BusinessMirror July 3, 2015

BusinessMirror

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

U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

A broader look at today’s business

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Saturday 18,July 2014 10 No. n Friday, 3, Vol. 2015 Vol.4010 No. 267

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

I.M.F. URGES IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT ACT TO PROMOTE CLARITY IN BUDGET PROCESS

PHL needs to overhaul budget system T Life INSIDE

MARRIAGE EQUALITY

We gather together

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EAR God, You are near us and as we gather together, we ask Your unending blessings. You chasten and hasten Your will to make known.

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing. We sing praises to Your name. You never forget us because we are Your own. You are beside us, watching and guiding us in our thoughts, words and actions. Amen.

ARNOLD EMBRACES HIS AGING TERMINATOR AS ‘GENISYS’ IS SET FOR ACTION »D4

BREAKING BREAD 2015 AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Friday, July 3, 2015

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How pop culture shaped the marriage equality debate

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OR decades, gays and lesbians didn’t exist in film and television.

It wasn’t a matter of censorship; writers, filmmakers and studio executives knew not to showcase these characters if they wanted to earn a paycheck. Then things started to change.

In 1969 the Stonewall riots triggered by a police raid in New York’s Greenwich Village created the modern gay-rights movement, and the next year William Friedkin’s The Boys in the Band became the first studio movie to center on gay characters.

From that start, pop culture has slowly but steadily helped bring gay people into the mainstream, from Lance Loud in the groundbreaking 1973 PBS documentary An American Family to Tom Hanks’s Oscarwinning role as a dying lawyer in Philadelphia in 1993 to Pedro Zamora, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-stricken housemate on the 1994 edition of MTV’s reality series The Real World.

The US Supreme Court on Friday legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. But years before that 5-4 decision, film and TV helped spur Americans’ acceptance of gays and lesbians.

“Movies and television have played an

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LIFE

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Show BusinessMirror

ALJUR ABRENICA JOINS CAST OF ‘HALF SISTERS’ IT appears that all is forgiven between GMA and Aljur Abrenica, who not so long ago slapped, with a nasty lawsuit, the network that launched him to ubiquity. After GMA pushed back and kept him in the freezer, Aljur now is in the process of thawing—and maybe his being tapped to join the cast, of The Half Sisters would speed up that process. After all, the afternoon soap has been on the air for a year now and remains to be champion in that time block.

Aljur is ostensibly excited to bond with the entire cast, led by Barbie Forteza, Thea Tolentino, Jean Garcia, Jomari Yllana, Ryan Eigenmann, Andre Paras, Vaness del Moral, Mel Martinez, Pancho Magno, Juancho Triviño, Jak Roberto, Winwyn Marquez and Gawad Urian Best Actress winner Eula Valdes. The soap is directed by Mark Reyes.

“I feel so honored and blessed to be part of this top-rating afternoon series of GMA. I’m so excited to work with the hardworking cast and staff of the show, especially we’ll be taping out of the country so parang vacation and work na rin siya,” Aljur said.

In the series, Aljur plays the role of Malcom, a human trafficker who will return to his former job to save the life of his daughter. He will bring Ashley (Thea) to Japan to work as a waitress in a bar. The Half Sisters airs weekdays after Eat Bulaga on GMA.

THE Beijing Collective

MANILA IMPROV FESTIVAL 2015 IS ON SILLY People’s Improv Theatre (SPIT) is the country’s premier improvisational theater group known for its smart and incisive brand of comedy. Considered as one of the best improv comedy troupes in Asia, SPIT has had almost a thousand performances in the last decade before both local and international audiences. SPIT has represented the Philippines in the Los Angeles, Beijing and Hong Kong comedy festivals, and the Improv Festivals in New Y York and Chicago, and, more recently, the Amsterdam Improv Festival in January of this year.

Improvisational theater is a form of theater where scenes are cocreated by the audience and the actors in real time, without the benefit of a script or prior rehearsals for the performers. Because of this method, watching an improvised theater show is more akin to performance art due to its nonconventional approach.

The 2015 Manila International Improv Festival opens at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, from July 2 to 5.

From there, the festival continues in partnership with the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (Peta), with all its performances from July 8 to 12 to be staged at the Peta Theater.

The festival is hosting improv comedy groups from around the world: PIP Show (Warsaw); Impro Mafia (Brisbane); Pirates of Tokyo Bay (Tokyo); Landry & Summers (Los Angeles), To Be Continued, People’s Liberation Improv, 3 Dudes Improv and Lamb Ink (Hong Kong); The Improv Company (Singapore), Taichung Improv (Taichung), The Beijing Collective (Beijing); People’s Republic of Comedy and Zmack (Shanghai); Bacolod Improv Group (Bacolod), Dulaang Atenista (Cagayan de Oro); One and a Half Men, Switch Improv; and SPIT (Manila).

Now on its third run, the Manila International Improv Festival has earned the distinction of being the “improv comedy festival that has set the standard for improv comedy festivals,” according to festival regular Curt Mabry of Zmack, Shanghai. This year’s festival theme is “Finding the Game”—a nod to the games and exercises that improvisers use in performance, and an affirmation of the playful nature of improvisation.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/spitmanila.

For ticket and workshop inquiries, contact Jay Tipayan of Peta Theater Center at 726-6244 or 0927-3917379.

In a briefing on Thursday following the IMF’s launch of the maiden report on the assessment of fiscal transparency in the Philippines, IMF Resident Representative for the Philippines Shanaka Jayanath Peiris said the proposed PFMA will address the weaknesses seen in the budget framework and implementation in the country.

The IMF on Wednesday released a report pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s

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Arnold embraces his aging Terminator as ‘Genisys’ is set for action

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LD, but not obsolete.”

That’s the refrain a graying, creaky Arnold Schwarzenegger repeats throughout the new Terminator film, attempting to reassure his comrades that, though his machinery has aged, he can still get the job done. The 67-year-old is seeking to disprove similar doubts after suffering a string of box-office flops following his exit from the California governor’s office in 2011. On Wednesday he’ll reprise his most iconic role for the fourth time in Terminator Genisys, the latest installment in the sci-fi franchise that helped to establish the actor as a big-screen action hero in the 1980s. But the gears are showing some signs of rust. The $155-million production is projected to take in a disappointing $55 million during its first five days in theaters over the busy Fourth of July holiday. And many critics have panned the fifth film in the Terminator series—though Schwarzenegger’s performance has been cited as one of the movie’s few redeeming elements.

That performance could help Genisys beat box-office expectations. But only one of the three action films he’s headlined since leaving office—The Last Stand, Escape Plan and Sabotage—grossed even $25 million domestically. He’s played a supporting role in the more successful Expendables franchise, but those films feature a handful of aging action stars, including Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis. Critics did warm to his more dramatic turn in the indie zombieflick Maggie, but the film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this spring, was seen only in limited release.

Hollywood is largely where Schwarzenegger has focused his efforts since his second term as governor concluded. He has remained nominally involved in the political world, three years ago launching the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, which allows him to be engaged with issues such as climate change or after-school programs. But acting, his collaborators say, is where his true passion lies. He cares about being taken seriously as a performer and is sensitive to harsh critiques—even voicing his displeasure with the Los Angeles Times after it published a blog post about the commercial prospects for Genisys.

“It matters to him to get critical acclaim and respect. We’ve had discussions about it,” says Rob Stutzman, a Republican political consultant who served as Schwarzenegger’s communications director from 2003 to 2006. Once, Stutzman recalled, a Starbucks barista complimented the actor on his 1994 comedy Junior, Junior which wasn’t exactly a critical darling.

“I laughed, looked at Schwarzenegger and said, ‘Ha! Never heard anyone say that,’” Stutzman says. “And then I got the Terminator glare. It was like, ‘OK, note to self: He can make fun of the bad movies, but I can’t.’ He’s self-aware and can be selfdeprecating, but he’s sensitive to criticism from others.”

