BusinessMirror March 26, 2015

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Thursday, March 26, 2015

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New book by ‘Nomadic Matt’ offers tips for cheap travel B K V | The Hartford Courant

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’M no cheap travel newcomer. As a college kid, I flew Icelandic Airline, (better known as “Hippie Air”) to Europe and backpacked my way around the continent, staying in youth hostels and eating at cheap cafes.

My bargain bible before and during my trip was Frommer’s “Europe on $20 a Day.” These days I still travel on a budget—though I’ve traded my backpack for a rolling suitcase and I do much of my research and arrangements online. (I’m not alone.

Statistics show that guidebooks sales have dropped off, as travel websites have proliferated.)

But a new travel title on one of The New York Times bestseller lists piqued my interest.

How To Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter, by Matt Kepnes, is a compendium of money-savings tips on air fares, accommodations, activities and more in countries around the world. The book includes chapters on travel to China, Japan and India.

“Nomadic Matt,” as Kepnes is known, has been traveling the globe since 2003. Along the way, he’s picked up an impressive number of travel hacks that he shares on his web site, nomadicmatt.com. (The new book is a revised, updated and expanded edition of his original book published in 2007.)

“I think the majority of people today plan digitally, but you’d be surprised at how many travelers still carry physical guidebooks,” says Kepnes, who is from Massachusetts. “You don’t always have Internet service, especially when you’re out of the country, and if you can’t connect to the Web, your phone isn’t going to do you much good.”

(He’s right. I found that out the hard way on a recent trip to the Caribbean. Without Internet, I couldn’t look up local restaurants or shops. I had to borrow an old-fashioned book from the person next to me on the shuttle.) One of Kepnes’s top tips? Choose your destination based on the currency exchange.

“Go where your dollar is going to go furthest,” Kepnes says. “It just makes sense.”

A lot of Kepnes’s content is geared toward those who are planning extended trips—information on setting up bank accounts in Europe or house-sitting in Australia or New Zealand and much of the book’s focus is on ways to save on transportation.

“Your biggest expense is usually air fare, followed by accommodations, food and activities,” Kepnes says. “If you can save on flights, you’re ahead of the game.”

To that end, he offers ways to maximize free frequent flier miles, fly budget airlines such as Europe’s Ryanair (notorious for its laundry list of add-on fees), consider alternative destinations and use social media to find flash deals. He also suggests his favorite booking websites, including theflightdeal.com, skyscanner. com and others. “Whenever most Americans do a Web search for airline tickets, they search the big three, Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. People make a big

THE Hassan II Mosque or Grande Mosquée Hassan II is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.

TripAdvisor users choose Marrakech, Morocco, as top 2015 destination B M F Los Angeles Times

mistake doing that. You need to search as many flight search web sites as you can to [e]nsure you are leaving no stone unturned,” he writes.

Once you arrive at your destination, Kepnes provides ways to find inexpensive lodging and meals. Content here skews toward younger travelers, highlighting couch surfing, camping in people’s backyards, doing farm work and staying at hostels, along with web sites, such as EatWith.com, that lets travelers find local residents who are willing to host guests for dinner in their homes.

And while Kepnes also includes tips on apartment rentals and hotel discounts and charming off-the-beaten path restaurants and cafes, his motto, “Travel cheaper, longer, better,” will appeal primarily to those who feel most comfortable slinging on a backpack and heading out for an adventure—rather than flying first class to a posh hotel. “If you love resort vacations, this is probably not the book for you,” Kepnes says. “I’m super cheap, so I’m always looking for the best bargain, whatever that may be.” ■

TRIPADVISOR users love Marrakech. They chose the Moroccan city as the No. 1 place to visit in 2015.

The former imperial city is inland, south of the more famous coastal Casablanca and capital Rabat. It was selected in TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Travelers’ Choice Destinations 2015 report.

In a random look at TripAdvisor recently, I found a reviewer named Davieclan who posted this: “Quite something during the day, incredible at night as it changes atmosphere considerably—food stalls at night are worth wandering around (calamari, chips and aubergine [eggplant] one evening was lovely and very cheap). Could wander round here for hours, people and animal watching. From spices to snakes, monkeys to musicians—so much to see and hear.”

Other cities that earned a spot on the Top 10 international destination list: 2. Siem Reap (site of the remarkable Angor Wat temple complex) in Cambodia 3. Istanbul, Turkey (2014’s top destination) 4. Hanoi 5. Prague, Czech Republic 6. London 7. Rome 8. Buenos Aires 9. Paris 10. Cape Town, South Africa In the US, New York City retained its ranking for the second year as the top place to see in 2015. The rest: 2. Chicago 3. Charleston, South Carolina 4. Las Vegas 5. Seattle 6. San Francisco 7. Washington, D.C. 8. New Orleans 9. Palm Springs 10. San Diego TripAdvisor says it calculates awards by using an algorithm that accounts for the quantity and quality of reviews on its web site gathered over a 12-month period.

Ilocos Norte resort cited as ‘outstanding tourist destination’ HANNAH’S Beach Resort and Convention Center in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, was awarded the 2014 Most Outstanding Tourist Destination in the Philippines by Gawad Amerika Foundation (GAF), an organization of Filipinos based in the United States and supported by various American nonprofit groups.

Photo shows Zeny Nolasco, in behalf of Hannah’s owner Col. Ricardo L. Nolasco Jr. (PAF ret.), receiving the award from GAF Founder Charles Simbulan during ceremonies held last November 8 at the Celebrity Center, Hollywood, California. The citation stated that “the success and remarkable achievements of Hannah’s Beach Resort and Convention Center, locally and internationally, have been recognized not only by this organization, but most of all by the local community.”

In 2013, Hannah’s Beach Resort and Convention Center was also awarded

by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Region 1 with the most coveted and prestigious title of “The Most Outstanding Individual Initiative on Environment Management.” The award was conferred by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in recognition for Hannah’s Beach Resort’s “noble efforts and accomplishments in bringing back the old glory of the environment of Barangay Balaoi in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, through various interventions for the environmental protection and flourishing ecotourism industry, thereby providing the community within livelihood and income generation for the barangay and the municipality.’’

Additionally, Hannah’s was recognized recently by the Local Government of Pagudpud through Municipal Board Resolution 2014-038 for the resort’s unequalled display of generosity

and civic concern by providing immediate and timely response in emergencies that averted the loss of lives and damages to properties in the communities, and, of equal importance, by providing jobs and livelihood.

The award was also in recognition of Hannah’s socio-cultural affairs, the most recent of which was the Miss Tourism Pagudpud 2014 search where all resorts, hotels, transient houses, and home stays were equally represented.

More than the honors and accolades, Nolasco takes great pride on how his “humble contributions have transformed the local economy and the lives of the communities in Pagudpud, and have raised the level of their awareness and involvement in caring for the Blue Lagoon, the picturesque location of Hannah’s, and of the other exciting points-ofinterests in Ilocos Norte.”

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BLACK BOX FOUND AFTER PLANE CRASH KILLS 150 IN FRENCH ALPS BusinessMirror

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B3-3| Thursday, March 26, 2015 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A ROPE hangs from a rescue helicopter flying past debris of the Germanwings passenger jet, scattered on the mountainside, near Seyne les Alpes, French Alps, on March 24. A Germanwings passenger jet carrying at least 150 people crashed on Tuesday in a snowy, remote section of the French Alps, sounding like an avalanche as it scattered pulverized debris across the mountain. AP

Black box found after plane crash kills 150 in French Alps

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EYNE-LES-ALPES, France—A black box recovered from the scene and pulverized pieces of debris strewn across Alpine mountainsides held clues to what caused a German jetliner to take an unexplained eight-minute dive on Tuesday midway through a flight from Spain to Germany, apparently killing all 150 people onboard.

The victims included two babies, two opera singers and 16 German high-school students and their teachers returning from an exchange trip to Spain. It was the deadliest crash in France in decades.

The Airbus A320 operated by Germanwings, a budget subsidiary of Lufthansa, was less than an hour from landing in Duesseldorf on a flight from Barcelona when it unexpectedly went into a rapid descent. The pilots sent out no distress call and had lost radio contact with their control center, France’s aviation authority said, deepening the mystery.

While investigators searched through debris from Flight 9525 on steep and desolate slopes, families across Europe reeled with shock and grief. Sobbing relatives at both airports were led away by airport workers and crisis counselors.

“The site is a picture of horror.

The grief of the families and friends is immeasurable,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after being flown over the crash scene. “We must now stand together.

We are united in our great grief.”

It took investigators hours to reach the site, led by mountain guides to the craggy ravine in the southern French Alps, not far from the Italian border and the French Riviera.

Video shot from a helicopter and aired by BFM TV showed rescuers walking in the crevices of a rocky mountainside scattered with plane parts. Photos of the crash site showed white flecks of debris across a mountain and larger airplane body sections with windows.

A helicopter crew that landed briefly in the area saw no signs of

life, French officials said.

“Everything is pulverized. The largest pieces of debris are the size of a small car. No one can access the site from the ground,” Gilbert Sauvan, president of the general council, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, told the Associated Press.

“This is pretty much the worst thing you can imagine,” said Bodo Klimpel, mayor of the German town of Haltern, rent with sorrow after losing 16 tenth graders and their two teachers.

The White House and the airline chief said there was no sign that terrorism was involved, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged reporters not to speculate on the cause.

“We still don’t know much beyond the bare information on the flight, and there should be no speculation on the cause of the crash,” she said in Berlin. “All that will be investigated thoroughly.”

Lufthansa Vice President Heike Birlenbach told reporters in Barcelona that for now “we say it is an accident.”

In Washington the White House said American officials were in contact with their French, Spanish and German counterparts. “There is no indication of a nexus to terrorism at this time,” said US National Security Council Spokesman Bernadette Meehan. Merkel, French President François Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy were to visit the site on Wednesday.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said a black box had been located at the crash site and “will be immediately investigated.”

He did not say whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit

but “never declared a distress alert,” Eric Heraud of the French Civil Aviation Authority told the AP. The plane crashed at an altitude of about 6,550 feet (2,000 meters) at Meolans-Revels, near the popular ski resort of Pra Loup. The site is 430 miles (700 kilometers) southsoutheast of Paris.

