Businessmirror 10 28 2014

Trans-Pacific trade talks 2006, 2010, 2012

U.N. Media Award 2008

www.businessmirror.com.ph

New york USA ANd LoUie M. LAcSoN Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life

Fierce rivals GMA, ABS-CBN battle for top prime-time slots

BusinessMirror

>> d3

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 D1

At 60, more famous than ever

By Samito Jalbuena

I

❶

F you love to go shopping—whether to actually buy or just browse—but you didn’t visit the recent Manila FaMe (Furnishings and apparel Manufacturers’ exchange), then you missed a lifetime opportunity to digest in a few days what’s happening to the ever-varied, everfascinating world of local design with an export-oriented and global mind-set. with resin antlers.

Great designers know their basics. Blue was complemented by the yellow-orange of rattan. it also seems very timely that Cobonpue hit on the theme of Western Americana, since cowboy chic is making a big comeback internationally.

As for new visions in space utilization, Manila FAMe ushered in a next generation of Philippine design talents. The Red Box Home Scenography, a sector that features wunderkinds, paved the way for visitors to see ideas by Rachelle Dagñalan, Lilianna Manahan, Leeroy new and Joseph Rastrullo.

Among the young ones, there seems to be a predilection for the unstoppable artistic vision of Leeroy new, whose skills in appropriating materials have conjured a totally distinct environment. new created a wall installation of cardboard bioforms, looking like cellular matrices in search of order.

There were many other inspiring ideas in the recently concluded Manila FAMe, which was aimed at positioning the Philippines as an ideal sourcing hub of finely crafted products for the local and global market.

Through this biannual event, Citem intends to solidify the image of “the Filipinos’ artistry and design ingenuity in the global community,” said Rosvi Gaetos, executive director of Citem.

Manila FAMe is one of the longestrunning trade shows in the region and is the sole trade event in the country approved by the Union des Foires internationales, an organization of the world’s leading trade show organizers and fairground owners, as well as the major associations of the exhibition industry.

Thankfully, another edition is coming next March. But that may be a little bit too late.

Merchandise orders have begun tallying to as much as the projected $25-million goal, which seems easily realized by the trade fair.

Famously known as the country’s premier design and lifestyle event, Manila FAMe, a brainchild of the Center for international trade expositions and Missions (Citem), once again unveiled the modern Filipino’s penchant for creative design and styling as it brought together promising talent, seasoned artisans, anxious buyers and curious style watchers all under one roof in its 60th biannual edition from October 16 to 19 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

This edition of Manila FAMe featured various design directions under a democratic and free-market banner that was heralded by Budji Layug no less as creative director. Layug gave marching orders that diverse design viewpoints from both veteran stakeholders and new participants would be given free reign. in terms of design for space and habitats, Manila FAMe was an eye-opener for various reasons. in Kenneth Cobonpue’s project, we saw the designer making use of themes that will prove to be big in the coming months.

Cobonpue has data-mined the directions where the avant-garde and the stylish flock will follow. His themes largely center on a playful, surreal mix of influences. His living room collection echoes luxurious, yet downto-earth, desires symbolized by motifs of a dessert wilderness, provoking the onlooker to take charge of his own design horizon while also tapping the designer’s provocative choices. Cobonpue has mixed Western Americana motifs in his collection. Dark blue denim covers his sofa and armchairs, provoking the semiotic realization that the cowboy denim has, if not fashion-wise, also conquered the world.

Meanwhile, the Cebu-based designer offsets his new mantra of “Blue is the new black” by utilizing the complementary color of yellow-orange, which, through a mark of genius, found its way on the display floor through chairs covered in rattan and topped

❷

❶ Eric Paras and stanley ruiz collaborated in designing the Design Philippines central setting, a main sector of the trade fair. PHOTOS BY MANILA FAMe

➋ ThE red Box home scenography featured young talents such as Leeroy New who conjured this artsy wall installation.

How to choose the right mattress

G

ettinG a good night’s sleep is key to better health—and your mattress has a lot to do with it. According to Michael Decker, PhD, Rn, associate professor at Georgia State University, “A mattress can impact a person’s sleep.” the type of mattress you lie in, be it firm, medium or soft, can either interrupt your slumber or give you a restful sleep.

Before you head out to a mattress store, make sure you look into these tips in choosing the right mattress for a comfortable sleep and an ache-free morning the next day. n KNOW THE TYPES OF MATTRESS. Familiarize yourself with different types and physical components of a mattress. Some of the most popular include innerspring, memory foam and latex. innerspring mattress is the most common and cost-effective as it uses a steel coil system for support and covered with materials like padding and quilted ticking for comfort. Memory foam mattress molds to the shape of your body and distributes your weight evenly. Latex is made from either natural or synthetic rubber, which, just

like memory foam, conforms to the contours of your body reducing pressure points. n UNDERSTAND YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS. there is no single mattress type that would be suitable for all. if you’ve been suffering from back or neck pain, choose a mattress that would provide support for the natural curves and alignment of the spine. if you have allergies and asthma, find a mattress that’s designed to prevent the growth of dust mites, mildew and bacteria. For a restful sleep, purchase the mattress that would suit your needs. n THE SIZE OF THE MATTRESS MATTERS. if your mattress complies with your sleeping patterns and relieves back pains, you also have to consider getting the right size for a comfortable sleep. Make sure you and your bedmate have the proper amount of space to sleep in. twin size can accommodate one child and an adult sleeper.

A queen-size bed is recommended for couples, and if you are more than 6 feet tall, a king-size mattress is a good choice.

n TEST RUN A MATTRESS BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT. You wouldn’t buy a dress without fitting it first, right? Same goes in buying a mattress, make sure to test nap on it by lying down for 10 minutes to 15 minutes. if it feels comfortable enough, especially in your favored sleeping position, then it’s the right mattress for you.

Buying a mattress is a big purchase for your home. Since you are to spend a third of your life sleeping on it, invest on one that can give the best value for your money and comply with your physical needs. Choose the right mattress for a sound night’s sleep and a rejuvenated feeling the next morning.

You can do such a test run of mattresses at Mandaue Foam Furniture Store (www. mandauefoam.ph), as each store has a bed-testing area, where you can lie down on their full selection of mattresses and see what works best for you. the company has been crafting quality mattresses at various price points for over 40 years. the company takes pride in that every mattress is manufactured with precision to ensure that you get the most comfort, support and usage.

life

d1

cyber threats loom over bpo sector Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • corp@businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 B4-1

Cyber threats loom over BPO sector

T

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

HE country’s business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry is in a precarious situation as far as cyber threats are concerned.

“The BPO industry is in a perfect storm because it has a fat pipe as a result of the presence of several companies operating in the country,” said Pierre Noel, chief security for Asia of Microsoft Corp.

“Just imagine the colossal volume of data and information generated by

these BPOs. These are very tempting to the hackers out there,” Noel added.

He said seeing the data of BPOs compromised would have a big impact on the Philippines’s ranking by investment advisory firm Tholons.

Tholons announced in the first quarter that Metro Manila has

Sharp eyes businesses, schools for touchscreen panel sales

S

HARP (Philippines) Corp. is positioning its Interactive Display Panel (IDP) touchscreen whiteboard on the business and educational institutions market segment.

We aim to make presentations and meetings more interactive, compelling and effective, the company said in a statement.

The company said its product has a touchcontrol function, which lets users change pages and enlarge or move objects around the screen.

“They can also use a touch pen to make annotations, keep track of new proposals and maintain the focus of discussions. Displaying text, images and even handwritten notes simultaneously gives its users a sharper edge in presentations and discussions.”

The company said its product also has a videoconferencing function.

“Different parties in distant locations can participate in virtual meetings and collaborate

closely. The big screen brings in an ‘alreadythere’ feel to any videoconference with people who are far away.”

The company added that participants can digitally display their documents and write notations directly on the screen.

“This allows for better communication between parties despite the physical separation.” The company said its product can also be linked to a larger Sharp Video Wall to keep students engaged to a lecture, especially when the class takes place in a lecture hall or a spacious conference room. It can also be linked to separate venues for remote learning and two-way communication.

“In a showroom for business establishments, these IDPs can serve as an all-purpose showroom enhancer, displaying product information, demonstrations and more. They can also be hooked to a printer and quickly print out any onscreen information needed by the customers.”

surpassed Mumbai on the second spot in the Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations for 2014.

Manila is only behind Bangalore for the top position.

The Information Technology Business Process Association of the Philippines (Itbap) aims to generate $25 billion in revenues and an estimated 1.3 million labor force by 2016.

Exacerbating the situation in the Philippines is the presence of malicious software on 50 percent of the computers being sold in the market, according to Noel.

Noel said he and his team discovered this when they randomly bought personal computers in several stores and tested the machines in a computer laboratory managed by a

third-party organization.

“The worm is in the fruit,” Noel said. To counter the threat, Noel said it is important to educate the people on the impact of malware on their activities, such as work and education. Further, he said, users must regularly patch their computer software.

He added that computers can check the Microsoft web site when the company issues new computer patches or minor updates.

The latter cover malicious software (malware) database refreshes for Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials.

A malware is a computer program designed to infiltrate and damage computers without the user’s

consent. It is used as general term covering all the different types of threats to computer safety, such as viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, and rootkits among others.

As a region, Noel pointed out that Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines should look upon Singapore as the yardstick as far as developing a strong cybersecurity infrastructure is concerned.

Aside from Singapore, Noel said Australia and New Zealand are good models “because they are grasping effectively the importance of a strong cyber security network.” Noel said the major concern would be if the terrorists developed the skills to hack infrastructure and other vital installations.

“Since they are stateless entities, terrorists can move anywhere and will not hesitate to such attacks.”

Noel urged software developers to make their products more secure to ensure protection and minimize the threats on the users. “I am very keen on promoting security on application development to differentiate themselves from the guy next door,” he said.

Furthermore, Noel stressed that governments must establish a software procurement process that would determine in checking the right software companies for the job.

“Companies, who can demonstrate a sound security life cycle, should be the ones chosen to provide the needs of the people.

Ericsson launches global innovation competition for university students

T

ELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM Ericsson (Ericsson) announced the launch of the sixth annual Innovation Awards, a competition in which university students are given the opportunity to be drivers of fundamental change in society.

The theme of the 2015 competition is “The Future of Learning,” according to a statement. The company said entries to the competition should respond to the following questions: How can we make learning accessible for all? What do we need when lifelong learning becomes necessary for everyone? What are the new tools and methodologies when learning becomes an online activity and it happens more and more away from school buildings? “In Ericsson’s vision of the networked society, technology fundamentally transforms

the ways we organize our lives, businesses and societies. But only recently has the connectivity and computational power once reserved for industrial applications become intensely personal—embedded not just into our mobile devices and cloud software, but into our everyday expressions, interactions, relationships and desires. The result is an unprecedented capacity for individual empowerment and innovation.” The company, which saw third quarter 2014 operating income decline to 3.9 billion Swedish krona ($538.26 million), said the winner of the competition will receive a prize of €25,000 (roughly $31,729.63), with the runners-up receiving €10,000 ($12,691.85). Half of the latter amount or €5,000 ($6,345.93) would go to the third-placed team.

Globe boosts apps for digital lifestyle support G

LOBE Telecom Inc. recently announced it enhanced its mobile applications to support what it calls as a digital lifestyle.

In a statement, the Ayala clan-led telecommunications firm said it now offers cloud computing in the mobile segment.

The telco said its product allows users automatically back up data stored on their mobile phone to a cloud location, which Globe claims to be secure. “Customers can access and manage all files and even contacts from their smartphones, tablets, computer or any mobile browser. A user can also transfer contacts from one phone to another as well as stream music and videos. Globe Cloud can also access existing personal storage accounts, which enable access of all digital files in one place.”

Globe said it offers extra cloud storage at a monthly or annual subscription from 1 gigabyte (GB) for P15 per month and 100GB at P499 per month. The app can be downloaded for free and comes with free 1GB worth of storage.

Globe added it also tweaked its movies application to allow users to avoid long queues or select good seats, especially for blockbuster film showings. It enables purchase of tickets and reservation of seats directly from a phone. The app also plays movie trailers.

Globe said it also enhanced its retail application that offers discounts, freebies and offers from multiple sources.

The application “collects a wide variety of products from different deal sites that are tailored to your taste and preference.”

Consumers, according to Globe, can purchase deals directly through a smartphone sans the need to print the vouchers. Payment options include reservation via load, credit card or cash on delivery. The telco said it also boosted its mobile services platform, which allows users to manage postpaid or prepaid accounts. Users can check their balance, subscribe to promotional services, redeem rewards, share load, activate roaming, find a Globe store, request for account modifications and download free games and music.

“It is zero-rated and can be used without affecting your data.”