Despite Schwarzenegger’s recent box-office misfires, the filmmakers behind Genisys insist they would not have even made the film without him. Director James Cameron’s original 1984 Terminator introduced the actor’s T-800 as a literal killing machine: an unstoppable, monosyllabic cyborg sent back in time on a mission to assassinate Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor. In his smash 1991 sequel, Cameron flipped the script, making Schwarzenegger’s Terminator the protector of Sarah’s son, John—a function he also served, albeit less memorably, in 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. He didn’t appear in 2009’s Terminator Salvation because he was governor at the time, perhaps a wise decision since the film was both a critical and financial misfire.

This time around, his Terminator is softer—a protector of Sarah (Emilia Clarke) since her childhood—with robotic arthritis and wrinkled skin. He still has an arsenal of weapons, but its walls are lined with photos and sentimental mementos from Sarah’s early days. David Ellison, whose Skydance Productions cofinanced Genisys with distributor Paramount Pictures, said Schwarzenegger eagerly embraced the idea of Terminator aging.

“He loved having gray hair and the idea that the character was becoming more human,” the producer says. “He didn’t want this to be a retreat. There are other parts in franchises you can swap out; multiple actors have played Bond. But with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible and Schwarzenegger as Terminator, those are very special situations.” On set, Schwarzenegger was a jovial presence—cracking jokes and eating lunch every day with the crew, “which is almost unheard of in the movie star world,” says director Alan Taylor. “But there was nothing more restorative to him.”

Meanwhile, he worked hard to regain the bodybuilder physique he showed off in 1984. During the filming of the original Terminator Terminator, he weighed 230 pounds; this time, he put on 10 pounds to hit 228 on the scale. Jason Clarke, who plays John Connor in the new version, says he often sat in the makeup trailer with his costar talking about everything from fitness to politics to cars to boots. Schwarzenegger even showed Clarke a picture of his “yearly-boot polish,” during which he polished

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120 of his boots. “He does everything with a wonderful sense of humor,” Clarke says. “He’s not an angry man or a disappointed man or a regretful man. He loves people.” Paramount has attempted to capitalize on Schwarzenegger’s playful side in marketing Genisys, even having him lend his unmistakable voice to the navigation commands on the app Waze and doing a comedy skit with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.

Last Wednesday, he talked openly to Howard Stern about the affair with his maid that led to his divorce from Maria Shriver and, as he put it, “my fifth child.”

“It’s a very tough situation for my kids,” Schwarzenegger told Stern. “It was tough for everybody. But it has happened, and now we have to figure it out, right?”

It remains to be seen if moviegoers will embrace the governator’s latest reinvention.

And it’s not just future Terminator sequels on the line: Schwarzenegger is also developing other reboots of old hits like Twins and Conan the Barbarian, whose fate could be determined by his box-office clout. The film’s director, meanwhile, remains hopeful that Genisys will be the film to endear Schwarzenegger to the public yet again.

“Whether he was in a movie two weeks beforehand that did well or not, this is the Terminator, and it’s his own thing,” Taylor says. “Robert Downey Jr. can’t do anything except Iron Man these days. With any other movie, there’s no connection with audiences. Some roles are just singular.” n

SHOW

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BusinessMirror

WILLIAMS VS

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| FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

YULIA PUTINTSEVA of Kazakhstan returns a shot to Venus Williams. AP

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ONDON—Venus Williams is no longer the player she once was, on account of the passage of time and the day-to-day ups and downs of an energysapping condition.

At age 35, 21 years removed from her first professional tournament, Williams still possesses a dangerous serve, along with the muscle memory that comes with seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon.

And, so while it is her younger sister Serena who is ranked No. 1, has 20 major titles and owns a 23-match Grand Slam winning streak as of Wednesday, the elder Williams is still in the draw at the All England Club, too—and the siblings are closing in on what would be their 26th all-in-the-family matchup on tour.

“She probably comes back here and, you know, I think, she almost feels like this is home,” said David Witt, Venus’s coach. “When you have confidence, you have everything. That’s with any sport. And I guess when she gets here, it’s a confidence thing.”

On the hottest day on record in Wimbledon history, with the temperature topping 95 degrees (35 degrees Celsius)—and a terrific day for American women—both Williams sisters won second-round matches: 16th-seeded Venus beat 95th-ranked Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 7-6 (5), 6-4, while top-seeded Serena defeated 93rdranked Timea Babos of Hungary, 6-4, 6-1.

Two more wins, and the siblings will meet in the fourth round.

“She poses a big threat for me,” Serena said about Venus.

They pulled out of doubles on Tuesday, citing “soreness” for Serena, who wants to focus on her pursuit of a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title.

Four other women from the US won Wednesday, including two real surprises: 158th-ranked qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands eliminated No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, the 2009 French Open champion, 6-3, 6-4; and 47thranked CoCo Vandeweghe, the niece of former National Basketball Association player and executive Kiki, beat No. 11 Karolina Pliskova, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Also advancing: No. 21 Madison Keys, who finished off a match suspended because of darkness at 2-all in the third set a night earlier, and Sloane Stephens.

A pair of US men moved on, too: No. 17 John Isner and 105th-ranked wild-card entry Denis Kudla, who followed up his victory over No. 28 Pablo Cuevas by getting past 18-year-old Alexander Zverev.

“A few years ago, I was being asked, ‘What happened to USA tennis?’ And I said, ‘Well, it comes and goes.’ I think there were a lot of younger players coming that showed promise,” the 30-year-old Mattek-Sands said. “Sure enough, I think we have a really strong contingent of American players and it’s really good to see.”

She is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam in doubles with Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

Serena, meanwhile, is halfway there in singles, and, so far, this week has a pair of straight-set victories after playing five three-setters at the French Open.

After dismissing Babos on Centre Court—where a small electrical fire in a mechanical room set off alarms once play was done for the day—Serena was able to settle in front of a TV to watch Venus finish off Putintseva.

“I always root for Venus,” Serena said. “She’s been through a lot in her career. She’s really playing well.”

So far at Wimbledon, that is certainly true, including a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the first round.

Against Putintseva, Venus’s 29 winners included seven aces, and

she reached 122 miles per hour (197 kilometers per hour) on a serve in the final game.

Venus last won the grass-court Grand Slam tournament in 2008; three years later, she announced that she has Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain and fatigue.

Her nearly two-hour match on Wednesday was the last on Court 3, and wrapped up at about 9 p.m., by which point it was much cooler than earlier. The Met Office, Britain’s official weather service, said the temperature reached 35.7 degrees Celsius (about 96 degrees Fahrenheit) at its closest observation site, about 1oC (2oF) higher than the previous tournament record, set in 1976.

Spectators fanned themselves in the stands and used everything from hats to umbrellas to towels for shade.

A ball boy collapsed during Isner’s match and was taken away on a stretcher. One player, No. 27 Bernard Tomic of Australia, said he felt dizzy during his victory. Others, including Mattek-Sands, wrapped towels filled with ice around their necks during changeovers.

“It’s definitely hot, but nothing crazy. We have played in worse. I think it’s just surprising because it’s happening in England, where it usually doesn’t,” Keys said. “We have played through much worse.” AP

‘IT’S A PLEASURE’

NOVAK DJOKOVIC (right) somehow knows, or has heard, and goes out of his way to draw attention to Jarkko Nieminen’s departure. AP

Novak Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, cruised past journeyman Jarkko Nieminen of Finland on Center Court, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. As the crowd applauded the routine and expected ending, Djokovic paused for a longer-thanusual hand-shaking conversation at the net, then gave Nieminen a hug.

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Los Angeles Times

ONDON—In the midst of tough tennis competition on Wednesday, with stakes incredibly high, two moments of human sensitivity stood out on the third day of the Wimbledon fortnight.

Novak Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, cruised past journeyman Jarkko Nieminen of Finland on Center Court, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. As the crowd applauded the routine and expected ending, Djokovic paused for a longer-than-usual hand-shaking conversation at the net, then gave Nieminen a hug.

It turned out that Nieminen, who will be 34 in three weeks, was playing in his last Wimbledon. Coincidentally, it had been Nieminen who had dispatched Lleyton Hewitt to his last walk off the Wimbledon grass two days earlier.