“It was a deafening noise. I thought it was an avalanche, although it sounded slightly different.

It was short noise and lasted just a few seconds,” Sandrine Boisse, the president of the Pra Loup tourism office, told the AP. Authorities faced a long and difficult search-and-recovery operation because of the area’s remoteness. The weather, which had been clear earlier in the day, deteriorated on Tuesday afternoon, with a chilly rain falling. Snow coated nearby mountaintops.

French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the crash site covered several acres, with thousands of pieces of debris, “which leads us to think the impact must have been extremely violent at very high speed.”

Search operations were suspended overnight and were to resume at daybreak, though about 10 gendarmes remained in the desolate ravine to guard the crash site, authorities said. Winkelmann said the pilot, whom he did not name, had more than 10 years’ experience working for Germanwings and its parent airline Lufthansa.

Florian Graenzdoerffer Lufthansa Spokesman for North Rhine Westphalia said the company had to cancel seven flights out of Dusseldorf because a number of crew members felt they were unfit to fly following news of the accident.

“I can’t tell you any details because this is a personal decision and in our business we have an agreement if a crew feels unfit to fly...then we respect this,” Graenzdoerffer said.

The aircraft was delivered to Lufthansa in 1991, had approximately 58,300 flight hours in some 46,700 flights, Airbus said.

The plane underwent a routine check in Duesseldorf on Monday, and its last regular full check took place in the summer of 2013.

The A320 plane is a workhorse of modern aviation, with a good safety record. The last time a passenger jet crashed in France was the 2000 Concorde accident, which left 113 dead.

voice recorder. The two devices— actually orange boxes designed to survive extreme heat and pressure— should provide investigators with a second-by-second timeline of the plane’s flight.

The voice recorder takes audio feeds from four microphones within the cockpit and records all the conversations between the pilots, air-traffic controllers, as well as any noises heard in the cockpit.

The flight data recorder captures 25 hours’ worth of information on the position and condition of almost every major part in a plane.

Germanwings is low-cost carrier owned by Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest airline, and serves mostly European destinations. Tuesday’s crash was its first involving passenger deaths since it began operating in 2002. The Germanwings logo, normally maroon and yellow, was blacked out on its Twitter feed.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr called it the “blackest day of our company’s 60-year history.” He insisted, however, that flying “remains after this terrible day the safest mode of transport.” Germanwings said 144 passengers and six crew members were onboard. Authorities said 67 Germans were believed among the victims, including the 16 highschool students and two opera singers, as well as many Spaniards, two Australians and one person each from the Netherlands, Turkey and Denmark. In Japan the government said two Japanese citizens were believed to be on the plane.

Contralto Maria Radner was returning to Germany with her husband and baby after performing in Wagner’s Siegfried, according to Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. Bass baritone Oleg Bryjak had appeared in the same opera, according to the opera house in Duesseldorf.

The plane left Barcelona Airport at 10:01 a.m. and had reached its cruising height of 38,000 feet when it suddenly went into an eight-minute descent to just over 6,000 feet, Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann told reporters in Cologne.

“We cannot say at the moment why our colleague went into the descent, and so quickly, and without previously consulting air-traffic control,” said Germanwings’ director of flight operations, Stefan-Kenan Scheib. At 10:30, the plane lost radio contact with the control center

IN this March 15 photo, a young man paints a portrait of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero as part of the preparations for the 35th anniversary of Romero’s death in San Salvador, El Salvador. In 1980 Romero was assassinated while offering Mass. In 2015 Pope Francis declared that Romero died a martyr’s death and he will be beatified later this year. AP

El Salvador marks anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s killing

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AN SALVADOR, El Salvador—Thousands of Salvadorans attended special Masses and marched in a pilgrimage through the capital to mark the 35th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, ahead of his beatification later this year.

Marchers held up images of Romero and Pope Francis, who on February 3 declared the Roman Catholic cleric a martyr killed out of hatred for the faith. That declaration put Romero a step closer to possible canonization.

“Oscar is a gift that will help the Church recover its prophetic meaning, and there is no doubt that his merits are in the presence of God,” said Monsignor Raul Vera, bishop of Saltillo, Mexico, who presided over a Mass at the small hospital chapel where Romero was killed.

Vera called Romero “a light for the Church.”

President Salvador Sanchez Ceren also attended the Mass.

Thousands processed from there to the cathedral, about 7 kilometers away, to visit the crypt where Romero’s remains are held.

Those at the front carried an enormous portrait of the man people have taken to calling “Saint Romero

of the Americas.”

“I am here to pay homage to our saint,” said Catarino Pereira, who traveled from Chalatenango department to take part in the pilgrimage. “Romero is ours. He belongs to all Salvadorans.”

“He died for defending the poor, for defending the weakest,” added Pereira, 64.

Romero, a liberation theology advocate and human-rights campaigner known as “the voice for those who have none,” was shot in the heart while saying Mass on March 24, 1980, by a gunman tied to the Central American nation’s former military government.

The previous day, Romero had called on the Salvadoran military to stop repressing citizens. His assassination came in the early days of the country’s 1980 to 1992 civil war, in which nearly 75,000 people were killed.

A United Nations truth commission report in 1993 determined that the killing was ordered by a now-deceased military and political figure who founded the rightwing Arena party, which ruled the country from 1980 to 2009. But an amnesty passed hours before the report’s release precluded any prosecutions. AP

Rome’s homeless to get guided private tour of Sistine Chapel

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ATICAN CITY—First they got sleeping bags from Pope Francis. Then a shower and shave. Now Rome’s homeless are getting a private, guided tour of the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano says the Vatican will open its museum doors to 150 homeless people Thursday.

They’ll enter Vatican City via a side

entrance, walk past the Vatican hotel where Francis lives and behind Saint Peter’s Basilica to an internal entrance of the Vatican Museums.

They will see some galleries en route to Michelangelo’s masterpiece, which will close to the general public early. Afterward, the group is invited to dinner, L’Osservatore reported on Tuesday. AP

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the money list. It reduced the top finishers at the previous Masters from top 16 to top 12, and at the US Open from the top eight to the top four.

More help is on the way.

Ben Crenshaw is playing his final Masters. It won’t be long—maybe next year—before Tom Watson chooses to no longer play. And this is the final year of the US Amateur Public Links, so that spot effectively is awarded to the winner of the new Latin America Amateur Championship.

Changes, however, are most likely coming as golf gets deeper and the Masters field gets bigger.

It would be a mistake for the club to stop awarding invitations to PGA Tour winners. In an era of $7 million purses, there should be no greater motivation than winning. A trip to the Masters is usually the first thing a PGA Tour winner mentions (see Matt Every).

Also, the Masters should continue to rely on the world ranking to provide opportunity to players from every corner of the world. That category is loaded with international players, and there’s a reason for that.

PGA Tour members have plenty of other avenues to get to the Masters.

The world ranking, however, allows for one change that is overdue.

Perhaps it’s time to get rid of the first cutoff for the top 50 at the end of a calendar year, and simply have one deadline at the end of the Florida swing. That still allows two weeks for players to plan a trip to Augusta.

And the tournament is more likely to have the top players in form.

Dating to 2008, when the Masters returned to its policy of awarding spots to PGA Tour winners, an average of nearly three players per year were among the top 50 at the end of the year and failed to stay in the top 50 at the end of March.

There was so much turnover in 2010 that five players were added to the field after the March cutoff. Five others who had been in the top 50 at the end of 2009 still got into the Masters. Three of them missed the cut.

The last time the field topped 100 players, Jack Nicklaus won his fourth green jacket. No matter how many players tee off on Thursday, the greatest tradition still is who leaves in a green jacket.

Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne. AP

LEWIS HAMILTON sprays champagne into the VIP area as he »celebrates after winning the season-opening Australian Formula One

the Masters to qualify through the top 50 in the world ranking. Three players in the top 50 are virtually assured of staying there—Anirban Lahiri of India (No. 35), Bernd Wiesberger of Austria (No. 41) and Branden Grace of South Africa (No. 43).

So that makes 98.

Marc Warren of Scotland (52), Harris English (53) and Alex Levy of France (54) are all playing this week either in the Texas Open or the Hassan Trophy in Morocco. The Masters also will take the winners of the Texas Open and Houston Open the following week if they’re not yet eligible.

Depending on two tournaments on opposite ends of the world—and depending on Woods—the Masters could have more than 100 players for the first time since there were 103 players in 1966.

The other three majors have 156 players. The other three majors are not the Masters.

From its inception in 1934, Augusta National was meant to be exclusive in so many ways, including its invitation-only tournament each

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RLANDO, Florida—Matt Every needed a victory at Bay Hill to get into the Masters, and he was only being honest when he shared what he was thinking as Henrik Stenson faced a birdie putt on the final hole to force a playoff.

“You’re already in. Miss it. I need to get in.”

Augusta National would have had reason to root for Stenson.

It has managed to keep the field at the Masters under 100 players for nearly 50 years, a streak that is in serious jeopardy going into the final two weeks. Every was the fourth Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour winner in the last six weeks to qualify for the Masters.

That brings the total to 95 players at Augusta—including Tiger Woods, the great unknown—heading into a pivotal week.

This is the second and final cutoff for players not already eligible for

Augusta National has managed to keep the field at the Masters under 100 players for nearly 50 years, a streak that is in serious jeopardy going into the final two weeks

Grand Prix, and the likelihood of a return in 2016 seems in the balance judging by the comments of Sepang chairman Mokhzani Mahathir “We want a win-win situation,” he was quoted to say by the local Bernama news agency. “There are several issues which I’m still not very satisfied [with] and if we can discuss this further, we will renew the contract for another three years.”

Aside from the serious questions to be answered, the fun will be in seeing whether Vettel visits the Mercedes post-practice briefing on Friday.

He was jokingly invited by Rosberg during the post-race media conference in Melbourne when the Mercedes driver said he wanted a close fight for the championship, and the new Ferrari driver said he’d take up the offer.

