BusinessMirror June 20, 2015

BusinessMirror

THREETIME ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDEE 2006, 2010, 2012

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A broader look at today’s business Saturday 18,June 201420, Vol.2015 10 No. 40Vol. 10 No. 254 Saturday,

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LOWER INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING SEEN DETERRING GOVERNMENT FROM HITTING ECONOMIC TARGETS

Moody’s cuts PHL growth forecast I

INSIDE

T had been long in coming but, finally, global credit watcher Moody’s Investors Service said growth this year, measured in terms of the gross domestic product, should prove slower than projected on account of the government having failed to extend the liquidity boost that the private sector alone cannot provide.

FATHER’S DAY 2015 Pentecost

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EAR Lord, it is good to know that an extraordinary outpouring of the Divine Spirit on all mankind had been foretold by the prophet Joel, but the effect of the fulfillment of such prophesy went beyond every expectation. Pentecost was not just a matter of people speaking previously unknown foreign languages or having visions. It was a new creation. It brought into existence a new mankind, a new people of God—the Church. We rejoice because we belong to the Church. Amen.

WORD AND LIFE, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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Life

DOH! LET TV DADS HELP GUIDE YOUR FATHER’S DAY FASHION GIFTS »D2

BusinessMirror

Saturday, June 20, 2015

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FATHER’S DAY 2015

Give Dad some thanks for his successes— and maybe some time for a nap, too B G K | Detroit Free Press

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HEN I first sat down to write this article, I was all set to declare Father’s Day is the biggest snore-fest of the year. Because if you think about it, most of the gifts stores recommend and most of the gifts we buy for Dad are pretty much guaranteed to put him to sleep.

Hammocks? Yawn.

Scotch, bourbon and other alcohol? Doze.

Grills and the requisite accessories? Those lead to grilling, which most often leads to overeating, which leads to a big, fat nap. Trust me, I’ve seen it.

And let’s not forget the golf shirt. Just thinking about golf knocks out most people. But playing all afternoon as the sun beats down is exhausting. And watching a game on television, the announcers whispering the play-by-play oh so slowly, is the best sleep inducer since National Public Radio and Benadryl.

When I sat down to write, I was set to say that by rendering Dad unconscious, we’re giving him what he really wants—a chance to disconnect and zone out. At least that’s the message we get from the world around us—from advertisements, television, movies and more.

Dear old devalued Dad sleeps in his recliner in front of the TV. He dozes off at the first-grade choir concert.

He’s asleep at the wheel of life, clueless to the workings of his family and the household. Yes, Homer Simpson, I’m talking about you. And you too, Murray Goldberg, The Goldbergs patriarch who relies on his long-suffering wife for everything. I was on quite a roll—until I thought about the dads I know and realized everything I wanted to write was wrong. It’s true that dads have more leisure time than moms, an average of three hours a week more, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the governmentsponsored American Time Use Survey. At the same time, they’re also taking on more responsibilities at home and with their children. More Dads are staying home with their kids—almost 2 million dads in 2012, according to US Census data. In 1989 1.1 million dads stayed at home.

Of those 2 million, 21 percent said they’re staying home to take care of their children. In 1989 only 5 percent of dads surveyed listed caring for their children as their reason for staying home.

One of my best friends is a new dad who will care for his infant son when his wife returns to work.

My friend has an uncomfortable relationship with his own father, never felt loved by him and spent years drinking too much in an effort to drown past disappointments. Then he got older.

His emotional age began to catch up to his chronological age. His mother got sick. As all that happened, my friend

took on more responsibility for his life. He cleaned up his act. He got married.

Upon learning he would be a father, my friend signed up for parenting classes. He picked out baby shirts and pants and onesies, declaring them “adorable” and “darling”—words I’d never heard come out of his mouth. He quit chewing tobacco because he doesn’t want to set a bad example for his son. He shaved his beard so the newborn won’t reach for his face, only to grab a handful of prickly whiskers. And while it’s true my friend still laughs at fart jokes (sigh) and pretends he can’t find his way around a grocery store (sigh), he’s more involved with his son, more conscious of his role as father than I ever imagined he might be.

He says he wants his son to feel at peace and protected, things he didn’t feel during his own childhood. I thought about another Dad friend who has adult children with whom he is not especially close. He regrets that his divorce from their mother was so acrimonious. He knows he missed out on many aspects of fatherhood, many aspects of his kids’ lives. Which is why he keeps encouraging his son to spend more time with his little boy.

As for my own Dad—he was 25 when he came to the US, seeking a new beginning after war left his home in ashes and his future in doubt. He traveled by boat, wearing a cheaply made suit that came apart at the seams during the trip and carrying a dozen bottles of ouzo, a gift for his sponsor and for a distant relative.

My Dad spoke no English, but got a job as a janitor and in less than a year was proficient enough in his new language to get a job tending bar. Which is what he’s done ever since.

I can’t say my father and I have seen eye to eye on everything. For example, I really dislike lamb—which is practically heresy for someone like myself who is half Greek.

I don’t always follow my Dad’s advice in the voting booth. As a kid, I rolled my eyes at his lectures. Grab all the education you can get, he would say, because that’s the one thing no one can take away from you.

Of course all these years later I know exactly what my Dad was doing. He—a sixth-grade graduate whose family lost everything during war—was trying to make sure his kids got what he never had. Something that wouldn’t be obliterated by war.

In most cases fathers—my own, my father friends, most fathers—want their kids to have what they didn’t. Whether it’s a good education, or a feeling of peace, or a chance to watch their kids grow up.

Over the years I’ve bought enough golf shirts and lawn chairs to know that fathers are more complicated than society might have us think.

And maybe letting Dad know that he has succeeded— that he did give his kids what he didn’t have—maybe that’s better than all of those things.

Of course, a nice nap wouldn’t hurt things, either. ■

LIFE

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HONG KONG FIGHTS BusinessMirror

World The

B3-1| Saturday, June 20, 2015 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

PRO-DEMOCRACY protesters shout slogans after lawmakers voted against the election-reform proposals in Hong Kong on Thursday. AP/VINCENT YU

AFTER CHINA’S VOTE PLAN DEFEATED

Hong Kong set for more fights

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ONG KONG faces a prolonged political impasse after prodemocratic lawmakers rejected a China-backed plan for its political future and scuttled the Asian financial hub’s first leadership election.

Twenty-eight of 70 lawmakers voted against the bill, denying Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying the two-thirds majority needed to pass legislation setting up the citywide election.

The result was cheered by democracy advocates, who argued the plan would’ve let China’s Communist Party screen out candidates before they reached a popular vote.

The defeat provides a consolation prize to the Occupy Central protesters who seized city streets for almost three months last year in a failed effort to pressure President Xi Jinping to drop the candidate vetting.

While the result is an embarrassment for China, it also means the next chief executive will be selected by the same panel of elites that has consistently chosen pro-Beijing leaders since the UK returned the former colony in 1997.

Failure to resolve the debate will let fester a major source of tension in last year’s protests: the belief that China is encroaching on the “high degree of autonomy” promised to Hong Kong and altering its economic, legal and political systems.

“It will mean more governance problems because the public is seeing more Beijing interference in Hong Kong,” said Michael Davis,

city—Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau-kee, Cheng Yu- tung and Lui Che-woo— who have a combined net worth of $80.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Even before the vote, Leung had signaled a desire to get past the political debates that have consumed the city. “It is time to move on,” he said on Thursday, after the proposal failed. “For the next two years, the government will focus the efforts on the various economic development and livelihood issues.”

Advocates for political change argue that only a democratically elected chief executive would have the popular mandate to tackle the city’s thorniest issues. Pro-democracy lawmakers called on the government to follow through on past pledges to set up a one-person, onevote election system.

“C.Y. may think we’ll put democratic reforms to one side and we’ll move on with economics and livelihood issues, but if you have no trust and no cooperation with the legislature—a fractious legislature confronting you at every turn— then you are not going to get things done,” said Anson Chan, who was Hong Kong’s No. 2 official before the handover and now heads a prodemocracy group.

Investors have been unperturbed by the civic turmoil. Since China outlined the voting guidelines that triggered the protests on August 31, the benchmark Hang Seng Index has climbed 8 percent, outstripping the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which has fallen 1 percent in the period.

“The medium-term threat isn’t that Shanghai will suddenly be able to do what Hong Kong is today far better at,” said Paul Serfaty,

a constitutional law professor at the University of Hong Kong. “The Occupy movement is not just about democracy, it is about autonomy and the rule of law.”

The defeated proposal would’ve allowed 5 million people to vote for a chief executive from candidates selected by a panel of 1,200 tycoons, lawmakers and industry representatives. Opponents argued the committee would be stacked with Beijing loyalists and people who benefit from the city’s yawning wealth gap and soaring property prices.

Democracy advocates complain about China’s creeping influence over the media, schools and courts since the handover. Surging wealth on the mainland has flowed across the border, driving up the cost of everything from housing to consumer goods, while wages stagnate.

About half of Hong Kong workers earn less than HK$14,000 ($1,800) a month and 7.7-percent less than HK$5,000, according to government figures. They live in the most expensive housing market out of 378 markets tracked by the consultant Demographia.

Hong Kong is home to the highest concentration of multimillionaires of any city on earth. Four of the richest men in Asia live in the

a director of Asian Capital Partners Group, an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions. “It’s that the vital spirits of Hong Kong people—driven first by their refugee status and later by their hunger for success—will be suppressed as young people grow to believe that the cards are stacked against them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media blasted Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition lawmakers on Friday for being “destroyers” of democratic development a day after they shot down Beijing’s election blueprint for the British former colony.

The Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper published an editorial deploring the vote and accusing the pro-democracy camp of being “selfish” and not heeding public opinion in rejecting the government’s election proposals.

“The actions of the opposition camp show they are the upsetters and destroyers of Hong Kong’s democratic development process,” the People’s Daily said.

The People’s Daily editorial said pro-democracy lawmakers should take “full responsibility” for blocking the proposal but didn’t mention an embarrassing blunder by proestablishment lawmakers that left most of them accidentally unable to vote in support.

The 33 pro-establishment lawmakers took out a half-page newspaper ad to “deeply apologize” for walking out moments before the vote in a bungled attempt to prevent a quorum from being reached.

They said they wanted more time for an elderly, ailing member to return to cast a vote. But some others remained inside because of miscommunication, allowing the vote to go ahead. Bloomberg News and AP

Thailand reports 1st case of MERS virus

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ANGKOK—Thailand confirmed on Thursday its first known case of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, a 75-year-old man who recently arrived from Oman for treatment of a heart condition.

MERS has killed 24 people and sickened more than 160 people in South Korea, the biggest outbreak outside the region where it was first seen in 2012. World Health Organization Head Margaret Chan on Thursday praised South Korea’s efforts to contain the virus.

However, the number of people isolated at home and in medical facilities declined from about 6,700 on Thursday to just more than 5,900 on Friday, with more than 5,500 people, so far, released from the quarantine, the Health Ministry said. Thai Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin said two laboratories had confirmed the results.

The man has been quarantined at the ministry’s infectious diseases facility and is in stable condition, he said. He said the patient

was traveling with three other family members, who also are being watched at the facility. Public health officials are also monitoring others who were in contact with the man, including nearby passengers on the airplane. Rajata said the man didn’t have any symptoms while traveling to Bangkok, but began to have fatigue and difficulty breathing after he was admitted to a private hospital for treatment of his heart condition.

Many people from the Middle East come to Thailand for medical care.

“We advise the public not to panic because the patient and his family members were separated since the beginning,” Rajata said. “Our system is ready and we are monitoring the cases closely.”