Djokovic somehow knew, or had heard, and went out of his way to

draw attention to Nieminen’s departure. He stepped aside and applauded, letting Nieminen lead the way off and calling the crowd’s attention to him. Neiminen bent and touched the grass one last time on the way out, then waved good-bye.

“I congratulate him on a terrific career,” Djokovic said afterward, “and it was a pleasure to be his last opponent here.”

A bit later, on an outside court, John Isner of the US had his match interrupted when a ball boy collapsed. Temperatures reached to within a couple of degrees of 100 on Wednesday.

In his news conference after his 6-2, 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory over Matthew Ebden of Australia, Isner seemed eager to talk about the incident.

“I’m not a doctor,” Isner said, “but...it was very scary. I heard that he is doing much better.

CILIC ADVANCES, ES, BARELY

LAST year’s US Open men’s finalist had a challenging day. Champion Marin Cilic of Croatia had a battle on his hands before advancing past Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8), 4-6, 7-5. And the man he beat in the final, Japan’s Kei Nishikori, had to withdraw with an injury.

He had been seeded fifth.

No. 7 Milos Raonic of Canada had a bit of a tussle against 37-year-old Tommy Haas of Germany, who lives in Los Angeles. It took Raonic until a fifth match point before he advanced, 6-0, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4).

Men’s contenders Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria kept going. Wawrinka, seeded fourth, took out Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, and Dimitrov, seeded 11th and the man who upset Andy Murray here last year, outhit former USC star Steve Johnson, 7-6 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (2).

Unseeded US wild card Denis Kudla, meanwhile, won his second match, leaving the US men with three players still alive—Kudla, Isner and Sam Querrey. Kudla beat Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

A small electrical fire broke out inside Wimbledon’s Centre Court building on Wednesday, causing an evacuation after play had ended for the day.

The fire started inside a mechanical room in the east side of the building, All England Club Spokesman Johnny Perkins said. There were no reports of injuries.

Emergency vehicles arrived shortly after the fire alarm went off, and a public address announcement told everyone in or near the stadium to leave the area.

Perkins said it was not immediately clear whether the incident would have any effect on Thursday’s matches. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are both set to play their respective second-round matches in the stadium.

SPORTS

SERENA WILLIAMS nears showdown with sister Venus. AP

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MEDIA PARTNERS BUSINESSMIRROR executives—led by its Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon (second from left), Editor in Chief Jun B. Vallecera (left) and Vice President for Corporate Affairs Frederick M. Alegre (right)—met recently with World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Director for Asia Gilles Demptos (center) and Operations Manager Wilson Leong at the BUSINESSMIRROR offices in Makati City. WAN-IFRA is a global organization of the world’s press, representing more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. ROY DOMINGO

BANKS IN GREECE KEEP LIFELINE AS DEAL HANGS

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‘IT’S A PLEASURE’ Sports

WILLIAMS?

HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the government to hasten the passage of the proposed Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) to allow an overhaul of the country’s budget system and streamline existing weaknesses, as pointed out in the recent fiscal-transparency evaluation of the global institution.

AGING TERMINATOR D4 Friday, July 3, 2015

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REECE braced for more chaos on the streets outside its mostly shuttered banks on Thursday, as Athens and its creditors halted talks on resolving the country’s deepening financial crisis until a referendum this weekend.

Banks have been closed all week to prevent a crash from mass money withdrawals, while a few have been reopened to help pensioners without Automated teller machine (ATM) cards.

But they are still in business. The European Central Bank (ECB) left the terms of its emergency $100-billion cash support to Greece unchanged, a day after Athens slipped

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 45.0740

into arrears with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its bailout program expired.

The move kept chances alive for a settlement between Greece and creditors. And Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis publicly thanked the ECB and its president, Mario Draghi, for the decision.

“This allows us to breathe. It’s a very positive move, and a move of good will on the part of the European Central Bank. I welcome it,” Varoufakis told state television.

Draghi, he said, had faced down “hawks”among euro zone members who had demanded that Athens C  A

Power industry seen opposing DOE order stopping negotiated power-supply deals B L L

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NEW circular issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to earn the ire of industry players that resort to bilateral negotiation of power-supply contracts.

DOE Circular 2015-06-0008, signed by Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla, but released on his last day, June 30, mandates all distribution utilities (DUs) to undergo competitive selection process (CSP) in securing their power-supply agreements (PSAs).

This means that DUs and electric cooperatives (ECs) will have to bid out their power requirements from a pool of interested power firms, thereby

eliminating bilateral negotiation, which, industry observers say, is “not a transparent way to do it, because it involves pass-through cost.”

“After effectivity of this circular, all DUs shall procure PSAs only through CSP conducted through a third party duly recognized by the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] and the DOE. In the case of ECs, the third party shall be duly recognized by the National Electrification Administration [NEA],” stated the circular, which took effect upon publication on Tuesday.

Guidelines and procedures will be issued within 120 days from effectivity of the circular, the DOE added.

The circular applies to future

contracts. It does not apply to existing PSAs that have been approved or have been filed for approval before the ERC.

Opposition

PETILLA said he expects some industry players to oppose the implementation of the circular. It may, he said, even be brought all the way to the courts.

“Why will you object if you have nothing to hide? The objective of the CSP is transparency and reasonable rates for consumers. This is a passthrough cost, which means consumers will pay for it, so the more it is important for a bidding to take place C  A

n JAPAN 0.3660 n UK 70.4101 n HK 5.8146 n CHINA 7.2687 n SINGAPORE 33.3240 n AUSTRALIA 34.5845 n EU 49.8248 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.0191 Source: BSP (2 July 2015)

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News

BusinessMirror

Friday, July 3, 2015

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Ferry. . .

Continued from A8

Pacific was 550 kilometers (344 miles) east of Ormoc and was too far away to affect any part of the Philippine archipelago, according to forecasters.

They said winds in the Ormoc region were not strong enough to whip up dangerous waves. Rene Acosta, with

a report from AP

Power industry seen opposing DOE order stopping negotiated power-supply deals Continued from A1

rather than negotiate,” he said in a phone interview.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest DU, sources part of its power requirements via negotiated PSAs. The company has yet to give an official statement.

“We will share our views at the appropriate time,” Meralco Senior Vice President Al Panlilio said in a text message.

Sources said there is an “ongoing internal discussion” and that Meralco is expected to question the circular.

It will, however, point out that its existing PSAs are of the best rates to

consumers, since these were approved by the ERC. “Besides, we implement a very strict PSA,” a source said.

An industry source said Meralco asked Petilla why the circular already came out amid ongoing discussions with the agency. “Meralco said it has a very strict PSA. That’s good,” Petilla commented.

AboitizPower also sources most of its power requirements via negotiated contracts. Aboitiz, in a text message sent to the BusinessMirror, said the company has yet to study the circular.

The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc., meanwhile, is expected to issue a

position paper on this.

“The circular is there already. They were consulted prior to the issuance.

They have also submitted position papers. It’s ok with me if they oppose this. I have nothing to hide. My take here is I am for the best interest of the consumers,” Petilla said.

More investors

Aside from transparency, Petilla said it is also worthy to note that this policy will encourage investments in the power sector because it will not be monopolized by any of the big firms.

The circular states that “the DOE recognizes the adoption of

competitive selection as a policy that will encourage investments in the power-generation business, thereby ensuring electric powersupply availability in a regime of transparent process in securing PSAs, which is an integral part of the power-sector reform agenda.”

Petilla said foreign firms with existing investments in the country’s power sector, say, AES Corp. and GN Power, will be inspired to do more business in the country. This also goes to other foreign investors who may want to enter into the power business.

AES Corp. has set up a local unit in charge of operating the 630-mega-

Banks in Greece keep lifeline as deal hangs. . . increase collateral needed to receive continued assistance.

Asian stock markets advanced on Thursday after gains on Wall Street as strong US payroll data overshadowed worries about the Greek crisis. Greece is seeking a third bailout from the eurozone rescue fund after the previous deal expired this week without agreement on

the terms of final pay outs.

