BusinessMirror July 4, 2015

EARLY WAVES A surfer braves the cold early morning waves on the beaches of Baler, Aurora.

Baler is one of the surfing capitals of the Philippines, bringing tourists both locally and internationally allyear-round. Beginner and professional surfers flock into this area to learn or compete. STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

BusinessMirror

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

U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

www.businessmirror.com.ph INSIDE

TOP ART BUYERS We will live again

D

EAR Lord, let the darkness flee from here.

Put an end to sadness and fear. The hungry will eat, the sick will dance, the dead will live again. A single flame, a flicker of hope spreads like a sea of fire. Open the door, shout to the night, we will live again. Let each day be full of gladness and merriment for You are preparing us reach Your Kingdom. Amen.

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

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

Who are the world’s top art buyers?

A

Life BusinessMirror

THANKS to the world’s top art buyers, the name of Alberto Giacommetti will forever be equated with really expensive art, such as his L’Homme au doigt.

B S J

S the sun sets for another day in London, a new generation of art buyers eagerly looks forward to the evening’s hunt. Chantal Smith is barely in her 30s yet she has invested an enormous amount of time and money to amass what she calls a “modest” art collection. The rounds begin. She’s off to the first gallery in her must-see list, a compedium of art London’s up and comers.

Hours later, she arrives back home and announces that she’s managed to make a “dazzling connection.” Scattered on the floor of her spacious loft are what she calls evidence of a storied past, a few early drawings of a particularly overpriced artist, and stacks of canvasses by newer discoveries leaning against the walls. What exactly was a “connection”?

Chantal says she bumped into one of those uber-rich billionaires, traded cards under the glare of gallery lighting, and that was all. Perhaps this could lead to a job upgrade? But she says she’d rather be his art-buying assistant. In today’s highly specialized economies, such divisions of labor exist.

Karl Lagerfeld was reported by Vogue as having for a time maintained a full-time curator to oversee a vast collection of 18th-century artefacts, including a manor here and there.

Yet, there is no doubt that today’s uber-rich art collector may claim the same amount of good taste as tastemakers and trend-setters in their own right. Recently it was revealed by Pagesix.com that billionaire Steve Cohen was the mystery buyer behind Christie’s record-breaking sale of the most expensive sculpture to hit the secondary market, namely Alberto Giacommetti’s L’Homme au doigt (1947) which went under the gavel for $141.3 million.

Yet that record was not the coup de grace of that storied night. Christie’s Looking Forward to the Past sale was dominated by the $179.3-million record set for Pablo Picasso’s

HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO BE KIND »D3

Saturday, July 4, 2015

D1

CHARLES SAATCHI can be credited for giving this artwork its near-iconic status. It’s actually a portrait of child killer Myra Hindley by Young British Art artist Marcus Harvey, who used a child’s handprint as stamping tool for paint.

Mayassa Al Thani, described by Forbes as the “undisputed queen of the art world.” Under her chairmanship, this new cultural superpower now enjoys a budget of $1 billion a year for the procurement and management of fine art.

The world’s top art buyers also include other names, but it’s such a short and compact list. Perhaps the most famous of all would be Charles Saatchi, cofounder of advertising multinational firm Saatchi & Saatchi, and an art lover who pursued a longtime dream of establishing a repository that would be open to the public, namely the influential Saatchi Gallery in London. This project went on to give birth to the Young British Artists (YBAs), a movement inaugurated by the quite shocking Sensation exhibition at the gallery.

Sensation’s reviews were not so good. But it scattered blood all over the landscape and made headlines everywhere.

Today the YBAs are darlings of the global market, with names like Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili and others who are credited for shaking up once-stodgy definitions of art.

Clearly the evidence shows it that it may take an iconoclast like a Medici to produce a Michelangelo. The jump in time of metaphor may be a bit jarring but the context is logical. The 16th-century accounts that detailed how Lorenzo de Medici spurred his fellow Florentines to humanist perfection not only entailed the spending of money but the creation of an esprit de corps and a set of values to follow up.

Perhaps a similar robustness of spirit can be seen in the contemporary works of Andy Hall, Glenn Fuhrman, Leon Black, Francois Pinault, Rosa de la Cruz, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, the Rubells, Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., Norman L. Braman, Nasser David Khalili and David Geffen who among them are said to own art amounting to at least $500 million.

This follows an ancient tradition whose origins go back to antiquity. Art has always been a means of giving back to society as Medici had shown.

In the the 1510s, The Garden was established within

LIFE

D1

KIND CHILDREN Parentlife BusinessMirror

Saturday, July 4, 2015

D3

How to teach your children to be kind B H O The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Helping others is lifelong. Take some time this summer to figure out with your child what kinds of things they can do or help with. Is it organizing?

Painting? Software tutorial? Gardening or lawn care?

Taking care of people? It’s always a great time to be kind and connected to the folks in your community.

K

ELLI N. MOORE of Atlanta, a 42-yearold teacher by training and an active volunteer, felt she needed to hear more positive stories, more examples of kindness. So she decided to start a blog (www.innovationsinkindness.com) in 2012 to share stories and advice on how to encourage people to be kind, and also to have discussions about what does it really mean to be a kind person. Her blog’s mantra is “be kind, even when it’s really hard.”

This resonated with me. I wanted to share her thoughts and tips on ways to nurture kindness.

PARENTS MAINTAINING FRIENDSHIPS ARE you a busy parent who is falling out of balance with friends? It is always easy to pass off work or time at home as a reason to not engage with friends. But at the end of the day, friends are good for us and provide camaraderie, support, entertainment and love— qualities that we needn’t justify, but we do need to act to maintain these relationships, too. If you are one of those parents who finds themselves hyper-indulged in work and family and less involved with friends who are beginning to strike you off the coffee or dinner party list, here are some tips for you: ■ Set a reminder in your calendar for texts.

Many people use their phones and eCalendars to schedule events. Why not set a reminder to send a quick text to a friend? Reaching out in this way takes less than five minutes.

■ Set a date in your calendar for cards.

The next time you are out shopping, pick up some stationary. Choose one or two friends that you want to keep a strong relationship with. Pre-address and stamp an envelope when you have a minute. Set a reminder for yourself to write a quick note and to mail the card—on the first day of spring? On an anniversary? On the first day of the month? While waiting for junior to finish soccer practice? It’s up to you. This is a great way to show you care for a friend.

■ Make a date and be present. Make a date for a meal or an activity. Before arriving to your date with your friend, take a breath. Be present. Set an intention to listen and focus on your friend. This time is for the two of you; let the other things wait for later.

EMPATHY AND CARING FOR OTHERS ONE of the great moments I’ve had interviewing people was when one of the interviewees broke the mold and said something different. I commonly ask people what it means to be kind and invariably someone will recite or refer to the Golden Rule, which is found in many religious texts.

We should do unto others what you would have them do unto you. This interviewee modified that, suggesting the Platinum Rule. We should meet the needs of others.

Treat others the way they want to be treated. This is

OPEN TO NEW FOODS AND PEOPLE IS your child a gracious guest in all settings? Is your child able to share different or unusual foods with others? Encourage your child to be (positively) curious and interested in different foods and cultures. Being welcoming and accepting of other people—even if they are different—is the cornerstone of kindness. Here are a few things to think about to increase your child’s flexibility and openness to diverse people and settings right here at home: ■ Encourage your child to try different foods when they are out with friends or sleeping over at a friend’s house. Ask what they liked about the new experiences when they return.

■ Coach them on how to be gracious even when they come across a food that is not their favorite, recognizing that one way to handle it is to eat something politely and not necessarily enjoy it.

■ Make friends with people who look, speak, worship and cook differently than you do...this is what it’s all about! ■

an important distinction. Both sensibilities need to be considered when we think about caring for others who are ill or experiencing a hard time.

Teaching kids how to support others is a good thing made better by the fact that many kids want to help.

Here are a few good tips in teaching kids to support someone in need: ■ Teach empathy. Kids are really good at thinking about how it might feel to be someone else. This is a great conversation to have when you learn that someone you know is not well. How do you think it might feel? How would our friend feel if we dropped by for a visit?

■ What does the person need? Model for your child what an open conversation with a person in need is like. Make a list of the things that the person needs (based on your conversation). Some needs are emotional (hugs or a visit), others are logistical (a ride, a meal, an errand). What can you provide? How can your child contribute?

■ Finally, reiterate that while we want perfection in our children’s lives, at some point everyone will experience a hard time. We should all be a little kinder on ourselves about needing help, asking for help, remembering that at some point we all need a little support.

USE YOUR POWERS FOR GOOD. HELP OUT FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. HELPING friends and neighbors with a variety of tasks can warm your heart as the giver and, indeed, warm the heart of the person or people you are helping. Kids are great helpers and are developing and honing new skills every day. Why should junior help someone out? Here are three great reasons: ■ Your child’s skills will improve ■ Your child will learn about working in different settings ■ Your child will make a better friend or a new connection in the community

CELEBRATE LIFE’S WINNING MOMENTS, SCORE COOL GADGETS

LITTLE achievements in our daily lives deserve a sweet reward, and nothing beats Goya chocolates as a treat to celebrate life’s simplest winning moments.

And now there’s more reason with Goya’s Winning Celebrations Raffle Promo. Six units of MacBook Air, 10 units of iPhone 6, 17 units of iPad Mini and 70 gift certificates worth P1000 from Mercury Drug Store are being given out to those who choose to enjoy daily victories with Goya.

The promo is until July 15. Winners will be drawn on August 15 at Delfi Marketing Inc. offices in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao. In case of a winner’s name being picked twice during the draw, the winner gets the prize with a higher value. All winners will be notified by registered mail, and prizes can be claimed at designated Delfi Marketing offices.

Memo to moms: Surprising things happen when you cook with monggo QUINOA, kale, chia seeds...all these buzzworthy foods, lauded as “superfoods” for their abundance in nutrients, have been energetically flitting around health circles and blogs. As people become more healthsavvy and health-conscious, demand for these superfoods has risen, as well.

However, accessibility remains limited: at the moment, superfoods can only be found on select online groceries or at weekend markets. Moreover, these imported superfoods are expensive and difficult to maintain in your diet.

Now, moms, listen up: What if we told you that you needn’t look any further than your own table for the ultimate superfood?

There is a superfood grown locally, affordable and easy to find, and full of health benefits that will make you want a cup every day. We’re talking about your everyday monggo.

That’s right, the humble little green bean packs a mean punch of vitamins that your diet often misses. Let’s take a look at its numerous health benefits: ■ Prevents heart disease. Monggo, or Mung Bean in English, contains lecithin, which fights low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and reduces liver fat. It is also a legume, which reduces the risk of heart disease.

■

through blood cells, magnesium to maintain normal muscle function, folate to support nerve and brain function, and vitamin K for healthy bone tissue, among others.

■ Ideal for weight loss. Monggo is rich in fiber and low in calories, making it an ideal substitute for rice for those with

PARENTLIFE

it for its versatility, as it matches perfectly with fish, beef, pork or chicken. Monggo—a staple in every Filipino household—is often a regular dish on the menu as it’s regarded by most as a tasty and healthy side dish to complement your ulam.

D3

■

■

CHINA SLOWS DOWN BusinessMirror

World The

B3-1 | Saturday, July 4, 2015 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A WOMAN squats on Tiananmen Square, selling national flags and hats, in Beijing, China, on July 1. China’s manufacturing was weak in June and employers cut more jobs, two surveys showed on W Wednesday, in a new sign the world’s second-largest economy is struggling to emerge from a slump. AP/ANDY WONG

Graduates find no jobs as China slows down

‘II

DIDN’T know it would be like this,” says 22-year-old Dang Lirong as she searches job post post-ings for anything related to medicine at a Beijing employment fair.

“I took the major because I thought it would give me a good job,” Dang says, adjusting her black-frame glasses. After four years of toil at college in Hebei and a year interning at a Beijing hospital, she has yet to land full-time work.

Dang is among 7.5 million college graduates entering China’s job market this summer, the most ever and almost seven times the number in 2001. Their dreams are colliding with an economy growing at the slowest pace in a generation, adding pressure on policy-makers to spur the employ employment-intensive services sector.

“Every year it’s the most difficult job-seeking season for graduates in history, and the next year is even more difficult,” said Xiong Bingqi,

deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, a Beijing-based think tank. “The services sector isn’t developed enough to create enough effective demand for college grads.”

Compounding the challenge is a yawning skills gap between what the economy needs and what graduates want to do.

The country’s services and innovation-led new economy is doing better than the polluting heavy industries of old, but they’re not expanding quickly enough to absorb the swelling ranks of aspiring attorneys, biologists and other young professionals.

Graduates last year most wanted to be secretaries, teachers, admin-

uating, while the second refers to those who live paycheck to paycheck.

istrators, accountants and humanresource managers, yet the top 5 needed by employers were salesmen, technicians, agents, customer-service staff and waiters, according to a 2014 report from Peking University and the web site ganji.com, which helps companies to hire.

