BusinessMirror May 26, 2015

PHL ECONOMY TO SEE 6% AVERAGE GROWTH FROM 2015 TO 2019–IHS

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HE Philippines is among the top 5 countries in the world with fastest economic growth both in medium and long term, according to United States-based think tank IHS Global Insight.

In its IHS Economics Global Executive Summary published this month, IHS forecasts that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow at an average of 6 percent from 2015 to 2019.

The country’s medium-term GDP growth will be the fourth fastest economic growth in the world, next to India’s projected average medium-term GDP growth of 7.8 percent, Vietnam’s 6.8 percent and China’s 6.7 percent.

The foreseen 6-percent average GDP growth of the Philippines in the medium

2006, 2010, 2012

U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

Life

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‘TOMORROWLAND’ BATTLES ‘PITCH PERFECT 2’ AT THE TOP »D2

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

New Focus Global showrooms

THE Lily

European luxury in New Manila

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B JT N

CHOLARLY lectures and articles both in print and online have time and again celebrated the Manila of decades past—the utopian version of what we have today in terms of cleanliness, beauty and a booming economy, among other aspects. It was a Manila that was hailed as the “Paris of Asia.”

With the recently opened Dhalton Home, Paris and the rest of Europe once again lives in this metropolis—at a furniture store, at least, and most likely in not a few homes. Located at the Robinsons Magnolia complex in New Manila, Dhalton Home prides itself as a furniture “gallery,” where first-rate furnishings mostly sourced from Denmark are expertly curated to parlay the brand’s values of modern luxury and elegance.

These traits and more are evident even at the gallery’s doorstep. With classical music to go with the sumptuous blend of colors that bring the store to life, from light sea foam greens, golds and browns to the interiors fretted with greens and French doors, it’s easy to picture oneself at a quaint garden chateau in summertime in Europe.

According to Dhalton Home Creative Director Geoffrey Chua, who knows his way around the word “luxury” having worked with the best design houses in Manila, Hond Kong, New York and Shanghai, and for several upscale residential projects and A-list clients, this vibe of classy opulence is exactly what he wants for every visitor of the store. He wants them to feel regal.

That is why he made sure the products the store carries, as well as the quality of service, are within the brand’s standards.

According to the news release for the gallery’s opening, “Most of the sofas and cabinets are manufactured in Denmark and other parts of Europe, and coordinated by our single

in the country to date.

Guests partook of appetizers and aperitifs as they enjoyed the visual feast of kitchen layouts from Siematic and the technologically advanced appliances from Miele of Germany, Sub-Zero built-in refrigerators and Wolf cooking appliances.

The latest bath and wellness technologies designed to pamper were also showcased, with inspiring selections from German brands Dornbracht and Villeroy & Boch. B&B Italia’s showroom highlighted contemporary furniture developed in collaboration with internationally known designers, while a floor featured the modern lines, as well as timeless furniture pieces from US-based Ethan Allen. Guests were also able to fully appreciate the design concepts from window treatment expert Hunter Douglas and Pella windows and doors from the US. Focus Global’s new showrooms ate situated at the newly constructed Twenty-four Seven McKinley building at the intersection of 24th Street, 7th Avenue and McKinley Parkway in BGC.

THE launching of the new Focus Global Inc. showrooms at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) turned out to be a night of fun among business associates and friends. The guests who turned up for the grand opening enjoyed entertainment along with the exclusive preview of top-of-the-line home furnishings.

Focus Global founder and President Stephen Sy and wife, Executive Vice President Lolita Sy, played gracious hosts at the newest home for their partner brands.

Present to congratulate the company were B&B Italia chairman and CEO Giorgio Busnelli, Villeroy & Boch board member and ninth-generation family owner Michel Von Boch, Ethan Allen SVP for Business Development Dan Grow, Hunter Douglas VP for Asia Jim Tan, SieMatic Export Director Matthias Weiss, Miele Director for Export Sales Athmane Lakhlifi, Sub-Zero and Wolf sales director for Asia Pacific Edmund Schorr, and Dornbracht International Managing Director Paul Heldens.

Each gave a brief congratulatory toast for the launch of the biggest lifestyle home hub

DHALTON Home Creative Director Geoffrey Chua

supplier in Canada. Items, such as the jars and vases are kilned and hand-painted in Shanghai. We also have items that are made locally.”

The string that sews all the products together is the fine attention to details and superior quality ensured by state-of-theart technology. For one, the matchless lacquer finish is a product of an infrared lacquer booth that tops all lacquered products with a defined mirror-like finish.

Some fine finds in Dhalton Home include the Elizabeth signature piece, a hand-painted peony console table made of solid wood, medium-density fibreboard and veneer.

Another is the chair of slate blue studded camelback club with cool grey legs, called the Lily, which is made of cotton line blend, comfortable foam, and sturdy hardwood.

Aside from the superb pieces, Dhalton Home also offers high-quality customer service with free interior design consultation exclusive to its clients. The service includes assistance in choosing furniture and its arrangement for the total look. Clients can also opt for true personalization from a choice of fabric swatches or paint color provided by designers, but customization is limited to key products only.

Through one furniture gallery, at least, we can see firsthand how Manila, at its peak, drew comparisons to one of the most famous cities in the world. ■

THE Chester Sofa

LIFE

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B3-1 | Tuesday, May 26, 2015 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

S “PHL ,” A

Qatar (-8.8)

Source: IHS Economic Global Executive Summary

A broader look at today’s business TfridayNovember 18,2015 2014Vol.Vol.1010No.No.22940 Tuesday, May 26,

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P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

LTHOUGH the government intended to spend as much as it could in the first three months to optimize this year’s growth, fiscal officials on Monday reported instead of a budget deficit 60 percent lower year-on-year to only P33.5 billion.

S “S,” A

IN this photo taken on May 19, Harmondsworh Great Barn, a medieval timber framed barn built in 1426-7, stands in Harmondsworth in London. Residents of the village close to Heathrow Airport are campaigning against the expansion of the airport, which they claim will decimate their community. AP/KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH

Heathrow airport expansion to take out entire UK villages

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ONDON—With its classic red phone booth, pub and medieval church, Harmondsworth’s center looks quintessentially British. But the search for a wee English village isn’t what brings millions of people within a stone’s throw of its boundaries.

surviving neighborhoods will have to cope with increased noise, pollution and traffic.

The issue is so toxic that politicians created an independent commission to weigh the options. Government officials then postponed a decision until after the May 7 election, effectively taking the matter off the political agenda, if but briefly.

The commission is set to make its recommendation as soon as next month. It will then be up to political leaders to make the final decision. A furious public-relations battle has raged in advance, with placards all over London’s subway system, for example, extolling the virtues of Heathrow or Gatwick. The commission has already rejected other options, including Mayor Boris Johnson’s proposal for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

According to the commission, all three remaining proposals, including two different plans to expand Heathrow, would meet the region’s needs, though the costs and potential benefits would vary. Gatwick, for instance, would cost an estimated £9.3 billion and boost Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) by as much

as £127 billion. The most expensive Heathrow project would cost twice as much and boost GDP by up to £211 billion, the commission estimates.

Making the right decision is crucial as London seeks to retain a competitive edge.

In a globalized world, airports of offer the opportunity for investment bankers, lawyers, consultants and engineers to make face-to-face connections in major markets where deals are made, said John Kasarda, director of the center for air commerce at the University of North Carolina’s KenanFlagler Business School.

“This is contact sport, particularly at the global level,” Kasarda said.

“This isn’t done over the net.”

And the ability to move—and connect—faster makes a country and its economy more competitive.

Opting not to expand is a tacit acknowledgement that the government is willing to have some of those jobs go to a competitor, such as Paris, Amsterdam or Dubai.

“It’s the survival of the fastest,” Kasarda said. “It’s no longer the big eating the small. It is the fast eating the slow.”

But there is a human cost, as communities like Harmondsworth and others that might be affected know all too well.

Heathrow external relations director Nigel Milton said he understands that some people are very upset, though he claims there are residents in Harmondsworth who support the project but might not want to come forward to support the idea. He acknowledges the local impact, but said the company would offer compensation packages—even to those whose homes would not need to be leveled but who would find themselves living next to a runway.

“We believe we are being fair,” he said.

Countries like Britain have struggled with the notion of balancing national gain with local pain. Harmondsworth and the nearby village of Sipson are “stylized examples of the challenge all big societies face: progress meets obstacles,” said Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics.

Britain has sought to strike a balance between growth and safeguarding its heritage, and grassroots conservation movements have grown up to protect cultural landmarks. Unlike communities such as Venice in Italy, Britain hasn’t allowed beauty to hamper progress—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taken into account.

“If Harmondsworth were not this beautiful village, this decision would be that much easier to make,” Travers said.

Local campaigners say they’ve been told the latest proposal would avoid landmarks like Saint Mary’s Church, which traces its history to the mid-11th century and the Great Barn, a 15th century oak-framed behemoth—192 feet long, 37 feet wide and 39 feet high—dubbed the “Cathedral of Middlesex” by the late poet laureate John Betjeman.

But opponents say the proposed runway would be so close to what’s left of the village that no one would be able to stand to live there because of the noise and the bad air. In other words, there’d be a church but no congregation, said archaeological scientist Justine Bayley.

“They have no concern that they are screwing up the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for their shareholders,” she said of her village and others along the flightpath and in west London who are affected by the noise. AP

JAPAN P TRADE DEFICIT SEEN PAN IN APRIL, MORE RED AHEAD

A VISITOR looks at a Honda S660 car displayed at a Honda showroom in TTokyo on April 28. Honda’s profit for the fiscal fourth quarter dropped 43 percent, as the costs of air-bag recalls offset the positives of a weak yen and strong vehicle sales in Asia. Honda Motor Co. reported on TTuesday a profit of ¥97.8 billion ($897 million) for January to March, down from ¥170.5 billion a year earlier. AP/SHUJI KAJIYAMA IY IYAMA

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OKYO—Japan posted a trade deficit in April following a singlemonth’s surplus in March, and economists said shortfalls were likely to persist given the weakness of the yen.

The ¥53.4-billion ($439.6-million) deficit in April for the world’s thirdbiggest economy compared with a ¥227.4-billion surplus in March, the first in several years.

But thanks to lower oil and gas prices, the deficit fell more than forecast, nearly 94 percent from April 2014, when the deficit was ¥825.5 billion, the Finance Ministry reported on Monday.

The Japanese yen, now trading around 121.6 to the US dollar, is at its lowest level in price-adjusted terms since January 1973, according to Richard Katz of The Oriental Economist Report.

