BusinessMirror December 16, 2014

Japan’s Abe faces resistance on reforms despite vote win

Japanese Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe points to a reporter for questions during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. Abe vowed on Monday to prevail over resistance to his plans for economic and political change following a weekend election victory that gives him up to four more years in power. AP/Koji Sasahara

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A broader look at today’s business

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Tuesday, Tuesday,November December 18, 16, 2014 Vol. Vol.10 10No. No.40 68

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DEALS LIKELY TO BE OFFERED BY GEOGRAPHIC BUNDLES TO MAKE THEM MORE ATTRACTIVE

PAPAL VISIT 2015

6 airport PPPs ready for auction

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he transportation agency has placed six airport publicprivate partnership (PPP) projects, with a total cost of P116.23 billion, on the auction block.

29 DAYS INSIDE

HOW TO PICK THE AREA RUG?

Life

2015: A year of great events...

Oh, Lord, we rejoice that 2015; a year of great events and observances that will enrich all of us immensely. The first of them is the “Year of the Poor,” an observance exclusive to the Philippines, that will last from the first Sunday of Advent to the Solemnity of Christ, the last Sunday of liturgical year, November 2015. This is the third lap in the nine-year long preparation for the celebration of the Great Jubilee Year of 2021, which will mark the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines. May we be one in this big event. Amen!

WORD AND LIFE PLANNER, FR. sAL Putzu, sDb AND LOuIE M. LAcsON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

‘ExoDus: GoDs AnD KinGs’ tops box officE with $24.5-million DEbut

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

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014 D1

How to pick the right area rug?

Get a free demo in your own home

By Samito Jalbuena

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HOPPING for home essentials are assumed to be a jiffy with today’s explosion of home stores and their forays into online sales, but problems still exist whether you’re an online buyer or a brick-andmortar shopper. net worth on the surface, why not increase your receivables by choosing an area rug with the same feng shui power?

In answer to this, Decoliving delivers to your home a wide selection of rugs that strongly follow the rules of feng shui. These are apparent in rugs with circular, rectangular and crystalshape motifs, signifying coin, paper money and jewel, respectively.

For example, everyone needs an area rug to define space and absorb noise, aside from other aesthetic and practical reasons. But what’s the best way to nab a carpet? Is it through the online store or actual shop, or have we assumed to have pushed the envelope?

The biggest obstacle to picking the right area rug is not knowing how it’s actually going to look—and sound—after you’ve laid it on a floor. For this problem, an incredible imagination will help. Lacking that, a friend who is a master at Photoshop can retouch your condo unit’s photo to make it appear as if it a rug has been placed on the floor. But what if you don’t have both?

The best way to surmount the obstacle is to have an area rug demonstration in your own home, and you can then judge for yourself if the design fits the condo. If you fall in love with a rug, the decision should come naturally.

Pick the rug, pay for it, and live with it. That is, until you feel compelled to get another rug and try the very latest of the season. Rugs can be fashionable, too.

For these kinds of timely transactions, only one local supplier has bested others in the benefits department by providing the latest designs as they invade the market.

Decoliving Manila (www.decolivingmanila. com) is the only service provider that can make house calls and deliver internationally sourced rugs on the spot. No hassles, no waiting in line for the cash register, no trudging with the heavy merchandise to the parking lot after the purchase.

Instead, when a rug has been chosen by you, it is already there—at home. All is done in a snap. Sold lot, stock and barrel, and most of all, business is convenient, practical, and on the spot.

THE EFFICIENCY OF CARPETS ONe of the main uses of an area rug is to consolidate furniture and accent pieces, and to define and separate a particular area of a home from another. Slowly, Filipino homes are shifting to consolidate more spacious designs by removing extra walls. This holds true from the big house to the condominium unit. To define space while maintaining the openness of the home, area rugs are perfect to achieve area management without sacrificing room.

Also an area rug can change the total look and mood of an area. Selecting a classic design from Decoliving will achieve a subtle feel that can blend disparate styles of furniture. However, one can also opt for more playful rug designs with lively colors. The choice of rug, whether conventional or revolutionary, will have an effect on the same room by anchoring it to a different mood or character based on the rug design. That said, buying a carpet is a quick fix if you would like to change your area’s ambiance without having to replace everything in it.

Meanwhile, adding accent fabrics to the home is not only visually appealing but also helps in the home’s acoustics. A lot of hard interiors will cause sound waves to bounce back and forth causing unwanted noise, especially when welcoming guests to the home. Area rugs and carpets are the only viable acoustic shock absorbers for the hardest part of the abode, the flooring.

Finally, contrary to common belief, area rugs do not cause dust in a particular area. It actually helps gather dust rather than let it circulate around the room. While it is true that vacuuming a rug will gather dust, this is not because of the fibers of the rug but because the carpet has gathered motes carried by air and confined it within the fibers. This solution makes the room easier to clean. Just vacuum the rug. Imagine, if one didn’t have a rug, then all that dust would just be wandering around the house.

WHAT MAKES THE RIGHT AREA RUG? ‘FENG SHUI’ ASIDe from the most excellent distribution channel stated above, another trait to look for in a rug source as choice du jour would be its ability to deliver on the right area rugs. For this you shouldn’t stop at anything less than awesome. Therefore the smart, affluent buyer must consider not merely design, quality and other benchmarks that make an awesome area rug, but also its affinity to feng shui.

For this matter, it is considered good luck to have paper bills, coins and gemstones seemingly scattered on the floor as these are auspicious signs that fortune will always be in your favor. But short of throwing your family jewels and your whole

n To request a free, no-hassle demo, e-mail decolivingmanila@gmail.com.

When buying a rug, your best bet is to ask for a no-obligation house demo.

Decoliving carries a wide assortment of quality rugs.

Design a stunning tablescape that lasts through the holidays

By Mary Carol Garrity Tribune News Service

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etting a stunning table for holiday entertaining is high on my Bliss Chart. Whether i’m in the mood for simple and serene, or shock and awe, i love approaching my tabletop like a canvass, ready to tell a story that entertains my guests. this year i focused on building a tablescape i can easily transition from winter holidays to just plain winter so i don’t have to take it down on December 26.

Here’s how you can do the same.

ThiS year i focused on building a tablescape i can easily transition from winter holidays to just plain winter so i don’t have to take it down on December 26. MCt

1. Start with wintery white dishes that transcend the holidays.

Meet my new dish crush: simple white dishes that feature the relief of a deer’s head. these guys stole my heart at market because they hit two of my hot buttons. First they are white, which means they have no ego. they are happy to go any direction we want to take them. Depending upon what accent

plates, table linens, glasses and centerpiece items we pair them with, we can create a jillion different looks.

Second, they had oodles of charm. i adore a rustic, hunt club look in the winter.

2. Pair them with a holiday accent you love. noW for the fun part: using easygoing dishes to create a holiday look you love. if you don’t own any white dishes, here are two things you can do: First, put them on your holiday gift list.

Second, use white serving pieces on your holiday table instead.

Another super easy way to give your white-dish-dressed table some holiday flair is to use a seasonal table square for a tablecloth. it’s hard to see, but we have a plaid square on this display table. then, dot in some iconic holiday décor, like the faux winter greens and glass bead garlands in the display above. Sometimes we place holiday wreaths under the dinner plates as festive chargers. or you could fold a holiday napkin in a fancy way and place it atop the plates. or top each plate with a sorbet cup holding a Christmas tree

ornament. Dig into your holiday décor box and get creative.

For a fast and fun centerpiece, polish up a silver tray, stack up a few of your white coffee cups then fill in with some holiday decorations. Remember those kitschy bottle brush Christmas trees? they are back! i love them because they are a simple way to put a celebratory stamp on any display in your home, including your dining table. one more quick note on the deer head dishes before i move on...they make fabulous, inexpensive gifts for friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, etc. Fill a mug with ornaments, cocoa mix, cinnamon sticks, a pretty spoon—anything—and wrap it up in cellophane tied up with a beautiful ribbon.

3. Switch to winter icons after the holidays are over. tHe day you take down the holiday décor is always a little sad, isn’t it? Your house looks so bare after being dressed in all that finery. But you can keep the lush winter layers going on your dining table until the crocuses pop out in spring. Just pull out

all the pieces on your table that scream “holiday” and fill in with décor that celebrates winter. Here’s how we pulled that off: We kept our plaid table topper, but brought in black and white napkins. We cleared off the ornaments and put pots of faux paper whites at the table’s center.

Your white dishes will allow you to go lots of different directions on your winter table. You can pair them with silver and gold for a formal and elegant look. Recently i was at a dinner party thrown by a friend, and she set her table completely in white. You might think a white-on-white palette would be boring. But it was a knockout! i love a winter woodland look in my home in January and February. You can bring this to life easily on your post-holiday table by topping your white dishes with a bit of nature.

life

n This article was adapted from Mary Carol Garrity’s blog at www.nellhills.com. She can be reached at marycarol@ nellhills.com.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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JAPAN’S MANUFACTURERS’ SENTIMENT SAGS IN CHALLENGE FOR ABE BusinessMirror

World

In a bid bulletin, the government said it is inviting investors to vie for the operations and maintenance and the enhancement of the Bacolod-Silay, Davao, Iloilo, Laguindingan, New Bohol (Panglao) and Puerto Princesa airports.

