend Micro Inc.

Its latest report, “Bad Ads and Zero-Days: Reemerging Threats Challenge Trust in Supply Chains and Best Practices,” showed that there is a combination of old and new threats that defined the online-security landscape following the first quarter of this year. “Even though we are early in the year, it is clear that 2015 is shaping up to be noteworthy in terms of volume, ingenuity and sophistication of attacks,” said Myla

Pilao, director of TrendLabs Marketing Communications at Trend Micro Inc. A notable increase in cyber-attacks has occurred in the healthcare sector and retail point-of-sale systems. Also, the operating system (OS) of American mobile-phone brand Apple—iOS—has remained to be the target of cybercriminals. Since exploitations in these areas have been in their infancy for several years, Trend Micro re-

searchers agree that the increase is mainly because of lack of preparedness that needs to be addressed. The study said adware is the top mobile threat, as Trend Micro has recorded over 5 million cases of which in the Android operating system to date—3 million shy of the projected total of 8 million by the end of this year. This was reflected in top malicious and high-risk apps blocked by Trend Micro related to this. Zero-day exploits have been detected also to be targeting Adobe software-utilized malvertisements. To become infected with this, victims are no longer required to visit or interact with malicious sites. Another risk to watch out for is the “old-school” macro malware, whose resurgence has been indicative of cybercriminals taking advantage of user-security complacency via reliance on Microsoft Office defaults. Since the decade-old Freak See “Cyber Threats,” A2

PLDT focuses on Internet, digital technology

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

HE Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), one of the most valuable listed companies in the country, is rewiring its business from a simple telecommunications provider to an Internet and digital player, a global debt watcher said in a report. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services also observed that, given the pace by which the telecommunications giant acquires companies that are related to Internet services, the locally listed company will likely spend up to P20 billion in just two years for mergers and acquisitions. “PLDT plans to become an Internet and digital player, lever-

PESO exchange rates n US 44.6500

aging its technical expertise as a telecommunications-services provider and its vast customer base. The company’s leverage could increase as a consequence and exceed our base-case assumption,” S&P’s credit analyst Bertrand Jabouley said. Thus, it revised its assessment of the telecommunications giant’s liquidity from “strong” to “adequate,” because “we expect the company to have negative discretionary cash flows over the next 12 to 24 months.” “We expect PLDT’s spending to remain elevated in 2015 and 2016, at least. The company has invested about P30 billion annually over the past 10 years to enhance its network. PLDT is contemplating further investments as part of its ongoing digital evolution and transformation. We forecast that

the company could spend up to P10 billion annually on mergers and acquisitions in 2015 and 2016,” Jabouley said. The global debt watcher also affirmed its “BBB+” long-term corporate credit rating on PLDT, while keeping a stable outlook on the company. For its long-term Asean Regional Scale Rating, the Philippine-based telecom-services provider was given an “axA+” rating. “We affirmed the ratings, because we believe that PLDT’s strong balance sheet can accommodate the company’s sizable capital spending over the next two years,” Jabouley said. This year the company is planning to spend about P39 billion to improve and expand its network. “The stable outlook on PLDT for the next 12 months reflects our See “PLDT,” A2

IMF sees decrease in 2015 Philippine growth forecast

By Bianca Cuaresma

HE International Monetar y Fund (IMF) may revise its growth forecast for the Philippines downward this year, after the local economy posted a lowerthan-expected expansion in the first quarter. In an e-mailed response to the BusinessMirror, IMF Resident Representative Shanaka

Jayanth Peiris admitted that the 5.2-percent growth in the first quarter of the year is lower than their projections when they formulated their 6.7-percent growth forecast for 2015, as announced about a week ago. “The first-quarter gross domestic product [GDP] outturn was somewhat below the IMF forecast, due partly to temporary factors, such as weak agriculture production, exports and public spending,” Peiris said. See “IMF,” A2

n japan 0.3601 n UK 68.3636 n HK 5.7588 n CHINA 7.2002 n singapore 33.1133 n australia 34.0814 n EU 48.8873 n SAUDI arabia 11.9067 Source: BSP (29 May 2015)

News BusinessMirror

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PLDT...

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view that the growth in the company’s broadband and data businesses would continue to offset gradually eroding revenue from traditional voice and SMS operations,” Jabouley said. “The outlook also factors in our expectation that PLDT will continue to generate free operating cash flows over the next two years in spite of heavy capital expenditure, and that the company’s acquisitions appetite will moderate compared to 2014.” Earlier, PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the com-

Outlook...

pany is planning to acquire at least 10 Internet companies in the next few years. This is part of the “digitization” initiative that the telecommunications giant has been implementing for quite some time now. The digital footprint of subsidiaries Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular) are also undergoing modernization and expansion programs. The companies have also partnered with over-the-top con tent providers such as Facebook, Twitter and Viber, among others.

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four-month inflation average from January to April this year to 2.3 percent. n May’s inflation: Bangko Sentral Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. earlier said in hit monthly inflation forecast that May inflation could settle within 1.6-percent to 2.4-percent range. This forecast range is lower compared to the previous month’s forecast range of 1.9 percent to 2.6 percent—which yielded an actual inflation

rate of 2.2 percent in April. If inflation hits the floor of the governor’s forecast range of 1.6 percent, inflation will be at its lowest since 1998 as per the available data on from the BSP. This will also push the inflation average of the country in the first five months of the year at 2.2 percent. Likewise, private economists see inflation continuing its downward trend for May this year (see related story). Bianca Cuaresma

IMF...

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“…the significant negative surprise in the first quarter and base effects going forward mean that our 6.7 [percent] forecast for 2015 will be reviewed before the next WEO [world economic outlook] forecast release,” the IMF added. Earlier this month, in the conclusion of their Article IV consultation mission in the Philippines, the IMF said that it sees growth coming in at 6.7 percent—but this forecast still does not take into account the actual GDP growth in January to March this year. As such, IMF Head of Mission to the Philippines Chikahisa Sumi said in the Article IV concluding media briefing that the forecast may change depending on the actual numbers projected by the economy in the first quarter of the year. Despite the downturn, Peiris said the IMF believes that the Philippines will recover from the early slump in the year and pick up the pace of the country’s growth momentum.