That means imports are costing Japan more in relative terms than in past decades. Oil prices appear to have bottomed out, auguring further deficits, economists say.

“Overall, therefore, the trade balance will likely remain in the red in coming months,” Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said.

The overall trade balance slipped into deficit in 2011 as oil and gas imports

surged following the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, which led to closure of all of the country’s reactors for safety checks.

Japan’s trade deficit hit a record early last year as consumers stepped up purchases to beat a tax hike on April 1, 2014, which was followed by a brief recession.

Costs for importing oil and gas and a shift of Japanese manufacturing to over overseas markets yen, plus persistent weak weakness in key export markets, have so far precluded an export-led recovery.

A surge in visits by foreign tourists is helping, though demand overseas is sluggish, and inventories are rising due to higher imports late last year, said Masamichi Adachi, of JPMorgan.

“As a result, we think that both exports and imports will slow or even decline this quarter,” he said.

In April exports rose 8 percent yearon-year to ¥6.55 trillion ($53.9 billion), while imports dropped 4.2 percent to ¥6.6 trillion ($54.3 billion).

Japan’s exports to the US, Japan’s biggest market, rose 21 percent from a year earlier to ¥1.36 trillion ($11.2 billion), while imports from the US rose 24 per percent, to ¥714.1 billion ($5.9 billion). AP

MALAYSIA FINDS GRAVES OF SUSPECTED TRAFFICKING VICTIMS

A ROHINGYA Y migrant YA woman walks after taking a shower at a temporary shelter in Kuala Langsa, Aceh province, Indonesia, on May 24. Thousands of migrants—about half of them Bangladeshi and the others minority Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar—have landed ashore in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand since May 10.

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ANG KELIAN, Malaysia—Malaysian authorities said on Monday they have discovered 139 suspected graves in a series of abandoned camps used by human traffickers on the border with Thailand where Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar were believed to have been held.

Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said that a sweep of the hilly, jungle area found at least 28 camps along a 50-kilometer (30-mile) stretch of the bor border. At one of the camps, police found “a

AP/TAT TATA TAT TAN SYUFLANA

highly decomposed body” that would be examined by forensics experts as teams began the work of exhuming the areas believed to be graves.

“It is a very sad scene,” Abu Bakar told reporters in northern Perlis state at a police outpost several kilometers from the suspected camps, some of which, he said, appeared to have been abandoned two to three weeks ago.

“We have discovered 139 of what we believe to be graves,” he said, describing them mostly as mounds of earth,

covered by leaves and marked by sticks.

“Forensics teams have gone in to exhume any remains.”

“We accept that there are syndicates involved in this and their main aim is for monetary gains,” he said. “We will investigate, and we will not condone anyone, including Malaysian officials.”

The finding follows a similar discovery earlier this month by police in Thailand, who unearthed dozens of bodies from shallow graves on the Thai side of the border. The grim discoveries are shed-

ding new light on the hidden network of jungle camps run by traffickers, who have for years held countless desperate people captive while extorting ransoms from their families.

Most of those who have fallen victim to the trafficking networks are refugees and impoverished migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, part of a wave of people who have fled their homelands to reach countries like Malaysia, where they hope to find work or live free from persecution. AP

WORLD

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JAMES’S HISTORIC TRIPLEDOUBLE Sports

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JAMES’S HISTORIC

LEBRON JAMES, seen here powering his way past Atlanta’s Paul Millsap and Kent Bazemore (24), has passed both Jerry West and Karl Malone to move into sixth place on the National Basketball Association’s all-time postseason scoring list. His 12 triple-doubles are second only to Magic Johnson, who retired with 30. AP

LeBron James had 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists after missing his first 10 shots, and the Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-111, in overtime on Sunday to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

They will go for the sweep at home on Tuesday night.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE B J L

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Akron Beacon Journal

LEVELAND—LeBron James had a miserable start and a memorable finish. As a result, the Cavaliers are one win away from their second National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals trip in franchise history.

James had 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists after missing his first 10 shots, and the Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-111, in overtime on Sunday to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. They will go for the sweep at home on Tuesday night.

It was the Cavs’ second straight game without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who again sat with tendinitis in his left knee. They haven’t really needed him yet to beat the East’s top seed.

The Hawks had a chance to force a second overtime, but Shelvin Mack missed a pair of three-pointers in the game’s final seconds.

Guard JR Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Matthew

‘UNHAPPY’ FEDERER ARIS—Roger Federer was not amused.

As Federer finished an interview after his first-round French Open victory on Sunday, an overzealous fan left his seat and approached the 17-time major champion right there on the main stadium court in search of the most modern of mementos—a cell-phone selfie.

At first, Federer seemed startled. Then he looked uncomfortable, trying to brush away the unexpected guest, who appeared to be in his teens, before a guard led the spectator away. And in the end, Federer was angry at what he considered a serious lapse in security.

“I’m not happy about it. Obviously, not [for] one second [am I] happy about it,” Federer said, adding that something similar happened a day earlier, when several kids interrupted his practice session at Roland

Garros. “Normally I only speak on behalf of myself, but in this situation, I think I can speak on behalf of all the players—that that’s where you do your job, that’s where you want to feel safe.”

Tournament Director Gilbert Ysern headed to the locker room to offer a personal apology and also spoke to Federer’s wife, Mirka, in the players’ lounge. Ysern called it “embarrassing” and acknowledged Federer “has good grounds for being unhappy,” but chalked the whole thing up to “lack of judgment” on the part of the security staff that let the intruder get by.

“Honestly,”Ysern said at a news conference, “at this stage, there is no reason for us to change the security procedures.”

Ysern noted that tennis security was beefed up worldwide after then-No. 1 Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by someone who came out of the stands during

ROGER FEDERER expresses discomfort about on-court fan’s French Open selfie. AP

Dellavedova had 17 points in place of Irving for the Cavs, whose only other Finals trip was with James in 2007.

The Cavs are rolling; the Hawks are reeling.

Jeff Teague gave the Hawks a 111-109 overtime lead on a stepback three-pointer, but James took the lead right back on a three-pointer. James missed his first shot, but Tristan Thompson grabbed the offensive rebound and gave it back to him in the corner.

The Hawks had a chance to retake the lead, but Teague missed a lay-up with James pursuing him and the Hawks knocked the ball out of bounds with 30 seconds left.

James scored again on a drive to the basket over Paul Millsap with 13 seconds left, setting up the Hawks’ final possession.

The Hawks had a chance to win it in regulation, but Teague missed a clean look at a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Teague had 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and forward Paul Millsap had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks. Kent Bazemore had 14 points and seven rebounds filling in for injured guard Kyle Korver.

Typically mild-mannered Hawks center Al Horford was assessed a flagrant-2 and ejected in the final minute of the first half with the Cavs leading 48-47. Dellavedova and Horford were fighting for rebounding position when Dellavedova stumbled over DeMarre Carroll and fell into Horford’s leg.

Horford responded by dropping an elbow on Dellavedova, the same player who rolled up Korver’s leg in Game Two while diving for a loose ball. As a result, Korver is lost for the postseason.

After a lengthy review, Dellavedova was given a technical and Horford was ejected with 14 points and four rebounds, serving as the Hawks’ best offensive weapon to that point.

When the arena showed the replay on the scoreboard, fans

a changeover at a tournament in Germany in 1993.

“Given what happened with Seles and...[that] we live in a civilization that has gone a bit mad, it’s clear that we absolutely owe it to the players to allow them to play on the court,” Ysern said. “Fortunately, our sport doesn’t have fences and barbed wire around the courts. There’s not that physical separation that isn’t very pleasant.”

It was, certainly as far as Federer was concerned, the most noteworthy development on Day 1 at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament. Like No. 2 Federer, who beat Colombia’s Alejandro Falla, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, most seeded players progressed without a hitch.

No. 5 Kei Nishikori and No. 8 Stan Wawrinka, who both exited in the first round last year, won in straight sets, as did No. 24 Ernests Gulbis, a 2014 semifinalist. The only seeded men gone were No. 25 Ivo Karlovic, beaten

7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4 by 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, and No. 26 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, edged 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 3-6, 6-3 by 56th-ranked Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach, California.

Two seeded women headed home, too: No. 25 Peng Shuai, a 2014 US Open semifinalist, quit after being treated for a back injury, and No. 31 Caroline Garcia.

Among the winners were 2014 finalist Simona Halep and 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic.

Against Falla five years ago at Wimbledon, Federer lost the opening two sets of a first-round match before coming back to win. So on Saturday night, Falla watched 15 minutes of highlights from that close call “to get inspired.”

Didn’t help on Sunday against the 2009 French Open champion, because, as Falla explained, “When I played my best tennis, he also played really well.”

booed before breaking into a chant of “Del-ly!” for the secondyear undrafted point guard.

Dellavedova isn’t new to this. He got Bulls forward Taj Gibson ejected from a game in the conference semifinals after Dellavedova pinned Gibson’s leg between his own feet after a pileup on the floor. Gibson kicked Dellavedova trying to get loose and was given a flagrant-2 and also ejected.

Horford’s availability for Tuesday’s potential Game Four closeout remains in doubt. While a suspension seems unlikely, the league reviews all flagrant-2 fouls for potential ejections.

The Hawks stormed through the regular season, finishing as the East’s only 60-win team. But they were pushed to six games in each of their first two series and are now one more loss from getting swept out of the playoffs after beating the Cavs in three-of-four meetings during the regular season.

James shot 0-for-nine in the first quarter, the worst start to a game in his lengthy postseason career, while his 0-for-10 start was his worst in any game. It was just the third time in 171 playoff games he went scoreless in the first quarter.

James didn’t score until stepping to the free-throw line 16 minutes into the game and he didn’t score his first basket until 7:04 remained in the first half. Yet, he responded with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in an incredible third quarter to give the Cavs an 81-76 lead entering the fourth.

James appeared to injure his right knee in the overtime session and initially asked out of the game, but changed his mind and played through it. He hobbled around during game breaks and even had to call a time-out to give himself a chance to sit momentarily.

James passed both Jerry West and Karl Malone to move into sixth place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. His 12 triple-doubles are second only to Magic Johnson, who retired with 30.

Yes, Federer tends to do that.

And so it was that the most unsettling part of Federer’s afternoon came moments after his match concluded. The too-close-for-comfort encounter began with the spectator putting an arm around Federer’s shoulder and holding up a phone to try to snap photos.

Eventually, a guard pulled the kid away.

“It’s a risk for the players,” Falla said, “because anything can happen if a guy just can jump on the court.”

