BusinessMirror November 16, 2015

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SANOFI C.E.O. OLIVIER CHARMEIL Monday, November 16, 2015

Communications Secretar y Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said a dialogue has also been set with participating Apec countries’ business leaders, who want to ensure that no one is left behind in attaining economic growth.

How does Sanofi Pasteur plan to maintain its leadership in the pharmaceutical industry?

Innovation is the key to improving people’s health worldwide and the company’s success. That is why Sanofi Pasteur devotes more than €1 million to research and development every day in order to develop new preventive vaccines and improve existing ones.

We actually have two of the biggest innovations in the field of vac-

cines in our portfolio, namely our Dengue vaccine, which is soon to be launched, and a vaccine against Clostridium difficile, a spore-forming bacterium that can cause serious intestinal disease that is potentially life-threatening. The risk of contracting a C. diff infection (CDI) increases with age, antibiotic treatment and time spent in hospitals or nursing homes, where outbreaks can lead to multiple cases.

Your vision that no one should suffer or die from vaccine-preventable diseases is a very ambitious goal. Would you like to share some of your initiatives to further your cause?

Our aim is to protect more people with more modern vaccines.

Aside from developing vaccines to address unmet medical needs, such as for dengue and CDI, we also work on accessing the beneficiaries, as there are still 20 percent of children who are not vaccinated at all each year in the world. We contribute to the introduction of more modern vaccines in low-to-middle-income countries like the acP combo. And we propose vaccines for adults, since prevention should apply all along the life of the individuals. To achieve this, we work closely with governments and other important stakeholders to create awareness and deeper understanding of the value of vaccines.

protect at-risk individuals from CDI. diff, which is emerging as a leading cause of life-threatening, healthcareassociated infections worldwide.

The world is eagerly waiting for the launch of the dengue vaccine. Can you share with us the latest milestone for this vaccine?

Sanofi Pasteur’s dengue vaccine candidate is the most clinically and industrially advanced dengue vaccine candidate. Over 40,000 volunteers participated in the Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine clinical study programs, which were conducted primarily in Latin America and Asia, regions were the disease is endemic.

The vaccine candidate successfully completed Phase 3 clinical studies in 2014 and is currently under review for market approval by health authorities in countries where dengue is a major public-health priority.

The introduction of the world’s first vaccine for the prevention of dengue is a critical milestone in the fight against dengue, arming HCPs, governments and non-governmental organizations with a highly

anticipated new weapon.

Which countries will have access to the dengue vaccine?

As health-care practitioners, we will work with relevant health authorities to ensure access to the vaccine to those most in need. This is in line with Sanofi Pasteur’s stated commitment of making the dengue vaccine available first in areas where the disease is a public-health priority.

Typically, innovation in medicine is driven by the unmet needs of developed markets that can af afford the high launch prices necessary to subsidize the innovation. In this conventional model, access in low- and middle-income countries tend to be delayed and diseases endemic to these countries only are often neglected.

But for the dengue vaccine, we are flipping the traditional vaccine access model. For the first time, a new vaccine will have its initial introduction in low-and-middle-income countries where the need is the greatest and where a dengue vaccine can have the greatest disease reduction impact.

How will you ensure that the supply of dengue vaccine will be enough?

PRODUCTION of the vaccine is a complex process based on sophisticated technology. Thanks to the unprecedented investment made by the Sanofi Group, a dengue vaccine production site was developed in the Lyon region in France as early as 2009.

Sanofi Pasteur is already producing the vaccine in a newly dedicated production facility, which will be capable of providing a timely supply of large quantities of vaccines to meet the global public-health demand.

The production capacity is 100 million doses per year, which means 1 billion doses can be produced in 10 years.

mortality by 50 percent and morbidity by 25 percent by 2020.

The dengue vaccine represents the most significant asset in securing long-term control of the disease. Even with the launch of the vaccine, an integrated approach will remain essential, including vector control and environmental management, preventive vaccination and public awareness and education.

I need to emphasize that the fight against dengue requires a strong global commitment from all public-health partners. It is our hope that, once we get the license for the vaccine, we will be able to start discussions with important stakeholders on how to make the vaccines available to those populations that need it most.

With this breakthrough vaccine for dengue, we are one-step closer to reducing the burden brought about by this disease. As a health-care company, we will drive support to ensure vaccination becomes a top priority on the publichealth agenda.

EXECUTIVE VIEWS With the launch of the vaccine, can we say that we now have the solution to dengue?

The World Health Organization called for development of a dengue vaccine as critical addition to boost ongoing dengue prevention efforts and tip the balance in the battle against dengue while helping endemic countries achieve the WHO objectives to reduce dengue

“There will be a dialogue on the agenda during the Apec. This includes inclusive growth, which is not only being discussed by economic leaders but also by business leaders,” Coloma said.

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BMW 730li long-wheelbase sedans

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| MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

UEFA TEAMS TO WEAR ARMBANDS

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ONDON—Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) says all teams playing in European internationals in the next week will wear black armbands, with a minute’s silence held before kickoff in honor of the victims of the Paris attacks.

“UEFA...wishes to express its support and solidarity to France and to those affected by these horrible acts,” the organization said in a separate statement after attacks on Friday night around Paris, including outside the Stade de France where France was playing Germany in a friendly.

The remaining playoff matches for next year’s European Championship in France were set to be played as scheduled, while the English Football Association says it will speak to its French counterpart about the status of Tuesday’s friendly between England and France at Wembley Stadium in London.

The FA said on Twitter it “will liaise with the French Federation in due course and update accordingly.”

Meanwhile, suspended UEFA President Michel Platini, who is French, said on Saturday he was “distraught” by the attacks.

“I would like to express my deep sorrow and profound indignation at such acts of blind barbarity,” Platini said in a statement. “I would also like to offer my condolences to the families of the victims and I hope for a prompt recovery to the wounded.” AP

PLAY HALTED IN BMW MASTERS

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HANGHAI—Play was halted on Sunday during the final round of the BMW Masters golf tournament in Shanghai to observe a moment of silence for the victims of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

At noon, tournament officials blew the horns on the course, normally used to halt play due to inclement weather, and all the players stopped momentarily, took off their hats and bowed their heads for a minute of silence.

Many players are also wearing black ribbons on their hats to remember the victims.

On Saturday French golfer Benjamin Hebert posted a picture of himself on Twitter wearing a white hat and glove with the words “Pray for Paris” written across them in black and a green shirt. His tweet read, “Black for mourning, green for hope, white for peace.” AP

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PRAY FOR PARIS A moment of silence is held in honor of the victims of the Paris attacks, as the French flag is displayed on a video screen before the National Hockey League game between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators. AP

P PARIS ATTA ATT TTACKS RAISE SECURITYY QUESTIONS AHEAD OF EURO 2016

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FRENCH President François Hollande is pictured in the security control room at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, north of Paris, during the international friendly soccer match between France and Germany. The terrorist attack in Paris raises security concerns in Euro 2016 to be held in 10 venues across France. AP

The Associated Press

ARIS—As France grappled with the aftermath of another terrorist attack, organizers of the European soccer championship faced renewed concerns about how to protect fans attending 51 matches in 10 stadiums around the country next year.

Friday night’s deadly bloodshed started when two explosions went off outside Stade de France during the national team’s match against Germany. The same stadium will host the tournament’s opening game on June 10 and the final one month later.

“There was already a concern for the Euros, now it’s obviously a lot higher,” French Football Federation (FFF) President Noel Le Graet acknowledged.

President François Hollande, who was attending the game and had to be evacuated from the stadium, called the attacks “an act of war.” Now, his government, security officials and organizers face a massive task to assure the hundreds of thousands of fans planning to come to France next summer that the country is safe.

At the same time, they must find a way to let all those supporters into the country without letting potential terrorists cross the border, as well.

“We will continue to do everything we can so that security is assured despite all the risks that this entails.

I know that everyone is vigilant,” Le Graet said after Friday’s match. “Obviously this means that we will now be even more vigilant. But it’s a permanent concern for the Federation and the State.”

The European tournament is held every four years and is second in global prestige only to the World Cup. With 24 teams involved across 10 venues, the risks are enormous and the fans heavily exposed to danger, inside and outside stadiums.

Before Friday’s game, 80,000 spectators spilled off trains and walked in droves for several hundred meters to the stadium. Had the explosives gone off then, the casualty count could have been even much worse.

Inside the stadium, fans tried to stay calm as news unfolded of the bloody events. There was confusion, and fans were unsure whether to rush toward the exit gates or stay in their seats. Thousands walked onto the safety of the field.

“We felt safer inside the stadium, but we were getting more and more terrifying news,” Arnaud Assoumani, the 2008 Paralympic long jump champion, told L’Equipe’s TV channel. “There was an announcement at the end to say certain gates were open. I feared a crowd surge, which is what happened. Everyone was trying to get out of the doors at the same time. Some people were running and they were pushed up against walls and barriers. I don’t think there were injuries but it was a panic surge.”

In the months ahead, Le Graet will work closely with Jacques Lambert, chairman of Euro 2016 SAS: a joint venture between the French and European football federations responsible for all operational aspects of the tournament.

“From the start, we knew security would be a key component in the tournament’s success,” Lambert said in a recent newspaper interview. “The risk of a terrorist attack against France, I say more against France than

against the tournament itself or against UEFA [European football’s governing body] was outlined from the start....

What has really changed is the progression of the terrorist risk in comparison to the other risks.”

Lambert could not be reached for further comment on Saturday.

The French government has ultimate responsibility for overseeing security for Euro 2016, but an agreement was signed in September between the FFF and the Interior Ministry to split up duties.

Stadiums, training camps and team hotels are the responsibility of the tournament organizers, while the state is responsible for assuring security surrounding these locations. Then there are also fan zones, where fans without tickets to the games congregate in a central locations to watch matches on giant screens.

Private-security firms are responsible for safety inside the stadiums, with the police in charge outside— although law enforcement also have the authority to enter venues if needed.

Details about more precise security measures, pertaining to bag and body searches for example, will not be revealed until later.

The FFF holds regular security committee meetings with Euro 2016 organizers, with another scheduled for Monday.

Sports events have been targets of terrorist attacks before: the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, when the Olympic Village was attacked; the African Cup of Nations in 2010, when Togo’s team bus came under gunfire in Cabinda; and more recently at the 2013 Boston marathon, where two bombs exploded near the finish line.