“Our latest app portfolio is a testament to our commitment to leading today’s digital revolution,” Globe Vice President for Digital Media Glenn Estrella was quoted in the statement as saying.

digital life

b4-1

decorating with brown Design&Space BusinessMirror

D4 Tuesday, October 28, 2014

By Mary Carol Garrity | McClatchy-Tribune News Service

T

Tips for creating a soothing bedroom

By Cathy Hobbs

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

W

HEn it comes to creating the perfect décor for your bedroom, it doesn’t have to be about spending lots of money. instead, aim to create a soothing and calming atmosphere that reflects your personality and creates the ideal oasis. in refreshing your bedroom, remove pieces that are excess and keep pieces you love, using them for inspiration to create an overall décor story, or as the foundation for your bedroom color palette.

When it comes to creating the perfect boudoir, here are my top design recipe tips: n Select neutral bedding. it will serve as the perfect blank slate in order for you to build a bedroom color palette. After selecting your bedding, add color and texture

1. PAIR BROWN WITH LIGHTER, BRIGHTER COLORS A few years ago, brown was the bomb. So much so that we saw people going overboard with this dramatic neutral. folks were washing their homes from ceiling to floor in brown, with brown walls, brown furniture, brown artwork and more.

It didn’t take much to make the Brown Houses, as we began to call them, more visually appealing. The trick? Pair brown with lighter, brighter colors. we created a palette that is perfect for a living room, dining room or bedding ensemble using fabrics featuring browns, creams and pops of warm reds. Switch the red for navy and you have the same stately look.

Brown also looks great mixed with brighter, bolder accent colors. In a mix of fabrics, we added in a liberal amount of cream, then threaded in a bit of sage and celadon. I also love turquoise, apple green, fuchsia (any pink, actually), orange and yellow with brown.

2. BRING BROWN ALIVE THROUGH PATTERN THe secret to keeping a focused palette

interesting and alive is to swirl the colors together with lots of different patterns.

The mix of patterns in the furnishings is the key to success.

3. USE BROWN TO SPOTLIGHT LIGHTER ACCENTS AND ARTWORK GreAT artwork can get lost on a light wall if you are not careful. But when you hang lighter pieces against a moody, dark canvass of brown, holy smokes! It pops!

The walls in a gallery at Nell Hill’s are painted Molasses, one of my Mary Carol Artisan Paint colors. This is one of our most popular paint colors, and for good reason.

My friend Cynthia painted her dining room walls Molasses and the wood trim Garrity Cream. The light cream trim keeps the dark walls from feeling heavy or dull. And, wow, does it look great with her casual dining room furnishings?

The brown is content to recede into the background and let the individual elements in the room shine.

5. PAIR BROWN WITH EARTHY ACCENTS THe color of bark and soil and fall leaves, brown is a natural when paired with earthy accents. My friend Jean made her covered porch an ode to nature’s rugged side by furnishing her space in brown wicker chairs and irresistible textiles in a mix of browns.

A rustic wood table is a perfect celebration of brown in all its many shades and finishes. n This column was adapted from Mary Carol Garrity’s blog at www.nellhills.com. She can be reached at marycarol@nellhills.com.

TRAVEL THE WORLD–ONE BOOTH AT A TIME learn about their history, and where you will see the past come to life,” reads the group’s design rationale.

For their interpretation, the student designers decided to incorporate the concepts of beer, castles, glass and porcelain, approaching these design elements with an industrial and modern view. The space is a dining room, but a bar was added to highlight the Czechs’ favorite brew. in the space, the use of neutral colors gets a jolt of blue—a nod to one of the colors found in the Czech flag.

The materials used by the students include wood to portray the love for beer, and brick to show the main material used for age-old castles, while glass and porcelain have been deployed as design embellishments.

Visit the Czech Republic Booth and the 22 other countries featured in the PSiD’s Globalscapes.

thE graduating PSID students that interpreted the passions of the Czech into a striking space for socializing at home.

design&space thIS modern dining room with an industrial vibe got its inspiration from the Czech republic.

D4

giants almost there!

Sports

Perez delivers for fallen friend

S

AN FRANCISCO—Juan Perez heard an upsetting rumor from a baseball official in the dugout during Game Five of the World Series, then hurried up the steps to the San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse to listen to the television broadcast for the news.

“I just overheard behind my back, ‘Oscar Taveras has had a car accident. He has died,’” Perez said, getting choked up as he recalled the memory still fresh in his head.

Wiping away tears, Perez provided the biggest moment of his young career. The left fielder entered as a pinch runner in the sixth inning and broke the game open with a two-run double off the top of the center-field wall in the eighth, helping the Giants beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0, on Sunday night to

take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Perez dedicated the double to his fallen friend and fellow countryman.

“It took me probably three innings to think over it. I knew I just had to regroup,” Perez said. “I took everything away and focused on the game.”

Taveras, a 22-year-old slugger for the Saint Louis Cardinals who was regarded as one of the majors’ top prospects, died in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic earlier Sunday.

Perez met Taveras in 2009 and the two later played winter ball together for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Republic.

“He’s really close friend of mine,” Perez said.

“I know his family pretty good, I know his mom, his dad, his brothers, we were really close. It’s a huge loss for all his family, his teammates and

GIANTS ALMOST THERE!

the people [who] care about him.”

Perez said he had trouble going through his routine of stretching and taking swings for about an hour. Finally, teammate Joaquin Arias came over to him and said, “Stay strong. Keep your mind strong. We got to win this game.’”

Two of Taveras’s biggest moments also happened to come against the Giants this season.

He homered against San Francisco’s Yusmeiro Petit in his major-league debut on May 31. And just two weeks ago, Taveras had a game-tying solo drive in the seventh inning of Game Two in the NL Championship Series.

“You never know what can happen in life.

It’s crazy,” Perez said, shaking his head. “I can’t explain it.” AP

BusinessMirror

C1

| Tuesday, OCTOber 28, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TAVERAS

By Ben Walker

The Associated Press

AN FRANCISCO—Madison Bumgarner put the San Francisco Giants just one win from yet another championship, allowing just four hits to beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0, on Sunday for a 3-2 Series edge.

Hardly menacing on the mound, Bumgarner was simply untouchable— again—as “MVP! MVP!” chants broke out in the late innings.

And by the time the 25-year-old from Hickory, North Carolina, closed out his second win in a week, he had evoked memories of Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Curt Schilling and the top October aces of all-time.

Joined them, and maybe even passed them.

Who else has gone 4-0 in four World Series starts with a 0.29 ERA (earned run average)? Throw in only 12 hits in 31 innings, along with 27 strikeouts, and that adds up to the very definition of Big-Game Pitcher.

On this evening, he fanned eight without a walk and never was in trouble, becoming the first pitcher to toss a World Series shutout since Josh Beckett’s clinching gem for the Florida Marlins in 2003 at Yankee Stadium.

The Giants’ work isn’t done yet. To lock up their third crown in five years, they’ll need to win in Kansas City.

Jake Peavy gets the first chance to seal it for San Francisco when he starts Game Six at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night against rookie Yordano Ventura.

If the Giants don’t win then, there was always this possibility: Bumgarner out of the bullpen in Game Seven.

Hunter Pence once again was in the middle of things for Giants. He singled off James Shields in the second and scored on a groundout by Brandon Crawford, who finished with three RBIs (runs batted in).

Later, the enigmatic Pence accidentally threw his bat past the mound while striking out, and seemed to apologize to Shields. Pence added another hit in a three-run eighth, making him nine for 19 in the five games.

Postseason star Pablo Sandoval also singled twice. Juan Perez broke it open with a tworun double off the top of the center-field fence in the eighth off Wade Davis and scored on a single by Crawford.

Since trailing, 4-1, in Game Four, the Giants have responded with 15 straight runs. San Francisco won that game, putting aside concern that Bumgarner should’ve been moved up to pitch on short rest.

Bumgarner won for the fourth time in this postseason, and this blanking bookended the four-hit shutout he threw at Pittsburgh in the NL wild-card game.

Durable, he’s thrown 47-2/3 innings this October, trailing just Schilling’s 48 1-3 in 2001 for the most in a single postseason.

Given an early lead, Bumgarner was in control. He surely didn’t need much of a cushion, and looked even better than he did in winning the opener in Kansas City.

And on the rare occasion when the 6-foot-5 Bumgarner made a mistake, failing to cover first base on a grounder to the right side, his defense bailed him out.

Toward the late innings, it appeared that only a lightning strike could rescue the Royals, perhaps a home run out of nowhere. Not happening—this was the third straight game without either team hitting a homer, the longest streak in the World Series since 1948 when the Boston Braves and Cleveland began with a three-game drought, STATS said.

Exactly why the man nicknamed MadBum is so dominant isn’t easily apparent.

Royals cleanup man Eric Hosmer said before the game that Bumgarner’s “crossbody” delivery is tough to pick up.

Bumgarner definitely has an impressive whip, along with an imposing WHIP in the World Series. His walks-plus-hits ratio per inning is incredible.

Bumgarner certainly excels at keeping hitters swinging at shadows by changing speeds. Kansas City batters chased balls that bounced as well as high ones out of the strike zone.

After Salvador Perez led off the second with a single—he homered in Game One for the lone run off Bumgarner—the slow-walking lefty who never seems to be in a hurry made quick work of the Royals.

Bumgarner struck out the next three batters, all swinging. He was at his best against Omar Infante on three pitches a 76-mph (122-kph) curve, a fastball at 91 mph (146 kph) and a slider at 86 mph (138 kph).

About the only thing Bumgarner didn’t do was get a hit. He takes pride in his plate prowess and launched four home runs this season, including two grand slams.

Bumgarner went 0-for-4, leaving him hitless in 22 postseason at-bats.

S

Madison Bumgarner fans out eight without a walk and never was in trouble, becoming the first pitcher to toss a World Series shutout since Josh Beckett’s clinching gem for the Florida Marlins in 2003 at Yankee Stadium.

MADISON BUMGARNER and the Giants blank Royals for a 3-2 Series lead. AP

SLICK DEFENSE

S

AN FRANCISCO—Strong-armed San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval crisply made every tough play, and emphatically celebrated each triumph.

After completing his throw for the final out on Sunday night, he leaped in the air and twirled his robust body. He then pumped a fist and jumped for that signature side bump with first baseman Brandon Belt.

Sandoval even made the trickiest of groundballs look easy. And he wasn’t the only one to show off some snazzy glove work to back Madison Bumgarner in a 5-0 win against the Kansas City Royals that gave the Giants a 3-2 World Series lead.

On a team defined by star pitchers and a hard-nosed, unflappable bullpen, San Francisco’s steady, slick defense has done so much to get this group on the cusp of another championship.

Now, the Giants must go on the road once more to try to close it out—just the way they did in 2010 at Texas and again two years later, closing out a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in Motown.

Game Six is Tuesday night in Kansas City, with Jake Peavy taking the ball for San Francisco and trying for his second title in two years after winning it all with Boston last season.

To begin another stellar day, Sandoval snagged Eric Hosmer’s bouncing grounder that hit the lip of the grass in front of him and suddenly stayed flat, then nabbed Hosmer at first just in time on a key play in the fourth inning.

Moments later, Belt dazzled all on his own when he fielded a groundball by Salvador Perez and raced the Kansas City catcher to first and slid into the bag for the forceout.

Even shortstop Brandon Crawford has been spot on after a shaky start in Game One at Kauffman Stadium. He led the team with 21 errors in the regular season.

Through the ugly slumps of June and September, San Francisco has found its groove with the gloves. The Giants are making the spectacular plays and the routine ones, something their opponents have struggled to do this postseason.

While Hunter Pence has the defensive highlight play in these playoffs, when he slammed his back into the right-field wall at AT&T Park to rob Washington’s Jayson Werth

of extra bases, unheralded outfielders Travis Ishikawa and Gregor Blanco also have made clutch catches to thwart potential rallies.

The back-to-back defensive gems in Game Five allowed Bumgarner to work most efficiently on the way to the first World Series complete-game shutout since Josh Beckett in Game Six of the 2003 Series for the champion Marlins.

Bumgarner, who finished his four-hitter to chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!,” will be sure to offer a firm pat on the back to everybody behind him. It often starts with the Gold Glove candidate Kung Fu Panda at third base. He has that foursome of fans in gigantic panda hats right behind home plate cheering his every dive, stop and even an occasional awkward tumble.

The southpaw Bumgarner has done his part all postseason, yet again. The snazzy glove work has been a nice bonus.

Sandoval pumped his right fist after cleanly fielding Omar Infante’s grounder and firing to first to end the seventh. Once he scooped another Hosmer grounder and ended the game on another perfect throw to first, Sandoval could really let loose. AP

PABLO SANDOVAL could really let loose. AP

sports

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 20

P25.00 nationwide | 7 sections 32 pages | 7 days a week

T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

he battle goes on for the tandem of Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Land Inc. to win the muchcoveted P35.42-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax), warning President Aquino of violating the law if the state pursues the rebidding of the deal.