Federer pointed out that his 2009 final on the same court was interrupted when a man jumped over the photographer’s pit, went right up to the Swiss star and, oddly enough, tried to put a hat on him.

In a jab at the security staff, Federer said on Sunday that being a guard is “not just being there, standing there on the courts, wearing a nice tie and suit. It’s not that funny.” AP

SPORTS

Calax financial tenders known today–DPWH

THE EVERCHANGING BGC SKYLINE An illuminated construction site next to a building displaying signage for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG is seen through a building window at night in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig. The BGC has been seeing robust construction activities due to strong demand for office, retail and residential spaces in the area. BLOOMBERG

THE PRICE AND ‘PRIZE’ OF PEACE IN MINDANAO

B L S. M

| TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

BusinessMirror

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Japan (0.7)

This development could prove a problem down the line given that fiscal programming mandates for the deficit to widen as part of the broader goal to sustain growth for the long haul.

This is also proof last year’s spending restraints, which Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad traced to “lack of coordination and planning,” have not been effectively removed and are therefore a continuing threat to the growth blueprint.

HEATHROW AIRPORT EXPANSION

The attraction is neighboring Heathrow Airport, which served 73 million travelers last year. Now Europe’s busiest airport is proposing to build a runway roughly through the center of town, leveling the ivy-covered brick walls of the Harmondsworth Hall guest house and two-thirds of its homes. A village that traces its history to the 6th century would be forever altered, and some argue even what’s left would be uninhabitable.

“There’s no compensation pack package that would interest me,” said Neil Keveren, who chairs a local community group opposed to the expansion. “We have a historic village with buildings that go back 600 years. You cannot replace that. You cannot buy memories.”

Harmondsworth is under threat because London and southeastern England need more airport capacity to meet the growing demands of business travelers and tourists. Heathrow and rival Gatwick, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of central London, have offered competing projects that will cost as much as £18.6 billion ($29.1 billion). Whichever proposal is selected, homes will be destroyed and

India (5.9)

Biggest long-term slowdown

B D C

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THE Focus Global showroom inauguration was graced by (from left) Fernando and Kit Zobel with Loli and Stephen Sy.

ELIZABETH signature piece

Hungary (3.6)

Slowest long-term growth

Govt spending still below target A

EUROPEAN LUXURY IN NEW MANILA Your mother is the subject

India (7.8)

Fastest long-term growth

STATE UNDERSPENDING,WIDELY BLAMED FOR SLOWER 2014 GROWTH, PERSISTS BASED ON Q1 NUMBERS

INSIDE

A MARIAN HANDBOOK, FR. ANTHONY V. AND LOUIE M. LACSON

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Biggest medium-term rebound

term is higher than IHS’s GDP growth 2 Vietnam (6.8) Ireland (2.4) Vietnam (5.6) Italy (0.8) Angola (-5.5) projection for Nigeria at 5.8 percent, Indonesia at 5.5 percent, Qatar at 5.4 3 China (6.7) Slovenia (2.1) Philippines (4.6) Switzerland (0.9) Nigeria (-5.3) percent, Malaysia at 5.3 percent, Angola 4 Philippines (6.0) Great Britain (1.6) Indonesia (4.6) Kuwait (1.2) China (-5.2) at 4.8 percent, and Egypt at 4.5 percent.

In the long term, or from 2020 to 5 Nigeria (5.8) Czech Republic (1.5) China (4.5) Portugal (1.3) Kuwait (-3.6) 2045, IHS said Philippine economic growth would even surpass China’s, 6 Indonesia (5.5) Estonia (1.4) Chile (4.4) France (1.3) Russia (-3.5) and it will be the third fastest-growing economy in the world.

7 Qatar (5.4) Portugal (1.1) South Africa (4.4) Greece (1.4) Singapore (-3.3) IHS’s GDP growth outlook for the 8 Philippines in the long term is seen at Malaysia (5.3) Cyprus (1.0) Peru (4.3) Germany (1.4) Latvia (-3.0) an average of 4.6 percent, only next to 9 Angola (4.8) Romania (1.0) Egypt (4.2) Netherlands (1.5) Ireland (-2.8) India and Vietnam at 5.9 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.

10 Egypt (4.5) Spain (1.0) Angola (4.0) Austria 1.5) Slovakia (-2.8) Indonesia’s long-term average GDP growth is projected at 4.6 percent, while NOTES: “Biggest medium-term rebound” equals the average potential growth during 2015-19 less average potential growth during 2008-14. “Biggest long-term slowdown” equals the average potential China is at 4.5 percent. growth during 2020-45 less the average potential growth during 2000-07.

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Fastest medium-term growth

BusinessMirror

THREETIME ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDEE

EAR God, Your plans have always baffled human mind. Your actions are beyond man to comprehend. The men and women You chose, shocked the world. They wouldn’t pass the test of human standard. Qualities of the heart are Your requisite. The poor and the simple are Your favorites. In Your hands, the chosen are pliable You molded and made them reliable.

Your mother is the subject here. Amen.

POTENTIAL GROWTH OUTLOOK: WINNERS AND LOSERS (ANNUAL PERCENT CHANGE)

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UST how much the government gained from the rebidding of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) deal will be known today (Tuesday), when the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) opens the financial proposals of the two companies left to vie for the P55.5-billion contract.

There’s no turning back for the opening of the financial bids of both San Miguel Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., DPWH Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Officer in Charge Ariel C. Angeles said, after they passed the evaluation of their technical proposals on Monday.

“It’s a go,” he said in a brief text message sent on Monday afternoon, while the Special Bids and Awards Committee was still deliberating the results of the evaluation.

Industry players are expecting competitive bids; after all, both companies are frequent players in the government’s PPP Program.

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Mindanao Bureau Chief

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First of three parts

AVAO CITY—On a social-networking site, peace worker Mary Ann Arnado posted a terse note to supporters: “To all BBL [Bangsamoro basic law] coalition steering committee members, please be reminded of the Senate hearing on the BBL tomorrow [Monday] at 9:30 a.m. with sultans as invited resource persons. There will be mass trooping inside the session hall and mass mob outside....”

The message is fraught with reminders and anxieties over perceived delay in moving the main governing law for Filipino Muslims in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao as the turn of approving, or

disapproving it, shifts to the Senate after the House of Representatives approved on Wednesday last week the so-called Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Arnado capped the terse message with “Let us all troop to the Senate and remind Sen. [Ferdinand] Marcos [Jr.] to catch up with the pacing at the House. Please wear white and invite your friends and colleagues to join us.”

The tone of the message was similar a week earlier, when longtime peace advocates like Oblates Fr. Eliseo Mercado, former president of the Notre Dame of Cotabato, posted on his social-media account to remind Mindanao residents that the House has begun

the marathon hearing for BBL. “The House Ad Hoc Committee voted on the proposed BBL. Query? Which have they voted, the consolidated proposed BBL—after all the public hearings and amendments—or the originally proposed BBL submitted by the OP [Office of the President] to Congress?

People go on rooting for this or for that without knowing or reading which version is being voted on,” Mercado said.

On the other side of the political fence, politicians and organizations relay an array of optimism, from pompous claim of triumph it “was a leap forward” to guarded optimism that “the Moro Islamic Liberation Front [MILF] would accept it.”

The business organization in Cotabato City, the premier centuries-old trading C  A

■ JAPAN 0.3663 ■ UK 68.9862 ■ HK 5.7429 ■ CHINA 7.1823 ■ SINGAPORE 33.3106 ■ AUSTRALIA 34.8438 ■ EU 49.0533 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 11.8698 Source: BSP (25 May 2015)

A2

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

BMReports BusinessMirror

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The price and ‘prize’ of peace in Mindanao. . . center in the south and central part of Mindanao, only have a stern warning to lawmakers against diluting or subverting the original content of the BBL—a likely flight of investment out of the region.

But, in many areas in Mindanao, people would keep asking on whether the BBL would really, and finally, pave the road to peace on the island, which has been the theater of a fierce and genocidal separatist war in the 1970s that has drained the country’s economy of almost P100 billion and claimed not less than 100,000 lives of soldiers and armed followers of the then-monolithic Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The bigger casualty, however, was on civilians, both on the number of killed and displaced.

After holding protests at the House of Representatives, Filipino Muslims now hold mass actions at the Senate to coincide with the hearing at the Upper House on the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law on Monday in Manila. The proposed measure has already hurdled the lower chamber. AP/Bullit Marquez

Uncertain

Immediately after the House passed the BBL at the committee level on Wednesday, politicians and government leaders harped on it as the better and constitutionally acceptable piece of legislation than the original version that was crafted by leaders of social and political sectors picked by both the government and the MILF. Mindanao politicians, who were in the House committee that passed the BBL, like Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez, described it as a “historic vote,” although, a few months ago, he was speaking on the contrary on the BBL in obvious reaction to the deaths of 44 police commandos in a January 25 battle with MILF and renegade Moro guerrillas in the Maguindanao interior

Continued from A1

Protesters, mostly Filipino Muslims, march toward the House of Representatives for a rally to push for the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), which the Philippine government and Muslim rebels have entered into on May 11 in Quezon City. The passage of the BBL is in peril, following the January 25 incident when 44 police commandos were killed in a clash with Muslim guerrillas in an operation to capture Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, known as Marwan, who was then allegedly in the rebel-controlled community in southern Philippines. AP/Bullit Marquez

town of Mamasapano.

Other politicians also joined the fray against the BBL, with some senators vowing to thrash it after the Mamasapano incident unless the MILF would be able to demonstrate that it has officially shunned terrorism and show proof that it was not, and would, hence-

forth, reject the coddling and harboring of terrorists.

It was at this apparent suspended animation of what awaits the BBL in Congress that surprised many when the House committee went into a May 18 to 20 marathon hearing and, eventually, voted 50-17 in its favor. House leaders

publicly acknowledged that they amended some of BBL articles and reconstructed the semantics to suit constitutional parameters, removing all words that may be insinuated as according sovereign government status to the Bangsamoro political entity.

The passage of the bill at the

committee level last week surprised many. It was already scheduled in Malacañang timetable to be passed by the end of last year and to be submitted to a plebiscite in the first quarter this year. It was delayed, however, by various reasons.

Like they say, in many instances when new things and ideas are introduced, the birth pains commonly attend or forestall their coming and acceptance.

And, like the warning raised by businessmen in the ARMM against a dilution or diminution of the original intention of the framers of the basic law, early indications may not be promising, either.