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AIRCRAFT land in an open area in front of the Hotel Sofitel in Pasay City during the security preparations made for the Apec summit. ALYSA SALEN C1

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‘Benefits outweigh costs of hosting Apec meetings’

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HE APEC CEO Summit, part of the Asia Economic Conference (Apec) Philippines 2015, is the Asia-Pacific’s premier business event for Apec leaders and business executives to discuss the futere of Asia-Pacific economies.

Olivier Charmeil, Sanofi Pasteur’s CEO, joins other business leaders for a two-day discussion, presentations and dialogue on a wide range of issues that will impact the future development of the region, including innovation, trade, sustainability and disaster resilience.

We have seen a number of disease outbreaks in the recent years. How do you select the disease area to work on?

We continue to invest in research and development with an important end in mind: to discover and develop new groundbreaking vaccines that will meet major public health needs.

An example of this is our commitment to producing a vaccine solution for dengue. Dengue is a public health emergency in more than 100 countries, and the endemic zone continues to expand. With no effective treatment currently available, the disease is placing a heavy burden on the public health systems of Latin American and Asian countries.

Sanofi Pasteur has been working on a dengue vaccine for more than 20 years now. The company’s goal is to make dengue the next vaccine-preventable disease with a safe and effective dengue vaccine accessible in all regions of the world, where dengue is a public-health issue.

Research is also on-going for a vaccine against CDI. Some of the clinical trials for this vaccine is actually being conducted in Asia. Our investigational vaccine is designed to help

ALL SET FOR APEC

SPECIAL REPORT

CEO OLIVIER CHARMEIL

Under the theme “Creating the Future: Better, Stronger, Together,” this year’s summit brings together in Manila Apec leaders from the world’s most dynamic economies, speakers from the world’s top companies, and over 700 CEOs from across the Asia Pacific. Happening on November 16 and 17, it will culminate with the Apec economic leaders’ meeting on November 18 and 19 in Cebu City.

Charmeil is coming to the Philippines to participate in this important meeting. BusinessMirror was able to interview him and got his thoughts on how a global healthcare company, such as the one he is leading, has made a difference in the health of people all around the world.

Charmeil is a graduate of HEC (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales) and of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. He joined Sanofi Pharma in 1994 and, since, then has held various posts in the company prior to his appointment to his present position on January 2011.

Since August 2014, he represents the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations at the Gavi Alliance Board for a three-year term.

Sanofi Pasteur is acknowledged to be the largest company in the world devoted entirely to vaccines.

As of 2011, it offers the broadest range of vaccines protecting against 20 infectious diseases.

At the core of it all, Sanofi Pasteur biggest responsibility is to protect and improve patients’ health by providing superior, innovative vaccines for the prevention of disease, according to Charmeil. That’s why every year, he said, the company produces over a billion doses of vaccines for a wide range of diseases to immunize more than 500 million people in the world.

Charmeil revealed that Sanofi Pasteur has 10 vaccines in development or submitted for approval currently. These vaccines were developed to answer the unmet needs of different segments of population, ranging from pediatric to adult patients.

Here is the excerpt of the Q&A with Charmeil:

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Aquino set to pitch inclusive growth mantra to Apec CEOs

BusinessMirror

Editor: Max V. de Leon

Thursday 18, 2014 Vol.16, 10 No. 40 Vol. 11 No. 39 Monday, November 2015

RESIDENT Aquino is poised to pitch his inclusive growth mantra when he meets with CEOs of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member-economies on Monday, a senior government official said over the weekend.

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INSIDE

LIFE

A broader look at today’s business

HE Philippines’s yearlong hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings is good for the tourism industry. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the designated national organizing committee for Apec meetings, said as much as 10,000 tourists will be in the country for the Apec Economic Leaders’ Week alone.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said the visit of Pope Francis

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 46.9930

in January and the yearlong Apec meetings will help prop up tourist arrivals this year. The government set a tourism-arrival goal of 5.5 million for 2015.

The two major events have caused a spike in both public- and private-sector spending. In Clark, Pampanga, for instance, businessmen spent billions of pesos to refurbish hotels and convention centers. This is in view of the city’s hosting of the first Apec Senior Officials’ Meeting early this year.

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HE Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Philippines 2015 week is under way, with 21 countries represented in the forum, namely, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Beginning today, heads of government from the participating nations will arrive in the country for the conference, slated on November 18 and 19, to foster free trade and economic prosperity among Apec member-economies. The leaders’ itineraries will require them to travel between their arrival points; series of summit dialogues at the Makati Shangri-La; plenary sessions at the Philippine International Convention Center; and welcome dinner at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, just to name a few.

They will be provided with an uninterrupted and comfortable ride with class by no less than BMW, which is known for its opulence and sheer driving pleasure.

Last year the German automaker was given the nod as the official premium mobility partner for Apec 2015. Asian Carmakers Corp. (ACC), the official importer and distributor of BMW in the Philippines, recently completed the turnover of BMW luxury cars to the Apec organizers.

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n JAPAN 0.3835 n UK 71.5891 n HK 6.0637 n CHINA 7.3782 n SINGAPORE 33.1217 n AUSTRALIA 33.3971 n EU 50.8370 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.5312

Source: BSP (13 November 2015)

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, November 16, 2015

‘GDP likely grew 6.3% in Q3’

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By Bianca Cuaresma

he Philippines should prove an economic outlier in the third quarter when local output measured as the GDP was seen expanding above 6 percent, no matter the weak export sector performance for the period and the debilitating impact of the dry season on farm output.

In its latest commentary, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said the Philippines was seen posting growth averaging 6.3 percent, which will help distinguish the $285-billion economy as a “cut above the rest” in the region.

According to the lender, the accelerated growth in the third quarter may be traced to higher national government spending and in stark contrast to the contraction reported in the same period last year.

“Robust domestic demand and still low borrowing costs will help drive household final consumption expenditure and investments. The services sector is seen to be a stable source of economic growth as several corporates reported decent third quarter earnings,” the BPI said.

“The industrial sector may continue to be a positive influence on the overall GDP print, with construction and manufacturing posting modest gains,” the bank added.

Its analysts, however, warned that growth will continue to feel the negative effects of declining global demand and the weather disruptions represented by El Niño.

“The trade sector has felt the heat from slowing global demand as exports have contracted 6.9 percent year-to-date, and with the July to August trade balance posting a deficit of $1.842 billion, we may see a drag from net exports anew,” the BPI said.

“El Niño is expected to be a damper on an already ailing agricultural sector, although the effects will be difficult to estimate, while the recent spate of bad weather is seen to whittle down agricultural production further,” the bank added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to release the third-quarter growth numbers at the end of the month.

The economy grew by 5.3 percent in the first half, significantly lower than target growth of 7 percent to 8 percent.

In an allied development in Hong Kong, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), a company owning businesses as diverse as power and water distribution, to toll roads and hospitals, said it will spend close to P500 billion between now and five years hence. Such expense, however, depends on government approval of its tariff rate adjustment proposal.

“The critical component is, are we getting our tariff increases or not? Can we rely on it? Because the single biggest component of financing these projects is the cash that they generate from year to year,” according to David Nicol.

Under Nicol’s presentation previously showed to the MPIC board, the company will invest P170 billion in power, P106 billion in water, P65 billion in roads, P44 billion in rail and P16 billion hospital.

Securing the projected cashflow of existing projects is then necessary in order to ensure the continued financing of Metro Pacific’s various future projects, Nicol said.

While the company’s operations may be in key infrastructures, these are also in highly regulated arenas, such as the elevated rail, toll roads as the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the Maynilad Water Services Inc., theconcessionaireofMetroManila’swestzone.

“We’re a bit hung up at the moment on water and on roads, and indeed on light rail. There is a huge amount of pressure.

If that cash flow from operations is not as it should be, what will happen? And we don’t have the infinite ability to fund all of those,” he said.

“So at some point in time if these tariff matters aren’t resolved, it’s going to impact on service quality. We don’t want that to happen and we’re striving to make sure that it does not happen. But eventually, you just see the sheer mathematics of it, you ran out of cash to fund all of these investments. And these are investments that are desperately needed. I don’t think anyone would suggest we don’t need to continue to upgrade the power, water or rail infrastructure in the country,” Nicol said.

Maynilad ’s tariff rate adjustment proposal had been brought before an arbitration tribunal in Singapore and the

EASTERLIES AFFECTING EASTERN SECTION OF THE COUNTRY (NOVEMBER 15, 5:00 AM)

case will finally be heared by next year.

Meanwhile, on toll roads, Ramoncito Fernandez, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

(MPTC) president, said the mediation period for the firm’s Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) tariff issue expires at the closing of office hours on Friday where pending the resolution of the case, gives the company the right to elevate the issue to the New York arbitration court.

Fernandez said the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), two weeks ago, has asked the company for an extension of the conciliation period but it asked MPTC to drop the prescribed 90-day conciliation period for another pending tariff adjustment issue involving the Nlex as a concession.

The TRB should have agreed on Friday to the demand for the Cavitex conciliation period extended.

Under the agreement, the Cavitex should have a tariff adjustment every three years while the Nlex tariff is adjusted every two years, with the case dating back to 2012.

“The aggregate increases in Cavitex ranges from 16 in R1 extension and close to 21 percent in R1. While in Nlex, we are already overdue with a 15-percent tariff increase. We quantify the losses since the start, it is P2.7 billion for Nlex and about P800 million for Cavitex,” Fernandez said.

Nicol said given the existing cashflow threats, the company is considering to sell portions of interest in some of its businesses, particularly toll roads, the hospital and Maynilad.

“We need to sell a little bit of those to generate cash to keep this machine going to keep on funding our project,” he said.

He said that these may include water, hospitals and toll businesses, proceeds of which will also be used for its capital expenditures.

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Aquino. . .

Continued from A1

“They are trying to align their business initiatives with the economic programs of their countries to ensure that no one is left behind,” he added.

Saying this is the essence of the concept of “inclusive growth and inclusive economies” being espoused by Mr. Aquino, Coloma confirmed that right from the start, the host President will engage not just the Leaders of Economies, but also the CEOs of Apec member-economies. Coloma added that the Philippine hosting of this year’s Apec Forum is expected bring more economic benefits to the country and firm up its image as a “favored tourism and investment destination.”

He said even the theme of this year Apec meeting, “Building Inclusive Economy is Building a Better World,” will provide an opportunity impart the Philippine experience in setting up an inclusive economy.