Rosberg stood by the invitation in Mercedes’s prerace press release, saying he was “particularly looking forward to welcoming our special guest Mr. Vettel to the Friday engineering meeting. I’m sure we will all learn a few interesting things for the weekend.” AP

“It is going back between the lawyers so hopefully it is done before the weekend,” Hamilton said on Sky Sports. “That would be great, but if not, in due time.”

Alonso arrives in Malaysia having skipped the Australian race as a precaution due to the lingering effects of an accident in preseason testing.

Alonso passed some initial tests in England last weekend, but faces further examination on Thursday by doctors appointed by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and local race organizers.

Given how far off the pace McLaren was in Australia as returning engine supplier Honda gets up to speed with the complex hybridenergy power trains, the most interest in Alonso will not be how he performs on the track, but any revelations about his medical condition and the nature of the preseason crash, which remains the subject of an ongoing FIA investigation.

Bottas too will have to pass a fitness test on Thursday. The Williams driver suffered a torn disc in his lower back during qualifying in Melbourne and had to sit out the race. The Finn has been recovering and holidaying in Indonesia and Malaysia since leaving Australia and has expressed confidence he is ready to race.

This year’s race is the last on the current contract for the Malaysian HERE are many uncertainties heading into this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but the identity of the winning car is not one of them.

So pronounced was Mercedes’s dominance through 2014 and in the Formula One season opener in Australia earlier this month, that it is hard to imagine anything other than another race victory for the Silver Arrows at Sepang on Sunday, and probably a one-two finish.

Still, there are many other questions to be answered in Malaysia: Will Lewis Hamilton sign a new Mercedes contract before the race?; will Fernando Alonso be passed fit to drive his first race back at McLaren?; has Valtteri Bottas overcome the back injury that ruled him out of Melbourne?; will Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel call Mercedes’s bluff and turn up for that team’s Friday engineers briefing?; and is this the last ever Malaysian Grand Prix?

The fight over the race win looms as another showdown between Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Since their collision at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, the Mercedes team has won every race, but worryingly for Rosberg, seven of the eight victories have been by the Briton.

Hamilton is out of contract at year’s end but the negotiations over a new deal are reaching a conclusion, and he may even have a fresh contract by the time he hits the track at Sepang.

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Major questions heading into Malaysian Grand Prix

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

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spring that has grown up to be must-see TV around the world. The club believes a limited field enhances the experience of the players.

The century mark has been challenged four of the last five years, and Augusta National is paying attention.

“It is borderline to be able to present the kind of competition that we want to,” Masters Chairman Billy Payne said in 2011 when there were 99 players. “It is more than we normally have. We say every year in response to that question that we look and we study the qualifications, which we do. But we are really going to look at it this year, because there is a maximum number of competitors for which we can give the experience that we want them to have and do it in a way that’s manageable.

“The 100 pushes that limit quite significantly.”

Augusta National does not rush into changes, but it does react. Two years later, Payne announced changes aimed at keeping the field below 100 players.

It wisely kept winners from PGA Tour stand-alone events, including the six held during the fall start of the season. It also eliminated the category of top 30 on

MATT EVERY’S victory at Bay Hill brings him to the Masters.

TIGER WOODS remains as “the great unknown.” AP

GETTING CROWDED

GETTING CROWDED

SPORTS

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

BALISACAN SAYS INCREASING LEVIES ON OIL WILL ALLOW GOV’T TO RECOUP B.O.C.’s PROJECTED P40B REVENUE LOSSES

NEW BOOK BY ‘NOMADIC MATT’ EAR Lord, it is good to know that our spiritual life also, like all other aspects of our existence and activities, may occasionally show signs of weakness, or even dangerous “negative trends.” Some “critical indicators,” such as: the degree of fervor in our prayer life, the zeal in accepting and carrying out apostolic commitments, and the involvement in community projects should be monitored regularly. It is deemed necessary to involve ourselves in spiritual activities to avoid negative trends.” Amen.

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HE government has found a way to recover revenue losses from the continued decline in oil prices: increase the excise taxes on petroleum products.

National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director General and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said this is an option worth studying, with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) seen to lose P40 billion in revenues this year due to the cheaper importation of oil. About 22 percent of the BOC collections annually come from levies imposed on petroleum products.

Increasing the excise taxes on petroleum products, he said, will augment the shortfall in customs revenues brought about by lower oil prices.

“This should be designed in a way that the benefits of declining oil prices are shared between the government and the private sector, while moderating the impact on the environment,” Balisacan said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also gave the same proposal on Tuesday. It said countries can take advantage of low oil prices through increased taxation or removal of energy subsidies.

The government, he added, must also take advantage of the current low oil-price regime in a way that would encourage more investors to come to the Philippines.

He said it will take more time before oil prices could fully recover to the more than $100-per-barrel annual average price in the 2011to-2013 period given the ample global supply.

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PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 44.6900

LATHAM & WATKINS’ 2ND ANNUAL INVESTMENT CONFERENCE Headlining the second annual Latham & Watkins’ Second Annual Investment Conference, themed “Financing the Growth of Philippine Companies,” (from left) Mabuhay Capital Corp. Chairman Ray Davis, First Metro Investment Corp. President and Director Robert Juanchito Dispo, Norton Rose Fulbright partner David Johnson, and JG Summit Holdings Inc. SVP and chief strategist Bach Johann Sebastian discuss funding the financial institutions at a hotel in Makati City on Wednesday. ALYSA SALEN

AYALA LAND TO SPEND P8B FOR CEBU PROJECT B VG C

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YALA Land Inc. (ALI) on Wednesday said it broke ground at its Central Bloc project, the company’s latest mixed-use integrated development in Cebu City.

The company said it will invest P8 billion on the 2.2-hectare property from which office, retail and hotel facilities will rise, all at the center of Cebu IT Park.

“This is a landmark event in ALI’s history,” Bernard Vincent Dy, Ayala Land president and CEO, said. He recalled that Cebu City was the first city outside of Metro Manila, where Ayala Land started developing mixed-use projects.

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Megaworld reports record net income, land bank rise in 2014

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EGAWORLD Corp. on Wednesday reported that its net income increased to P21.6 billion in 2014, more than double its bottom line in 2013, partly as a result of nonrecurring income.

The property developer also said its realestate sales and rental income grew during the period.

The company said in a statement its net income in 2014 totaled P21.6 billion, or more than double the previous year’s P9.03 billion.

The amount, however, included nonrecurring gains of P12.1 billion, or more than the reported earnings the previous year.

The nonrecurring income came from property acquisitions and the sale of Megaworld’s stake in Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. to its

parent Alliance Global Group Inc. Excluding the one-off gains, its income grew by 4 percent to P9.4 billion.

The company said profits already doubled just five years from 2009, when its income stood at only P4 billion.

“Last year was a milestone for us. With Megaworld celebrating its 25th anniversary, we raked in record earnings and managed to grow our land bank to over 4,000 hectares. Our income growth last year was driven by both real-estate sales and rental income. We have a more diversified real-estate sales mix that is propelled by our integrated urban township developments in Metro Manila, Cebu and Iloilo, as well as tourism-related projects in Tagaytay and Boracay,” C  A

■ JAPAN 0.3733 ■ UK 66.3512 ■ HK 5.7624 ■ CHINA 7.2019 ■ SINGAPORE 32.7159 ■ AUSTRALIA 35.2028 ■ EU 48.8104 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 11.9164 Source: BSP (25 March 2015)

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BusinessMirror

Thursday, March 26, 2015

A2

Neda wants hike in oil excise tax lower costs, boost profits and ramp up expansion in investments,” the Neda chief added. ADB Philippines Country Director Richard Bolt said the Philippines can increase taxes in favor of obtaining more resources for social spending and investing in renewable-energy projects.

Bolt said countries like Indonesia would do well to cut energy subsidies at this time to free up public financ-

Continued from A1

Balisacan said the government must take advantage of this period of supply glut.

“Also, there should be continuing efforts in making the country more conducive to investments to complement the benefits of lower oil prices, as this would be a good opportunity for major industry players to

Megaworld reports record net income, land bank rise in 2014 Continued from A1

es that can be realigned to increase spending for social services.

The ADB estimated that the low inflation regime will keep the region’s aggregate current account balance in surplus at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015.

In the Philippines the country’s current account balance is expected to reach 4 percent of GDP in 2015 and 3.6 percent in 2016.

AYALA LAND TO SPEND P8B FOR CEBU PROJECT development. Upon completion in 2019, the two buildings are expected to generate 14,000 jobs in the BPO sector.

Ayala Land, the country’s secondlargest property developer, said its net income rose 26 percent last year, to P14.8 billion in 2014, some 26 percent from the previous year’s alreadyrecord profit of P11.74 billion.

Last year’s rate of growth, however, was slower than the previous year’s 30-percent increase of its net income and 36 percent for its revenues.

Consolidated revenues reached P95.2 billion, 17 percent higher from the previous year’s P81.52 billion.

“Moving forward, we will continue to introduce new residential projects and scale-up our commercial leasing operations in support of our 2020 Vision,” Dy said.

Continued from A1

“It highlights our commitment to support Cebu City. We envision the Central Bloc to be a refreshing hub where business and leisure converge,” he added.

The mall, with approximately 43,000 square meters of gross leasable area, is also set to open in the first quarter of 2018. Envisioned to be a refreshing and hip hangout, Ayala Malls Central Bloc will help make Cebu IT Park the hub of convergence for a younger and more active market segment, the company said.

Central Bloc connects to The Walk with a landscaped open area that also features dining and retail spaces.

A Seda hotel will open by the third quarter of 2018. The 12-story hotel will have 214 rooms and will feature

DY

a roof deck bar. It will also be the first Seda hotel to cater to long-staying guests with its 58 apartment suites.

The company said two businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) office towers will also be part of the

Andrew Tan Megaworld chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Consolidated revenues, excluding nonrecurring income, rose by 15 percent to P41 billion with real-estate sales increasing by 16 percent year-on-year to P24.6 billion, and rental income growing by 17 percent to P7 billion.