Team Orion on Monday filed a petition before Malacañang, urging no less than the head of the state to finally make a stand on the issues hounding the multibillionpeso project.

A rebidding, the tandem said, would require Malacañang to breach the build-operate-transfer law’s implementing rules and regulations. Under the law, a rebidding is proposed only if there is a pronounced failure of the auction.

See “Calax,” A4

A

Earthy, warm, soothing and satisfying, the color brown encourages us to slow down and snuggle. MCT

O

n

INDICES WE TRUST (From left) Ellen Tordesillas, from the media sector; Cora Guidote, from the business sector; and Malou Tiquia, from the political sector, answer questions during the open-forum portion at the Third Philippine Trust Index launch held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. NONOY LACZA

4. ADD BROWN TO MAKE SPACES SOOTHING wArM and wonderful, brown pillows on a comfy cream sofa look ready for your Sunday nap.

My top 10 list of decorating faves? A pair of brown leather wingback chairs flanking a fireplace. Be still my beating heart! The light stone fireplace surrounds, and blue walls and plump plaid pillows keep the chairs from feeling too dark. All this serene setting needs is you, a cup of tea and a good book.

through your artwork and accessories. n Buy affordable toss pillows. Toss pillows will provide you with an affordable way to update the look of your bedroom quickly and easily. Think about swapping out toss pillows seasonally for a fresh new look. n Invest in great sheets. i prefer cotton sateen with 400 thread count with a creative embroidery or decorative border pattern that looks beautiful when making the bed, folded back. n Purchase the essentials. including a well-made bed, nightstands with simple lamps and a basic dresser with a beautiful decorative mirror above. n Layer a scent. Soy-based candles and scents, such as lavender—try placing fresh lavender in tiny cheesecloth pouches and place them throughout the bedroom—can open your senses and refresh your mind.

ngOing until October 31 at the Super Sale Hall of SM City north Edsa in Quezon City, Globalscapes is the graduation exhibition of the Philippine School of interior Design’s (PSiD) Advanced Class of 2014.

Marking the PSiD’s 47th anniversary, the exhibit aims to capture the culture, traditions, practices, folklores, art, architecture and music of 22 different countries across six continents, with the graduating students reinterpreting them as exquisitely designed residential interior spaces.

The graduating students were also asked to incorporate an unfamiliar cultural element into their design to highlight its importance to their assigned country and help exhibitgoers to know even more about the beauty of another culture. Thorough research was conducted not only of the different countries assigned to the students, but also in basic design principles and ergonomics.

For their assigned country, the Czech Republic, the group of graduating students Ma. natalia Alegre, Alexandra Esguerra, So Hyun Kim, gabrielle Mae Racelis and Dea Carina Sy focused their interpretation on the country’s reputation as the world’s heaviest consumers of beer.

“Beer is served almost everywhere in Czech Republic. it is mostly found in their capital, Prague, where the biggest beer festival is held every year in May. They are also known for their fond use of glass and porcelain, which are sold all over the city and a lot of which are used to accessorize hotels, restaurants and houses. Aside from that, tourists come to Prague to visit the Czech Republic’s greatest treasure, their castles. These castles are where you will truly

A broader look at today’s business

Full-year growth likely below target in 2014 Congress tells regulators:

www.businessmirror.com.ph

5 tricks for decorating with brown he world looks fabulous wrapped in the colors of fall. And at the base of this beautiful bouquet of radiant color is brown. earthy, warm, soothing and satisfying, the color brown encourages us to slow down and snuggle. And eat hot, buttery popcorn. Or, is that just me? I digress. here are my favorite ways to work this dramatic but undemanding neutral into your home décor.

for the entire Pacific Rim region.

Yet, an agreement has remained elusive, with informal deadlines long passed.

Critics of the plan say the negotiations are too secretive and are likely to favor the interests of big multinational corporations over those of ordinary workers and consumers. AP/Rob Griffith

Do not rebid Calax deal

at 60, more famous than ever D

attention to Asia. US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said it could yield tens of billions of dollars a year in economic gains and increased exports for each side.

The pact, aimed at cutting tariffs and setting trade rules, is seen as a precursor to a future wide free-trade arrangement

Ayala-aboitiz tandem urges malacaÑang to choose winner

INSIDE

ear God, we wish heaven would never look like subways. We will be misled because there are many stops, many gates, many levels, distant elevators, uneven stairs, confusing signs of numbers, letters, names and meeting all kinds of rushing people. If you are not familiar with all the signs, you will never reach your destinations. If heaven has this situation, how will we ever get to Your kingdom? In real life, we experience the wonders of subways (I am referring to New York, US, subways which I experienced in two weeks time). Oh God, the subways of our lives will not be too confusing if You lead us to where You are. amen!

Peru; Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore; and Tran Quoc Khanh, from Vietnam, attended a news conference at the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting in Sydney, Australia, on Monday.

The TPP is the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s trade policy and his effort to shift US strategic

BusinessMirror

three-time rotary club of manila journalism awardee

Subways

M

inisters from 12 nations (from left) Lim Jock Hoi from Brunei Darussalam; Ed Fast, Canada; Andres Rebolledo, Chile; Akira Amari, Japan; Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia; Andrew Robb, Australia; Mike Froman, the US; Ildefonso Guajardo, Mexico; Tim Groser, New Zealand; Jorge del Castillo,

c1

By Cai U. Ordinario

lthough the economy is seen to post better growth numbers in the second half of the year, the Philippines’s full-year local output, measured as the gross domestic product (GDP), could fall below the target this year.

In its latest Market Call, First Metro Investment Corp.

(FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Capital Markets Research said full-year growth this year will likely be below the 6.5-percent to 7.5-percent target.

The group maintained its 6.5-percent to 7-percent outlook for the second half of the year on the back of stronger exports and lower inflation.

“We still see 6.5-percent to 7-percent H2 [second half ] growth in GDP, which would put full-year expansion at slightly below the lower end of the government’s 6.5-percent to 7.5-percent target,” FMIC-UA&P Capital Markets Research said.

The exports growth, FMIC-UA&P Capital Markets Research said, will likely sustain their double-digit pace in the July-to-December period.

In July merchandise exports posted a year-on-year growth of 12.4 percent, the highest in Southeast Asia, and ranked the country second only to China in East and Southeast Asia in terms of export growth.

PESO exchange rates n US 44.8150

Continued on A2

Consolidate or perish

L

egislators urged both the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to come up with a consolidated position on the proposal to rationalize the country’s fiscal incentives program before the 16th Congress adjourns, or risk losing its support.

“They have yet to submit to us a consolidated version that both agencies agreed to.

I’ve had some feedback that some senior officials of the DTI are not happy with this consolidated version. What we urge them to do is sit down and consolidate, otherwise we won’t be able to pass this measure, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Romero “Miro” S. Quimbo said in a chance interview with reporters at the Makati Business Club membership meeting on Monday.

According to Quimbo, the legislation has failed to prosper, as the DTI and the DOF remain at loggerheads over the issue of streamlining the various financial incentives offered

QUIMBO: “They have yet to submit to us a consolidated version that both agencies agreed to. I’ve had some feedback that some senior officials of the DTI are not happy with this consolidated version. What we urge them to do is sit down and consolidate, otherwise we won’t be able to pass this measure.”

Goldman cuts oil forecasts as OPEC loses influence to U.S.

G

by the trade office, through the Board of Investments, to investors.

Quimbo said both the Senate and the House of Representatives consider the rationalization of incentives priority legislation, and ranked it high up on the agenda at the joint leadership caucus, which is a monthly meeting of the House Speaker and the Senate President, together with other lawmakers.

OLDMAN Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecasts for Brent and WTI crude prices next year on rising global supplies, predicting the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will lose influence over the oil market amid the US shale boom.

The bank is becoming more confident in the scale and sustainability of US shale-oil production, and said US benchmark prices need to decline to $75 a barrel for a slowdown in output growth. Brent will average $85 a barrel in the first quarter, down from a previous forecast of $100; and West Texas Intermediate will sell for $75 a barrel in the period, from an earlier estimate of $90, analysts including Jeffrey Currie wrote in a report.

Continued on A2

See “Goldman,” A2

n japan 0.4146 n UK 72.1118 n HK 5.7773 n CHINA 7.3260 n singapore 35.1463 n australia 39.4776 n EU 56.7851 n SAUDI arabia 11.9453 Source: BSP (27 October 2014)

A2

News BusinessMirror

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Full-year growth likely below target in 2014 Continued from A1

Year-to-date, total merchandise exports expanded by 8.5 percent from the same period last year, surpassing the government’s target of 6 percent.

“Upbeat globatl manufacturing activity and bullish exports outlook for agro-based products, along with the lifting of truck ban, should help sustain export growth. Anticipation of solid growth in the US and modest growth in EU and China further underpins our optimism,” the researchers said.

Further, the researchers said they expect the increase in commodity prices to slow down after August inflation hit

4.9 percent. FMIC and UA&P Capital Markets Research said this view was supported by the seasonally adjusted annual rate August inflation, which fell to 3.1 percent from 7.1 percent in July.

This was largely due to stable or lower food prices given the arrival of rice imports, as well as the reversal of the truck ban in the city of Manila, among other factors.

“The start of the harvest season, the huge importations of rice, the lifting of the truck ban and the downward trend in crude-oil prices should ease inflation, significantly starting in September,” the group said.

Other factors that would support stron-

Goldman. . . continued from a1 T he big gest members of t he Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) are discounting supplies to defend market share, rather than cutting production to boost prices that have collapsed into a bear market. The highest US output in almost 30 years is helping increase stockpiles as exporters, including Saudi Arabia, reduce prices to stimulate demand.

“We believe that Opec will no longer act as the first-mover swing producer and that US shale oil output will be called upon to fill this role,” Goldman said in the report. “Our forecast also reflects the realization of a loss of pricing power by core-Opec.”

Any near-term OPec production cut will be modest until there is sufficient evidence of a slowdown in US shale-oil production growth, according to the report.

Global producers may need to cut almost 800,000 barrels a day of output next year to limit a build in inventories and ultimately balance the global oil market in 2016, Goldman said.

Price cuts

BRENT for December settlement decreased as much as 40 cents to $85.73 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was at $85.91 at 8:50 a.m. local time. WTI gained 2 cents to $81.03 a barrel.

Accelerating non-Opec production growth outside North America, including from Brazil, Mexico and Azerbaijan, will outpace demand growth, leaving the oil market oversupplied, according to the report. The increased output is forcing producers to reduce prices to lure buyers.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. on October 1 cut prices for all grades and to all regions for November. The Asian price of Arab Light was cut by $1 a barrel to a discount of $1.05 to the average of Oman and Dubai crudes, the benchmark published by Platts, the energy-information division of McGraw-Hill Cos. That’s the lowest since December 2008.

US exports

“CORE-OPEC will not cut production

ger growth in the second half of the year include higher government and consumption spending.

The national government’s spending was seen to recover after suffering a major setback set off by issues attendant to the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program.

The Aquino administration was also expected to increase spending for the rehabilitation of areas affected by Supertyphoon Yolanda last year.

The boost in household spending will likely stem from the further weakening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar.

significantly in coming months,” Goldman said in its report. The drop in Saudi Arabian oil supply to markets last month reflects an increase in domestic stockpiles, and not a production cut, the bank said.

Countries from South Korea to India are benefiting from weak prices by seeking to diversify their crude suppliers.

India will seek US crude if the government eases a ban on domestic crude exports, Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said last week. ConocoPhillips in September shipped its first cargo of Alaska North Slope crude to South Korea in eight years, making rare use of a Bill Clinton-era exemption to US oil- export restrictions.

Record US oil output is buffering global crude prices and critical to the world’s supply balance amid the threat of disruptions, even as the ban on domestic exports remains in place, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said last week. The department is preparing a report examining how the potential lifting of a ban on domestic crude exports would affect fuel prices.

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST OCTOBER 28, 2014 | TUESDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”. It affects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread cloudiness with rains and showers.

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON. EASTERLIES AFFECTING THE EASTERN SECTION OF LUZON AND VISAYAS. (AS OF OCTOBER 26, 5:00 PM)

Easterlies are winds coming from the east passing over the Pacific Ocean. These are warm and moist in nature; causing hot weather and generating thunderstorms.

SBMA/CLARK 23 – 32°C METRO MANILA 23 – 33°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 21° – 29°C

The contentious measure have already been deliberated in several public hearings in both Houses of Congress but have failed to progress from the committee level.

Quimbo said there is a need to rationalize fiscal incentives as many industries do not deserve them. DTI Secretary Gregory L. Domingo previously said their position is already “95-percent consolidated” with that of the finance department’s.