“Under the proposed concession for the six airport projects, the private-sector proponent should take over the operations and maintenance of the airports, undertake immediate expansion of the passenger-terminal building, apron, other airside and landside facilities, and any capacity augmentation of the airport that may be required to cater to future demand throughout the contractual term,” the invitation to bid read.

The government has placed a price tag of P20.26 billion for the development of the Bacolod-Silay International Airport, which is the eighth-busiest aviation hub in terms of passenger traffic. It serves purely domestic flights.

The expansion of the third-busiest airport in the country, the Davao International Airport, meanwhile, costs P40.57 billion. It handled approximately 2.80 million passengers in 2013.

See “PPPs,” A2

MECHANICAL SANTA Store staff Marlon Arevalo adjusts a mechanical Santa Claus display sold for P6,000 each (about $135) at a makeshift shop in Manila on Sunday.

Christmas is one of the most important holidays in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation. AP

The

Surprisingly, no October OFW remittances U.A.E. EXPECTS OPEC TO KEEP OUTPUT GOAL new record high at $2.224B port logjam even with holiday rush EVEN AT $40/BARREL

B3-1 | Tuesday, December 16, 2014 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

AN employee assembles a Honda Motor Co. motorcycle engine on the production line during a tour of the company’s Kumamoto factory in Ozu, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.

Large manufacturers based their plans on the assumption the yen would average 103.36 per dollar in the current fiscal year. BLOOMBERG

Japan’s manufacturers’ sentiment sags in challenge for Abe

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ONFIDENCE of Japan’s large manufacturers declined in the fourth quarter as a recession offset a boost from a weaker yen, underlining the economic challenges facing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after his election win.

The Tankan’s big manufacturer index slipped to 12 in December from 13 in September, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Monday, lower than the median estimate of 13 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The index is forecast to drop to 9 in March.

A recession and an election victory that puts pressure on Abe to deliver on promised growth-boosting reforms are raising the stakes for his efforts to revive the world’s third-

biggest economy. Burdened by debt, the government is counting on companies to increase investment and wages to fuel a recovery.

“Companies are still cautious,” said Kiichi Murashima, an economist at Citigroup Inc. “I doubt capital investment will be implemented as planned as companies are still not expecting strong growth in the economy. Implementing policies to boost growth will be an important task for Abe’s government.”

Sentiment among large non-manufacturers rose to 16 from 13. Across all industries, big companies plan to boost capital expenditure by 8.9 percent this fiscal year through March, compared with plans for an 8.6-percent increase in the September survey.

Large manufacturers based their plans on the assumption the yen would average 103.36 per dollar in the current fiscal year. The Japanese currency traded at 118.62 against the dollar at 11:28 a.m. in Tokyo, after touching a seven-year low of 121.85 on December 8. The Topix index of shares declined 1.1 percent.

A weaker yen tends to help exporters by raising their competitiveness abroad and increasing the value of profits when repatriated. It also boosts costs for importers and squeezes households and domestically focused companies.

“Sentiment among companies will improve gradually,” Yoshiki Shinke, an economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, said before the release. “For now, companies are

Egypt stock market loses $3 billion amid oil plunge

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GYPT’S stock market shares plunged by 22 billion Egyptian pounds (just over $3 billion) in Sunday trading as low oil prices dragged down regional economies.

The benchmark EGX30 index closed 5.23 percent down, with 170 stocks declining and just five showing gains.

Stock broker Yasser Rashad said there was an immediate dip at the start of Sunday's session over fears that share prices would continue to drop for the rest of the week.

Wael Ziada, head of research at regional investment giant EFG Hermes, said the drop is a knock-on effect caused by the steep decline in oil prices. The markets in Egypt and Gulf Arab countries “are correlated in terms of their performance because the investor base intersects.”

Oil prices have shed nearly half their value since late June, including a 4 percent tumble on Friday that left benchmark US oil prices at $57.81 a barrel, their lowest level since May 2009, when the US was still in recession.

Egypt is a net importer of oil products, therefore, “We should benefit from the decline in oil prices,” Ziada said.

However, Egypt relies heavily on aid from Gulf countries to keep its economy afloat. Any net benefit for Egypt from the decline in oil prices hinges on the willingness of the nation’s main Gulf benefactors—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait—to continue to help Egypt despite their declining oil revenues. The three have pledged to continue to help Egypt's ailing economy.

The three oil-rich nations have pumped billions of dollars into Egypt's emptying coffers since the overthrow last year of Islamist Presi-

dent Mohammed Morsi. The three view Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group, as a threat to their security.

A Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report published last week said that “although GCC support may be somewhat less forthcoming at current oil prices, enough is likely to be provided to muddle through for now.”

Besides Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Emirates, the Gulf Cooperation Council also includes Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

In the Gulf region, markets continued to decline on Sunday.

Dubai’s stock index dropped 7.6 percent by closing on Sunday, the first day of trading for the week. Qatar lost nearly 5.9 percent at closing.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi’s indexes fell more than 3 percent each. Investors are concerned that the drop in the price of oil, which is the backbone of Gulf economies, could lead to less government spending and reduced economic growth.

The Dubai stock exchange has lost 65 billion dirhams, or roughly $17.7 billion, in market value over the past week due to the plummeting crude prices, according to the United Arab Emirates-based The National newspaper.

Last month an International Monetary Fund official said that Egypt’s economy had begun to recover after nearly four years of political turmoil. The EGX30 index has shown overall gains of 28.49 percent so far this year.

The government aims to attract investment by hosting a three-day international economic conference in March. It recently partially lifted fuel subsidies and is pursuing revenue-enhancing measures aimed at deficit reduction. AP

weighing the boost from a weak yen and the stalled recovery.”

Consumption slumped in the wake of the sales-levy increase in April, pushing the economy into two quarters of contraction. Abe last month postponed another tax hike by 18 months to April 2017, prompting rating agencies to cut Japan’s debt rating or warn of possible downgrades.

The government is considering an extra budget worth as much as ¥3 trillion to support the economy, according to people involved in the discussions.

The survey highlighted tough economic circumstances for smaller companies. Small firms across all industries forecast business conditions worsening, with the index seen falling to -4 in March from 0 in December.

At the same time, the Tankan underscored the tight labor market, which BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has said will lead to higher pay for workers and prompt price increases that will fuel inflation. An

index measuring employment conditions across all companies and industries declined to -15 from -14 three months earlier, indicating a bigger shortage of workers.

Wage negotiations between business and labor leaders next spring will be critical to gauging prospects for consumer prices, according to the people familiar with the central bank’s discussions.

The BOJ “has been taking ‘action’ and will continue to do so,” Kuroda said in a speech to business leaders on November 25. “I would like to conclude my speech by expressing my expectations for your ‘action’ that looks toward the situation for the economy after overcoming deflation.”

The BOJ bolstered already-record stimulus on October 31. The action helped accelerate the depreciation of the yen and boost Japanese stocks to a seven-year high.

The yen has weakened 28 percent since Abe took office in December 2012 and the Topix has risen about 65 percent.

Aggregate net income at 195 of the largest listed companies in Japan will expand 10 percent to a record ¥17.5 trillion this fiscal year, based on analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Toyota Motor Corp. last month raised its profit forecast to an record ¥2 trillion.

“It’s important to deliver the benefit of economic growth to every level of Japanese people by ensuring a recovery trend,” Sadayuki Sakakibara, the chairman of Keidanren, the country’s biggest business association, said on December 8. “We will work on creating a virtuous economic cycle through increasing employment and raising wages on the back of rising profits.”

Consumer confidence fell for a fourth straight month in November, while households cut spending from year-earlier levels in every month from April through October, according to government data.

The Tankan survey of 10,312 businesses was conducted from November 12 to December 12.Bloomberg News

U.S. CONGRESS SENDS OBAMA $1.1TRILLION SPENDING BILL

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$1.1-TRILLION spending bill is on its way to US President Barack Obama for his signature.

The Senate voted 56-40 on Saturday for the long-term funding bill, the main item left on Congress’s year-end agenda. The measure provides money for nearly the entire government through the September 30 end of the current budget year.

Obama has said he will sign the bill. He already signed a short-term spending bill on Saturday that will keep the federal government operating through on Wednesday, easing concerns of a shutdown during the holiday season.

Senators approved the temporary measure Saturday afternoon with only hours to spare before an earlier such measure was set to expire.

The $1.1-trillion spending measure had faced opposition from Democratic liberals upset about provisions that would roll back bank regulations imposed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and Republican conservatives unhappy that it failed to challenge Obama's new immigration policy.

The fight, over the spending bill reflects the Republicans’ new leverage after their sweeping victories in last month’s midterm elections. They will have control of the Senate and a stronger majority in the House of Representatives when the new Congress convenes in January.

The $1.1-trillion spending bill, which was the main item left on the current Congress’s agenda, provides funds for nearly the entire government through the September 30 end of the current budget year.