More speculative

“YOUNG people now want to make money but don’t want to work hard; they’re more speculative than their parents,” he said. “For college grads, their idols aren’t hardworking people, but those who become billionaires overnight on the stock market.”

The irony for China’s youth: the more educated you are, the tougher it is to find work.

The unemployment rate for 16 to 25 year olds with a college degree or better was 5.6 percent in the first quarter, compared with 4.7 percent for those who didn’t finish high school, according to Gan Li, director of the Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance and a professor at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu.

The salary gap between a 22-yearold whose family spent tens of thousands of yuan on a four-year degree and an assembly worker at the same age is also shrinking.

The average monthly wage of those six months out of college was

Too picky

MA A CHAO, a mechanics major, avoided talking to employers looking for salesmen at a different jobs fair at an exhibition center in Beijing’s east.

“I’m not really cut out for that,” Ma said as he walked around the football-field sized hall, scanning booths and avoiding recruiters’ advances.

“There are jobs out there, but few meet my expectations.”

Ma said his family lives close to Beijing, so there’s no rush to find work to pay for his own living expenses.

Zhou Xiaozheng, professor of sociology at Renmin University in Beijing, says graduates—most of them from single-child families—are getting pickier. Many are “boomerang kids” or “moonlight clan,” he said, the first phrase referring to those that rely on their parents after grad-

3,487 yuan ($562) in 2014, according to a June report from MyCOS Research Institute, based on a nationwide survey of 264,000 responses.

That increased 7.3 percent from 2013, slower than the 9.4-percent rise in average wages nationally and the 9.8 percent jump for migrant workers.

Jobs mismatch

“ONLY LY when more high-end services jobs, especially those in research and development, are created will the college-employment problem be solved,” said 21st Century Education’s Xiong. China needs to further open the state-controlled media, telecommunication and finance sectors to absorb more educated work workers, he said.

The encouraging news for China’s wave of graduates is that the services sector is growing faster than total output.

Investment in science and technology services and telecommunication and software services both surged more than 30 percent last year.

Lyu He is among hiring managers looking for graduates at the same

jobs fair that Dang attended. She needs 200 young salespeople to go to restaurants, shops and massage parlors to promote a mobile app that pings product and services ads based on users’ location.

‘Virtual world’

“COLLEGE students these days just want to sit in front of a computer, working and living in a virtual world,” she said, having collected fewer than 10 resumés in four hours working her booth. “They should come to companies like ours and do a job that communicates with people, real people.”

Twenty-two-year-old Guo Rui is among those who have bent the dreams of youth to match economic reality. After studying television production and working short stints at TV stations and newspapers, she ditched plans for a life on screen because the pay just didn’t cut it. She now works as a property sales agent in Beijing, earning about 20,000 yuan a month.

“You can’t settle for what’s stable and comfortable when you’re young,” she said. “You should follow the market.” Bloomberg News

UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Friday denied news reports that $700 million (2.6 billion ringgit) were funneled from an indebted state investment fund into his personal accounts.

The investment fund 1MDB, which has accumulated 42 billion ringgit ($11.2 billion) in debt, is currently under investigation for alleged impropriety. The Wall Street Journal and the Sarawak Report online news portal reported that investigators have traced some $700 million wired into Najib’s bank accounts.

The reports said five deposits were made into Najib’s account and the two largest transactions, worth $620 million and $61 million, were done in March 2013 ahead of general elections.

A statement from Najib’s office criti

that the company “has never provided any funds to the prime minister.”

Najib has come under increasing pressure over his leadership. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has led calls for him to step down, warning that there was “something rotten” in the country and that the ruling coalition may lose the next elections with Najib at the helm.

Mahathir also echoed critics’ concerns about 1MDB’s massive debt, an alleged lack of transparency and why billions of ringgits were kept in the Cayman Islands.

He stepped down in 2003, after 22 years in power , but remains an influential political figure.

1MDB said the news reports cited documents “whose existence and authenticity have not been publicly verified,” and slammed them as “highly irresponsible

M

OSCOW—A OW—A Russian booster O rocket on Friday successfully launched an unmanned cargo ship to the International Space Station, whose crew is anxiously awaiting it after the successive failures of two previous supply missions.

A Soyuz-U rocket blasted off flawlessly from Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan, placing the Progress M-28M ship into a designated orbit, safely en route to the station.

On Sunday it’s set to dock at the station currently manned by Russians Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko and National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Scott Kelly.

The ship is carrying 2.4 metric

and Progress cargo ships to orbit, so the launch of the station’s next crew of three has been pushed back from late May to late July as space officials have looked into the reason for the rocket failure in April.

Russian space officials eventually have traced the failure to a leak from fuel and oxidizer tanks in the booster’s third stage, which they said was caused by a yet unspecified flaw in the interface between the cargo ship and the latest Soyuz modification, called Soyuz 2.

The Soyuz-U rocket used on Friday is an older sub-type of the rocket, which has been the workhorse of Soviet and Russian space programs for nearly half-a-century.

Last month the Interfax news agency reported that the Russian

WORLD

IN this image taken from video, a Soyuz-U rocket blasts off at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Friday. NASA TV VIA AP

last October’s launch-pad failure of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket,

rying crews after the grounding of the US shuttle fleet.

B31

RAFA’S OUT Sports C1

| SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

RAFA’S OUT

RAFAEL NADAL: It’s not the end, it’s a sad moment for me...but life continues. My career, too. AP

During five trips to the All England Club from 2006 to 2011, Rafael Nadal reached the finals every time. In his most recent four appearances, though, Nadal has exited early against an unheralded, unaccomplished and, most important, unafraid opponent ranked 100th or worse.

DUSTIN BROWN is ranked 102nd, entered on Thursday with a 6-11 record in 2015 and has never been past the third round at a major. AP

JAPAN’S Nahomi Kawasumi jumps into the arms of Mizuho Sakaguchi (6) after the team’s 2-1 win over England in the semifinals. AP

L

B H F The Associated Press

ONDON—On the final point of the first set of his latest Wimbledon disappointment, Rafael Nadal swung his mighty, lefty forehand—and whiffed, accidentally whacking his right leg with his racket.

It was a painful, embarrassing mistake, symbolic of the sort of day this was.

During five trips to the All England Club from 2006 to 2011, Nadal reached the finals every time. In his most recent four appearances, though, Nadal has exited early against an unheralded, unaccomplished and, most important, unafraid opponent ranked 100th or worse.

On Thursday Nadal lost, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round to Dustin Brown, who needed to qualify just to enter the main draw.

“It’s not the end,” Nadal said. “[It’s] a sad moment for me...but life continues. My career, too.”

Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach, summed up the Center Court match this way: “He played really bad. Bad shots. Very bad with his forehand.”

All true. But give credit to Brown and his varied, risky and entertaining brand of tennis, a mix of old-school serve and volleying, drop shots, drop volleys and gofor-it returns.

“I had nothing to lose. If I lose 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, everyone says ‘Bravo, Rafa,’” Brown said.

The 30-year-old Brown was born in Germany

to a Jamaican father—whose face is tattooed on Brown’s stomach—and German mother. They moved to Jamaica when he was 12 and returned to Europe about a decade ago. Around that time, his parents bought him an RV so he could drive from tournament to tournament.

Who could have imagined this sort of triumph back then? Or, frankly, even now?

After all, Brown is ranked 102nd, entered on Thursday with a 6-11 record in 2015 and has never been past the third round at a major.

Nadal, meanwhile, is a former No. 1 and the owner of 14 major titles, tied with Pete Sampras for second-most behind Roger Federer’s 17.

Federer joined Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova as past Wimbledon champions picking up straightforward, straightset victories on Thursday. Federer’s 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Sam Querrey of the US included one particularly memorable moment—an on-the-run, between-the-legs lob.

“You want to go over and give him a high-five sometimes,” Querrey said, “but you can’t do that.”

Nadal used to leave opponents feeling that way, too.

Not lately. He missed time last season with a right wrist injury, then needed appendix surgery, and has spoken about confidence issues.

After his run of five consecutive French Open titles ended last month with a quarterfinals loss to Novak Djokovic, Nadal’s ranking dropped to 10th, his worst in 10 years.

Now he has failed to win any of his past four major tournaments, not even reaching the semifinals. It’s the 29-year-old Spaniard’s longest drought since the first five Slams of his career.

Consider, too, Nadal’s history at Wimbledon.

He lost to Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals, then beat him 9-7 in the fifth set of the epic 2008 finals. After missing the 2009 tournament because of injury, Nadal collected another trophy in 2010, then lost to Djokovic in the 2011 finals.

“I don’t know if I will be back to [that] level,” Nadal acknowledged.

In 2012 he lost to No. 100 Lukas Rosol in the second round. In 2013 he lost to No. 135 Steve Darcis in the first. And last year he lost to No. 144 Nick Kyrgios in the fourth.

Like those guys, Brown played wonderfully. His back-length dreadlocks jumping around as he raced to the net, Brown serve-and-volleyed on 99 of 114 service points, winning 71 of those. He hit serves at up to 133 mph (215 kph).

“Whatever I do is to take him out of his comfort zone,” Brown said.

Most important, he never let up.

“I’m very happy that I held it together for the whole match,” said Brown, who also beat Nadal on grass in Germany last year.

This match turned for good at 2-all in the third set, when Nadal’s pair of double-faults handed over a break point that Brown converted with a drop-volley winner.

Brown looked up at his guest box, where folks were jumping and yelling and fist-pumping wildly.

At least Nadal, who never earned a break chance over the last two sets, was able to joke afterward.

When a reporter asked whether he would stick around at his rented place before heading home, Nadal replied: “I don’t have more work here in London, so if you want to use the house, [it’s] going to be free tomorrow.”

ASIAN WOMEN OUTSHINE MEN

S

EOUL, South Korea—The contrast between the fortunes of Asia’s women’s soccer teams and their male equivalents could not be more striking.

At last year’s men’s World Cup, none of the continent’s four teams won a game and all finished bottom of their respective groups. At the 2015 female version, all five recorded a victory with only Thailand failing to make it to the knockout stage.

Japan, the defending champion, will

in the last eight; and Australia was a standout performer and was narrowly defeated 1-0 by Japan at the same stage.

Thailand, making its first World Cup appearance, defeated Ivory Coast, 3-2, in one game.

Moya Dodd, a former vice president at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and member of International Football Federation’s Executive Committee, as well as ex-Australian international, said funding was a the key to the success.

“Asian women footballers have always done well, such as Taiwan, in the 80s and China in the 90s,” Dodd told the Associated Press. “But specifically for this edition, the AFC supported each of the five Asian qualifying

E

SPORTS

capabilities in the women’s game than in the men’s.

“Japan winning the World Cup in 2011 has given Asian countries both hope and confidence that they can win, and that they belong in these international competitions,” Byer said.

The success is even more pronounced at junior level.

Of the four under-17Women’s World Cups held to date, three have been won by Asian teams: Japan, North Korea and South Korea.

“There is now a belief that other Asian countries can compete at the highest level,” Byer said. “China sent the youngest team to this World Cup hoping to build for the future.”

in general, practice and study more than western kids, therefore, they tend to be better technically. And at the older age groups technical ability often trumps physical, more athletic ability.”

It has also helped that there has been less competition to reach the summit of women’s soccer, as some parts of the world have been slower to put funding into the female sport. While the men’s professional game came east decades after it was established in Europe and South America, Asia has been an early adopter of the women’s game.

“Many of the established world powers in men’s football have been slow to take the opportunity in women’s football,” Dodd said.

B L L

NERGY think tank and global consultancy IHS strongly urged the Philippine government to craft a stronger policy framework that will ensure a balanced power-sector fuel mix.

Moving forward, IHS, in its study on Sustainable Energy Transition for the Philippines, recommended a clear adoption of energy-mix priorities, including a role for gas, coal and renewables by all stakeholders; recognition of the gas competitiveness in midmerit to achieve a balanced fuel mix; and wider discussion on policy options and road map to achieve this balanced energy mix.

The Department of Energy is pushing for a 1/3 rule: 30 percent for coal, 30 percent for gas and 30 percent for renewable energy; and the rest for other technologies.

IHS noted that today the Philippines has a balanced fuel mix, with coal’s share at 42.5 percent; gas, 24.9 percent; hydro, 13.3 percent; geothermal, 12.7 percent; and oil-based, 6.3 percent.

C1

TAIWAN EXCELLENCE The Taiwan Excellence exhibit is shown at the SM Mall of Asia, where Taiwanese products, ranging from bikes to home appliances and mobile devices, are on display for visitors to experience them firsthand. STEPHANIE

OIL HEADS FOR BIGGEST WEEKLY DROP SINCE MARCH AS RIG COUNT INCREASES

O

BusinessMirror

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

Think tank pushes stronger policy on balanced fuel mix

S “F ,” A

MALAYSIAN PREMIER DENIES HE Russian supply ship launched to Intl Space Station GOTT $700M FROM STA TAT TA ATE FUND

K

Saturday 18, 2014 10 No. Vol. 40 10 No. 268 Saturday, July 4,Vol.2015

■ ■

■

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business

IL headed for the biggest weekly decline since March, as a rebound in United States drilling added to signs that producers will pump into an oversupplied market.