“We still expect growth to pick up through the year as exports recover with the global economy and public spending accelerates with the measures that are being put in place by the DBM [Department of Budget and Management] and the President’s administrative order,” the IMF resident representative said. Singapore-based DBS Bank was among one of the earliest financial insitutions to downgrade their growth forecast on the Philippine economy due to the slow first-quarter growth in the year. “We now expect GDP growth to come in at 6 percent and 6.2 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively— slight adjustments from our previous forecasts of 6.3 percent and 6 percent,” DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said. “It is always a long stretch to meet the government’s 7-percent target for 2015, but GDP growth circa 6 percent still puts the Philippines as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region,” Cahyadi added.

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Cyber threats... security flaw is brought on patch management challenges, it is more difficult for informationtechnology (IT) administrators to diminish risks as more vulnerabilities happen in open-source OS’s and apps. Meanwhile, old threats like Rocket Kitten and those behind Operation Pawn Storm, are keen on new targets, with their latest attack tools, tactics and procedures. Exploit kits, on the other hand, continuously add new exploits to their arsenals, enhancing their allure to expert and novice attackers. Crypto-ransomware volume has soared, expanding their target base to enterprise users, apart from pursuing consumers. “The rise in attacks against the health-care industry, combined with the rise in malvertisements, reflects that technology users are being assailed from all angles,” Pilao said. Given that the report shows that complacency can lead to cy-

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bersecurity risks in this age where the margin for error has been significantly diminished, she reminded businesses and individuals to be proactive in protecting against threats. “As a business, how would your IT-Security policies look like in a Zero Trust Environment? An aggressive and different security posture is critical to keep financial, personal and intellectual property safe,” she noted. “While we need to constantly update our systems to protect against new attacks, the first quarter of 2015 clearly showed we need to also watch out for older threats, and how no industry or system should feel exempt,” she added. Incepted 26 years ago, Trend Micro is a global leader in security software, offering solutions for consumers, businesses and governments that provide layered data security to protect information on mobile devices, endpoints, gateways, servers and the cloud.

EconomySunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

Sunday, May 31, 2015 A3

Consumer-price growth slowest in May

HE increase in consumer prices in May this year may have hit the slowest growth for the entire year, several economists said. Local and international private economists polled by the BusinessMirror said, inf lation is likely to decelerate further owing

to low oil and rice prices. The forecasts of seven economists yielded an average of 2 percent for the month. If fulfilled, May’s in-

flation rate will be the lowest for the country since August 2009, when inflation hit 1.7 percent. In particular, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said inflation would likely hit 1.9 percent in May this year, owing to lower food increase and a drag in global crude-oil prices. Standard Chartered economist Jeff Ng also forecasted inflation to hit 1.9 percent during the month, as base effects for food

inflation continued to ease. Meanwhile, DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi, Maybank Kim Eng economist Luz Lorenzo and Security Bank economist Patrick Ella are all of the view that inflation will hit 2 percent in May. ING Bank’s Joey Cuyegkeng sees inflation hitting 2.1 percent, while Banco de Oro chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said he expects inflation to hit 2.19 percent in May.

Not for long

AMID the low forecasts for May, economists agree that inflation will not stay this low for long, as price pressures are starting to build up toward the second half of the year. “Downtrend is extended with lower rice prices, but prices of other food items may start to rise due to the effects of the dry spell,” Cuyegkeng said. In particular, BPI’s Mapa said that inflation will likely be subdued for another month, before it reverses to settle

somewhere in the middle to upper half of the Bangko Sentral’s inflation target by the end of the year. This is also due to, aside from the effects of El Niño, the washed-out base effects from the oil-price movements seen earlier. “While the central bank has room to ease policy rates near term, it is likely to watch for higher inflation by end-2015 and potential US policy rate hikes. Growth momentum will be a swing factor,” Standard Chartered’s Ng, meanwhile, said. Bianca Cuaresma

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, May 31, 2015

editorial

National ID system: Here we go again

E have been here before. The House of Representatives has just passed a bill establishing a national identification (ID) system for the Philippines “to streamline government transactions and help promote a progressive society through efficient delivery of basic services.” Once passed into law, it will require all Filipinos in the country and abroad to register under it. The first time we confronted this matter of a national ID system was in 1996, when President Fidel V. Ramos issued Administrative Order (AO) 308 establishing a National Computerized Identification Reference System for the country “to provide Filipino citizens and foreign residents with the facility to conveniently transact business with basic and social-services providers.” The order was challenged by Sen. Blas F. Ople on two grounds: Its issuance was an encroachment of legislative power and was in violation of the citizen’s right to privacy. The Supreme Court (SC) found the challenge meritorious and ruled the AO as unconstitutional on those grounds. The second time was in 2005, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order (EO) 420, mandating government agencies to streamline and harmonize their ID systems under a Unified Multi-Purpose Identification System. The order was questioned on the same two grounds. This time, the SC upheld the legality of the EO, saying that, rather than creating a new initiative that required legislative action, the order merely sought to modify an administrative procedure, a process that the Executive branch could well pursue as part of its normal duties; further, the order sought less information than that sought by existing ID systems, showing that it was not driven by any surveillance purpose; last, the order had enough safeguards against abuses of the citizen’s right to privacy. Perhaps, the action of the House of Representatives is merely to provide a legal basis for the ID system. Whatever its motivation, it remains vulnerable to the charge that it is basically an instrument of political persecution by the government of its own citizens. Is the purpose of the system to give citizens ready access to government services? Under the present arrangement, no citizen has ever complained of inability to obtain a government service because of a lack of ID. Is the objective to identify people deemed in violation of the law? As a London School of Economics study that is applicable to the Philippines found, “Police in developed countries believe that lack of identification does not pose a problem in investigation. It is evidencegathering and prosecution that remain big obstacles to the resolution of crimes.” But there are safeguards against the misuse of the information gathered. Really? No government has ever bothered with safeguards when pursuing perceived enemies. In fact, the current administration has made use of all conceivable measures in the prosecution of its political adversaries. Let’s make sure that we do not provide governments, however well-intentioned, with the ammunition to invade our individual privacy or violate our human rights. Let’s strongly oppose a national ID system for Filipinos.