Tan said rental income is growing in line with expectations.

“Continued growth in our office and mall leasable space will provide the catalyst for exceeding P10 billion in rental income in 2016. Last year also saw the consolidation of Global-Estate Resorts Inc., Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Properties Inc. under Megaworld.

This enabled us to strengthen our land bank nationwide,” Tan said.

Five township projects were launched last year and another five will be launched this year that will increase the company’s township developments to 20 by the end of the year.

Last year the company announced developments, such as the 12.3-hectare Woodside City project in Pasig City; the redevelopment of parts of the 561-hectare Southwoods City project in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna; the 11-hectare Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City; the 62-hectare Alabang West in Las Piñas; and the 350-hectares Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite.

Last week the company announced two of the five township developments lined up for this year.

VG Cabuag

30 3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

MARCH 26, 2015 | THURSDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER

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MAR 27 FRIDAY

MAR 28 SATURDAY

METRO MANILA

22 – 32°C

23 – 33°C

TUGUEGARAO

22 – 33°C

23 – 34°C

Inflation to remain muted in March–BSP Continued from A8

percent —not far from actual inflation of 2.5 percent in February.

“Reductions in electric power rates, local oil pump prices, as well as the continued easing of rice prices indicate downside inflation pressures for March,” Tetangco said in a text message.

Should the inflation in March fall at the lower end of the forecast, inflation should average 2.3 percent in the first quarter. Should it average in the upper limits of the forecast, inflation should average higher to 2.6 percent. In either scenarios, inflation was likely to average at the low end of target range of 2 percent to 4 percent this year.

While Tetangco did not betray the merest hint on monetary policy direction in his inflation forecast statement, the central bank governor said the BSP will continue to monitor developments likely affecting inflation to ensure price stability that is supportive of balanced and sustainable growth.

The central bank’s policy-making monetary board will meet on Thursday, March 26, to decide whether or not appropriate adjustments are necessary. Economists based here and abroad are of the consensus the BSP was not likely to change its policy stance no matter that neighboring central banks have done so given belowtarget inflation in their jurisdictions.

In a research note made available on Wednesday, the British-owned HSBC said the BSP was not likely follow the rate cuts reported by peer central banks as the Philippines faces

MAR 29 SUNDAY

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 23 – 32°C

MAR 28 SATURDAY

MAR 29 SUNDAY

23 – 33°C

METRO CEBU

23 – 32°C

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TACLOBAN

22 – 30°C

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CAGAYAN DE ORO

SBMA/CLARK 23 – 33°C METRO MANILA 22 – 31°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 20 – 28°C

24 – 32°C

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BAGUIO

16 – 23°C

15 – 25°C

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SBMA/ CLARK

22 – 31°C

23 – 30°C

24 – 32°C

ZAMBOANGA

TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 32°C

BAGUIO CITY 14 – 23°C

TAGAYTAY

20 – 28°C

20 – 27°C

LEGAZPI ILOILO/ BACOLOD 23 – 31°C METRO CEBU 24 – 31°C

TACLOBAN CITY 24 – 32°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 24 – 31°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY 24 – 34°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

23 – 29°C

22 – 29°C

22 – 30°C

SUNSET

MOONSET

MOONRISE

5:56 AM

6:07 PM

11:51 PM

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NEW MOON HALF MOON

5:36 PM

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23 – 33°C

22 – 32°C

MAR 27 3:43 PM

CELEBES SEA

10:25 PM

-0.01 METER

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers and/or thunderstorms

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers

23 – 33°C

23 – 32°C

23 – 33°C

Partly cloudy skies

Cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers and/or thunderstorms

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SABAH

LOW TIDEMANILA HIGH TIDE SOUTH HARBOR

MAR 20

Watch PANAHON.TV everyday at 5:00 AM on PTV (Channel 4).

METRO DAVAO 24 – 33°C

SUNRISE 19 – 27°C

LEGAZPI CITY 24 – 30°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

MAR 27 3-DAY EXTENDED FRIDAY FORECAST

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING LUZON (AS OF MARCH 25, 5:00 PM)

Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”.

It affects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread cloudiness with rain showers.

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 22 – 30°C

a competely different set of economic issues to warrant a scale back on the rate at which it borrows from or lends to banks.

“Is the Philippines different enough for the BSP to not bite the bait of policy easing? We believe yes.

Many central banks in the region cut rates in the first quarter of 2015 due to tight liquidity conditions, slowing growth and decelerating price pressures.... However, the Philippines has low indebtedness, excess liquidity, firm domestic demand and a stable inflation outlook,” HSBC economist for the Philippines Trinh Nguyen said.

“This means that the fundamental issues for the BSP are to manage the excess liquidity to avoid systemic risks while facilitating investment,” she added. HSBC also reiterated that the disappointing export and remittance data will not likely cause the BSP to change its monetary stance.

What the BSP will do in the months ahead, according to Nguyen, is to make its main policy rate more effective by streamlining its reverse repurchase rate (RRP). “We believe the central bank will try to make its policy rate more effective in the longer run. Currently, the BSP has two deposit rates: the RRP and the SDA — both have restrictions on access. The RRP, however, is more restrictive as the quantity that is bidded out is only about P300 billion,” Nguyen said.

“We believe to make this tool more effective, the BSP could make the RRP facility more market-oriented by liberalizing either the volume or the price.

BSP Governor Tetangco has hinted that streamlining the policy rate is his preferred option,” she added.

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Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Thursday, March 26, 2015 A3

Watchdog asks Comelec to abandon midnight deal with Smartmatic

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By Joel R. San Juan

HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been urged to abandon its P268.8-million midnight deal with technology provider Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) for the repair of the 82,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan voting machines (PCOS) following the Supreme Court’s (SC) issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the implementation of the said contract.

In a statement, poll watchdog Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E) also criticized the Comelec for raising the specter of going back to manual voting if the Court eventually nullifies the contract.

The group said the Comelec should not waste more time justifying before the SC the “unlawful” contract.

It also urged the Comelec to immediately open the PCOS machines for inspection by various computer experts and discard Smartmatic’s claim of proprietary rights on the machines.

“The PCOS were bought by the

Comelec way back in 2012 and are now, therefore, the property of the state,” the group said.

Likewise, the C3E said the Comelec should review the performance of Smartmatic for the past two elections vis-à-vis the various complaints raised against it, and commence the blacklisting procedure against the company. “ The Court action only cemented the fact that the extended warranty agreement between the Comelec and Smartmatic violated the procurement law, and the justifications made regarding proprietary rights and the lack of time by the Comelec, are invalid,” the

group pointed out.

The group maintained that Smartmatic committed numerous violations and various forms of misrepresentation to justify its blacklisting in any election-related bids to be conducted by the Comelec.

The SC, voting 12-2, issued on Tuesday a TRO, granting the plea of petitioners Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and poll watchdog Automated Elections System (AES) Watch, led by Auxilliary Bishop of Manila Broderick Pabillo and former Elections Commissioner Augusto Lagman, seeking to stop the enforcement of the contract signed on January 30.

In their petitions, The IBP and AES Watch argued that Comelec Resolution 9922 should be declared null and void for being violative of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. The said resolution awarded to Smartmatic the contract for the diagnosis and minor repair services fror 80,000 PCOS machines to be used in 2016 elections.

The IBP pointed out that the refurbishment and repair of PCOS machines fall under the definition of the term “procurement” under RA 9184.

The Comelec’s resort to direct contracting, according to the IBP, is not justified under the law.

But, the IBP stressed that the supposed “tight time schedule” in the preparation for May 2016 national and local elections is not a ground to

dispense with the conduct of public bidding under the law.

The C3E said Smartmatic should be barred from participating in the procurement for the 2016 elections, or in any government procurement for committing several “misrepresentations” to the poll body and for violating its obligations under the 2010 automated election system project contract.

They alleged that SmartmaticTIM misrepresented certain information in its qualification statements by submitting a single largest contract in the name of Smartmatic International Holdings B.V., or a subsidiary of the latter, Smartmatic Deployment Corp.

They added that Smartmatic-TIM and Smartmatic committed misrepresentation of certain information in its qualification statements when it claimed that Jarltech International Corp. was its subsidiary.

Smartmatic deliberately and intentionally concealed a material fact in its qualification statements and violated its Automation Contract, when it failed to disclose that its supposed subsidiary, Jarltech, transferred the production of the Pcos machines from Kenmec Mechanical Engineering Co. to Quisda Corp.

The petitioners also said that the company violated the 20-percent maximum allowable limit for subcontracting arrangements under RA 9184, its implementing rules and regulations and the RFP.

Group tells Abaya: Stop fooling us

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

A

NGELES CITY— “Stop fooling us, Secretary Abaya!”

Thus, said the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) here as it noted the delay in the impleabaya mentation P1.2-billion development project of the Clark International Airport (CIA).

Late last year Liberal Party Rep. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao of Pampanga and the Clark International Airport Corp. announced that P1.2 billion of the projected P7.2 billion for the development of the CIA was included in the 2015 General Appropriations Act. PGKM Chairman Ruperto Cruz said it’s almost the end of the first quarter of 2015, but there has been no movement in the much ballyhooed CIA development project. “[Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A.] Abaya is fooling the people of Central and Northern Luzon. Binobola tayo ni Abaya [Abaya is fooling us],” Cruz said.

“Where is the P1.2 billion? It is again doubtful that this will be used for Clark,” observed Cruz who also alleged that there is suspicion that the money could be used to augment the campaign funds of the Liberal Party in the 2016 elections.

“Show your sincerity Mr. Secretary by backing your words with action,” Cruz dared.

During the recent Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) led Consultative Meeting for the Development of the CIA held here, Abaya said that the initial

phase for the Clark terminal project has been submitted to National Economic Development Authority (Neda). “We are starting at the first phase, hopefully we get it up to the Neda Board, which is already at the level of the President, by May of this year,” he said.

However, Abaya noted the “quite aggressive” plans drawn up by Aeroport de Paris.

“I see not much issue except that the plans drawn up by aeroport De Paris is quite aggressive. It’s on the larger side,” Abaya said.