The trade office has agreed, Domingo said earlier, to replace the income-tax holiday incentive with a 15-percent tax on net income for 10 years for firms registered with the Board of Investments (BOI).

OCT 29

WEDNESDAY

OCT 30

THURSDAY

OCT 31 FRIDAY

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

METRO CEBU 25 – 30°C CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 24 – 33°C ZAMBOANGA CITY 25 – 32°C

THURSDAY

OCT 30

OCT 31

25 – 28°C

25 – 29°C

24 – 32°C

22 – 30°C

22 – 31°C

22 – 31°C

TACLOBAN

24 – 32°C

24 – 31°C

25 – 32°C

22 – 31°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO

22 – 33°C

23 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

25 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

25 – 33°C

23 – 31°C

23 – 31°C

BAGUIO

14 – 23°C

14 – 23°C

14 – 22°C

METRO DAVAO

SBMA/ CLARK

24 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

23 – 31°C

ZAMBOANGA

21 – 29°C

20 – 28°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

23 – 29°C

23 – 28°C

SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

MOONRISE

5:50 AM

5:29 PM

9:16 PM

9:31 AM

20 – 28°C

22 – 30°C

NEW MOON HALF MOON

OCT 24

5:57 AM

24 – 28°C

25 – 29°C

24 – 28°C

OCT 30

10:48 PM

CELEBES SEA

LOW TIDE

HIGH TIDE

MANILA BAY

7:48 AM

- 0.12 METER

2:42 PM

0.36 METER

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and/or thunderstorms Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms.

25 – 29°C

24 – 29°C

23 – 32°C

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers.

Light Rains

Weekday hourly updates: 6:00 AM on Balitaan, 7:00 AM & 8:00 AM on Good Morning Boss!, 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM on News@1, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 6:00 PM on News@6

www.panahon.tv

SABAH

FRIDAY

TUGUEGARAO

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

METRO DAVAO 24 – 33°C

OCT 29

23 – 32°C

LEGAZPI

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 30°C

WEDNESDAY

22 – 32°C

TAGAYTAY

TACLOBAN CITY 24 – 32°C

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

22 – 32°C

LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 29°C

ILOILO/ BACOLOD 25 – 31°C

The finance department, in a an earlier report, estimated that the BOI and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) grant average annual ITH of P16 billion and P21 billion, respectively, or P37 billion in revenues the government foregoes.

Assuming a reduced corporate income tax of 15 percent is applied, however, both Peza and BOI stand to recover P10.5 billion each, or P21 billion in revenues every year. Both offer ITH for up to eight years to investors, depending on the status of the projects.

Projects listed in the annual Investment Priorities Plan are entitled to ITH, duty-free importation of capital equipment and additional tax deductions on expenses for training, among others. Catherine N. Pillas

Continued from A1

METRO CEBU

TUGUEGARAO CITY 23 – 30°C BAGUIO CITY 15 – 24°C

Congress tells regulators: Consolidate or perish

METRO MANILA

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 22 – 30°C

township project (From left) Harold Geronimo, head of public relations and communications at Megaworld; Mary Rachelle Penaflorida, vice president for sales and marketing at Megaworld Global Estate Inc.; and Jericho Go, senior vice president at Megaworld, look at a scale model of the P10-billion Alabang West township in Alabang. The project carries a Beverly Hills theme. It is the 15th township project for the developer and announced at a news briefing hosted by the realestate company in a Pasay City hotel. NONIE REYES

@PanahonTV

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Akbayan, Miriam file joint resolution to terminate VFA

P

ARTY-LIST Rep. Walden F. Bello of Akbayan and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Monday filed a joint resolution calling for the termination of the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US. The lawmakers said the agreement is being used to shield US military personnel from Philippine laws for violations and criminal offenses done on Philippine soil.

They added that the alleged killing of transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude by Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton is one instance to prove that the VFA is detrimental to Philippine interest.

The VFA was ratified by the Senate in May 1999.

Joint Resolution 19 said that, while the VFA does not allow permanent military deployment and basing rights, elements of the US military continue to enjoy presence on various parts of the country since the agreement took effect.

“The 15 years of operation has negatively impacted not only on our sovereignty and environment, but also, more recently, on human rights and human dignity,” it added.

The joint resolution also said that since the VFA’s inception, it has become public knowledge that the US special forces have established themselves a base for their continued presence in Zamboanga, with US media reporting that this contingent of the US military engaged in combat operations in the area.

Bello said, “The VFA allows the US military to act in wanton disregard for Philippine sovereignty; destroys our environment; and violates the human rights and dignity of the Filipino people.”

“And instead of owning up to their mistakes, paying reparations to the Filipino people and ensuring justice for victims of heinous crimes committed

by their own personnel, we have the American authorities repeatedly resorting to the VFA to evade accountability,” Bello added.

He said the VFA has become a major weakness of the Philippine government that the US government exploits.

“The US government will use whatever legal loopholes to their advantage. They will push the people around to protect their own interests. We have seen them do that in the instance of the ‘Nicole’ rape case, the USS Guardian’s destruction of the Tubbataha Reef; the hazardous-waste dumping

by US navy contractor Glen Defense Marine Asia; and we see that again now with the murder of Jeffrey Laude,” Bello said.

For Bello, the key to getting the US government to account is for Congress to put its foot down and terminate the VFA. “Enough is enough. The Lower House and the Senate are protecting the Filipino people, the people we represent in office, the people whose rights and dignity have been continuously violated by the US military, by terminating the VFA,” Bello said.

This is the second joint resolution of Bello and Santiago seeking to terminate the VFA. In the 15th Congress, the lawmakers filed a similar resolution to protect the Filipino people from the atrocities of the US military.

Last week members of the Makabayan bloc also filed a joint resolution urging Congress to abrogate the VFA. Joint Resolution 17, filed by Party-list Reps.

Neri J. Colmenares and Carlos T. Zarate of Bayan Muna, Terry Ridon of Kabataan, Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers and Fernando L. Hicap of Anakpawis also strongly urges President Aquino to immediately transmit the notice of termination of the said agreement to the US. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, October 28, 2014 A3

OP’s, Senate’s trust ratings plummet

T

By Catherine N. Pillas

HE government emerged as the least trusted social institution in a nationwide survey, with the Office of the President (OP) and the Senate registering the biggest drop in ratings.

The results of the Third Philippine Trust Index (PTI) were presented on Monday by business consultancy firm Eon, highlighting the dismal decline in the trust rating of the government as compared to the Church, non-governmental organizations, the media, business and academe.

Among government offices, the most substantial decline in trust were noted in the OP and the Senate, which both had political troubles during the survey period.

The survey was conducted from May to June 2014, and gathered responses from 1,626 individuals nationwide, from both urban and rural areas.

The respondents were divided into the informed public and the general public, with the former described as mostly college graduates with media consumption of at least three times a week, and the general public described as having less than two years of tertiary education and media consumption of less than three times a week.

The index is based on a five-point scale—“trusting very much,” “somewhat trusted,” “neutral,” “little trust”

and “no trust.”

“The government [as an institution] is the biggest loser of the year, with a decline in the trust rating from both the informed and the general public,” said Eon Philippines Vice President for Business Development and Strategic Planning Malyn Molina.

Gathering the responses on the “trusting very much” factor, the government garnered a trust rating of 11 percent from the general public, down 4 percentage points from the previous trust index conducted in 2012.

From the informed public, the government scored a trust rating of 7 percent, half of the 14 percent it notched from the previous survey.

The OP saw the biggest decline in trust rating from both the informed public and the general public.

The OP registered a 12-percentagepoint loss, or from 28 to 16, from the general public; while for the informed public, trust perception, from 25 percent in 2012’s PTI, likewise, plummeted to 16 percent in this year’s edition.

The Senate is the least trusted government body, according to the results of the

index, getting a score of 7 percent from the general public and 4 percent from the informed public.

In contrast, government institutions deemed trustworthy by the respondents are local governments, the Department of the Interior and Local Government for the general public; and the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education for the informed public.

Other highly ranked government agencies are the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Bureau of Food and Drugs and the Department of Health.

Trust drivers for the government, according to the index, are perceived freedom from corruption, competency, provision of basic needs for the poor, provision of better jobs, ability to implement laws equally, and transparency and openness.

Among the drivers, the “perceived freedom from corruption is the most important indicator” for respondents to be able to trust the government, with four out of 10 Filipinos ranking this as the most significant factor.

The second most important trust driver, according to the index, is competency.

From the other institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organizations were ranked as the second least trusted institution after the government, followed by the business community, then succeeded by the media, academe in second place and topping the list of most trusted institution, the Church. With Rod Abad

Economy

A4 Tuesday, October 28, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

Farmers’ group wants investigation of ‘state-backed’ land-grab in Palawan

T

By Marvyn N. Benaning | Correspondent

HE Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) is backing a congressional probe into the alleged land-grabbing of more than 39,000 hectares of land known as Yulo King Ranch (YKR) by the government and private entities in Coron and Busuanga in Palawan.

House Resolution 1585, filed by Party-lists Bayan Muna and Anakpawis on October 22, urged the committee on agrarian reform to investigate the land-grabbing anomaly in the area covered by the YKR. Farmers in Coron and Busuanga were tilling the lands even before the government, through Presidential Proclamation (PP) 1387, declared the 39,238.93 hectares of lands as pasture lands in 1975.

The land is the subject of a longrunning dispute between farmers

and the YKR Corp. owned by Luis Yulo and Peter Sabido, known cronies of strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Yulo and Sabido were able to usurp the lands during martial law.

In 1986 the land was sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) as it allegedly formed part of Marcos’ illgotten wealth, and the management of the ranch was transferred to the Bureau of Animal Industries (BAI).

In March 2010 the Supreme Court lifted the sequestration order, and

transferred the management of the land to Philippine Forest Corp.

In 2013 President Aquino signed PP 663 transferring the administration of the pasture reserve to the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “[President] Aquino’s proclamation further widened the legal gap for the lands to be distributed to peasants tilling the lands. Under the guise of the Busuanga Pasture Reserve, the government is working to seize and control the lands. Original settlers in the affected communities, such as Tagbanua, Calamianes, and Cuyonin, were displaced from the lands to give way to the establishment of business and economic activities like grazing and pasture activities, agroforestry, tourism, and industrial development,” said KMP chairperson Rafael Mariano.

The government ordered the deployment of Marines Battalion Landing Team-4 (MBLT-4) in the disputed land to harass farmers and settlers who are defending their rights to the lands.

“YKR is recognized as the biggest

ranch in Asia, and yet, the number of cattle and horses in the disputed land has dramatically decreased over the years. The vast area provided for pasture land is obviously excessive compared to the number of cattle in the whole 40,000 hectares, since only one hectare is considered sufficient for one head of cattle,” said Mariano.

“A probe is in order on the statesponsored massive land grabbing in Coron and Busuanga. Previous bogus land-reform programs of the government has exempted the disputed lands from actual land distribution and as a result, rendered farmers landless and poor,” he added.

“With 40,000 hectares benefiting a mere 1,000 cattle, while thousands of farmers are impoverished, hungry and lacking access to economic productivity and self-sufficiency, this utterly is the biggest agricultural anomaly of our country,” Mariano said.

The lands were declared by the government as unfit for farming but farmers have been planting cashew, jackfruit, calamansi, bananas and other fruit-bearing trees in the area for decades, he said.

Solon vows to conduct probe into Yolanda relief, rehab woes

P

ARTY-LIST Rep. Leah Paquiz of Ang Nars has vowed to initiate an inquiry into the problems that continue to hobble relief and rehabilitation efforts nearly a year after Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) battered Tacloban City and much of Eastern and Western Visayas.

Paquiz said that a year after Yolanda hit the city on November 8, she continues to hear reports about the failure to rebuild the ruined communities, even as the confirmed reports about missing supplies and filched food and clothing did not lead to stricter control measures.

The lawmaker assured the Yolanda victims that she would work to ensure that the errors committed by the Executive department in the aftermath of the disaster would not be repeated.

During a news briefing at the Mesa Restaurant on Tomas Morato Street in Quezon City on Monday, history feature filmmaker and actor Carlo Maceda, a Leyteño himself, said the grateful people of Leyte will hold a free concert, called “Handumanan: Pasasalamat sa mga Bayani ng Haiyan,” at the Quezon Memorial Circle on Friday, November 7, starting at 4 p.m.

Handumanan is a Visayan word meaning tribute, and Maceda said it is but fitting to commemorate the devastating calamity with a concert for all the Filipinos and foreigners who joined hands to provide relief to the people of Leyte and Samar.

Maceda said he and Tecson Lim, the administrator of Tacloban City, collaborated in bringing the concert to fruition.