The sole exception is the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded only until February 27. Republicans intend to try then to force Obama to roll back his immigration policy that removes the threat of deportation

SEN. Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) talks with reporters after the Senate voted on a $1.1-trillion spending bill to fund the government through the next fiscal year on Capitol Hill in Washington. AP from millions of immigrants living in the United States illegally.

Immigration was the issue that Sen. Ted Cruz, a favorite of the ultraconservative tea party movement, cited late Friday when he tried to challenge the spending bill with a proposal to cut funds that could be used to implement Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

That led to the unraveling of an informal bipartisan agreement to give the Senate the weekend off. It also gave Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reed a chance to call an all-day Senate session on Saturday devoted almost exclusively to the work of confirming about 20 of Obama's nominees to judicial and administration posts.

Several Republicans blamed Cruz, a potential

presidential candidate in 2016, for creating an opening for the outgoing majority party to exploit.

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, made no public comment on the events, even though Cruz suggested on Friday night that McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner should not be entirely trusted to keep their pledge to challenge Obama's immigration policy in January.

Many Democrats, including Obama, recognized that if the current spending bill failed, Republicans would have passed an even more objectionable one when they take full control of Congress next month. Obama called the bill a classic compromise produced by "the divided government that the American people voted for." AP

WORLD

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KOBE PASSES MICHAEL Sports BusinessMirror

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| Tuesday, deCember 16, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

‘IT WAS ON BRYANT’S LIST A LONG TIME AGO’

By Mark Medina

Daily News (Los Angeles)

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INNEAPOLIS—Well before Kobe Bryant would win five National Basketball Association (NBA) championships, post a career-high 81 points or play through nearly every injury imaginable, Lakers Coach Byron Scott quickly learned what made him tick.

As he mentored Bryant during his rookie season 19 years ago, Scott became aware Bryant wanted to become the NBA’s best player and win endless championships. Scott also became aware of something else. It became important for Bryant to eclipse Michael Jordan for third place in the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Bryant achieved that goal when the Lakers (7-17) beat the Minnesota Timberwolves (5-17), 100-94, on Sunday at Target Center considering he only needs to score at least nine points.

“Knowing Kobe the way I do, this is something that was on his list a long time ago,” Scott said. “This is one of them as well as trying to pass him in championships rings and things of that nature as well. He’ll take it in stride, believe me.

He’ll do it and say it’s no big deal.”

Bryant hasn’t shied away from questions to pertaining to Jordan. But he has downplayed the achievement. Instead, Bryant has paid homage to Jordan and stressed he cares more about adding to his five NBA championships. It seems like a steep prospect both to match or eclipse Jordan’s six championships considering the Lakers’ record and Bryant’s contract ends following the 2015-2016 season.

But Bryant proved in the Lakers’ 112-110 overtime victory on Friday over San Antonio that he cared more about winning than surpassing Jordan. He finished with 22 points on seven-of-22 shooting, nine assists and four steals, while taking over point guard duties. Bryant also committed five turnovers, including three late in the fourth quarter, and played 40 minutes in a game Scott conceded he looked “exhausted.”

“I guess it was my fault,” Scott joked about Bryant’s ScOTT

delayed milestone. “It was kind of my fault. But I’m pretty sure he’ll get it tonight.”

Scott reported that Bryant “recovered pretty well” during the team’s off day on Saturday and still plans to devote point guard responsibilities to Bryant.

“It’s probably going to be something I’ll do more often,” Scott said.

“When he’s at the point, obviously he draws a whole lot of attention.

He’s able to get shots and make shots on his own. He’s also able to find teammates for wide open shots.”

That formula has worked during the Lakers’ current two-game winning streak.

In the Lakers’ 98-95 win on Tuesday over Sacramento, Bryant played the final 6:45 at point guard with Ronnie Price, Wesley Johnson, Wayne Ellington and Carlos Boozer. During that stretch, Bryant recorded three assists, threw down a fast-break dunk and dropped a three-point shot. The Lakers’ win over San Antonio seemed dicier. Bryant had three turnovers late in the fourth quarter, miscues that partly contributed to the Lakers playing in extra regulation. Jeremy Lin then played the final minute of overtime at point guard and set up Nick Young for a game-winning 30-foot shot.

“A lot of that was fatigue. I thought he was exhausted. The one time he came to he bench was the first time I saw him all season where he was huffing,” Scott said. “But I just knew at that time his presence when he is on the floor is still going to be effective.”

Plenty of intrigue awaits on how effective Bryant will become in his record-breaking performance against Minnesota.

“When we left for this trip, we knew it would happen,”Scott said of Bryant’s milestone. “It was just a matter of when.

Our main focus is to keep winning games. That’s the main focus.”

KOBE

PASSES MICHAEL Kobe Bryant entered the game needing nine points to pass the icon with whom he is often compared. He got the mark with two free throws with five minutes and 24 seconds to play in the second quarter.

NOW only Kareem AbdulJabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) have scored more points than Kobe Bryant. AP

By Jon Krawczynski

The Associated Press

INNEAPOLIS—Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan for third on the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) career scoring list on Sunday in a 100-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Bryant entered the game needing nine points to pass the icon with whom he is often compared. He got the mark with two free throws with 5:24 to play in the second quarter.

“I’m just honored to be here, man, to still be playing,” Bryant said. “I appreciate being able to play this long.

Careers normally don’t last this long. I really appreciate the opportunity to still be out there playing and performing and doing what I do.”

Now only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) have scored more points than Bryant.

“I congratulate Kobe on reaching this milestone,” Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, said in a statement released to the Associated Press. “He’s obviously a great player, with a strong work ethic and has an equally strong passion for the game of basketball. I’ve enjoyed watching his game evolve over the years, and I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes next.”

Bryant didn’t break a record on Sunday night. AbdulJabbar is still more than 6,000 points ahead of him and in no danger of being caught. But moving past Jordan was cause for celebration.

The two players have been linked for years and Bryant often mimicked Jordan from his earliest days in the league, from the way he pumped his fist after big shots to adopting the fade-away jumper as his career has progressed and even sprinkling in a little tonguewagging on his drives to the bucket as a youth.

“He knows how much I’ve learned from him,” Bryant said.

“From the other legends, but him in particular.”

The Timberwolves stopped the game, and a Lakersheavy crowd gave Bryant a standing ovation as Wolves owner Glen Taylor—the NBA’s chairman of the board— presented him with the game ball.

With a big smile on his face, Bryant received hugs from teammates and the Timberwolves, and waved to the crowd during the brief stoppage.

Bryant has been chasing Jordan for almost two decades now. He’s still one title short of the six Jordan won with the Bulls, but has now caught Jordan in the game’s defining individual statistic.

Bryant had 32,284 points when he took the floor against a Timberwolves team that includes 19-year-old rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, two players who were barely born when Bryant made his NBA debut in 1996.

He missed four of his first five field goals, but knocked

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down a three-pointer midway through the second quarter to pull within two points. He nearly passed Jordan with one of his patented fall-away jumpers from the baseline, but it rimmed out and with 5:24 to play and 24 seconds on the shot clock, No. 24 stepped to the line and calmly swished two freebies to do it. He finished the night with 26 points and 32,310 for his career.

It took Bryant 1,269 games to reach the NBA’s career scoring podium. Jordan amassed his 32,292 points in 1,039 regular-season games.

Jordan moved into third place in 2003, and the top of the NBA’s scoring mountain had remained unchanged for nearly 12 years. Ever since Bryant really started to hit his stride as an elite scorer beginning with his fourth year in the league, he was widely considered the one to the record books would have to reserve a spot for.

“Just like we’ve never seen another player like Michael Jordan, we will never see another player like Kobe Bryant!”

Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson tweeted.

Jordan retired and came back twice, giving up prime years that cost him a shot at Abdul-Jabbar’s record. Jordan also played three years of college while Bryant jumped straight to the pros and started racking up the points, albeit at a gradual rate.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 28 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and Kevin Durant added 23 points and eight rebounds as the Thunder won their sixth straight game, beating the Phoenix Suns, 112-88.

Westbrook recorded his eighth straight game of scoring at least 20 points, and getting five rebounds and five assists since his return from a broken hand. By halftime, he had 24, five rebounds and six assists. He narrowly missed getting his ninth career triple-double.

With the win, Oklahoma City—which started the season 3-12—moved within a half-game of eighth place in the Western Conference.

In New Orleans, Stephen Curry scored eight of his 34 points in overtime as the Golden State Warriors won their 16th straight by beating the Pelicans, 128-122.

Klay Thompson added 29 points for the Warriors, whose franchise-long winning streak includes a club-record 10 straight road victories.

Tyreke Evans scored 34 points for the Pelicans, but fouled out with three minutes left in overtime.

The Washington Wizards downed the Utah Jazz, 93-84, after John Wall had 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Wall also had five steals and three blocks, Bradley Beal scored 22 points, and Paul Pierce added 15 for the Wizards, who nearly succumbed to a letdown game after their big win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Chicago’s Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points as the Bulls overcame a sloppy start to beat the offensively inept Miami Heat, 93-75, while Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs over the Denver Nuggets, 99-91.