The impasse left billions in bailout money frozen or canceled and saw Greece forced to close banks, and its stock market for at least a week, while the country’s left-wing government called a referendum urging voters to denounce the previous deal offered by creditors.

Euro-zone finance ministers decided

to put the talks with Greece on hold till the vote takes place.

“Given the political situation, the rejection of the previous proposals, the referendum which will take place on Sunday, and the recommendation by the Greek government to vote ‘No,’ we see no grounds for further talks at this point,” Dutch Foreign Minister and euro-

watt (MW) Masinloc coal-fired thermal power plant in the province of Zambales. AES has a joint venture with Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. and International Finance Corp.

US-based GNPower Ltd. Co. and local partners are engaged in a 405MW coal power plant in Mindanao.

“They don’t have strong connections with anybody, so it will be a level playing field because there are rules to follow,” he said.

Sources noted DUs engage in power-generation business because the law allows cross ownership, but only up to some extent.

“Therefore, it is easier for them to

negotiate PSAs because some DUs also own a portion of the plant,” another source commented.

In the power industry, it is a known fact that Aboitiz Power, a power-generation firm, is also engaged in distribution business.

Among its distribution utilities are Visayan Electric Co., Subic Enerzone, Lima Enerzone and Davao Light.

Meralco, a DU, is also engaged in power generation via partnerships with other power producers.

Petilla said his office has been receiving complaints from militant groups about the lack of transparency in relation to PSAs inked between a DU and a power producer.

banks to help pensioners who don’t have bank cards. “It’s very bad,” said retired pharmacy worker Popi Stavrakaki, 68.“I’m afraid it will be worse soon. I have no idea why this is happening.”

Business associations and the country’s largest labor union urged the government to cancel the vote.

And the Council of Europe—an inde-

pendent body that monitors elections and human rights—told the Associated Press the referendum would fall short of international standards. In a sign of serious financial deterioration, Greece suffered another sovereign downgrade, the fourth this week, as Moody’s slashed the country’s rating from “Caa2”to “Caa3,”or just above default. AP

Continued from A1

group Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after a late-night teleconference.

“There will be no talks in the coming days.” In Athens crowds of anxious elderly Greeks thronged banks on Wednesday beginning before dawn, struggling to withdraw their maximum of €120 ($134) for the week, after the government reopened some

Economy

A4 Friday, July 3, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

DOE urged to probe power-plant outages

T

By Recto Mercene

he Department of Energy (DOE) must look closely into the unscheduled powerplant outages that nearly caused widespread brownouts in Luzon in the past three days, Sen. Ferdinan R. Marcos Jr. said.

While no brownouts actually occurred, Marcos said in a statement that the sudden drop in the supply of electricity could hurt consumers with higher electric bills in the coming months.

Contrary to the assurance of the DOE, power reserves dipped again on Wednesday, taking Luzon on the verge of rotational brownouts and forcing grid operators to raise the yellow alert for the third straight day.

The first yellow alert was raised on Monday, when 10 power plants unexpectedly shut down. As of Wednesday, only the 240-megawatt (MW) Calaca Power plant in Batangas was able to go online out of the 10 power plants that went on unplanned outages.

“Energy officials should look closer into these suspicious unplanned outages of powergenerating plants,” Marcos said.

He noted that the unplanned outages occurred when power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is set to slash around 18 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from the bill of its consumers due to lower generation cost.

However, with tight energy supply, Meralco expects a spike in the price of electricity it would source from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Consequently, consumers may have to pay higher electricity bills.

Under normal power-supply conditions, the price of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) ranges

from P5 to P10 per kWh. Under tight supply, when the yellow alert is raised, WESM prices go up to around P20 to P35 per kWh. “It is unfortunate that these unplanned power-plant outages have to happen at a time when consumers are anticipating lower electric bills,” Marcos said.

“It’s understandable that a few plants may experience unplanned shutdown simultaneously, but 10 plants going down at the same time is something else. It may be mere coincidence but even the most naïve of us can’t help wonder if there is a hidden agenda behind these outages,” he added.

He recalled that, in November 2013, suspicions of collusion among power producers were raised, after several plants that were supposed to take up the supply slack as a result of the Malampaya shutdown went on unscheduled outages.

As a result of the power-supply dip, distributors, like Meralco, were forced to buy more expensive electricity from WESM and charged record-high rates from consumers.

Earlier, Marcos bewailed the failure of the current administration to address power-supply problems and urged the next President to give top priority to building more power plants to ensure adequate, reliable and cheaper electricity.

Aside from merely preventing the inconvenience brought about by brownouts, Marcos said building more power plants will also boost the country’s economic growth.

He noted that foreign investors have been complaining of expensive and unreliable electricity in the Philippines.

BusinessMirror

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BCDA must comply with arbitral award: CA

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By Joel R. San Juan

HE Court of Appeals (CA) on Thursday questioned the sincerity of the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to fully comply with the decision of the arbitration panel, compelling it to pay the developer of Camp John Hay P1.42 billion in exchange for vacating its leased premises.

This developed as the CA’s Special Fifth Division, chaired by Associate Justice Noel Tijam, announced that it has ruled to allow a large group of investors at the former US military to intervene in the petition filed by Camp John Hay Development Corp.

(CJHDevCo), seeking to stop the BCDA from using the arbitration panel’s decision to evict third-party investors at the 247-hectare former American recreational facility in Baguio City.

Tijam added that the appellate court will decide on the other motions to intervene filed by other investors in due time.

Lawyer Joel Bodegon, who represents intervener Camp John Hay Golf Club, which occupies 20 percent, or 48.43 hectares, of the leased area at Camp John Hay with more than 800 members, immediately welcomed the ruling.

Bodegon also represents CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center (JHTCC), a copetitioner in the main petition filed by CJHDevCo. During Thursday’s continuation of the summary hearing on the writ of injunction being sought by CJHDevCo to protect third-party investors from being evicted by the BCDA, Tijam questioned the BCDA on its ability to fully comply wih the arbitral award.

Tijam noted that, while the BCDA is pushing CJHDevCo and the thirdparty investors to immediately vacate its premises, the agency had reasoned out that its compliance with the arbitration award is still subject to regulations of the Commission on Audit (COA).

“The arbitration award does not make any distinction or qualification. The award does not say it is

subject to COA regulations,” he said.

“Why should it be necessary to enforce the notice to vacate if there is no actual payment yet,” Tijam added.

Despite the arbitral tribunal award, Tijam said the hands of the COA are not tied, as they can conduct audit and even disallowances, which may lead to the “dimunition” of the award.

He added that, based on the languange of the arbitral award, its implementation is “reciprocal” to the payment of award, or should be kaliwaan.

BCDA lawyer Demetrio Custodio said the agency must follow COA rules, as it is a government institution. “We have no recourse, we are a government institution,” Custodio said.

“We do not accede to the idea that it’s kaliwaan,” he added.

Arguing for his client CAPJHTCC, Bodegon told the CA that the arbitral award is not a judgment of eviction but a judgment of rescission of contract, thus, cannot be used as basis to justify their removal from the leased property.

“What applies in this situation is not the law on lease but the law on rescission,” he said.

He said third-party investors, like CAP-JHTCC, stand to suffer “irreparable damage” if the writ of execution is not granted.

Bodegon noted that its client spent more than P150 million for the construction of the trade center.

“Losing it would mean the demise of CAP trade and the deprivation of ownership without just compensa-

tion,” the lawyer said.

Bodegon added that their eviction from the leased property will also be tantamount “to unjust enrichment” on the part of the BCDA. The lawyer, however, clarified that there is nothing wrong with the arbitral award, but the problem lies with the way the BCDA would want to implement it.

“The BCDA considered the third parties covered by the arbitral award when it does not say about third parties,” he added.

He insisted that the contracts of the third parties with CJHDevCo were not invalidated by the arbitral award. “The writ of excution and the notice to vacate went beyond the arbitral decision,” Bodegon added.