In a dispatch by the Davao City-based online news outfit, MindaNews, Rep. Nancy Catamco of North Cotabato expressed her

disappointment with the Houseamended BBL, saying that other committee members rejected her 12 amendments “to the then-18article, 242-section draft Bangsamoro basic law, focusing on indigenous peoples’ rights.”

She also belongs to the 75-member Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL and the rejection so upset her, she being a member of the Manobo-Tagabawa tribe in North Cotabato.

Catampo did not show up for the vote on the BBL on Wednesday afternoon, the MindaNews reported.

It would be a similar anxiousness, disdain and disenchantment expressed by communities and organizations that have been following closely the road travailed by the BBL in search for lasting peace in Mindanao. To be continued

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Aquino wants Congress to rush approval of BBL

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RESIDENT Aquino wants Congress to rush approval of the controversial Bangsamoro basic law for Muslims in Mindanao, not for his “legacy” but to give BBL-transition officials enough time to mount projects under the new entity before the 2016 election ban on government infrastructure projects takes effect early next year.

Aquino pleaded with lawmakers not to wait until next year to pass the BBL that will pave the way for the abolition of the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in favor of a new setup.

“Iyong bagong mode of governance diyan, huwag naman nating paabutin ng Enero [2016] kung kailan sila mag-uumpisa dahil, pagdating ng Marso, election ban na, wala na silang magagawa. Tapos sasabihin ng taumbayan, ‘e wala palang silbi ito,’” Aquino told reporters.

The President explained this was the reason he wants both the House and the Senate to fastrack passage of the measure, but made clear that Congress is free to amend the Palace-endorsed legislation now being scrutinized by lawmakers.

“So, itinutulak natin [ang BBL], daanan nila, amyendahan nila kung dapat amyendahan, ipasa, iharap natin sa taumbayan at magkaroon ng supisyenteng pagkakataon ipakita kung bakit mas mahusay itong iminumungkahing sistema nila,” Aquino added.

The President, at the same time, played down lawmakers’ concern that certain provisions of the BBL version endorsed by Malacanang may lead to legal challenges for being unconstitutional. Butch Fernandez

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, May 26, 2015 A3

Aquino thumbs down calls to convene NSC to tackle sea row with China

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By Butch Fernandez

RESIDENT Aquino is not heeding the suggestion of senators for him to convene the National Security Council (NSC), preferring to let a Cabinet cluster—composed of the Armed Forces and the departments of National Defense and of Foreign Affairs— handle the issues arising from increasing tensions with China at the West Philippine Sea.

“The [Cabinet] security cluster, I believe, is adequate, together with the legal cluster.

And iyong mga minumungkahi nila ginawa na po namin,” Aquino told reporters at the sidelines of a Balik-Eskwela Program he attended in Marikina on Monday.

The President clarified that he is not averse to convening an NSC meeting, where he would be sitting with Congress leaders and former presidents, to tackle the China aggression issue, recalling having done so in the past.

“We did invite.... Yes, we convened the National Security Council, if I remember

correctly, President [Joseph] Estrada and President [Fidel] Ramos were present when we were discussing this issue,” he said.

“Iyong sa arbitration, I am very clear in my memory that then-Senate President [Juan Ponce] Enrile and Speaker of the House [Feliciano] Belmonte were also present during a discussion, parang modified National Security Council.”

Aquino said that even the members of the judiciary were invited, but opted to skip it. “Now, we also invited members of the judiciary for their inputs,” Aquino added, but did not mention having invited his

immediate predecessor, detained former President Gloria Arroyo, who is on hospital arrest awaiting trial on graft charges.

Aquino, however, disclosed that the Palace invitation was turned down by judiciary officials. “Sabi nila they declined because it [case] might come before their salas for review.”

“So, we respect that, pero this has not...

Iyong all of these decisions, although I am supposed to be the main architect for foreign policy, we have tried to get as many voices from the different branches of government to have different perspectives and come up with the best solution to this problem,” he said.

Meanwhile, Philippine aircraft will continue to fly their usual routes over disputed reefs on the South China Sea, defying China’s challenges to its planes and those of the US. Aquino told reporters there is no declared air-defense identification zone over the area and “we will still fly the routes that we fly based on international law.”

“We will still exercise our rights over our exclusive economic zone,” he said, adding that the “bottom line is that it has to be clear: We will defend our rights to the best of our abilities.”

Aquino also pointed to the disparity

in the military strength of China and the Philippines, saying China should not bully a smaller country because it would hurt its image as it tries to create good will with its trading partners.

The Philippines is pursuing international arbitration and diplomatic efforts to try to resolve the territorial dispute with China.

When asked about what coordination the Philippines is having with the US a key military ally, to address the problem, Aquino said the two countries are helping each other but that he could not reveal details.

China said on Thursday that it is entitled to keep watch over airspace and seas surrounding artificial islands it created in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, following an exchange in which its navy warned off a US surveillance plane.

The US said its aerial patrolling was in accordance with international law and that “no one in his right mind” would try to stop it. Philippine military officials have said China has challenged Philippine air patrols at least six times since last month, with a recording asking the planes to leave the Chinese military area to avoid misunderstanding. They said China appears to be trying to impose an air defense identification zone there. With AP

Economy

A4 Tuesday, May 26, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

briefs d.o.l.e. bares 739 job openings in u.k., ireland for filipino nurses

Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz on Monday encouraged Filipino nurses to grab the employment opportunities available in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland, as the demand for professional nurses continue to rise in the said countries.

Baldoz, citing the report of Philippine Overseas Labor Office incharge Esperanza Cobarrubias, said that, for the first quarter of 2015, a demand for 739 Filipino nurses, covered by 12 job orders in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, was recorded by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in London.

“This is a worthy career opportunity for our Filipino nurses who want to seek overseas employment. UK and Ireland employers provide not only good employment packages, but also their governments strictly prohibit the charging of placement fee to applicants,” Baldoz said.

The labor and employment chief reminded Filipino nurse-applicants that, although there is an abundance of career opportunities in the said countries, they should be well-prepared for the process that they need to go through in order to land the job. PNA

bill grants maternity leave benefits to unmarried women in govt service

A lawmaker has filed a bill expanding the coverage of maternity leave benefits granted to female workers in the government to include unmarried women.

Rep. Rolando G. Andaya Jr. of the First District of Camarines Sur said House Bill 5727 aims to strengthen the government’s effort in dismantling all forms of inequity against women by correcting a law that has long deprived unmarried women in government service in availing themselves of maternity benefits.

According to Andaya, Commonwealth Act 647 grants maternity leave benefits only to married female employees in the civil service, while Republic Act 8282, or the Social Security System (SSS) Act, allows all female employees in the private sector to avail themselves of maternity benefits, regardless of their civil status.

“Moreover, in the SSS Act, three monthly contributions are sufficient to qualify a pregnant employee in availing herself of maternity benefits. In the public sector, however, aside from the prerequisite of marriage, a pregnant employee must have been in the service for at least two years before she can benefit from maternity compensation,” Andaya said.

“This is a clear manifestation that there is a double standard in the application of the law. Regardless of a woman’s civil status, she should be accorded with equal protection and just compensation, particularly when availing maternity benefits,” he said. PNA

BusinessMirror

ERC OKs 2 power-transmission projects in Luzon

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By Lenie Lectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved two vital transmission projects proposed by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) aimed at providing reliable and efficient power supply in Luzon.

In separate orders, the grid operator’s P237.60-million Hermosa-Floridablanca 69-kilovolt (kV) line project and the P3.3billion Castillejos-Hermosa 500kV transmission line received the green light for commissioning.

The Hermosa-Floridablanca 69kV line project aims to relieve the

overloading of the existing Hermosa-Guaga line. The NGCP said a permanent damage to the line, due to the exposure of prolonged heating caused by overloading, would result in extended power deficit in the whole towns of Guagua, Lubao, Santa Rita, Bacolor, Floridablanca and Porac in Pampanga.

At present, the largest loadend substation being served by the Hermosa-Guagua line is the Pampanga Electric Cooperative II Inc. in Guagua, Pampanga, which is projected to increase its load to 25.2 megawatts (MW) in 2020 and 49.2 MW in 2035.

The project will also support the growing demand in the area where more commercial centers will be put up.

Meanwhile, the NGCP underscored the importance of its 500kV backbone project. It said the project will cater to the 600-MW power plant that will be built by RP Energy in Subic. At the same time, this will facilitate the delivery of power to the Hermosa substation.

This project involves the construction of a new 500-kV line from Castillejos in Zambales to Hermosa in Bataan. Moreover, it also includes

the expansion of the existing 230-kV Hermosa substation.

The ERC, in another decision, approved the reclassification of NGCP’s Mexico-Clark 69-kV lines 1 and 2 into transmission assets from subtransmission assets.

The NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related assets.

The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power-transmission network, is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led

by Henry Sy Jr., Calaca High Power Corp. led by Robert Coyiuto Jr., and the State Grid Corp. of China as technical partner.

TPP trade deal to support Asia-Pacific economic integration, US envoy says

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ORACAY ISLAND, Aklan— Negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement could further support the regional economic integration of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) regions.

US Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman said the Philippines’s chairmanship of the Apec this year has focused on furthering integration across the region.

“We’re dealing with digital trade, we’re dealing with localization barriers. These are all important initiatives that help further the integration of this region and we view our work in TPP as supportive of this overall effort, as well,” he said at a news briefing on Sunday after the close of the twoday Apec Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting held here.

Froman said that five years ago, Apec leaders indicated various ways of achieving regional integration, including TPP, as well as the Asean plus three, the Asean plus six and other initiatives.

“So we don’t view them as contradictory at all. We see TPP as one of the building blocks, along with several others, that contribute to a free-trade area of the Asia Pacific,” he said.

Froman noted that the TPP is intended to be an open platform, where countries that are “able and willing to meet its standards could join, with the consent of all the par-

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ties and consistent with each of our domestic processes.”

The US is currently negotiating the TPP trade agreement with

Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

It aims to expand the initial group to include more countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines. PNA

Solon slams Palace defense on tuition hike

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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lawmaker on Monday scored Malacañang’s justification over the recent round of increase in tuition and other school fees in 313 colleges and universities this school year.

“Instead of showing concern over the nonstop rise in the cost of education in the country, the Palace even had the gall to justify the fee increases. This only goes to show that the Aquino administration doesn’t care a bit about the plight of students and their families,” Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon of Kabataan said.

Over the weekend, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said the tuition and other fee increases recently approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are “lawful and reasonable.”