SPORTS

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HE Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will stand by its decision not to cut output even if oil prices fall as low as $40 a barrel and will wait at least three months before considering an emergency meeting, the United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) energy minister, Suhail Al-Mazrouei, said.

Op ec won’t immediately change its November 27 decision to keep the group’s collective output target unchanged at 30 million barrels a day, Al-Mazrouei said. Venezuela supports an Opec meeting given the price slide, though the country hasn’t officially requested one, an official at Venezuela’s foreign ministry said on December 12. The group is due to meet again on June 5.

“We are not going to change our minds because the prices went to $60 or to $40,”Mazrouei told Bloomberg on Sunday at a conference in Dubai. “We’re not targeting a price; the market will stabilize itself.” He said current conditions don’t justify an extraordinary Opec meeting. “We need to wait for at least a quarter” to consider an urgent session, he said.

Opec’s 12 members pumped 30.56 million barrels a day in November, exceeding their target for a sixth

PESO exchange rates n US 44.5600

Continued on A2

C

By Bianca Cuaresma

ash sent home by Filipino migrant workers continued to surge as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded the highest monthly cash-remittance volume in October this year.

The BSP said on Monday that cash-remittances—or money sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Philippines through banks and accredited financial institutions —totaled $2.224 billion in October. This was the highest monthly remittance volume sent by OFWs since the central bank started to record remittance flows.

The October remittance rate topped the previous record monthly remittance volume seen in December last year, totaling $2.173 billion. This also represented a 7-percent expansion, from $2.079 billion worth of remittances in October last year.

The remittances pushed the 10-month volume to $19.869 billion, adding billions in fresh funds for consumption activities. This development, the BSP said, was owed to the “steady demand for skilled and

professional Filipino manpower.”

The January-to-October volume of remittances was 6.2 percent higher than remittances of only $18.716 billion in the same 10-month period last year.

Cash remittances from both land-based and sea-based workers grew during the period—reaching $15.2 billion from landbased Filipino workers and $4.7 billion from sea-based Filipinos.

Remittances during the month flowedfrom the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Canada.

The central bank also cited preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showing 768,741 job orders reached in the January-to-October period. About 40 percent of these were processed job orders for service, production and professional, technical and related workers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Taiwan and Qatar.

Meanwhile, personal remittances—both in cash and in kind—hit $22.02 billion during the period, or 6.7 percent more than last year.

T

he situation at the two ports of Manila has improved over the weekend, with only a single percent of cargo volume needed to be cleared to breach the 80-percent optimal utilization level.

This is despite the influx of cargoes due to the run-up to Christmas, reported Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Juan C. Sta. Ana, who said the“positive performance is a clear indication that the decongestion efforts being imposed in the last couple of months are already paying off.”

He explained that all sectors are working double time and contributing their share to the decongestion efforts to bring back port operations to the preManila City truck-ban era.

“Yard utilization has been significantly reduced, giving our port operators ample elbow room to maneuver to send out and take in containers compared to the condition a couple of weeks ago,” Sta. Ana said.

The port body, he said, has, likewise, “significantly” reduced vessel queue at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) by at least half in the last couple of days.

See “Port,” A2

n japan 0.3756 n UK 70.0483 n HK 5.7478 n CHINA 7.2023 n singapore 33.9195 n australia 36.9180 n EU 55.5128 n SAUDI arabia 11.8732 Source: BSP (15 December 2014)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, December 16, 2014

PPPs. . . continued from a1 The cost of the upgrade of the Iloilo International Airport, on the other hand, is pegged at P30.4 billion. It is the fifthbusiest airport in the Philippines, serving 1.82 million passengers in 2013.

The P14.62-billion development of the Laguindingan Airport would increase the aviation hub’s current capacity, while the New Bohol Airport, which has a price tag of P4.57 billion, will have a rated capacity of 1.7 million annual passengers when built.

The development of the Puerto Princesa Airport in Palawan costs P5.81 billion. It handled 1.34 million passengers in 2013.

“The fact that traffic at these airports has either exceeded their current design capacities or is nearing the design capacity levels, coupled with the anticipated influx of growing number of domestic and international passenger in the years to come, make the fast and proactive development of these airports crucial,” the invitation read.

Under the 30-year operate-addtransfer contractual arrangement, the government will enter into concession agreements for the expansion, operations and maintenance of the

UAE expects Opec to keep output goal even at $40/barrel Continued from A1

consecutive month, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait this month deepened discounts on shipments to Asia, feeding speculation that they’re fighting for market share amid a glut fed by surging US shale production. The Opec supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil.

Prices tumble

Brent crude, a pricing benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, added 49 cents to $62.34 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange at 12:04 p.m. Singapore time. The contract on December 12 closed at the lowest close since July 2009. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 40 cents to $58.21.

The UAE hasn’t been informed of any plan for an emergency meeting, Al-Mazrouei said. Opec SecretaryGeneral Abdalla El-Badri said, “we don’t know,” when asked at the same conference about the possibility of such a meeting.

An increase of about 6 million barrels a day in non-Opec supply, together with speculation in oil markets, triggered the recent drop in prices, El-Badri said, without speci-

fying dates for the higher output by producers outside the group such as the US and Russia. Prices will rebound soon due to changes in the global economic cycle, he said, without giving details.

Clear picture

“We will not have a real picture about oil prices until the end of the first half of 2015,” El-Badri said. Price will have settled by the second half of next year, and Opec will have a clear idea by then about “the required measures,” he said.

Opec kept its target unchanged last month because the group was uncertain whether a cut ranging from 1 million to 1.5 million barrels a day would have boosted prices or not, El-Badri said. The group wasn’t seeking to put pressure on the US or Russia by maintaining output, he said.

“Our expectation in Opec is that after 2020, the oil industry in the US will decline” due to the nation’s low reserves, he said. The US won’t become self-sufficient in oil and will continue to depend on Middle Eastern supply, El-Badri said.

Bloomberg News

existing airports to private operators, who shall operate the facility on behalf of the implementing agencies in accordance with the specified performance standard and specifications set out in the concession agreement.

The government, Transportation Spokesman Michael Arthur C. Sagcal said, intends to offer the airport deals under bundles.

“The intention is still to bundle the airports, but that will depend largely on the inputs of interested groups during the process prior to bidding, itself,” he said, noting that a schedule for a meeting has yet to be set.

Transportation Undersecretary for Legal Jose Perpetuo M. Lotilla added that those that will be bundled are Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Bacolod in the east, and Bohol, Laguindingan and Davao in the west.

“It will be based on the throughput of 5 million passengers to make it more palatable for the investors,” he said.

Bid documents are available at the transportation agency’s headquarters on December 23 for P1 million.

The auction will be implemented under a two-stage bidding, meaning

Port. . . continued from a1

“If we can sustain such efforts in the next couple of months, we will hit our target to fully decongest the ports by early next year,” he noted.

As of December 12, the combined yard utilization of the Manila Ports—composed of the MICT and the Manila South Harbor (MSH)—is pegged at 81 percent, or roughly 66,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a percent short of the 65,200-TEU optimal utilization level.

Individually, MICT has a yard utilization of 84 percent, or approximately 42,400 TEUs, while MSH has a utilization of 77 percent or roughly 23,800 TEUs. Likewise, the number of vessels at queue was reduced to a combined total of 16 vessels, excluding those currently at berth,

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

TODAY’S WEATHER

DECEMBER 16, 2014 | TUESDAY

Low Pressure Area (LPA) develops when warm and moist air rises from the Earth’s surface.

Tail-end of a cold front is the extended part of the boundary, which happens when the cold air and warm air meet. This may bring rainfall and cloudiness over affected areas. It is felt at the northern hemisphere winter season.

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.

LOW PRESSURE AREA WAS ESTIMATED AT 780 KM EAST F MINDANAO.

from a high of 30 vessels a couple of weeks ago. As of December 12, MICT has six vessels at berth with 12 vessels at queue, while MSH has four vessels at berth and four vessels at queue.

Toward the end of November, yard utilization level even breached the target level after it went down to 78 percent, but the subsequent weekend brought back the level to above 80 percent.

The por t body and the Cabinet Cluster on Por t Congestion continue to negotiate with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Metro Manila Council to allow trucks to ply the Roxas Boulevard area beyond December 22.

Starting on Wednesday, the MMDA will again allow trucks to ply Roxas Boulevard from midnight to 5 a.m., but only until December 22.