Earlier, the CJHDevCo asked the CA to grant its prayer for a writ of injunction in order to protect the interest of the more than 1,600 third-party investors inside Camp John Hay. The CJHDevCo said their tenants have valid contracts that should be respected by the BCDA. The CA earlier issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO), enjoining the Regional Trial Court in Baguio City from evicting CJHDevCo from the former American recreational facility.

The TRO will expire on July 19, thus, the need for CJHDevCo for a writ of injunction to indefinitely enjoin the BCDA from evicting its tenants, pending the resolution of its petition seeking to exclude third parties from being covered by the arbitral award.

Economy BusinessMirror

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Boracay resort owners claim following environment rules

B

ORACAY ISLAND—Owners of resorts and other business establishments here said they are complying with rules related to waste disposal in this global tourist destination.

“We are working to rehabilitate Boracay’s marine environment in support of the Beach Development Program,” Dionisio J. Salme, president of the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) and owner of Jony’s Beach Resort said.

According to Salme, business establishments also strictly observe and help enforce antilittering ordinance to prevent pollution.

Boracay, he said, remains undeveloped, and the potential to bring in more revenues from tourism is huge. But there’s a need to protect the island’s environment and natural resources, he added.

According to Salme, most, if not all, BFI’s 150 member-businesses, are already connected to the sewer. Other nonmembers, he said, have also started working to improve the drainage system.

However, he said there’s a need for the government to conduct an inspection to ensure that all business establishments have complied with the order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

He added that as far as members of BFI are concerned, all resort owners along the beachfronts have complied with the 25-plus-5 rule, which bans construction within 30 meters of the mean high tide of the shores.

Salme claims they support proposals to implement a resort rating and accreditation system in Boracay, which will help business establishments self-regulate and police their ranks.

“There is a resort accreditation before, but I believe it stopped. We support proposals to have

a resort rating and accreditation system,” he said.

In February Ramon J.P. Paje issued a statement urging businessmen, like Salme to work together, saying that some establishments that “the evident cause of beach pollution, which can be a big turn off for most of the tourists, is the lack of proper drainage system in the area.

Paje called for completion of the ongoing sewerage and drainage improvements on the island to help reduce the amount of pollutants directly discharged to surface water and groundwater.

The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau office in Western Visayas had earlier reported that coliform bacteria levels in a drainage outlet that empties into the sea in Sitio Bulabog in Boracay exceed safe standards and reach 47,460 most probable number (mpn) per 100 milimeter (ml). The safe level is 1,000 mpn/100 ml for waters for swimming and other human-contact activities.

Apart from posing serious health and sanitary problems, coliform bacteria could also adversely affect aquatic resources, including marine life and coral reefs, which, aside from the powdery white-sand beaches, form part of the island’s main attractions.

Paje said that he already instructed the local DENR office to closely monitor establishments and apprehend violators of the Clean Water Act. He also reiterated his appeal to the local government to withhold issuing business permits to establishments that do not have a discharge permit or connection to the sewerage system.

At the same time, Paje urged commercial establishments and residents to practice selfregulation in improving the water quality of the island paradise.

Friday, July 3, 2015 A5

VP hopeful seeks contingency plan for farms amid dry spell

S

EN. Francis Escudero wants Malacañang to draw up a contingency plan for the agriculture sector, as he cited the negative effects of the lingering dry spell.

“El Niño means adverse conditions for our agriculture sector.

The government needs to come up with a contingency plan that will assure our farmers of minimal impact on their livelihood and, at the same time, ensure that food supply will not be disrupted too much,” Escudero was quoted in a

statement as saying.

Documents from Escudero’s office said that since Angat Dam reached the 180-meter critical level for irrigation supply in May, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has stopped water releases for Bulacan and Pampanga farmers’ irrigation needs.

However, Metro Manila will continue to draw water from the Angat reservoir unless the water level further falls to 160 meters when water release will be limited.

The NWR B has said it cut down the water allocation to 41 cubic meters per second (cumecs) from 43 cumecs to private water concessionaries Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc. beginning July 1 “as a precautionary measure.”

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration earlier projected the country could experience the full impact of the El Niño episode in the last quarter of 2015.

This means that more provinces, including Bulacan where Angat Dam is located, will experience “way below normal” amount of rainfall.

Escudero said “early planning may avoid a costly importation program and allow a studious review of spending activities for agriculture.”

He, however, didn’t cite a deadline or schedule when he wants the plan seen.

Escudero, who is seen gunning for the vice-president post in the 2016 elections, added the government should consider realigning its economic pump-priming program to the agriculture sector to address the effects of the dry spell. Recto Mercene

Doctors linked to cataract ‘scam’ speak out vs PhilHealth

D

OCTORS, whom government officials linked to a “cataract scam,” lamented the actions against their clinics by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

“We firmly believe that several actions of PhilHealth against us are unjust and laden with prejudice,” Raymond Evangelista, Quezon City Eye Center (QCEC) founder and CEO, said in a statement issued on July 2.

PhilHealth recently suspended reimbursements by QCEC because of suspicions of fraud

and unethical marketing activities.

The government did “this despite the absence of proof and an absolute disregard for due process.”

“Pending the completion of their audit and investigation, we have been forced to close down indefinitely.”

Testifying at the Senate on Wednesday, PhilHealth President Alexander A. Padilla said syndicates at the QCEC led to the P2-billion PhilHealth claims for cataract operations in 2014.

He said clients had to undergo a cataract op-

eration that is often not needed.

He added that he had suspended payments to QCEC and the Pacific Eye Institute that he accused of engaging in what he called a “racket.”

Evangelista said they are not “seeking” patients as Padilla alleged.

“Seeking patients is a detestable, unethical and illegal practice where doctors solicit patients who do not observe certain procedures for profiteering purposes.”

He also denied the center is engaged “in any

illegal marketing activity and any attempt to prove otherwise is futile because it simply isn’t true.”

Evangelista explained the QCEC does not have its own set of doctors.

“The Center simply provides facilities for the eye doctors, helping out in their passion to provide health services for those who need them the most. Moreover, PhilHealth pre-approval forms contain certifications from visiting doctors that there was no ‘seeking’ involved in acquiring the patients they bring to the Center.” Recto S. Mercene

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Friday, July 3, 2015

editorial

Asean migration: A potential problem

E

arlier this year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) was faced with the problem of thousands of Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya minority seeking refuge in Thailand and Indonesia.

The Philippines took the moral high ground, and declared that these people would not be turned away if they reached Philippine territory.

People fleeing from sovereign nations to other countries is a complicated issue once initial humanitarian provisions for these groups have been provided.

In 2014 a few Rohingya reached the Philippines and were given assistance for some five months, until they could be relocated to a place where they could permanently settle.

The seriousness of international refugees is not to be taken lightly. However, a potentially larger problem will come with the continuing process of Asean integration.

Thailand’s Vice Chairman of the Board of Trade Dr. Jingjai Hanchanlash said this at an economic leadership forum in Bangkok on June 30. “The major problem would be the free movement of labor. This is going to be a big problem for Thailand and other Asean [countries].”

While the Myanmar government considers that the Rohingya people are not citizens of Myanmar, other nations prefer to take the legal view that they are Myanmar citizens.

The coming Asean Economic Community (AEC) will allow its members to enjoy the free movement of goods, services and investments, as well as capital and skilled labor. This is similar to the situation of free capital and labor movement in the European Union.

People, particularly students in Cambodia and Myanmar, have voiced deep concern about foreign nationals from other Asean countries entering to take up those skilled positions. An experienced Filipino mining engineer might take a job away from a Cambodian fresh graduate.

The AEC is going to be a slow and detailed process that will face clarifications and revisions as we go along. But the key to the stake that the Philippines has in the AEC is preparation.

As Jingjai said: “When we start the AEC next year, I do not think the problem will only be for Thailand but also for the nine other countries, because we are not used to this kind of free movement. We already have immigrant labor in the country, and they are from our Asean friends. So, how are we going to regulate those movements?”

The question is, then, will Thailand and Indonesia treat the Rohingya as “oppressed refugees” or Asean job seekers taking advantage of the new open borders for labor? It is an interesting legal question.