Islamic State is rapidly expanding in Southeast Asia By Josh Rogin Bloomberg View

HE Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has ramped up its activities in Southeast Asia so effectively that there is now an entire military unit of terrorists recruited from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, according to the Singaporean prime minister. “Southeast Asia is a key recruitment center for ISIS,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the Shangri-La Dialogue here in Singapore on Friday. He noted that this included more than 500 Indonesians and dozens of Malaysians. “ISIS has so many Indonesian and Malaysia fighters that they form a unit by themselves—the Katibah Nusantara—Malay Archipelago Combat Unit,” he added. Even in the small and tightly controlled city-state of Singapore, “a few” young men have gone to Syria to join the ISIS ranks, and even more were intercepted trying to leave, Lee disclosed. He said the Singaporean authorities had recently arrested two students, one 17 and the other 19. The latter had planned to assassinate Singaporean government officials if he was unable to reach the Middle East. “This is why Singapore takes terrorism, and in particular ISIS, very seriously,” Lee said. “The threat is no longer over there; it is over here.”

Gospel

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Lee revealed that the ISIS has posted a propaganda and recruitment video showing Malay-speaking children training with weapons inside territory controlled by the terror group, and that two Malaysians were identified in a separate video carrying out the beheading of a Syrian man. Lee also said the Malaysian police have arrested several people who were planning to go to Syria to join the terrorist group, including some members of the Malaysian armed forces. Some were planning attacks inside Malaysia. Meanwhile, several jihadist groups in Southeast Asia have pledged allegiance to the ISIS, including Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah, whose leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, announced his allegiance from his prison cell last year. The ISIS has said it intends to establish a province of its “caliphate” in Southeast Asia. Lee said the idea was a “grandiose, pie-inthe sky dream.” But he warned that it’s entirely feasible that the group could take advantage of some ungoverned spaces to establish a foothold from which to expand recruiting and plan attacks in the new host countries. “That would pose a serious threat to the whole of Southeast Asia,” Lee said. Starting Friday, Singapore will contribute a KC-135 tanker plane

OW, the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And, when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given

to the international coalition fighting against Islamic State forces in the Middle East. The deployment is symbolic, but Lee emphasized that the fight against Islamic extremism was just beginning, and, like the Cold War, would surely take decades to win. “Fifty years from now, I doubt the scourge of extremist terrorism will have entirely disappeared,” he told the forum. “Remember that Soviet Communism, another historical dead end, took 70 years to collapse, and that was a nonreligious ideology.” Terrorism in Southeast Asia is not new. More than 200 people died in the Bali bombings in 2002. Jemaah Islamiyah almost succeeded in a plot to bomb diplomatic offices in Singapore just after September 11, 2001. But the development that Southeast Asian terror groups are now f lying the black Islamic State flag—and that young men from the region are saluting—is a huge problem. The current US-led fight against the ISIS is largely limited to the Middle East. But the jihadists’ approach to fighting the West has no geographic boundaries. Unless the anti-ISIS coalition does more to cooperate with countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, the terror group will just expand its recruiting and attacks across the globe.

to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”— Matthew 28:16-20

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, May 31, 2015 A5

Catholicism wins the Cold War B

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

EFORE thousands of Salvadoran faithful, packed tightly in the central square of the city where he was assassinated, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero was beatified by the Vatican as a martyr of the Catholic religion. He will be the first martyred saint of the New Rome—as the United States used to be called though the distinction has since passed on, possibly to China, by the retreat of American power from the world and the grave respect shown by US President Obama when he visited Romero’s tomb in 2011. Romero, writes Paul Villely in his beautiful but weirdly apologetic account in The New York Times, was murdered at the altar as he celebrated Mass in San Salvador by one of the death squads propping up “an unholy alliance” of the rich, the army, the CIA and conservative bishops “who identified him with liberation theology.” Romero’s crime, says Villely, was to tell the US-backed military from the pulpit to stop killing innocent civilians. After his murder, conservative bishops blocked the path to his canonization perhaps because he was killed, not by pagans, but by Central American Catholic assassins sponsored by American Protestants although the CIA, at the time he was murdered, was run by a Catholic. I forget his name. They are all so forgettable. And yet Romero was encouraged

in his preferential option for the poor by the seemingly gentle but deeply subversive Pope Paul VI who was the main, if discreet, strategist of liberation theology. Indeed, Romero carried out to the letter the Church’s duty to work for the social and economic liberation of the downtrodden, rather than merely for their spiritual uplifting so that heaven makes up in the next life for the hell of their lives in this one, without making the rich pay for the improvements. Romero was Opus Dei; yet that orientation did not stop him from morally vomiting on the savage violence practiced by the rich on the poor—and on those who spoke up for them. Within weeks of his appointment as archbishop, a close friend, Fr. Rutilio Grande, who campaigned to give land to the landless and wages to workers—that was novelty in many parts of the Free World then—was murdered. Some 3,000 poor people, including priests, were murdered monthly by the US-backed military. Asked by a reporter what he did as archbishop, Villely recounts, Romero answered, “I pick up bodies.” With every outrage perpetrated on the poor, Romero protested louder until a Free World bullet stopped his mouth at the altar. The urn containing his bloodied shirt was put on display at his beatification this week. Villely, who has followed Romero’s career, written about it, and criticized