DEC 17

WEDNESDAY

DEC 18

THURSDAY

METRO MANILA

23 – 29°C

24 – 29°C

TUGUEGARAO

21 – 27°C

22 –27°C

LAOAG

21 – 29°C

22 – 29°C

DEC 19 FRIDAY

BAGUIO TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 27°C

SBMA/ CLARK

BAGUIO CITY 15 – 24°C SBMA/CLARK 23 – 27°C TAGAYTAY CITY 20 – 27°C

METRO MANILA 23 – 29°C

TAGAYTAY

15 – 23°C

23 – 28°C

20 – 27°C

16 – 23°C

24 – 28°C

21 – 27°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 31°C

ILOILO/ BACOLOD 24 – 30°C

TACLOBAN CITY 24 – 30°C

METRO CEBU 25 – 31°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY 24 – 34 °C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 24 – 31°C METRO DAVAO 25 – 33°C

24 – 29°C

23 –29°C

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

23 – 30°C

24 – 30°C

CELEBES SEA

FRIDAY

24 – 32°C

22 – 27°C

TACLOBAN

24 – 29°C

24 – 30°C

24 – 31°C

22 – 30°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO

24 – 32°C

25 – 32°C

25 – 33°C

METRO DAVAO

25 – 33°C

25 – 34°C

25 – 34°C

25 – 34°C

25 – 33°C

25 – 34°C

16 – 23°C

24 – 29°C

ZAMBOANGA SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

MOONRISE

6:13 AM

5:29 PM

12:56 PM

12:44 AM

21 – 28°C

24 – 30°C

HALF MOON NEW MOON

24 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

LOW TIDEMANILA HIGH TIDE SOUTH HARBOR

DEC 22

10:46 AM

0.13 METER 9:36 PM 8:51 PM Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and/or thunderstorms

Light rains

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www.panahon.tv

SABAH

DEC 19

24 – 31°C

Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms.

23 – 30°C

DEC 18

THURSDAY

24 – 31°C

DEC 14 24 – 30°C

DEC 17

WEDNESDAY

23 – 30°C

LEGAZPI CITY 24 – 30°C

LEGAZPI

Two weeks ago, the MMDA imposed a total truck ban along Roxas Boulevard to give way to the Holidays and the Papal visit set for next month. As a result, combined container gate outs from the two Manila Ports declined by at least 10 percent from an average of 7,000 TEUs from Monday to Friday to an average of 6,200 TEUs. “We are making all measures work that is why we are adjusting almost everything. With these, we are banking on the private sector to do their share,” Sta. Ana said.

The two ports in the country’s capital experienced what was deemed as a logistics crisis due to the truck ban in Manila that was implemented earlier this year.

The ban was lifted in September. Lorenz S. Marasigan

METRO CEBU

(AS OF DECEMBER 15, 5:00 PM)

LAOAG CITY 21 – 30°C

Corp.-Riverbanks Development Corp.

Consortium; ■ the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013; and ■ the P3.86-billion PSIP Phase II contract, partially awarded last year to Megawide and the BSP & Co. Inc.-Vicente T. Lao Construction consortium; ■ the P5.69-billion Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center project that went to the Megawide-World Citi Inc. consortium also last year.

■ the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System contract awarded to the AF Consortium of Ayala and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. in January; ■ the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal project bagged in April by Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructures Ltd.; and ■ the P64.9-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension deal, awarded in September to Light Rail Manila Consortium of Ayala and MPIC. The government aims to sign at least 15 contracts by the time President Aquino steps down from office in 2016.

interested parties must first prequalify before they are allowed to place technical and financial offers.

The enhanced operations and maintenance contracts of the country’s aviation systems are part of several infrastructure deals under procurement. Other projects are the P6.5-billion Integrated Transport System-South and Southwest Terminal Projects; P24.4-billion Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project; P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project; P19-billion New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project; and the Operations and Maintenance of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2.

The government has awarded eight PPP contracts since the flagship infrastructure program was launched in late2010, involving: ■ the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway project bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011; ■ the P16.42-billion first phase of the PPP School Infrastructure Program (PSIP), which went in 2012 to the consortium formed by Megawide Construction Corp. and Citicore Holdings Investment Inc. as well as the BF

TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING BICOL REGION. NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING NORTHERN, CENTRAL AND REST OF SOUTHERN LUZON.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

@PanahonTV

6:58 PM

0.63 METER

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation

briefs govt declares monthlong cease-fire with npa rebs THE military and the National Police declared on Monday a monthlong cease-fire with the New People’s Army (NPA) in order to give everyone the time to celebrate Christmas and New Year, with officials quickly adding they were hoping the rebels would reciprocate the gesture.

The suspension of offensive military operations and suspension of offensive police operations were jointly announced by the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, and the National Police Officer in Charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Catapang and Espina said the cease-fire, which was recommended by the Department of National Defense and approved by President Aquino, will begin at midnight on December 18 and will end at midnight on January 19.

However, Catapang and Espina said the military and the police will continue to carry out law-enforcement operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster response and will take measures for the defense of their camps, including those of vital installations around the country. Rene Acosta

former iloilo governor, 3 others face graft charges

THE Ombudsman on Monday said that it found probable cause to charge former Iloilo Gov. Neil Tupas Sr., Provincial Accountant Lyd Tupas, Assistant Department Head Sandra Bionat and General Services Department Head Ramie Salcedo in connection with the overpayment of unconsumed electricity worth P4 million to Green Core Geothermal Inc. (Green Core).

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said that these officials face charges for violation of Section 3(e) of the Antigraft and Corrupt Practices Act, or Republic Act 3019.

Morales said the complaint involves the contract entered into on September 26, 2007 by Tupas. and the National Power Corp. (later assumed by Napocor’s successor, Green Core) for the bulk supply of electric energy for a period of a little over four years from September 26, 2007 to December 25, 201. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

there’s no stopping binay from running

IF Sen. Grace Poe decides to run for President in 2016, Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said he will still continue his quest for the top post of the land.

If such a scenario happens, however, it would be without irony because Binay would face off his “kumare.”

“Tutuloy po akong magkakandidato kahit sino pa po ang makakalaban,” Binay said in a adio interview.

“At saka si Mareng Grace [Poe]. Kumare kong buo siya. Inaanak ko ang anak niya,” Binay said when asked what transpired during the 10th death anniversary commemoration of Fernando Poe Jr. Recto Mercene

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, December 16, 2014 A3

De Lima finds guns, sex gadgets, drugs in Munti J

By Joel R. San Juan

USTICE Secretary Leila de Lima led agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other lawenforcement agencies on Monday in a surprise inspection at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) that yielded numerous prohibited items, including illegal drugs, sex doll and other gadgets.

Aside from the NBI, those who also joined the operation were members of the National Police’s Special Action Force (SAF) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

The surprise inspection was conducted at the NBP’s maximum security compound, where 20 convicted drug lords are serving their jail terms.

The raiding team seized suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, a bath tub, a 48-inch flatscreen television set, a Playstation 4, dining sets, close circuit television cameras, a signal jammer, Internet

broadband sticks, several firearms, as well as P175,000 and at least $2,000 in cash.

In the detention cell of convicted drug lord Peter Co, the raiding team found papers containing a list of names with corresponding amounts.

The raiders also discovered a storage area, a secret pathway, entertainment appliances and even a sauna facility inside his room.

“Two or three months in the works ito bago natin isinagawa kanina. Intelligence confirmed that a significant source of illegal drugs in the country

came from the illegal-drug syndicate operating in the NBP,” the justice chief pointed out.

De Lima also pointed out that further investigation to determine whether some NBP officials and personnel are in collussion with other inmates involved in illegal-drug trade.

On Monday’s operation, according to de Lima, only confirmed media reports that contraband items, including illegal drugs, managed to enter the penitentiary, as well as the special accommodation given to “VIP” inmates.

“Nakumpirma ang matagal ng binabalita na may mga special kubol sila dito in the sense na luxurious talaga makikita mo, may mga television set, may aircon pa,” de Lima said.

“Magugulat ka talaga sa mga nakita kanina sa mga kubol. I am disgusted, even beyond disgusted,” she added.

The raiding team also discovered a hot tub, sex doll, cash and shabu, from the detention room of JojoBaligad, a dismissed US Army serviceman, who was jailed for drug trafficking.

It can be recalled that just last month authorities also confiscated from the cells of the convicted drug lords 11 signal boosters, four booster chargers, 46 aluminum outdoor an-

tennas, four Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) sticks, four Wi-Fi antennas, nine repeaters, five rolls of electrical wires, one splitter, one distributor and seven units of power-supply charger.

“Certainly heads will roll, taking into consideration this event. But I don’t want to disclose my plans and the recommendations I would be submitting to the President because I want to get a full report on this,” de Lima said.

She assured that the NBI will conduct follow-up investigation and case buildup against prison officials and personnel.

Part of the immediate action taken by the Department of Justice is the transfer of the 20 convicted drug lords to an undisclosed prison facility somewhere in Metro Manila in a move that de Lima said is meant to “incapacitate” the drug syndicate from continuing their operation, while investigations are continuing.

“This is to completely incapacitate them from pursuing their illegal transactions,” de Lima said adding that the 20 inmates will be secured by an elite team from the Bureau of Corrections and the SAF to ensure that they cannot escape and contact with their accomplices outside.

Economy

A4 Tuesday, December 16, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

briefs qc mayor imposes firecracker control

The Quezon City government limits the sale of lighting and sparkling devices to ensure that only those with minimum amount of explosive materials and produced by legitimate firecrackers and pyrotechnics manufacturers are offered to the public.