Thanarak Phalipat, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, said 59 people who were in contact with the patient have been identified so far by the ministry, including health personnel, hotel employees, passengers who sat two rows in front and behind the patient on the plane, and two taxi drivers. AP

A PRO-EURO protester waves a European Union flag from the parliament during a rally in Athens, Greece, on Thursday. More than 5,000 people attended the rally in support of Greece remaining in the euro. About three-quarters of Greeks support keeping the EU’s common currency, according to recent polls. Greece and creditors failed to reach an agreement on Thursday in troubled bailout talks, with a June 30 deadline looming. AP/YORGOS KARAHALIS

Greece stumbling toward euro exit

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REECE lurched closer to an exit from the euro as a meeting of finance officials to reach a deal over aid dissolved in acrimony, forcing leaders to call for an emergency summit for Monday.

As the European Central Bank (ECB) prepared for its own emergency session on Friday to discuss Greece’s liquidity, thousands of Greeks piled outside parliament in Athens asking for the nation to be saved from default as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government blamed a conspiracy to blackmail Greece for the rancorous breakdown in talks.

With the specter of capital controls looming, key players deciding Greece’s fate voiced their exasperation with Greece’s top negotiators while the silence of others, such as German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, also spoke volumes.

“The key emergency is to secure a dialogue with adults in the room,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said after listening to Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis expound in Luxembourg, on Thursday. “What we lack is a dialogue.”

Greece and its creditors—the ECB, the IMF and the European Com m ission— seem f u r t her apart than ever after four hours of closed-door talks. Without a settlement, the ties still binding Greece to the currency bloc may begin to unravel with funding keeping Greek banks afloat under scrutiny.

“The extreme economic uncertainty coupled with fears of currency change have driven withdrawals to unprecedented levels, wiping in four days the cushion of about €3 billion of the Greek banking system,” said Nicholas Economides, professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Asked if he could imagine

Greece being forced out of the euro, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch minister who leads the g roup of euro -a rea f ina nce chiefs, said, “The way it goes now we’re going in that direction.”

The Athens Stock Exchange, among the year’s worst performers, plunged this week to its lowest level in almost three years.

For Tsipras, there are immediate repercussions. While Greece still has 12 days left before the bailout window shuts, the need for some parliaments to sign off on any agreement the ministers can broker means it’s already too late for them to access aid in time to pay the IMF about €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) at the end of the month, according to Dijsselbloem.

“Let’s say that we do reach an agreement; it’s unthinkable that the implementation and then disbursement will also have to take place before the end of the month,” Dijsselbloem said. “That is simply impossible.”

To get its hands on some money, Greece will now look to extract am extension of its bailout agreement at a June 22 summit that will bring Tsipras and Germany’s Angela Merkel, who has tried to smooth out tensions, in the same room. That EU meeting will start at 7 p.m. in Brussels.

Increasingly isolated among his European peers, Tsipras was in Saint Petersburg to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin though there was little sign any financial help would come out of it. Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Russia wasn’t ready to buy Greece’s debt or bonds.

The gathering in Luxembourg highlighted the disconnect between what the Greek leadership sees as its truth—vulturous creditors out to squeeze a small, vulnerable country—and what the rest of the euro members say is the reality: Without further belttightening, it’s over for Greece.

THE WORLD Bloomberg News

B31

Sports BusinessMirror

S, J , 

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

HENRIK STENSON (left) and Dustin Johnson share US Open lead.

AP

ONE MYSTERY SOLVED,

ANOTHER DEEPENS B D F | The Associated Press

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NIVERSITY Place, Washington—One mystery was solved on Thursday in the US Open.

Chambers Bay can be as hard as the US Golf Association wants it to be. Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson shared the lead at five-under 65, and the other 23 players who managed to break par in a gentle debut of the new golf course off Puget Sound agreed that it likely will only get tougher the rest of the way.

Another mystery deepened. Tiger Woods.

In a hole deeper than that bunker he found by topping a 3-wood on his final hole, Woods sunk to another low with the highest opening round of his Professional Golfers’ Association Tour career and his worst score by three shots in two decades at the US Open.

He shot an 80, which would have been even more shocking if he hadn’t had two scores even worse already this year.

“I fought. I fought hard. And that was my number,” Woods said.

At least this time he had company.

Woods beat only two players in the 156-man field. One of them was Rickie Fowler, who shot an 81.

Their scores were hardly a ANOTHER

day, another round in the 80s for Tiger Woods. AP

reflection of the way Chambers Bay was playing.

Johnson was flawless and powerful. His only mistake came on his final hole when he pulled a 6-iron on the par-3 ninth over the green and made his only bogey.

Stenson, among the cynical of Chambers Bay when he first saw it, birdied four of his last five holes. He poured in a 25-footer on the 18th for his 65.

They had a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed.

Matt Kuchar, Ben Martin and Brian Campbell, the amateur who just finished his college career at Illinois, were at 67. In the group one shot behind was Masters champion Jordan Spieth, a 21-year-old Texan who has been around long enough to know that anything around par is considered good work at a US Open.

“I think if I did it three more times, I’d be in really good position come Sunday,” Spieth said.

“No complaints there.’ Rory McIlroy had a rough day.

He was frustrated with the bumpy greens and shot 72.

Several tees were moved forward. Several pins were in spots where the slopes could be used to get the ball close.

Complaints—except for the greens—were at minimum.

“My guess was there would be 20 to 30 guys under par after today, and by the end there will be barely any,” Geoff Ogilvy said after his 69. “With a course like this, I would have thought that would be a sensible strategy to keep us all happy on Thursday and then gradually

wear us down.”

Woods wasn’t happy, though he managed a few laughs.

“The bright side is at least I kicked Rickie’s butt today,” he said.

Woods said he was on the right path with his new swing, but it was taking time and he was trying his hardest. That’s the message he gave at Memorial after his 85, yet his struggles were never more exposed than at the toughest test in golf, a major he has won three times.

From the side of a hill in deep, yellow grass, he hit one shot in which the club came out of his hand and landed some 15 feet behind him. That would have been an image that defined this day at Chambers Bay—until he got to No. 18 and hit a shot with which millions of hackers could identify.

Leave it to Woods to steal the show at the US Open, even if he wanted to hide.

Chambers Bay showed off some of its nuances.

Camilo Villegas took four shots to get out of a bunker on No. 12 that ruined his birdie-birdie start. Jason Day was motoring along toward the leaders until a stiff breeze showed up off Puget Sound and he left his tee shot on the par-3 15th hole some 15 yards short of the green, buried in the sand just beyond a mound of tall fescue.

Day still managed a 68.

“It’s only going to get tougher and tougher as the

TIGER AT HIS WORST U

NIVERSITY PLACE, Washington—The US Open used to be the place Tiger Woods showed why he was the best.

On Thursday, the tournament exposed him at his worst.

Another round full of miscues and flat-out bad shots. Another time signing a scorecard he wouldn’t have dreamed possible in his prime.

Woods struggled from the opening hole in a late-afternoon round at Chambers Bay, once again showing startling holes in a game that was once beyond reproach.

He finished with a 10-over 80 that left him ahead of only playing partner Rickie Fowler and an assistant club pro named Rich Berberian

Jr. among 156 players in a major championship he has won three times.

Worst of all, he embarrassed himself on prime-time TV with a topped 3-wood on the 18th hole that ended up deep in a cavernous bunker that no one with the US Golf Association figured any player would find all week long.

If that 12-foot bunker wasn’t deep enough, Woods finds himself in another huge hole: 15 strokes behind the leaders and in serious danger of missing the cut on Friday unless he can come up with a low round.

“It’s one of those things, just got to work through it,” Woods said.

“I’m trying as hard as I can to do it, and for some reason, I just can’t get the consistency that I’d like to have out there.”

A day earlier, he stayed late on the practice range at Chambers Bay trying to groove the

new swing he believes will eventually bring him back to the top again. But Woods couldn’t bring it to the course on a day where he could have made a highlight reel of bloopers and bad shots.

He left balls in bunkers, missed 3-foot putts that didn’t come close to the hole. Trying to hit it out of the deep grass on a hill on the eighth hole, the club slipped from his hands and went flying over the hill in a sequence that was comically replayed on social-media sites.

He was all smiles while shaking hands with playing partner Louis Oosthuizen and Fowler, but it seemed more like a smile of relief that it was all over.

“That wasn’t that bad after my second shot,” he told Oosthuizen as they walked off the green after Woods salvaged a closing bogey. Woods had the same smile as he answered a few questions after his round,

week goes on and everyone knows that,” Day said. “It’s all about the attitude. You have to have a good attitude in US Opens. It’s easy to play yourself out of the tournament real quick here.”

The first time Stenson saw Chambers Bay, he walked the course without playing it. The Swede did just fine with clubs in his hand.

“One day out of four done, and we’re right there with where we want to be,” Stenson said. “It’s still a long journey until Sunday afternoon.”

Johnson lost a chance to win the US Open at Pebble Beach five years ago with an 82 in the final round. He missed out on a playoff at the PGA Championship that same year by grounding his club without realizing he was in a bunker at Whistling Straits. And his challenge at the British Open in 2011 was derailed by a 2-iron that went out-of-bounds on the 14th hole.

But coming off a six-month break to get his life in order, Johnson is as imposing as ever. He already has won a World Golf Championship this year. And he likes the look of a big course where he can smash his way around it—and hitting it straight always helps.

“I really felt like I swung it well and hit a lot of quality iron shots,” Johnson said.

“So the confidence is definitely there. I feel really good about where I’m at going into tomorrow.”

insisting once again that his swing is a work in progress and that he sees hope.

He even tried to make light of his struggle by pointing out Fowler finished even worse with an 81.

“The bright side is at least I kicked Rickie’s butt today,” Woods said. Woods came to Chambers Bay off a shocking third round at the Memorial earlier this month, when he signed for an 85.

But he told reporters on Tuesday that his game was coming together and he had the confidence to compete on the links-style course. Instead, he had the worst opening round of his Professional Golfers’ Association Tour career—by a whopping three shots. “I fought, I fought hard,” Woods said. “And that was my number. I couldn’t grind out any harder than that. So that’s just the way I played and unfortunately it was a high number today.”

Woods is seven years removed from his last major title, the US Open he won on one leg in one of golf’s legendary performances at Torrey Pines.

He remains stuck on 14 majors, four short of the mark set by Jack Nicklaus, and he turns 40 in December, a time when history says players struggle to win as much.

He arrived at this open a shocking 50-1 pick to win a tournament in which he used to be an automatic odds-on favorite. His first-round performance—where he trailed 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer by three shots— showed the oddsmakers accurately reflected his chances. Still, he said there was hope.

“I know when I do it right, it’s so easy,” he said of his fourth major swing change. “It just feels easy to control, easy to do it, easy to hit all my shots. I just need to do it more often and build from there.” AP

SPORTS

In a credit assessment released on Friday, Moody’s scaled back its growth forecast by half a percentage point to 6 percent, from 6.5 percent or igina lly. For 2016, Moody’s projects local output limited to only 6.5 percent.

Both forecasts represent significant reductions from the official growth goal of 7 percent to 8 percent for 2015 and 2016, respectively.

“The government’s ambitious growth target may be difficult to achieve in the absence of more ef fec t ive bud get e xec ut ion,” Moody’s said.

The government has been faulted

C1

for its inability to pursue growthboosting infrastructure programs that ensure long-term growth, having implemented only a handful of those projects designed to reinvigorate an economy considered one of the fastest in the region.