PCSO’s new draw court

Officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or PCSO, (from left) Board of Director Francisco Joaquin, Acting Chairman and General Manager Jose Ferdinand M.Rojas II, Director Betty Nantes, Board Secretary Ramon Rodrigo and Assistant General Manager for Gaming Product, Development and Marketing Sector Conrado Zabella, view the digital draw machine during inauguration on October 25 of the PCSO new draw court at the Conservatory Building on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. JOSEPH MUEGO

Rico Blanco, a Leyteño himself, also authorized his award-winning song “Liwanag sa Dilim” to be the carrier song of the free concert.

Maceda described those who extended their help to Leyte as “new heroes” who should be emulated for their selflessness and commitment to serve the people.

“I witnessed everything and I believe that it is my responsibility to turn this experience into practice so that we may be able to react better and, in effect, save more lives and protect

Calax. . . continued from a1

“A failure of bidding at this stage means that ‘no complying bids are received’ by the grantor or implementing agency,” Team Orion pointed out. “However, no such failure of bidding has occurred.”

Three parties’ financial offers were opened during the auction, after deeming their technical bids as compliant.

Team Orion emerged as the front-runner during the bidding, submitting an P11.66-billion premium offer.

Trailing behind with a hairline difference from that of Team Orion was the P11.33-billion bid of Cala Holdings Inc. of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

MTD Capital Bhd., meanwhile, proposed to do the project at a P922million premium.

One bidder, however, saw its financial offer returned back to its hands, after it failed the evaluation of its technical proposal.

San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) infrastructure arm Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc. (OIDI) was disquali-

fied from the auction due to a defective bid security, which was a few days short of the required cover period.

In a fateful day in June, Friday the 13th to be exact, a tense crowd saw officials of the diversified conglomerate opening the firm’s financial proposal, which carried a P20.1billion premium offer.

Left with no legal recourse, the food-to-infrastructure firm decided to bring its battle to win the deal to Malacañang.

Reject compliant bids

Due to the supposedly complex situation, wherein President Aquino had to decide to forgo an P8-billion revenue if it accepts Team Orion’s bid, the head of the state announced his “inclination” to rebid the deal.

This means that the government will have to reject all the three complainant bids that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received from the three different parties.

“Team Orion urges the President to settle the Calax stalemate by ei-

survivors from unnecessary suffering in the future,” Lim said.

Maceda said he and other artists like sculptor Abe Dalena will be joined by celebrities with Leyteño roots like Karla Estrada and Kitchie Nadal.

Performers include Geo Ong, Imago, South Border, Banda ni Kleggy, Mayonnaise, Gracenote, Phylum Band and Myrus.

Maceda said the concert will also coincide with the launch of the Haiyan Disaster Governance Initiative (HDGI.)

Sponsors and supporters of the concert and HDGI include Maceda’s own OnCAM Productions, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery headed by Secretary Panfilo Lacson, Organizing for Philippines represented by Manny SD Lopez, International Emergency and Development Aid, JC Premier, the Philippine Medical Association led by Executive Director Dr. Michael Aragon, Leyte First District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and others. Marvyn Benaning

ther accepting the appeal of Optimal Infrastructure or dismissing it in order to allow the completion of the bid process,” the tandem said.

It was, however, firm to its position that its rival’s appeal should be dismissed, upholding the public works agency’s decision to disqualify OIDI from the bidding.

The tandem said its challenger effectively “spoiled its own bid” when it decided to pull out the bid from the custody of the government.

The most diversified conglomerate in the Philippines asked President Aquino, who is the nephew of SMC Chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., to declare its bid compliant and accept the offer to finally get the construction going.

“However, should the President decide to grant Optimal Infrastructure’s appeal, Team Orion will respect such decision and commits to abide by it without legal recourse.

Team Orion hopes that Optimal Infrastructure also extend the same courtesy to the President should the President decide to reject its appeal

and uphold the DPWH decision,” the tandem said.

For its part, OIDI said it will honor the decision of the President, whether it is in favor of the firm or otherwise.

“We reiterate our stance to respect whatever decision handed by the Office of the President, even as we stand by our pending appeal for Malacañang to accept and declare our P20.1-billion bid as compliant and award the project to OIDI as the highest bidder,” it said.

Govt stands to lose investor confidence

Rebidding the deal, meanwhile, puts the public-private partnership (PPP) thrust of the Aquino administration to a bad light.

“As a director of Ayala Corp. and an advocate of transparency and good governance, I share the concern that a rebid will have a severe negative impact on investor confidence in the PPP Program and the entire bidding process. The government should uphold its own rules,” Ayala

news@businessmirror.com.ph

TFM hits illegal transfer of land titles, sale of CARP-able lands in Negros Occidental

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

ASK Force Mapalad (TFM) on Monday hit the illegal sale and transfer of land titles courtesy of the Registry of Deeds (ROD) by land lords to evade the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in Negros Occidental.

Led by TFM, farmers from Negros Occidental recently trooped to Manila to push for the distribution of the remaining 700,000 hectares of agricultural landholdings covered by CARP. They are blaming the ROD, an agency under the Land Registration Authority (LRA), for allegedly tolerating the illegal transfer of land titles that paved the way for landowners of CARP-covered land to sell their realestate properties and successfully evade CARP. “The law is very clear on the prohibition of selling or transferring ownership of farms already covered by CARP. And we wonder why the ROD, an agency under the Land Registration Authority, is tolerating this illegal act by issuing new titles to these landholdings. Could there be an unholy alliance between the ROD and hacienderos so that the latter could evade CARP?” Alberto Jayme, president of TFM-Negros, said in a statement.

Section 6 of Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform law of states that “Upon the effectivity of this Act, any sale, disposition, lease, management contract or transfer of possession of private lands executed by the original landowner in violation of this Act shall be null and void.”

The CARP took effect starting June 15, 1988, and thus any sale or transfer of ownership or possession of agricultural landholdings on or after the said date is already illegal.

“If the sale or transfer of possession of a landholding is null and void, why should the ROD recognize it by issuing new land titles? Why is the ROD not coordinating and consulting with the Department of Agrarian Reform, the main CARP implementer, on these illegal land transfers?

Why is the ROD allowing itself to become a party to the illegal acts of hacienderos who defy CARP?” Jayme said.

“It’s not only the sluggish performance of the DAR that has deprived farmers of their right to own the haciendas they have been tilling for generations. The ROD has also contributed to the problem,” Jayme added.

He said there are also cases wherein government entities such as the Philippine National Bank (PNB), where agricultural landholdings are often mortgaged, are the ones violating the law by selling unredeemed farms to new owners instead of having them covered by the CARP. TFM cites the cases of three haciendas in Negros Occidental that have been illegally sold, transferred, or subdivided after the CARP’s June 15,

1988 but still managed to get new titles courtesy of the ROD. These include the Hacienda Dos Heremanos in Barangay Purisima, a 29-hectare landholding with 37 CARP farmer-beneficiaries originally owned

by Vicente Garcia.

The landholding was illegally transferred to Angela Isabela Garcia through six new titles issued by the ROD in 2013, or 25 years after the effectivity of the CARP. TFM said the illegal transfer and issuance of new titles by the ROD did not end in 2013. Another six new titles with new owners led by Dominguez Bolo were again issued by the ROD on July 22, 2014, or a month after the DAR started acquiring the land supposedly for distribution to farmerbeneficiaries. Because of the issuance of new titles, a surveyor from the DAR was told by the lawyer of the landowner to stop placing the hacienda under the CARP. The 25-hectare Hacienda San Luis in Barangay Purisima, Manapla, with 21 farmer-beneficiaries, is originally owned by the Tirol family. The landowner mortgaged the property to PNB but failed to redeem it, making the bank the owner of the estate.

In January 2012 the DAR started to cover the landholding by issuing a CARP notice of coverage (NOC) to PNB. However, in July 2012, or six months after the NOC issuance, PNB sold the farm to Paul and Vina Chang, who were issued a new title by the ROD. The DAR was already on its last stages of covering the hacienda under CARP, nearing distribution of the landholding to its farmer-beneficiaries (FB) when the ROD, on July 28, 2014, refused to issue a title to the Republic of the Philippines (a requirement before certificates of landownership award are generated and issued to FBs) because of PNB’s sale of the farm to the Changs.

The 56-hectare landholding with 28 FBs originally belonged to Punay Lopez Kabayao Fernandez with Title 13735. However, the landholding was illegal sold to Jaynen Sy in June 2014 and “chopped” into 10 new titles issued by the ROD. Negros Occidental is the province with the biggest combined area of agricultural landholdings that have not yet been distributed to farmer-beneficiaries of the CARP. The CARP balance in the province as of December 2013 stood at 129,317 hectares or nearly 17 percent of the nationwide balance of 771,000 hectares, based on the DAR data. As of August 2014, only 2,687 hectares or 2 percent of the December 2013 balance was acquired and distributed to farmers.

As of June 20, 2014, there are still 22,000 hectares out of 84,000 hectares of landholdings in Negros Occidental that are without NOC, based on the DAR OpTool, which serves as the agency’s centralized repository of land tenure improvement data.

Director Ramon R. del Rosario Jr. said, when reached for comment.

Macquarie Capital Infrastructure Executive Chairman John Walker, meanwhile, said the Calax is a “big test for the Philippines.”

“Any unfavorable decision by the government negatively affects the appetite of foreign investors. I think it would have a global negative impact if the due process and the properly arrived result is not prospective. It would have a lot of consequences,” he said.

The government’s key infrastructure thrust is currently considered one of the best in Asia, because of its sound policies and processes.

“But if there is some interruption of the proper process that has not been followed from the perspective of foreign investors, this would be a big setback,” Walker added.

For his part, American Chamber of Commerce Senior Advisor John D. Forbes said rebidding the project poses delays to the much-needed infrastructure.

“This latest move should make

a rebid less appealing to the President. Ayala-Aboitiz recent action made possible an award to SMC. An outright award, whether to AyalaAboitiz or SMC, is better than a rebid, which will just delay a critical project,” he said.

The project has been in limbo for four months now.

The project is a 47-kilometer thoroughfare that would start from the Manila-Cavite Expressway in Kawit, Cavite, and end at the South Luzon Expressway (Slex)-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna. It would consist of nine interchanges and a toll barrier before the Slex.

The third PPP project under the DPWH, the expressway is seen to decongest traffic along the CaviteLaguna road network.

Construction of the multibillionpeso expressway is seen to start by October next year. It is expected to be completed by September 2017.

Since the infrastructure program’s inception in 2010, the government has awarded seven contracts so far.

T

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 A5

Palace: Errata in P2.6-T budget bill mostly ‘typo errors’

By Butch Fernandez

M

ALACAÑANG insisted on Monday that the controversial last-minute errata submitted by Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad to the House of Representatives were mostly corrections of “typo errors” in the P2.6-trillion 2015 budget bill version earlier passed by the House on second reading.

In a Palace briefing on Monday, Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda reported that 80 percent of the 100 pages of errata compiled by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) pertained to typographical errors and that only 20 percent comprised “disaggregation” of funds under the so-called Grassroots Performance Budgeting (GPB) “as requested by the House itself.”

“Clarification lang doon sa errata; just to give you some details on the errata. Eighty percent of the budget errata is composed of corrections to typographical errors. So, 80 percent of that is typo errors, corrections ng typo errors; while the rest are details on the disaggregation of projects under the GPB program and this disaggregation of projects was required by the House of Representatives, for them to disaggregate. And so, the DBM, in the errata, disaggregated the projects,” Lacierda told Palace reporters.

In addition, the Palace chief spokesman said the errata also identified the additional requirements of various agency programs, such as the P53.5 million for the forestland-management project for loan proceeds of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; the P1.6 billion for general administration and support services of the Bureau of Customs; the P299 million for expenses for market and product development of the Department of Tourism; and the P92.7 million for the establishment of the Department of Trade and Industry’s GoNegosyo centers.

“And we also have made an additional provision of P8 billion in a contingent fund for the requirements of the Bangsamoro entity and also P3.3 billion in the international commitment fund for the hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation [Apec] meetings in 2015,” he added. “So iyon po, ito ’yung errata basically.”

Lacierda said the Palace was now leaving it up to the DBM to fully explain the matter to the House of Representatives after lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan bloc, led by Rep. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna, questioned the errata and vowed to go to court and question its legality.

“Now, we leave it with the DBM. Na-explain na ito po ng DBM sa House of Representatives,” Lacierda said.

“So, kung ’yung sinasabi—kung anong mga political issues doon bahala ang Bayan Muna but, the fact of the matter is, the errata comprised of 80 percent, which is to correct the typo errors and one part of it was required by the House of Representatives, to disaggregate the projects—which is good for us. We prefer disaggregation as much as possible and so we did that; and so to provide funding for the rest.”

Solar-dried curls Cooked macaroni tubes are dried on open solar-drying nets in San Antonio Village, Roxas, Isabela, before they are finally fried into crunchy curls. The town that is said to be a food basket in the making is also into food processing. LEONARDO PERANTE II

Senate set to pass law giving credit aid to OFWs

A

By Recto Mercene

BILL that seeks to provide credit assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is being tabled for swift passage, according to Sen. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, acting chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human-resources development.