conservative attempts to prevent his elevation to sainthood, protests too much that Romero was no liberation theologian. And yet Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, chief advocate of his sainthood, called Romero “a martyr of the Church of the second Vatican Council,” which tried mightily to pry Catholic theology from the grip of the rich and return it to the poor. In the teeth of conservative griping against him, Pope Paul VI told Romero, “Courage! Take heart. You are the one in charge.” When he was summoned to Rome to be confronted with thick folders of accusations against him, all of them lies, and roundly berated by a conservative cardinal, he turned to Pope Paul for guidance; the pontiff urged him again “to proceed with courage.” Even the anticommunist Pope John Paul II would not strip Romero of his duties and told conservative critics to “back off,” anticipating Mike Arroyo at Wack-Wack. What Romero was not, says Villely, was a Marxist. In a 1978 sermon, Romero said, “A Marxist Church would be not only self-destructive but senseless because Marxist materialism destroys the church’s transcendent meaning.” But in 1978, Romero was just starting to discover the nogood that capitalism was up to. Indeed, Marxism also failed to appreciate the historical facts put forth again by the neoliberal American historian Francis Fukuyama to show that it was the “transcendent” Catho-

lic Church—and not down-to-earth, hand-to-mouth Protestant pastors beholden to the bourgeoisie, as Weber mistakenly argued—who created the modern institutions that made capitalism possible in the West: like governing by bureaucratic expertise rather than nepotism; the rule of law and not whimsy like in Islam where religion was subordinated to the current warlord; the preeminence of individualism because salvation, like guilt, is singular and not collective; consequently, gender equality so that pious women inherited the same as impious men and could donate their wealth to the Church; the honesty engendered by chastity (no wives to corrupt men nor children for them to favor); the intellectual focus of monastic isolation (which Apple encourages); the efficiency of assembly line factory systems that were established in medieval monasteries whose domains were self-sufficient economies in themselves until they were ruined by the influx of American silver, according to Gilberto Freyre; and the subordination of power and authority to moral purpose (which the Chinese never learned across 3,000 years of modern state government). John Paul II bestowed the title of Servant of God on Romero. He told Salvadoran bishops that Romero was a martyr. Pope Benedict followed by calling him “a man of great Christian virtue” and ordered the path to

Romero’s sainthood unblocked. When Francis became pope, he exposed to the media that “the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith”—as the Inquisition has been rebranded—was blocking Romero’s canonization “out of prudence.” But, said the pontiff, “for me, Romero is a man of God.” And so now it is official Catholic teaching: Romero is a Catholic martyr who “was not killed for political reasons but died because of odium fidei”—or hatred of the Catholic faith. He was killed by US-sponsored, procapitalist Salvadoran death squads because he practiced Catholic teaching instead of just preaching it, which is the preferential posture for priests as far as Wall and Lombard Streets are concerned. Francis said, “We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor.” There you go. Clearly, the Vatican is up to something. First, it beatifies two and soon, three Arab Palestinians to show the moral score in the Middle East and now a man of God killed for his Catholicism by a CIA-sponsored death squad. Clearly, the Church is turning its face away from the North and the West where faith is feeble; to the South and East where it is fervid. So who won the Cold War? Communism? Hardly. Capitalism? No. Catholicism—and this is the celebration of that victory.

Why, more than ever, UN peacekeeping needs global support By Hervé Ladsous

Undersecretary-General for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations

IGHTEEN months ago, Bentiu, like most towns in South Sudan, was bustling with the restlessness of markets, people trading and children going to school. UNMISS, the UN Mission in South Sudan, was busy supporting development and growth in the world’s youngest nation. Today, a visitor to the UN Mission’s base outside Bentiu in Unity State, would see a sea of blue and white tarpaulin tents and hastily erected stalls. The base has become temporary home to some 63,000 civilians seeking protection from the cataclysm of violence that has gripped the new state of South Sudan since the outbreak of the political crisis in December 2013. The town of Bentiu itself remains deserted, its main dirt road lined with the grim evidence of an ongoing war in the absence of a final peace agreement between government and opposition forces. The story is repeated across the country. Today, more than 130,000 are being protected by UN peacekeepers in seven bases, with civilians continuing to arrive at UN protection sites as they flee unimaginable suffering and grave human-rights violations.

The reality is that our peacekeepers are often the only hope for a better life for the civilians they are mandated to serve. In other places where peacekeeping missions are deployed today, there is little peace to keep. In some of the harshest conditions on Earth, UN personnel must negotiate complex threats each day amid political instability, with large, often terrified populations to protect. They work to provide security in these places, while pursuing a political solution to ongoing conflict. This is the case in Mali, where peacekeepers strive to bring stability while bearing the brunt of violent attacks from armed groups. Since the establishment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali in July 2013, 36 peacekeepers have been killed and more than 170 others have been wounded in hostile incidents alone. It is also the case in the Central African Republic, where we are seeing encouraging signs following the 2013 breakdown in law and order and widespread ethnically motivated violence. Here, 10,000 UN troops, police and civilians are on the ground, supporting efforts to bring the country back on to the path of peace, good governance and stability. Earlier in May,

the country adopted a peace pact that reflects the people of the Central African Republic’s aspirations to put the conflict behind them once and for all. Our peacekeepers battle inhospitable terrain and an almost complete lack of infrastructure every day to react quickly to flare-ups of violence which, if left unchecked, could threaten this fragile peace. This year’s International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, May 29, falls during the significant 70th anniversary of the UN. Over the course of nearly seven decades, UN peacekeeping has proven itself to be a legitimate, reliable and effective means of protecting civilians and facilitating the transition from conflict to peace. In countries like Liberia, Timor-Leste and Bosnia Herzegovina, peacekeeping has played a critical role in helping stabilize countries as they seek to rebuild. Today, more than 125,000 military, police and civilian staff carry on this work in 16 peacekeeping operations world-wide, our largest deployment in history, serving as a testament to the international community’s faith in peacekeeping as a tool for bringing peace and security. But for UN peacekeeping to continue responding effectively and robustly to the conflicts of today and tomorrow,