In the first three months, the local economy managed to expand by only 5.2 percent, sharply lower than consensus forecast exceeding 6 percent, and a performance made worse by the pull of weak government spending and by weak exports during the period.

Just this week the government C  A

NEW HITACHI REFRIGERATORS AT ANSON’S From left, Anson’s Emporium Corp. General Manager Rey Flores, Anson’s Emporium Business Development Head Joy Ng, Anson’s Emporium COO Jenny Ng, Hitachi Home Electronics Asia Managing Director Hiroki Nakano, Hitachi Asia Ltd. Philippines Branch General Manager Mitsuhiko Shimizu and Hitachi Home Electronics Asia Board Director Chen Teck Beng offer a toast during the launch of Hitachi’s new refrigerators, which will be available only at Anson’s. ALYSA SALEN

PAL TO ADD TWO BOEING 777 JETS TO FLEET B L S. M

F

ONE MYSTERY SOLVED C |

B B C

LAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is expanding its fleet with the planned lease of two long-range aircraft from Stamford-based aircraft-leasing company Intrepid Aviation, in its bid to cement its position in the long-haul market of Asia’s rising tiger.

Jaime J. Bautista, the company’s president, announced on Friday that PAL will add two more Boeing 777-300ERs to its fleet by the second half of next year.

The additional planes will bring the legacy carrier’s overall fleet count to 78 aircraft.

“These additional B777-300ERs will help us continue to expand our

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 45.0170

BAUTISTA announced on Friday that Philippine Airlines will add two more Boeing 777-300ERs to its fleet by the second half of next year.

long-haul markets efficiently and economically, while enabling us to provide passengers our trademark Filipino service in the modern, stateof-the-art B777,” he said.

Sought for further details, Bautista said the new planes may be used for its operations in the United States and Europe.

“The lease rate is confidential.

Boeing 777s can fly to the US and Europe. The delivery is set for October and December 2016,” he said in a text message.

For his part, Intrepid Aviation President and CEO Franklin Pray said: “We are very pleased to expand our relationship with Philippine Airlines and work with Boeing to provide PAL with such an outstanding airplane.”

The B777-300ER is the most fuel- and cost-efficient airplane in its class today, with 99.5-percent reliability, and is considered one of the most reliable twin-aisle aircraft in the world.

“Philippine Airlines’s continued commitment to the 777-300ER is a testament to the airplane’s C  A

Culture of consumption has led to global warming–Pope Francis

P

OPE Francis on Thursday called for immediate changes in human behavior to fight global warming and save the environment, saying that damage caused by contemporary lifestyles could leave future generations in a world of filth.

In a powerfully worded encyclical, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church chastised those who would deny a human connection to climate change. Francis declared that the planet was, indeed, growing warmer, and that the dangerous trend was due largely to a culture of instant gratification.

Tragically, he said, people have grown increasingly self-obsessed,

ever more distant from nature and alarmingly preoccupied with technological novelty.

“Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain,” Francis wrote in the highly anticipated encyclical, or teaching document, released on Thursday.

“We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth. The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes.”

At a Vatican news conference, Cardinal Peter Turkson, who wrote C  A

■ JAPAN 0.3662 ■ UK 71.5140 ■ HK 5.8070 ■ CHINA 7.2520 ■ SINGAPORE 33.7459 ■ AUSTRALIA 35.2853 ■ EU 51.1888 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.0049 Source: BSP (19 June 2015)

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News

BusinessMirror

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Drop in energy prices to fuel revival in European margins

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eyond short-term risks linked to Greek debt talks, rebounding profit margins in Europe could help the region’s stocks outpace equities in the US, where margins may be peaking.

Bloomberg data shows the trailing 12-month profit margin for companies listed on Europe’s Stoxx 600 stands at 5.9 percent, still a long way from the peak of 10.7 percent

reached before the financial crisis in 2007. This is a sharp contrast with a margin of 8.9 percent for companies listed on the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500, which is not far

from the 2007 high of 9.5 percent.

Historically, margins in the two regions have been relatively similar, with an average gap of about 90 basis points over the past 10 years. The gap is currently around 300 basis points, or 3 percentage points.

Analysts say the fall in the euro over the past year, combined with lower commodity prices and cheaper financing costs for companies, are set to fuel a revival in European margins.

“Among all the positive factors, the impact from the drop in energy prices for European corporate earnings will be tremendous,” PierreYves Gauthier, head of strategy at AlphaValue, said by phone. A wave

of cost cuts in recent years means that European companies are lean, so every 1-percent increase in revenue should translate into a 4-percent profit gain on average, Gauthier said.

France and Italy offer the biggest upside for profitability thanks in part to weak labor markets, while there is less potential for margin expansion in Germany due to wage growth, Exane strategists wrote in a note dated June 16.

European stocks’ brisk rally in the first part of the year has stalled since April amid worries over Greece.

The Stoxx 600 is still up 12 percent in 2015, however. The S&P 500 has only risen about 3 percent.

reported a budget surplus of P52.6 billion in April alone, bringing the fiscal position to a four-month excess of P19.08 billion. This developed as the government posted a meager 5-percent disbursement growth during the period. The injection of public funds was supposed to energize an economy that, at the beginning of the year, showed so much promise.

Among the other so-called

risks Moody’s cited to drive home the importance of fiscal support include the persistence of lowincome per-capita and suboptimal revenue mobilization.

Moody’s also said the challenge facing Philippine policy-makers is “sustaining the positive trajectory” of institutional quality when the next set of public officials take over in 2016.

Nevertheless, Moody’s affirmed the country’s credit outlook as

“stable,” which basically means the likelihood of a boost or reduction are balanced.

“The stable outlook on the Philippines’s rating reflects our expectation that continued economic performance relative to peers, debt consolidation, and improving debt affordability will be sustained, but consistent with a “Baa2” rating profile over the one- to two-year outlook horizon,” Moody’s said.

Among the developments that

PAL to add two Boeing 777 jets to fleet. . .

Continued from A1

proven fuel efficiency, performance and award-winning passenger interior,” Boeing Senior Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing John Wojick said.

Currently, PAL’s wide-body fleet consists of 27 aircraft, including 15 A330-300s, six 777-300ERs and six A340-300s.

The legacy carrier recorded $85 million in comprehensive income in the first quarter of the year, a turnaround from the $20.7-million net loss posted the year prior.

The sustained financial comeback was attributed to the declining price of fuel that resulted in lower air fares.

This spurred air traveling in and out of the Philippines, helping the airline recuperate from the rising expenses during the period.

Revenues rose by 30 percent to $627 million in the first three

months of the year from $482.4 million in the same period last year.

Total operating expenses, meanwhile, amounted to $556 million, an 11-percent rise from last year’s print of $500.3 million.

The carrier led by billionaire Lucio C. Tan first snapped out of the red zone last year, after registering P787 million in comprehensive income for the full-year period. It represented a dramatic turnaround from the P9.12-billion loss incurred in the last nine months of 2013, or from April to December.

Two years ago, the carrier shifted its accounting period from a fiscal year basis that ends in March to a calendar year instead. This resulted in a shorter period of nine months for 2013. Shares of PAL Holdings Inc. ended Friday’s trading at P4.40 apiece.

Bloomberg News

Moody’s cuts PHL growth forecast Continued from A1

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could boost the Philippines’s sovereign rating include a steady increase in income levels or greater revenue mobilization that would further bolster government finances.

The emergence of macroeconomic instability—which leads to a substantial deterioration in fiscal and government debt metrics and an erosion of the country’s external payments position—would exert downward pressure on the rating, Moody’s said.

Pope Francis. . .

other hallmarks of climate change,” Suh said. “But some are bearing a greater burden.”

Craig Groves, executive director of the Science for Nature and People partnership, said the group applauded the pope “for standing up for the fundamental values of nature.”

“We also welcome the grounding of the church’s views in science, which transcends national and religious boundaries,” Groves said.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle urged Filipinos to study Pope Francis’s encyclical call-

Continued from A8

ing on all to rediscover their role as stewards of the environment.

“With Pope Francis I invite the faithful, the religious and the clergy of the Archdiocese of Manila to study, enrich, discuss and meditate on the various points of the encyclical,” he said in a statement.

“We call on non-Christians, families, educators, politicians, business people, experts in science and digital technology, media, consumer groups, non-governmental and peoples’ organizations to study the encyclical and its proposals,” the cardinal added. TNS and PNA

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, June 20, 2015 A3

Palace upbeat due to Q2 survey results

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By Butch Fernandez

ALACAÑANG is upbeat over the results of the second quarter 2015 Social Weather Stations survey showing President Aquino’s public satisfaction rating rising by 10 points to 57 percent, even as his dissatisfaction rating fell by 9 points to 27 percent, following the backlash of public outcry over government mishandling of the Mamasapano massacre of 44 police commandos by Moro rebels in Mindanao.

“As snapshots of public opinion, surveys reflect varying perspectives, and their results fluctuate according to changing political landscapes,” Deputy Presidential Spokesman Abigail Valte said on Friday.

Valte noted, however, that President Aquino’s approval ratings “remain historically high, compared to the same period of other administrations.”

“This shows the public’s confidence in the President, who—five years since his election—continues to tread the path of “daang matuwid,”

leading the fight against corruption and pursuing economic growth for the benefit of all,” she said.

Valte also assured that inclusive growth remains at the front and center of the Aquino administration.

“This commitment has translated into concrete benefits for our citizens, including improvements in education and employment.”

She said, “President Aquino has always believed in our people’s potential, and thus, continues to invest in our country’s greatest resource.”

“With 377 days left in the Presi-

Cops raid illegal gun shop in Pampanga

By Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan Philippines News Agency

T VALTE

dent’s term, he intends to make full use of each day to build on our recent successes and propel our nation toward even greater heights,” she added.

In a statement e-mailed to Malacañang reporters, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma reported that President Aquino is “gratified that our bosses, the Filipino people, recognize the efforts of his administration to improve the delivery of public services.”

Coloma also reaffirmed the Aquino administration’s commitment to “continue implementing vital reforms so that the fruits of good governance and may be sustained and made permanent.”

“We will intensify efforts to accelerate the development of public infrastructure, broaden social protection, and strengthen public institutions, so that the ultimate objective of achieving long-term inclusive growth may be attained,” Coloma added.

HE Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) based in Pampanga, together with the members of Lubao Police Station, arrested gun makers and seized weapons and assorted gun parts.

Director Benjamin B. Magalong, CIDG chief, said on Friday that Senior Supt. Ismael Fernandez, CIDG Central Luzon commander and his men, led by Chief Insp. Ferdinand Aguilar, enforced three search warrants on the houses and business premises of Lucas Tiongco, Michael G. Tiongco and Rene T. Tiongco, who are all located in Barangay San Juan, Lubao, Pampanga.

The said search warrants were is-

sued by Judge Celso O Baguio of the Regional Trial Court in Gapan City for alleged violation of Republic Act (RA) 10591, or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition. The warrants were issued on June 16, 2015.

Fernandez said Michael and Rene were arrested, while Lucas is still at large.

At least eight assorted firearms, gun parts for assembly, assorted tools used for repair and converting firearms, magazines for different firearms and ammunition were seized during the operation on Thursday at around 11 a.m.

CIDG agents said the arrested persons were the alleged sources of 18 homemade caliber .22 handguns converted into pen guns confiscated during an entrapment operation by the

members of Quezon City Police District on June 9 from a certain Agustin Maninang, 21, single, of San Antonio, Lubao, Pampanga, who was arrested for alleged gun-running.