Under Senate Bill 1955, a credit assistance program will be created for OFWs to help them pay their recruitment fees and other costs incurred during preemployment, and to defray the living expenses of their families left behind.

“We have a duty to provide as much assistance as we can to OFWs for their immense contribution to the nation,” Angara said.

“This credit facility is but another venue for government to support OFWs for sending in much-needed foreign remittances that help maintain the country’s macroeconomic

stability,” he added.

If the bill will be enacted into law, an OFW with a valid employment contract may avail himself or herself of a P50,000 loan from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) to defray living expenses of one’s family during his or her first months of absence, and to pay for recruitment expenses, including placement fees, documentation costs and plane tickets.

The loan will be entered into by and between the overseas workerborrower and Owwa, with the nextof-kin as a co-borrower.

The loan shall be paid in 12 equal monthly installments at a preferred interest rate not to exceed 6 percent per annum through accredited banking institutions.

The proposed measure provides that failure to pay the loan shall be sufficient ground for the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to withhold the issuance of the overseas employment certificate (OEC) and any other exit permit or clearance to work abroad to the OFW-borrower.

Any government official or private entity who issues an OEC or exit permit to any OFW-borrower who has failed to pay the loan will be penalized with a 60-day suspension for the first offense, and dismissal from the service and permanent cancellation of license for the second offense.

The House of Representatives has already voted in favor of the bill on second reading and is set to approve it on third and final reading this week.

“I commend the members of the House for their favorable action on the bill. I am hopeful that our version will receive the same support here in the Senate to address the needs of our modern heroes,” Angara said.

DBM allots P8B more to house Yolanda victims

By Estrella Torres

T

HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released an additional P8 billion for the construction of permanent housing units for victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) a year after the typhoon caused massive devastation.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the P8-billion fund was released to the National Housing Authority (NHA), bringing the

total amount of funds released to P19 billion for the reconstruction of Yolanda-devastated areas.

Apart from fund releases for the housing projects, the budget department also released P11 billion for the rehabilitation and recovery under the program of Panfilo Lacson.

Abad said the P8-billion release was sourced from the 2014 Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program.

“Our goal is to restore normalcy in these communities and improve their resiliency to disasters. This release

will not just allow the NHA to provide shelter to Yolanda’s survivors. It will also ensure that the affected families will have quality, permanent housing that will enable them to weather future disasters safely,” Abad said in a statement on Monday.

The NHA made the request for the housing needs of various regions affected by Yolanda. The funds aim to cover the construction of 64,982 houses.

“But more than just building permanent housing for the Yolanda vic-

tims, the government is implementing the ‘build back better’ strategy to rebuild communities in safer areas rather than in the danger zones where they were first located,” Abad said.

The build back better goal also means the government will target stronger infrastructure and better opportunities for economic growth in the newly built or rebuilt communities, from properly repaired roads that can transport goods from farms to markets, to the reconstruction of classrooms, he added.

House panel okays bill giving more tax-exempt goods, services to PWDs

T

HE House Committee on Ways and Means on Monday approved a substitute bill granting value-added tax (VAT) exemption on certain goods and services to persons with disability (PWDs).

Members of the panel, chaired

by Liberal Party (LP) Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina City, passed the substitute measure to House Bill (HB) 1039 of Lakas Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte and HB 3826 of LP Rep. Imelda Calixto-Rubiano of Pasay City.

The bill seeks to amend Section 32 of Republic Act (RA) 7277, otherwise known as the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disability,” as amended

by RA 9442, by providing that PWDs shall be exempt from VAT in addition to the 20-percent discount they are already enjoying for the classes of goods and services.

Romualdez said his proposal is an equalizing measure because this will accord PWDs exactly the same privilege enjoyed by senior citizens, who are exempt from the VAT by virtue of RA 9994.

“Persons with disability effectively enjoy only P12 for every P100 worth of good or service because the law does not exempt them from VAT, which is imposed on the net value of the good or service or 10 percent of the P80 after deducting P20, representing the 20-percent discount granted in RA 9442, for every P100 worth of good or service purchased,” said Romualdez, head of the House independent minority bloc.

The proposed VAT exemption shall apply on medical and dental services; purchase of medicines in all drugstores; public railways, skyways and bus fare; admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other places of culture, leisure and amusement; and all services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers.

Calixto said this measure is in response to the universal challenge to protect the rights and the welfare of PWDs. Party-list Rep. Jonathan de la

Cruz of Abakada, co-author of the HB 1039, said that “it is about time that we gave this kind of privilege and assistance to PWDs for them to be active and productive members of society. This is a matter of justice for the disadvantaged sector.”

Earlier the Department of Finance (DOF) opposed the proposed tax exemption for PWDs. The agency said the tax exemption for PWDs will affect the government revenue.

“The Department of Finance recognizes the good intention of the proponent in drafting this bill. We, however, believe VAT exemption on purchases of certain goods and services by PWDs will not really directly benefit them inasmuch as it would entail a cost to the revenue-generating capability of the government, like what happened when the tax exemption for senior citizens was implemented,” the DOF said.

The DOF said that, as of 2009, the government has missed P1.7-billion revenue due to the tax exemption of senior citizens.

Instead of tax exemption, the DOF said the government should provide a subsidy to PWDs. Meanwhile, the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) expressed support for the enactment of the bill into law.

In its letter to Quimbo, NCDA Acting Executive Director Carmen Reyes-Zubiaga expressed support for HB 1039.

Reyes-Zubiaga said that, on the issue of revenue loss, the segment of population, who will be able to avail themselves of these VAT-exempt privileges, is negligible compared to the population at large.

She said the 2010 Census on Housing and Population pegged the disability population at 1,443,000, which is 1.57 percent of the 92,098,000 population of the country.

“The documented summary of issued ID cards by NCDA shows an issuance of 348,766 which is only 0.38 percent of the country’s total population,” she said.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

PHL consumer explosion

Y

OU have probably seen one of those nature programs on television that show someone in the wilderness trying to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together. It is not as easy as depicted in the movies. In real life, it takes a lot of work and sweat to create enough friction that, in turn, produces enough heat to suddenly make the tinder combust.

Someone who did not understand what was going on would probably think that it was magic or a miracle. The same applies to how economies take off.

It may look like economic growth suddenly happened, but it is the product of long, hard work.

In a story published in this paper, Catherine N. Pillas reported that Japanese officials who attended the International Symposium on the Service Industry at The Peninsula Manila hotel last week singled out the Philippines as an ideal location for Japanese businesses that seek to expand. Hideyuki Ohashi, deputy director general for information-technology strategy, commerce and information at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, mentioned the popularity of Japanese food and pop culture in the Philippines. He said further, “According to an International Monetary Fund prediction, the per-capita gross domestic product [GDP] in the Philippines will reach $3,000 in 2016.”

Ohashi’s statement got us thinking. All the Philippines’s bashers have been saying our economic growth in the last few years is due to free and easy credit, and that it is a bubble. Looking at our own monthly credit-card statement with a minimum of 36-percent annual interest, we wish we had some of the easy and cheap credit they keep talking about.

We sometimes tend to think that maybe these experts are correct, since they get paid to analyze economies like ours. But did our economy suddenly burst into life-giving flames by a miracle of credit or through hard work?

In 2001 our per-capita GDP was $961; in 2013 it was $2,754. The jump in the next two years to $3,000 is only a 9-percent increase. But from 2009 to this year, the increase was a massive 180 percent.

Looking at the numbers, the Philippine economy caught fire between 2003 and 2010, with the per-capita economy doubling and breaking above the elusive $2,000 to reach $2,135. The significant thing about that period was the government putting its fiscal house in order after having been a drag on the economy for decades with its unsustainable borrowing.

Once the fire took hold, it has been a relatively easy climb from $2,135 to $2,754 in 2013.

When you think about each Filipino producing an average economic output of P135,000 ($3,000), then Ohashi’s statements about Japanese investment makes a lot of sense. He concluded by saying, “The country’s [Philippines] consumption structure will change remarkably in the next two or three years.”

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

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Jun B. Vallecera

News Editor City & Assignments Editor Special Projects Editor

Dionisio L. Pelayo Vittorio V. Vitug Max V. de Leon

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

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

Dennis D. Estopace Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Romeo M. del Castillo

Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III, 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

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

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

regional offices

n DYQC - 106dot7 HOME RADIO CEBU STATION MANAGER: JULIUS A. MANAHAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecebu@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Fortune Life Building, Jones Avenue, Cebu City CONTACT NOs.: (032) 253-2973/ 234-4252/ 416-1067/ 0922-811-3994 n DWQT - 89dot3 HOME RADIO DAGUPAN STATION MANAGER: RAMIR C. DE GUZMAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiodagupan@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Orchids Hotel Building, Rizal Street, Dagupan City

Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur

E

CONOMIC growth is not enough to alleviate poverty. In 2013 the Philippines emerged as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia and second only to China in Asia. Growth in 2014 is projected to be lower than the 7.2 percent posted in 2013, but the Philippines is still expected to be among the best performers in the region this year.

Yet, the percentage of Filipinos living below the poverty line has remained almost unchanged in the past six years, according to the latest poverty data released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

NSCB Secretary-General Jose Ramon G. Albert reported in 2013 that poverty incidence among Filipinos was estimated at 27.9 percent in the first semester of 2012. Comparing this with the 2006 and 2009 firstsemester figures, estimated at 28.8 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, he said poverty remained unchanged, as the computed differences were not statistically significant.

Poverty is also linked to employment. In fact, the NSCB measures

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

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

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

the poverty rate based on how much people earn. The NSCB pointed out that, in the first semester of 2012, a Filipino family of five needed P5,458 to meet basic food needs every month and P7,821 to stay above the poverty threshold (basic food and nonfood needs) every month. These respective amounts represent the food and poverty thresholds, which increased by 11.1 percent from the first semester of 2009 to the first half of 2012, compared with the 26-percent increase between the first semesters of 2006 and 2009.

In a separate report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated the unemployment rate in July at 6.7 percent, lower than the 7.3 percent posted in the same

month last year. The underemployment rate, which refers to people who work for less than 40 hours a week, was estimated at 60 percent in July, up from 56.9 percent a year ago.

In recent years, we have also seen the link between poverty and the environment. The floods that plague Metro Manila cause huge losses in income and productivity, as people are prevented from going to work and businesses are forced to close.

Not all the flooding in Metro Manila and other urban areas are caused by extreme weather disturbances, like typhoons. In fact, a couple of hours of rain in the metropolis quickly turn major thoroughfares into rivers, disrupting the daily routine of businessmen, workers and students.

The main culprit is the huge amount of trash that clogs the drainage systems and prevents rainwater from following its natural course to the rivers and the sea.

I am no longer in public office, but I continue my advocacies, especially poverty alleviation, through my businesses and my family’s foundation, the SIPAG Foundation.

Building houses is a labor-intensive industry, so, in my own little way, I contribute to employment generation. I am also expanding in the retail business, including the construction of

It’s tough to be the Philippines

Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Frederick M. Alegre Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

n DXQR - 93dot5 HOME RADIO CAGAYAN DE ORO STATION MANAGER: JENNIFER B. YTING E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecdo@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Archbishop Hayes corner Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro City CONTACT NOs.: (088) 227-2104/ 857-9350/ 0922-811-3997

Good combination in reducing poverty

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

T

RYING to find any positive comment about the Philippines is like trying to look for golden chicken eggs. What you do find is a constant barrage of expressions of disbelief that the Philippines could be anything more than a Third World “basket case.”

Countering these arguments that the Philippines has no business considering itself a serious member of the international community is a waste of time. It is like trying to argue with the wind. Facts are not as important as opinion. Comparisons do not need to be accurate if they “prove” a point.

The Philippines is now being included in the group of “emerging markets.” Even then, the “experts” cannot agree on a definition of it. Columbia University’s Emerging Market Global Players project does not include the Philippines, while the FTSE International group (owned by the London Stock Exchange) considers the country a secondary emerging market. International financial institution Morgan Stanley does put the Philippines on its emerging-markets list, while Dow Jones & Co. does not.

But when you compare these

nations’ economies, it is hard to figure how they are lumped together with the Philippines.

A nation’s debt is a critical issue, and one way of measuring overall risk is to look at external debt in relation to international foreign-exchange reserves. The Philippine ratio is less than 100 percent, slightly lower than Thailand’s. But other emerging markets have ratios that are considerably worse by a wide margin. Indonesia’s debt-to-reserve ratio is over 200 percent; Chile’s, 300 percent; and Poland’s, 400 percent.