Last week the CHED approved 313 out of 404 fee-increase applications of various higher education institutions (HEIs). Of the 313 schools, 283 HEIs were allowed to increase tuition while 212 schools were allowed to hike other school fees.

Ridon said, “In theory, the President can halt the implementation of the tuition increases through [an] executive order. Yet, Malacañang has again chosen to side with the school owners.”

He added that “the increase in tuition and other school fees are neither lawful nor reasonable, since the move was approved without the benefit of consultation.”

Ridon also noted that the average 6.48percent increase in tuition and other school fees for the next academic year is “over and beyond” the projected inflation rate in the country for 2015 to 2017, which is only 2 percent to 4 percent, as computed by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“Never can an increase in the cost of education be reasonable for we reject the view of education being a business enterprise. Education is a right, and it is clear that the Aquino administration has no intent to defend such right,” Ridon said.

Earlier, Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian of Valenzuela questioned the CHED’s approval mechanism on the hike.

Gatchalian said that the CHED should explain that if the HEIs that were allowed to increase tuition last year complied with its memorandum that says 70 percent of tuition hikes must go to the salary increase of teaching and non-teaching personnel.

CHED Memorandum Order 3, series of 2012, states that proceeds from tuition hikes should be budgeted as follows: 70 percent for increase of salaries and other benefits of teaching and nonteaching personnel, at least 20 percent for improvement of facilities and other costs of operation.

South African businessmen seek opportunities in PHL

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sc upholds disallowance of membership fees of 54 pids employees

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the ruling of the Commission on Audit (COA) that declared illegal the payment of annual membership fees of 54 employees of Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) to the PhilamCare Health Systems Inc. (PhilamCare) in 2005.

In an en banc ruling dated April 21, the SC sustained the Notice of Disallowance (ND) issued by the COA on the fees paid by PIDS employees amounting to P324,700.01.

The PIDS and the PhilamCare executed a health-care agreement in 2005 providing for hospitalization and outpatient and emergency services to 54 PIDS employees.

However, on April 25, 2006, the COA issued its ND disallowing the said amount as it violated COA Resolution 2005-001. PNA

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Finishing touches

A construction workers put finishing touches on the façade of a newly built structure inside The Fort in Taguig City, now dubbed as the top emerging business district in the country. Nonie Reyes

outh African businessmen will hold a business mission in the Philippines on Thursday to seek opportunities in the domestic market through partnerships with Filipino firms.

In a news statement on Monday, the country’s largest business group, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said it will host the trade and investment forum and one-on-one business-matching session for the South African business delegation.

PCCI President Alfredo M. Yao and South African Ambassador Martin Slabber will orient both countries’ businessmen on trade and investment relation between the two nations.

On the other hand, the trade departments of the Philippines and South Africa will present business opportunities in both countries.

There will be 13 South African companies that will be visiting here: Cape Supra, an exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables; DMT Kai-Batla (Pty. Ltd.), provider of comprehensive and diverse set of technical and professional services in minerals and mining; Yellow Green Lifestyle and Cosmetics, exporter and distributor of skin-care products; I-Slices Manufacturing, distributor of eye-treatment pads; The Art of Taste CC, exporter of

beverage and olive oil; Ah Vest Ltd. T/A All Joy Foods, food products exporter and distributor; McKinley Chocolates, seller and distribution of handcrafted Belgium chocolates and confectionery; Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, engaged in trade and investment opportunities in Mpumalanga province and also integrated economic-growth solutions in support of sustainable development; Dei Projects (Pty.) Ltd., service provider for the installation of electrical, instrumentation and control system for all industries, distribution of electrical panels from simple low voltage to sophisticated process control integration; MCM Trading CC, exporter of wines and alcoholic beverages; Pendaires (Pty.) Ltd., supplier and distributor of Parmalat dairy products; Yellow Star Manufacturing, supplier of high-chrome steel balls through mill liners and other engineering castings; and Knowledge Innovations, facilitates investment opportunities in mining, energy, transport and ICT sector and provides services, such as contact management, business linkages, capacity-building and research.

PCCI invites interested Filipino firms to participate in the business mission of South African companies here. PCCI may be reached through 846-81-96 (local 131), 846-8619, and lizette.canda@philippinechamber.com. PNA

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AFCS commercial rollout faces delay

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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ELAYS on the end-to-end evaluation of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2’s stations have stalled the commercial rollout of the new automated fare- collection system (AFCS) in the railway line.

This was learned from AF Payments Inc.’s CEO Peter Maher, who sought the understanding of train commuters on Monday with regard to the postponement of the completion of the new ticketing system.

“The ongoing testing is aimed at further strengthening the operational readiness of the new system, originally scheduled to go live at LRT 2 this May,” he said.

AF Payments is the concessionaire of the P1.72-billion ticketing deal, which aims to upgrade and integrate the ticketing infrastructure for the country’s major railways. The new system will use contactless smart- card technology, known as “beep.”

“While AF Payments Inc. is keen on introducing the modern ticketing

system that will improve the traveling experience of commuters of the LRT and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), it is taking all necessary measures in addressing technical issues to ensure full system acceptance and customer satisfaction.

We will determine and announce when the new system will go live at LRT 2 after conducting satisfactory testing, inspection and validation,” Maher explained.

The company, a joint venture led

by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., is targeting to roll out the new product at the MRT in June, and at the LRT Line 1 by July.

The firm, under its concessionaire agreement, will supply and install a total of 731 gates, 138 ticket vending machines, 221 point-of-sale devices and 44 station computers across the three rail lines.

Upon its completion, commuters can expect faster payment processes and reduced queuing time for buying tickets, as well as seamless transfers from one rail to another. All three railway lines will fully transition to the new system by the September.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015 A5

PHL, Japan ink P500-million grant for community devt in Mindanao

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By Cai U. Ordinario

he Japanese government, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), extended a new P500-million grant for community development in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

The grant will be used to facilitate the rehabilitation and construction of farm-to-market roads in Mindanao, particularly in Bumbaran in Lanao del Sur, Datu Paglas in Maguindanao and Alamada in North Cotabato.

“Through linking target farm villages to major highways, the project is expected to enhance the welfare of farmers that rely largely on crop production as their main source of livelihood,” National Eco-

nomic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

The grant assistance was made possible through the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-Bird).

The community-development project, to be implemented by the Department of Agriculture, was endorsed through diplomatic channels on September 17, 2014.

Balisacan and Noriaki Niwa, the chief representative of the Jica Philippine Office, signed the grant agreement on behalf of the Philippine and Japanese governments, respectively, on Monday.

“We look forward to the attain-

ment of full benefits from this undertaking, and, eventually, to the enjoyment of ‘dividends of peace’ in Mindanao through the implementation of various peace and development programs in the area,” Balisacan said.

In 2013 the Japanese government extended $74.13-million official development assistance (ODA) grants to the Philippines.

Japan’s ODA to the Philippines accounted for 2.5 percent of the total ODA grants received by the country in that year, worth $2.97 billion.

DatafromtheNedashowedthatthe top 5 sources of ODA grants in 2013 were Australia, the US, UN, European Union and the World Bank, accounting for 83.27 percent, or $2.47 billion, of the total ODA grants received.

briefs fuel-price adjustment at the pump takes effect on tuesday

Oil companies are implementing another price adjustment in pump prices on Tuesday morning.

PTT Philippines and Flying V on Monday afternoon said they will reduce the price of diesel by P0.50 per liter but will raise the price of gasoline by the same amount.

Other oil firms are expected to follow suit.

Oil firms have been implementing a weekly price adjustment owing to the movement in the prices of refined petroleum products in the international market.

Based on latest monitoring by the Department of Energy, Dubai crude price decreased week-on-week by $0.92 per barrel. However, MOPS gasoline and diesel correspondingly increased by about $1.20 and $0.40 a barrel, respectively. Lenie Lectura

csc announces october civil service exam

THE Civil Service Commission (CSC) will be conducting the Secnd Career Service Professional and Sub-Professional written examinations for this year on October 18.

Application period will run from May 25 to September 3.

On May 3 more than 180,000 took the Career Service Examination (CSE) Paper-andPencil test. Passing the CSE is one of the basic requirements in applying for a position in the government. The CSE ensures that only competent and credible workers enter the public service.

The examinations are open to individuals, regardless of educational attainment, who are Filipino citizens, including those holding dual citizenship, at least 18 years old at the time of filing of application, and have not taken the same level of examination within three months before the date of examination.

Applications should be filed in person at the CSC Regional Office (CSCRO), or at any of the concerned CSCRO’s Field Offices, where the applicant intends to take the examination. The CSC, though, has warned that acceptance of applications may be closed at any time before September 3 once the CSC Regional/Field Office has reached the target number of applicants. Examination fee for both levels of CSEPPT is P500. PNA

‘brp ang pangulo’ up for dsrt

BRP Ang Pangulo (AT-25), the presidential yacht, has been allocated the sum of P5,759,320 for her “deploy, sustain, repair and training” (DSRT) cycle.

Winning bidders are required to deliver the items within 15 calendar days.

BRP Ang Pangulo was acquired by the Philippine government in 1959.

The yacht was first used by President Carlos P. Garcia. It was built in Japan as part of that country’s war reparations to the Philippines. PNA

GREENING PROGRAM Sen. Cynthia A. Villar and Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) President Jose Luigi Bautista sign a memorandum of agreement on Greening Program Deal to be implemented at the Manila-Cavite Expressway and Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA). Villar, a known environmental advocate, said she is happy to partner with the CIC group a worthwhile undertaking to protect LPPCHEA and the greening of communities surrounding Cavitex. Also in photo to witness the signing are (standing, from left) Dr. Adela R. Talactac, school principal of Binakayan National High School; Gen. Benjamin I. Espiritu of the 7th Marine Brigade; and Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region Director Lourdes C. Wagan. Seated beside Villar is Bautista (right) and Ramoncito S. Fernandez of the Metro Pacific Tollway Corp. ROY DOMINGO

DTI supports amendment of cabotage Phivolcs’s Solidum paints grim law, passage of Fair Competition Act post-quake scenario in Metro

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he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is backing the immediate enactment of bills on fair competition and amendments on the cabotage law, which were both approved by the House of Representatives last week.

Street lights to brighten up Ermita Workers of the City Electrician’s Office of the City Engineering Department in Manila erect a lamppost on Ma. Orosa Street in Ermita, Manila, on Monday as Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada looks on. City Engr. Robert Bernardo and City Electrician Lorenzo Alconera said some 500 standard LED lights are being installed in Ermita district, particularly along Bocobo, Pedro Gil, Orosa, Remedios, and nearby streets in the city’s tourist district. Looking on is Barangay 670 Chairman Danny Gonzalo. PNA

DTI Liaison Office for Legislative Affairs Supervising Undersecretary Prudencio M. Reyes Jr. said in a statement that the passage of both bills will significantly improve the business climate in the Philippines.