Before the dialogue with Apec CEOs, Coloma said President Aquino will host a state visit by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet at Malacañang Palace, where the two leaders will sit down for bilateral talks. “Magkakaroon ng bilateral meeting na hahantong sa mga kasunduan,” Coloma said, adding that he still has no details on the agreements.

After the signing of agreements, Mr. Aquino will host a state luncheon in honor of the visiting president of Chile.

Mr. Aquino will also meet Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on Monday for bilateral discussions to enhance cooperation in disaster management and trade and investment. “[Our presidents] will be meeting, and that’s an expression of interest of both countries. We will talk about improving bilateral relations. I think the conditions have been created to become closer on a regional level and a bilateral level,” Peruvian Ambassador to the Philippines Felix Denegri told reporters at the sidelines of the Apec High-Level Dialogue on Inclusive Business.

As part of the newly formed regional grouping Pacific-Alliance, Denegri said Peru is increasingly interested in Southeast Asia as it embarks on opening up their economies to other markets aside from Japan and China.

Pacific Alliance is a four-country trading bloc composed of Colombia, Chile, Peru and Mexico. Denegri said Peru is keen on having discussions on disaster management and trade and investment. In May the Department of Trade and Industry said the Philippines is keen on forging bilateral free-trade agreements with Mexico, Canada, Peru and Chile—all signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Meanwhile, Trade Assistant Secretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo unveiled on Sunday the Apec Trade Repository Tool initiated by the Philippines.

Rodolfo said the tool will facilitate cross-border trade for micro, small and medium enterprises.

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Monday, November 16, 2015 A3

Government assures tight security as agencies, courts brace for Summit of 18 world leaders, 3 reps

Activists rap Aquino for using Paris attacks to block anti-Apec protests

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RGANIZERS of counterconferences and protests against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit this week have accused President Aquino of using the Paris terror attacks to prevent them from airing their grievances.

“We are one with the world in condemning the terrorist attacks in Paris and in other places where innocent civilians are being targeted. However, we believe that the prevention of such atrocities should not be at the expense of the rights of people to assemble and air their legitimate grievances,” former Party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna said.

Casiño spoke on behalf of #PHFightAPEC of the People’s Campaign Against Apec and Imperialist Globalization.

He added that the pronouncement of Philippine National Police (PNP) officials that they will be heightening their security measures in the wake of the seven nearly simultaneous attacks in Paris where 129 people were killed “should not lead to a ban on protests near or around the venue of the Apec Summit.”

Casiño condemned the virtual blockade of the Baclaran Church by the PNP, arguing that it prevents the hundreds of lumads from Mindanao who have set up camp at the church compound from marching to air their grievances against the impact of mining operations encouraged by Apec on their communities.

The 700 lumads are in Manila as part of the Manilakbayan ng Mindanao 2015 caravan that raised the issues of militarization and plunder of their communities arising from Apec-related policies on mining and agricultural plantations.

Casiño said that on Saturday, the PNP also prevented a delegation from Southern Tagalog from reaching Manila to participate in various anti-Apec Summit activities.

“President Aquino and the PNP should not worry. The only threat that our groups pose to Apec and its leaders is the threat of embarrassment for exposing the truth about the disastrous impact of Apec’s imperialist globalization,” Casiño said.

Ploy

PARTY-LIST Rep. Neri J. Colmenares of Bayan Muna, for his part, also urged France and other European nations not to use the attacks in Paris as “a ploy to impose stern measures on refugees streaming into Europe.”

Colmenares, who is running for a Senate seat next year, condemned the Paris attacks and demanded justice for the victims.

Colmenares said the attacks were an “affront to innocent civilians.” “It is right to be outraged by these attacks, but we should also be vigilant that it should not be used against the refugees now in Europe and to suppress civil liberties,” he added. “I also hope that the attacks would not be used by the Aquino administration to further harass the protest actions against the Apec Summit.”

‘Under control’

THE state-operated Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported on Sunday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assured that the security measures for the Apec Leaders’ Meeting is “under control” in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Foreign Affairs Spokesman Charles C. Jose said there is nothing to worry about, and that no delegation has expressed concern about the security measures being undertaken for the leaders’ meeting, according to the PNA report.

“Of course, our security officials are monitoring and assessing the situation and we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of all delegates in the Aelm [Apec Leaders’ Meeting], especially the economic leaders,” he added.

The security agencies would have to assess the situation and beef up security measures as needed.

“Hopefully, by the time of the economic leaders’ meeting in Manila next week, we are sincerely hoping that the situation in Paris, in particular, have turned to normal,” Jose said.

The Philippines is expecting some 17 leaders and three representatives after Russia and Indonesia confirmed the nonattendance of their presidents, Vladimir Putin and Joko Widodo, respectively, the PNA report added.

Chinese Taipei will also send a representative in place of President Ma Ying-jeou.

Paris was rocked by explosions and gunshots on Saturday morning (Manila time) that left more than 150 people dead and a score of wounded bodies.

The French government has declared a national state of emergency and tightened borders to close down on the perpetrators of the attack. These are the deadliest attacks in Europe since the 2004 Madrid bombings.

Marcos confident

SEN. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also shares the DFA’s confidence on the security procedures for the Apec Summit. Marcos said his sources in the PNP has assured him they have done everything possible to secure the safety of the delegates to the summit.

Maybe after the Paris incident, all the buildings and Apec venues would be inspected again so that their preparation would be complete, Marcos said in Filipino. “They really had to find out if there are threats,” he added in a radio interview on Saturday.

So far, Marcos said there is no intelligence report indicating any serious threat to the delegates. He added that the PNP should not be complacent and revisit security preparations to ensure no untoward incident would happen during the summit.

“What is reassuring is that the Philippine National Police does not shoulder the entire burden of ensuring the security of the Apec delegates alone, the respective security details of the visiting heads of states are working with the PNP and exchanging information to

ensure all the security measures are in place for the smooth conduct of the Apec Summit here in Manila.”

Airport security

EXECUTIVES at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) announced over the weekend they increased security measures to ensure the safety of delegates to the summit.

The Special Operations Unit (SOU), the elite force of

the PNP-Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup), has been deployed in the four passenger terminals of Naia, aside from the regular aviation police personnel, according to Naia officials. K9 units were fielded to patrol the airport perimeters, particularly the areas where the world leaders airplane would be parked and those near the airport’s perimeter fence, according to Avsegroup Director Supt.

Pablo Francisco Balagtas.

Balagtas added that he had doubled his force to make sure that they are 100-percent ready for the summit.

Among the agencies that attended were from the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Quarantine, Manila International Airport Authority, National Bureau of Investigation, the Presidential Security Group and the commercial air carriers. Marvyn N. Benaning, Recto Mercene, Joel R. San Juan with PNA

Economy

A4 Monday, November 16, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

PHL labor-access deal with EU trade bloc seen clinched in Q1

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OVERNMENT executives expect the Philippines’s trade deals with the European Free Trade Area (Efta) group of countries clinched early next year.

The optimism was expressed by Trade Assistant Secretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, in a chance interview on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Trade Repository launching ceremonies.

Rodolfo said the Philippine government is optimistic on concluding negotiations on a freetrade agreement (FTA) with the four-country bloc. The Efta bloc is composed of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

He also cited increased labor access as a benefit the Philippines may reap from the deals.

“Kaya ng first quarter of 2016 ’yan. [We can accomplish that in the first quarter of next year],” Rodolfo told reporters. According to him, Philippine officials and Efta executives will “be having the next round of negotiations this month.”

Rodolfo added that Undersecretary for Industry Development

and Trade Policy Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. is set to go to Geneva on November 24 to engage in the fourth, and possibly last, round of negotiations. He said Cristobal would stay in the European country until November 27.

The Philippines has been able to move forward quickly with the EftaPhilippines FTA due to the complementary economies of the two parties, according to Rodolfo.

This means that greater access to each other’s markets will not significantly disadvantage or displace the local industries of each economy, he claimed.

In terms of areas to be negotiated, Rodolfo said the Efta bloc appears to be receptive to the interest of the Philippines to push for more labor access, especially since labor costs in

Europe are considerably higher.

The Department of Trade and Industry official earlier noted that the FTA can lead to more employment opportunities for Filipinos in Efta industries that local micro, small and medium enterprises would like to enter into.

“Ang parang nakikita nating model [The model we’re eyeing] is not laborers seeking employment as individuals, but through companies [that would] either invest [here] or Filipino companies forming joint ventures [with the Efta firms],” Rodolfo said in a previous interview.

Specifically, Rodolfo said the Efta bloc is open to the access of workers via their companies in the services industry, specifically in information technology and business-process management. Catherine N. Pillas

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Paperless trade to advance Asia Pacific trade advantage–Unescap

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By Cai U. Ordinario

APERLESS transactions and the electronic exchange of data will advance the region’s trade-facilitation measures, according to the economic unit of the United Nations.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) said paperless trade will help strengthen the region’s competitive advantage. “The Asia-Pacific region has yet to take full advantage of the potential gains associated with electronic exchange of data and documents between stakeholders along the international supply chain,” it said.

The Unescap said ongoing regional and global developments provide further opportunities for the countries in the Asia-Pacific region to access technical assistance and capacity-building in order to advance their trade-facilitation efforts.

The UN body said capacity-building support available in relation to World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA) implementation in which developing countries stand to benefit.

Asia-Pacific economies, Unescap said, need to undertake comprehensive and pragmatic national trade-facilitation reform programs meant to “achieve trade-cost reductions as quickly and

as efficiently as possible.”

Unescap said these programs should not be limited to customs facilitation or simplification, or exchange of documents. “[These] should instead be aimed at identifying and addressing procedural bottlenecks along the entire international supply chain, including through improvements in transport, logistics, payment and other trade-related infrastructure and services,” it added.

In 2014 the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the country’s total export earnings reached $62.1 billion, while the final import bill reached $65.4 billion.

For the January-to-December 2014 period, the resulting trade balance in goods amounted to a deficit of $3.3 billion.

This year, PSA data showed that the country’s export earnings continued to decline. It posted a 6.9-percent drop in the January-toSeptember period.

Total export revenues in the nine months of the year reached $43.75 billion, lower than the $46.98 billion posted in 2014.

In August the country’s combined imports amounted to $43.651 billion, a 1.5-percent increase compared with $43.02 billion in the same period of last year.

Overfocusing on PPP delays infrastructure devt—expert

Congress’s research unit warns of El Niño impact

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

T

HE think tank of the House of Representatives said concerted efforts among government agencies is needed as the El Niño certainly has serious impact not only on economic growth, but more on the poverty reduction, crops, employment, prices of food commodities, water and energy supply, and health.