That is like comparing four people who make the same amount of income, but with a credit-card debt of P100,000, P200,000, P300,000 and P400,000, and seeing them as all the same. It makes no sense.

Another important economic factor to consider is the net amount of money

coming into an economy, as opposed to going out: The current account (CA).

A surplus CA means that more money is flowing in than flowing out. It is also measured as a percentage of total gross domestic product. London-based bank Barclays just estimated that the Philippines’s percentage will be 4.2 percent for 2014. That compares with the United States, which will show a ratio of -2.2 percent for 2014, and that Third World basket case, the United Kingdom, with -4.4 percent.

But we all know it is a country’s banking sector that must be secure and stable, and one way to measure that is that sector’s external bank debt to foreign-exchange reserves.

Philippine banks come in at less that 20 percent, while Thai banks are at 30 percent and Indonesian banks are at over 40 percent. Philippine banks are in a much better shape than those in China, South Africa and India.

The important differences between nations are not always found in the headline economic data. We know that the Philippines is entering a “sweet spot” of age demographics with a growing young work force. There are those that even think this is a negative.

One of the reasons the Philippine economy has performed well in the last few years is because of our 20-to30-year-old citizens, an age group that is growing at a fast rate. Interestingly, this particular age group in the US is also the largest in history. In fact, the

malls, which creates employment opportunities; and in the officebuilding segment for the businessprocess outsourcing industr y, another big employer.

Back to the issue of trash, I have found that poverty alleviation and environment protection as a good combination. About 10 years ago in Las Piñas City, we launched livelihood programs for poor families who collected plastic bottles and containers, as well as coconut husks and shells.

Instead of clogging the drainage system, these waste materials were pulverized and turned into construction materials, as well as school chairs. The coconut husks were used to produce coconets, which proved useful in preventing soil erosion.

Even the water hyacinth, a perennial problem in many rivers, was turned into many products, such as baskets, bags and tablecloths.

The SIPAG Foundation has expanded these livelihood enterprises to different areas of the country, where they also provide livelihood (which lifts them out of poverty) and, at the same time, protect the environment. Good combination, indeed.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail.com or visit www. mannyvillar.com.ph.

largest US age group is currently the 23-year-olds. But unemployment in that group has also never been greater, at over twice the national average. Furthermore, in the US, the 20- to 24-yearolds are earning 45 percent less than the national average. The 25- to-30 age group is making 10 percent less.

In the Philippines, the 20- to 30year-olds are making nearly 20 percent more than the national average gross income, which is one of the highest in the world, according to Euromonitor International. Certainly, the numbers are twisted because of a low national average wage. But the income growth in that age bracket is helping drive this economy. It is not all remittances anymore.

Sales of deodorants increased by 6 percent in value terms in 2013. Sales of men’s clothing grew by 7 percent in current value and 2 percent in volume terms. 2013 sales of infant wear grew by 5 percent. Even sales of cotton buds were up 6 percent.

The Philippine economy is experiencing a renaissance that has been building over the last decade, and we may be soon leaving other emerging markets in our dust.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

Visit my website at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter at @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

What’s the Greenpeace agenda?

When will Sobrepeña pay the BCDA? Butch del Castillo

Ernesto M. Hilario

ABOUT TOWN

T

HE powerful European environmental group Greenpeace has really gotten us Filipinos really confused.

Here’s why: Based on research published in local and international media, it appears that the growing adoption of crop varieties developed through biotechnology by farmers in many parts of the world is drastically reducing the application of chemical pesticides in farms.

If such is the case, why is Amsterdam-based Greenpeace spending millions of dollars here just to stop our farmers from planting biotech crops?

What, really, is Greenpeace’s agenda, and why has it resorted to bringing its vicious war against Filipino scientists advocating biotechnology up to our Supreme Court (SC)?

We read a recent article in the media quoting a United Kingdom-based research firm, PG Economics, which said crop biotechnology “has significantly reduced the amount of chemical pesticide spraying worldwide by 474 million kilograms, or 9 percent, over the past 15 years.”

“The reduction is equivalent to the total amount of pesticide active ingredient applied to arable crops over a period of one-and-a-half crop years in European Union countries,” the report said.

This is because crop biotechnology has developed varieties that are naturally pest-resistant.

They fight off pests through their built-in strengths and, therefore, do not rely on chemical pesticides to do the fighting for them.

So, the question arises: Is this Greenpeace’s agenda here? Is Greenpeace’s war against biotechnology all about preventing the further erosion of chemical-pesticide use in this country?

Recently, the media also reported that Filipino farmers have joined the fight against Greenpeace’s move in the SC to stop the growth of agricultural biotechnology in the country.

Greenpeace has managed to extract an order from the Court of Appeals (CA) stopping Filipino scientists of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) from completing field trials for a biotecheggplant variety called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) talong.

Our farmers have been waiting for the go-signal for the commercialization of this variety, which,

sadly, was stopped by Greenpeace.

Now that the UPLB scientists have gone up to the SC to contest the CA order extracted by Greenpeace, our farmers have joined the fray.

According to media reports, our farmers are asking the SC to lift the order, so they can benefit from the advantages that Bt talong has over the traditional eggplant varieties.

The farmers complained to the SC that almost half of the conventional eggplants they harvest are usually rejected in the market because they are damaged. It appears that, despite massive chemical-pesticide application, their crops continue to be plagued by the eggplant fruit and stem borer.

They also cited the additional cost of chemical pesticides, which are probably a major component of their production expenses—which they, of course, have to pass on to buyers.

We do not know if the Filipino farmers battling Greenpeace in the SC have also cited the impact of chemical-pesticide application on their health and the environment.

So, back to the question: Is preventing the erosion of the use of chemical pesticides here the real agenda behind Greenpeace’s unrelenting war against our country’s efforts to benefit from modern agricultural biotechnology?

Is Greenpeace afraid that, if Bt talong succeeds here, there will be even less use of chemical pesticides?

Sorry, but this is the only logical conclusion that can be made based on the vicious war that Greenpeace has waged here for many years.

Greenpeace’s local apologists can deny this all they want, but the fact remains that depriving our farmers access to biotech crops will simply perpetuate their dependence on chemical pesticides, much of which is imported from Europe.

Isn’t Greenpeace based in Europe?

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

DPWH’s Singson responds to Hilario piece on fake land titles MAIL

Please e-mail your letters to the editor to oped@businessmirror.com. ph. Letters chosen for publication in this section are edited for brevity and clarity.

T

HIS is in reference to Ernesto M. Hilario’s piece on fake land titles, titled “GenSan land scam”, which was published in his column “About Town” in the October 14 issue of the BusinessMirror.

In the piece, Hilario said that “it appears…that even the Department of Public Works and Highways [DPWH] had been duped by the syndicate behind the scam into releasing P135 million for the road right-of-way for roads that passed through the contested” 973-hectare property.

The DPWH strictly requires that the titles of claimants for just compensation of lands affected by the rightof-way of our infrastructure projects are properly certified by the Office

of the Register of Deeds. For our latest payments for acquired properties along Digos-Makar National Road in General Santos City, the Land Registration Authority in Quezon City and the Office of the Register of Deeds of General Santos City have issued certifications on the authenticity of the titles of the affected lands in favor of the claimants.

We do not discount the possibility of the fraudulent cancellation of original land titles to be superseded by fake ones. We support the move of the Coalition for Reform Against Fake Titles, or CRAFT, to urge the authorities to take action against the proliferation of fake land titles.

In the meantime, all right-of-way claims in Region 12 (the provinces of South Cotabato, [North] Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, and General Santos City, or Soccsksargen)… are being held in abeyance, pending the result of the financial and legal audit of the claims in the said region by the Commission on Audit, which we have requested to ascertain that government policies and procedures are strictly followed in the payment of the said claims.

Rogelio L. Singson Secretary Department of Public Works and Highways

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

OMERTA

T

HE legal feud between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and controversial businessman Robert John L. Sobrepeña over the latter’s P3.4-billion accumulated unpaid rentals for the use, since 1998, of a 247-hectare land parcel in the Camp John Hay special economic zone doesn’t look like it’s going to be resolved before the year is over.

In a radio interview, however, Arnel P. Casanova, BCDA president and chief operating officer, sounded confident that the public interest would be eventually upheld by the courts in this case. He told the Monday-to-Friday Business is our Business noontime program (DWIZ, 882 khz) that “the BCDA will prevail in protecting the public’s interest in the 247-hectare land parcel inside the John Hay Special Economic Zone.”

In a nutshell, Sobrepeña’s company—Camp John Hay Development Co. (CJHDevco)—after paying the first year’s rental that gave it the right to develop the property into an ecotourism park in 1998, has since defaulted on its rental payments, even after being allowed to thrice restructure its arrears.

The BCDA was created for the orderly and systematic conversion of former American military facilities in the country into economic zones or commercial assets to generate funds for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Shelter Program, among other purposes.

It is only in the case of the Camp John Hay development project that 25 percent of its revenue is allotted for the people of Baguio City. This means that, for as long as Sobrepeña remains delinquent in his payments to the BCDA, the people of Baguio will not be getting its 25-percent share of

the huge revenue.

The major legal battle between the BCDA and CJHDevco started in 2012, when the BCDA served a notice of termination of CJHDevco’s contract as lessee-developer.

In that notice, the BCDA cited eight major contractual violations by the CJHDevco, foremost among these was its continued delinquency in its annual rental payments.

The rest of the violations were enumerated as follows: failure to open an escrow account and deposit funds under the common usage services agreement; fraudulent double sale of properties given as payment to the BCDA; violation of fire and safety laws in the Camp John Hay Suites; unlawful squatting of CJHDevco’s security agency; unauthorized subcontracting of water-distribution facilities; violations of safety, health and environment regulations; and gross misrepresentation of its actual financial standing.

The BCDA also announced that it was henceforth formally taking physical control of the land parcel.

That move has been delayed for more than two years.

Writ of preliminary injunction

TO forestall its eviction from Camp John Hay, Sobrepeña’s company managed to secure a writ of preliminary injunction from Branch 6 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Baguio City. The writ, which was

issued by Judge Cleto R. Villacorta III on April 27, 2012, effectively barred the BCDA from taking back control of the leased land parcel on the ground that it would do Sobrepeña’s company “grave and irreparable injury.”

In a petition for review to overturn the injunction, the BCDA had to turn to the Court of Appeals (CA) to hammer on the fact that Sobrepeña had violated several provisions of their agreement.

On September 30 the CA’s Special 11th Division came out with the ruling written by Associate Justice Victoria Paredes that set aside and reversed the Baguio RTC’s ruling. The CA order declared Villacorta’s ruling to be “in error” when it used “grave and irreparable injury” as a basis.

The CA order, which lifted the injunction, was concurred in by Associate Justices Isaias P. Dicdican and Agnes Reyes Carpio. The decision tersely noted that: “Records show that the [CJHDevco] has not been paying lease rentals to the BCDA since 1998… and its arrears have ballooned to P3.4 billion, 25 percent of which is for the local government of Baguio City.”

The most telling observation of the CA ruling upholding the BCDA was expressed as follows: “CJHDevco has been in breach of their agreement, and since the BCDA is a government entity, it is the public that suffers for the failure of CJHDevco to fulfill its obligations, specifically pay rentals to the BCDA.” Casanova has since been stressing the fact that, as early as the second year of the contract (1999), Sobrepeña failed to manage CJHDevco’s financial obligations to the point that it had to ask the BCDA for a deferral of its rental payments for 1998 and 1999.

However, despite three restructurings of rental payments, it remained consistently delinquent in its payments, until its arrears

Free Internet is a game-changer Edgardo J. Angara

O

NLY three out of 100 Filipinos have access to the Internet through fixed broadband connections, in contrast to 20 out of 100 who have access through mobile connections.

The mobile-connection numbers are quite respectable among developing countries, but broadband Internet in the Philippines remains among the slowest and most expensive in Southeast Asia.

Experts suggest that broadband penetration takes flight when a connection costs only 2 percent of monthly per-capita income, assuming that quality service is assured. For the Philippines, a 2014 McKinsey report shows a 500-megabyte mobile-data plan costs double that figure.

The report, “Offline and Falling Behind: Barriers to Internet Adoption”, points out how the Philippines’s lack of infrastructure stands as a significant barrier to access. It also highlights how Filipinos lack an “incentive” to patronize broadband Internet because the

relevance and benefits of such service have yet to be demonstrated to them.

In other countries, broadband Internet is a virtual given. Access is regarded as a basic necessity, with public and private initiatives pulling together to bridge as much of the digital divide as possible.

Last week the Leeds City Council in the United Kingdom announced that 103 public buildings—including city libraries, community and sports halls, and children’s centers—will have free and fast wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) Internet by January. The move is funded under

the UK government’s £150-million SuperConnected Cities program, where grants are awarded for ultrafast fixed broadband and public wireless connectivity to entice new businesses and drive economic growth.