House Bill (HB) 5286, also known as the Philippine Competition Act, creates a legal and institutional framework to prevent abuse of market power and dominance aimed at protecting consumers and promoting healthy growth of industries.

A key proposal to this bill is the creation of an independent Philippine Competition Commission, which would keep an eye on business entities to ensure that they do not collectively engage in anticompetitive acts and practices, such as cartelization, collusion, bid rigging and price fixing.

The proposed commission will be given the power to review applications for mergers and acquisitions. The proposed bill will be applicable across-the-board, covering all entities engaging in economic activities across all sectors, no matter their legal form.

For HB 5610, which seeks to amend the country’s set of laws and policies on cabotage, the bill will allow foreign ships to dock at multiple ports, as well as to embark on co-loading, that will enable the transfer of foreign cargoes (including empty containers) from one foreign vessel to another, prohibited under existing laws.

However, the bill does not touch on domestic fleets, as it would require an amendment of the Constitution to do so.

“Nevertheless, the bill is still critical to the economy at large,” Reyes said, despite the absence of provisions on domestic fleets. Catherine N. Pillas

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By Recto Mercene

7.2-intensity earthquake generated by the West Valley Fault would cost some P2.3 trillion in damages and another P1.8 trillion in indirect cost to the whole country, aside from 31,000 deaths and 130,000 seriously injured, according to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum.

On the other hand, a 6.5-intensity earthquake would still cause 23,000 deaths.

In the light of these possible widespread catastrophe, Solidum, at a media forum at the Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel, said Metro Manila has prepared some 10,000 rescuers to attend to those who would be affected by a giant temblor.

However, in the light of assessment that government help would not be enough, he suggested that local government units (LGU) should organize their own “first level of reaction awareness.”

Solidum said Metro Manila government should prepare to train people from the surrounding provinces, such as Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite and Zambales, who would not be affected by the earthquake, to provide the manpower needed to assist the metropolis.

“Eighty percent of the economy will stop, including the full function of the seat of government,” Solidum said, adding that 13 percent of low-rise buildings, or structures that are less than two stories high, and 11 percent of medium-rise buildings, meaning 30-story and 10-story buildings, may collapse.

“Don’t rely entirely on the government,” he

warns, saying that if the expected big earthquake is to occur, Metro Manila citizens would probably apply the YOYO, or “You are on your own” principle of survival.

In order to protect the records of government, Solidum proposed that there should be a “mirror” counterpart in computerized copies of these important records stowed somewhere else outside of Metro Manila.

“We have proposed that all important records be duplicated or mirrored and these should be kept in buildings or vaults that are far from the West Valley Fault,” Solidum said.

He added that although available data were provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), there are no available data on how long Metro Manila would remain paralyzed.

However, he said, that several government agencies have already gathered together and adviced the operators of the electric power and water sources to provide alternative solutions once the power and water supplies are affected by the earthquake.

At the moment, Solidum said there is an ongoing audit of government buildings to find out if these should be strengthened or declared dangerous for habitation.

On the other hand, those that live on top of faults should be convinced to move out or relocate further away from known faults. In this respect, Solidum said the government had provided geohazard maps, which could be downloaded in computers.

He said Phivolcs had recently released highresolution maps that allow people to see the location of the West Valley Fault and East Valley Fault at street level.

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Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The Spanish ambassador’s advice

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panish Ambassador to the Philippines Luis Calvo has an extremely important advice to the Filipino people: Send Philippine researchers to Spain to study and review Spanish historical documents that might show the country’s territorial boundaries under Spanish administration. These documents are archived in Spain’s museums.

In a forum with the staff of the BusinessMirror, the ambassador pointed out that documented historical evidence will be of incalculable importance in the validation of our claim on islands in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The ambassador’s suggestion is most helpful and we would like to pick it up.

We call on our government, specifically the Department of Foreign Affairs, to take up the mantle of leadership in this undertaking. Carrying out the idea will entail forming the equivalent of research fellowships, laying down the rules for the implementation of the activity, the qualifications of researchers, the duration of the activity (perhaps a period of six months for, say, four researchers), etc. It will also require the allocation of a modest amount of money to fund the research work.

In the same breath, we call on Philippine historians, social scientists and public intellectuals to make themselves available, and apply, for this important research work.

It should be clear to everyone that these fellowships will be for the achievement of a public purpose: the discovery of historical evidence for the validation of our territorial claims in the WPS. The fellowships are not for personal professional aggrandizement, though they can serve that objective. We are certain that the memorial we filed with the International Court of Justice proving our claim will win, but additional evidence can only strengthen it.

China asserts historical basis for its so-called nine-dash line. However, instead of working for a universal acknowledgment of this claim, it resorts to physical force to enforce it—through massive and extensive reclamation work on islets and reefs of the Spratlys—threatening the peace and quiet not just of the Southeast Asian region but of the whole world.

We hope we do not suffer from a lack of qualified researchers to apply for the positions. It is true that many of us have lost our ability in the Spanish language.

In our minds we have associated the Spanish language with colonization, but Spanish is an elegant international language and it is the language in which many of our national heroes spoke and wrote. Without downgrading English, which is another colonial international language, we must retrieve our Spanish heritage before it is lost forever. Let us resume studying, speaking, writing and understanding Spanish, and put that language proficiency in the service of our country.

The Spanish ambassador has shown a way to buttress our cause and we thank him profusely for it. Now let us begin getting the work done.

Solving the puzzle: Labor shortage amid unemployment Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur Third of a series

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OLVING the puzzle of labor shortage amid high unemployment is not as difficult as aligning in a single color all the squares in a Rubik’s Cube. The problem is a mismatch between what people know and what industries need.

Many of the jobs in demand and hard to fill, as I mentioned in last week’s column, were in the industry sector, such as engineers, accountants, machine operators, production workers in factories and construction workers.

Many students take up courses that are irrelevant, insofar as opportunities for employment are concerned, because the courses are not the ones that industries are looking for.

One consequence, a college graduate is compelled to work as janitor or messenger, which does not require a college degree.

Bank tellers in local banks are generally college graduates; in other countries like the United States, a high-school diploma is enough for such position. Because of the mismatch, we are short of engineers, accountants, architects and other workers.

The shortage is aggravated by competition from foreign employers.

I think a set of statistics from the web

site of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is a good illustration of the mismatch. According to the CHED, a total of 469,654 students graduated from public and private colleges and universities in 2010.

Graduates of different engineering courses numbered 48,448, or just 10.3 percent of the total graduates, during academic year 2009-2010.

Graduates of architecture and town planning courses numbered 2,286, or 0.49 percent of the total graduates. Some 2,105 students (0.45 percent) received degrees in mathematics, while graduates of trade craft and industrial courses numbered 946, or mere 0.2 percent of the total graduates. The most number of graduates in 2010 were in the medical and related fields (probably nursing). They numbered 129,057, or 27.27 percent of the total graduates.

This was not surprising because there

The PSE is going down John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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HE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is turning down and is bearish. The only question at this point is, how far will the market fall and how long will it take to reach a bottom?

In the industry, there is a running joke that the peak in the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index (PSEi) came at the same time that President Aquino was ringing the opening bell at the stock exchange. Is this a coincidence? In the short term, yes, absolutely. Presidents and governments in general have nothing to do with the short-term movement of stock prices. President Aquino was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, as has happened to all of us one time or another.

However, in the longer term, it is not a coincidence in that confidence in the government is turning down, as I have said before. While Philippine government policies always have latitude for improvement, the situation that is turning the local stock market lower is not a local phenomenon.

A move in the coming weeks—or sooner—with the market falling 3 percent is almost a given. A decrease of 7

percent is possible. Seeing the PSEi go down even 10 percent would not surprise me at all.

Confidence in the government regarding its place in the affairs of economies is peaking and will begin a downturn at the end of September 2015 and will last a year until this lack of confidence bottoms out. It is all part of the cycles that rule the world whether we see it, accept it, or like it Most intelligent people believe that, for the most part, the world basically operates under some sort of random throw of the dice. As with the dice, there are certain odds, like with the likelihood of getting struck by lightning. We know also that the statistics of death by automobile accident depend on how we drive the car.

Most societies throughout history have attempted either to bring some order to the chaos of a random world or to somehow influence the cycles of “good” and “bad” that they did see.

was a time when nursing was booming because of high demand abroad, including in the US and the United Kingdom.

In fact, many Filipino doctors, who were already practicing here, decided to take up nursing to be able to land jobs in the US, where their employment also meant an opportunity to become American citizens. That opportunity is gone, as the recession in developed countries that began in 2008 forced many employers, including hospitals, to retrench. To solve their rising unemployment problem, developed countries also encouraged their people to take up nursing.

BBC News reported in July 2012 that at the beginning of that year, more than 200,000 registered Filipino nurses could not find work, and an additional 80,000 were graduating to join the saturated market for nurses. The schools, which were quick to shift to nursing when the demand for nurses was high, were not able to shift quickly to other courses that were in demand, both here and abroad.

There should be renewed emphasis on math and sciences, from the primary to high school, because of the shortage of qualified workers in the industry sector.

Science and engineering courses, including nondegree technical courses, should receive emphasis to produce enough workers for the industries.

My feeling is that there should be closer coordination among the Departments of Labor and Employment, Trade and Industries, and Education to give proper advice to high-school students on what courses to take, courses that will enable them to get jobs easily when they graduate.

Every agricultural society had a god(s) they prayed to for a bountiful harvest. When the natural cycles of weather brought a poor crop, they prayed even harder or, perhaps, made a few human sacrifices to challenge and change the cycle.

The most pitiful and helpless societies are those that refuse to see the way the world turns. Supertyphoon Yolanda came almost exactly 100 years after a similar typhoon, killing an estimated 12,000, hit the Tacloban area. But because we are unwilling to acknowledge and accept that some things in the cycles are totally out of our control, we say that Yolanda was caused by a one-off event, or “climate change,” or some other man-made cause.

Economic boom-and-bust cycles are as much a part of the human experience as the wet and dry seasons. But in the same last 100 years, the “economic experts” have decide that even in the very remote chance that there is such a condition as the “business cycle,” it can be harnessed and controlled. And every time they try, countries, and even the world, go into economic chaos.

Money is moving away from the government and into the private sector.