“All concerned must work together fast in ensuring that all programs and projects of the government in alleviating the impact of El Niño is strictly implemented.

The judicious use of funds must, likewise, be ensured,” Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) Notes said.

As of last month, the CPBRD said the National Economic and Development Authority is still finalizing the multiagency action plan on El Niño.

The CPBRD said El Niño is expected to strengthen toward the year-end and may last until the first semester of 2016.

Citing the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the CPBRD said 58 percent of the country will likely experience drought by end-December of this year and 80 percent by end-February of next year.

“A number of the effects of El Niño are becoming more visible.

These include the weakening in the harvests of major crops such as palay and corn, jobs losses in the agriculture sector and declining water level in the country’s major dams. All these will significantly affect the country’s poverty-reduction efforts. [Also] other possible effects include price increases of basic commodities, outbreak of dengue and risks to power supply,” the CPBRD said.

Moreover, the research body said the severity of the El Niño phenomenon had the Department of Agriculture (DA) requesting for P2.1-billion supplemental budget for El Niño mitigation, which will be used mainly for production support and water management.

“Lower output and jobs losses in the agriculture sector combined with the expected spike in the prices of basic commodities, particularly if the stable supply of basic commodities were not properly managed, will significantly affect the poor which are

REGIDOR: “I think the government is too engrossed with PPP despite availability of funds or good prospects for international assistance for major railway infrastructure projects.”

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

A

This November 13 photo shows former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor delivering her opening remarks during a forum, titled “Is Climate Justice a Human Right?”, at the Asian Institute of Management center in Makati City. A research unit of the Lower House of Representatives cited the impact of a warming Earth on the country’s economy would be harsher on productive sectors. Roy Domingo

mostly located in the rural areas and work as farmers,” and fishermen, according to the CPBRD said.

“Achieving food supply stability requires not only timely importation of food supply but also ensuring that these are the properly distributed,” it added.

The CPBRD, quoting the DA, cites the effect of El Niño such as crop yields are usually lower than historic average; crops are more susceptible to diseases and bacterial diseases present higher risk for some crops; planting and harvesting operations may be delayed and increase in surface temperature.

“The impact of the onset of El Niño can already be seen in the second-quarter performance of the economy. Gross value-added in the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing sector contracted by 0.5 percent in the second quarter from 3.4-percent growth in the same period last year. The performance of major crops such as palay [-2.8 percent], corn [-15.7 percent] and other crops [-6 percent], which together account for 34.3 percent of total agriculture value-added, declined during the period,” it said.

Employment

THE CPBRD said the labor sector also gives an indication of the initial impact of the current El Niño.

It said the July 2015 Labor Force Survey shows that while employment rate marginally improved to 93.5 percent from 93.3 percent in July 2014, the number of employed persons declined by 108,000, or

by 0.3 percent, amid lower labor force participation rate during the period.

By sector, the research body said that the decline in the number of employed can be mainly attributed to the 7.6-percent decline in agricultural employment, equivalent to 877,000 jobs: 772,000 from agriculture, hunting and fishery and 105,000 in fishing.

“The increase in employment in the services and industry of 521,000 and 247,000, respectively, was not enough to offset the substantial jobs loss in agriculture,” the CPBRD said.

Prices

THE CPBRD, meanwhile, said that the prices of food commodities are also expected to increase with the threat to food supply that comes with El Niño.

“Food items comprise a substantial portion of the consumer price index basket at 36.3 percent of which bread and cereals, e.g., rice and corn, account for 12.44 percent.

If the decline in food supply will not be augmented with timely importation of basic commodities, price pressures could build up,” it said. “ T he El Niño phenomenon threatens food-supply stability and presents upside risk to inflation rate for the rest of 2015 and in 2016,” the body added.

While not all regions will be directly affected by El Niño, the CPBRD said the impact on prices will affect all consumers.

“Poor households will be most

affected by food-price increases.

The average share of food from the total household expenditures of the country in 2012 is 42.8 percent based on Family Income and Expenditure Survey data,” it said.

The CPBRD added that, “The share of food expenditures for poor households is most likely higher compared to nonpoor households. Thus, when the prices of food increases, the impact on the poor households is greater compared to nonpoor households.”

Water, power supply

THE lower chamber’s think tank said the rising temperature that comes with El Niño causes demand for water and electricity to increase.

“As there is less rainfall during El Niño, water supply is also threatened. The decline in water allocation resulted in water-pressure reduction, change in scheduling and even interruption to consumers,” the CPBRD said.

It added that energy output from hydropower plants is at risk with the worsening of the El Niño toward the end of the year until the first quarter of 2016. ”Based on the Department of Energy [DOE] data, hydropower is the second largest source of installed generating capacity in the country accounting for 19.7 percent of the total in 2014. Mindanao will be most affected with the impact of El Niño on energy as the region is highly dependent on hydroelectric power plants,” it said.

However, the CPBRD said the

DOE already prepared an action plan to mitigate the impact of El Niño in Mindanao.

Among the strategies plans outlined are the intensified energy efficiency and conservation campaigns; implementation of the Interruptible Load Program which seeks to tap the self-generating facilities of large consumers to shave off peak demand; ensuring minimal forced outages of power plants; managing the maintenance schedules of power plants, transmission and distribution facilities; deployment of modular generator sets; and optimization of the dispatch protocol for power plants with hydropower plants serving as peaking requirement.

Health risks

THE Department of Health (DOH), on the other hand, has reported high dengue incidence starting the second semester of 2015 and the worsening of El Niño will contribute more to higher cases of dengue, the CPBRD said.

“Possible breeding sites for dengue-carrying mosquitoes increase as people store water due to water rationing,” the CPBRD said.

It added that the DOH also issued an advisory on other health effects of El Niño as follows: diseases related to water scarcity or shortage, such as diarrhea and skin diseases; red tide blooms: paralytic shellfish poisoning; and disorders associated with high temperatures: heat cramps, heat exhaustion, exertional heat injury and heat stroke.

TR ANSPORTATION expert said the government has the capacity to fund the much needed transportation infrastructure—particularly rail—but is “too engrossed” with partnering with the private sector that it takes quite a bit of time before a facility is completely built.

While the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program of the Aquino administration is a welcome idea, Jose Regin F. Regidor said the government must be more aggressive in developing infrastructure on its own to ease the congestion problems in major cities and provinces in the Philippines.

“I think the government is too engrossed with PPP despite availability of funds or good prospects for international assistance for major railway infrastructure projects,” he said. “PPP is okay, but the government should also be aggressive and take the lead, the initiative in building necessary infrastructure for it to show the way to private sector considering that most public transport infrastructure projects are urgently needed now.”

Data from the PPP Center reveals around 12 PPP projects worth P284.98 billion are currently being implemented.

These include 10 projects worth P189.02 billion awarded to private firms and two other projects worth P95.96 billion that are also for implementation.

The main pipeline, or the list of projects that have not been awarded, includes 40 projects worth P811.71 billion.

This includes 14 projects worth P518.28 billion that are under procurement and 12 projects worth at least P67.45 billion, with ongoing studies and procurement of consultants for preinvestment studies.

The list also includes two projects worth P24.79 billion that are for rollout or for bidding.

According to the Department of Budget and Management, infrastructure spending for 2015 should be around 4 percent of the GDP and the allocated infrastructure spending for 2016 should be at 5 percent of GDP.

Tourism&Entert

A6 Monday, November 16, 2015 • Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

GLAN GLAM

C

LUBI-LUBI street dancing

BusinessMirror

RUIZ ancestral house in Glan

ULTURE and nature took center stage as the gorgeous town of Glan recently celebrated its 101st founding anniversary and 16th Lubi-Lubi Festival. Situated on the easternmost coast of Sarangani, the town is regarded as the province’s tourist capital with its mile-long powdery Gumasa Beach and heritage village because of its cluster of American colonialera houses.

HACIENDA Don Juan ancestral house

LUBI-LUBI festival

The locus of the festival is the street-dance parade and competition with revelers dressed in colorful costumes made out of lubi (coconut). Almost 90 percent of Glan’s

B’LAAN and Moro dancers

total land area is planted with the tree, making the town the top producer of coconut and derivatives in the Soccsksargen Region.

Street presentations portrayed

old religious and animistic belief of the townsfolk about the tree of life, as well as traditional dances from Moro and lumad tribes.

Municipal Mayor James Yap Jr. said the festivity put to the fore strides made by the town in the fields of tourism promotion, agriculture, heritage preservation and good governance.

Glan is a melting pot of Maguinadaon, Taosug, B’laan and T’boli indigenous tribes, who live in peaceful coexistence. It also become home to Indonesian migrants from North Sulawesi province, who have made the town their adoptive home for generations.

A hamlet during the American period Empire Province of Cotabato, Glan, traces its roots to October 8, 1914, when the pioneering batch of Colony 9, composed of the 16 families led by colony superintendent

ANCESTRAL house in Glan

Tranquilino Ruiz, from Cebu, landed to populate the area.

The migration is part of the creation

GUMASA Beach

of Agricultural Colonies by virtue of Philippine Commission Acts 2254 and 2280 enacted in 1913 during

the administration of Governor General Francis Harrison.

Yap said that because of its checkered history, the laid-back town has been considered the heritage village of the province and Soccsksargen Region evident in the period of ancestral homes, which serve as living museums.

Conservation policies are being formulated by the provincial and municipal governments and homeowners for the preservation of these art deco-inspired houses, which have withstood the ravages of time.

He added that the town has also become one of southern Mindanao’s tourist hot spots because of Gumasa Beach, which is regarded as one of the best in Mindanao with its fine sand coves and crystalline water.

It broke into the national scene when it posted a record 120,000 attendance in the three-day Sarangani Bay Festival in May, which featured sports and fitness events, beach-themed activities and coastal cleanups.

He said the award-winning event established new records and set a benchmark on how beach partying should be environmentally sustainable. As a result, the town is recognized by the Department of Tourism Region 12 as a prime mover in the promotion of green tourism in Soccsksargen.

A new stomping ground in the town, which masterfully blends culture and nature, is the newly opened Hacienda Don Juan, a private farm ranch with a beachfront ancestral house-museum as centerpiece.

Glan officially became a municipality on July 25, 1949, when President Quirino issued Executive Order 250 creating the town.