Futures in New York fell for a third day and were down 5 percent for the week. The number of active rigs seeking oil climbed by 12 to 640, the first gain since December, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. US crude stockpiles increased by 2.39 million barrels through June 26, a government report showed on Wednesday, boosting supplies further above seasonal average levels.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 45.1630

Oil’s recovery from a six-year low in March has faltered amid speculation that rising prices will spur production and prolong a surplus. The Organizations of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s output expanded last month to the highest level since August 2012, as Iraq joined Saudi Arabia in pumping at a record pace, a Bloomberg survey showed this week.

“It’s all about the glut,” Jonathan Barratt, the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney, said by phone. “We’re not seeing as much demand as we wanted. Oil will continue to come under pressure, there is no real reason for it to go higher.”BloombergNews

Greece default won’t affect PHL much–Purisima B D C

F

INANCE Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said on Friday that Greece’s default in debt payment will have minimal effect on the Philippines, unlike other emerging markets which are expected to be at risk of capital-flow reversal.

Purisima noted that the Philippines has no significant exposure to Greece, with exports to Greece constituting only 0.01 percent of total exports, and imports equal only 0.02 percent of the total. Remittances from Greece also only account for 1.38 percent of the total

foreign-currency remittances to the Philippines.

“The Philippines is prepared to navigate through challenges from uncertainties brought about by external risks and factors. We continue to develop measures fortifying the economic fundamentals we have built, as well as increasing competitiveness in the country, reaping brighter prospects for higher and more durable growth,” Purisima said.

On June 30 Greece missed its repayment on its debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), raising fears that emerging markets could be at risk of capital-flow rever-

sal because of either loss of investor confidence, asset-price shifts, increase in borrowing costs or foreign exchange-rate volatility.

But, Purisima said, both the IMF and the World Bank have forecast that the Philippines’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be above 6 percent for the next three years, which will prevent financial and external developments from causing any real economic decline.

“The Philippines has continued to strengthen its macroeconomic fundamentals, with the widening C  A

■ JAPAN 0.3669 ■ UK 70.4949 ■ HK 5.8270 ■ CHINA 7.2786 ■ SINGAPORE 33.5087 ■ AUSTRALIA 34.4782 ■ EU 50.0677 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.0435 Source: BSP (3 July 2015)

A2

News

BusinessMirror

Saturday, July 4, 2015

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Greece default won’t affect PHL much–Purisima Continued from A1

of fiscal space, tamed inflation, robust reserves, and the strong performance of a well-capitalized banking sector, enabling the country to withstand external shocks and other challenges to price and financial stability. According to the IMF, these fundamentals should provide for the necessary cushion to be able to manage the effects and respond adequately due to ample policy space,” he said.

He also noted that the Philippines’s debt-to-GDP ratio has consistently dropped, from 68.1 percent to only 36.4 percent in 2014, suggesting the country’s increased ability to pay its debts and demonstrating the fiscal space that the country has to allow it to spend more on infrastructure and social services.

“The overall decline of the debt burden, strong external position and banking system, stable inflation, well-managed fiscal position and

Fuel mix. . .

participation in cooperative frameworks sustains market confidence in the country. While the Philippines stands in good stead to navigate the challenges not only from Greece but emerging bouts of uncertainties, it is imperative to stay on the course of reform and maintain vigilance to put the country on the path of sustained, higher and inclusive growth,” Purisima added.

The Philippines also has adequate foreign-exchange reserves that would serve as a buffer for external risks. As of May 2015, reserves by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas stood at $80.4 billion, and can cover about 10 to 11 months’ worth of imports. This figure is also 4.5 times the country’s debts maturing within the short term.

Greeks split on bailout

GREECE is divided right down the middle heading into Sunday’s referendum on European bailout proposals, portending even more upheaval

for the stricken nation.

A poll commissioned by Bloomberg News showed 43 percent intend to vote “no” to reject the austerity demanded by creditors in exchange for financial aid; 42.5 percent back a “yes” to accept the conditions, the survey of 1,042 people by the University of Macedonia Research Institute of Applied Social and Economic Studies showed. The margin of error was 3 percent.

The survey suggests that the plebiscite may not resolve anything, as the nation’s economic and political crises deepen. While the poll showed more than four in five Greeks want to stay in the euro, the nation’s crippled banks and Premier Alexis Tsipras’s isolation from other European leaders have thrown into doubt the country’s future in the currency union.

“This referendum had divided Greek society among two groups who have a different understanding of the question at hand,” Nikos

Continued from A1

The future, however, is uncertain as coal is seen to take up 56 percent of the mix by 2020 and only 35 percent for gas. This is because there are 23 new coal-fired power plants lined up for commercial operation in the next five years.

“If coal projects are implemented as planned, Luzon’s coal-generation share will be over 75 percent by 2030, and many coal plants will be uneconomic,” it said, adding that, “Without intervention, the Philippines is on the path to having the highest coal share in Asia, despite the Department of Enegy’s

intent to have the one-third rule.”Many power companies generate power from coal because it is the cheapest among all power sources.

“You want a good mix in power generation? If you look at the cost, coal is the cheapest. But you just don’t want to have the cheapest. You need to have reliability and self-sufficient power source. Moreover, you have to take into consideration the health and environmental factors. The end goal is to have a fuel mix that does not only take into account the price alone,” former Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla had said.

SMC. . .

Marantzidis, the pollster and a professor of political science at the university, said in an e-mail. There are supporters, “those who really think that the future of the country is outside the euro area and even the European Union, and those who consider the referendum to be a negotiating tactic.”

Tsipras called the snap vote unexpectedly last weekend as talks with creditors broke down. He argues that Greeks can reject their proposals and still remain in the euro, winning better terms for its debt in the process—a claim disputed by almost everyone else.

A win for the “yes” camp, which is backed by the main opposition parties, could lead to the ouster of the Tsipras government while leading to continued aid. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday that he would resign after such an outcome, and that the composition of the government may change “because some

of us will not be able to stomach it.”

Support for the “no” side has decreased since last Saturday, when 52 percent of voters said that was their choice, according to the poll.

Support for yes rose as the bank holiday that began on Monday began to suffocate commerce, climbing from 26.5 percent.

The poll also showed 81 percent believed remaining in the euro offers the best prospects for the future, a number that has also climbed since last Saturday.

European leaders have been encouraging Greeks to vote “yes.”

Speaking in West Africa, French President Francois Hollande said that “if it’s a yes, negotiations can quickly restart” on a fresh bailout.

“If it’s a no, we are in unknown territory,” he said.

Greeks go to the polls in an unusually strained atmosphere, even in a country that has endured more than five years of tax increases and spending cuts and seen its economy

shrink by a quarter since 2009.

As the sun set over Athens o Thursday, a rally by the Greek Communist Party, which supports the no camp, took over central Syntagma Square and the surrounding area, supporters waving red flags adorned with its hammer-andsickle emblem.

Greece became the first developed country to default on obligations to the IMF when it missed a $1.7-billion payment on Tuesday.

The Washington-based lender estimates that Greece will need at least another $40 billion in international support, as well as easier terms on outstanding debt, to keep its finances manageable.

Varoufakis insists that banks will reopen on Tuesday as planned. The local media has begun to speculate that deposits could be seized after a no vote, though Minister of State Nikos Pappas told Bloomberg Television that the government has no plans for such a “bail-in.”

Continued from A8

Bicol Express route and that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is ready to auction off the PNR railway project to interested bidders. He said Ayala is eyeing a partnership with MPIC, adding that he has also personally discussed the matter with SMC President Ramon S. Ang. As chairman of the Regional Development Council, Salceda lamented that since Typhoon Reming struck in November 2006, the PNR southbound travel to Legazpi City has yet to be realized due to damages in railroad tracks, surfacing from time to time, especially in the

Quezon area, every time a typhoon occurs.

Certain Bicolano leaders, however, are contemplating on blocking the DOTC’s plan to conduct the bidding process of the multibillionpeso PNR modernization project, describing it as a wasteful spending. Known civic leader Melvin SJ del Puerto of Naga City told senators during a recent Senate hearing conducted by the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Services chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito, that the much-vaunted PNR modernization plan is only a waste of money, if not changed.

Del Puerto raised serious concern during

Ejercito’s committee hearing that the PNR megaproject will not bring significant long-term benefits, considering that the huge amount will not be used for modernization or acquisition of more modern high-speed trains, which run on a Standard Gauge Railways (SGR), but only for repair and refurbishing of outdated and slowmoving trains, saying the latter are the only ones allowed to run on an SGR. Invited by the Senate as a resource person, del Puerto emphasized that the modernization must have the purpose of providing shorter travel time and durable, reliable train units. PNA

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, July 4, 2015 A3

Obey election laws, Palace warns Aquino Cabinet bets

M

By Butch Fernandez

ALACAÑANG on Friday reminded Aquino Cabinet officials who are planning to run in 2016 to obey election laws.

serbisyo publiko,” he said. “Kaya kung ang tinutukoy natin ay mga miyembro ng Gabinete, eh dapat lang na sa lahat ng panahon 100 percent ang kanilang serbisyo na naayon sa mandato ng kanilang tanggapan.”

This means, Coloma said, that the performance of their assigned tasks should not be tainted with political color, and these potential candidates should not allow the campaign to affect their effectivity in delivering public service.

“Ibig sabihin, hindi dapat haluan ng kulay pulitika o ng pagkakampanya na makabawas doon sa kanilang pagiging epektibo.”

Coloma added that public officials are also bound to comply with the law preventing abuse of public office.

“Dapat din ay tumalima sa diwa ng Election Code kahit na, technically,

wala pa namang kandidatong maituturing dahil hindi pa naman nagpa-file ng certificate of candidacy,” he said, adding: “Hindi rin dapat gamitin iyong public office sa pangangampanya o pamumulitika, ganung hindi pa naman nag-uumpisa iyong opisyal na panahon ng kampanya.”

Under the law, public officials holding appointive positions in the Executive branch are required to resign only upon filing their certificates of candidacy, in effect allowing potential candidates to remain in office even if they are already being seen “campaigning in the guise of performing their duties.”

But the same rule does not apply to elected officials with fixed terms who are seeking to run for other positions at stake in either the national or local election races.

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr., in an interview with DWIZ, also addressed calls for Cabinet officials planning to file their candidacies in the coming elections for president and congressional races to resign their posts now, to avert charges that they are using public funds to promote their campaigns.

Coloma clarified, however, that

potential candidates in the Aquino Cabinet, including Interior Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, Director General Joel J. Villanueva of the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority and Energy Secretary Jericho L. Petilla, among others, still have a job to do before formally filing their candidacies.

“Unang-una, kinakailangan iyung patuloy na paghahatid ng mahalagang

More school buildings up in Las Piñas

Justice secretary coddling Bilibid inmates–Duterte

T

HE construction of additional school buildings and health centers in Las Piñas are being rushed to accommodate the growing number of students in the city’s public elementary and high schools, and enhance efficiency of health services for the residents.

An additional four-story, 12classroom building for the elementary school at TS Cruz Subdivision in Barangay Almanza II and another four-story, eight-classroom building at Las Piñas National High School are nearing completion.

A two-story health center on Saging Street, CAA-BF International, and another at Golden Acres Subdivision, in Talon I, are also under construction. This makes a total of 33 health facilities serving the residents in the city’s 22 barangays.

The new buildings are among the 33 new infrastructures this year that include a two-story preschool center on Fatima Subdivision in Zapote, bringing to 80 the overall number of day-care centers in the city where kids enjoy totally free tuition and nutritious snacks.

Mayor Vergel Aguilar said new projects point toward strengthening education by providing more modern facilities to address the growing population in the city’s public schools. This is complemented by road-network improvements to hasten economic growth.

“We aim to provide only quality and efficient services to the public in spite of our limited resources and enhance viable livelihood opportunities for everyone,” Aguilar said.

By Rene Acosta

D

AVAO City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte reignited his running feud with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday by issuing a mouthful against the justice chief, including accusing her of coddling drug lords held at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

“I was telling her, you criticize me for being [an] undemocratic leader because I have allegedly caused the killing of criminals. But on her part, look at this: This government spend money to go into operation to arrest a criminal, prosecute him…then the case is filed, tried and then there was judgement…while in Muntinlupa, these prisoners were cooking shabu and were having women, young and adult,” he said.

“When I testified at the Senate, she criticized me for being uncivilized, but I answered back [that] I am undemocratic, but here are guys who are supposed to be in prison, paying retribution for their sins against humanity, but you are fattening them, allowing them to have and conduct their business. Nine months ago I told her, ‘Do not mess with me, take care of your own backyard.’ That was a direct dereliction of duty,” Duterte added.