This trend will accelerate after the end of September. While all eyes are focused on the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the gods of central banking are not in control. Interest rates will increase anyway as money flows out of government debt. Stock markets, after a period

The government, which controls the state universities and colleges (SUCs), can direct these to emphasize match and science courses and provide budgetary support. It can even withdraw budgets for courses that are not needed by the economy and transfer the funds to courses that are needed by industries.

The Philippines has a total of 2,299 higher-education institutions (HEIs), of which 656, or 28.53 percent, are government-owned, according to the CHED. The public HEIs consist of 547 SUCs, 95 local universities and colleges (LUCs), five special HEIs, one CHEDsupervised institution and eight other government schools.

If the national government can mobilize the 547 SUCs and local governments the 95 LUCs, then the solution to the puzzle of worker shortage amid high unemployment is at hand. And, considering that the government-owned institutions are supposed to provide college education to poor students, the solution will be like hitting two birds with one stone: generating jobs for the poor and responding to the demand of the industry sector.

I cannot overemphasize the urgency of solving this problem. The Philippines is poised to become a star performer in the global manufacturing arena, which will aggravate the worker shortage if the country does not respond quickly.

To be continued

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail.com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

of confusion, will go higher.

The central banks will then be forced to raise the official rates to keep up with the free-market rates and to avoid the actual bubble that the doomsayers have been incorrectly calling for over the last five years. That will dampen the stockmarket rally.

The negative effects of raising official interest rates may cause several governments to default on their debt. In order to avoid this happening, we could see another round of quantitative easing to bail out the banks that loaned money to these countries. Now, that’s a rock and a hard place.

The central banks should have raised rates at the bottom of the previous government confidence cycle in September 2014 to avoid the negative effects. Note this well: that is exactly when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised its rates without the economy-killing results that all the “experts” said would happen.

The local stock-market picture is not pretty. The road will continue to be bumpy but we will have a positive endgame. Trust me; I’m not an expert. I’m just a guy that keeps an umbrella in the car every year from June to December.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

United Nations at 70: The pivotal factor Time to prioritize human rights for all, for current Edgardo J. Angara and future generations

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By Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin | InterPress News Service

NITED NATIONS—Seventy years ago, with the founding of the UN, all nations reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, and in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.

The commitment to fundamental human rights that was enshrined in the UN Charter and later in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lives on today in many other treaties and agreements, including the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.

The Programme of Action (PoA), endorsed by 179 governments, articulated a bold new vision about the relationships between population, development and individual well-being.

And it was remarkable in its recognition that reproductive health and rights, as well as women’s empowerment and gender equality, are the foundation for economic and social development.

The PoA is also rooted in principles of human rights and respect for national sovereignty and various religious and cultural backgrounds.

It is also based on the human rights of individuals and couples to freely determine the number of their children and to have the information and means to do so.

Since it began operations 46 years ago, and guided by the PoA since 1994, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has promoted dignity and individual rights, including reproductive rights.

Reproductive rights encompass freedoms and entitlements involving civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

The right to decide the number and spacing of children is integral to reproductive rights and to other basic human rights, including the right to health, particularly sexual and reproductive health, the right to privacy, the right to equality and nondiscrimination and the right to liberty and the security of person.

Reproductive rights rest not only on the recognition of the right of couples and individuals to plan their families, but also on the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.

The impact of the PoA has been nothing short of revolutionary for the hundreds of millions of women who have over the past 21 years gained the power and the means to avoid or delay a pregnancy.

The results of the rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health, including voluntary family planning, have been extraordinary. Millions more women have become empowered to have fewer children and to start their families later in life, giving them the opportunity to complete their

schooling, earn a better living and rise out of poverty.

And now there is a wealth of indisputable evidence that when sexual and reproductive health is integrated into broader economic and social development initiatives, it can have a positive multiplier effect on sustainable development and the well-being of entire nations.

Recent research shows that investments in the human capital of young people, partly by ensuring their right to health, including sexual and reproductive health, can help nations with large youth populations realize a demographic dividend.

The dividend can help lift millions of people out of poverty and bolster economic growth and national development. If sub-Saharan Africa realized a demographic dividend on a scale realized by East Asia in the 1980s and 1990s, the region could experience an economic miracle of its own.

The principles of equality, inalienable rights, and dignity embodied in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Programme of Action are relevant today, as the international community prepares to launch a 15-year global sustainable development initiative that builds on and advances the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals, which come to a close later this year.

The new Post-2015 Global Sustainable Development Agenda is founded on principles of equality, rights and dignity.

Upholding these principles and achieving each of the proposed 17 new Sustainable Development Goals require upholding reproductive rights and the right to health, including sexual and reproductive health.

Achieving the proposed goal to ensure healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, for example, depends in part on whether individuals have the power and the means to prevent unintended pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV. Human rights have guided the UN along the path to sustainability since the organization’s inception in 1945. Rights, including reproductive rights, have guided UNFPA along that same path for decades.

As we observe the UN’s 70th anniversary and look forward to the post-2015 development agenda, we must prioritize the promotion and protection of human rights and dignity for every person, for current and future generations, to create the future we want.

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SEAN, including the Philippines, has become an attractive investment destination for Japanese companies in China who are looking elsewhere to expand or build their new factories because of rising labor costs and geopolitical concerns.

Between 2013 and 2014, Japanese foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Asean increased by 120 percent and reached $24 billion. In comparison, Japanese inflows into China dropped by more than 30 percent, valued at approximately $9 billion.

A 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that Asean’s four biggest economies received up to 58 percent of Japanese FDIs at $20.3 billion. This amount was more than twice the Japanese FDIs into China ($9.4 billion) in the same year.

In a recent Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) survey of Japanese firms in Asia and Oceania, close

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HE Irish have become the first people in the world to legalize same-sex marriage by referendum. It’s an astonishing statement about the pace of cultural change in a country, where more than 80 percent of residents identify as Catholic. It’s also a hopeful development for gays and lesbians in other nations: Countries with strong religious opposition to homosexuality can evolve.

The Irish referendum is notable for another reason: It further erodes the original justification for partition between a Protestant majority in the north and a Catholic majority in the south. In the decade before the island was split in 1920, northern Protestants threatened to take up arms against the British

government, if it granted Ireland the kind of home-rule powers that many in Scotland now seek. Their opposition was rooted mostly in bigotry, but also suspicion: They believed, as many American Protestants at the time did, that Catholic politicians couldn’t be trusted to be independent of the pope—and

our infrastructure and policy uncertainty, it appears the pivotal factor is the Filipino worker—young, literate and English-proficient; readily available and highly trainable.

Given our English proficiency, more than 70 percent said they experience less linguistic or communication problems in the workplace, compared to 10.7 percent in Thailand, 6.0 percent in Indonesia, and 5.9 percent in Vietnam.

Up to 42.5 percent said it is easy to hire local staff (such as general workers and clerks), while only 33.1 percent said so in Vietnam, 24.1 percent in Indonesia, 15.8 percent in Thailand, and 4.6 in Malaysia.

Such glowing tribute to our people jibes with findings in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2015 Human Capital Index (HCI), which I discussed last week. At an overall 46th out of 124 economies surveyed in the HCI, we are second in Asean (next only to Singapore), sixth among 22 AsiaPacific economies and fourth among 31 lower-middle income countries.

The Jetro survey and the WEF’s 2015 HCI both capture how highly foreigners regard us Filipinos and

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our capabilities.

Sometimes, we should see ourselves the way others see us. We are blessed with an open, hospitable and welcoming people. We are a nation of 100 million consumers—of very young citizens, who are tech-savvy and highly mobile. Given these blessings and more, we should be more optimistic and less cynical; more proactive and less carping.

The Philippines is entering its “demographic sweet spot,” meaning there will be more working people in the workplace than dependent children and retired people. We will be a nation of the young, where the average age of our population will be 26 years old.

That “demographic dividend” could translate to higher per-capita income, higher savings rate, and a broader tax base—the underpinnings for a prosperous, stable and peaceful Philippines.

Hence, our choice of the next president, the criteria we lay down for selection, and the set of knowledge and skills we expect, are crucial.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.

National interest should prevail in PHL, Qatar air talks Ernesto M. Hilario

ABOUT TOWN

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HE Philippines and Qatar will review their air agreement with talks scheduled for May 27 and 28 in Doha to focus on Qatar Airways’s bid for 13 more weekly flights between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and the Hamad International Airport.

If granted, Qatar Airways will end up with 21 flights a week, the most number for any Middle Eastern carrier that flies to Manila. Qatar Airways also flies to Clark International Airport seven times a week.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has not made a clear stand on this issue, although the same request had been rejected last year on the grounds of weak passenger demand.

But the Philippine panel should consider several factors during their dialogue with their Qatari counterparts.

First of all, the Naia can no longer absorb additional traffic from any operating airline. We already know how busy and congested our central airport is at its present state.

Operating at full or excess capacity, air-traffic congestion at Naia leads to frequent flight delays and deterioration of service quality.

This situation prompted 45 members of the House of Representatives to send a petition to the CAB formally manifesting their “continuing objection to any and all applications for additional landing rights at Naia.”

The lawmakers said granting additional landing rights to any airline “undermines the safety and convenience of airline passengers.” They also underscored government efforts to decongest Metro Manila and to enhance the economic growth of other

Could gay marriage reunite Ireland?

By Frank Barry | Bloomberg

to 60 percent of the respondentfirms in the Philippines, reported that they intend to expand their businesses within the next two years.

In fact, more than 71.2 percent of the Japanese investors are confident they will turn a profit in their Philippine operations. That bullish outlook is among the top 10 across Asia and Oceania, is only 0.3 percentage points lower than the proportions for Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, and is the highest among Asean, where the regional average is 62.7 percent.

Several barriers notwithstanding such as the underdevelopment of

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

that, for Ireland, “home rule means Rome rule.”

They weren’t entirely wrong. The founding fathers of the Irish Free State created a quasi-theocracy, drawing up a constitution that referenced the holy trinity, accorded the Catholic Church a “special position,” outlawed divorce, and discouraged women from entering the workplace. The government created censorship boards that took their cues from the Vatican, banning books and movies. Buying or selling contraceptives was illegal.

William Butler Yeats, who belonged to a long tradition of Irish nationalists who were Protestant, foresaw the consequences: “If you show that this country, Southern

our negotiators in Doha should actively push this policy of encouraging flights to secondary, underutilized airports, instead of the dangerously congested Naia to advance the best interests of the nation for the long term.