Its name is believed to have originated from the Maguindanaon word magalang, meaning sharp, referring to the weapons used in hunting.

tainment

tourism@businessmirror.com.ph • Monday, November 16, 2015 A7

BORACAY IS TOP TRAVEL

DESTINATION FOR CHRISTMAS ‘T

IS the season for holiday gatherings and forced family fun. While some cherish the family time the holidays bring, others would much rather steer clear and opt for a romantic getaway. MissTravel.com releases the Top Holiday Hookie Destinations, the places where travelers are going to escape loved ones this holiday season.

The holidays are a time of celebration, and while reuniting with family can bring an enormous sense of comfort, it also comes with the stress of awkward encounters and navigating a barrage of personal questions. According to a new study, many are opting for romantic getaways, instead of dealing with the stress and anxiety brought on by these situations.

Travel-dating site, MissTravel. com, is releasing the list of destinations most requested by its members this holiday season.

According to the site 21,543 holiday trips have been planned by

its members during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.

A variety of destinations dominate this year’s lis t of H o li day H o o k i e D es tinati o ns . W ith sh o r t tr ave l tim es f ro m m os t Am e r ic an citi es , an d ch eap e r than ave r a g e h ote l r ates , Las Vegas is an easy and cheap fourday getaway for most Americans hoping to skip Thanksgiving dinner. The Philippines is famous for its festive celebration of Christmas, making Boracay Island a traveler favorite. Dubai has become famous as the playground for the rich and famous, ringing in the New Year is a great excuse to splurge on a luxurious getaway to this Middle Eastern city.

Top Thanksgiving hookie destinations n 6,348 trips planned between November 26 and 29 1. Las Vegas, Nevada-863 2. Miami, Florida-534 3. New York, New York–302

Top December hookie destinations

n 6,036 trips planned between December 20 and 27 1. Boracay Island, Philippines-689 2. New York, New York-488 3. Las Vegas, Nevada-187 n 9,159 trips planned between December 28 and January 3 1. Dubai, United Arab Emirates-948 2. Cancun, Mexico-743 3. Las Vegas, NV-572

“Family get-togethers can be a source of anxiety for many people, especially those who have a hard time answering questions about their personal lives,” says Brandon Wade, founder and chief executive of MissTravel.com. “Most Americans only get two weeks of paid time off.

Escaping to a romantic destination may be a better option for those who may not want to spend their precious vacation time dealing with these high stress situations.”

‘IT’S ALL HERE, IT’S SO NEAR’

E

Z Map Batangas, the most comprehensive and definitive tourist map, will help you explore the hidden natural wonders of the province.

The map features detailed street maps of the cities of Batangas, Lipa and Tanauan, as well as blow-up maps of tourist areas, such as Anilao, Mabini dive

sites, Taal Lake, and the beach areas of Laiya and Nasugbu.

Produced by leading mapmaker United Tourist Promotions, EZ Map Batangas contains the road network, tourist attractions, tourism-related establishments, vital landmarks, government offices, gasoline stations, and other important

tourist information.

Recognized by the Department of Tourism as a partner in the promotion of domestic tourism, EZ Maps is an awardee of the Most Inspiring Tourism Entrepreneur by the Presidential Center of Entrepreneurship and the Australia-based International Map Industry Association.

OurTime

A8

Monday, November 16, 2015 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

PCSO gives funds to group homes for the elderly

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By Efleda P. Campos

HE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) was created in 1934 as the government institution mandated to provide funds for health programs and other charities to serve the disadvantaged sectors of Philippine society. Among these disadvantaged sectors are the nation’s elderly.

This year the PCSO donated a total of P3.63 million to five institutions providing care for the elderly, or 18.28 percent of the P19.86 million it allotted for its institutional partners.

The five facilities are the Kadiwa sa Pagpapari Foundation based in Cubao, Quezon City, which received P1.8 million; Tahanang Mapagpala ng Immaculada in Bulacan, P162,000; the Santa Ana-San Joaquin Bahay Ampunan in Tanauan, Batangas, P200,000; Golden Acres Home for the Elderly in Tanay, Rizal, P1.2 million; and the Por Cristo Foundation in Butuan City, P270,750.

“We require stringent guidelines to foundations and institutions providing care for the elderly in group homes,” PCSO Vice Chairman and General Manager Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II said. “Before they are given funding for their operations, they have to submit documentary requirements justifying the amount they are seeking.”

“At the end of the year, they also

need to submit documents detailing how the amount PCSO gave them has been disbursed. The Commission on Audit helps us in this,” he said.

If the institution or foundation reapplies for a grant, it has to clear the previous year’s disbursement before it is given additional funding.

The PCSO’s mandate requires it to provide regular quarterly and monthly contributions to charitable institutions engaged in giving welfare services to children and youth who are either abandoned or exploited, the elderly, and the physically and mentally handicapped, among others.

Its programs include endowment fund/quality health-care program, individual medical assistance program, community outreach program, ambulance donation program, national calamity and disaster program, and hospital renovation and improvement of health-care facilities. It also makes mandatory contributions

to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter and Urban Development Financing Program, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Centennial Commission, Philippine Sports Commission and the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC).

Its most visible charities are the ambulances it donates to each municipality and city nationwide; the medical assistance, including surgeries, medicine and hospital care, given to the neediest members of the citizenry, especially children; and checks donated to areas devastated by natural and man-caused calamities, including typhoons, earthquakes and fires.

The PCSO’s funds come from the sweepstakes draws and lotto sales it holds several times a week.

Its mandate describes the PCSO as “the principal government agency for raising and providing funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character.”

According to its mandate, the PCSO “holds and conducts charity sweepstakes, races and lotteries, and engages in health- and welfarerelated investments, projects and activities to provide for permanent and continuing sources of funds for its programs. It also undertakes other activities to enhance and expand such fund-generating operations, as well as strengthen the agency’s fundmanagement capabilities.”

Rojas is himself hailed as a be-

Officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) led by its Vice Chairman and General Manager Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II (center) on November 11 turn over the first of two tranches, a check of P20 million to Sinforoso Pagunsan (second from left), general manager of the National Housing Authority, as financial assistance to the 400 families in the municipality of Bato, Camarines Sur, devastated by Typhoon Juaning in July 2011. With them are (from left) PCSO Director Francisco Joaquin III; Rubin Magno, Charity Assistance Department manager; and Dindo Jose de Viterbo, Special Projects Division. JOSEPH MUEGO

nevolent administrator who has taken it upon himself to turn over checks and ambulance donations to recipient local government units, as well as individual beneficiaries who apply for medical assistance, including surgeries, medicine, prothetics, hospitalization and other forms of medical assistance.

Among mandatory contributions it has to make annually are: six sweepstakes draws as contribution to the Philippine Sports Commission program Republic Act [RA] 6487; through RA 7722, 1 percent of lotto gross sales to the CHED; RA 7660, documentary stamp tax, 10 percent of the gross sales; RA 7835, 10 percent of Charity Fund to the Comprehensive and Integrated

Shelter and Urban Development Financing Program (National Shelter Program); RA 8042 (Sections 20 and 77 of the Omnibus Rules) provides for the appropriation of P10 million for the Shared Government Information System on Migration under the Department of Foreign Affairs; RA 8042 Article IX Section 37, known as the Migrant Workers Act of 1995, P150 million shall be funded from the proceeds of lotto draws taken from the Charity Fund for the Congressional Migrant Workers Scholarship Fund; RA 8175, 10 percent of net income for the Crop Insurance Program; RA 8313, P100 million from lotto agents for the upgrading of the QMMC; RA 8371, P50-million contribution to

the NCIP for the Ancestral Domain Fund; RA 8492, P250 million from the annual net earnings of the lotto for the Museum Endowment Fund; RA 9165, 10-percent share on forfeited prizes as special account in the general fund of the Dangerous Drugs Board; Executive Order (EO) 201, P1billion standby fund for the financial requirement for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome awareness and health-promotion campaign; EO 218, P1-billion standby fund for the operations and programs of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency; EO 280, P250-million standby fund for the financial requirements of the avian influenza or bird-flu viruses; and EO 357, 5-percent lotto share of local government units from the Charity Fund.

North Carolina county poverty: Old story, new faces

By Nancy McLaughlin

News & Record, Greensboro, NC Tribune News Service

G

SELLING FLOWERS WITH ‘LOLA’ A grandmother and her two granddaughters await customers in their flower stall in Burnham Park in Baguio

City.

MAU VICTA

old-age center to replace ‘sin’ park in bahrain

By Mohammed Al A'Ali Gulf Daily News TNS

M

ANAMA, Bahrain—A park allegedly plagued by prostitution for a decade will be knocked down and replaced by Bahrain’s biggest elderly care facility.

The BD550,000 center will be built on land currently occupied by the Omar Al Khayam Public Park, Hoora, and cater to around 8,000 elderly men and women across Manama. It will offer courses such as computing, graphic design and marketing for the country’s older citizens.

Funding for the center was pledged by a generous donor in 2010, but the project has been on hold for the past five years. MP Adel Al Asoomi, who has been campaigning for the new center, blamed red tape for hold-ups—citing delays in transferring deeds from the Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning

Affairs Ministry to the Labor and Social Development Ministry. However, the Capital Trustees Board has now approved the project based on a recommendation by the General Directorate for Urban Planning.

“There is no need for bulk public parks in Hoora or Gudaibiya with around six already in existence to serve residents,” Board Chairman Mohammed Al Khozaie said. “Omar Al Khayam can’t be called a public park anyway as those using it for the past decade are just Ethiopian prostitutes who gather there for promotional purposes, besides a burger shop where they sit to have food. A public park should have proper facilities for families and should be directed toward residents. I have visited the place personally and it requires a lot of money for rehabilitation work, besides a large budget for services.”

“That’s why I believe it would be useless to continue having it regis-

tered as a public park, while there is a generous donor found by area MP Al Asoomi to fund Bahrain’s biggest parent care center,” he said.

Al Khozaie revealed one reason for the delays was a decision by the Capital Trustees Board services and public utilities committee to block the transfer of the park deeds to the Labor and Social Development Ministry earlier this year.

“After reopening the issue, the same committee decided to change its recommendation after another visit to the location based on my instructions,” he said. “The first rejection was based on the idea that the board had already approved a majlis in the Hoora Public Park to serve residents during festivals and gatherings, also under the Labor and Social Development Ministry.”

Al Asoomi said the new elderlycare home was required urgently and said it would transform the lives of those it serves.