“There is an urgent need to strictly regulate, monitor and control the retail of one of the most prevalent commodities on sale during the long holidays because these could cause injury and unexpected fire,” said Mayor Herbert Bautista, noting guidelines on trading, sales and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics devices during the holiday season.

Bautista signed Memorandum Circular 20 to regulate the retailing/sales of firecrackers and pyrotechnics in Quezon City to ensure public safety.

“We should act now to prevent such incidents and most of all, to save lives and properties in the city,” Bautista said.

The sale or retail of the year-end sparklers on the streets, sidewalks and other temporary vending areas shall be regulated for the good of everyone, Bautista added.

The guidelines require the retailers to apply for a hawker’s permit from the market development and administration department (MDAD), which will be awarded only upon completion of the required documents.

Only the following types of firecrackers shall be allowed for sale: baby rockets, bawang, small triangulo, pulling of strings, paper caps, el diablo, judah’s belt, sky rockets (kwitis) and other types with equivalent content of explosive as of the above items.

For pyrotechnic devices, sparklers, luces, fountain, jumbo, mabuhay, roman candle, trompillo, airwolf, whistle device, butterfly and other types equivalent with the above explosive content will be allowed on sale.

An on-site fire safety equipment prescribed by the Bureau of Fire Protection should be available at all times during the retail period.

The retail sites should be located 15 meters away from gasoline stations, establishments which produce, manufacture or store combustible or flammable materials and those engaged in food businesses which use stoves, open flames or portable electric heaters. PNA

monster typhoons ‘new normal’ in phl–lawmaker House Committee on Labor chairman on Monday warned that colossal typhoons like the recent Typhoon Ruby and last year’s Yolanda could be the “new normal” in the country and the government should now step up efforts to create climateresilient communities and start giving premium to environment-friendly technologies and innovations.

“In light of the destructive typhoons hitting the country every year, we wonder if this is the new normal for our country, and if there is anything more we can do to reverse the pattern. It’s very obvious, this is Mother Earth’s way of reminding us to take care of our planet,” Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles of Davao City said.

The House senior official said that extreme weather patterns such as Yolanda-like typhoons, gigantic tornadoes and unprecedented blizzards that take place in many parts of the world is a clear sign that the planet is hurting due to climate change and governments around the world should start taking serious steps to stop global warming.

He said that the Philippines, which has always been at the receiving end of violent typhoons, should now start adopting measures to create climateresilient communities and consider the use of energy-efficient and modular housing units. PNA

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

ERC bares new tack to fight abuse, anti-competitive practice in WESM

Mining, quarry jobs difficult to fill due to lack of applicants–PSA

T

he lack of applicants for positions like geologists and geodetic professionals make some mining and quarrying jobs difficult to fill, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA data showed that there was a total of 1,617 job vacancies in the mining and quarrying industry.

This is composed of 1,227 easy-to-fill occupations and 390 hard-to-fill occupations in January 2011 to January 2012.

The top 5 hard-to-fill occupations are geologists and geophysicists, which had 57 vacancies during the period, followed by geodetic and related professionals with 50 vacancies; building electricians, 39; agricultural or industrial-machinery mechanics and fitters, 22; and accounting and bookkeeping clerks, 20.

“The establishments, which reported hard-to-fill vacancies, cited the dearth of qualified applicants for the job [29.1 percent or 41] as the most common difficulty in recruitment,” the PSA said.

The top 5 easy-to-fill occupations include mining and quarrying laborers, where there are 243 vacancies during the period followed by miners and quarry workers, 159; heavy truck and lorry drivers, 104; mining-plant operators, 71; and stock clerks, 67.

Meanwhile, the PSA said around 783 of these vacancies were entrylevel job vacancies in 2011. More than half or 54.8 percent of these positions are for nonregular jobs, and only 45.2 percent were for regular positions.

Most or 85.3 percent, of these entry-level job vacancies also prefer workers aged 25 to 30.

Vacancies that can be filled by those aged 15 to 24 only account for 9.7 percent of these entry-level jobs, while jobs open to those above 30 years old only comprise 4.2 percent.

Further, four out of five vacancies were allocated for male workers. This means that 79.1 percent of vacancies were allocated for male workers and only 4.5 percent were open to female workers.

“About one-sixth [16.5 percent, or 129] had no sex preference,” the PSA said.

Overall, there were 99 establishments engaged in mining and quarrying activities nationwide. These firms employed 30,065 Filipinos as of June 2012.

Rank and file was the largest category of workers and they account for 84.3 percent, or 25,337 of total employment.

Around 4.2 percent, or 1,270 Filipinos, occupied managerial and/ or executive posititions, while 11.3 percent, or 3,395 were supervisors and/or foremen.

By Lenie Lectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Monday said it will impose a price threshold on all participants of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) by January next year in a bid to prevent market-power abuse and other anti-competitive practices.

“This will be in place early next year in time for the summer months. We are anticipating that, once we have arrived on the figures for the price threshold, then we will convene and sign it already. It’s go-

ing to be very soon. The ERC will, in fact, meet on this later,” ERC Director Saturnino Juan said.

The price threshold replaces the secondary price cap of P6.245 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) that was im-

posed whenever there is a breach of the average threshold of P8.1855 per kWh over a 72-hour period. In effect, this cap cuts average spotmarket prices by about 18.4 percent the ERC said.

However, the imposition of the secondary price cap lapsed on December 8.

“We have already ruled that there will be a permanent preemptive mitigating measure in replacement of the secondary price cap. We will call this preemptive mitigating measure a price threshold,” Juan said, adding that the price threshold has ye to be decided on by the commissioners.

Juan said the new level of WESM offer price cap shall be set in a manner that considers sustainable economic growth in the generation sector, which promotes long-term efficiency and security of the sup-

ply of electric power.

Aside from the secondary price cap, the ERC had also put in place a primary bid cap of P62 per kWh. This was later reduced to P32 per kWh in December of 2013 due to the unreasonable higher market prices during the Malampaya shutdown in November and December of last year.

The primary price cap stood at P32 per kWh since then.

It can be recalled that the marketclearing prices during the Malampaya shutdown had reached the maximum offer of P62.

The WESM tripartite committee, thus, convened in December last year and discussed the possible adjustments to the price ceiling and recognized the need to constantly put in place procedures and measures to address extreme price spikes, or prolonged price volatility.

Subic Ayta tribe clears $200-M clean energy project

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

S

UBIC BAY FREEPORT— The Ayta community of Pastolan, which owns a large portion of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, has approved the establishment of a renewableenergy (RE) project to be located inside an 800-hectare area of the Ayta ancestral domain here.

Ayta Tribal Chieftain Conrado Frenilla and Ayta elder Bonifacio Florentino signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia and Jobin SQM Inc. President Nancy Tan for the construction of a $200-million facility that will produce power from clean energy sources.

The proceeding was witnessed by representatives from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), which oversees the welfare of native communities.

In the same occasion, Tan presented the Ayta leaders with a P1-million check representing the company’s donation to the tribe.

Frenilla and other members of the Ayta tribal council said they would deposit the donation with the ancestral domain fund that they use to undertake various community projects.

Ayta Tribal Chieftain Conrado Frenilla receives a P1-million donation from Jobin SQM President Nancy Tan, as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman Roberto V. Garcia looks on approvingly, after signing an agreement for the development of a 150-megawatt solar and wind power facility inside the Ayta ancestral domain in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The project site on Mount Santa Rita forms part of the Pastolan Ayta’s 4,355-hectare ancestral domain, which represents almost 45 percent of the land area of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

According to Chairman Garcia, Jobin SQM Inc. intends to build a $200-million facility that will produce 150 megawatts of combined solar and wind energy.

The project, he added is in line with Republic Act (RA) 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to accelerate the exploration and

development of RE resources, increase utilization of such and promote their efficient and cost-effective commercial application. The law was also designed to effectively prevent or reduce harmful emissions to protect public health and the environment.

The alternative energy project, Garcia further said, was formally committed during President Aquino’s state visit to China in September 2011.

The Aquino administration has included the development and promotion of RE among the priority projects of the national

government under the Investment Priorities Plan of 2012.

Garcia said that Jobin has already satisfied the requirements set by the Department of Energy and has engaged the partnership of HydroChina International Engineering Co. Ltd., which is involved worldwide in renewable energy development projects, as well as ports, highways and buildings.

Garcia said the Jobin project will be a pioneering venture for the establishment of renewable energy facilities in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

LTFRB orders Metro taxi operators to submit list of authorized drivers

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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axi operators in the National Capital Region must submit a list of their authorized drivers who are now required to display their identification cards as a safety measure for passengers.

In view of the recent incidents in taxis reported by the media in the past few months, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) issued a memo ordering taxi operators in Metro Manila to submit a list of their drivers to the agency’s Information and System Management Division (ISMD) on or before January 15.

This should include an affidavit attesting that the list is complete and names of the drivers are all legitimate, LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez said.

To keep the list updated on a regular basis, the operators are required to submit to ISMD the names and other details of their drivers who are no longer authorized to drive their units, as well as new authorized drivers every 15th and 30th of the month.

The drive was launched by the regulator on Monday with the support of the Land Transportation Office, and the Department of Transportation and Communications.