How will the Philippines react to skilled professionals coming from other Asean countries in light of specific employment reserved to Philippine citizens in our laws and regulations? What will be our government’s response to efforts by other nations to restrict Filipino skilled workers from looking for jobs in their countries?

All Asean countries are going to have to balance their national priorities and needs with the overall goals of Asean integration. This is not going to be quick or easy.

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PATaS and PCOS machines James Jimenez

E

spox

ver since the conclusion of the end-to-end demonstration of the Precinct Automated Tally System (PATaS) that is being proposed as an alternative to the automated-election system was implemented by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in both the 2010 and 2013 elections, all people can talk about is how slow it was.

Well, of course, it was slow. To begin with, it was a manual-counting system where the members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) needed to take the ballots out of the ballot box and arrange the ballots in bundles of 20, all before a single vote was ever read out. This precounting process alone took more than 10 minutes, at best.

A “ballot” refers to the piece of paper a voter writes his or her votes on.

A “vote” refers to the indication that a specific candidate has been chosen by the voter. This can be either the name of the candidate written down in the blank space corresponding to the position, or, in the case of the automated elections of 2010 and 2013, a blacked-out oval next to the name of the candidate being selected.

After bundling the ballots, the BEIs then proceed with the counting of the votes. This is accomplished by taking a ballot and reading out the individual

votes, one position and one candidate at a time.

In between sounding out each vote, the BEI member reading the ballot needs to pause and wait for the BEI member standing by the blackboard to note down the vote in the corresponding space on the tally board with a stick mark. Meanwhile, the third BEI member does the same for the election returns.

Only when all three BEI members have signified their readiness to proceed with the next vote can the whole process be started again.

Assuming an average of 36 positions being voted for, and assuming also that it takes about half a minute for each vote to be read and recorded, then it takes approximately 18 minutes for each fully accomplished ballot, as opposed to a partially accomplished ballot where the voter has abstained from voting for one or more positions,

to be processed completely.

On this basis alone, anyone can immediately come to the conclusion that counting will not be a speedy affair.

And that is just the garden-variety manual-counting system.

Add an “automated-tally system,” where a fourth person has to record the vote being read out, only this time on a computer attached to an LED projector, and you can see that the pace of counting really slow down to a crawl.

But what really balloons the time it takes to process each ballot is the inescapable reality of election lawyers and political watchers all eager to contest each vote.

This means that, on top of the 18 or so minutes needed to process every single ballot, you are going to have the time it takes for the lawyer or watcher to object, the time it takes for the BEIs to consult and rule on the objection, and the time it takes for everyone to settle down so that the counting can resume.

Given all that, I am really puzzled as to why the slowness of the hybrid system is even considered remarkable.

What is more surprising to me, truth be told, is how some people seem to have forgotten that these time complications exist at all.

As bewildering as this collective amnesia is, however, it is still far less confusing than the statement made by former Comelec Commissioner Augusto C. Lagman that “the PCOS [Precinct Count Optical Scan] machines can be used in the regions.”

Hold the phone.

To be fair, Lagman prefaced this statement by saying that he knew people would be hesitant to adopt the hybrid system, if it meant completely abandoning the 82,000 PCOS machines which were procured by the Comelec at no small cost.

Lagman’s prescription was to repair and maintain the PCOS, and then send them into action “in the regions.”

Which must really drive any thinking person to ask: If the PCOS, machines are acceptable, after all, then why is he pushing for a solution that would lead to the junking of the machines?

Let us face it. The excuse that he proposed reusing the PCOS machines simply to avoid having them go entirely to waste is lame, since the PCOS machines going to waste is not some newly stumbled-upon insight. It is, in fact, an inescapable consequence of scrapping them for the 2016 elections.

And, besides, was not the hybrid system conceptualized precisely as a rejection of the PCOS machines’ alleged opacity?

By proposing that the PCOS machines can be used, after all, Lagman negates the idea of the unacceptability of a system he has, time and again, branded as opaque. The former Comelec commissioner has, in other words, shot his own advocacy in the foot, or some other, more vital, body part.

James Arthur B. Jimenez is director of the Commission on Elections’s education and information department.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, July 3, 2015

A7

Enhancing the future Preserving, conserving, forgetting heritage of the Philippines-Republic of Korea economic relations Tito Genova Valiente Fernando T. Aldaba

EAGLE WATCH

F

ormal diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Philippines commenced on March 3, 1949.

The Philippines was the first country in the Asean region to establish official ties with South Korea. Today the economic aspects of this relationship have intensified at various levels.

South Korea is now a highly developed economy and currently experiencing robust expansion, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate forecasted to reach around 4 percent this year, according to the World Bank and European Commission.

Meanwhile, the Philippine economy is also on the upswing, averaging around 6 percent in the last five years. Many studies have focused on the economic relations between the Philippines and the United States, Japan, China and Asean, but very few on the Philippines vis-à-vis South Korea.

South Korea is now the fourth-largest trading partner of the Philippines after Japan, the US and China.

Its exports to the latter have almost doubled, from $4.57 billion in 2009 to $8.78 billion in 2013. The Philippines’s exports to South Korea increased by 40 percent from, $2.65 billion in 2009 to $ 3.71 billion in 2013.

The Philippines is the 13th top importer of products from the Republic of Korea in 2014, with products valued at $10 billion, contributing 1.80 percent of Korea’s total imports.

The Philippines’s major exports to the Republic of Korea in 2013 were electronic products, valued at $454.20 million (23.0 percent of the total), and fresh bananas, at $50.88 million (2.6 percent).

Our major imports from Korea include mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, valued at $894.51 million (36.5-percent share), and electronic products, worth $459.55 million (18.8-percent share).

Trade between the two countries will further expand in the next few years, given that Asean, where the Philippines is a founding member, has been continually refining its free-trade agreement with Korea. Asean’s overall trade with Korea is expected to reach $150 billion this year.

Tourism is another area where people exchange has increased tremendously.

Koreans comprise the most number of tourists in the country, with almost 1.20 million arriving yearly.

In the latest report released by the Department of Tourism, there were already 423,366 arrivals from Korea just in the first four months of the year.

There is also a growing number of Koreans enrolled in Philippine universities for short and degree courses. Korea also emerged as the top visitor spender, with P4.13 billion, overtaking the US, which generated a total revenue of P3.60 billion.

Around 4 million Filipinos traveled to South Korea in 2013, a 20-percent increase from 2012, according to the embassy in Manila.

Interest has been heightened by increased exposure of Filipinos to Korean telenovelas and K-pop music. Visa requirements have also been relaxed, e.g., one needs to only present gold credit-card statements in lieu of complicated bank statements, among others.

It is also important to highlight that, under the Employment Permit System of the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor, around 24,000 Filipinos are currently working in the manufacturing sector.

However, according to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration records, as of March 2014, there were already around 36,000 Filipino workers deployed in the Republic of Korea.

South Korea is also one of the country’s largest sources of foreign direct investments after Japan and the US. Korea’s total investment in the Philippines was estimated at $3.80 billion in 2013.

Major Korean companies doing business in the country include Korean Electric Power Corp., Phoenix Semi-Conductor, Hanjin Shipbuilding Co., Samsung, Hyundai and LG. Among the investment areas that Korean firms continue to be interested are infrastructure, manufacturing, real estate and the tourism industry.

If the growth of the Philippine economy is sustained and a better investment environment is promoted by the next administration, it is expected that Korean investments will expand even more over the next few years.

In terms of official development assistance (ODA), Korean aid has also been increasing during the past years. According to National Economic and Development Authority statistics, South Korea has a total ODA of $608.72 million in 2013, comprising of $524.76 million in loans and $83.96 million in grants.

Loans are administered by the Korea Export-Import Bank, while technical assistances and grants are through the Korean International Cooperation Agency.

It is expected that the total Korean ODA to the entire Asean will double this year, as the Republic of Korea has vowed to give assistance in order to narrow the development gap among member-countries.