REENSBORO—The elderly woman, who worked all her life but is now on a fixed income, was explaining that she had tried going without her medicine so she could eat.

“That wasn’t wise,” the diabetic told Tyra Clymer, the emergency assistance program director at Greensboro Urban Ministry, after asking for a few bags of food on Thursday.

Similar stories were circulating around the agency’s dining hall tables at the Potter’s House community kitchen, which feeds as many as 600 people daily for lunch. And across the desk to intake workers in offices going over family income with those there for help to keep the power on. And just outside the building, where this woman and others finish hours-long waits to get a few bags of groceries.

Demand for services at Urban Ministry is already up as much as

20 percent to 50 percent acrossthe-board. There are waiting lists at the Pathways Center, which houses homeless families, and Partnership Village, for the formerly homeless.

Observers only expect it to get worse next year when adults without children or a disability will be moved off public assistance after a three-month time limit. NC Policy Watch notes that with state House Bill 318, the average income of the people who will lose their food assistance is just $2,236 per year.

Chris Fitzsimon, the group’s executive director, said this is in addition to the cuts that have been made to unemployment benefits, childcare subsidies, pre-K for at-risk kids and services in the schools.

“It’s going to fall on a patchwork of nonprofits and individuals to try to pick up the slack,” Fitzsimon said.

Statistics say some of the fastestgrowing poverty in the US is reported in the Greensboro-High Point metro area. Last year polls showed the area as among the hungriest in the country. Those who work with the needy

GINTONG TALA SENIOR CITIZEN 2015 AWARDEES

point to the growing addition of families who have fallen out of the middle class because of layoffs or companies closing or underemployment; of working-class people grappling with loss of benefits or reduced hours or rising prices that give them less to live on; and of those who can’t find work or have given up on looking. Many end up in line at Urban Ministry.

“I see people just like me,” said Valerie Martin, who was at Urban Ministry on Thursday. She has a food service job on a local college campus but stops by once or twice a year for the groceries when her own means won’t stretch.

Ask Clymer about the changing face of poverty, and this is it. It’s that woman in the nursing uniform sitting down on Thursday to a hot meal, perhaps on her lunch break. It’s those children spooning up food across the room.

“I don’t like to see kids hungry, but when they are here, you wonder if it might be the only meal they get,” said Howard Coates, a board member clearing off tables at the Potter’s House, who was once homeless himself.

Twelve outstanding senior citizens selected for their leadership and highly meritorious community-development service include Dr. Bishop Ricardo Sta. Cruz, Spiritual-Religious Service; Lilia G. Yaranon, Government Service, Legislative Department; Thelma B. Manaois, Government Service, Executive Department; Gloria C. Agunos, Government Service, Prosecutor’s Office; Police Inspector (ret.) Roger Mejia, Sports; Generosa G. Carbonell, Humanitarian Service, Civic-Social Service; Jimmy K. Laking, Journalism; PSC Esteban Esco, Military Service; Leonarda O. Capuyan, Tourism and Culture; Reynaldo U. Agranzamendez, Education; Wilbur Tan, Business and Trade; and Dr. Victor S. Tiong, Health and Medicine. The program highlighted the BARP Foundation Octoberfest Golden Year celebration. Also in photo are Narciso Padilla, chairman of the Committee on Special Events; Prof. Federico Balanag, chairman of the Awards Committee; Rep. Nicasio Aliping; former Rep. Bernardo Vergara; Councilors Fred Bagbagen, Lulu Tabanda and Betty Fangasan; and City Social Welfare Officer Danny Urca.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The Regions BusinessMirror

Thousands expected to flock 10th Binulu Festival in Porac, Pampanga B J P

P

OR AC, Pampanga—Local and international tourists are expected to grace this town’s 10th Binulu Festival today. November 16. The Aytas in five villages here are the festival’s center of attractions, highlighting the cooking of food and rice with the use of a variety of bamboo called bulu.

Mayor Carling de la Cr uz, Vice Mayor Dexter David and his sister, former Pampanga Board Member Fritzie David Dizon, will lead the festival to commemorate the 421st founding anniversary of this town and to honor the town’s patron saint, Catherine of Alexandria.

Councilor Mark Anthony Valencia, chairman of the committee on tourism, said the festival “highlights the Aytas’ cooking of rice and viands, such as fish, pork, chicken and other seafoods stuffed and cook together using bamboo.”

The festival will start at around 3

p.m. at the municipal hall, followed by various events at the nearby Jose Songco Lapid Sports Gym. He said the municipality allotted P2 million for the festival, which started in 2005.

“It’s a monthlong celebration.

It’s bigger, and the mayor made sure that all sectors will join and benefit from the festival,” said Valencia, who was joined by Councilor Ronie Mercado in a recent news conference at the Widus Hotel here. There was a jobs fair held on November 10 and special days for the youth, farmers and the elderly.

The Mutya ning Porac coronation night and 4x4 off-road championship w i l l be held on November 21.

There will be a street-dancing on Monday joined by Aytas and locals wearing colorful and traditional costumes. Others expected to join the event are councilors Maynard Lapid, Rudy Enriquez, Hilario Dimalanta and Michelle Bengco, and former Councilor Ludivico Muli.

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Monday, November 16, 2015

A9

WB: CPP-NPA netted ₧1.6-billion revolutionary tax in East Mindanao

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B M T. C | Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—A World Bank senior economist said the communist insurgency collected as much as P1.6 billion in revolutionary tax in eastern Mindanao last year.

The estimate was P300 million higher than an earlier estimate disclosed by the International Alert, a London-based private organization helping foreign and domestic companies operate under socially and environmentally acceptable parameters in their host countries, including the Philippines.

Karl Kendrick Chua, senior country economist at the Philippine office of the World Bank, said the report emanated from the Armed Forces’ Eastern Mindanao Command. He did not elaborate on the taxation scheme of the National Democratic Front and its main revolutionary organizations. But

he said consultations with government agencies like, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Defense, including guerrillas who have surrendered, would indicate that the communist insurgency “could be addressed on the jobs side.”

“Unlike the Moro insurgency, the [communist insurgency] could be addressed on the economics side,” he said.

Businessman Vicente Lao Jr., president of the Mindanao Business Council, raised the insurgency issue during the board meeting of the World Bank, the Philippine Business for Social Progress and the Mindanao Development Authority on Friday at the Seda Hotel here.

He wanted to inquire if the government has again initiated talks with the National Democratic Font

( NDF), saying that the insurgents’ bu r ning const r uct ion equ ip ment and machineries of mining and agriculture companies “may discourage investments and businesses in Mindanao.”

He told the BusinessMirror that he lost P6 million in the g uer r i l la f ive attacks on his highway construction projects outside Davao City.

The Davao City-based online news group, Mindanews, said International Alert has appealed to Malacañang to open up new peace negotiations with the NDF, saying that this may contain “economic and human losses.”

It said that its contact organizations in the Philippines estimated the losses to be not less than P1.3 billion in “revolutionary taxes” to communist rebels last year.

A10 Monday, November 16, 2015 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The one who should be president

T

he world is a crazy place, as we discovered once again this past weekend with yet another mass murder, this time of over 150, in Paris, France.

In the last decade, we have also seen the economic, social and political fabric being slowly torn apart literally around the world. And, yes, “revolutions” always start with a breakdown in the economic system, which then leads to social unrest, now culminating in political upheaval.

During the last year or so, governments have been changed from the status quo in favor of trying something different regardless of political ideology, in places as far apart as Canada and India. “Left-wing” governments are being replaced by the “right-wing,” and vice versa.

Perhaps, more important, in these obviously perilous times, the people are looking for the quality of leadership that they do not find today. Even in those countries where the current leaders of government are successfully holding on to power, that power is under immense challenge.

The Philippines will embark on that same journey in about six months.

Dr. José Veloso Abueva, 16th president of the University of the Philippines, has called the presidency of Ramon Magsaysay “the yardstick by which Filipino presidents should be judged.” Yet, if you read the speeches of Magsaysay, they sound familiar. From his inaugural address: “From this day, the members of my administration, beginning with myself, shall cease to belong to our parties, to our families, even to ourselves. We shall belong only to the people.”

From his First State of the Nation Address: “When our people cast their ballots in the recent election, they voted primarily for a great, sweeping change. They voted to throw out dishonesty, inefficiency and waste. And they voted for a government that would act boldly and effectively, to banish insecurity and fear, poverty and want.”

Magsaysay was able to get the Agricultural Tenancy Act passed in 1954 and the Land Reform Act of 1955. He established the Presidential Assistant on Community Development that helped build roads and other facilities in the rural areas.

But there does not seem to be anything that much different that would warrant Abueva’s assessment of Magsaysay.

However, leadership is not all ‘getting things done,” and that is what distinguishes Ramon Magsaysay. This president also hated corruption and fired corrupt officials with such speed and relentlessness not seen in the Philippines before. But it was much more than that. A story is told about a local postmaster who said the following. “Every time I sit here and look at my stamp drawer, I start to think, well, I don’t have much money and my family needs food, maybe I ought to swipe some. Then I start thinking that that damn Magsaysay might suddenly show up just as my hand is going into the petty cash drawer, and he’d throw me in jail.”

The one who should be the next president is the person who can show the kind of leadership to inspire that type of confidence of presidential performance.

.

Welcome to Apec 2015 Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

A

fter almost 20 years, all roads lead to Manila again for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders’ Meeting.

The last time the Philippines hosted the forum was in 1996. This week we will once more host the leaders, senior officials and businessmen of Apec’s 21 member-economies.

The group was established in 1989, with 12 members: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Canada and the United States.

Over the years, nine more economies joined: Chinese Taipei, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russia and Vietnam.

Apec’s purpose is to have a forum that creates opportunities for dialogue and cooperation for economic growth, trade liberalization, investment opportunities and cooperation among states.

Thus, members are referred to as “economies,” because they are considered to be engaging each other as economic entities.

The group’s goal, according to the Apec primer on its official web site, is to “provide an avenue in creating and maintaining sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the region,” upon a

three-pillar framework, consisting of trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation (ecotech).

What is ecotech? According to the primer, “It prioritizes regional economic integration, addressing inclusive growth, improving and protecting people’s quality of living through sustainable growth, structural reform and human security.”

It is this last pillar that takes into consideration the human factor and seeks solutions for, among other issues, poverty alleviation and reduction to uplift the lives of the marginalized in the region while providing a safe environment that will promote individual and collective development.