A joint statement supporting the cause was also signed by the LTFRB with the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association, Association of Taxi Operators of Metro Manila, Airport Transport Concessionaires Association Inc. and National Center for Commuter Safety Protection to launch the drive against taxi crimes.

“Dahil sa sunud-sunod na mga

insidente na sangkot ang ilang mga taxi drivers sa pagsasagawa ng krimen katulad ng holdap, rape at iba pagsasamantala sa mga mananakay, kailangan nating magpatupad ng ordinansa upang masawata ang ganitong mga masamang tangka sa publiko,” Ginez said.

During the last couple of weeks, a sharp increase in the number of complaints against discourteous, arrogant, dishonest and irresponsible drivers was noted, he said.

Several passengers were also victimized by erring drivers with accomplice to commit serious crimes such as theft.

“As part of our mandate in ensuring the safety of the people, we need to act to protect the riding public from these criminals disguising as legitimate taxi drivers,” Ginez said.

The agency also ordered taxi op-

erators to issue identification cards to their authorized drivers with contents and design to be prescribed by the LTFRB. Drivers will not be allowed to drive their units without the IDs displayed on their cabs.

The drivers must conspicuously hang the IDs in the rear view mirror of the taxi units or face penalty for refusing to display it on their units.

Once the order takes effect on January 15, taxi drivers must also secure a certificate from the LTFRB to verify their employment history and check if there are any pending complaints filed against them. Taxi operators face cancellation, suspension or revocation of their franchise if their driver fails to secure the said certificate.

Taxi operators found not complying with any of the provisions of the Memorandum Circular’s

will be meted a penalty of P5,000 per violation.

Ginez said his office is also intensifying the speedy resolution of passenger complaints against erring taxi drivers.

“The LTFRB’s Public Assistance and Complaint Desk [PACD] will immediately call to a conference the driver, operator and the complainant once they received a complaint.

If the complainant is not able to attend the conference, a “show cause” letter shall be sent to the operator to explain his side regarding the said complaint,” he said.

In case an amicable settlement or agreement is not reached, the agency will require the complainant to submit a written statement with the details of his complaint and will be sworn before the hearing officer on the hearing date provided for by the PACD.

Economy

news@businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, December 16, 2014 A5

House ratifies P2.606-T 2015 GAA, approves P22.46-B supplemental budget bill on 3rd and final reading

T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading the Palaceproposed P22.46-billion supplemental budget and ratified the 2015 proposed P2.606-trillion national budget.

Deputy Speaker and Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao of Isabela said that majority of the lawmakers voted separately for the passage of the House Bill 5237 (supplemental budget) and 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Under the proposed 2015 GAA, Congress has adopted a new definition of savings.

The bill said the President, the Senate President, Speaker of the House, Supreme Court Chief Justice, the heads of constitutional commissions enjoying fiscal autonomy, and the Ombudsman are hereby authorized to use savings in their respective appropriations to augment actual deficiencies incurred for the current year in any item of their respective appropriations.

Aggabao

It also said that the foregoing constitutional officials authorized to use savings shall be responsible for

ensuring that a semestral and annual report on their respective use of savings shall be submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Appropriations and copies of which shall also be furnished to the Department of Budget and Management.

Savings refer to portions or balances of any released appropriations which have not been obligated as a result of any of the following:

Final discontinuance or abandonment of an ongoing program, activity or project (PAP) by the head of the agency concerned due to cause not attributable to the fault or negligence of the said agency.

Non-commencement of the

PAP for which the appropriations is released. For this, purpose, noncommencement shall refer to the inability of the agency or its duly authorized procurement agent to obligate the released allotment and implement the PAP due to natural or man-made calamities or other causes not attributable to the fault or negligence of the agency concerned during the validity of the appropriations.

The budget bill said that savings may, likewise, refer to the available balances of appropriations from unused compensa-

Universal health care drives PHL growth—ILO

T

he government’s adoption of a universal health-care policy has helped the Philippine economy achieve higher economic growth in recent years, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In a study titled “Addressing the Global Health Crisis: Universal Health Protection Policies,” the ILO said expanding public health-care services to universal coverage helped countries like the Philippines, United States, Benin, Gabon, China and Thailand improve its gross domestic product growth in recent years.

Investment in health systems leads to sustained economic growth, increased productivity and wellbeing for populations, a reason countries like Benin, Gabon, China, the Philippines or the US have expanded health coverage in recent years. In Thailand, the introduction of universal health protection has led to economic gains of as much as 1.2 times the original investment,” the ILO said.

The study showed that, in 2011, around 44.1 percent of total health-care expenditures in the Philippines are not financed by private households’ out-of-pocket payments, or are funded publicly.

This is what the Aquino administration sought to change in 2010 with the introduction of the Kalusugang Pangkalahatan, or universal healthcare program. The program is a component of the Health Sector Reform Agenda unveiled under the Aquino administration.

The program has three major components, namely, financial-risk protection, health-facilities improvement and attainment of health-related Millennium Development Goals.

“Irrespective of a country’s level of income, it is possible to move toward universal health protection.

A precondition for such a move is that countries are committed to fully implementing rights to health, minimizing impoverishing out-of-pocket payments and ensuring sufficient numbers of skilled, decently paid health workers,” the ILO said.

The ILO said high impoverishment due to private health spending is a barrier for accessing health care. In many countries it said most of total health expenditure comes from private resources in the form of out-of-pocket payments, which have led to deep impoverishment by increasing the level of the population living below the poverty line. Cai Ordinario

MPIC renews offer to upgrade MRT 3

T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

he local flagship of the Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd. will resubmit its multimillion-dollar proposal to upgrade the ailing Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3.

Executives of infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) were told by the House Committee on Metro Manila Development to submit anew their company’s updates proposal to expand and modernize the “already obsolete” mass-transportation system.

Metro Pacific President Jose Ma. K. Lim said his group will soon submit its $524-million proposal to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), which has already rejected the then-$565-million offer.

“We have to review it and we will resubmit it to the DOTC shortly,” he said in a brief interview.

The lower budget for the offer, Metro Pacific Business Development Officer John B. Echauz explained, stemmed from the removal of the automated-fare collection system (AFCS) and another component from the proposal.

The unified ticketing system project was auctioned off by the transportation agency last year, and was awarded to the consortium between Metro Pacific and Ayala Corp. earlier this year.

“The reduced amount is about $40 million. Our original proposal had the AFCS and the half gate which has been removed,” he said.

The total $524 million also included the $30-million working capital and the $229-million budget for the settlement of the government’s equity rental payment.

The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier entered into a partnership agreement with the corporate owner of the MRT, a move that would have allowed the firm to invest roughly $600 million to improve the services of the train system.

The venture would effectively expand the capacity of the railway system by adding more coaches to each train, allowing it to carry more cars at faster

intervals. The multimillion-dollar expansion plan would double the capacity of the line to 700,000 passengers a day from the current 350,000 daily.

It was submitted in 2011 but the transportation agency’s chief back then rejected the proposal.

Meanwhile, the state’s P54-billion planned takeover of the line has become more uncertain, Lotilla said, with the Senate’s recent rejection of the budget of the takeover.

“The government would have needed $1.13 billion to implement the buyout and expand the line. With our proposal, they will save $500 million, or 47 percent less than the original estimate,” Echauz said.

The government intends to buyout the corporate owner of the line, the MRT Corp., which is wholly owned by MRT Holdings II Inc. of businessman Robert John L. Sobrepeña.

The government aims to completely takeover the line by the time President Aquino steps down from office in 2016. But recent delays, including the “tying up of loose ends,” are forcing the government to double its efforts to effect the buyout.

One of the requirements to execute the takeover is for the government to strike up a compromise deal with the private owner of the train line.

This would effectively end the ongoing arbitration case in Singapore that was lodged against the government in 2008 due to its failure, as the operator of the line, to pay billions of equity rentals payment to the owner of the rail system.

Should the buyout be completed in 2016, the transportation agency may then bid out the operations and maintenance contract of the line, thereby tapping private sector efficiency and customer service orientation for operational needs, while retaining regulatory functions for passenger protection with the government.

Since 2004, the train system has been operating at overcapacity. Currently, the line serves nearly 550,000 passengers per day, it even reached, at one point this year, the 650,000-daily passenger mark. It has a rated capacity of 350,000 daily passengers.

tion, unfilled, vacant positions, non-entitlement to allowance and benefits, leaves of absence without pay and unutilized pension and retirement benefits arising from death of pensioners.

Earlier, Liberal Party Rep. Isidro Ungab of Davao, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, assured the public that Congress’s definition of savings complies with the Supreme Court decision against the Disbursement Acceleration Program.

Meanwhile, of all the government agencies the Department of Education (DepEd) will get lion’s share of the 2015 budget, with the DepEd’s proposed P364.95-billion budget for next year.

Next to the DepEd are the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P300.51 billion, the Department of National Defense, P144.03 billion; the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), P141.42 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the P108.97 billion; and the Department of Health with P102.17 billion.