“But we are sticking to their plans. We will defend their plans with the Neda Board, hopefully other Cabinet secretaries would see that thinking big thinking long term is our way to go,” he added.

However, the PGKM insisted Abaya is fooling the people, because it is the DOTC itself that is allegedly sabotaging the development of the CIA by insisting on the plan for “a new Ninoy Aquino International Airport” in Sangley Point, Cavite, the home province of Abaya where he served as congressman. “Why spend P465 billion for a new airport in Sangley when that would clearly be an economic disaster and an environmental disaster,” Cruz said. “It will be an economic disaster just like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Morong, Bataan, that we keep paying from our taxes but serves no purpose and has no assurance of being finished,” he said.

“It is an environmental disaster because it requires massive reclamation,” he added. “And as such, would be prone to storm surges.”

Cruz said an air disaster is also waiting to happen if an airport in Sangley is constructed with its proximity to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Economy

A4 Thursday, March 26, 2015

BusinessMirror

Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

DOT sees influx of summer season tourist shoppers

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B A N. P | Philippines News Agency

HE Department of Tourism (DOT) is anticipating more tourists to visit the Philippines for their summer season shopping holiday following the rise in promotion of retail tourism in the country.

According to the DOT, shopping or retail tourism, is one of the country’s tourism products being promoted by the DOT aggressively especially with the increasing global attention given to the country as a tourist destination.

This comes as DOT 11 recently launched the Visit Davao Fun Sale, the country’s first-ever citywide shopping festival. The event is now on its second year.

From a four-week long sale in seven participating malls last year, the public can now indulge on a sixweek/seven-weekend-shoppingspree and enjoy great premium deals

in nine of Davao City’s biggest shopping centers.

Visit Davao Fun Sale will run from April 3 until May 7, with seven of Davao City’s biggest shopping centers offering great premium bargains for as much as 80-percent discount.

According to DOT 11 Regional Director Roberto Alabado III, the Visit Davao Fun Sale is aimed at bolstering Davao City’s ever-dynamic urban image.

“It is characteristic Dabaweño to always outdo oneself. That is to say, Visit Davao Fun Sale is going to be double the excitement, double the adventure, double the fun,” Alabado said.

“This year Cebu Pacific will bring us to even greater heights as they join hands with us in making air travel to Davao from any point in the Philippines more convenient and more affordable,” he added.

Cebu Pacific Air is the official air travel partner of Visit Davao Fun Sale, giving a huge number of seat sales from all the budget carrier’s service points to Davao from April 3 to May 17.

Alabado, meanwhile, said this campaign is all part of the DOT Region 11’s efforts to “grow Mindanao” and to “put Davao in the map as the next big thing in shopping and eco-tourism.”

Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr., for his part, said there is practically something that will strike every shopaholic’s fancy at the Visit Davao Fun Sale, which is now on its second year.

“One thing is for sure, one will not leave Davao empty-handed,” Jimenez said.

“So, book that flight to Davao via Cebu Pacific and get ready to fall in love with the culture of Filipino hospitality for six-long weeks, and get the best premium bargains in what will be the next shopping capital of Asia,” he urged.

PSALM opens bidding for SPI’s 200-MW plant

T

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. has opened the bidding for the 200-megawatt (MW) power plant capacity of Steag State Power Inc. (SPI).

“With the publication of the Invitation to Bid [ITB], the PSALM Corp. has commenced the selection and appointment of Independent Power Producer Administrator [IPPA] for the 200-MW Mindanao Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant [Mindanao Coal],” PSALM said in a news statement released on Wednesday.

The first requirement to take part

in the bidding, according to PSALM, is to submit a letter of interest by April 7, not later than 5 p.m.

Interested companies are also required to sign a confidentiality agreement and undertaking with PSALM and pay a participation fee of P120,000. Deadline for the two requirements is on April 13 at 5 p.m.

PSALM said the prebid conference, which will explain PSALM’s bidding procedures, is scheduled on May 6.

The actual bidding for the 200-MW capacity IPPA will be on September 23 at noon, followed

briefs

SHIFT TO EURO4 COMPLIANT FUEL, ENGINES STARTS ON JULY 1DENR ENVIRONMENT Secretary Ramon JP Paje has issued an order requiring the use of cleaner fuel and imposing stricter emission standards for all vehicles starting July 1.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources order, in effect, will require all gasoline stations to sell Euro4 standard fuels, effectively phasing-out the current Euro-2 standard. It will also require oil companies that process diesel and gasoline to refit their plants to produce Euro-4 fuels.

Under the order, all new vehicles entering the country will have to be Euro 4-compliant. For secondhand vehicles, which are not covered by the order, Paje said he will coordinate with concerned government agencies to make sure that all secondhand vehicles entering the country are equipped with Euro 4-compliant engines. Jonathan L. Mayuga

CAAP TOLD: CONSIDER REOPENING NAIA’S RUNWAY 31

TO address the air traffic congestion in the country’s prime gateway, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Air Transportation had asked the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) to study the reopening of Runway 31 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Subcommittee on Air Transportation Chairman and Nacionalista Party Rep. Al Francis C. Bichara of Albay said that the panel was assured during its recent hearing by private airlines, including Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific and Tiger Airways that allowing the use of the Runway 31 for aircraft departure purposes will certainly help, if not totally eliminate, the problem of flight delays.

During the hearing, Capt. Manuel Antonio Tamayo, vice president for flight operations of PAL, said the problem of congestion started when Runway 31 was closed in August last year.

‘NO REGISTRATIONNO TRAVEL POLICY’ TAKES EFFECT ON APRIL 1 TRANSPORTATION Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya on Wednesday said the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will strictly enforce the “no registration-no travel policy” for

by the opening and evaluation of bids at 12:30 p.m.

The contract of SPI, with the winning IPPA bidder, will end by 2031.

The SPI plant was constructed in 2006, in Misamis Oriental, through a 25-year Build-OperateTransfer-Power Purchase Agreement scheme.

It powers about 18 percent of the Mindanao grid.

PSALM is a government-owned and -controlled corporation tasked under the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act to auction power assets of the government, including power plants and barges. PNA

motor vehicles on April 1.

This means that all motor vehicles must be registered, or at least be in the seven-day registration period, by the start of next month.

“It has always been prohibited by law to use motor vehicles which have not been registered with the LTO. The only exception is the first seven days, during which registration should be processed by the vehicle owner,” the Cabinet official said.

He added: “We held back from implementing this rule before, because the lack of license plates was our responsibility. But now that we have been able to issue new license plates within seven days from start of registration, we have no more reason not to implement the law,” he added. Under the no registration-no travel policy, any four-wheeled motor vehicle running without a license plate may be flagged by a traffic enforcer.

ECCP BACKS K TO 12, LAUNCHES FIRST DUALTRAINING PROGRAM IN PHL THE European Innovation, Technology and Science Center Foundation (EITSC), an initiative of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, supports the Philippine government in implementing the K+12 Basic Education program by launching its first dual-training program for senior high-school students in the country.

EITSC promotes awareness in innovation, technology and science to the Filipino youth and develops linkages between academe and private sector.

“There is a distinct need for a platform where senior high-school graduates can acquire the skills and tools necessary to be employed. We want this project to align the academic curriculum of educational institutions in the country with what the various industries require,” EITSC Executive Director Dominic Sabado said.

Under the K+12 program, the last two years in high school that will be called senior high school provides sufficient time for students to prepare themselves for tertiary level, middle-skills level development, employment and entrepreneurship.

With the dual-training program, senior high-school students will take knowledge and experiences in two venues: the school and the company. PNA

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror Special Feature

Thursday, March 26, 2015

A5

Caap promotes International Cooperation in Regional Civil Aviation

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Caap: Enhancing stature

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HE unilateral focus on institutional strengthening and operational efficiency that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) under the stewardship of Director General Lt. Gen. William K. Hotchkiss III AFP (Ret.) has adopted since June 2012, had resulted in the removal of all sanctions imposed on Philippine civil aviation since 2008.

With the regaining of its Category 1 aviation safety rating from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last April 10, 2014, Caap has primed the civil aviation sector for growth and development. To capitalize on this remarkable achievement and the advantageous situation it has created for the Philippine civil aviation sector, Caap has formulated Flight Plan 2020, its strategic roadmap for sustainability, to ensure the continued viability and profitability of its stakeholders and substantiate its intent of being an active player in regional civil aviation in view of the transformative impact of the emergent Single Aviation Market among the 10 member-states that constitute the Association of South East Asian Nations beginning 2015. The perceptible vibrancy in the growth of civil aviation regionally and globally provides the impetus for this motivation.

Compliance to international aviation safety standards embodies Caap’s fidelity to its vision of being a preeminent civil aviation authority (CAA) in the world and a global brand of excellence in civil aviation and its commitment to its mission of ensuring a safe, secure and green Philippine

skies. It also one of the vital foundation of Caap’s Twin Pillars of Regulatory Framework. Fairness, integrity, accountability and transparency are the corporate values that define its interaction with both domestic and global stakeholders in discharging its mandate as the regulator of Philippine civil aviation “to provide safe and efficient air transport and regulatory services in the Philippines” (Chapter 1, Section 2. Declaration of Policy) as stipulated in its enabling law Republic Act 9497 for the welfare and benefit of air travelers. These values are instilled across the organization through reforms undertaken to ensure the responsiveness of Caap to the needs of its stakeholders.

Upholding the standing of the Philippines as a sovereign state in the community of nations is affirmed as a fundamental tenet by Caap by adhering to its principles of “Sovereignty indivisible with National Security” and “Reciprocity indivisible with Parity.” It is also the confirmation of its role as administrator and guardian of the airspace of the country, or the Philippine Flight Information Region.

Espousing its unwavering belief in the innate talents of the Filipino, Caap is broadening its reach and intensifying its efforts to attract fresh, young and competent recruits to join the aviation sector through its Next Generation of Aviation Professional program. Envisioned to be the products of globally-accredited training courses

with skills and competence that are internationally recognized underlie its aspiration that “Yes, the Filipino Can.” With the tremendous linkages that can be created by these opportunities for the country and the Filipino people, Caap’s dream that “The Future is in the Skies” shall have been given full meaning.