This is also the focus of this year’s Apec forum, as embodied in the theme “Building Inclusive Economies, Building A Better World,” with the member-economies exploring ways to promote inclusive growth,

among them the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

The world will be focused on us this week for this event. They will find that the Philippine economy has grown three times larger than when we first hosted the Apec Leaders’ Meeting 19 years ago.

Back then, our GDP was at $82.85 billion. Today our economy stands at $284.6 billion (2014), and is still expanding; its growth rate is one of the healthiest in the region.

This development owes in some measure to the benefits of being an Apec member-economy. According to businessman Guillermo Luz, Philippines alternate member of the Apec Business Advisory Council, some “85 percent of our exports go to the rest of Apec, and around 70 percent of our investments come from Apec.”

Hosting this year’s Apec summit is a positive development for Filipinos, who pride themselves as not to be outdone in hospitality and accommodation of visitors. In our culture, being a good host is one of our most cherished values.

It gives us a chance to showcase the various talents and skills of Filipino designers, artists and craftsmen, letting them and our cultures and traditions shine.

Paul Cabral designed the barong Tagalog for the 21 heads of state and their spouses. The fabric used was a blend of piña and silk, handembroidered with motifs distinct for each person. For example, cher r y (sakura) blossoms for

No city is safe while the war is on in Syria

A

By Leonid Bershidsky | Bloomberg View

lthough many details concerning the attacks that killed more than 120 people in Paris on Friday night remain unknown, Islamic State (IS) appears to have claimed responsibility. France and all other countries taking part in the Syrian conflict should keep in mind Russia’s recent experience with this kind of terrorism: It won’t cease until the epicenter is dealt with.

French President François Hollande said on Saturday morning that the attacks were “an act of war” carried out by a jihadist “army.” That may be true in a sense, even if it turns out that some of the attackers were untrained or French residents or citizens (eyewitnesses who saw attackers fire randomly into the crowd at the Bataclan concert venue said they spoke French without a foreign accent).

Four of the eight known attackers—three in the vicinity of Stade de France, where the French soccer team was playing Germany, and one on Boulevard Voltaire—blew themselves up without causing any major damage. Only one civilian casualty was attributed to these botched attacks.

The other terrorists took more

than 120 lives, simultaneously shooting into the audience at Bataclan and at patrons of a busy cafe.

This synchronization maximized the terror effect not so long after the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in January, which killed 17. This is a pattern all too familiar to Russians.

In 2004 a series of terror attacks shook the country. The second Chechen war between Russian security forces and separatist guerrillas in the Caucasus had been under way for almost five years when a suicide bomber blew up a subway train in Moscow in February of 2004, killing 42 people. In June 10 people were killed by a bomb in a crowded market in the provincial city of Samara; soon afterward, police offices in the Caucasus republic of Ingushetia were attacked with hundreds of

casualties. In August kamikazes blew up two passenger airliners, claiming 90 victims, and another suicide bomber detonated herself near a subway station, taking 10 lives (it would have been more if she had managed to go down into the subway, but she was stopped by a vigilant cop).

Finally, in early September, a Chechen band seized 1,128 hostages at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia; 334 civilians, including 186 children, died during the three-day siege. It ended when special forces stormed the building and killed 31 terrorists.

Russia has seen more terrorist attacks since that horrible year, but never another series on that scale.

In 2005 President Vladimir Putin recruited the son of Chechnya’s former top Muslim cleric, Akhmad Kadyrov—killed in yet another 2004 terror attack—to run Chechnya for him. Ramzan Kadyrov, then 29, was eager to avenge his father’s death, and since the Kadyrovs had once been separatists themselves, he had an excellent intelligence network in the war-torn region.

Kadyrov got from Putin gener-

the first lady of Japan, Sarawak shields for the Malaysian prime minister; and the “yellow ribbon” design for President Aquino.

Kenneth Cobonpue created furniture for the event, including the Apec 2015 economic leaders’ table for their dinner at the Mall of Asia Arena, and matching rattan and metal chairs.

He also designed the tokens for the guests, glass-domed brass sculptures finished with metallic touches and depicting communities of people in island formations, kept in a buri case.

The event is also a good networking opportunity. With the countr y in the limelight this week, we will have chances to pique investor interest in various opportunities in the country that could lead to job generation, infrastructure development and other benefits.

This is also our chance to show the world why the Philippines is an interesting tourist destination, and this could lead to more growth in the tourism sector, one of the sectors considered with the biggest potential for development.

We warmly welcome all the world leaders, officials and visitors here for the Apec summit, and we look forward to a successful forum that will redound to the benefit of all member-economies and their people. n n n Atty. Rojas is vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

ous funding and a dispensation to ignore federal laws, sparing no one he considered an enemy. It took him a little more than three years to end the war and make it pointless for the defeated separatists to plot terror attacks on Russian cities.

The campaign was, to use the word Hollande employed in the context of IS, “pitiless.” The few big attacks that followed were only an echo of a once-powerful campaign.

In 2004 the main war was being fought in the mountains of Chechnya and attacks on Moscow and other peaceful cities were a way for Islamist rebels to instill fear into ordinary Russians, raising the cost of war for the government.

The Paris terrorists may have the same motivation. The main war today is being fought in Syria. IS claimed responsibility on Saturday, as it did for suicide attacks in Beirut on Thursday that killed at least 43 people. It appears increasingly likely that IS may have blown up a Russian plane over Egypt last month, killing 224, in retribution for Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria.

See “Syria,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Syrian rebels give Obama a bad name: ‘Abu Hussein’

By Josh Rogin | Bloomberg View

O

n a recent trip to the Middle East, I spent some time with Syrian opposition activists who are working to spread their antiregime message into Syrian cities through the media. As we traded notes about the current US policy on Syria, it struck me that they all had picked up the habit of referring to US President Barack Obama as “Abu Hussein.”

The nickname, the Syrians explained to me, has two meanings.

Obama’s middle name is Hussein, and it was his grandfather’s first name.

When Syrians first started calling him Abu Hussein in 2008, it was out of affection. (“Abu” technically means “father of” in Arab nomenclature, but is often used more loosely in nicknames.) The moniker grew out of hope that an American president with one Muslim parent might make progress in repairing US relations with the Arab world. Obama himself had the same goal.

But since the Syrian crisis erupted in 2011, those opposed to the Bashar al-Assad regime have resurrected the nickname with quite a different connotation. “Among the Syrian street, Obama is viewed as having capitulated to Iranian and Shia extremist interests in Syria,” said Oubai Shahbandar, a former senior adviser to the Syrian National Coalition. “Hussein is a venerated saint among the Shia Iranians.

Hence Abu Hussein.”

The Obama administration has done a lot to support the Syrian opposition over the last four years. Yet the Syrians I met with feel US policy has fallen far short: It has failed to stop the Assad regime’s murderous assault on Sunni population centers, allowed the dictator to avoid accountability for mass atrocities, left the opposition too weak to topple the regime, and focused too much on seeking accommodation with Russia, and now, Iran. They are also rankled by comments Obama has made belittling their revolution, such as when he said last year that the idea the rebels could succeed has “always been a fantasy.”

Obama isn’t the only foreign leader to get such a nickname. The opposition activists often referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as “Abu Ali,” a reference to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. Allawites, the sect that includes the Assad family, consider Ali to have been their first Imam.

“Syrians are referring to both Obama and Putin with these pejoratives because both are perceived to have enabled Shia extremists in Syria—Obama through his prevarication and Putin through his alliance with Iran,” Shahbandar said.

Those grievances are unlikely to be assuaged by the multilateral negotiations the US is now holding with Russia and Iran: no Syrian opposition representatives have been invited to the talks.

“I want to be clear: the Syrian people will be the validators of this whole effort,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said on Thursday. “This is not about imposing anything on anyone.”

Yet the Syrians now fighting the regime are increasingly seeing the US as the validator of those they are struggling against. Unless that changes, any negotiation between “Abu Hussein” and “Abu Ali” is unlikely to gain their support.

Syria ...

Continued from A10 Now the group also appears to have taken revenge on the French, which extended its air strikes against IS from Iraq to Syria in September. On November 5 France said it was sending an aircraft carrier into the Mediterranean to support the effort. Like the Chechen terrorists in 2004, IS terrorists are trying to make military action against their stronghold costly for the powers involved.

Monday, November 16, 2015 A11

Creating wealth through effective financial planning Cesar A. Mansibang

DEBIT CREDIT

T

he challenge of creating wealth for oneself and responding to it is an individual person’s responsibility. Nobody will give a person a free ride. Opportunities come and go and the individual can respond to them in three ways. He just watches the opportunity dissipate or wonders as it passes him or her by or takes the opportunity and determines how best to capitalize on it.

Taking the opportunity and determining how best to respond is a leadership and an entrepreneurial skill. It involves creativity and perseverance, which are at the heart of achieving personal goals including financial ones. And it begins with personal financial planning.

In current time, personal financial planning is an activity that has become a buzzword in wealth creation that is propagated by finance professionals. Professional financial advisors give advice to affluent individuals and families and provide them opportunities for growth, prosperity and financial independence.

Financial planning defined

Financial planning is the process of managing financial resources to achieve one’s personal goals. Different individuals have different financial goals. Thus, the process of determining one’s objectives is a subjective and personalized process. This exercise is worthwhile irrespective of one’s financial status.

An objective drives the financial plan. It is the North Star to achieve financial success. As a subjective and

personalized process, financial planning can be a simple one or a complex one. But it is best to keep the financial process as simple and straightforward as it can be. Planning is a continuous close loop process that must always consider changes in the aspirations and economic position of the individual or the family concerned.

This plan is not only a blueprint for the achievement of financial goals. It sets forth the strategy that is directed toward achieving the goals and the resources required to achieve them.

1. Know what you want

In setting goals, you must know what you want first. You have to lay out the field—lifestyle, education of your kids, retirement goals, fully owned home, nice vacation and other goals that are important for you. Selecting your “first things” from among these goals should become your priority.

This is the first crucial step to do an effective financial plan.

2. Review your financial capacity and capability

Just like any planning process, the next step is to review your current

financial position and resources including your income and spending, financial commitments, savings and other investment concerns.

It would be well to review your propensity to spend versus your income flows.

By performing a resource review this way, you will be able to determine if your current financial position matches or directs your desired goals. If there is a problem, then you would need to reposition your finances or change financial goals while still early.