The Davao City mayor was the guest speaker during the 17th anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) held at the supposed to be apolitical Armed Forces General Headquarters at Camp Gen. Emilo Aguinaldo, Quezon City, where Duterte’s

LMT suspends construction of mosque in T’boli village

G

ENERAL SANTOS CITY—The Local Monitoring Team (LMT) in South Cotabato province has ordered the suspension of the construction of a mosque in an upland village in T’boli town following protests from tribal residents.

South Cotabato Board Member Agustin Dema-ala, chairman of the provincial board’s peace and order committee, said on Friday that the LMT issued the order following an inspection of the construction site in Barangay Lamhaku in T’boli on Thursday.

Along with LMT members, he said his committee also conducted a dialogue between leaders of the T’boli tribe and a Muslim community in the area.

“It [LMT] decided to stop the construction of the mosque for now, pending an investigation on the matter,” he said.

Tension earlier gripped Barangay Lamhaku after T’boli tribal residents staged protest actions against the construction of the mosque in the area.

T’boli residents set up barricades and placed placards denouncing the construction of the concrete mosque.

Local tribal leaders said the area

where the mosque is being built is part of their ancestral domain and they do not want to host such structure there.

Board Member Edgar Sambog, who represents the tribal peoples in the provincial board, said the project’s proponent should have secured proper permits first before starting with its construction.

“That area is also the subject of claims between two clans and there have been some conflict over it so they should have considered that,” he said.

Kosol Minding, Lamhaku barangay chairman, said the rights of the area’s tribal residents should be respected by the proponents of the project.

“We don’t want to have a mosque built in our barangay and in our ancestral lands,” Minding said.

The mediation meeting called by the peace and order committee was attended by representatives from the Diocese of Marbel’s Social Action Center, Oblates of Notre Dame represented by Sis. Susan Bolanio, as well as from the tribal and the Muslim groups.

The meeting was facilitated by the local government of T’boli, led by Mayor Dibu Tuan. PNA

supporters even wore shirts urging him to run for president in next year’s elections.

The VACC chose Duterte as its speaker because “victims of heinous crime love him” as the “mayor doesn’t like killers, kidnappers, rapist and even mothers who abandon their children in the cruel streets to end up as petty thieves.”

During the event, Duterte spoke of his efforts to rid Davao City of criminals, especially when he was still new as a local chief executive, which led him to recall his recent encounter with de Lima, prompted by the justice secretary’s alleged accusation that he was behind the killings in his city.

“This de Lima, she treats the report of somebody that told her that I ordered the killing…. I never ordered the killing of a person by name. That’s the difference between an election lawyer and a prosecutor. She probably thought that I would point at somebody who would be killed, stupid!” he said.

Before then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed de Lima to the Commission on Human Rights, she was a lawyer specializing in elections law in the law office of Arroyo’s lawyer, Romulo Macalintal.

When asked if he would vote for de Lima, whom the Liberal Party was considering to include on its senatorial slate in the 2016 elections, the mayor did not give a definite answer.

“I’d think it over, a dozen times, a thousand times,” he said.

Duterte reiterated during the

event that he was not interested in running for the country’s highest public office.

“The next president must be younger. Me? Had God intended me to be president, I say He would have opened the door for me when I was 55, 50. It’s too late in the day to be dreaming…. You would need a lot. As mayor of Davao City I worked for 30 hours a day,” he said.

However, although he would no longer run for the presidency, Duterte said it does not mean that he could no longer speak his mind on the qualities of the next president.

“It does not prevent me from making suggestions just because I am not running, that I should keep my mouth shut. If there’s anything that I can suggest that would make it more easier for the people to live, let along exist…the Filipinos are fed up with criminality,” he said.

Duterte said the next leader of the country must be one who has a fire in his belly.”

Still and although he would not be running, Duterte, who is a principal supporter of federalism, said Congress must be abolished and that its funds should be used to alleviate the condition of the poor.

Several months ago Duterte spoke before students taking up their masters in national security administration, the mayor advocated the retirement of military officers with the rank of brigadier general and up.

He said that, like members of Congress, these senior officers are also the country’s problem. With Bea Siena

Prisoner raps de Lima for maltreatment

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

A

MAN convicted of homicide in Ilocos Norte has accused Justice Secretary Leila de Lima of overstepping her authority by ordering his transfer from the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila on December 15, 2014.

Jojo A. Baligad filed a fourpage complaint-affidavit against de Lima and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Franklin Jesus Bucayu on Friday before the Ombudsdman and accused them of maltreating prisoners.

Marlon Llauder, Baligad’s counsel, said the complaint was lodged against de Lima and Bucayu since the transfer of the complainant to the NBI detention facility in Manila is a form of harsh punishment, punishable under Article 235 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC.) Article 235 provides that “the penalty of prision correccional in its medium period to prision mayor in its minimum period, in addition to his liability for the physical injuries or damage caused, shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall overdo himself in the correction or handling of a prisoner or detention prisoner under his charge, by the imposition of punishments not authorized by the regulations, or by inflicting such punishments in a cruel and humiliating manner.”

Baligad stressed in his complaint that “upon the direct order of Justice Secretary de Lima, I was illegally and unlawfully transferred from the National Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound at Muntinlupa City to the NBI Building, Taft Avenue, Manila.”

He added: “Up to the present, I am still detained at the NBI building, where, from the time of my relocation here, I have been subjected to inhuman, cruel and undignified treatment at the hands of my jailers in carrying out the order of de Lima.”

Baligad’s complaint has been bolstered by the fact that

detained persons at the NBI are not exposed to sunlight, which makes them lose the valuable nutrient vitamin D, which the body manufactures when exposed to sunlight.

The complainant argued that there was no basis at all for him to be hauled off to the NBI detention center along with other NBP prisoners on December 15, 2014.

“My record of imprisonment will show that I am not infected with any disease, nor am I a violent person, nor am I a security risk, nor am I a special prisoner for that matter. I am just a regular prisoner and this does not warrant my removal from the prison facility in Muntinlupa City,” he said.

“My transfer to the NBI building has no basis in law and in whatever regulation. In fact, Section 26 of the Administrative Code of 1987 mandates that BuCor shall have the principal task of rehabilitating the prisoners,” Baligad told the Ombudsman.

“De Lima, as secretary of justice, has no power, authority nor the discretion upon her sole whim to order my transfer together with 18 other inmates to the NBI building as it contravenes the Administrative Code of 1987,” he said in the complaint.

“My confinement here at the NBI building has affected my physical, emotional and mental health, as well as my spiritual needs due to the harsh living conditions and visiting restrictions imposed on my lawyer, family and health workers,” Baligad argued.

“I have suffered weight loss, sleepless nights, serious anxiety, and psychological and mental torture such that my transfer to the NBI building was meant to inflict cruel, unusual, inhumane and humiliating treatment upon me,” he said.

“Thus, I am not just undergoing incarceration as a result of my conviction, but my jailers, upon the express order of de Lima, have overly done so in violation of the Administrative Code of 1987, which falls within the ambit of Article 235 of the RPC,” Baligad’s affidavit also said.

US wants implementation of Edca soon

By Recto Mercene

U

.S. Ambassador to Manila, Philip Goldberg on Friday said his country wants to implement the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) with the Philippines as soon as possible, as it would allow the immediate institution of a minimum credible defense posture to counter the aggressive moves of China in the contested West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“I think the Aquino administration agrees with that idea. We’re hopeful of implementing it as soon as possible because it will allow the Philippines to build a minimum credible defense to grow into more operations and maritime security, maritime domain awareness and it will allow the United States more presence in the region, which, of course, is the feature of the rebalance,” Goldberg said at the sidelines of the 239th US Independence Day celebration at a hotel in Makati City.

Goldberg said the security relationship between Manila and Washington is well known and that he’s looking

forward to implementing the Edca when the Supreme Court has finished its review of the document.

But Edca is facing an uphill battle in the SC, where it remains awaiting decision after some politicians and other opponents challenged its constitutionality last year. The Senate weighed in on the controversy, claiming that the Upper House has to scrutinize the Edca deal before it takes effect.

Asked to comment on this developments, Goldberg said: “It is a Philippine decision whether or not it’s going through the Supreme Court or what’s the political view of it are.”

“That’s for Filipinos to decide, not for us, but we negotiated it in good faith obviously, and we want to implement it because we think it’s important for the security of both our countries,” he added.

Edca was signed just days before US President Barack Obama visited Manila in April 2014.

The agreement will allow US forces wide access to local military bases and build facilities to store fuel and equipment for maritime security.

One frequently mentioned area is

Oyster Bay in the west coast of Palawan, directly facing the WPS, which, when finished, would approximate the US naval strength in Subic Bay, Zambales, that the US Navy once occupied.

Goldberg added that the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) has provided the country with $5 million as part of the assistance to the “rebalance” of forces to Asia and second unspecified amount is coming to show America’s commitment to help the Philippines achieve a minimum defense capability.

Goldberg added that the rebalance is ongoing and the Philippines was given $5 billion worth of assistance over a five-year period. It was administered by the USAid and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

“And we have offered a second possible compact. The board of MCC has approved for the Philippines for a second compact, and for our military funding, so it is extensive and it’s ongoing.”

“So I think our relationship with the Philippines is emblematic of the things we’re doing in the rebalance to

build up our alliances, and the Philippines is our oldest ally in the region, so it’s important that we do it here,” he added.

“No one should question our commitments to the Philippines. At the same time, we salute the Philippines for its efforts to solve regional problems peacefully, legally and diplomatically, and we thank you secretary [Albert del Rosario] for your principled leadership on those issues,” he said, while offering a toast.

Goldberg said the Filipinos and Americans have stood together shoulder to shoulder for more than 70 years and “we continue to face the future, shoulder to shoulder, confident in an alliance that is tried, tested and, as President [Barack] Obama and Secretary of Defense [Ash] Carter have made, clear iron-clad.”

Del Rosario said a Department of Foreign Affairs mission is leaving for The Hague on Saturday to present its oral argument before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which will decide on the country’s claim to delineate China’s claims in the South China Sea.

Economy

A4 Saturday, July 4, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

7.5M Filipinos still have no sanitary toilet; 8.4M more deprived of clean potable water

S

By Recto Mercene

even-and-a-half million Filipinos have no toilet, while 8.4 million have no access to clean drinking water, a joint report released on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said.

Buried in the pages of “Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015 Update and MDGs [Millenium Development Goals] Assessment” are the findings that 7.1 millions Filipinos resort to “open defecation,” while 570,000 use “unimproved sanitation facilities,” like buckets and open-pit latrines, a senator said on Friday.

Sen. Ralph Recto said the report, which tracks access to drinking water and sanitation against the MDG, should prompt the government to increase investments for clean water and sanitation.

The report also said 2.3 mil-

lion Filipinos use untreated “surface water” from rivers, dams, canals for drinking.

In addition, 6.1 million Filipinos source their drinking water from “unimproved dr ink ing water sources” like unprotected dug wells and unprotected springs.

“This should be part of the assumption of the 2016 budget,” Recto said. The Aquino administration’s sixth and final budget, said to breach P3 trillion, is expected to be submitted to Congress by the end of the month.

In the annex of the WHO-Unicef report is the scorecard on how

countries have progressed in bringing clean water and sanitation to their citizens.

“To our credit, we have made great progress on these two items,” Recto said.

“We have brought clean water to 40 million people since 1990 and 41 million Filipinos have also gained access to clean toilets since that year,” Recto added.

This prompted the WHO and Unicef to rate the Philippines as having “met target” MDGs on clean water, Recto said.

But on sanitation facilities, “due, perhaps, to the number of people resorting to open defecation, the Philippines was graded as having merely made “good progress.”

“Mas mataas pa ang family cellphone ownership rate sa bansang ito kesa toilet per household, [This country has a higher rate of family cell-phone ownership than a sanitary toilet],” Recto said.

To wipe out the backlog of homes need i ng piped water, R ec to called “for the opening of the budget taps for clean water and sanitation projects.”

Among the ongoing projects which should get more funds next year is the construction of toilets

and communal drinking faucets in public schools, a component of Basic Educational Facilities program of the Department of Education this year.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government is also administering grassroots-identified water projects under the Salintubig program.

“To truly gauge how much we are spending for clean water, I think we should identify in the national budget the amounts for clean water because at present, it is lumped together with flood control,” Recto said.

For the current year, P39 billion has been earmarked for water resources development and flood control, Recto added.

“Sa madaling salita, lagyan natin ng metro ng tubig ang ating pambansang budget,” Recto said.

Recto added that the national government should embark on jointventure partnerships with local governments in building public bathrooms and toilets to which the urban homeless can go.

Another initiative worth pursuing is to tap travel tax collections in constructing either free or pay-per-use restrooms along our

highways, Recto said.

To lower the cost of sanitary toilets, the Department of Science and Technology can design an affordable, easy-to-produce package.

Recto said clean water projects must be pursued “because waterborne diseases cost Filipinos P2.8 billion annually in treatment costs and lost economic opportunities.”