HE 52nd Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Asia and Pacific Regions will be held in Manila from October 28 to 30 at Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Held under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) Asia-pacific region, this annual event will gather the civil aviation authorities (CAAs), international aviation organizations and associations, civil aviation partners and stakeholders from 38 states in the Asia-pacific region. Highlevel Icao officials are expected to attend this affair which will tackle vital issues in regional and global civil aviation. Caap will host this conference after 13 years since it was last held in the Philippines in 2002 in Cebu City, hosted by then-Air Transportation Office.

It is even worthy to note that first DGCA conference was held in Manila in 1960.

The 52nd DGCA Conference will be preceded by the fifth Meeting of the Regional Aviation Safety Group and the third Meeting of the Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum on October 26 and 27, which will hold its sessions in tandem.

An Icao study undertaken in 2011 forecasted a burgeoning global need for pilots, mainte-

nance personnel and air-traffic controllers by the year 2030 citing the urgency of upgrading current education and training capabilities and facilities to produce qualified aviation professionals.

In ensuring that this concern is addressed, it established the Next Generation of Aviation Professional initiative in 2009 to update and modify the regulatory environment, to improve the effectiveness of training and education, and to mobilize the air transport community toward a common effort that would help revitalize the image of aviation professionals. It also seeks to engage the stakeholders of civil aviation on how they can be involved in increasing the training capacities on a regional level.

Consistent with this objective, the theme of the 52nd DGCA Conference—“Evolving the New Generation Aviation Professional toward a Harmonized, Safe, Secure and Green Asia Pacific Sky” highlights the clear and basic responsibility to establish an education and training framework that will create a generation of well-trained and technically competent aviation professionals founded on a platform for the growth and sustainability of global civil aviation.

A6 Thursday, March 26, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The ‘no-spanking bill’ needs a good spanking

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EVER in the history of Philippine legislature has a bill appeared with all of the hallmarks of a losing battle: House Bill (HB) 4907, also known as the Positive Discipline Act, or the “no spanking bill.” Filed by Tarlac Second District Rep. Susan Yap, the bill begins with the premise that physical abuse of children is “never an acceptable form of discipline.”

The problem with this premise is that it presumes that most, if not all, forms of physical and verbal discipline borders on abuse.

This is understandable, but nonetheless, erroneous. While statistics show that children often suffer physical and psychological abuse from parents or guardians, the word “abuse” must first be clearly defined in order for it to fall under an already existing law, which is Republic Act 7610, or “The Special Protection For a Child Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.” This however, would make Yap’s HB 4907 moot.

“Child abuse,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), is defined as “any act which inflicts physical or psychological injury, cruelty to or the neglect, sexual abuse of, or which exploits, a child.”

“Cruelty,” based again on the DOJ, “is any word or action, which debases, degrades or demeans the dignity of a child as a human being.” It clearly states that discipline given by a parent or legal guardian on a child is not considered cruelty when “reasonably administered and moderate in degree and does not cause physical or psychological injury.”

Anything “that causes severe injury or serious bodily harm to child, such as lacerations, fractured bones, burns or internal injuries” is considered child abuse.

“One that harms a child’s psychological or intellectual functions” falls under psychological abuse. “This may be exhibited by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or outward aggressive behavior or a combination of said behaviors.”

It is clear that the no-spanking bill follows the footsteps of laws regarding children in Western states. In this scenario, even good parents suffer the indignity of being the collateral damage in a global move to let children live their lives sans proper guidance and discipline.

It would have been more appropriate to craft a bill that offers extensive parenthood programs for parents having difficulty rearing their child. Since it would be difficult to measure “abuse” apart from seeing actual bruises and wounds on the child, well-meaning parents may face legal raps more than the criminals this law will certainly produce in the future.

Why the hyperinflationists have it wrong John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

I

t has been over a year since we were first told “Here’s Why The Philippines’s Economic Miracle Is Really A Bubble In Disguise”.

But even as recently as January 15, 2015, the web site of the Hong Kong Economic Journal Company published a column titled “Philippine economy: Miracle or bubble?”

A local stock market pundit has been calling the Philippine stock market “overvalued and ready to collapse at any time” since the index first broke above 5,000. Currently we are looking at the potential of a move above 8,000. However, the Philippines is not the issue here.

For the last several years, knowledgeable and experienced economic observers, as well as the young and impressionable, have been chanting two ideas: hyperinflation even in major economies, and bursting asset price bubbles particularly in the stock markets.

No matter how sound these arguments are—and they are valid—at this point, the best they can say about their forecasts is that it will happen in the future because there is no such thing as “this time it is different.”

On the other side are those that appear to be apologists and hacks for governments and the international

bankers who preach that the global economies are going to boom but “it will happen in the future.” Their argument as to why this boom has not taken place yet and why government stimulus does work is also there is no such thing as “this time it is different”.

One extremely well-grounded economic analyst whose ideas are not driven by some economic ideology as most are either for Austrian free market or Keynesian government control—has given solid arguments for hyperinflation for many years. Of course, the best and easiest examples of these are Germany post-World War I and Zimbabwe in the late 1990s.

Hyperinflation in both cases brought the purchasing power of these currencies to such low levels, that it took a bag full to buy a loaf bread and people were burning the money for heat because it was cheaper than buying wood or coal.

It is indisputable that this sort of economic disaster does occur when too much paper money is put into an economy. It has happened throughout history.

Imagine hyperinflation this way.

Take a bucket and fill it with water using a garden hose. If you leave the water on long enough, eventually the water will reach the rim and start spilling over. The water that goes on the ground is wasted and of no use. That is hyperinflation.

However, outside of a bar I used to own was a fish pond. Constructed as part of the fish pond was a fountain. The fish lived in a large pool at the bottom and water was pumped to a ceramic “bucket” on top. When the top bucket filled, the water spilled into another bucket and then into yet another ornamental container. This continued on for several more levels until the water returned to the large pool.

There was always an ultimate balance. The whole system did overflow when there was a large and prolonged rainstorm.

The reason we have not seen any instances of hyper or even excessive inflation despite trillion upon trillions of dollars and equivalent currencies being pumped in to the global economic system is because currency has moved from country to country as their “buckets” seem to become full just like my fish pond fountain.

China has been a huge creator of money in the last years but here

The different faces of fraud Susie G. Bugante

All About Social Security

T

HE dictionary defines fraud as “wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.”

Just like any insurance company, the Social Security System (SSS) is also a target of fraudsters and it is for this reason that the agency has an antifraud unit to guard it against impostors and fakers.

Recently, there was an attempt by someone, whom I shall call Mr. L, to defraud SSS of death benefits. Purporting to be the surviving spouse of a bona fide member, who had allegedly died, Mr. L filed funeraland death-benefit claims with supporting documents. With antifraud measures in place, the SSS found the claims to be spurious and discovered that the member was very much alive!

A case was filed against Mr. L and the court found him guilty of falsification of public documents.

Aside from imprisonment, the court ordered him to pay a fine of P5,000 plus the cost of the suit for violation of the Social Security Act and the Revised Penal Code.

I remember the story of one of our employees in the Fraud Investigation Department (FID) who said their unit received an anonymous report of a family that has been receiving death-benefit pensions for several years now but the “deceased” pensioner is living in a rice field in a nearby province.

Based on this report, a two-man

team from the FID conducted an investigation and while questioning the family involved, our team had to run for their lives. An old man with a bolo was running toward them. At first, our team was not aware of the situation until someone shouted to them “Dagan! Naay sundang! Naay sundang!” (Run! He’s got a bolo! He’s got a bolo!)

Although shaken by the incident, our FID people did not stop the investigation. With policemen in tow, our investigators returned the week after the bolo incident and gathered firsthand evidence proving that the supposedly deceased pensioner was still alive. A fraud case was filed against the family and the member.

It truly does not pay to violate the law!

Take the case of a security agency located in the province of La Union, whose owner was sentenced by the Regional Trial Court of San Fernando to 20 years imprisonment for failing to remit the social security contributions of his security guards. He denied his ownership of the agency after he was sued in court for being delinquent

to there has not been any great inflation. Here is an example of why.

Italian tire maker Pirelli is being taken over by Chinese state company ChemChina with an initial investment of $7.7 billion with more to follow as all the shares are bought out. In 2014 alone Chinese companies invested over $14 billion in Europe in everything from property to the Pizza Hut Co. China put $12 billion of direct investment in the US in 2014 as part of a total of $92-billion foreign investment in the US and this does into include the stock market or debt.

The US sent out almost $400 billion in 2013.

The point is that buckets are filled and then spilled into more buckets and that has kept any one country from hyperinflation. If Zimbabwe had been able to spend their Zimbabwean dollars overseas the way the US dollars, euros, renminbi, Swiss francs, and yen are invested, they would not have had hyperinflation.

The global financial system has enough capacity to absorb more money as long as it can be transferred into more buckets like the Philippines…for the time being E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

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

in the payment of his employees’ premiums from September 2010 to March 2011.

In his attempt to be exonerated, he contended that as operations manager, he was a mere employee of the security agency and, therefore, should not be faulted for nonremittance of SSS premiums. However, evidences pointed to him as the registered owner of the company. The fact that he deducted his employees’ share of contributions but did not remit them to SSS, made him liable for estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code.

As author Frederick William Robertson said, “There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy— hypocrisy, fraud and tyranny.”

For more information about the SSS and its programs, call our 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@sss.gov.ph.

Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the Social Security System. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Compromise between The servant savior pro-life, pro-choice camps could end abortion wars Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Alálaong Bagá

By Charles C. Camosy | Los Angeles Times/TNS

T

HE abortion wars have been devastating. They have made it virtually impossible to reflect the will of the people when it comes to abortion, to be sure, but their toxicity has also infected other issues. We are all too familiar with abortion battles dominating health-care reform debates and Supreme Court confirmations, and now an abortion-related squabble risks derailing a wildly popular and important bill protecting the victims of human sex trafficking.