South Korea and the Philippines, through President Park Geun-hye and President Aquino, committed to further strengthen the economic partnership of the two countries in December 2014 during their bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the 25th Commemorative Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Republic of Korea in Busan, South Korea. This augurs well for the growth and prosperity of both countries.

Aldaba is the dean of the School of Social Sciences and professor of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University. Dr. Aldaba is also a senior fellow of Eagle Watch, the university’s macroeconomic and forecasting unit.

annotations

T

here are debates going on right now, and the discussion involves churches. The topic, however, is not about divorce laws or same-sex marriage. The topic is about the physical churches.

We are talking here of the massive structures that are, in most cases, splendid example of how man can create majestic tribute to his faith.

Most of them are being renovated, rebuilt, or repainted.

A case in point is the church in Calumpit that said to be 400 years old. The exterior was repainted in salmon pink, with some of the window edging turned into gleaming bone white.

The change is so radical that its façade appears to have parts that were not in the old unpainted structure.

What looks like an archivault can be seen because the deep coloration has created indentations. The vaults for saints on the upper wall are now dainty frames that seem to float away from the wall.

Looking at a photo of this old church, we can see that whoever must have decided on the change must have thought out clearly the changes wrought upon the old building. It is not that a small part of the wall was repainted, it is that on the wall were created new patterns and curlicues not visible before.

We can only imagine the reaction of the parishioners or the people in the community when the whole painting project was completed. Was there a protest? Did people boycott the Mass inside that church? Did the faithful start to reconsider their fidelity to the church?

There is another case of renovation that is getting strong, sometimes angry words from the people of Naga City. It is the repainting of the entire façade and walls of the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral.

The present cathedral was built in 1808. Its façade cuts a wide, powerful swath, that power drawn from its architectural roots that are linked to the neo-Romanesque.

It is said that an anticorrosive chemical was painted over the body of the cathedral. When the application was completed, the entire structure disappeared in that darkness of the night.

I am, of course, being dramatic.

The whole cathedral has turned so dark that when night comes, you

can barely see the sacred structure.

An article in the Bicol Mail written by a friend, lawyer Luis Ruben General, entitled “The Black Cathedral (or Phantoms and other Disappearances),” can best explain the situation.

“The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral has again received a do-over.

In the 1970s it was painted yellow, and this was long before the color assumed political drifts. It lasted only for a few months, as it was ridiculed to early discoloration. In 1988 a total renovation which included the interior was done, and the antique silver retablo at the altar disappeared. The exterior walls were plastered with cement, and so the antique stones also disappeared from view. Now, another coating of cement, black in color, has just been finished; so the

whole cathedral is now black, with some accents of white for the small statues on the façade. “ Concluding his article, General lamented: “Some may not be bothered by these disappearances. They are the usual suspects. Those who really do not care or who take for granted heritage places or structures for not knowing any better, or simply for the reason that they do not share any connection of these places to their own past. They are strangers to the place; hence, do not appreciate the value in conserving it. Understandably, they might not feel any sense of loss if an old building was torn down or a cherished tradition had ceased.”

A sensitive matter has been inaugurated: The right of the parishioners over a physical church in their place.

Is it merely the prerogative of the local church authority to renovate, rebuild and preserve sacred structures and the holding of traditional rituals? Shall the authorities consult the people first before undertaking changes involving churches and other sacred sites?

The plot thickens because amid all this is the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, which is mandated to look into management of heritage sites.

In a conversation, General brought out his knowledge of laws

Women make most purchase decisions Chit U. Juan

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Women Stepping UP

isa Stone, founder of BlogHer, with a reach of over 100 million readers every month, recently spoke at a luncheon for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) for woman entrepreneurs in Singapore.

Here are some of her revelations: Women make over 60 percent of purchase decisions.

Women use the Internet for social media 41 percent more than men, especially for shopping, of course (BlogHer statistics). And women are the most engaged group online since 2003.

By 2030, women will make more than 80 percent of all purchase decisions, including buying cars and making travel plans.

I knew we had to have online presence, especially after listening to Lisa Stone and Ayesha Khanna of 21C and The Academy in Singapore.

For the same reasons Lisa mentioned, we put up ECHOstore’s online store almost two years ago, way ahead of many retailers in the green and fairtrade space.

Further, we joined Instagram, Twitter and Facebook more than four years

ago. ECHOstore gets many of its clients from Instagram posts, Facebook, and from reposts of customers and clients.

“Even our licensees in Davao and Cebu are tech-savvy,” Jeannie Javelosa, my ECHOstore cofounder, chimes in. “They post their food, their clients post their purchases, and even what they are presently eating,” she continues.

“Most of our clients are women,” Reena Francisco, the third leg of our ECHOtrio, confirms. Many are young mothers looking for healthier choices for their kids.

ECHOstore has been the pioneer in green products, fair-trade consumables, like coffee and tea, coconut sugar and even heirloom rice.

Now, ECHOstore products can be found in our web site’s online store.

“And if you do not find it there, just email us or leave a message on Facebook,” Reena continues.

The web site is www.echostore.ph, and the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are simply ECHOstore.

Women now work 24/7, too, with call centers and business-process outsourcings time schedules dictating one’s office hours away from the 9-to-5 routine.

So, when women work odd hours, they shop online in the wee hours of the morning or very late at night.

And where does one find comments and recommendations on purchases or what to buy? They go to blogs. Blogs now account for over 80 percent of purchase decisions.

Women follow other women, other mothers and other ladies who seem to find time to write about their recent purchases. These blogs become the influencers for other future purchases of a similar aggrupation.

Or it is a segment of the market that likes to go shopping online or even in brick-and-mortar stores that post their opinions in their personal blogs. Sometimes, these are not celebrities, but just plain people who have something to say about new products.

Traditional advertising may still work for many fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) but for specialty products, social media is the way to influence people with their purchases.

“I shop when I am in bed,” says a woman who shops while her husband is asleep but beside her. “I cruise or travel to many lands while in bed,” says another woman who plans her European

that prohibit the changing of street names that have been there or been in use for years.

I have not followed up on the case of the Calumpit Church. I can talk only of some positive developments brought about by the Naga Cathedral.

First, there is a long thread of discussion using the social media. The exchanges are sober and generally intelligent. Some individuals connected to the local church are talking about their projects to bring experts who will help orient priests and cultural workers.

In the absence of other indicators of civilization, these churches and other influences from Spain assure us that we, too, had a civilization, however, colonial the tendency of these memories are. If only because the artistry and genius of Filipino proto-architects are embedded in the designs of these old buildings, then the preservation and renovation of these artifacts make sense.

Let us not forget, however, that heritage is not only material. Out there are tales and songs and dances that should be retained, reclaimed, performed and preserved because they give us sense of identities that cannot be imprisoned within ancient stonewalls.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

trips while in bed with her mobile device.

Truly, women do their multitasking chores even while trying to get some shuteye. They shop, surf and, hopefully, sleep after such happy activities, like shopping for their next vacation, their next holiday or their new set of plates— all while in bed.

So, do you already have an online store? Or maybe even just a web site?

Does it upload quickly? Someone says you only have five seconds to get your audience attention, and if your site does not load up, the viewer exits and moves to another site.

Check out your favorite stores online. Then you can manage your time better and leave some room for a vacation rather than spending time driving and parking in a mall or in the busy city streets.

And remember, if your target market are women, you better be online.

Chit Juan is BPW Makati’s vice president and is also the founder of ECHOstore sustainable lifestyle. She also is on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linked In. She loves to write about her travels, women empowerment and coffee. You can reach her at puj@echostore.ph.

This article reflects the author’s opinion and is not the official stand of the BPW Makati. Women Stepping Up is a rotating column of members of BPW Makati and comes out twice a month. For more information on BPW Makati, visit www.womensteppingup.org.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Friday, July 3, 2015

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘P-Noy to sign Timta within the year’

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means on Thursday said a measure seeking to monitor the tax incentives granted by the government to several companies will be signed into law before 2015 ends.