“Handwashing cuts by one-third to one-half the number of diarrhea cases. If we use the number of people diarrhea downed in 2010, which was 269,000, imagine how many cases will be avoided and lives saved if we can bring more clean piped water to homes,” he said.

In their joint report, the WHO and Unicef said lack of progress on sanitation threatens to undermine the child survival and health benefits from gains in access to safe drinking water.

The report claimed that worldwide, one in three people, or 2.4 billion, are still without sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who defecate in the open.

The report describes open defecation “as when human feces are disposed of in fields, forest, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces.”

Petilla hints at running for Senate seat in next year’s elections

F

ormer Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla on Friday strongly hinted at eyeing a seat in the Senate, a day after he step down from the agency.

“Siguro naman may magagawa ako sa Senado kung kakayanan lang gumawa ng batas. And, I understand various problems of this country that need legislation. Hindi naman siguro mapapahiya [sa] pamilya ko or people who believe in me,” he said after the turn-over ceremony.

Petilla on Friday morning passed the torch of leadership to Department of Energy (DOE) appointed

Officer in Charge (OIC) Zenaida Monsada. When asked to categorically say if he is, indeed, running for higher office in 2016 Petilla said, “Pinag-iisipan pa at hindi madali magdecide sa mga bagay na ito.”

Nonetheless, Petilla said, “It is not an ambition. It’s a fight for people who believes there is room for a new breed.”

Petilla, who was appointed in 2012, resigned on April 30. He said his two-and-a-half years of leadership in the agency gave him the opportunity to serve the people and ensure the sustainability of the DOE’s

PETILLA

existing programs and projects.

“Being at the DOE is one of the highlights of my life. I will never

forget you all,” he said, addressing the DOE employees and officials.

“I will not leave the department without a leader to lead you and continue the efforts we started...these are our achievements and we need to preserve it even without me in the picture,” Petilla added.

For her part, Monsada thanked the DOE for their trust and confidence and asked their suppport as they continue serving the people.

Monsada have been part of the DOE for nearly three decades serving various positions such as director of the Oil Industry Management

Bureau and recently as undersecretary for Power, Oil and Renewable Energy. “I humbly accept the task as OIC while the President is looking for a suitable replacement,” Monsada said. She vowed to continue and effectively implement the policies laid down by her predecessor.

“Wala naman siguro akong ipapatupad na bago. Tuloy tuloy lang. What we are looking at now is up to what extent and pwede gawin ng OIC,” Monsada added.

Monsada, a career official at the department, is Petilla’s pick as his replacement. Lenie Lectura

Meralco unit bags MRT 3 power supply, catenary system maintenance contract

A

SUBSIDIARY of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will start maintaining the power supply and overhead catenary systems of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 on Friday, after it bagged the multimillion-peso contract from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Aside from the contract won by MRAIL Inc., the government has also awarded the following MRT 3 maintenance contracts: n Rail and permanent ways to Jorgman-Korail- Erin Marty Joint Venture; n Building and facilities to Global Epcom Services Inc.; n Communications systems to Trilink Technologies Inc.; n Ticketing to Future Logic Corp.; and n Rolling stocks, depot equipment, and signaling to Schunk Bahn- und Industrietechnik GmbH -Comm Builders & Technology Phils. Corp. Joint Venture.

All six contracts have a combined ticket price of P235.99 million.

The subcontractors were engaged directly under a multidisciplinary approach to increase the efficiency of work per

component until the long-term maintenance provider is procured.

The agency anticipates that day-to-day repair works and the supply of spare parts will be improved under this approach.

The government will also launch the auction for the P4.2-billion three-year MRT maintenance deal soon, after all requirements for the procurement has been met.

The transportation department decided to double the contract price from the original P2.2 billion to increase the interest of maintenance providers. The contract now includes the lot, the general overhaul of the trains and replacement of signaling system of the MRT. The terms of the sweetened contract will have to go through the approval of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Currently, a shadowing team from the transport department is assisting APT Global Inc. in maintaining the line. The maintenance provider’s contract expired in the second half of last year. It was, however, extended due to the failed auctions.

The government has also procured 48 new train cars for the MRT 3. But the delivery of the new coaches, according to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, will be delayed by about three months. The deferment, he said, was caused by the prototype’s need to undergo dynamic and static testing and debugging to ensure the new coaches will function at their optimal level.

Commuters from the north and south of Manila patronize the MRT as it is a cheaper and faster option to riding buses and taxis.

But some are now adamant to ride the once-mighty train system because of safety purposes. The train system saw itself bogging multiple times this year already, once even forcing passengers to walk beside the rails along the station in Guadalupe.

There are also fewer trains running due to the lack of spare parts, and a reputable maintenance provider.

But once the 48 new trains come in, MRT 3’s trips per hour will increase from 20 to 24, which will translate to a 60-percent rise in the number of passengers per hour per direction. Lorenz S. Marasigan

briefs

DOTC OPENS BIDDING FOR P1.71-billion BICOL int’l AIRpORT PROJECT The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has formally invited private contractors to bid for the development project of the Bicol International Airport.

In an invitation to bid, the transportation department said the P1.71-billion project involves the construction of a 13,680-square-meter passengerterminal building.

It also includes the completion of the 500-meter runway extension and development works on the landside and airside area.

This is the second contract for the project. A separate P780.9-million contract, which entails the construction of landside facilities and site-development works, was bidded out last December.

The Bicol International Airport, once completed next year, will replace the existing aviation hub in Legazpi City. The prebid conference is on July 10 at 2 p.m. Submission of bids is on July 24 at 2 p.m. Regina Coeli T. Aquino

fuel pump prices seen to go down by less than p1 next week Local pump prices are expected to go down by less than P1 per liter next week, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Friday.

“There’s a price rollback next week.

It’s below P1 per liter, I think,” DOE Officer in Charge Zenaida Monsada said.

The price rollback will be implemented in all gasoline products, diesel and kerosene. On June 30 oil firms reduced gasoline by P1.05 per liter, P0.15 per liter for diesel and P0.20 per liter for kerosene. Lenie Lectura

solon disputes meralco power-rate hike plan

Rep. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna will contest the basis of the latest attempt by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for another round of power-rate increases if the power distributor pushes with its plan.

Meralco is asking the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for higher tariff rates which Bayan Muna opposes.

“Bakit ba kapag sabay-sabay nagsha-shutdown ang mga power plants ay tayo pang mga consumers ang sinisingil? Sila nga dapat ang magbayad dahil hindi nila natutupad ang kanilang mga kontrata,” Senior Deputy Minority Leader Colmenares argued.

The lawmaker issued the statement as Meralco floated the idea of another power-rate hike this month as 10 power plants are shutting down operations simultaneously. Marvyn N. Benaning

road reblocking in some parts of qUEZON CITY this weekend

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has warned against a snail-paced traffic in some portions of Quezon City due to the scheduled road reblocking and repairs to be undertaken beginning 10 p.m. on Friday until Monday at 5 a.m. by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) MMDA Assistant General Manager for Operations Emerson S. Carlos said the road works will be undertaken by the DPWH starting 10 p.m. in the following areas: Northbound 1. Along C-5 Road from Petron Gasul Depot to Lanuza Street, third outer most lane 2. Along Payatas Road from Bicol Street to Visayas Street, second lane Southbound 3. Along Commonwealth Avenue Commonwealth Market Extension Overpass to Bicol-Leyte Overpass, second lane from median island. PNA

Govt should not hinder Torre de Manila project–PCCI

T

he Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business organization, wants stable rules for businesses amid controversies surrounding the construction of DMCI Homes Inc.’s Torre de Manila project.

The PCCI said stable and predictable business rules are crucial to continue attracting investments, both domestic

and foreign, in the country.

“Stability and predictability of rules are important criteria for any business to decide where to locate and go ahead with their investments,” the PCCI said.

In relation to DMCI’s Torre de Manila, the PCCI noted that the government should not hinder construction projects which have complied with National Building Code, and have

obtained building permits from local government units.

“DMCI locked in investments for the long term in its Torre de Manila project confident that compliance with the law was a rock-solid assurance that it would complete its project,” the business group said.

The PCCI added that the temporary restraining order on Torre de Manila

project did not only harm DMCI but the confidence of potential investors in the country. “It also erodes the confidence of existing and future investors on the safety of their investments in the country,” the PCCI said.

“Existing and future investors will consider this country as a great investment risk because of instability of the rule of law,” it noted. PNA

PRA

30TH ANNIVERSARY

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Saturday, July 4, 2015

A5

RETIREMENT MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES

Philippine Retirement Authority surging toward the next 30

R

B L R. G

ETIREMENT is the point where a person stops employment completely. An increasing number of individuals are choosing to put off this point of total retirement by selecting to exist in the emerging state of pretirement or reducing workhours for themselves.

Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions no longer allow them to work any longer (by illness or accident), or as a result of legislation concerning their position. In most countries, the idea of retirement is of recent origin, being introduced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Germany was the first country to introduce retirement in 1889.

Nowadays, most developed countries have systems to provide pensions on retirement in old age, which may be sponsored by employers and/or the state.

Retirement is expensive. Experts estimate that one needs at least 70 percent of his or her preretirement income—lower earners, 90 percent or more—to maintain his or her standard of living, when he or she stops working. Thus, the key to a secure retirement is to plan ahead, and take charge of one’s financial future.

For 30 years, the Philippine

government through the Philippine Retirement Authority, which is under the Department of Tourism, has been enticing foreign nationals and former Filipino citizens to make the Philippines their retirement destination—their second home.

Famous for vibrant culture, hospitality, friendly English-speaking population, natural attractions and tropical climate, retirees can expect the good life in the Philippines at an affordable cost.

Given its good geographic location and climate condition, almost every Filipino can understand and speak some English. Therefore, understanding each other will not be a problem between the retirees and its people.

Moreover, Filipinos are naturally warm, friendly and hospitable, with a ready smile for everybody and an innate trait to serve others.

The principal appeal for retirement in the Philippines is the lower cost of living. Housing, food and labor costs are quite reasonable. Global Filipinos and foreign retirees can

retire in the Philippines and enjoy not only the lower cost of living but also the very favorable currency-exchange rate.

Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotel most large department stores, banks and authorized money-changing shops accredited by the central bank of the Philippines. International credit cards are accepted in major establishments.

In terms of medical services, the country’s facilities are comparable with the best anywhere else. Highly trained medical personnel and caregivers are in demand all over the world for their competence and expertise, as well as for the care and compassion they show their wards. Health care, a top priority of the senior market, is an expertise of the Filipinos, who are world-renowned and excellent health-care practitioners.

The Philippines can provide the retirees endless choices of worldclass destinations that will bring them closer to Mother Nature with

PRA GENERAL MANAGER AND CEO VALENTINO L. CABANSAG IN FOCUS

T

ODAY the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) is under the helm of an expert and visionary leader in the person of Valentino L. Cabansag as general manager and CEO. Formerly, Philippine Tourism Attaché in Tokyo, Japan, Cabansag brings with him years of experience in the retirement business.

He is currently working on getting a bigger share of the approximately 33 million Japanese Retirees this year.

According to him, each Japanese long-stay tourist (LST) is estimated to spend a minimum of $1,000 a month.

“Having 1,000 LSTs in your community translates to $1million monthly spent to purchase goods and services, pay rental, recreation, play sports, etc. This amount will definitely pump prime the local economy, and more

development will give rise to more jobs and businesses,” he said.

Based on data of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism, it shows that more than 50 percent of all destinations, including Hawaii and New Zealand, a total 16.4 percent travel to Asean countries, such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. The popularity was attributed to the tourism ads, “Affordable, near and warm tourist destination.”

Cabansag is also banking on Japan’s Long Stay Foundation, which has actively campaigned on the virtues of “long stay,” particularly during winter and summer months in Japan.

The foundation has a well-established event every year, held at the Tokyo Big Site, attracting last year more than

10,000 visitors interested to look at the Long Stay packages.

“The majority of these visitors belong to the ‘economic migrants,’ referred to as those living within their pensions, which when spent in Japan cannot afford them a comfortable living. However, when spent in most Southeast Asian countries, especially in the Philippines, they will have an enjoyable and active lifestyle, enough for them to live like a king,” he said.

clean air and beautiful sceneries.

The white-sand beaches of Boracay Island and Panglao in Bohol, and the virgin islands of Palawan, often referred to as “the last frontier,” are truly unforgettable places that entice visitors to come back to the Philippines.

And with the continuously improving telecommunication facilities, they can keep abreast of what is happening around the world and keep in touch with their relatives and friends back home.

Definitely, it’s more fun to retire in the Philippines.

The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) is a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) mandated to attract foreign nationals and former Filipino citizens to invest, reside and retire in the Philippines.

By this, the PRA develops and promotes the Philippines as a retirement haven, with an objective of accelerating the social and economic development of the country, strengthening its foreign-exchange

position at the same time, providing further the best quality of life to the target retirees in the most attractive package.

The Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV), which is a nonimmigrant, multiple-entry, indefinitestay visa, is the authority’s core product. The number of retiree-members represents an extremely important contribution to the PRA’s success.

The PRA believes in giving equal attention to the retirees by improving the quality of service and meeting the client's satisfaction to create a more effective operation by means of partnerships with other government offices, Philippine-based foreign companies, real-estate developers, and tour and travel agencies.

The PRA enrolled close to 40,000 foreign retirees, 10 percent of whom ware accumulated in 2014. This was made possible through the continuous service and dedication of PRA employees, grounded on the core values of social responsibility, good governance, innovation, teamwork, integrity and discipline.

Over a sustained period of time, the PRA had been among the GOCCs that consistently remit annual dividends to the National Treasury and, for 2014, it handed over and remitted a dividend in the amount of P144,501,127.18. Last year the PRA earned a net income after tax of P289.97 million and generated a return on investment of 459 percent.

Thirty years ago today, the PRA was established with the vision that it will be one of the leading and significant retirement destinations in the world and committing to the government, people and retirees a standard of excellence service. The PRA continues to strive for more ways in making the Philippines an exceptional retirement haven, thus generating the market and looking forward to pursue its essential duties, and aspiring to be one of the best players in the growing retirement industry.

Truly, with the Philippines’s unique factors and the PRA’s efforts, it will not be surprising for all of us that, at a future time, the Philippines will be one of the best players in the retirement industry.

Each year International Living, a publishing group, ranks the best places in the world to live, retire, travel and invest using the Global Retirement Index. The Philippines ranked 17th out of 194 countries. Also, Forbes Magazine included the Philippines on the list of the “20 Best Foreign Retirement Havens for 2015.”

The boost of new skills and styles of marketing, expertise and hard work of the PRA officers and employees, embodied with the finest ethical practices, definitely gives pride on what the PRA has achieved now.

For the PRA, it may sound cliché, but the best is yet to come.

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Saturday, July 4, 2015

editorial

IMF: Doing better, PHL

I

F you took a survey, most Filipinos would probably say that the government collects revenues and then uses the money any way it wants with little or no oversight.

However, according to a comprehensive report—the Philippines: Fiscal Transparency Evaluation (PFTE)—conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government is doing a good job of spending and accounting for its expenditures.

The PFTE was conducted in 2014, and the report was released last week.

The objective was to assess the Philippines’s fiscal reporting, forecasting and budgeting, and fiscal-risks analysis and management practices against the standards set by the IMF’s draft Fiscal Transparency Code.

In addition to looking at practices in budgeting and spending, the auditing and public reporting of financial information were evaluated all the way down to the local government unit (LGU) level.

There were several interesting takeaways in reading the 100-page report.

The Philippine national government budget is very flexible in that monies budgeted are not always spent and not always spent the way they were budgeted. While this is certainly a red flag for graft and corruption, the IMF sees it also as necessary, particularly in light of how funds have to be reallocated due to our natural disasters. This was not so much on the national level as on the LGU level. But this does make it difficult to ensure that projects are completed as budgeted.

For all the talk of how important national government spending is, the PFTE quantifies it as 14 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), with the general government, including the LGUs, accounting for 17 percent of economic activity. That amount is big enough to be important, but not so large as to be critical for growth.

The evaluation against the 36 principles of the IMF’s draft Fiscal Transparency Code is broadly favorable, and particular kudos were given to the job that the Commission on Audit (COA) does. But here, the IMF found an area for improvement. If you compare the government to a private corporation, each individual department submits its own fiscal data for audit by the COA. Presumably, each department has done an “unofficial” audit. But the COA acts similar to a corporation’s “internal auditor.” The IMF suggests the need for an “external auditor” to check the large data of the COA. This makes some sense to have another set of eyes looking at the numbers once they had been finalized.

The overall fiscal position of the government looks good. The PFTE: “The Philippines has achieved a positive net worth position of 2 percent of GDP over the years, which is stronger than in many advanced economies.” In other words, is the national government taking more from the economy than it is giving back? By comparison, the US government “net worth” is a “net loss” equal to 100 percent of the GDP. So much for big government.

There were several areas that need improving. And, of course, we know there is too much waste, misallocation and corruption. But, overall, the Philippine government is slowly moving in the right direction with its fiscal management.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Jun B. Vallecera

Associate Editor News Editor City & Assignments Editor Special Projects Editor

Jennifer A. Ng Dionisio L. Pelayo Vittorio V. Vitug Max V. de Leon

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

Research Bureau Head Creative Director Chief Photographer Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP-Corporate Affairs VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Dennis D. Estopace Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Frederick M. Alegre Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Dante S. Castro

Good luck, Greece John Mangun

T

HE Greek government defaulted on its debtamortization payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week. The headlines read that “Greece has become the first developed country in history to default to the International Monetary Fund.” Actually, it should say, “The first developed country in history to default twice to the IMF,” because, to make its payment a month ago, it borrowed from the IMF to pay the IMF. In the next 48 hours a referendum will be held to allow the Greek people to vote on whether the government should accept the bailout terms of the IMF and the European Union (EU) to advance further loans. A “No” vote means that the country will lose its debt financing. A “Yes” vote means that the austerity measures and reforms that lenders are demanding will move forward, and debt negotiations will start once again.

No one has a clue as to what the referendum results will be, and no one has a clue as to what the consequences will be whichever way the vote goes.

But, one way or the other, the financial and economic world will be significantly changed.

At stake is not only more lending (or not) for Greece, but whether Greece will remain in the European

HOM

www.businessmirror.com.ph

REGIONAL OFFICES

n DXQR -93dot5 HOME RADIO CAGAYAN DE ORO STATION MANAGER: JENNIFER B. YTING E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecdo@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Archbishop Hayes corner Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro City CONTACT NOs.: (088) 227-2104/ 857-9350/ 0922-811-3997 n DYQC -106dot7 HOME RADIO CEBU STATION MANAGER: JULIUS A. MANAHAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecebu@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Fortune Life Building, Jones Avenue, Cebu City CONTACT NOs.: (032) 253-2973/ 234-4252/ 416-1067/ 0922-811-3994 n DWQT -89dot3 HOME RADIO DAGUPAN STATION MANAGER: RAMIR C. DE GUZMAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiodagupan@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Orchids Hotel Building, Rizal Street, Dagupan City

CONTACT NOs.: (075) 522-8209/ 515-4663/ 0922-811-4001 n DXQM – 98dot7 HOME RADIO DAVAO STATION MANAGER: RYAN C. RODRIGUEZ E-MAIL ADDRESS: home98dot7@gmail.com ADDRESS: 4D 3rd Floor, ATU Plaza, Duterte Street, Davao City CONTACT NOs.: (082) 222-2337/ 221-7537/ 0922-811-3996 n DXQS -98dot3 HOME RADIO GENERAL SANTOS STATION MANAGER: AILYM C. MATANGUIHAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homegensan@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Dimalanta Building, Pioneer Avenue, General Santos City CONTACT NOs.: (083) 301-2769/ 553-6137/ 0922-811-3998 n DYQN -89dot5 HOME RADIO ILOILO STATION MANAGER: MARIPAZ U. SONG E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeiloilo@yahoo.com ADDRESS: 3rd Floor, Eternal Plans Building,

Ortiz Street, Iloilo City CONTACT NOs.: (033) 337-2698/ 508-8102/ 0922-811-3995 n DWQA -92dot3 HOME RADIO LEGAZPI STATION MANAGER: CLETO PIO D. ABOGADO E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiolegazpi@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Fortune Building, Rizal St., Brgy. Pigcale, Legazpi City CONTACT NOs.: (052) 480-4858/ 820-6880/ 0922-811-3992 n DWQJ -95dot1 HOME RADIO NAGA STATION MANAGER: JUSTO MANUEL P. VILLANTE JR. EMAIL ADDRESS: homenaga@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Eternal Garden Compound, Balatas Road, Naga City CONTACT NOs.: (054) 473-3818/ 811-2951/ 0922-811-3993

Printed by BROWN MADONNA Press, Inc.–San Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila

Monetary System and continue using the euro currency or even remain as part of the EU. For a background and explanation of how this all came about, feel free to read the several hundred million words that have been written in the last months. You will discover that Greeks and their government are lazy and corrupt, who took extreme advantage of their more prosperous and hardworking European neighbors to fund their lazy and corrupt lifestyle.

Or, maybe, Greece was the victim of predatory and greedy lenders, which took extreme advantage of simple people who were only borrowing to raise their standard of living. Take your choice.

But the bottom line is that the current—and, perhaps, future—debt obligations of Greece can never be repaid, even under the best of economic circumstances over many lifetimes.

China’s boom has World Bank worried William Pesek

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Greece is asking that a portion, if not all, of its current debt be forgiven. Who of us wouldn’t prefer that the bank cancel our credit-card debt? However, then the other pigs (a term we have not heard in a while) of Portugal, Italy and Spain would want the same debt forgiveness. But it took Europe some five years to transfer a little over €200 billion in Greek private debt exposure to the public balance sheet of the IMF and the European Central Bank. To forgive the debt of the other pigs might require selling the entire continent of Europe to China for cash.

The economic experts, both in government and the private sector, are spending much time telling the global financial markets to “Keep Calm and Don’t Worry.” That only works if you can come up with rational base-, best- and worst-case scenarios. There are so many critical variables in play that creating reasonable scenarios is impossible.

Goldman Sachs’s has two scenarios from a “Yes” vote. The current Greek government will either remain in power or it will resign. Well, that certainly makes things perfectly clear.

Local public and private experts are also echoing the “Don’t Worry” mantra. This best is that whatever the outcome, it will not have a “direct” impact on the Philippines. That is the intellectual equivalent of saying Supertyphoon Yolanda had no “direct” impact on Manila. The Nepal earthquake did not have a “direct” impact, but did prompt a massive

T

BLOOMBERG VIEW

HE World Bank has a timely warning for Chinese President Xi Jinping: Don’t let all that money go to your head.

The global lender didn’t refer directly to Shanghai’s stock boom or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (Beijing’s attempt to develop a World Bank of its own). Nor did it have to. By urging Beijing to clamp down on wasteful investment, unsustainable debt and a shadow-banking industry run amok, it was delivering a clear enough warning that Xi should stop fanning China’s giant asset bubble. The World Bank was also implying China should get its own economic house in order before trying to change the global economy.

“China has reached a critical phase of its economic- and social-development path,” the lender said in a new report released on Wednesday.

The economy “will need to be transformed to increase the efficiency of new investments and widen access to finance, enabling China to sustain solid growth and rebalance its economy.”

The World Bank’s admonishment was amplified by a fascinating milestone the Chinese economy reached

this week—one that presents Xi’s government with a complicated image problem. China’s 90 mainland stock traders now outnumber its 87.8 million Communist Party members.

This changing of the guard, if you will, is taking place the same week the party celebrated its 94th anniversary—hardly what Mao Zedong had in mind when he led the Communists to power in 1949.

In truth, China’s fast-growing legions of stock traders are betting

on a type of financial Communism.

Everyone knows the Chinese economy is slowing and deflation is approaching, but markets have generally stayed aloft amid perceptions Xi will use the full power of the state to protect investments. Along with weekend interest-rate cuts, authorities have just made it easier to take on even more leverage. Brokerages now have leeway to boost lending by about $300 billion.

Yet, recent stock-market declines suggest those steps aren’t working their usual magic. Part of the problem is traders have realized nobody is shoring up the shaky pillars of the world’s second-biggest economy. As that awareness sinks in, the 24-percent decline in the Shanghai Composite Index from its June 12 peak (which wiped out more than the equivalent of Brazil’s annual output) will only intensify. So will the headwinds bearing down on the broader economy, as plunging shares dent business and household confidence.

And that will mean China will have less money available to pursue its global aspirations, including through its new infrastructure bank.

In that sense, the World Bank is right to suggest the best way for Beijing to

preparedness campaign.

One local analyst said that Greek problem would make investors cautious of looking at second-tier countries like the Philippines for investment. Another said that after Greece, investors would look to economies like the Philippines because of its low debt. Both are probably correct, but with the future lying somewhere in between.

In October 2008 I wrote a column, titled “The Death of Debt-Based Wealth.” I quoted then-Pope Benedict XVI as saying, “The current global banking crisis indicates that the modern world economic order is ‘built on sand.’” I honestly thought that governments had learned enough not to make the same mistake again by building enormous debt. I was completely wrong about governments having any sense, and Greece is the result.

But, then again, I also said, “The stock market? You will see the best buying opportunity probably near 1,950 since 2003.”

Greece is only the latest symptom of governments’ debt-addiction, and it will not be the last. Next week is going to be very interesting. Kalí tíhi—that’s “good luck” in Greek.

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.

achieve its international goals is to shore up its domestic economy.

That means overhauling a banking system that subsidizes stateowned enterprises at the expense of entrepreneurs and savers. Virtually all of China’s worst economic excesses emanate from its corrupt alliance of top financiers, regulators, executives and their benefactors in the government. Curbing government interference in credit allocation would be the first step to reducing the imbalances the World Bank says could “deflect” China’s “economic trajectory.”