In addition, the CIDG agents said the operation was launched based on several reports that some criminal elements and New Peoples Army rebels operating in the province of Pampanga have their firearms repaired and buy homemade firearms at the place.

The arrested suspects, as well as the pieces of evidence seized, are presently in the custody of Pampanga CIDG office for documentation and disposition, prior to the return of search warrants to the issuing court In addition, a case for violation of RA 10951 is being prepared against the arrested suspects.

BI stops departure of 4 human-trafficking victims

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HE Bureau of Immigration announced on Friday that it had prevented four victims of humantrafficking from leaving the country.

In a press statement, the bureau said the victims were taken into custody on June 11, while they were at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport waiting for their departure for Dubai.

Immigration officials in the airport noted that the victims, whose names are withheld for safety reasons, came in together and had the same itinerary,

initially posing as tourists to travel for holiday for a short period of time.

However, during the interview, each of the victims admitted that a certain Maricar Columbres facilitated their travel documents to work for various foreign employers as household helpers. It was also discovered that the passengers, who initially claimed to be traveling together, do not actually know each other.

This prompted Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison to reiterate its

warning to Filipinos about the growing number of illegal recruiters and persuades Filipinos to be vigilant to avoid falling for such modus.

“These illegal recruiters have developed different ways on how to make money out of the pockets of the innocent victims,” Mison said.

We are doubling our efforts in fighting against human-trafficking, but we advise our fellow Filipinos to double their keenness, as well,” Mison added. Joel San Juan

Economy

A4 Saturday, June 20, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

Solons hit ‘questionable’ DOTC deals for MRT 3

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By Marvyn N. Benaning | Correspondent

arty-list Reps. Neri J. Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna have tagged as anomalous the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 bidding for operations and maintenance of the ailing rail system, saying winners are “the usual favored parties.”

For the maintenance of MRT 3 rails, the Jorgman-Korail-Erin Marty joint venture won with a contract worth P23.9 million, while Global Epcom Services Inc. (Gesi) snatched the P23.35-million deal for the maintenance of stations, depot and other facilities.

Trilink Technologies Inc. was awarded a P7.28-million contract for the upgrade and maintenance of communications systems, and Future

Logic Corp. (FLC) secured a P6.95million deal for the maintenance of the electronic ticketing system.

“Jorgman-Korail-Erin Marty joint venture was almost blacklisted in 2013 by the LRT [Light Rail Transit] 1 management because it took months before it was able to start its rail-replacement project for LRT 1,” the Bayan Muna lawmakers argued.

“Gesi and FLC are subsidiaries or affiliates of Global-APT, the dreaded

contractor that now handles the dismal operations and maintenance of MRT 3,” they added.

“Also why is it that the Department of Transportation and Communications [DOTC] still contracted for automated fare-collection system when a contract with the Ayala-Manny V. Pangilinan group already won the electronic ticketing contract last year?” Colmenares asked.

“Also why should the DOTC still reward Global-APT when this company was the one responsible for so many problems of the MRT 3,” Colmenares and Zarate argued.

“Now, if the DOTC will not rollback the MRT 3 fare by July, then we shall seriously consider filing administrative and criminal charges against the DOTC and Global-APT,” Colmenares added.

At a picket protest at the MRT 3 Kamuning station, members of Bayan Muna demanded that the DOTC roll back the fare of the MRT 3 since its service deteriorated.

“Palpak ang serbisyo, mahal na, mapanganib pa. Kahit na itinaas ang singil sa MRT 3 ay bulok pa rin ang

briefs GSIS HIKES CREDIT LIMIT, EXTENDS PAYMENT TERMS FOR NEW CONSO-LOAN PROGRAM

serbisyo. Billions of the people’s money is allocated for the MRT 3 and LRT [railways systems], the people are being ripped off,” Colmenares added.

This study by scientists belonging to Agham, which found the MRT 3 to be five times more dangerous than US rail systems should prompt the DOTC to act immediately to prevent deadly accidents, Zarate said.

“The collision of the LRT 1 in May, the derailment of the Philippine National Railways train in April, the daily appalling queues in the MRT 3, and the overall deterioration of our train systems should have been enough reason for the DOTC to act on the state and maintenance of our train systems, but it has done nothing significant to ensure the safety and convenience of our commuters,” he argued.

“The DOTC should not wait for major train catastrophe to occur before ensuring that our train systems are safe and properly maintained, with enough trains to service commuters. As it is, our train lines are a disaster waiting to happen,” Zarate concluded.

Ubiquity Global expands call center operations in Bacolod City

Active members of state-pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will enjoy a higher credit limit and longer repayment terms beginning July 1 under an improved consolidated loan program.

Dubbed the Enhanced Conso-Loan Plus Program, members who have paid premium contributions for at least 15 years may borrow a 12-month salary loan, while those with at least 25 years of paid premiums will be eligible for a 14-month loan. Previously, the credit limit for these members was only 10 times their salary.

GSIS will also extend the maximum payment term from six to 10 years for members with at least 10 years of paid contributions.

To standardize payment schemes and due dates, the first amortization due date for loans granted on or before the 23rd of the month is on the 10th of the following month from the date the loan was granted.

For loans granted after the 23rd day of the month, the first due date is on the 10th day of the second month after the grant of the loan.

Qualified for the program are active GSIS members (permanent and non-permanent) who have no pending administrative or criminal case, are not on leave of absence without pay, and with a net take-home pay of P3,000 mandated under the General Appropriations Act. Special members, such as prosecutors and members of the judiciary and constitutional commissions are also qualified to avail themselves of the loan equivalent to 10 times their basic salary. PNA

south cotabato allots p32.8 MILLION for drrm projects GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The provincial government of South Cotabato has allocated around P32.8 million for the implementation until year-end of various disaster preparedness and mitigation initiatives.

Milagros R. Lorca, acting head of the South Cotabato Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said on Friday that such funding represents the Local DRRM Trust Fund for 2015 that was approved earlier this month by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board.

She said it was contained in the 2015 Provincial DRRM Fund Investment Plan endorsed by the Provincial DRRM Council to the provincial board.

“It will cover for projects on general public services, social services and housing, and community development,” Lorca said.

The official said that aside for the 2015 Trust Fund, they will use around P6.8 million in unutilized allocations that were carried over in 2013 and 2014. PNA

‘Walk the fault’ launched in taguig city

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ACOLOD CITY—Ubiquity Global Services, a multinational services organization headquartered in New York, is expanding its presence in Negros Occidental, particularly in Bacolod City, with the growth of their operations center at the Negros First Cyber Centre.

T he company is adding a 1,200-square-meter space in June and is expected to further expand into a similarly sized space in the same building before the end of the year.

The planned expansion will bring the company’s total office space in the Cyber Centre to nearly 4,000 sq m.

With the signing of several new clients, Ubiquity is increasing its Bacolod work force to approximately 1,500 employees by early 2016.

Ubiquity Founder and President Matthew Nyren signed the expansion of lease agreement with Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. in rites held at the Provincial Capitol on Thursday.

Nyren formally announced the expansion plans of Ubiquity in the province, in the presence of Bacolod City Councilor Jocelle BatapaSigue, president of Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology, Provincial Engineer Ernie Mapa, and members of Ubiquity’s local management team.

“I am excited about today’s announcement and our forthcoming expansion in the Negros First Cyber Centre,” Nyren said.

He added: “This expansion will provide a progressive working space for the creation of nearly 2,000 career opportunities in the region within the next year. The expansion establishes Bacolod as our company’s largest operating location in a growing global network that includes sites in Metro Manila, the US, Latin America and Europe. We look forward to big things for the Bacolod center and our talented colleagues here in Negros province.”

Marañon said he is very happy with the continued expansion of the Ubiquity and looks forward to the additional jobs it will create for the province. He assured Nyren of the provincial government’s support in all initiatives involving the development of human resource for the business-process management industry. PNA

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Pediatric patient Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Vice Chairman and General Manager lawyer Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas

II (second from right) and Director Francisco Manuel G. Joaquin III (third from left) visited on Friday last week 3-year-old pediatric biliary atresia patient Jacob Figueroa, who underwent a successful liver transplant recently at the Medical City Hospital in Mandaluyong City. The PCSO donated P1.5 million for the child’s operation. Jacob’s mother Ernalyn (right), from San Felipe, Zambales, thanked the PCSO for the assistance. With them are pediatrician Karen Mercado and Medical City Transplant Team Head Surgeon Ma. Vanessa de Villa. JOSEPH MUEGO

Malacañang vows to sustain reforms for inclusive growth

T

he Aquino administration has reassured the Filipino people it will continue undertaking vital reforms in a bid to sustain the benefits of good governance.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. issued the statement after a second-quarter 2015 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed that gross satisfaction with President Aquino surged by 10 points to 57 percent, and dissatisfaction declined by 9 points to 27 percent.

“President Aquino is gratified that our bosses, the Filipino people, recognize the efforts of his administration to improve the delivery of public services and continue implementing vital reforms so that the fruits of good governance may be sustained and made permanent,” he said.

Coloma said the government will, thus, intensify efforts to accelerate the development of public infrastructure, broaden social protection and strengthen public institutions “so that the ultimate objective of achieving long-term inclusive growth may be attained.”

For her part, Presidential Spokesman Abigail Valte said inclusive growth remains at the front and center of the Aquino administration.

“This commitment has translated into concrete benefits for our citizens, including improvements in education and employment. President Aquino has always believed in our people’s potential, and thus, continues to invest in our country’s greatest resource,” she said.

Valte stressed that President Aquino’s approval ratings remain historically high compared to the same period of other administrations.

“This shows the public’s confidence in the President, who—five years since his election—continues to tread the path of Daang Matuwid, leading the fight against corruption and pursuing economic growth for the benefit of all,” she added. PNA

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and Metro Manila local government units have started paint marking dwellings, schools, buildings and other structures in the 12 barangays in Taguig City that straddle along the West Valley Fault in a bid to increase awareness among residents on how to survive a major earthquake in case it hits the National Capital Region.

MMDA Chairman Francis N. Tolentino said the activity, dubbed as “Walk the Fault” will start in Barangay Pinagsama, and will cover the 84 barangays which are directly in the West Valley Fault line’s path.

“This activity is not intended to cause unnecessary alarm, but to make the public more conscious and start preparations from within the homes and neighborhoods,” Tolentino said.

Also present at the event were Phivolcs Director Renato U. Solidum Jr. and Taguig City Mayor Laarni Cayetano.

The activity covers barangays Bagumbayan, Bagong Tanyag, Upper Bicutan, Central Bicutan, Lower Bicutan, Maharlika Village, Ususan, South Daang Hari, and North, Central, and South Signal Villages.

In recent years, Phivolcs have already put up markings but are not as visible now.

According to the MMDA chief, thermoplastic materials which do not easily fade and reflect at night will be used in the paint-marking activity.

For her part, Cayetano said that the efforts of the city to prepare for a possible earthquake scenario started in 2010.

Cayetano said the city government sets aside budget each year to buy rescue equipment and aside from that, the Taguig City rescue team has been in close coordination with Pasig and Marikina rescue units for training to further enhance the skills of their response team. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Taxi service at Naia seen to improve after lifting of ‘LPG requirement’ for airport cabs

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light changes in the processing of airport taxi applications will soon allow more airport taxis to service passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) terminals.

This was after the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) met on Friday with airport transport providers to inform them of the lifting of the requirement that airport metered taxis should be powered with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Prior to the lifting of the requirement, airport metered taxis were required to be powered with LPG so that their ap-

plications with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board could be processed.

To recall, transport providers through the airport management have to seek for exemptions from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to allow them to operate taxi units powered LPG fuel.