it needs a strengthened international partnership and the willingness of all to share the burden and risk. In environments where peacekeepers are directly targeted, where widespread violence is ongoing, or where thousands of civilians need protection from unthinkable acts of violence, peacekeeping operations must remain fit for purpose. Our missions require well-trained and skilled troops from a broad array of countries. When crises erupt, they must be ready to deploy more quickly to where they are most needed. And to confront the unique challenges of this century, peacekeepers require the tools and capabilities of this century. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles are being used to improve situational awareness, serve as a deterrent to armed groups and improve mandate delivery and the safety and security of our personnel. In Mali, an innovative Information Fusion Cell is improving the information-gathering efforts of the peacekeeping mission as it confronts determined nonstate actors and armed groups. As we honor the 126 peacekeepers who died in 2014, these tools help our Blue Helmets to better protect themselves and

vulnerable populations. A renewed engagement of all member-states of the UN is critical. This process has already begun and will receive a major boost in the margins of this year’s general assembly when the secretary-general and several world leaders will co-host a summit on UN peacekeeping. For its part, UN peacekeeping is determined to be more innovative, more flexible and more cost-effective. With an annual budget of just under $8.5 billion—less than one half of 1 percent of global military spending—we are working to increase our value for money and using new approaches to implement our mandates more effectively and efficiently. Peacekeeping missions deliver because they represent a convergence of interests that is the fundamental concept behind the UN. At a moment in history where new crises and conflicts emerge constantly, the stakes for peacekeeping are higher, and the consequences of failure are dire. The people of Bentiu, like the populations protected by missions around the world, today deserve a UN peacekeeping institution that is an effective tool of international peace and security. More than ever, today, UN peacekeeping needs global support.

What the US bombed before Ramadi fell By Eli Lake Bloomberg View

N the month before the city of Ramadi in western Iraq fell, US air strikes destroyed an armored personnel carrier, three humvees, three tanks, four mortars, four gunmounted pickup trucks and two vehicle bombs belonging to the Islamic State (IS) outside the city. On Friday Lt. Col. Brian Fickel, a spokesman for US Central Command, shared this data with me, adding that the

US also hit 25 “fighting positions” and 14 pieces of “miscellaneous equipment.” Fickel told me Centcom disputed aspects of my column on Thursday, which disclosed how US intelligence agencies were able to observe the IS’s buildup of forces and equipment prior to the decisive battle, but, the Pentagon “did not order air strikes against the convoys before the battle started.” (I spoke with Centcom before publishing that column, but was not given the information Fickel has

since provided.) Fickel said the data showed there were strikes on the IS’s “staging positions” prior to and during the battle, but he did not claim that convoys traveling on the open road to Ramadi were among the targets ahead of time. Nor did Fickel say what percentage of the overall equipment IS forces brought to the battle was destroyed by US air strikes. In sum, the new Centcom data show there was 11 in and around

Ramadi on May 15 and 16, the days in which the Iraqi troops left their posts. In the crucial time before the jihadists’ assault— between May 3 and 15—on only four days did the US conduct air strikes against staging areas and IS fighters. Derek Harvey, a retired Army colonel who advised Gen. David Petraeus on counterinsurgency strategy during the surge in Iraq, told me on Friday that the numbers of destroyed vehicles disclosed by Fickel represented a “dribble” com-

pared with the overall force the IS brought to Ramadi. “The strikes were measured, they left a lot of targets off the table that could have been struck,” Harvey said. “Clearly, we did not do enough to interdict, disrupt and defeat the enemy when they had to move across open space for the most part. And when it came to urban combat, we did not have the spotters in place that would have provided more accurate targets.”

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PNR expected to resume operations in 2 weeks

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

HE Philippine National Railways (PNR) is expected to resume operations early in June to ease the worsening traffic in Metro Manila, a government official said. Department of Transportation and Communications Spokesman Michael Arthur C. Sagcal said the government aims to reopen the line for commercial use starting next week. “The target is within the first two weeks of June, but [the PNR will not resume operations] before we get an expert safety certification,” he said. The oldest at grade railway system in the Philippines stopped operations this month, after one of its coaches derailed near Nichols Station

in Pasay in April, resulting in more than 50 passengers injured. Earlier, Diosdado N. Silva, the train line’s assistant general manager, explained that the service was halted so that the government can conduct an exhaustive inspection of its tracks to ensure the safety of its passengers and trains. A team from the Cologne, Germany-based technical and safety provider TÜV Rheinland Group is now conducting a review of the railway line’s state.

The investigation is expected to yield a precise inventory of missing or needed parts such as rail joints, angle bars and rail clips—which will then be procured and installed in order to allow the PNR to resume its operations as soon as possible. Prior to the incident, the railway system had been serving the Tutuban-Calamba route daily. Transportation expert Rene S. Santiago earlier told the BusinessMirror that underinvestment ultimately caused the poor state of the railway system. At present, the PNR commuter line operates from Tutuban to Santa Rosa City, Laguna, covering 23 stations over a stretch of 50 kilometers, and from Naga to Sipocot in Camarines Norte with route length of 35 km. The government has ensured that the railway system will soon see improvements, as it plans to develop the dilapidated line through the P287-billion NorthSouth Railway Project. The first phase of the facility will involve the construction of a 36.7-km nar-

row gauge elevated commuter railway from Malolos, Bulacan, to Tutuban in Manila. It is seen to be completed by the third quarter of 2020. The second phase, which will extend the commuter rail up to Matnog, Sorsogon, will be completed by the forth quarter of 2019. The two-phase deal will be implemented under the official development assistance and Public-Private Partnership Program. The PNR is also expecting the arrival of two secondhand donated trains from Japan in the coming weeks. Aside from replacing missing parts and constructing double-track rails, the line has other rehabilitation projects for near-term implementation, such as roofing extension to shield passengers from heat and rain, installation of turnstiles in major stations, and rail and comfort-room rehabilitation. These immediate improvements are targeted for completion by the end of 2015 or early next year.