But for all his talk about trusting market forces, Xi has made only modest moves to make more credit available to the private sector and loosen controls on interest rates.

Meanwhile, his government has been tossing more fuel at the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets by loosening margin financing. Far from being chastened, mainland traders can now buy even more stocks with even greater leverage in an already wildly overleveraged system. The World Bank will no doubt continue telling Chinese officials why that strategy is a mistake. But, to the detriment of the country’s economy, it can’t make them listen.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Prosecution by speculation For the common good or by perception Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual Cecilio T. Arillo

database

U

NKNOWN to many people, Congress—the Senate and the House—cannot investigate a crime. It can only investigate in aid of legislation.

But because of dirty politics in this country, some misguided lawmakers from both chambers are acting as investigators, prosecutors and judges rolled into one.

The worse part of this is that they arrogantly put more premium on publicity, rather than correct social, economic and political injustices, which at best appears to create a perception of guilt on people with higher ambitions to serve the public.

It cannot be denied that both houses of Congress have often violated their own rules, with some lawmakers displaying arrogance and using gutter and other unsavory vocabularies in their line of questioning, which a court of law would never have allowed.

Worse, witnesses called to testify often contradict with one another, while unsupported volumes of documents submitted for investigation often do not establish the existence of facts and circumstances in a coherent manner on how, why, when, where and who actually committed crimes involving billions of pesos in public funds.

A specific issue in point are volumes of documents submitted by Janet Lim-Napoles, Benhur Luy, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as other agencies, that overflow with lies and innuendoes, selectively targeting the innocent and freeing the guilty.

The government itself plays the role of a predator, and it has created its own pattern by systematically targeting the opposition while, at the same time, protecting its own allies.

A good example of this, without touching on the merit of their cases, are high-profile oppositionists Sens. Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, who are now in jail.

Strangely, the initiators and implementers on the disposal of multibillion-peso public funds are out free, strutting in self-importance and flaunting their wealth in the corridors of power, simply because they are with the ruling administration.

Worse, they have control of the best public-relations agencies to prop up their images and hit their political enemies by subjecting them to trial by publicity.

Why not? Publicity works faster that way, just like what Vice President Jejomar C. Binay is subjected to, dispensing as it does with the usual repetitive claim of due process and fairness.

In trial by publicity, one may not even be jailed for contempt of irresponsible writing; upholding his or her impropriety, the biased press, for one, in this godforsaken country, offers several choices to those who may question their invincibility or crucifixion, or both.

Usually, an irresponsible member of the press may routinely invoke press freedom without the well-established explanation that it is not absolute for it carries a concomitant responsibility to balance the news.

Normally, to charge respondents with a crime, the Ombudsman or the DOJ must find probable cause based on evidence or the body of crime (corpus delicti) on how the plunder was committed.

If the information is filed in court, the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, in accordance with time-honored procedures and rules of evidence.

Since the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and

the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) scams came to light, what many citizens saw was nothing but virtual reality, based on conflicting testimonies of witnesses or whistleblowers, erroneous assumptions, opinionated conclusions and malignant motives that served as the yarn of daily propaganda mills, painstakingly woven into the socalled hate- campaign syndrome.

The people behind this prosecution by perception or speculation must have forgotten that history is not static. Indeed, many of the heroes of yesteryears, like Mao Zedong, Che Guevara, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Saddam Hussein, have been stripped of their perfection.

In my previous articles on this subject (trial by publicity), I pointed out that unflattering, but vital, facts about men of great political and financial influence—previously suppressed in the name of national security, ideological infallibility and presidential policies—have been declassified and incorporated in official historical records, while their updated biographies revealed their cruelty, errors and foibles.

As I said in my book A Country Imperiled, even popes have not always been held sacred; Pope John, who reigned in 1415, was convicted for various scandalous acts, including adultery, incest and sodomy.

Besides, every person has some measure of bigotry, a refusal to consider stories that do not conform to one’s values and beliefs.

In fact, the myths about those who benefited at the expense of truth as role models may not escape the vetting eye of the present rationalizing generation.

The purpose of any investigation, including those in the Senate and the House, is not only to prove the guilt of the respondents but also to protect them against hasty, malicious and oppressive prosecution. Trial by publicity has no room for this.

Curiously, what was not mentioned in the NBI, DOJ and the Ombudsman preliminary investigation was that the Department of Budget and Management, the Commission on Audit (COA) and other implementing agencies in 2012 deliberately deviated from their conscientious and prudent role in handling the discretionary spending program authorized by Congress involving the controversial DAP. The Executive branch that year spent a whopping P21.3 billion in equity, unbelievably way above the P2.1 billion authorized by Congress, or an increase of P19.3 billion, or a total 926-percent deviation.

In addition, the Executive branch also spent a total of P24.1 billion, P6 billion more than the P18.2 billion authorized by Congress for subsidy.

Clearly, this is a 32.7-percentage deviation.

Public funds are strictly covered

by COA rules on budget releases and project implementation.

Under COA rules, public funds are never released directly to non-governmental organizations or any other people’s organizations, whether they came from the unconstitutionally declared PDAF or other sources of appropriations, like the DAP. Funds are only released to implementing agencies, which could be a department, an agency or a local government unit under the Executive branch.

Funds are never released to members of the Senate and the House.

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

SERVANT LEADER

O

NE of the greatest acts of charity is service for the common good of all. This is the essence of public service and that of a public servant. And they say politics is the art and skill of public service.

We believe that public service is a calling from God. And for those who are called, it is a mission for service. It is more than just a destiny.

It is a gift, yes, but a responsibility, too. Why? Because there is power in public service that one earned in a legitimate election or appointment from a legitimate office of the government. Moreover, there is power in authority.

But there is a danger in the

exercise of power. Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Power has an intoxicating quality that has tempted leaders to corruption and downward spiral of decadence.

In the cable TV series Vikings, the farmer king remarked to his powerobsessed son to be careful with the use of power, since it attracts the worst and corrupts the best.

We need leadership, truly. It is

Saturday, July 4, 2015

indispensable and vital to public service. But what kind of leadership do we need in this post-modern society beset with grinding poverty, worsening climate change and widening income inequality?

And, of course, the never-ending resolve to curb corruption and incompetence in many areas in public affairs.

Our proactive response is we need “servant leadership.” It is a profound paradigm that assumes accountability for the sake of others—that is— service above self-interest.

It is easier said than done. We know that, but we humbly rely on the graciousness of the Lord Jesus who came not to be served but to serve and offer His life for the ransom of many (Mark 10:45).

It is for these reasons the Serviam Foundation on Thursday and Friday (July 2 and 3) held the pastoral conference on “Servant Leadership in Public Service” and presented to

A7

public leaders and those active in political advocacy as our humble contribution to ethical politics and good governance in our country.

The past two days gave opportunity for genuine encounters of listening, reflecting, and discerning with one mind and heart (Acts 4:32) why we are called in public service and as a public servant.

May the inner values of servant leadership inspire us to be authentic in our calling for the common good of all, especially in behalf of the vulnerable, the marginalized and the rejected.

To know more about the programs of Caritas Manila, visit www.caritas. org.ph. For donations, call 563-9311.

For inquiries, call 563-9308 or 5639298. 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.

When your YouTube video becomes a corporate profit center

By Stephen Witt | Los Angeles Times/TNS

S

AY it’s your wedding day. The ceremony’s over and you’ve finished with the reception dinner. Uncle Charlie’s had too much to drink and is telling your college friends about the time he saw Foghat at the Hollywood Bowl in 1976. Suddenly the DJ takes the mic and announces it’s time for your first dance as a couple.

You and your beloved take the floor. The opening piano bars to your favorite song begin to play— “Up Where We Belong,” the eternal duet from Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. (In this scenario, you have bad taste.) Your eyes begin to mist over as you dance to the song, while, off to the side, your father records the event for posterity on his cell phone.

A few days later, Dad uploads the video to YouTube. Because the song is plainly audible in the background, he adds the standard amateur disclaimer: “No copyright infringement intended.” You’re a little worried that Universal Music Group (UMG), which owns the performance rights to the song, might force Dad to take the video down, but that doesn’t happen. Over the next few weeks, the video gets more than 5,000 views; Uncle Charlie gives it the thumbs up, and even Aunt Beatrice leaves a kind comment. You aren’t an expert in copyright law, but it seems Dad’s disclaimer has worked.

Hardly. What actually happened was this: YouTube’s automatic copyright detection service immediately flagged the video as potentially infringing. The company alerted UMG, offering it the option to pull the video or, alternatively, to start selling ads against it. UMG chose the latter.

YouTube and UMG then split the

revenue, with a small portion going to Cocker’s estate.

Everyone’s happy, right? You and your family get to relive your first dance; Google, the owner of YouTube, and Vivendi, the owner of UMG, get paid; and Cocker’s legacy is carried forward. The only problem is that a large corporate-rights holder has turned one of the most intimate moments of your life into a profit center.

Since 2007 YouTube’s Content ID service has paid more than $1 billion to rights holders from such content, most of it generated by ordinary users. Often, these automatically identified videos include material that normally would be covered under the fair use or satire provisions of US copyright law.

Questions of appropriation are always legally thorny; there’s no clear point at which audio background noise becomes part of the public domain. So YouTube’s content system plays it safe, automatically rendering judgment in favor of large media concerns. And once decisions are made, they are almost impossible to reverse.

Take the case of Warren Lain, a guitar teacher who, in 2011, uploaded an instructional video to YouTube featuring the chord progression to Radiohead’s “Reckoner.” The recording didn’t sound much like the original

song, but YouTube’s sophisticated robots detected a match. YouTube alerted Warner Music Group, which then forced ads to be sold against the video, with the proceeds going to its publishing arm.

Lain appealed the decision but was overruled without explanation. He wrote numerous e-mails to Warner Music, and left several voice mails, but didn’t get a response. He even wrote a letter to Radiohead’s management, who told Lain they would look into the issue and get back to him. They never did.

“It was a minuscule amount of revenue,” Lain told me, “but it should be covered by fair use in the case of educational content.” Lain is of course free to upload his videos elsewhere—except that YouTube is 25 times more popular than the next largest hosting site. This monopoly power makes Google’s robots the de facto judges of contemporary Internet copyright infringement. “There’s no courtroom,” Lain said. “There’s just the code.”

When revenue isn’t minuscule, copyright holders take the offensive.

Consider the popular “Let’s Play” phenomenon, in which YouTubers narrate so-called playthroughs of their favorite video games. These videos can be lucrative, attracting the attention of games manufacturers.

In 2014, for instance, Nintendo filed a copyright claim over a playalong from its popular “Zelda” franchise. The infringing media was less than a second long: a sound effect of Link, the game’s main character, unsheathing his sword.

The merits of such claims are an unsettled area of copyright law, but in the court of YouTube, the decision

Don’t miss the bliss of ordinary days

By Gina Barreca The Hartford Courant/TNS

N

EVER, ever take for granted the glory of a day when nothing bad happens.

Today, as I’m overwhelmed by deadlines, packing for a trip to a conference in California and getting afraid of the plane (yes, still; yes, always), it just struck me how incredibly lucky I am.

I stopped being frantic, took a minute to put down my nail biting, inhaled deeply and picked up my gratitude.

I didn’t want this to be another one of those blissful days that goes by without acknowledgment.

Yes, a “blissful day.” Flooded with anxiety, fear and a wish to hide under the bed, it contains the pleasure of the quotidian. William Wordsworth wrote “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive/But to be young was very heaven!” about the French Revolution of 1789 (not exactly a relaxing time) and the line captures the all-inclusive and extensive notion of bliss.

I had a good breakfast, spent time

sitting at the table reading paper with my husband, had the privilege of drinking coffee in a dry and quiet house. I live indoors, have cats and my health. Am I the world’s most fortunate woman or what? Everyday bliss.

It’s these most ordinary days we’ll long for and what we’ll miss fiercely when they’re taken from us.

I suspect we’ll miss these more than their flashier counterparts.

The idea of being in middle of happiness and not knowing it unnerves me because it happened a lot when I was younger. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t know how good I had it, but that I wasn’t able to offer myself permission to enjoy what I couldn’t prove was somehow worthwhile.

We might replay extraordinary times on our life’s timelines—the first day of school, graduations, first paychecks, the celebration of a job well done—but it’s the long stretches in between in which our lives are truly made.

The much-photographed and hip, hip, hoorayed times remain, however, embel l ishments on what the makers of cotton have

now copyrighted as “the fabric of our lives.”

Those special days are like glittery bedazzlers stuck onto the ordinary and often overlooked backdrop of time. I believe that’s what the ancient Greeks were trying to explain when they distinguished between “chronos” (ordinary) and “kairos” (important time).

Remember the cotton ads from the 1980s and 1990s? Every time one of those gooey and sentimental, yet perfectly self-contained, pieces appeared, I lost it entirely. I had to leave the room or wreck my mascara. There had been the funerals of relatives where I’d experienced a less complex emotional response.