MIAA General Manager Jose Angel A. Honrado said in a news statement that this change in taxi applications will eventually lead to more airport taxis servicing passengers at the Naia.

“MIAA welcomes this recent move by the DOTC,” he said.

“Not only will operators find it easier now to process their applications but passengers can also expect more airport-accredited taxis in the terminals in the months to come,” he added.

At present, there are 615 airport-accredited taxis operating at the NAIA. The requirement was lifted following transport providers’ petitions arguing that it was difficult to meet the LPG requirement considering the lack of LPG refilling stations in Metro Manila. PNA

Pre-owned appliances Piles of used but functional household appliances, like television sets and refrigerators, are on display and sale at much lower prices compared to brand-new units at a side street at the Port of Manila on Thursday. NoNnie Reyes

Economy BusinessMirror

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‘Provocative’ Ad Summit expected in Subic in 2016

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By Henry Empeño

UBIC BAY FREEPORT— A more provocative lineup of topics, a more engaging schedule of activities, and a bigger field of global icons and local experts as speakers will bring next year’s Ad Summit Pilipinas here to a new level of creative innovation, organizers said during the program launch recently.

“We promise you more,” said Jenny Wieneke, president of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4A), which also organized the first Ad Summit here in May 2014.

She added that the coming event promises to take the challenge of innovative and creative development, which also promotes closer bonding among people behind the industry: the marketers, advertisers and the media.

4A officials have scheduled the next Ad Summit from March 9 to 12 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) with the theme “Come Out and Play.”

The summit will also involve the staging of the “Kidlat Awards” of the Creative Guild of the Philippines, which is the country’s most prestigious creative advertising competition.

Organizers said the bigger vision for the 2016 event was dictated by the need to transcend the successes of the previous summit and to help advertising and marketing practitioners stay inspired, brimming with ideas and extremely hopeful about the industry.

“Play allows one to view possibilities where there was none before. It sees no obligations— just a wealth of opportunities,” Ad Summit 2016 Chairman Alex Syfu said.

He explained that the theme encapsulates the constant need to shake the advertising community out of its comfort zone, and to keep it from falling into the trap of focusing on the trials that seem to plague the industry these days.

“Ad Summit Pilipinas 2016 is an invitation for marketing practitioners to see the brighter side of things—to spot opportunities amid industry challenges in order to propel brands into the future,” Syfu added. “If you are not willing to take the challenge, then you might as well settle yourself for the ordinary setup.”

Meanwhile, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia gave the assurance that the 2016 Ad Summit Pilipinas will see “a lot to play in Subic.”

The SBMA executive announced that the Subic Bay Freeport community is also preparing for the summit, with both the SBMA and local businesses upgrading their facilities for tourism and recreation.

Garcia added that SBMA alone will be spending from P20 million to P30 million for the renovation of SBECC to make the Ad Summit venue more suitable and comfortable for the participants.

The amount, he clarified, is just part of the agency’s P800million capital-expenditure fund for the repair of service roads and purchase of new vehicles, among others, this year.

In the same occasion, Syfu also noted that leaders of the advertising and marketing industry were satisfied with the staging of the 2014 Ad Summit event in Subic Bay. “And because of that, because more people are clamoring for it, the most prestigious advertising gathering in the country is going to Subic again,” Syfu added.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 A5

GenSan creates housing board to snatch 20 percent of socialized housing projects from big developers

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By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—General Santos City has finally created its own housing board, a requirement of the national government that was ignored in the past that allowed highend housing developers to bypass the city in terms of locating their mandated socialized housing component.

At least one developer has built in another locality its mandated 20

percent of investment to be spent on socialized housing, while it built its

high-end project in the city.

Mary Ann Bacar, chief of the City Housing and Land Management Office, said the General Santos City Housing Board was created recently through a city ordinance that would look into the effective implementation of socialized housing and relocation for the urban poor.

“In accordance to the guidelines provided by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board [HLURB], every local government unit must create their own housing boards to complement the national government’s effort in managing housing projects that will greatly benefit the poor,” Bacar said.

The housing board would be

the one that would formulate policies on how to effectively implement the 20-percent socialized housing counterparts of proposed subdivision projects by any given developer.

This policy is mandated under Republic Act 7279, also known as the Urban Development and Housing Act (Udha) of 1992.

“To cut it short, without the local housing board [LHB], the 20-percent socialized housing counterpart won’t be implemented here in the city. It will be taken by the HLURB and will implement it on other feasible areas,” Bacar said.

She said that the city lost the Robinsons Homes socialized housing compliance to another area

“because during its entry, the city has still no LHB.” Mayor Ronnel Rivera said the city “had missed many opportunities to grab these privileges from the Udha.”

“If we had only an LHB in the past, GenSan could have now developed many socialized housing for the poor.

Of course, many could have benefited from it,” he said.

“Now, we are hoping for the best, that this time, GenSan will really benefit from these projects,” Rivera added.

Bacar said that Camella Homes, Robinson Homes and Norfolk Homes were among the new housing developers that have entered General Santos City in the past five years.

Manila Apec meet seen as ‘golden opportunity’ for Pinoy entreps briefs

By Recto Mercene

T

he forthcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Manila this November is a “golden opportunity” for the country’s budding entrepreneurs to show off their talents, attract investors and venture capitalists from a country of 100 million citizens, and Asean’s 600 million inhabitants.

This is the message that “SlingshotMnl” wants to convey as it begins a series of discussions and conferences to demonstrate not just how big the community is in the region but also how high the level of innovation in Asia Pacific is.

“So right now is our time to shine, this is who we are, this is what the world should know, and the media, the Department of Science and Technology, including everybody should all work together in unison to say we have an innovation strategy, which could be [the] next growth sector of the country,” says Michael “Mike’ Ignacio, Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) commercial attaché.

The trade department, he said, has adopted a policy of supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and sees start-ups as an integral component in developing them. Start-ups are now included, for the first time, in the 2014 to 2016 Investment Priorities Plan.

Considered part of SMEs are those in the fields of software, animation and game development.

These are now eligible for Board of Investments incentives such as income-tax holidays and duty-free importation of equipment.

Ignacio said that Apec happens every decade in a particular country “and this year is the Philippines’s unique opportunity for the world to be here.”

“Twenty-one economies are coming in different meetings and summits, discussing different relevant issues. We need to take advent of that opportunity and highlight the segment where the Philippines shines, and take advent of the attention right here.”

Ignacio said he hopes that the world in the global start-up community will begin to take note at the start-up community in the Philippines.

He said that the country lags behind in terms of investing for startups and that the DTI and Slingshot will help in bringing us up to par over other countries in luring investors from abroad.

“We are very lucky that we have very strong private sector that helps start-up. What could be better is if international investors would come and help support us,” he said at the sidelines of the event, SlingshotMnl, on Thursday at their office in Makati City.

He said holding the Apec in the country is like hitting two birds with one stone: celebrating the Apec summit and highlighting the country’s innovations on the spot.

first gen acquires 29m preferred shares of prime terracota holdings corp.

The trade department and SlingshotMnl jointly spearheaded a series of conferences and discussions on the “golden opportunities” open for local entrepreneurs ahead of the forthcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Manila. Photo shows (from left) Raymond Albert Batac, executive director and coordinating officer of the Foreign Trade Service Corps; Earl Martin Valencia, president of IdeaSpace Foundation; Michael Alfred Ignacio, trade attaché; Jojo Flores, cofounder and vice president of Plug and Play Tech Center; Jay Fajardo, programs director of Launchgarage; and Minette Navarrete, president of Kickstart Ventures. Nonie Reyes

Minette Navarrete, president of Kickstart Ventures, said one lesson that we have learned from the various Asian crises in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008 is that, as they progressed and stressed that “we are more globally integrated, more regionally dependent and the politics can be distanced from the economic, social and political environment.”

“So the economic system as we know them from the 20th century, those are broken [and] I think we need to reinvent the future that includes a more sustainable growth pattern, something inclusive because without inclusive growth, we don’t have social stability.”

She added that SlingshotMnl contributes to this inclusive growth in the global context, which doesn’t require huge amount of capital but will take a lot of hard work and talent.

“If there’s something Filipinos and Asians are known for, it’s their willingness to do the hard work supported by their immense talent,” Navarrete said.

She added that in the Asean context, it is the Philippines’s ability to foster entrepreneurship that is more mass-based, contingent on technology to leverage it for economic growth, for job creation and talent recognition.”

Jojo Flores, cofounder and vice president of Plug and Play Tech Center, when asked if SiliconValley could be replicated in Asia, said that the famed high-tech valley “had ceased to exist. “ “Silicon Valley is from another time, it doesn’t exist in Asia, that was for last century,” he said, adding that the place where the silicon chip innovation started is the wrong historical concept to adopt here as

it is a “little bit dillusional.”

“We have to build from scratch, the reality is those of us who invests, we should be the headlines, the focus on the event. “ Flores said start-ups are those who try to make a go of it without funding and the right policy environment and without corporate assistance, compared to Silicon Valley which was a very corporate, government-driven project.

“In the Philippine-Asean context, we should find out our own way for faster, more inclusive growth, and if we begin to recognize that one commodity, the founders would find gold,” he said.

Jay Fajardo, the programs director of Launchgarage, said start-ups are great influence on economics and among other current events all are reflections of challenges to country and society.

He said the conference is a good way to highlight the fact that the start-up movement is looked upon to solve problems, and a lot of the start-up community has notion that they are there to solve the big problems, apply technology to address these challenges, and, hopefully, to come out with best case solutions.

Foreign Trade Service Head Raymond Batac said that SlingshotMnl is aimed to jump-start the flow of technology use toward traditional enterprises.

“We hope that this event will become the spark to light up innovation. We would like to support traditional SMEs through technology because we know it’s something that they need, maybe this will start it off for everyone,” he said.

“It will be an avenue where startup companies, investment firms

and representatives of the government can come together and learn about how the start-up model can drive economies in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world; and an in-person networking activity where these companies can establish ties with supportive, forwardthinking investors.”

The start-up label is currently used to describe young companies with cultures centered on growth, dynamism and innovation, and business models designed to quickly expand their market. Despite the sheen of technology and innovation, start-ups are still small businesses faced by the challenges of other micro, small and medium enterprises.

The two-day conference at the Philippine International Convention Center will feature discussions and workshops, with leading figures in the international start-up community like Startup Chile founder Nicolas Shea; Hugh Mason from leading Asian accelerator JFDI Asia; and Prof. Richard Dasher from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Heads of industry are also slated to attend, alongside start-up incubators, business accelerators, and investment and venture capital firms from the United States, Latin America and Asia.

Successful start-up businesses such as Uber, GrabTaxi, Rags2Riches, AirBnb and Clinica, and global entrepreneur support networks Endeavor and Ashoka will also be present.

The event will also serve as an exhibition for local start-ups to display their products and services. Apart from plenary sessions, workshops, and casual discussions, it will also feature a pitching competition.

First Gen Corp. has acquired 29 million Series B preferred shares of Prime Terracota Holdings Corp., owned by the Lopez Inc. Retirement Fund and Quialex Realty Corp. ”First Gen Corp. purchased 13 million Series B preferred shares of stock of Prime Terracota Holdings Corp. owned by the Employees Retirement Plan of Lopez Inc. [Lopez Inc. Retirement Fund] and 16 million Series B preferred shares of stock of Prime Terracota owned by Quialex Realty Corp.,” First Gen said in a disclosure with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

The power firm noted the stake acquisition, purchased at P1.71 per share, amounts to 26.61 percent of Prime Terracota.