Liberal Party (LP) Rep. Romero S. Quimbo of Marikina City, the panel chairman, said the congressional bicameral committee is eyeing to conduct its meeting in August to reconcile the different versions of the proposed Tax Incentives and Management Act (Timta) of the lower chamber and the upper chamber.

“No schedule yet [of the meeting for Timta] but already a certainty that we will do within August. Hope to send the bill for the

President’s signature, definitely before the year ends,” Quimbo said in a text message.

The consolidated bill of the House of Representatives on Timta, House Bill 5831, principally authored by LP Rep. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo of Camarines Sur, will be merged with the Senate version prepared by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, with Sens. Franklin M. Drilon, Ralph G. Recto and Juan Edgardo M. Angara as authors.

Party-list Rep. Sharon S. Ga-

GARIN: “It is the government’s obligation to the people to monitor, review and analyze the economic impact of granting tax incentives to businesses in order to optimize [their] desired social benefits.”

rin of AAMBIS-Owa, one of the authors of the bill at the House of Representatives, said more transparency in the grant and management of tax incentives will be expected with the passage of the transparency measure.

“It is the government’s obligation to the people to monitor, review and analyze the economic impact of granting tax incentives to businesses in order to optimize [their] desired social benefits,” said Garin, vice chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Tax incentives refer to fiscal incentives the government offers to encourage businesses to make

investments in property or operate in particular areas, which will result in job generation and more vibrant economy.

Tax incentives could be in the form of income-tax holidays (ITHs), exemptions, deductions, credits or exclusions from the tax base, as provided by law to qualified private individuals or corporations.

Under the House version of the bill, businesses availing themselves of the incentives shall file with the Board of Investments (BOI) and other relevant investment promotions agencies (IPAs), within six months from the statutory deadline, an application for ITHs in order to give

the government sufficient time to study the economic impact of granting such exemptions.

The BOI and the relevant IPA shall, within 30 days from the end of the said six-month period, submit to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) a report containing the list of businesses that filed applications. The BIR shall validate the findings of the BOI and IPA, the bill added.

The incentives claimed by business entities shall be deemed approved in case of inaction or failure of the BIR to inform the BOI and the BOI-registered business entities of the results of the BIR’s validation

within six months from notice of the endorsement or recommendation of the BOI, it added.

The Department of Finance shall keep the data of actual amount of tax and duty incentives granted to businesses under a single database for monitoring and analysis.

In the Senate version, any government official or employee who fails without justifiable reason to provide or furnish data or information shall be punished by a fine equivalent to that official’s or employee’s basic salary for a period of one to six months, or by suspension from government service for not more than one year, or both.

36 killed, 26 missing as ferry capsizes in Ormoc, Leyte A ferry carrying 189 passengers and crew capsized off the waters of Ormoc in Leyte on Thursday, leaving at least 36 dead and 26 others missing, Coast Guard officials said.

Based on an initial report from the Coast Guard, Spokesman Cmdr.

Armand Balilo said a motorized banca, King Nirvana, was undocking at around 12:50 p.m. about 200 meters away from the port of Ormoc when it sank.

Balilo said the boat was heading to Camotes Island, Cebu.

The Coast Guard is still investigating the incident, even as search- and-rescue operations were ongoing. Balilo said the boat could have been whipped by strong waves, forcing it to capsize. He also said the captain and some of the crew were rescued and are in custody

pending an investigation.

Survivors said the bow of the ferry suddenly rose from the water before the vessel flipped over on one side, turning it upside down and trapping passengers underneath.

Mary Jane Drake, who was traveling with her mother and American husband, said the ferry was pulling slowly out of the port when it suddenly flipped to the left in strong waves and overturned, trapping her and other passengers. She, her mother and husband swam to safety from underneath the ferry.

“No one was able to jump out because it overturned very swiftly. There was no time to jump,” she said.

Her husband, Lawrence Drake, a 48-year-old retired firefighter from Rochester, New York, said he ran to one

side of the boat to try to balance it, but it was too late.

“I jumped out of my seat and ran to the front as far as I could, and tried to lean over. I am a big guy, and tried to push the boat back over but it was way too late,” he said. Many of the passengers screaming in panic, he said.

TV footage showed Coast Guard rescuers carrying survivors from rubber boats to a beach. Not far away, the bottom part of the vessel could be seen protruding from the water.

Coast Guard officials said it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the accident. Cloudy weather at the time of the accident did not pose any danger that would have forced the Coast Guard to stop sea voyages, they said. A brewing storm in the See “Ferry,” A2

global road-safety forum Elena Altieri, World Health Organization (WHO) communications officer, delivers updates on the role of the media in global road safety during the Bloomberg Initiative Global Road Safety Programme forum held at the Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros, Manila. The forum is part of a series of road-safety events hosted by the WHO Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention. ROY DOMINGO

San Miguel likely to bid Araneta, Thai build for 74% stake in UCPB partner 130-megawatt

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an Miguel Corp. said it may bid for the government’s stake in United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), a contrast with the company’s years of failed attempts to exit from one of the nation’s other lenders, Bank of Commerce.

San Miguel, the nation’s biggest company, submitted a letter of intent to bid for the 74-percent holding, President Ramon S. Ang said by mobile-phone message.

Twelve groups have expressed interest, according to the government. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is among them, a person with knowledge of the matter said last month.

The Philippines is planning to sell its shareholding for a minimum of

P1.1 billion ($24 million), while also requiring any new owner to inject at least P15 billion of capital.

Ang didn’t give a reason for the firm’s interest in UCPB—and nor would he say whether Bank of Commerce is still for sale. Reuters reported San Miguel’s interest earlier, citing an unidentified person.

In June 2013 Malaysia’s CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. scrapped a plan to buy 60 percent of Bank of Commerce for P12.2 billion. In February this year San Miguel said Mizuho Financial Group Inc. was interested in acquiring its stake in the lender.

San Miguel is a brewer that diversified into oil, power and infrastructure. Bloomberg News

solar farms

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venture of Thailand’s Soleq Solar Co. and Gregorio Araneta Inc. are investing $220 million to build solar farms in the Philippines, Araneta said in a statement.

A 100-megawatt (MW), $170-million solar project in Negros Occidental province will be completed in December and a 30MW generator in Leyte province started supplying power in March.

The Philippines, where power consumption jumped 50 percent in the decade to 2012, is rushing construction of power plants to avoid shortages. In November SunEdison and Aboitiz Power Inc. agreed to develop as much as 300 MW of solar power plants in the country in the next three years. Bloomberg News

PHL needs to overhaul budget system Continued from A1

fiscal-transparency management juxtaposed with the international best practices.

“Fiscal reporting is relatively comprehensive, frequent and timely, with many areas of good and advanced practices. Coverage of public-sector units’ stocks and flows is well-developed, but coverage of the public sector as a whole lacks consolidated data for the public sector and general government subsectors,” the IMF said in the report.

Among the specific weaknesses, as cited and discussed by Peiris, included the gap on the budget ceilings and the degree of reallocations in the implementation.

As such, Peiris expressed his support to the Act—which is now pend-

ing in Congress—saying that most of the countries across the globe have an organic budget law, and the Philippines only has a General Appropriations Act. “The proposed bill [public finance management law] is something we support and look at,” the IMF said.

Peiris further said that, as the country needs to limit reallocations in its budget framework, the proposed bill promotes “clear rules” and “clarity” on the specific aspect of budget framework and implementation.

The public finance management law has been filed in Congress, still bearing different versions.

Sen. Franklin M. Drilon’s version said in its explanatory note that “the Philippines is one of the few

remaining countries where there is no law officially tailored to publicfinancial management.”

“The passage of this bill will, therefore, stand as a veritable landmark in the history of Philippine legislation, as it will not only align the public financial-management system with international standards and practices but it will also consolidate, harmonize and address the gaps between existing laws, jurisprudence, executive issuances and rules pertinent to all public financial-management activities,” the note read.

“The lack of clarity opens the opportunity not just for subpar implementation, but also for outright abuse,” Sen. Sonny M. Angara said.

Both versions were filed in May this year.