But these kinds of dug-in, take-noprisoners abortion politics can’t last much longer. Shifting politics, legal developments and, especially, changing demographics each suggests that we can and must do this debate differently. Indeed, taken together, these data show that substantial changes are simply inevitable.

The energy of the abortion wars comes from the broad “us versus them” mentality of 1970s-style culture war polarization. But that—was then. Two groups that represent the shifting future of the United States—millennials and Latinos—know nothing of the culture wars. Indeed, a huge percentage of young people have explicitly rejected them: 50 percent refuse to identify as Republican or Democrat.

Predictably, neither group fits comfortably with the pro-choice or pro-life camp. While wanting legal abortion in some form, support for sharply restricting abortion is growing fastest with millennials. Pro-choice activist groups are spooked: Young people who identify as pro-life are twice as likely as those who are pro-choice to consider abortion an important issue, according to research from NARAL, an abortion-rights advocacy group. A remarkably low 37 percent of millennials consider abortion to be morally acceptable, according to the 2012 Millennial Values Survey.

Given their median age of 27 and the fact that they make up a large share of the coming “minority majority” in the US population, Latinos are also poised to play a huge role in politics, in general, and abortion politics, in particular. While it is clear they also don’t want abortion to be made illegal, Latinos are significantly more pro-life than other Americans. For instance, 51 percent of Latinos want abortion banned in all or most cases, compared with only 41 percent of the population at large, according to a Pew Research Center study.

Moreover, even before the new demographics can force a change in abortion politics, it’s clear that the lazy “you’re either for it or against it” binary is far too simplistic. For example, in 2009 a quarter of the Democratic caucus made tough pro-life votes. A 2011 Gallup Poll found that 27 percent of Democrats identify as pro-life, with 44 percent saying that abortion should be legal in “few or no circumstances.” This, while 28 percent of Republicans identify as pro-choice, with 63 percent saying that some abortions should remain legal.

Furthermore, significant majorities of Americans say that the term “prochoice” describes them somewhat or very well, while simultaneously saying that the term “pro-life” describes them somewhat or very well.

Given this complexity, perhaps it is not surprising to find that 61 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be broadly legal during the first trimester—while only 27 percent support it during the second, according to Gallup.

Despite the prevalence of the “us and

them” meme in our abortion discourse and politicking, Americans have already rejected the choice/life binary, and the next generation will find the notion positively antiquated. But that’s public opinion. What about the law? Doesn’t the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established abortion rights based on the constitutional right to privacy, mean that the either/or approach has to dominate in legislation and politics?

That thinking misses the fundamental legal shift that happened after Roe. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court (under the influence of Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy) shifted from a focus on privacy to discussing whether an abortion law poses an “undue burden” on women.

Both federal and state governments can (and do) now pass abortion restrictions that can be consistent with the Constitution as long as due attention is paid to the burden these laws would impose on women.

So if it is legally possible to pass more restrictive and nuanced abortion laws, and if it’s what the public wants, what would such laws look like? What kind of national legislation would break the us/ them impasse and meet the needs of the next generation and the Constitution?

Continental Europe, in some ways, could serve as a model for what a new balancing act might look like. Although the United States struggles with even modest attempts to limit abortion beyond 20 weeks, consider this list of countries that have set the limit at 12 weeks or less: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Of course, these countries already provide massive governmental support for women and for childbearing and child-rearing. The equivalent for the US might include a guarantee that women be given equal pay for equal work, a mandate for generous paid paternity leave, increased legal protections against job discrimination for women with children and subsidized child care.

Could mainstream pro-lifers, despite many deep connections with the GOP, ever agree to this kind of compromise?

When powerful conservative voices like Ross Douthat suggest that abortion restrictions in the US may not work at all without this social support for women, signs point to yes. And pro-choice liberals? When important activists like Frances Kissling, the former head of Catholics for Choice, argue that second-trimester abortions should be considered differently from those early in pregnancy, there is hope for true progress.

Reasons for such hope will only increase over time. A new generation is poised to reject the abortion wars in favor of a more authentic, nuanced and productive approach. To be sure, those who benefit from our incoherent abortion politics will resist such change.

But their days are numbered.

S

CORNED by those who think God will not help him, the oppressed and suffering one nonetheless calls on God to hasten and save him (Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24). The narrative of Jesus Christ’s passion and death reveals Him as the betrayed, mocked and unjustly executed Son of God (Mark 14:1–15:47).

Lord, be not far from me For the disciples of Jesus, Psalm 22 is of special significance. The dying Jesus is said to have uttered its opening line (Mark 15:34), and several of its expressions have been borrowed in the passion accounts.

The derision the psalmist endures from the onlookers is graphically described: with curled lips and wagging heads they sneer at him for relying on God. “Let Him come to his aid if he loves Him so much,” the scorners mock him.

Like a pack of wild dogs they surround him tearing at his hands and feet. His ridiculers are also rapacious thieves dividing his garments among them, casting lots for his robe.

Stripped naked, with his bones easily visible under his dried lacerated skin, he appears ready to be dumped in the pit and buried.

In his dire situation, his trust in God remains strong; his suffering does not keep him separated from Him. He asks God to rescue him

from his predicament: “Do not be far off; Lord, You are my strength, come quickly to my aid!”

And in all confidence, the psalmist promises to glorify God’s name and to proclaim before the assembly of the people of God the divine praises.

Ending with an exclamation typical of a thanksgiving, as if his prayer has been already answered or at least because he is convinced it will happen anyway, the psalmist publicly summons all who fear the Lord and all the descendants of Jacob and of Israel to praise the Lord.

The Son of the Blessed One

The passion chronology by Mark makes a massive and relentless thrust toward the gruesome eventuality of the death of Jesus: the opening plot of the religious leaders to put Jesus to death; the anointing of Jesus’ head in anticipation of His burial; the plan of Judas to hand Him over; the preparation for the Passover meal; Jesus Himself

Thursday, March 26, 2015

predicts the betrayal by Judas; the supper with the disciples in which Jesus speaks of His blood being shed for many; Peter’s denial foretold; Jesus agonizing in Gethsemane at the cup He was to drink; the betrayal by Judas and the arrest of Jesus; the trial before the Sanhedrin where in His answer to the high priest’s question whether He is the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One, sufficient blasphemy was found to justify Jesus’ condemnation to death by His own people; and the accompanying denial of Jesus by Peter.

It is a remarkable collage of events resolutely leading to the death sentence of Jesus. But the human actions were not the reasons why Jesus died. Jesus knew of His approaching death and burial when explaining the anointing done by the woman in Bethany. He was aware that the Son of Man must indeed go, but woe to the man by whom He would be betrayed.

At the last supper, He referred explicitly to His blood to be shed in expiation for many. In Gethsemane, while He prayed that the hour might pass by Him, yet He was decided to do what the Father wills, and He willingly met those sent to arrest Him. All this because, as He told the Sanhedrin, He is sure that the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of God.

Truly the Son of God

His people delivered Jesus to the Roman governor to be executed.

Pilate knew it was all because of envy but he was outmaneuvered by

Give China a reserve currency William Pesek

BLOOMBERG VIEW

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S former US Secretary of State Colin Powell famously advised, China favors “overwhelming force” in its campaigns, military or otherwise. Most recent, in a direct challenge to the global economic architecture established by the US and its allies after World War II, Beijing has pledged nearly $200 billion to various new lending institutions and funds—to bolster trade with Europe, establish a footprint in the Indian Ocean, build infrastructure across Asia and generally increase the mainland’s influence worldwide.

A new push to establish the renminbi as one of the world’s reserve currencies adds to this campaign.

The move would confer prestige, take America down a peg and attract more investment. Viewed that way, Washington should fear the yuan joining the ranks of the dollar, euro, yen and British pound, right?

Wrong. Increased use of the yuan internationally will force China to restructure more radically than its leaders may realize. It also could stabilize the country’s rickety financial system, to the benefit of the US and the rest of the globe.

While People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan hasn’t said so publicly, I’ll bet that his push for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to add the yuan to its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) system is a backdoor gambit to

promote reform at home, more than a geopolitical power-grab. Zhou is an unabashed liberalizer, a trusted disciple of former Premier Zhu Rongji, the man who in the 1990s took on state-owned companies and tossed more than 40 million of their employees out of work. Amid speculation Zhou, 67, may soon be replaced, he could be trying to cement the reform process his mentor began.

The issue has taken on new urgency after an exchange on Sunday between Zhou and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. Zhou clearly had little interest in sticking to the session’s ostensible subject— “Sound Monetary Policy in the New Normal”—and quickly pivoted. In 2010 the IMF said the yuan couldn’t be added to the 45-year-old SDR basket because it wasn’t “freely usable.”

Zhou made a case for how much

things had changed by 2015.

He’s only partly right. The yuan is strengthening versus the dollar, rather than being artificially depressed in order to boost exports.

Foreign investors can trade Shanghai-listed stocks through a link with Hong Kong’s exchange and have greater access to Chinese stocks and bonds more generally. But the yuan’s growth offshore is still more a function of speculation than genuine acceptance of the currency as a store of value. The capital account remains tightly controlled, a vestige of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Truly freeing the yuan would loosen Chinese leaders’ grip on their massive economy. In fact, that’s why it should be encouraged.

In March 2014 Zhou tried to liberalize short-term interest rates. By July the PBOC was backpedaling, fueling speculation that a higher power had intervened. Zhou also seems to get overruled every time he clamps down on excessive credit. Since June 2013 each time the central bank has moved to rein in bubbles, it’s eased up soon afterward. Even Zhou can only achieve so much as long as a micromanaging Communist Party is looking over his shoulder.

It’s time for a stealthier approach. The beauty of entering the SDR universe is the quid pro quo required of Beijing. China would have to open its capital account, revolutionizing the ways companies do business and unleashing a variety of knock-on effects. Beijing

Obama policies favor illegal immigrants over American citizens

By Lou Barletta CQ-Roll Call/TNS

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E have immigration laws in this country for two basic reasons: to preserve American jobs and to protect national security. President Barack Obama’s unlawful executive actions to grant amnesty to at least 5 million illegal immigrants violate both of those principles. Any objective review must find that the president’s policies have placed the concerns of those who have broken our laws ahead of the interests of citizens and legal residents of the United States.