Sure, I was weeping over the need to choose a certain kind of textile, but what I was weeping over—along with other millions of viewers easily swayed by nostalgia, soft focus and the implied promise that a high thread count somehow leads to higher consciousness—was the commercial’s emphasis on cherishing the everyday.

Almost any ad invoking the quick and almost unnoticed pas-

always goes to the plaintiff. (The uploader didn’t bother to contest the 2014 decision.)

For many years, the ability to enforce copyright on the Internet was nil, a consequence of design choices made in the technology’s infancy that were intended to empower average users. As a result, almost all of what we currently consider Internet culture relies on appropriation to some degree.

The best Web-based art genres— memes, mash-ups, play-alongs, even supercuts—all repurpose copyrighted media in unintended and sometimes brilliant ways.

Techno-optimists praised such developments; they celebrated this “remix” culture. Some even wondered whether the concept of the copyright had become obsolete.

In 2015 this talk sounds foolish.

If the ethos of the previous phase of the Internet was to empower users, the ethos of the contemporary phase is to extract value from them. Beginning in 2007, with the introduction of YouTube’s Content ID system, and proceeding slowly over the next few years, the interests of rights holders and technologists became aligned behind the scenes. Remix culture became a profit center.

Is this progress? Maybe. The automated gatekeepers at Google are safeguarding the ability of artists to earn royalties; perhaps this will lead to a flourishing of original creative work. Then again, many of the copyright decisions made by YouTube wouldn’t stand up in a court of law; perhaps Google’s monopoly is stifling progress by imposing unfair limits on the freedom of speech. It all depends on your perspective.

sage of time grabs us. A pretty funny Subaru commercial shows a 5-year-old taking the car to the ATM, a car wash, etc., closing with the narrator saying that it might be years before he can actually drive the car but that it’ll be waiting for him when he’s ready because it’s such a reliable vehicle.

The subtext to the ad is that your kid will be an adult within 90 seconds. For a lot of folks, thinking about that will send them on a mission to purchase a Lamborghini, a Harley or 1967 GTO even if it means heading to a loan shark first.

They might also ask, as did one member of my family, to have the keys buried with them.

More than the days of magnificent accomplishment or great passion, I suspect that most of us would hug the everyday most tightly if someone tried to pry it way from us.

We should remind ourselves that, along with days of glory, gardenvariety moments of satisfaction are also fleeting. Our ordinary days need cultivation and attention: They are what we harvest in our lifetimes.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, July 4, 2015

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Palace tells Marina to explain Ormoc ferry sinking

M

By Butch Fernandez

ALACAÑANG is expecting a full report from Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) officials explaining the latest sea tragedy that killed 38 passengers of an interisland ferry in Ormoc.

Interviewed over radio station dwIZ, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. on Friday agreed that Marina officials may have a lot of explaining to do, citing initial findings they failed to enforce standard safeguards to ensure the passengers’ safety.

“Dapat na isinagawa talaga diyan ay tiniyak iyung kaligtasan ng mga pasahero,” Coloma said.

The Palace official cited reports that some passengers took it upon themselves to try to tilt the boat to prevent sinking. “Ayon doon sa ulat na natunghayan natin, ang sinabi nung isang survivor ay napansin niyang tila hindi balansiyado kaya mismong siya ay nagtangkang lumipat doon sa isang bahagi, pero parang napakabilis ng mga pangyayari.”

Coloma also asserted the need for a thorough inquiry to establish responsibility for the tragedy.

“Kaya’t kailangang talaga iyung masusing imbestigasyon at dapat papanagutin iyung mga responsible, dahil napakahalaga iyung pagtitiyak nang kaligtasan ng ating mga mamamayan,” Coloma told dwIZ. The secretary pointed out that, in the first place, the ferry should not have been allowed by authorities to sail if there was imminent bad weather in the area.

“Hindi talaga dapat pinahihin-

COLOMA: “Kaya’t kailangang talaga iyung masusing imbestigasyon at dapat papanagutin iyung mga responsible, dahil napakahalaga iyung pagtitiyak nang kaligtasan ng ating mga mamamayan.”

tulutan kung mayroong nakaambang panganib sa ating mga mamamayan,” he added.

At a Palace briefing on Friday, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Abigail Valte confirmed that President Aquino had issued instructions to continue round-the-clock searchand-rescue operations to locate possible survivors in the sea tragedy.

Valte said President Aquino gave the order as he was being updated on the situation in Ormoc.

“Do whatever we can to send support to be able to augment the search and rescue,” Valte quoted Mr. Aquino as saying, when the President was informed that latest report showed more than 30 fatalities and an unspecified number of passengers still unaccounted for.

“Yes, meron na hong initial report

sa Pangulo,” Valte told Palace reporters at a briefing. “Ang unang concern ng Pangulo ay ipagpatuloy ang search and rescue. At that time that we were in that meeting, parang ang narereport po ay 32 so far ang casualties at may missing.”

Other reports said 42 bodies have so far been recovered from the sunken ferry.

Valte reported that Mr. Aquino “immediately latched on to the fact that there were still a number of people missing” and ordered authorities to step up the rescue operations.

According to Valte, the President also gave orders to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain what really happened that caused the tragedy.

She added: “The second concern of the President was even, while the search and rescue was ongoing, that we should already send in investigators to get eyewitness accounts and get all the documents relative to the vessel” in order to make sure what clearance requirements were issued by the Marina and double-check passenger manifest, among others.

“So, nag-utos po ng isang masinsinang pagtingin ang Pangulo doon sa insidente. Gusto po ng Pangulo na, una, maging mabilis ang imbestigasyon so nag-constitute po agad ang Coast Guard nang maritime casualty investigation team. Nandoon na po sila,” Valte said.

She said the Philippine Coast Guard is now working with Marina to get to the bottom of the situation as “the President wants to make sure that the results of the investigation will be speedy and the results will be objective.”

Several more bodies have been recovered from the ferry that capsized in choppy waters in the central Philippines, raising the death toll in the accident to 42 with 11 others miss-

ing, the Coast Guard said on Friday.

At least 134 people from the MB Kim Nirvana were rescued by fishing boats and Coast Guard personnel or swam to safety off Ormoc City, said Cmdr. Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesman.

Balilo said two passengers initially listed on the manifest did not board the ferry, lowering the total number of people onboard to 187 from 189 earlier reported.

Capt. Pedro Tinampay, Coast Guard Eastern Visayas chief, said that rescuers were using a barge with a crane to move the overturned boat to its side to make it easier for divers to find more bodies. Another crane will be used to raise it upright, he said.

A Coast Guard ship and a navy patrol boat anchored in the choppy waters in the vicinity of the overturned ferry and three rescue boats took divers to the site early Friday.

Balilo said the wooden outrigger

ferry was maneuvering out of the Ormoc port heading on its routine voyage to Pilar, one of the towns on Camotes Islands, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the south, when it was lashed by strong waves.

He said the captain and some of the crew were rescued and are in custody pending an investigation.

Coast Guard officials and survivors said it was not immediately clear what caused the 36-ton ferry, which was carrying a heavy cargo of construction materials and bags of rice, to overturn.

Tinampay said the movement of the cargo inside the ferry “may have been contributory to the shift in the weight of the cargo, that’s why the boat listed.”

Survivors told the Associated Press by cell phone that the bow suddenly rose from the water before the vessel flipped over on one side, turning it upside down and trapping

passengers underneath.

Among the passengers who survived were at least three Americans and a Canadian.

Lawrence Drake, 48, a retired firefighter from Rochester, New York, said he was able to revive a woman who was not breathing while they were in the water via mouth-tomouth resuscitation.

Drake said he also saved the woman’s pregnant daughter and an 8-year-old boy. He said he saw at least seven bodies floating in the water, including two children.

Many of the passengers were screaming in panic, he said.

Drake’s Filipino wife, Mary Jane, said the ferry was pulling slowly out of the port when it suddenly flipped to the left in strong waves.

“No one was able to jump out because it overturned very swiftly.

There was no time to jump,” she said. With AP

Jobless rate down;wages flat W ASHINGTON—Despite another month of solid job growth and an economy closing in on full employment, the picture of America’s labor market looks decidedly mixed—and is likely to keep the Federal Reserve in a wait-and-see mode on raising interest rates.

Although employers added 223,000 jobs in June, in line with forecasters’ expectations, workers’ average wages flattened last month after a promising increase in May, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

And while the jobless rate in June fell to a new postrecession low of 5.3 percent, from 5.5 percent in May, it dropped for the wrong reason: a large exodus of workers from the labor force.

The shrinking size of the work force—the number of people working or looking for jobs—surprised analysts. Some experts have been looking for an uptick as the jobless rate has fallen steadily. Instead, the socalled labor-force participation rate sank last month to the lowest level since October 1977.

“It is worrisome,” said Patrick O’Keefe, economic research director at CohnReznick, an accounting and consulting company. When combined with sluggish earnings, lower labor participation means less tax revenue and other costs to society for unused and underutilized human resources.

“We’re seven years into the recovery and labor participation is bottom-bouncing at a 38-year low—and it’s not showing signs of turning up,” he said.

Thursday’s report did provide a reassuring sign that the economy, which began its recovery from the Great Recession in mid-2009, still has some legs.

Hiring in the US has bounced back from an awful winter quarter, and it looks strong amid rising global turmoil. US exports already have been hurt by weakness abroad, with risks increasing recently because of the chaos in Greece and slowing growth in China.

Job growth in June matched the average of the previous two months and was broadly based.

Business and professional services, retail, health care and finance industries all added a healthy batch of new jobs, while construction, manufacturing and government were essentially flat.

But that, otherwise, bright news was eclipsed by the disappointing wage and labor-force data. Average hourly earnings in June remained flat at $24.95 for all private-sector workers.

That was in part because average manufacturing pay fell by a nickel to $25.08, while hourly earnings of service workers rose by just a penny to $24.69. For all workers, hourly wages were up just 2 percent in June from a year ago, about the same sluggish pace at which it has been growing over the last several years.

US President Barack Obama, in a speech on Thursday in Wisconsin, acknowledged that workers’ pay has been a disappointment. While noting that the private sector has now added jobs for a record 64 straight months, he said, “We’ve got to get folks’

wages and incomes to keep going up. We’ve got to make sure their hard work is getting them somewhere.”

The lack of significant wage growth is one factor in the low labor participation rate and last month’s drop in the unemployment rate. Most analysts had predicted that the June jobless figure would dip a notch to 5.4 percent, but it fell more sharply as the labor force declined by a whopping 432,000 last month after an increase of similar magnitude in May, the Labor Department said.

While the labor-force data are volatile from month to month, there has been persistent weakness in the participation rate of workers. With more women joining the job market and the growth in the economy, the share of the workingage population in the US labor force rose steadily from about 60 percent in the late 1960s to a peak of 67.3 percent in early 2000.

But that share fell dramatically in recent years and is now down to 62.6 percent.

Gordon Breault of Columbus, Ohio, has been actively searching for work since he was laid off last August from his technology consulting job. The 60-year-old father of two girls was in the office of Career Transition Institute on Thursday and said he was pressing on with his job hunt. But he said some of his acquaintances at the volunteer job-search office had taken early retirement. “It’s not going to be the retirement they wanted,” he said, “but they don’t want to get back in the rat race.” TNS

PHL hurdles IMF fiscal SMC, Ayala, transparency evaluation MPIC keen on

M

alacañang reported on Friday that the Philippines was given a “favorable score” on fiscal transparency by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“In its June 2015 report, the IMF cited the Philippines’s public financial management reform strategy as having helped initiate reforms,” the Palace said.

It added that the IMF particularly recognized fiscal reporting in the country “as being timely, frequent and relatively comprehensive.”

The Palace said the IMF findings effectively validated the Aquino administration’s transparency agenda, citing initiatives such as the Department of Budget and Management’s Budget ng Bayan web site, as well as the government’s—which currently hosts 1,237 data files—help advance

openness in the country by allowing citizens to access documents such as the nation’s yearly budget, among many others.

“As always, we remain committed to further improving our efforts by engaging in productive dialogue with other groups and advocates,” the Palace said in a statement released Friday.

It also recalled that as part of this year’s series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, the Department of Finance held the Apec Workshop on Fiscal Management through Transparency and Reforms on June 9 and 10 in Bagac, Bataan.

The Palace said the event brought together delegates, transparency advocates, and representatives from finance ministries in a series of discussions on fiscal innovation.

Butch Fernandez

P177-B PNR south-line rehab

L

EGAZPI CITY—Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said giant firms San Miguel Corp., Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. have indicated interest to invest in the rehabilitation of the P177billion south line of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) under a public-private partnership scheme.

Called the PNR Modernization Program, the project will cover the rehabilitation of the 653-kilometer railway from Tutuban to Legazpi then Sorsogon.

Salceda said he has been pushing for the PNR southbound rehabilitation that would give life again to the once Bicol pride but now idle See “SMC,” A2