Not the best deal at all?

areas outside the National Capital Region. The signatories to the petition are mostly representatives from Central and Northern Luzon. Central Luzon, also known as the New Economic Corridor, and the North Luzon Urban Beltway have huge stakes in the development of Clark International Airport as a major gateway.

The region is poised to be the next major investment destination of the country, with key infrastructure developments and a seamless network of airport, seaport and roads.

The possible approval of additional landing rights to Qatar Airways in Naia will hurt the two regions, as it could likely end up in Qatar Airways’s eventual pullout from Clark. This will not only halt Clark’s development into a full gateway, it will also negate all past gains in the government’s efforts to decongest Naia and spur economic growth in the region.

Second, the Aquino administration has already adopted a pocket open skies policy to encourage more liberal access to secondary airports in the country, such as Clark, Iloilo and Cebu. Clearly, it is the policy of the state to develop other gateways and spur development in areas other than the Metro.

Clark has been a recipient of the salutary effects of this administration’s pocket open skies policy, and

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is all set to issue a new coin series in 2016 and 2017. This is part of the New Generation Currency (NGC) and follows the issuance of new banknotes in 2014 and 2015.

The BSP, through the Numismatic Committee, has been working on the NGC coins project since 2012. After evaluating three different plated steel technologies available in the market—mono-ply, dual-ply and multi-ply—it has already decided to issue all the new coins in multiply nickel-plated steel. Industry and coinage experts, however, have expressed concern over the BSP decision on the new coin series.

Multi-ply is said to be inferior compared to the leading technology, mono-ply. Multi-ply has a very thin outer layer that with day-to-day use quickly wears away and deteriorates.

All plated coins wear at the same rate of 1 micron per year and therefore multi-ply coins are the least durable because they have the thinnest outer layer. This has been proven by the comprehensive and independent Fraunhofer Report and a $1.4-million study by the US Treasury.

But the clearest evidence of the poor durability and quality of multiply coins is the fact that there have been numerous widespread problems with worn multi-ply coins in Ghana, Ethiopia and Uganda. The BSP had previously issued multi-ply P1 coins from 2011, and already many coins have deteriorated and shown visible signs of wear.

Moreover, multi-ply is a patented product that can only be supplied

Ireland, is going to be governed by Catholic ideas and by Catholic ideas alone, you will never get the North.

You will create an impassable barrier between South and North.”

And so it was.

Friday’s vote is the culmination of events that have effectively ended that tradition. The Catholic Church’s “special position” was dropped from the Constitution nearly 40 years ago. Contraception has been legal since 1980; divorce, since 1996. The books once declared obscene are no longer banned. Abortion remains illegal, but the laws have loosened; the procedure is now legal for women facing risk of death or suicide. And even the Church itself is changing:

Some Catholic priests announced they would be voting “yes” in the referendum.

In fact, it is no longer an exaggeration to call Irish laws freer from religion’s sway than those in Northern Ireland, which is the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage remains illegal. The North’s leading nationalist (and largely Catholic) political party, Sinn Fein, pushed for legalization in 2013, but failed to overcome opposition from the two largest Protestant parties.

The debate there has mirrored the one in the US, where evangelical Protestants form the bulk of the opposition to same-sex marriage.

And as in the US, it may be the courts that force the government

by the Royal Canadian Mint and their partner Jarden Zinc. Thus, the adoption of multi-ply technology from a monopoly for the new coin series is likely to result in higher costs for the BSP. The multi-ply specification for the new coin series means that other mints will not be able to participate in future BSP coin tenders. It effectively shuts out the world’s largest suppliers of coin blanks and coins, such as the world’s largest export mint, the Royal Mint of Great Britain, as well as the Mint of Finland and the South African Mint. Hence, future tenders of the BSP will be less competitive.

The multi-ply supplier and patent holder, the Royal Canadian Mint, is represented in the Philippines by a Chinese-Filipino joint venture. The activities of this local company were said to have been investigated following a scandal linked to the supply of paper and other components for the Philippine passport.

Coins matter in macro-economic terms as a core component of a nation’s money supply and in microeconomic terms as part of the medium of exchange for goods and services. Thus, the BSP should issue higher quality coins that are durable and more fit for the purpose.

The planned new coin series represents a unique opportunity for the BSP to improve the coins in the Philippines. However, this will be an opportunity missed if the issuance of multi-ply coins goes ahead.

Limiting the choice of new coins to a product that is proven to be inferior in terms of durability and quality will surely lead to more widespread and serious problems, such as coin shortages.

The BSP should use well-documented evidence and negative experience of other countries to make the best choice for our new coin series.

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

to recognize it.

Of course, there is little popular appetite on either side of the border even to talk about Irish reunification, given its association with violence and the unlikelihood of it coming to pass anytime soon.

And in the short term, Friday’s referendum may intensify Unionist opposition to a united Ireland, if that’s possible. But if the line separating north from south is ever to be erased, and if Yeats’s brand of Protestant nationalism is ever to revive, an Irish government that is committed to secular equality and a strict separation of church and state is a necessary precondition—and one that the referendum helps achieve.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

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PHL economy. . .

GDP growth winners in the long run will also include Chile with average growth of 4.4 percent; South Africa at 4.4 percent; Peru at 4.3 percent; Egypt at 4.2 percent; and Angola at 4 percent.

Earlier, IHS Asia Pacific Chief Economist Rajiv Biswas noted that the Philippines has the capacity for robust long-term economic growth supported by its strong information technology-business-process outsourcing industry and remittances from Filipino workers abroad.

Biswas also stressed the need for the Philippine government to improve infrastructure and the local business climate in order to attract more foreign direct investments (FDI) that will boost job generation.

Calax. . .

Continued from A1

“While the Aquino government has made efforts to improve this ranking, there is still a great deal of work to do to improve the overall competitiveness of the Philippines to attract large inflows of FDI,” he mentioned.

To improve the country’s business environment, the IHS economist mentioned that the government should increase its investments in infrastructure to create highquality transport infrastructure for roads, ports and airports.

There should also be more competitive power sector that will be favorable to manufacturing and services sectors.

“This will help to reduce poverty rates by boosting jobs growth and household incomes,” Biswas stressed. PNA

Continued from A1

Both are required to submit financial bids higher than P55.5 billion, an amount that when broken down, involves a P35.42-billion project cost, and a P20.1-billion premium.

It was the second time that the government launched a tender for the deal. The first one, although successful, was called out to be void by President Aquino himself.

The rebidding—criticized by business groups, both foreign and local —was launched to accommodate the petition of Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc., which allegedly offered P20.1 billion in premium payment to the government.

Team Orion of Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. topped the original auction with a P11.33-

billion offer on top of the project cost. Metro Pacific trailed behind by a hairline difference.

Mr. Aquino, who is the uncle of San Miguel chairman, decided to cancel the results of the initial auction, so the government could generate higher revenues from the bidding.

This was tagged by businessmen as a money milking initiative that ultimately places ordinary commuters at the losing end.

Aside from MPCALA Holdings Inc. and Optimal, two other bidders earlier expressed their interest in vying for the deal. They backed out during the auction proper.

Winning the deal would allow Metro Pacific and San Miguel to further enhance their toll road businesses.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House OKs new Aliw franchise

T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he House of Representatives on Monday approved on final reading a measure renewing for another 25 years the franchise of Aliw Broadcasting Corp.

Deputy Speaker and Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao of Isabela said House Bill (HB) 5391, which was approved by

Spending. . .

all the198 lawmakers present on Monday, will be transmitted to the Senate for its own deliberations.

Majority Leader and Liberal

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The whole point to widening the deficit in lock step with the target would help ensure sufficient public funds were actually spent on critical infrastructures the $272-billion economy needs to sustain the growth momentum over the medium term.

Instead, the actual budgetary shortfall was P50.6 billion lower than programmed, and P64.6 billion narrower than fiscal officials planned.

Nevertheless, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, quickly brushed aside the disappointing deficit numbers, saying the disbursement of funds typically slows in the first quarter.

“Disbursement in the first few months starts slowly every year,”

Beltran, also lead economist at the Department of Finance, said.

The lower-than-anticipated deficit was traced to improvements in revenue collection, which grew by 18 percent in the first quarter as compared to the revenues in the same period last year. The P33.5-billion fiscal deficit was also 66 percent lower than the government’s target deficit of P98.1 billion.

Revenue collection for the first quarter amounted to P470.5 billion, or P72.8 billion higher than the revenue collection in the first quarter of 2014, although the revenue collections still fell short of the P484.1-billion target collection for the said period.

Party Rep. Neptali Gonzales II of Mandaluyong is the author of HB 5391.

Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, Aliw Broadcasting chairman emeritus and founder, is also the owner of the BusinessMirror.

The Aliw Broadcasting owns and operates radio stations dwIZ khz in Manila; dwQJ 95.1 FM Naga; dwQA 92.3 FM in Legazpi; dyQC 106.7 FM in Cebu; dyQN 89.5 FM in Iloilo; dxQR FM in Cagayan de Oro; dxQM 98.7 FM in Davao; dxQS 98.3 FM in General Santos City; and dxQT 89.3 FM in Dagupan City.

According to Gonzales the re-

newal of the franchise of the Aliw Broadcasting should be approved because, “through the years, [it] dedicated and committed itself to efficient and effective public service by way of timely, accurate and useful dissemination of information to Filipino listeners.”

He added that the annual reports submitted by Aliw Broadcasting show its financial capability for continuous operations and possible expansion for another 25 years saying, “Since its original franchise is expiring in 2017, another legislative authorization to continue its public service and operation is indispensable.”

Of the total revenue collection, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) contributed P307.1 billion in collection, or an improvement of 16 percent from the agency’s collection for comparable periods last year. Still, this collection is P31 billion short of the BIR’s collection target for the first quarter.

The strong performance by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in March made up for its slow start for this year, allowing the BOC collection to reach P90.29 billion, or a growth by 7 percent, or by P5.8 billion during the first quarter from the figures that it registered for the same period last year.

Income from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) increased by 81 percent in the first quarter due to higher interest income from deposits and bond holdings, as well as dividend col-

lections. BTr income of P37.87 billion for the quarter was more than double the P16.7-billion target for the period.

On the expenditures side, the total disbursements of the national government in the first quarter amounted to P504 billion, or 4 percent higher than the total disbursements made in the first quarter of 2014. However, the total disbursements proved 13-percent below target for the period.

As percent of total disbursements, interest payments constituted 20 percent of the total expenditures for the quarter. This was higher than interest payments equal to 16.2 percent of the total government expenditures in 2014.

Total interest pay ments for the quarter this year amounted to P100.61 billion.