First Gen Corp. said it acquired the 29 million shares for P49.61 million in cash. Prime Terracota’s subsidiary, Red Vulcan Holdings Corp., holds 60 percent voting and 40 percent economic ownership of Energy Development Corp. PNA

makati holds ‘bike for mother earth’ on sunday

TO demonstrate their advocacy for a healthy environment, the city government of Makati invites biking enthusiasts from Makati City and nearby localities to participate on Sunday in the 5th Bike for M.E. (Mother Earth).

Themed “Stop Earth Destruction, Stop Global Warming,” this year’s cycling event will start at two points, the barangay hall of Bangkal for District I and barangay hall of Rizal for District II. Registration will start at 5 a.m. at the said barangay halls, while the participants will pedal toward the converging point at the Makati City Hall Quadrangle at 6:30 a.m. No registration fee will be charged but participants must bring a pet bottle instead as their added contribution to saving mother earth. Those without helmets will be disqualified from joining the event. PNA

DPWH CELEBRATES 117TH ANNIVERSARY ON MONDAY

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) commemorates its 117th anniversary with the theme “DPWH: Sa Daang Matuwid, Para sa Diyos at Bayan” on Monday at the DPWH Head Office in Port Area, Manila.

Secretary Rogelio L. Singson will give service awards to DPWH employees, retirees and those serving the department for 40 years.

Among the notable achievements of the DPWH this second quarter of the year is the Quality Management System of the department now certified in accordance with the requirements of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 standards.

DPWH ISO 9001:2008 Certification is aligned with President Aquino’s call on government agencies to improve public-service delivery and in ensuring good governance and sustaining the tuwid na daan reform efforts. PNA

A6 Saturday, June 20, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

When governments fail

I

F you were an outsider who could only gain information about the Philippines from reading social media, the local press, and listening to radio and television commentaries, you might think that the Philippines was an ongoing disaster.

Certainly, some of this commentary is agenda-driven, but giving the benefit of the doubt, most Filipinos who are vocal about the country are simply interested in making a better nation and a better society for all its members.

While we all know that improvements must be made and have our own ideas of how to go about this task, in many ways we are fortunate in spite of the myriad of problems that we face.

It is always easy to look over the fence and talk about how much greener the grass is someplace else. But all nations have their own set of problems that are not unique for the most part. That is why it is not always beneficial to compare with others either on a personal or national level.

However, when we look at nations facing extraordinary times, it usually comes down to some sort of failure of the government and not of the people.

We complain about politics, politicians and the political system almost constantly. But, then again, we could be Thailand, which has been under military rule for over a year.

The military takeover of the government was because the elected civilian leaders could not bring all the people together for the sake of the country, regardless of a landslide election victory in 2011.

While most people, including here in the Philippines, would cringe at the idea of having the military in control of the government, the Thais have given necessary support to the military when their government failed.

People, in general—and especially the pundits—do not have much respect for “The People.” Here in the Philippines, the masa elects the wrong leaders for the wrong reasons. Citizens are characterized as mindless sheep for allowing governments to lead them down the wrong path.

But governments are elected to take the burden of managing the society, so we can get on with managing our own daily lives. When governments fail to do their job, the people seem to know how to handle the situation as they did in Thailand.

Successive Greek governments have destroyed that economy. But, as always, it is the people who bear the consequences. As the situation deteriorates on a daily basis, some towns in Greece have taken to issuing their own barter currency. The port town of Volos has adopted a barter system where residents exchange goods and services with each other without using the national currency. The town created a local barter currency based on everything, from bakers to babysitters and teachers to taxi drivers.

The people of Volos could not rely on their failed government, so they are relying on each other. Their success has even prompted the Greek Parliament to pass legislation to encourage various nontraditional forms of “entrepreneurship and local development.”

From self-sufficient local tribes and communities to big government and back to local tribes, it seems we have come full circle.

Special stock price ‘enhancing’ John Mangun

M

OUTSIDE THE BOX

ANAGING a stock exchange is a lot like being the house director at a coed college dormitory. There is always a lot going on, so it is hard to know who is going where with whom. Things that seem normal and legitimate are often not either. If you miss something important, you probably will not realize your mistake until nine months later.

The best qualification for the job of house director is to have been a college student living in a coed dorm. That way, you know exactly what to look for to make sure the “boys and girls” behave.

Stock-market price “manipulation” (such a strong word; let’s call it special price enhancements, or SPE) has been around from Day One of the modern stock markets. And I mean literally from Day One, as the first company to issue an initial public offering (IPO) was in March 1602. The Dutch East India Co. (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or VOC, in Dutch) gains the title of “first IPO” and “first multinational company.”

The company also made history by causing the first stock market crash, as its ships carried the tulip bulbs that led to the “Dutch Tulip Bulb Market Bubble.”

While a legitimate company in and of itself, VOC had a very generous cashdividend policy, paying as much as 63

percent of its profits each year. Needless to say, that helped keep the share-price high. But by current accounting practices, the mother company was sometimes paying more in cash dividends than it was making in profits.

While there are a dozen ways to beat the market outside of the rules, the most common is buying and selling on secret insider information. But this is like hitting a guy over the head and stealing his wallet. It is more like bribing the referee in a sports contest, somewhat cheap and sleazy. Further, “secret” information is nothing but secret, and most insider traders wind up in jail because, as we all know, nobody can keep a secret very long.

Traditional SPE, like “pump and dump”—boosting the price of a stock based on false, misleading or greatly exaggerated statements—is honestly just part of the game, like personal

descriptions on dating web sites. Common sense and skepticism keep you safe from these.

It is the more subtle methods of SPE on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that are going to cost you money.

Responsible for keeping the PSE free from SPE is the Capital Markets Integrity Corp. (CMIC), a separate and independent corporation. CMIC is the primary regulator of the trading participants of the PSE with a mandate to maintain the integrity of the market. CMIC says its “Surveillance Department’s main function is to identify possible situations that may lead to market manipulation and initiate preventive measures.”

In the early 1900s, the New York Stock Exchange was completely unregulated. Finally, in 1934, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established. The first chairman of the SEC was Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Kennedy had been a stockbroker in the 1920s and gained a well-deserved reputation as being one of the biggest inside traders and stock manipulators. He knew all the tricks and how to spot them.

In the last six weeks, volume and liquidity on the PSE have been exceptionally low. This creates the ideal situation for SPE, because low liquidity reduces normal market forces that can help cancel out attempts at price enhancement.

“Wash trades,” the buying and selling of shares to make a stock’s volume appear to have a lot of activity, have in my opinion been rampant.

Last week one big cap issue “crosstraded” 98 percent of its daily volume,

Malaysia gets a dose of real talk William Pesek

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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SIA-BASED journalists have missed Mahathir Mohamad since he left office in 2003. The former Malaysian prime minister’s mercurial governing style and fiery rhetoric made for great copy.

I was in a Hong Kong ballroom in 1997 when Mahathir—the man credited with turning the agricultural backwater Kuala Lumpur, which literally means “muddy river,” into one of Asia’s most impressive skylines—responded to his country’s crashing economy by castigating hedgefund managers. He singled out George Soros as a “moron.”

Mahathir now has a new target— Najib Razak, Malaysia’s current prime minister. The daily squabbling between Najib and his predecessor has unsettled Malaysian markets, with the ringgit falling to its lowest value in a decade.

But Najib has nobody to blame but himself for the attacks, given the country’s underlying economic distress. Malaysia’s prolonged slow growth, which has Fitch now threatening a downgrade of the country’s credit ratings, traces back to Najib’s refusal, or inability, to make good on his pledges to dismantle race-based policies that strangle

innovation, feed cronyism and repel multinational companies.

You don’t have to take Mahathir’s word for it—Malaysia’s most successful entrepreneurs say the same thing. Just ask Tony Fernandes of AirAsia.

The man often referred to Asia’s Richard Branson has been waging his own battle with the government on Twitter.

Fernandes has been decrying, 140 characters at a time, the Malaysian government’s misguided priorities and its utter lack of accountability. “Government and opposition spend so much time on race and religion. Will there ever be a truly Malaysian party that puts people first?” he tweeted recently. Another message reads: “Good education, good hospitals, fair distribution of wealth, an economy that creates jobs, honest clean government. Transparent leadership.”

My favorite was Fernandes’s take on the kind of national culture the government should be cultivating: “Where all

Malaysians respect each other’s culture, religion but work together to benefit all.

If you need an example look at AirAsia.”

This last point deserves closer attention. AirAsia has admittedly had a rocky six months, beginning last December with its first crash (killing all 155 onboard) and culminating in today’s share-price plunge (its accounting practices are being questioned by GMT Research). But Fernandes has earned his status as a major player—and Malaysia’s most recognizable face—on the global stage. With his Bransonesque daring and social-media savvy, the billionaire Formula One team owner personifies the heights to which the Malaysian economy might climb if the country’s dysfunctional politics didn’t stand in the way.

Indeed, AirAsia might never have gotten off the ground if Najib had been in office at the time of its inception, rather than Mahathir. Fernandes had three big strikes against him when he started out 14 years ago: He’s not Malay (the majority ethnicity coddled by Malaysia’s affirmative-action policies); he was intent on challenging the flagship Malaysian Airlines; and he was starting an airline just as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US was sending the industry into the throes of an existential crisis.

Nonetheless, Mahathir’s government gave Fernandes the green light to create the company. In the interim, AirAsia has literally changed the world. Although the company’s “Now Everyone Can Fly”

which also accounted for 20 percent of total exchange peso volume. Cross-trading is when one broker buys and sells to itself or a “friend.”

“Block trades” are negotiated transactions that are reported as such and do not appear as part of the volume numbers. Wash trades are done purposely to bump up volume, even if there is no significant price movement or genuine change of beneficial ownership.

In June one broker has transacted P12 billion in what appears to be wash trades. Another has P10 billion, while two others have “crossed” P6 billion each.

Since June 1, 50 percent of the volume of one large index issue has been done by six brokers. In another, 80 percent was traded by four stock brokers. Further, more than 90 percent of all those transactions were done “in-house,” meaning one broker’s client theoretically sold to another of the firm’s clients, not to and from another firm.

The senior management of CMIC is all qualified and respected accountants and information-technology people for the most part who do a good and competent job, but not a complete job. They have probably never tried to manipulate a stock price or steal a chicken. Sometimes, it is smart to put a trusted fox in charge of guarding the chicken coop.

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.

slogan seemed somewhat trite at the time of its founding, it has gone on to inspire myriad developing-world copycats.

Malaysia needs more homegrown success stories that raise living standards and the country’s global status.

Sadly, when Malaysia makes headlines these days, they’re often about the government’s dysfunction—whether the never-ending effort to jail opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges, legal tussles over who exactly is permitted to utter the word “Allah,” or clueless castigations of foreign tourists (a group of whom allegedly caused an earthquake by taking nude photos atop Mount Kinabalu).

Since becoming prime minister in 2009, Najib should have worked to level Malaysia’s playing field for would-be entrepreneurs. Instead, he has protected race-based quotas and deepened the economy’s reliance on oil and gas production. Najib seems to be more concerned about retaining power for his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power for almost six decades, than attending to the aspirations of Malaysia’s 30 million people.

Meanwhile, some of his supposed reforms are dragging down the economy. A case in point is 1Malaysia Development, the state investment company Najib created, and which Mahathir claims is missing “huge sums of money” and buckling under debt. The scandal has contributed to the plunging of Malaysia’s currency some 13 percent over the past 12 months.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

No if, ands, or buts

Servant leadership in public service

BusinessMirror

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

Cecilio T. Arillo

database

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SERVANT LEADER

T’S for the record that none of the senators had dissected with a fine-toothed comb all the 119 provisions of the highly controversial Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) than Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., bearing in mind the interest of the country and its stakeholders, and displaying the eloquence and thoroughness of his father.