Manual for rescue, rehab of marine turtles ready

Nurses to the rescue

The Philippine Red Cross (PNR) recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA). Under the MOA, PNA members will become part of the PRC Nursing Corps, and will be mobilized in case of mass casualty incidents to man PRC’s emergency field hospitals. In the photo (from left) are Sheila Bonito, Edward Malzan, Mela delia Llanes, PRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon, PRC Secretary-General Gwendolyn Pang and Anne Claire Reyta, head of the PRC Health Services. Paul Drossou and Sebastien Jouffroy, both from the Canadian Red Cross, witnessed the signing.

HE Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has developed a manual for the rescue and rehabilitation of sea turtles. The Response Manual to Marine Turtle Incidents was developed in partnership with the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines through a grant program by GIZ’s Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Areas. It provides ways of responding to incidents involving pawikan and discusses a broad range of topics including the pawikan’s biology and the proper way by which to release the captured and distressed turtles back to sea. A guide for technical staff members, researchers, and conservation advocates, the manual also provides responses to marine turtle reports such as poaching, as well as rehabilitation and necropsy procedures. T he launching of the Response Manual to Marine Turtle Incidents is supported by GIZ’s Support to the Implementation of the Tri-National SSME Comprehensive Action Plan (GIZ-SSME), a project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. SSME aims to protect marine resources in the Sulu and Celebes-Sulawesi seas and smaller seas at the Coral Triangle. The GIZ-SSME project is also looking to translate the manual to different languages for distribution in Malaysia and Indonesia, both also belonging to the SuluSulawesi Seascape. Other manuals to be launched by GIZ and DENR-BMB in the future include rescue manuals on sharks, rays and other marine mammals. The manual was released in time for the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22. GIZ, DENR-BMB release manual on rescue, rehabilitation of marine turtles. According to the DENR, there’s an increase in nesting sites for marine turtles to 17,593 last year, indicating that conservation efforts are paying off. Five out of seven species of marine turtles can be found in the Philippines. However, the DENR-BMB said that marine turtles remain endangered and are threatened by hunting and poaching, trade, pollution, climate change, and other destructive human activities. Recent ly, photos of d ist ressed and dead marine turtles have been splashed all over the news, pushing the need for greater monitoring of Philippine seas. These marine turtles provide large contributions to balancing biodiversity in the world’s oceans. They facilitate nutrient transfer from water to land and vice versa, thus providing healthy ecosystems in both water and land.

PAL intl carrier of choice in ’14

LAG carrier Ph i l ippi ne Airlines (PAL) emerged as the carrier of choice for international travel last year, helping the local market sustain modest gains in terms of passenger throughput in 2014. International air traffic inched up modestly last year, as the decline in passenger throughput from foreign airlines offset the increase posted by local carriers. Data gathered by the Civil Aeronautics Board showed that overall international air traffic was at 17.92 million passengers last year, up by 3.5 percent as compared to the 17.32 million passenger print in 2013. Local airlines carried 9.19 million passengers in 2014, an 11-percent increase from the 8.19 million passengers served in 2013. Foreign carriers, however, saw their numbers tapering. They posted a 4.5-percent decline in passenger throughput to 8.72 million from 9.13 million. PAL remained the top carrier with international services last year, carrying 4.98 million passengers during the said period. Cebu Pacific served 3.19 million international passengers. AirAsia Zest carried more international passengers than last year at 704,513. Government officials were sought for comment, but none responded to the BusinessMirror’s queries. Domestic air traffic, meanwhile, remained flat in 2014, after PAL experienced a sharp drop in its customer volume during the period, offsetting the increase that its competitors reported. Local air travel stood at 20.35 million passengers as of endDecember, a hairline difference from 20.33 million passengers in 2013. Domestic and international air travel is expected to get a boost this year, after the regulator decided to scrap the fuel surcharge from airline fares owing to the declining prices of jet fuel in the international market. The fuel surcharge is a temporary relief granted to airlines to help them recover losses incurred from high fuel prices. It ranges from P500 to as high as P15,000, depending on the destination. Fuel accounts for as much as 60 percent of an airline’s operating cost per passenger, and is the second-highest expense next to labor. Data from the International Air Transport Association showed that jet fuel was at $78.70 per barrel as of May 22, down by 7.1 percent from the preceding month and 35.8 percent lower than the year-ago price. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Caap to acquire P600-M jet to check Navaids By Recto Mercene

HE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) board of directors has set aside P600 million to purchase an eight-seater, twin-engine jet as the permanent aircraft to be used to check all 41 navigational aids (Navaids) in the country. Currently, the agency is renting a Lear, at P100 million a year, to calibrate the Navaids, said Rodante Joya, Caap assistant director general for Operations. The Navaids are the very high-frequency omni-directional range, Instrument Landing System, nondirectional beacon and localizer systems. The Caap is opening the bid for the purchase of a Lear jet-type aircraft and hopes to find a supplier by the end of the year. If all goes well, the new jet could be purchased early next year, Joya said. All 41 Navaids undergo regular calibration to maintain their accuracy, Joya added. The Caap used to operate a twin-engine, turbo-prop KingAir, under the Flight Inspection and Calibration Group (FICG). However, the airplane needs repairs estimated at P140 million. Joya said the Caap balked at the company that wants to repair the engine because it could not guarantee that the KingAir would be made operational despite the high cost. “The FICG has decided that it would be better to buy a new flightcheck aircraft that could be used for decades rather than rent one at P100 million a year,” Joya said. He added that the old KingAir would probably still sell for about P20 million. Joya said the corresponding equipment to check the Navaids could be purchased in modular form and simply fitted inside the jet’s cabin. This would require a separate funding, he added. He said that, at the moment, an Australian company wants to bid for the supply of the jet, although the Caap said all interested parties may join the bidding. Another aircraft that the Caap own, is a single-engine, six-seater Cessna that is outmoded. Joya said the Caap is eyeing a replacement to the tune of P300 million to P400 million. The Caap needs these aircraft to maintain the integrity of the Navaids for the safety and security of the flying public, Joya said.

RegionsSunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

BusinessMirror

Sunday, May 31, 2015 A7

Power oversupply in Mindanao by early ’16 seen

By Lenie Lectura

OWER-HUNGRY Mindanao will have an oversupply of electricity starting early 2016, the energy department’s top official said. However, this does not guarantee that the country’s second-largest island will no longer experience any brownout after that time. “Based on projection, by late 2015 or early 2016 early, the start of oversupply will kick in. During that time, the supply will be enough then it will gain momentum of oversupply by 2017,” Energy Secretary

Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said in an interview. The demand for power in Mindanao has continuously increased through the years with rapid urbanization and increased industrialization yet, no new power could be sourced. Thus brownouts, for as long as 10 hours, crippled the region in the

Operators of South Luzon tollways ready for traffic as schools open

HE Southern Tollways System, composed of Skyway O&M Corp. (Somco), Manila Toll Expressways Systems Inc. (MATES) and Star Tollway Corp. (STC), operators of the Skyway System, South Luzon Expressway (Slex) and Star Tollway, respectively, started implementing Oplan Ligtas Biyahe, Balik Eskwela 2015, on Friday. The project, designed to ensure a safer and more convenient travel on the south toll roads, will last until June 15. Somco, MATES and STC expect students and summer vacationers from nearby provinces return to Metro Manila, and vice versa, before public elementary and high schools open on June 2 and private schools and colleges on June 8. School-opening traffic is normally heavy during the first two weeks, which the toll-road operators seriously prepare for. Some road-improvement and traffic enhancement measures, both short- and long-term, are now in place. In Skyway at-grade section, for instance, where the Bicutan and the Sucat interchanges are perennial choke points, Somco opened in

March alternative exits for southbound motorists, which have been very effective in declogging the toll-plaza traffic. The structural rehabilitation and asphalt resurfacing of the Alabang Viaduct, a traffic-dense stretch of Slex, have recently been completed, on top of the repavement works on both directions between Filinvest and Santa Rosa, among others. Meanwhile, at Star Tollway, an entirely new toll plaza at the Lipa–Santo Toribio opened to traffic on April 30, 2015, which now considerably eases traffic in Lipa, areas near the University of Lipa and other tourist and recreational destinations, as well as industrial parks. During the critical first two weeks of school opening, Somco, MATES and STC will deploy additional traffic enforcers and motorcycle units strategically inside their areas of jurisdiction and the nearby vicinities, especially at identified entryexit choke points, where ambulant tellers will be assigned during the peak traffic hours, as needed. Medical emergency and towing services will be available to provide assistance to motorists in distress.

past. As fear worsened, the private sector, particularly the bigwigs who hail from the region, made a commitment to start building new power plants. “There will be an oversupply, because the commercial operation of the many firsts among the many units of power plants of Aboitiz, San Miguel, Alsons, FDC will be put up simultaneously,” Petilla said. Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc.’s (ACR) Sarangani Energy Corp. is in the advanced stages of construction of its first 105-megawatt (MW) coal-power plant in Maasim, Sarangani. “In 2015 we shall see the beginning of the end to the Mindanao power shortage. By end of this year,

WO party-list lawmakers and two other personalities on Thursday filed charges against members of the the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels owing to alleged unconstitutional provisions in the proposed Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR). Facing the treason charges, which were filed before Senior Deputy City Prosecutor Eufrosino A. Sulla at the Manila City Hall, were government peace panel members Miriam Colonel-Ferrer, Marivic Leonel, Senen Bacani, Yasmin BusranLao, Mehol Sadain, Zenonida Broas. Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos Deles is also facing charges as part of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) Transition Commission. On the side of the MILF peace panel and BBL Transition Commission, charged were Mohager Iqbal, Datu Michael Mastura, Maulana Alonto, Abdull Camilian, Datu Antonio Kino, Ibrahim Ali, Talib Abdulhamid Benito, Pedrito Eisma, Raissa Jajurie, Froilyn Mendoza, Hussein Munoz, Akmad Sakkam, Said Shiek, Asani Tammang, Timuay Melanio Ulama and Johaira Wahab.

DATU, Angeles, David Memorial Foundation President Virgilio David (center right) and the group’s secretary, Christie Datu (center left) discuss the projects of their foundation, as well as other topics including national security issues with officers and members of the Capampangan in Media Inc. at the forum “Batirulan qñg Café Juan” at the Holy Angel University in Angeles City on Friday. Ashley Manabat

NGELES CITY—A homegrown foundation in Pampanga, which aims to uplift the overall well-being of the less-fortunate members of the society through medical assistance and other works of charity, has come to fore. The Datu, Angeles, David Memorial Foundation Inc. (DADMFI), a foundation composed of the Datu Angeles, David and Mallari families of Bacolor, Pampanga, together with its sister foundation based in the US, the Love for Life Foundation Inc., have accelerated their altruistic activities in the last quarter of their partnership with the Kapampangan Development Foundation. DADMFI President Virgilio M. David said the foundation also aims to boost the legacy of their patriarch Dr. Jesus A. Datu by supporting the Jesus A. Datu

in February 2016. “Aboitiz Power’s main interest is to help Mindanao avoid repeating the big problem of the past where it failed to build the power plants needed before the demand for power kicked in. As a consequence, most parts of Mindanao have, for years and until today, been ex per iencing prolonged and frequent brownouts and it’s growth and development has been severely affected,” said Manuel Orig, AboitizPower first vice president for Mindanao affairs. San Miguel Corp.’s first 150 MW of the planned 600-MW power facility is expected to commercially operate in the early part of next year. Likewise, FDC’s 135 MW out of

the 405-MW total capacity will be finished middle of next year. “It’s a full-blown construction. Whether it would be finished in time is another question,” Petilla said. However, Petilla said Mindanao may continue to experience rotating brownouts even if there is oversupply. “I can’t predict. The dates of commissioning and commercial operation are all based on their submission,” Petilla added. “You will never know until they are commissioning. When actual target date is still far, they are on schedule. However, as the target date nears you see the possible delays. They are the ones building their power facilities so all we can do is wait,” Petilla said.