This month the San Francisco city government in the United States rolled out a plan to provide free Wi-Fi Internet in 30 of its public parks, plazas and recreation centers.

Funded by a grant from Google, the initiative is in support of the principle that Internet access is a basic human right.

Recently, British telecommunications company (telco) BT Global Services partnered with Coca-Cola to transform vending machines and coolers into Wi-Fi hot spots and broaden Internet access in poor South African communities. The vending machines will be deployed to depressed areas visited frequently by poor people.

Digicel Fiji, a telco based in the South Pacific island-nation, just extended a contract to provide free Internet service to Rakiraki Public High School’s computer laboratory.

Hundreds of students will benefit, as well as residents who are allowed

rose to P2.69 billion as of June 30, 2008.

And now, in a bizarre twist in its legal battles with Sobrepeña’s company, the BCDA now claims that the CJHDevco has been less than forthright in its dealings with Branch 6 of the Baguio RTC.

Surety bond

IN its filing of civil cases against the BCDA (one case was filed in 2012 to compel the BCDA to submit itself to arbitration proceedings before the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center), CJHDevco has had to post a surety bond amounting to P736.328 million, presumably to cover outstanding obligations.

The BCDA has just discovered, and has, in fact, formally questioned the validity of that surety bond, which was issued by the First Integrated Bonding and Insurance Corp. (Fibic).

It has turned out that Fibic is not authorized to transact business with any court in the country.

The BCDA said it had checked with the Securities and Exchange Commission and confirmed that it lacked the funds for the bond in the year the company issued it.

“As of the end of 2013,” a story published in BusinessWorld said, “the company’s assets amounted to only P307.555 million, or less than half the amount the bond required.”

CJHDevco was obligated to file the surety bond to show that it remained capable of settling its debts to the BCDA, the story added.

The BCDA also claimed that not only was the surety bond not fully backed up by cash, the bond issuer does not even have accreditation from the Insurance Commission to be able to transact with the courts.

And you know what else is wrong with the bond? The issuer is 10-percent owned by the alleged pork-barrel scam mastermind, Janet Lim-Napoles.

E-mail: omerta_bdc@yahoo.com.

to use the lab—a Fiji governmentinitiated telecenter—on weekday evenings and weekends.

As one will note, the countries mentioned above range from the highly developed to an emerging island-state. They share, though, one common trait: Political foresight and technology (common) sense.

At the recent IT-BPM Summit, Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo announced that 600 remote municipalities are slated to enjoy free Wi-Fi Internet access in plazas and other central areas by 2015.

In cooperation with private telcos, the plan is anchored on the deployment of so-called TV White Space technologies that utilize unused TV spectrums to deliver Internet connectivity.

Thank God for Montejo’s initiative, but the entire government should be vigorously pushing for similar free-Internet initiatives and demonstrate the broad benefits of participating in the global knowledge economy. Too many opportunities are lost when our political leaders are distracted by excessive intramurals.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.

Turkey fails to make the cut at the United Nations

T

HE 193-member United Nations (UN) General Assembly votes every year to elect five new participants in the 15-seat UN Security Council.

The result last Thursday brought some pain to the United States. Venezuela, a chronic sharp critic of Washington, was elected to the council with a big 181 votes. Turkey, a key player in the Middle East maelstrom that some felt would win a slot, was not chosen.

T he cou nc i l ’s p e r m a ne nt

members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the US. The membership in that elite, veto-bearing group is an anachronism, dating from the end of World War II. France and the UK, both western European countries, should not both be members. There could be, instead, one European Union member and one from the so-called BRICS countries (apart from China and Russia, the other members of this bloc are Brazil, India and South Africa).

But Security Council reform is a political minefield that no one wants to walk through during UN sessions.

Meanwhile, the US takes its privileged role to prevent critical actions against Israel, and China and Russia use their vetoes to protect Syria and other protégés.

The nonpermanent members, nonetheless, play an important role during a two-year term beginning January 1 in setting the Security Council agenda and topics for debate. This round’s new members

A7

are Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela.

Although Turkey lobbied vigorously for a seat, it may have lost out due to wrangling and rivalry in the Middle East over the role it is playing in the battle between the Islamic State, the Kurds, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the Iraqi government. It may be that the US did not help it, either, because of Turkey’s reluctance to serve as America’s “boots on the ground” in Syria. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Senate committee vows passage of key econ reforms by December

L

By Catherine N. Pillas

awmakers on Monday vowed to enact key economic reforms seen to improve the country’s trade and investment climate.

Sen. Paolo Benig no “Bam” Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Trade and Entrepreneurship, and Rep. Romero “Miro” S. Quimbo of the Second District of Marikina City, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, on Monday committed to move forward with pending economic legislation in their respective committees, noting the significance, for example, of the government competition policy and the need to modernize the Bureau of Customs.

The proposed legislative measures are necessary to keep local industries competitive under a financially integrated Asean by 2015, and also to ensure inclusive growth is achieved.

The young Aquino solon said the

competition policy is still undergoing amendments and will further require fine-tuning proposed by Sen. Cynthia Villar, who is eyeing to enact the measure in the upper House by end-November.

Quimbo, on the competition policy, hopes to pass the same measure at the House of Representatives by the end of the year, after which a joint conference committee will be called by the Senate and the House of Representatives to reconcile conflicting provisions.

Quimbo also said the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), one of the main bills being tackled by his committee, should hopefully be approved on Monday.

“One of the main reasons we’ve consulted with customs officials and conducted 28 meet-

ings for this bill is that the cost of doing business is really high due to archaic systems at the customs office. We’ve managed to craft the most acceptable CMTA bill possible,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo said that, once the CMTA becomes a law, it will not only adhere to international agreements on customs procedures, like the Kyoto Convention, but should set higher and more modern standards of customs administration that will put trade facilitation at the center of the bureau’s activity rather than revenue collection.

The legislation, among other provisions, proposes a risk-based system of auditing, which will facilitate the entry of goods brought in by rule-abiding importers and raises the P10 de minimis rule on customs inspection to P5,000.

The provision will essentially allow goods valued at less than P5,000 to be exempt from duties.

Other legislation Quimbo said the House will take action on include the comprehensive tax-reform bill that will, among other changes, adjust the income-tax brackets based on the consumer price index and reduce the corporate income tax from 30 percent to 25 percent.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘MAKE SURE MSMEs READY FOR A.E.C.’ LEGARDA: “It is believed that the AEC will allow the region to gain greater influence in the global economic and political stage.”

Peso to remain weak

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

he local currency the peso was seen losing value relative to the US dollar, as growth in the world’s largest economy gains more traction, latest readings from some of the more influential analysts and economists in the country show.

In the October issue of the Market Call, a monthly research newsletter published by First Metro Investment Corp. and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), economists from the partners projected a weakerthan-anticipated peso by the end of the year.

The partners particularly project a weak peso in November, averaging 44.92 per dollar and further to 45.51 against the greenback in December.

“Better exports and continued resilience in OFW [overseas Filipino workers] remittances will not be sufficient to counter the strong worldwide pressure for a dollar strengthening. The main thing to look out for is whether the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] is willing to countenance a peso-dollar rate above 45 to a dollar in the fourth quarter, which is where the exchange rate would be headed, absent BSP’s intervention,” the newsletter said.

The peso had been trading at the 44-per-dollar territory as currencies around the region lose strength

even as sentiment favoring the US dollar ramps up.

On Monday the peso closed slightly higher to 44.8 from Friday’s 44.81 per dollar on thin trading. The total traded volume aggregated $259.7 million, almost half the previous trading day’s $540.7 million.

The peso last hit the 45 territory in the first quarter, mostly in January, as markets worried over the phased reduction of interest rates under the so-called quantitative easing program of the Federal Reserve.

“Nevertheless, improving Philippine fundamentals gives the BSP more leeway to curb currency volatility,” the newsletter said.

Not all that bad

But even as the peso was seen to weaken toward year-end, the money sent home by more or less 10 million overseas Filipinos was seen to remain resilient.

“Note that peso appreciation reduces the peso equivalent of the remittances. Certainly, this [appreciation] translates to a significant drop in the purchasing power of the OFW families,” the research read.

Remittances help keep the country’s balance of payments in a state of surplus. It also helps underwrite domestic consumption, which is a key growth driver of the $270-million Philippine economy.

‘Higher taxes result in massive smuggling’

F

By Recto Mercene

OLLOW ING the government’s decision to impose high excise taxes on “sin” products, there are strong indications of massive smuggling of raw materials for tobacco products, even amid the revenue-generating agencies’ claims of surpassing their yearly projections.

This was pointed out in a recent hearing of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.

Acting Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III cited the apparent tax leakages, particularly in the tobacco industry, that were noted in a study by the Senate Tax Study and Research Office.

He said that in the tax-research findings, data show conflicting figures of a local manufacturer in the importation and domestic consumption of the company.

Under the law, imported raw materials declared for warehousing and transshipment are duty free as these are intended for the international market, and only those declared for domestic consumption will be taxed by the Bureau of Customs.

Not only did the company appears to have questionable figures in the importation of tobacco leaves, but it was also found to be not declaring its importation of acetate tow, the material used to make cigarette filters that cannot be locally sourced, for domestic consumption until 2013, Sotto said.

In his slide presentation, Sotto highlighted that consumption entries, where companies are required to pay duties and taxes, were cleared in the case of the Associated AngloAmerican Tobacco Corp., La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Corp., and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. Inc. All other manufacturers, with

the exception of that company, reported importations of acetate tow under consumption entries from 2005 to 2013.

“It was a different case in that company. The majority of its acetate tow importations since 2005 were cleared for warehousing entry and, therefore, should be used for cigarette exports only,” Sotto said. “Another interesting development is that they declared as under transshipment beginning 2011, with a substantial increase in 2013. It is only in 2013 they declared acetate tow under consumption, baka iyon ang mga panahon na nasita na ninyo,” Sotto added.

“And it is of significant amount, barely able to justify its having the second-largest market share in the cigarette industry locally,” the senator said, addressing National Tobacco Administration (NTA) officials.

Sotto said that the company, despite having a big share of the local market, has surprisingly the smallest importation of tobacco leaves under consumption entry among all manufacturers.

“Based on the Senate report, that company’s volume of importation has been higher year on year since 2005. It imported tobacco leaves under warehousing since 2005. It’s importations entered under transshipment started only in 2011. What’s more, its importation for domestic consumption was zero from 2005 to 2010 and very miniscule in 2011 to 2012.”

“To the NTA, how can this corporation produce goods to sell in the domestic market if its raw materials are all declared for export?” Sotto asked. “Maybe what they import is not necessarily for warehousing.

They have an option since they have a bonded warehouse, but I’m sure what they import goes to the local production and, at the same time, maybe there are also a little exports.”

By Recto Mercene

A

S the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-countries prepare for the emergence of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by December 2015, the Philippine government must ensure that the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are ready.

Sen. Loren Legarda on Monday said that in pursuit of an AEC, Asean operates on the assumption that with open borders and free trade, more investments will come in and, therefore, improve the region’s competitiveness.

“It is believed that the AEC will allow the region to gain greater influence in the global economic and political stage. But we take note that the Asean region is dominated

by MSMEs that continue to operate as subsistence-based enterprises.”

“If left unprepared or if they remain uncompetitive, our MSMEs will find little benefit from an AEC,” said Legarda, noting that MSMEs account for 98 percent of all enterprises and about 85 percent of total employment in the region.

The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that as of 2010, duties have been eliminated on 99.2 percent of tariff lines for the Asean’s six member-states, including Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. In the case of Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam, tariff has been reduced to 0 percent from 5 percent on 97.52 percent of tariff lines. This is partly the reason there is a significant level of goods from other Asean countries in the Philippine market today.

“For the consumers, this can mean wider choices, lower product costs and exposure to Asean brands. For Philippine MSMEs that are not able to bring their production costs down and compete against well-supported MSMEs of other countries, this development can spell the end,” Legarda warned.

She said that while MSMEs are the backbone of the Asean economies, contributing to about 30 percent to 50 percent to the gross domestic product and accounting for 19 percent to 31 percent of their economies’ exports, “they are clearly susceptible to greater competition given that they have limited access to finance and technologies, as well as markets.”

“MSMEs have limited capacities for compliance with standards and certification. Under this scenario, MSMEs are likely to lose out in deeper competition that will be ushered by AEC. Clearly, innovation and creativity play a significant role in transforming small businesses into competitive components of the Asean value chain. We need to develop industries that will be innovators, rather than consumers, of technology,” she explained.

“If played out wisely, Asean’s bold vision of achieving the free flow of goods, services, investment and skilled labor in the region may help us achieve higher productivity and economic diversification; but we have to play our cards well.”

She said the road for an AEC has been paved. “We just need to make sure that the path we take will indeed bring us to the goal of a better life for all the people in the region.”