The president’s systematic dismantling of our immigration laws

began in 2011 with the so-called Morton Memos, which instructed immigration officials to ignore broad categories of people for deportation purposes. That policy was expanded the following year by his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

DACA abuses the practice of prosecutorial discretion by halting the deportation of illegal immigrants and by proactively granting them work permits, if they claim to have arrived in the US when they were younger than 16 and have been present for five years, among other criteria. These actions culminated in November 2014—after the federal elections—when the president

acted unilaterally to grant amnesty and work permits to millions more who were already illegally present in this country.

Employment is difficult enough to find for millions of Americans and legal residents who woke up this morning without a paycheck. On top of that hardship, the president has now introduced millions of new applicants who will compete for jobs that are already scarce. It is difficult to imagine how such a policy is beneficial to American workers.

Worse, the president has laid out the welcome mat for anyone around the world who seeks illegal access to the interior of the United States.

More than a decade ago, the 9/11

Commission warned us terrorists want two things more than anything: to gain entry into this country, and to be able to stay here. The president’s policies make it unmanageable to screen all those who apply for amnesty, and therefore impossible to know whom we are dealing with. Moreover, the open invitation the president has advertised to the world now makes it more attractive than ever for terrorists, such as those sympathetic to the group that calls itself the Islamic State, to infiltrate our borders.

In recent contentious debate, Congress voted to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security. I support defending this

nation, but the president’s position that the funding of his executive amnesty was more important than protecting national security was something I could not agree with.

I cannot understand the argument that providing work permits and federal benefits to those who have broken our laws is more important than funding the defense of our country.

This is a president who said at least 22 times he did not have the constitutional authority to do what he eventually did—ignore the immigration laws enacted by Congress.

This is a clear issue involving the separation of powers of the three branches of the federal government.

A7

the chief priests to let Barabbas go instead of Jesus and to hand Jesus over to be crucified.

After being mocked by the soldiers, they led Jesus out to crucify Him. Divested of His garments, charged in the inscription as “The King of the Jews,” crucified with two criminals on Golgotha and jeered at by the crowd, Jesus breathed His last.

The inner veil of the temple before the Holy of Holies that only the high priest could enter was torn in two from top to bottom. The temple, exposed and profaned, will soon be destroyed, but more important, Jesus having offered Himself has made access to the presence of God possible for all.

The centurion who saw Jesus’ death acclaimed His divinity: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” The women followers of Jesus remained faithful to Him and kept watch at His crucifixion; a public figure, Joseph of Arimathea, courageously asked Pilate for His body and buried Him. Alálaong bagá, the paradox of God’s reign: at the moment of Jesus’ greatest agony is His recognition as the Son of God. Entering the Holy Week, we ask ourselves who Jesus is to us, what kind of a savior is He to us. He willingly offered Himself for our sake out of obedience to God. God loves us so.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

would have to internationalize its banking system, prod state-owned enterprises to tighten governance and competitiveness and improve the quality of assets in general. It would have to stop treating the breakdown of its $3.8 trillion of currency reserves like a state secret. Exports would become more expensive as the yuan rises, accelerating the shift toward services and boosting domestic consumption.

“True internationalization would force China to become more transparent and embrace market forces,” strategist Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman says. “In the 1997 to 1998 Asian crisis, many countries welcomed the internationalization of their economies as a force to adopt best practices and weaken the local rent-seeking elites.

If China were to open up its capital account and allow fuller convertibility of the yuan, it would become more integrated into the world economy.

It would strengthen international standards.”

Zhu Rongji attempted a similar strategy by championing China’s inclusion in the World Trade Organization. That cajoled Beijing to welcome foreign investments and adopt international commercial norms. Today one of the greatest threats facing the global economy is the possibility—slim, but not unthinkable—of a Chinese debt crisis.

Anything that puts the mainland’s financial system on a more stable foundation should be welcomed, not feared.

Thankfully, a federal judge in Texas has granted an injunction, which will allow a lawsuit brought by 26 states to proceed. Presumably, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will also weigh in. Unfortunately, it seems it will now be left to the courts to decide whether this president—or any other—is above the Constitution.

And so the question remains for the administration: whose rights are more important? Lawful citizens and residents of the United States, or those who would willfully break our immigration laws?

Rep. Lou Barletta is a Republican from Pennsylvania.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Thursday, March 26, 2015

DTI TO CONTINUE PROMOTING MINDANAO IN ROAD SHOWS

By Catherine N. Pillas

T

he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will continue its promotional activities for Mindanao, noting that investors’ interest remains high despite the recent clashes between the government and rebel forces in the region.

“It’s business as usual; there won’t be any slowdown or hesitation in promoting investments for that area. I don’t see any effect on the interest in investing in the area or in the country ,” Ponciano C. Manalo Jr., undersecretary for Trade and Investment Promotion, told the media at the sidelines of Sikat Pinoy National Food Fair held at SM Megamall.

He assured the business sector that there is no obstacle in promoting trade and investment in Mindanao.

“Mindanao is a vast area with a strong potential in food producing, you have Dole and Tadeco [Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc.], and the Zamboanga Ecozone.Investor confidence is always there, we’re riding on high confidence levels,” Manalo added.

Manalo said concerns over Mindanao’s business climate will not be an issue at a forthcoming investment forum in Dubai that the Philippines will be joining, particularly to make a pitch for Mindanao as an investment destination.

The DTI will bring over 30 companies to the Middle Eastern city as part of the forum.

Aside from courting investors in the food sector, Manalo said he will be promoting the country’s tourism and infrastructure sectors in the Dubai forum.

The annual investment forum in Dubai will run from March 29 to 31.

Inflation to remain muted in March–BSP I

By Bianca Cuaresma

nflation in March is not likely to breach the midpoint of the scaled back inflation target for the year, as developments in energy, transportation and food prices continue to provide downside pres-

sures to the country’s premier price index, the central bank said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. on Wednesday told reporters the inflation rate in March could range from 2.1 percent to 2.9 Continued on A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Consumer spending, factory growth seen to boost imports

S

By Cai U. Ordinario

trong consumption spending may boost imports growth in the coming months, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In January imports posted a contraction of 14.2 percent, the lowest since April 2012, when imports posted a decline of 13.34 percent. Import growth in January 2014 was 24.7 percent.

However, Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan said the domestic economy should remain robust in the coming months. This will boost imports of raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods and consumer items.

“Our prospects for the

BALISACAN: “Our prospects for the business sector, including export-oriented industries, remain largely positive, especially in the quarter ahead, as more businesses have expressed their interest to expand operations, especially the manufacturing sector.”

business sector, including export-oriented industries, remain largely positive, especially in the

quarter ahead, as more businesses have expressed their interest to expand operations, especially the manufacturing sector,” Balisacan said. “Consumer spending is also likely to remain upbeat, in line with increases in income opportunities, as reflected in the January 2015 employment numbers,” he added.

Balisacan also said the downside risks from port congestion in Metro Manila have eased. This will help boost trade not only in the National Capital Region, but also nationwide.

Meanwhile, the government said total import bills in January 2015 amounted to $5.11 billion, lower than the $5.96 billion recorded during the same period a year ago. The 28.3-percent growth in electronic product, the country’s top import, was not enough to offset the 43.4-percent decline in imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, the country’s second top import in January.

Electronic imports, which accounted for 32.4 percent of the total import bill, amounted to $1.66 billion, while fuel imports

accounted for 14.2 percent of the total with $723.63 million in January 2015.

“Lower oil prices primarily caused the imports bill to decline significantly in January 2015.

Over the medium term, payments for imported crude oil may remain lower, tempering the total value of Philippine merchandise imports in 2015,” Balisacan said.

Meanwhile, the country’s top 3 import sources were the People’s Republic of China with a share of 15.4 percent of the total import bill, followed by Singapore with 9.1 percent, and the United States including Alaska and Hawaii, 9 percent.

Imports from China amounted to $788.10 million. This, however, represented a decrease of 8.3 percent from $859 million in January 2014.

Shipments from Singapore reached $463.41 million. This was a 39.4-percent increase from $332.33 million in January 2014.

The Philippines imported $460.46 million worth of goods from the US. It decreased by 31.3 percent from its January 2014 value of $670.46 million.

OIL TRADES BELOW $48 PER BARREL

O

il traded below $48 a ba r rel before US government data that will show whether a glut of crude is expanding in the world’s biggest consumer.

Futures were little changed in New York after advancing for a third day on Tuesday. Crude inventories probably climbed for an 11th week through March 20, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report on Wednesday. Industry data showed supplies rose by 4.8 million barrels, according to people familiar with the figures and reports on Twitter.

Oil is down 12 percent from this year’s peak in February, as US stockpiles and production advance to the highest level in more than three decades. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which resisted calls to reduce supply at a November meeting, will probably maintain its collective

quota when it next meets in June, according to Facts Global Energy, a research company.

“The trend has not been great for US supplies,” David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said by phone. “If we want to see the price rally, someone needs to cut at least 1 million barrels a day out of the market straight away. It still looks rather gloomy at this stage.”

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery was down 16 cents at $47.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:02 p.m. Singapore time. The contract gained 6 cents to $47.51 on Tuesday. The volume of all futures traded was about 65 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for May settlement was 4 cents lower at $55.07 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It slid 81 cents to $55.11 a barrel on Tuesday. The European benchmark crude traded at a

premium of $7.70 to WTI. US crude supplies probably expanded by 4.75 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Stockpiles have climbed the prior 10 weeks to 458.5 million, the highest level in weekly data compiled by the EIA since August 1982.

Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI contracts, increased by 2 million barrels last week, the industryfunded American Petroleum Institute in Washington reported on Tuesday. They climbed to a record 54.4 million through on March 13, according to the EIA. Oil prices will continue to fall in the second quarter as refineries shut for maintenance, according to Facts Global. Demand will slow and send Brent to as low as $35 a barrel, Fereidun Fesharaki, the chairman of Facts Global, told a conference on Tuesday in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates. Bloomberg News