“It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good.”

“Given the complexities on the constitutionality of the BBL, not to mention the other debatable parts of the proposed law, I am at a loss as to why we are being pressured to sign off on this important piece of legislation,” Marcos said.

Slowly but surely, as some people say, Marcos has the more logical way of making something done. As he correctly pointed out, in a recent privileged speech, when something is rushed, it means that the thing is too big for the doer.

In the 14 hearings that he conducted in the Senate and in Mindanao, all the stakeholders were consulted, their views heard and their concerns addressed. More important, Marcos saw to it that the measure “must conform to the letters and spirit of the law of the land. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

“Unfortunately,” he said, “the BBL, in its present form and substance, will not bring us any closer to peace. Instead, it will lead us to perdition. Armed conflict will ensue. Blood will be shed. And when blood is shed, it will not distinguish between right and wrong, between young and old, neither between men and women, nor soldiers or rebels, combatants and civilians, rich, poor, Muslims, Christians. Nobody wins.

Everybody loses.”

It is, indeed, too big for a small mind to comprehend a subject that touches on the political, social, economics and national security issues with far-reaching implications on the country and our people. It should be clear by now that no amount of blandishments, including the decommissioning of selected arms and threats from the proponents can obscure the BBL’s constitutional infirmities and other serious flaws.

On another point raised by Marcos concerning the erstwhile chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Gen. Alan Purisima, the legislator passionately impressed upon the public the need to make the police officer and his ilks answerable for the gruesome death of 44 elite Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Marcos’s message was clear, straight and unequivocal. President Aquino must give Purisima the boot, banish him and send him to jail if only to serve justice for the families of the 44 SAF commandos who died in battle against the very people with whom the government was supposed to be talking peace.

In a privileged speech, Marcos described how calculating the President was when he announced the acceptance of Purisima’s resignation on February 9. Little did the lawmaker know that the police official only resigned from his post and not from the service. Marcos felt the public was shortchanged by Mr. Aquino’s use of rhetoric in announcing his friend’s resignation. The President misled the people into believing that they have heard the last of Purisima that day.

Unlike President Aquino, Marcos

As a way of heeding the call of the Supreme Pontiff, the Serviam Catholic Charismatic Community (CCC) Foundation is organizing the second of its series of servant leadership conferences, in this instance, for public servants.

The forthcoming Pastoral Conference on Servant Leadership in Public Service will gather about 1,000 leaders in the government on July 2 and 3, 2015, at the Crowne Plaza, Ortigas Center.

The event aims to bring to fore the meaning and relevance of servant leadership in public service, and help instill among the participants the desire and commitment to practice servant leadership as a calling in one’s personal life.

was blunt. If there was anyone to blame for the tragic deaths of the so-called SAF 44, it should be Purisima, who violated the law when he continued to perform acts reserved for the PNP chief when, at that time, he was already suspended by the Ombudsman for graft.

Even Interior Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II and PNP Officer in Charge Leonardo Espina were unaware of Oplan Exodus which turned out to be Purisima’s brainchild. The operation was aimed not only at “neutralizing” terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his minions but, more important, it was a mission to salvage whatever was left of Purisima’s already dwindling credibility.

Marcos could not have been wrong when he argued that justice could only be served when Purisima is fired, punished for meddling in a crucial mission that could have had a happier ending had he not intervened. He thought the Mamasapano mission would vindicate him from charges that he acquired ill-gotten wealth.

“Charge him in court for usurpation of authority or official functions, for violating the chain of command, for gross misconduct and negligence that needlessly cost the lives of our policemen, among other serious violations. Throw the book at him.

Appoint a permanent PNP chief,” Marcos declared.

The lawmaker was also correct in saying that President Aquino “is not without any choice.”

Since Purisima had voluntarily resigned, there is nothing in our civil service laws or the PNP law (Republic Act 6975, as amended) that prohibits the President from permanently appointing a new chief of the PNP, who must, as such, be able to lead with moral ascendancy, and completely and effectively discharge the mandates of the office for the benefit of the PNP and its brave men and women.

While the PNP can only have one four-star general at any given time, in the person of the PNP chief, Marcos explained that our existing laws could not have been intended to “tie the hands of the Chief Executive, or to hold the nation hostage, under the present circumstances.”

In closing, Marcos’s speech summarized the senator’s position: “Please, Mr. President: For the sake of justice and for the sake of an enduring peace, listen to your people. Listen to your heart. Do the right thing: Fire Purisima at the very least, genuinely abide by your clear and unequivocal decision to accept his resignation, which was supposed to be ‘effective immediately’—not ‘effective temporarily.’

And most important, file the appropriate charges against him for crimes against the people. Bring the killers of our SAF 44 to justice.

Then and only then can our Fallen SAF 44 truly rest in peace.”

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio. arillo@gmail.com.

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his was the challenge posed by Pope Francis to our government leaders during his recent pastoral visit to the Philippines in January 2015.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who is also the Serviam CCC Foundation Board of Trustees chairman, will be the keynote speaker on the theme “Servant Leadership for the Common Good.”

Other speakers include Education Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, who will speak on the “Practice of Servant Leadership in Government,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., who will touch on the topic “Building Public Trust through Responsible Governance,” while former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. with a talk on “Servant Leadership and Social Justice.”

Former National Economic and Development Authority Director

Saturday, June 20, 2015

General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Dr. Jesus Estanislao will talk on “Responding to Pope Francis’s Challenge on Leadership,” while Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo will discuss “Public Service in the Scriptures.”

On day one a panel composed of awardees in public service will share their successes and hardships on the theme “Servant Leadership as a Way of Public Service.”

On day two, Riza Mantaring, president and CEO of Sun Life Financial Philippines; Mike Enriquez of GMA 7; celebrity and basketball star Chris Tiu; and Prescilda Juanich, an urban poor leader, will present the “Citizens’ Expectations of Public Service” from the perspectives of their respective sectors, namely, business, media, youth and the urban poor.

Servant Leadership in Public Service Conference is organized and presented by Serviam CCC Foundation, which was established in June 2003 by Catholic lay leader Antonio B. de los Reyes, with the blessing of His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin, who graciously offered the use of his Episcopal motto, Serviam, Latin for “I will serve,” as its name.

Serviam CCC is guided by its mission of building communities

P

A federal court last month denied the administration’s request to allow the immigration order to move forward while courts consider its constitutionality. The decision doesn’t mean the reforms will never take effect, but it does mean they’ll be stalled.

Twenty-six states sued the government over the order, claiming

through servant leadership as a way of life. It has completed a Training Curriculum on Servant Leadership and ultimately will establish an institute on servant leadership as its contribution to the society’s continuing transformation.

The 2015 conference is the second of a series of conferences on Servant Leadership as part of Serviam CCC Foundation’s advocacy to propagate servant leadership as a way of life in all facets of society, i.e., the family, in the government, business, church, media, etc. The first conference was held in June 2013 at SMX Convention Center on the theme, “Servant Leadership in the Year of Faith” with Church leaders as participants.

For more information on the Pastoral Conference on Servant Leadership in Public Service, call 897-2143, 0908410-9759, e-mail serviamslc2015@ gmail.com or log on to www.serviamccc.org.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph.

For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@ gmail.com.

For donations to Caritas Manila, call 563-9311. For inquiries, call 5639308 or 563-9298. Visit www.caritas. org.ph.

What the Philippines can learn from Morocco, Peru and Ethiopia

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By Chris Wright and Jed Alegado | Inter Press Service

HERE has been a lot of pressure on the Philippines in the last week. Climate Change Commission Secretary Lucille L. Sering faced a senate hearing about the Philippines’s commitment to its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, INDCs were introduced in Warsaw in 2013 to hasten and ensure concrete climate action plans from countries.

During the visit of French President François Hollande to the Philippines in February, President Aquino announced that his country’s INDC will be submitted by August this year after he delivers his final State of the Nation Address. However, during the Senate hearing last week, Sering said that the Philippines aims to submit the INDC before the October deadline.

In an interview last month, civil society representative to the Philippine delegation, Ateneo School of Government Dean Tony La Viña, clarified the process conducted by the Philippine government for its INDC. According to La Viña, INDC orientation and workshops were conducted among government agencies in January. A technical working group was formed in March followed by stakeholder discussions in May, which included civil society groups, key government agencies and the private sector.

For a country that has played a leadership role and has become a rallying point for the global call for climate action due to its former lead negotiator Yeb Sano and the Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan), which wreaked havoc in the central Philippines in 2013, there has been a lot of pressure for the Philippines to come up with a definitive and clear commitment for its INDC. Last month, Sering announced that the Philippines’s INDC might focus on a renewable energy (RE) and low-carbon sustainable development plan: “low emission and long-term development pathway to involve private sector and other stakeholders.”

Sering also said that the Philippines intends to increase the use of RE. However, the Palawan Community for Sustainable Development gave last week the go-ahead to a company to build a coal-powered plant in Palawan, often described as the country’s last frontier. Environmental non-governmental organizations based in the province have been trying to stop the construction of this 15-megawatt (MW) coal plant to be built by one of the country’s major construction companies.

In the past two years the government has also approved the construction of 21 coal-powered projects despite Mr. Aquino’s declaration that the Philippines intends to “nearly triple the country’s RE-based capacity from around 5,400 MW in 2010 to 15,300 MW in 2030.”

In spite of these events happening in the Philippines, the second week of the Bonn intersession has also been characterized by developing countries who have stood proud and shown the world just what they can do to stop global warming.

Reform, accountability and ambition

IT may, therefore, be timely for the Philippines to take some lessons from three recent INDC announcements that have each drawn great praise at the UN. Step 1: Reform. The first lesson comes from Morocco, which this week came out as the first country to address “fossil fuel subsidy reform” in their Climate Action Plan (CAP).

As the first Arab country to make an international CAP, they naturally shocked a lot of people.

However, when you dive into their commitment to reduce greenhousegas emissions by 32 percent by 2030 compared to what they call “business

as usual,” I guess it’s understandable that some of us are having apprehensions. But what is good about their efforts is to “substantially reduce fossil fuel subsidies.” This is one of the truly “unspoken” aspects of transitioning away from fossil fuels.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we need to stop using fossil fuels as soon as possible to keep us below 2 degrees of warming. In order to give Filipinos a chance at a safe future, we need a global phase-out of fossil fuels by 2050 and the first step to get there is to cut fossil fuel subsidies.

Globally the International Monetary Fund estimates that the fossil fuel industry receives $10 million every minute. If the world is ever going to move into a fossil-free future, reforming these subsidies will be critical. This is one way the Philippines can show some real leadership with their CAP. Step 2: Accountability. Late last week, Peru publicly announced their CAP. While they haven’t yet officially submitted it to the UN, what they have produced is very impressive.

In developing their CAP, Peru has carefully calculated exactly how much emissions they can cut based on a concrete number of projects that they clearly outline in the plan.

As such, their plan to cut emissions by 31 percent based on business as usual is backed up by 58 clearly outlined different mitigation projects.

This makes it very easy for Peru to ask for support from developed countries to help them improve on their commitments. In fact, they have even outlined how they can increase their emissions cuts to up to 42 percent with an extra 18 projects.

While they haven’t made a specific task for international assistance to meet this difference, this level of transparency could make it a very simple step in the future. What’s more, they have now opened this plan up to public consultations until July 17.