Treason charges filed vs government, MILF peace panel members over BBL

Homegrown foundation uplifts lives of poor

By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] will operate the first 105 MW of its 210-MW coal plant in Sarangani. SEC will generate muchneeded base- load power to help provide solution to Mindanao,” ACR Corporate Secretary Roberto San Jose said. ACR Chairman and President Tomas Alcantara said 2015 is the beginning of the end to Mindanao’s power shortage. “We now see light at end of tunnel in Mindanao.” Therma South Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power, is set to commercially operate Unit 2 (150 MW) of its base-load power plant by end of June this year. The commercial operation of Unit 1, which was delayed for 10 months, is scheduled

Medical Center, a special hospital catering to eye operations, prosthetics manufacturing and a mother and child-care facility. During the media forum “Batirulan qñg Café Juan” organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc., the Clark Development Corp. and the Holy Angel University here on Friday, DADMFI Secretary Christie B. Datu said the late Dr. Datu wanted to help the less fortunate in his own way. Datu said the vision for DADMFI is “to be recognized and respected as an admirable nonprofit medical facility that is competently and compassionately able to provide medical services to indigenous and unfortunate populace.” He said “its mission is to provide diagnostic and therapeutic medical services to indigenous patients to uplift their well-being, thereby improving their ability to serve their family, as well as their community.”

Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay, one of the complainants, said the BLBAR is against the 1987 Constitution. “We have decided to take the matter as a party issue. We have filed a complaint against the government negotiating panel for Treason and Inciting to Sedition. The government, instead of protecting the interest of the Republic, has given in to all the demands of the MILF. This has put the entire nation in a dilemma. Buhay Party-list stands for peace—but it should be achieved in accordance

with the Constitution,” Atienza said. Party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz of Abakada, former Ambassador Jose Romero Jr. and lawyer Jeremy Gatdula are also signatories to the complaint. The complainants, in their 34page complaint, said the “acts of the respondents, in executing the Framework Agreement [on the Bangsamoro] and in proposing the BBL, also effectively aided the MILF armed forces to successfully assert their existence as a separate and independent state. Therefore, the respondents must be held liable for

the crime of treason…” “We are not for violence and war. We are for peace. But peace that will continue uniting the nation and not disintegrating it. What they are approving now are provisions which are dangerous, to say the least. The creeping expansion provision was retained; by 10-percent vote, contiguous barangays can opt to join the Bangsamoro later on. The amendment to guaranteeing nonsecession of the Bangsamoro later on was stricken down,” Atienza added. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

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GSIS

GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM Maaasahan ng Lingkod-Bayan

Sunday, May 31, 2015

GSIS: DOING GREAT AT 78

N its 78th year, the Government Service Insurance System reaffirms its commitment to provide the most responsive service to its over 1.8 million members and pensioners.

Through the years, GSIS carried out a host of reforms to transform the System into a caring institution that is more consultative, transparent, and member-focused. Of importance: increased the minimum pension to Php5,000, restored survivorship pension, lifted the suspension of loan privileges for employees working in suspended agencies, revoked the Annual Renewal of Active Status for pensioners, enhanced accessibility of services for its members through the deployment of close to a thousand GWAPS kiosks nationwide, and renewed partnership with LANDBANK as an additional servicing bank.

2014 in Retrospect

2014 was a record-breaking year for GSIS in terms of financial performance and exemplary service delivery. No less than President Benigno S. Aquino III, during the 2015 GOCC Dividends Day at the Bulwagang Rizal in Malacañang Palace, cited the impressive performance of the GSIS. “Bigyan natin ng other success stories. GSIS income in 2010 was at Php64 billion. In 2014, it’s now Php140 billion. Can we give a big hand to Bernie Vergara and the whole team. (Its) assets worth Php567 billion in 2010 is now Php910 billion. Claims and benefits from Php46 bil-

PRESIDENT Aquino gives a congratulatory handshake to GSIS PGM Robert G. Vergara for the GSIS “success story” during the Dividends Day last May 13 in Malacañang.

lion, has reached Php84 billion…,” President Aquino said tracing the financial growth of the pension fund in the last five years. The processing of claims continues to improve with the reduction in the number of documentary

GSIS TOTAL INCOME (in Billion Pesos)

GSIS TOTAL ASSETS (in Billion Pesos)

91.2% 88.7%

requirements, electronic crediting of benefits (retirement, life insurance, survivorship and pre-need) to the accounts of members, additional system enhancements and ‘file anywhere’ policy. In 2014, GSIS adopted a risk system that closely monitors the processing efficiency of its 56 branch and extension offices. As a result, 96% of all retirement and separation claims are processed well

within the 90-day turnaround time. More importantly, GSIS was recognized by the Civil Service Commission as the top government agency in its annual survey of frontline service agencies last year, garnering an overall average rating of 91 percent in its Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) customer feedback survey, with no branch scoring a failing mark. This is a far cry from the 2012

survey covering 45 branch offices, where GSIS received a “Failed” overall rating. In the 2013 survey covering 28 branch offices, the pension rebounded with an average rating of 89% or “Good.” In addition, eight offices received a Seal of Excellence Award for exemplary service. In 2014, GSIS further improved its rating with an overall grade of “Excellent” for its 56 branch offices. Eleven branch offices have already earned a Seal of Excellence—Baguio, Bayombong, Borongan, Bulacan, Butuan, Dipolog, Laoag, Pasay, Surigao, Tagum, and Tuguegarao. In the next 400 days or so left, the focus of the pension fund remains upholding the interest and welfare of its members and pensioners. Empowering its stakeholders through the conduct of dialogues will continue, recognizing the important role they play in the evolution of the System, through their voice. Amendments to the GSIS charter will continue to be pursued to legislate reforms in line with being service responsive. These include establishing a members’ bill of rights, designation of beneficiary by single members before age 50, removal of remarriage and cohabitation as grounds for the cancellation of survivorship benefit, and lifting of the prescription period for claims.