3. Evaluate your investment options

In performing the first two steps above, you shall have completely analyzed where you are and where you want to go. Now, you can evaluate your investment options. This next step helps you identify and determine the vehicles that you choose to reach your investment targets.

The selection of investment vehicles or instruments to achieve your desired financial goals is commonly known in financial jargons as portfolio management. In portfolio management, you are actually putting into the financial “basket” a combination of financial instruments whose differences you will leverage in total as to increase your capability to earn (yield), reduce the probability of losses (risk), improve the time horizon that you will be committed (liquidity), and reduce the taxes that you may be exposed to.

Your skill at parlaying these factors in your favor will also depend much on your financial situation, risk appetite and the time frame you have in mind.

You will also be well advised that in creating your financial portfolio,

certain market environmental dynamics should be understood. For example, there is an inverse relationship among these factors. A high yield may naturally mean that you will be taking high risks and committing yourself to a longer time horizon too.

Do not focus on short-term earnings alone but view your investments from a long-term view as well so that you will not sacrifice long-term value for short-term value and vice-versa. On the other hand, too much focus on safety and liquidity may also limit your earnings potential.

By sub-optimizing your possibilities, your portfolio will under perform thereby making it difficult for you to meet your targets.

You can choose a combination of various financial instruments such as savings deposits, life insurance, mutual funds, preneed contracts, money market placements and many other instruments to build up your investment basket. In the end, matching and balance is the key to efficiency of your portfolio.

4. Be committed and passionate

One of the basic success factors of a good plan is the commitment to implement it without equivocation.

Your commitment provides the desire and focus so that you will avoid mistakes in managing your money.

It will balance your short-term needs and your long-term needs—what you enjoy today and what you intend to have in the future.

Do not measure your satisfaction by the temporary gratification of spending what you have earned in the short term. A sound financial plan must be able to afford you sat-

isfaction within the entire process. If you can afford it, give yourself internal gratification to keep you pushing and succeeding. But it should not be at the expense of your long-term financial security especially if you still not have earned enough.

5. Exercise vigilance and regular checkup

When you start experiencing changes in the environment or in your situation, revisit or review your plan.

For instance, you changed career or had another child, it would be good to revisit and refine your goals and your financial strategy. Review your plan regularly, maybe annually or as frequently as you see fit so that you will be able to determine possible options for you to improve your financial opportunities.

Summary

Personal finance is an individual responsibility. It spells the difference between the financially secure and the financially obscure.

It makes you do smarter decisions and diminishes the risks of your financial condition. Ultimately, you will have peace of mind by the stability and soundness of your financial position. By this, you are well within grasp and on track in achieving your dreams.

Dr. Cesar Mansibang is currently the vice president for Operations of the Philippine Institute of Certified Accountants, a member of the Executive Committee and of the Board of Directors. He is professor at the Ateneo Professional Schools and at Holy Angel University.

He also works as chief finance officer of a distribution company, and as management consultant of some companies.

Revisiting Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 or the bouncing checks law

More than three decades after its enactment, let us examine how the law has evolved throughout these years.

When BP 22 was passed, many questioned the statute’s validity visà-vis the constitutional guarantee that no person shall be imprisoned for nonpayment of debt. In upholding the constitutionality of BP 22, the Supreme Court (SC) held that “the gravamen of the offense punished by BP 22 is the act of making and issuing a worthless check or a check that is dishonored upon its presentation for payment. It is not the nonpayment of an obligation which the law punishes. The law is not intended or designed to coerce a debtor to pay his debt. The thrust of the law is to prohibit, under pain of penal sanctions, the making of worthless checks and putting them in circulation. Because of its deleterious effects on the public interest,

the practice is proscribed by the law.

The law punishes the act not as an offense against property, but an offense against public order.” (Lozano v. Martinez, G.R. No. L-63419, 18 December 1986) BP 22 punishes the issuer of the worthless check with imprisonment of not less than 30 days but not more than one year or a fine of not less than but not more than double the amount of the check, which fine shall in no case exceed P200,000 or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. Prior to the amendment of BP Blg. 129

by Republic Act (RA) 7691 (An Act Expanding the Jurisdiction of the Municipal Trial Courts, Municipal Circuit Trial Courts and the Metropolitan Trial Court), the Regional Trial Court may acquire jurisdiction over BP 22 cases depending on the penalties imposed. However, with the subsequent amendment by RA

7691, the Metropolitan Trial Court assumes exclusive jurisdiction over BP 22 cases.

For a time, many were misled that violations of BP 22 have been decriminalized when the SC rendered decisions modifying the penalties imposed by the lower courts by imposing only the penalty of fine.

(Vaca, et al. v. Court of Appeals [G.R. No. 131714, 16 November 1998] and Rosa Lim v. People of the Philippines [G. R. No. 130038, 18 September 2000]) In Administrative Circular 12-2000 issued on November 21, 2000, the SC required all courts and judges concerned to take note of the policy rendered in those two cases, particularly on the matter of the imposition of penalties, making it appear that violation of BP 22 would only merit fines. But the SC was quick to issue another circular, A.M. 00-11-01-SC on February 13, 2001, clarifying that when A.M. 12-2000 was issued, it was not meant to remove imprisonment as an alternative penalty, but to lay down a rule of preference in the application of the penalties provided for in BP 22. In effect, judges are not directed to impose fine only as penalty for BP 22, instead they are directed to exercise their sound discretion, and taking into consideration the peculiar circumstances of each case, to determine whether the imposition of a fine alone would best serve the interests of justice or whether non-imposition of imprisonment would be contrary to the imperatives of justice.

In April 2003 in order to facilitate an expeditious and inexpensive determination of BP 22 cases, the SC had included the violation of BP 22

France has not ignored domestic security since the Charlie Hebdo attack. It increased its terroristfighting cadre by more than 2,500 people. Intelligence services are constantly watching the estimated 1,500 people who have fought for jihadis in Syria and Iraq, and they now have a catalog of 11,000 more people they consider dangerous radicals. Barriers to broad and constant surveillance are falling. A new intelligence law, drafted after the Charlie attacks, now allows the prime minis-

ter to authorize real-time monitoring of electronic communications, physical surveillance and the bugging of homes to preempt terrorist threats—all without court orders.

France has also been accepting relatively few Syrian refugees, making it unnecessary for intelligence services to check hundreds of thousands of people for terrorist connections.

None of these measures, however, will prevent further attacks, just as Putin’s mighty, unaccountable law-

enforcement agencies could not stop the horror of 2004. They, too, had catalogues of suspects and almost unlimited powers to watch and listen. Sometimes they managed to stay a few steps ahead, but it’s an endeavor that cannot be 100-percent successful. Islamist groups are good at attracting new recruits and it doesn’t take long to arrange a shooting or a suicide bombing.

Putin intervened in Syria in part because he remembers Chechnya, and because thousands of the

Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan

I

legally speaking

n order to afford protection to business and the public in general, and prevent the circulation of worthless checks, Batas Pambansa (BP) Blg. 22, also known as “An Act Penalizing the Making or Drawing and Issuance of a Check Without Sufficient Funds or Credit and For Other Purposes,” was approved in April 1979. The law punishes the acts of making and issuing a check with knowledge by the issuer that at the time the check is issued, he does not have sufficient funds, and the failure to keep sufficient funds to cover the full amount of the check if presented within a period of 90 days from the date appearing on the check.

as one of the cases governed by the Rules of Summary Procedure. One notable provision under the Summary Procedure is that the Court shall not order the arrest of a person who was charged except for failure to appear in Court whenever required.

It is the main intention of the law to make the issuer of a worthless check liable since the introduction of worthless checks is not just harmful to the innocent payees but the entire economy, as well. However, one must bear in mind that the mere issuance of a worthless check would not make one liable for BP 22. It is incumbent upon the accuser to prove not only that the accused issued a check that was subsequently dishonored, but it must be established that the accused was actually notified that the check was dishonored. The Notice of Dishonor must be in writing. A mere oral notice to the drawer or maker of a check is not enough to convict him with violation of BP 22. (Bax v. People, G.R. No. 149858, 5 September 2007) Aside from threat of imprisonment that an issuer of a bum check may face, he shall, after conviction, be disqualified to run for public office for a certain period of time. Under the Omnibus Election Code, any person who has been sentenced by final judgment for a crime involving moral turpitude, shall be disqualified to be a candidate and to hold any office.

As held by the SC, violation of BP 22 is considered a crime involving moral turpitude, just like the crime of embezzlement, forgery, robbery and swindling.

More than three decades after its enactment, does BP 22 still serve its purpose? Does the law still serve as

a deterrent to those unscrupulous issuers of bum checks.

Let us consider these: (1) It is undeniable that what deters a person from committing a crime is the possibility of arrest and imprisonment. When violation of BP 22 was included in those governed by the Summary Procedure, a warrant of arrest is not anymore issued when the case is filed in Court. It is only when the accused fails to appear in Court that a warrant of arrest may be issued against him; (2) Since the Metropolitan/Municipal Trial Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over violations of BP 22, no Hold Departure Orders can be issued against those violators since Metropolitan/Municipal Trial Courts have no power to issue the same. Accused under trial can thus easily evade prosecution by leaving the country; and (3) The aggrieved parties have also failed to pursue the case for BP 22 since the Courts require them to pay the corresponding filing fees.

They need to shell out amounts for filing fees after they have been duped and victimized with checks, which they cannot encash.

In the end, there appears a need to revisit the provisions of BP 22 and other laws affecting the same to afford the fullest protection to the public and the economy in general.

A check as a substitute for money plays a vital role in commercial transactions. Any person who wishes to trample upon the smooth flow of commercial transactions must be held liable.

separatists who fought him there have now joined the ranks of IS and al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise, the al-Nusra Front. These people represent a threat like the one Russia faced in 2004, because a new war provides a new goal and new sources of funding.

Putin’s bet is now the same as in Chechnya: He aids a ruthless local leader, Bashar al-Assad, in taking the war to anyone who takes up arms, whether an Islamist, a terrorist or a separatist.

France and other US-led coalition

countries must all now assume they are potential targets for attacks like the ones in Paris. They need to decide whether they should subscribe to Putin’s method of stamping out terror. It proved effective in Chechnya, though not even he can know whether it would work in Syria. One thing is clear, though: Until the Syrian conf lict is resolved and IS is defeated at its epicenter, no country is safe from attacks like the one that shook Paris on Friday night.

For comments, you may e-mail me at lpkapunan@kapunanlaw.com.