They will be holding workshops across Peru and asking a wide range of citizens what their views on the CAPs are. If the Philippines want to

Stalling reform: Anti-immigrant ideology trumps reality

RESIDENT Barack Obama’s effort in 2014 to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation was one of his top achievements on immigration. The program should have rolled out this year, but zealots who are determined to block any immigration reforms are fighting to ensure that his order will remain tied up in legal battles.

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it would pose an undue burden through the costs of processing driver’s licenses and other documents for the immigrants. The arguments ignore decades of precedent on immigration policy, which historically has been up to the White House, not the states. Congressional Republicans have proposed other challenges, including

threats to defund the Department of Homeland Security.

Despite their fuss, this order ultimately doesn’t change much. Obama would shield from deportation, for just three years, 4 million undocumented immigrants—fewer than half the number in the country. They include parents of children who were born in the United States, but only if

they’ve lived in the country for five years or more. Residents who were brought to the US illegally as children before 2010 and highly skilled workers would also be allowed to apply for deferred deportation.

None of this matters to opponents of reform, even though the nation has nothing to gain from deporting millions of immigrants—Americans

ask for international support to help increase their ability to combat global warming, this level of international and domestic transparency will be a critical step to take.

Step 3: Ambition. It is definitely true that the Filipinos have not caused climate change. In fact, the Filipinos are among the smallest contributors to climate change per person. What’s more, the energy needs across the country are critical.

But is coal really the answer? With 26 coal plants planned over the next 10 years, what will become of the air that everyone has to breathe? We have already seen this year how cities like New Delhi and Beijing have become almost unlivable due to the dangerously polluted air. What will happen to the Philippines if it follows a similar path?

One country seeking to link their development needs to combatting climate change is Ethiopia. On June 15 they released a CAP, which aims at a 64-percent reduction on their business-as-usual predictions.

With 94 million people, and over a quarter of those in extreme poverty, Ethiopia is a great model for the Philippines to follow. They have focused their emissions cuts around agricultural reform, reforestation, RE and public transport. These are all reforms that are possible for the Philippines to also make.

Ethiopia is not simply giving in to a broken development model that relies on fossil fuels, but neither is it living a “green” fantasy. It is among the fastest-growing countries in the world and the fastest-growing nonoil-dependent African country.

With international support, it plans to double its economy while still achieving carbon-negative growth.

This, Ethiopia believes, is best for not only for the health of its economy in the long term, but their people.

If the Philippines is going to show the type of global leadership it has strived for over recent years at the UN climate negotiations, there are three easy steps for them to take forward; Reform, Accountability and Ambition.

in all but name who live, work and pay taxes here.

As Hispanic-Americans become an increasingly important voting bloc, anti-immigrant politicians will be forced to recognize that, or risk losing legitimacy. For the sake of millions of immigrants and their families, that needs to happen sooner than later. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TNS

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, June 20, 2015

BOP reverted to deficit in May, shortfall at $58 million–BSP

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

he country’s transactions with the rest of the world, or the balance of payments (BOP), reverted to a deficit totaling $58 million in May. In essence, the BOP is what is left after the country’s foreign-currency expenses are deducted from its foreigncurrency earnings.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday this was the second month that the country registered a monthly deficit in its transactions with nonresidents.

In March this year the BOP saw a deficit of $244 million. This was the widest imbalance in the BOP thus far this year.

The May BOP number pushed

the five-month BOP aggregate surplus to $1.199 billion. While lower than the previous month’s surplus, the January-to-May surplus represented a recovery from deficit of $4.12 billion in the same five-month period last year.

BSP Deputy Governor for the Monetary Stability Sector Diwa C. Guinigundo said the deficit

widened on account of the debtservicing activities of both the government and the private sector.

“This resulted mainly from debt servicing by both the public and private sectors, even as remittances and BPO [business-process outsourcing] revenues remain strong,” Guinigundo told reporters.

Data from the BSP show a surplus in the BOP totaling $136 million in January and $985 million in February. The balance reverted to a deficit of $244 million in March, that once again turned to a surplus of $380 million in April, before rounding the period as a deficit of $58 million in May. “We continue to be optimistic we would sustain a BOP surplus for 2015,” Guinigundo said.

The government anticipates posting a surplus in the BOP totaling $2 billion this year. In a

related development, the current account, which is a key component of the BOP, helped push the overall balance into surplus. This development helped cement the country’s status as net creditor on the global stage. In a separate briefing, the BSP said the current account registered a surplus of $3.3 billion in the first three months this year.

The surplus equals 4.8 percent of local output, or the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). It is also more than twice the $1.5-billion surplus posted in the comparable quarter last year, or 2.3 percent of GDP. The notable improvement in the current-account surplus was attributed to higher net receipts in the services, primary and secondary income accounts coupled with the narrowing of the trade-in-goods deficit,” the BSP said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DOTC awards LTO license-card supply deal to Allcard Plastics

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

he Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) admitted on Friday that there is a “current shortage of driver’s license cards” at the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

But the problem is set to be addressed after the transport agency awarded on Friday the contract for the supply of 5 million pieces of driver’s license cards to Allcard Plastics Philippines Inc. “We are pleased to report that license cards will soon be available at all LTO offices. We will strive to ensure that the implementation of this project will run smoothly in order to reinstate these basic services provided by the LTO,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said on Friday.

Allcard Plastics bagged the

project after submitting the lowest bid of P336.868 million, edging the bids of current driver’s license-card supplier Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. (AMPI), and the joint venture of DVK Philippines Enterprises and Cardz Middle East Trading Llc. Allcard’s bid is 25.3 percent lower than the original approved budget of the contract, which was set at P450-million. The cost of the card is roughly around P67.37 per piece.

Under the contract, Allcard Plastics will deliver the license cards in equal monthly tranches over a one-year period counted from the issuance of the notice to proceed.

The DOTC said the LTO may now coordinate with Allcard Plastics for the efficient deployment of the license cards to its offices nationwide.

Megaworld sees rental income hitting ₧9 billion this year

By VG Cabuag

P

roperty developer Megaworld Corp., owned by businessman Andrew L. Tan, said its rental income will grow to P9 billion this year, from the previous year’s P7.07 billion, as it continues to aggressively expand its leasing portfolio driven by office, malls and commercial centers, and hotels.

The company said its business will remain good at least for the next three years amid the property market’s prospects and sees profit for the year growing by at least 10 percent.

“This year we expect another double-digit growth to our rental income by another 27 percent to P9 billion. However, looking back we haven’t just achieved digit growth in our rental income in the last five years but have grown even more than twofold, and this is a favorable indication of the company’s overall growth,” Francis Canuto, the company’s chief finance officer, said.

The company is looking at capital expenditures of P285.8 billion in the next five years, the current year being P65 billion, with 70 percent of the amount going to

residential development, according to Kingson Sian, Megaworld’s executive director.

“The rest will go to office and retail space. That has been the breakdown for all our development,” Sian said.

Between 2014 and 2016, Megaworld expects to post a combined P88 billion in real-estate sales.

Megaworld ’s rental income reached P2.7 billion in 2010; it soared to P3.8 billion a year later and grew by 32 percent to P5 billion in 2012.

In 2013 rental income again grew by 20 percent to P6 billion. Last

year it reached P7.0 billion, still maintaining a double-digit growth of 18 percent.

Sian said the trend of double-digit growth will continue in the coming years, though he did not state until when this will last.

Megaworld is opening seven new malls and commercial centers in its five township developments, including in Uptown Place and Uptown Parade in Uptown Bonifacio; Venice Grand Canal in McKinley Hill; Mactan Alfresco in The Mactan Newtown in Cebu; Eight Forbes Town Road and Burgos Parklane in Forbes Town Center;

and Tagaytay Twin Lakes in Twin Lakes, Batangas.

This year the company is set to complete two buildings under the portfolio of Megaworld’s office spaces. These office buildings include one in Uptown Bonifacio and one in The Mactan Newtown.

Megaworld remains to be the country’s top developer and landlord of office spaces today.

Megaworld is also opening two new hotels this year—Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, a 149-room business hotel in Iloilo Business Park, and the 480-room Belmont Luxury Hotel in Newport City.

By year-end it would have added around 300,000 square meters of gross floor area in its overall rental portfolio.

The company also announced this year that it is launching five new integrated urban townships across the country, in order to complete the 20 township developments that it is aiming for in 2015.

So far, two townships have been launched—Northill Gateway and The Upper East, both in Negros Occidental. The other three townships are scheduled to be announced within the year.

Consumer prices record biggest jump since 2013 as gas costs rise

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A SHI NGTON — Consumer prices in May had their biggest increase since 2013, as gasoline costs jumped sharply after months of declines, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The consumer price index, which covers a variety of goods and services, rose 0.4 percent compared with a 0.1-percent increase the previous month. May was the fourth straight month that the index rose after three straight monthly declines caused by lower oil prices.

But a reversal in gas prices has increased inflationary pressure.

The gas price index rose 10.4 percent in May after declining 1.7 per-

cent the previous month.

The increase in gas prices was the main factor in the overall rise of the consumer price index, a closely watched measure of inflation.

Taking out volatile energy and food prices, so-called core prices rose 0.1 percent, the smallest increase since December. Food prices were unchanged in May for the second straight month.

A steep decline in oil prices that began last year has pushed inflation extremely low. Despite the rise in May, gas prices were down 25 percent from a year earlier.

For the 12 months ended May 31, overall consumer prices were unchanged, the Labor Depart-

ment said. Still, that’s an improvement over the 0.2-percent annual decline through April.

Federal Reserve policy-makers are watching inflation as they decide when to raise a key short-term interest rate for the first time since 2006. The Federal Reserves (the Fed) wants about a 2-percent annual inflation. The Fed uses a different annual inflation measure, based on personal consumption expenditures, that was up 0.1 percent in April, the latest data available.

Excluding food and energy, core consumer prices were up 1.7 percent in the 12 months ended May 31. The figure was down from 1.8 percent in April. TNS

Culture of consumption has led to global warming–Pope Francis. . .

a draft of the document, said humanity is facing a “crucial challenge” that needs to be addressed through dialogue.

“For Pope Francis it is imperative that practical proposals not be developed in an ideological, superficial or reductionist way,” he said.

Metropolitan of Pergamon John Zizioulas, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church, said the environmental crisis was also a spiritual problem caused by the rise of individualism and a greed for personal happiness.

He warned that it could leave future generations to inherit a damaged world if not addressed.

“The pursuit of individual happiness has been made into an ideal in our time,” he said. “Eco-

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logical sin is due to human greed, which blinds men and women to the point of ignoring and disregarding the basic truth that the happiness of the individual depends on its relationship with the rest of human beings.”

He said the ecological crisis was growing in conjunction with the spread of social injustice. “We cannot face successfully the one without dealing with the other.”

A draft of the more than 180page document, titled Laudato Si (Be Praised), had been leaked to the Italian media this week, but even long before that, parties on both sides of the highly politicized global warming debate had been preparing for its release.

President Barack Obama said he looked forward to discussing the

issues with the pope.

“I welcome His Holiness Pope Francis’s encyclical, and deeply admire the pope’s decision to make the case—clearly, powerfully, and with the full moral authority of his position—for action on global climate change,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the pope’s message applied to everyone regardless of their faith.

“We all have a responsibility, as the pontiff reminds us, to do better—by the planet and by our fellow human beings,” Suh said.

“We all are paying a high price for rising seas, expanding deserts, blistering heat, withering drought, raging wildfires, floods, storms and See “Pope Francis,” on A2