The government has also allotted P88.81 billion for the Department of Agriculture, P59.46 billion for the Department of Transportation and

Communications (DOTC), P21.29 billion for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and P20.28 billion for the Judiciary.

Supplemental budget

The lower chamber also on Monday approved the Palace-proposed P22.46-billion supplemental budget.

The supplemental budget will be transmitted this week to the Senate for its own deliberations.

President Aquino earlier certified as urgent the supplemental budget, meaning the lower chamber can approve the measure on second and third reading on the same day.

Meanwhile, big chunks of the supplemental budget were allotted to the DILG-Philippine National Police (P2.8 billion); DPWH (P1.9 billion); DSWD-National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (P1.9 billion); DSWD-emergency shelter assistance for victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda (P2 billion); DOTC-Metro Rail Transit 3 Rehabilitation and Capacity Extension (P1.2 billion); and National Housing Authority (NHA)-construction of permanent housing for victims of Yolanda (P7.9 billion).

Budget Secretary Florencio B.

Abad earlier said the supplemental budget would address urgent funding requirements for priority infrastructure, socioeconomic, and rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.

He said the supplemental budget will fund urgent projects like the housing component required by the Comprehensive Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan (CRRP) for Yolanda, which had been approved only this July. Though P11 billion of the funding requirement for housing was covered by the 2014 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund and released to the NHA, it would still draw P8 billion from the supplemental budget for a total of P18.9 billion as required by the CRRP. Abad said that the P22.46-billion supplemental budget will also address obligations incurred by the national government on completed or commenced projects under the Priority Development Assistance Fund, as well as approved projects supported by the Disbursement Acceleration Program that need implementation. Though the enactment of both programs was halted by the Supreme Court, these projects were not ruled illegal by the high court.

A6 Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Opinion BusinessMirror

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

Is the ‘Fair use policy’ fair?

R

estaurants’ offering an “all-you-can-eat” buffet is big business. Small roadside eateries to the fanciest five-star hotels are all part of this dining phenomenon. We patronize these buffets for the variety of food available but, let’s be honest, also because we can eat until our belts burst.

However, the all-you-can-eat (AYCE) tack comes with some rules: no leftovers and no takeout. We accept that because we know these rules make good business sense and without them, the AYCE buffets would quickly disappear.

But we also know that for some mysterious reason, it always takes a very long time to refill the empty shrimp tempura serving or chafing dishes at the Japanese buffets. And why do waiters quickly refill your half-empty water glass but the “bottomless” iced-tea glass sits empty like a forgotten orphan?

The most recent controversy since the expiring prepaid load is the “Fair Use Policy” (FUP) for the unlimited data plans from telecommunications companies or telcos. All these companies have their own FUP that limits the data speed to subscribers who reach a daily or monthly limit of downloaded data.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) got itself involved in the altercation, saying it feels telcos may be guilty of “deceptive marketing practices” by slowing down bandwidth speed of users who breach a data-cap limit. One DOJ official went so far as to say that “unlimited data is like the unlimited rice or buffet concept. Restaurants cannot offer an eat-all-you-can promo and when a customer eats more than the average person, actually stop [the customer] and not honor the commitment.” We disagree and contend that telcos are fulfilling their AYCE commitment but are behaving like the slow shrimp tempura or bottomless iced-tea refills.

Telcos make it very clear that when you subscribe, you agree to their FUP rules, which are just like rules at the buffet table.

The DOJ may have a difficult legal time to claim that a data-speed cap under the FUP violates the “unlimited usage” promotion and service since a subscriber can have unlimited data but at a slower speed.

The telcos contend that since there is only a limited amount of bandwidth available, it is only “fair” to make sure that all subscribers are given equal access without one person using more than their share. That argument is as weak as that of the DOJ. If all the diners want to eat 5 kilos of tempura shrimp, that is part of the AYCE agreement.

The unlimited data plan was a bad idea: consumers are not happy, telcos have lost the public-relations battle and the justice department has more important issues to worry about.

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12162014

A marriage of art and wealth Manny B. Villar

THE Entrepreneur

T

HERE used to be a wide gap between art and wealth, at least in the Philippines.

During my youth, artists like painters were considered as dreamers who were not concerned with making money and only in pursuing the perfect interpretation of beauty on canvas.

The market for artworks, which should be rewarding the artists, was very small then. Many painters were limited to the galleries in Ermita. It was then unusual, even today, to see ambulant vendors carrying paintings.

Nevertheless, the current situation is vastly different, and it’s because of a pleasant irony: economic growth, which creates wealth, that has made art a profitable field and artwork a prized commodity, not only in the Philippines, but elsewhere in the world.

We may still be far from reaching our goal of an inclusive growth, under which the majority of Filipinos benefit from economic progress, but growth has at least begun to benefit artists. Growth is good for the arts.

Filipinos are among the most soughtafter workers abroad not only because of their fluency in English and work ethic, but also for their artistic talents. During the early 1980s, for example, the singers and musicians that supported

the emerging tourism industry in the Northern Mariana Islands were all Filipinos, except for a few natives who usually performed vernacular songs and dances.

Filipinos have developed their artistic skills through the centuries, helped in part by their exposure to Western influences. University of the Philippines Prof. Eloisa May Hernandez, in an article titled “The Spanish Colonial Tradition in Philippine Visual Arts,” which was published online by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), named Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo as the first international Filipino artists who won in the 1884 Madrid Exposition. Hernandez said Luna’s Spoliarium won the gold medal.

However, he was not awarded the Medal of Excellence, the top award for the competition, because he was a Filipino.

Hernandez’s article also showed the relationship between economic growth and wealth and the arts. She wrote: “In the early 19th century, the rise of

the ilustrados saw a rise in the art of portraiture. The need to adorn their newly constructed bahay-na-bato and the want to document their newfound wealth and social status, the ilustrados commissioned painters to make portraits of themselves.”

Ilustrados comprise the elite middle class in the Filipinos during the Spanish colonial period.

Another online article, titled “Philippine Contemporary Art Thrives Despite Financial Crisis,” published by the government-led trade platform Manila FAME, cited the high demand for works

by Filipino artists in Singapore art galleries, with some artworks even breaking records at Sotheby’s auctions.

In the article, Manuel Duldulao, founding chairman of the Exhibition Center for Contemporary Art, traced the salability of Filipino paintings to their portrayal of distinct Philippine themes like fiestas, landscapes, landmarks and tourist spots, which no other country has.

Exports of Philippine artworks still account for a meager share of local products shipped abroad. Electronic products like semiconductors still account for a major chunk of Philippine exports.

In the domestic market, the continuing growth of the economy, which translates to a rising number of consumers with higher purchasing power, also benefit artists.

When the rich get richer, the artists benefit. Buyers of high-end condominium units, for example, can be expected to buy classy paintings to adorn their walls.

Developers of towering office buildings will be remiss if they fail

Climbing the wall of worry John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

I

T is getting to the point that almost everything “bad” that happens in the world is good for the Philippines.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was the second country after Malaysia to raise interest rates this year. The gloom-and-doomers have been saying for two years an increase in interest rates, especially in a small backwater country like the Philippines, would mark the end of the good times.

The fact is the interest-rate increase was a major positive policy move for the country as it put the brakes on the increasing inflation rate. Further, while the experts have been saying that the US Federal Reserve would be raising its interest rates at any time, that did not happen, making Philippine debt interest rates more attractive.

The appreciating US dollar was also expected to bring damage to the Philippines as exports and remittances would suffer. But that did not happen either as both merchandise exports and remittances still continue to grow.

Part of our interpretation problem with the data is that we look and worry too much about the current growth rate

versus the previous growth rates. This is like saying the basketball team do not do as good this time because they only won by 5 points and in the previous game the win was by 10 points.

Conditions are never the same from quarter to quarter and year to year so, therefore, the comparisons are not always comparable. What we need to see is continuing growth and that is what we are getting.

Japan’s economy is tanking having just gone into another recession. Corporate bankruptcies are skyrocketing.

But like I wrote about a couple of months ago, Japanese companies are desperate to get part of their money and part of their business interests out of Japan.

The Philippines is definitely on their radar as evidenced by Thermos Co. opening a manufacturing facility in Batangas province and investing P1.6 billion to do it.

Now the world is in a panic due to the nearly 40-percent decrease in the price of crude oil over the last three months.

Commentators do point out that a few major oil-importing countries like Japan, India and the Philippines will benefit from a lower oil-import bill. But even then, the analysis always concludes there is a major risk because all the exporting nations will be hurt and that is not good for the world economy.

One expert gave 10 reasons lower oil prices would be terrible. Lower prices are actually not significantly beneficial to consumers. Having just bought unleaded gasoline at P40 a liter, I beg to differ. If gas stays at this price for three months, I will have saved enough for a new laptop.

One local commentator says that low oil prices will reduce the number of Filipino workers in the Middle East. Where is the logic in that, unless Saudi Arabia decides to terminate Filipino nurses working in their hospitals because of low oil prices? Further, the Middle Eastern producers all intend to keep the oil production at current levels, so why would our oil workers be fired?

Low oil prices could hurt the global

to hang artworks on the walls of the lavish lobbies.

One advantage of artworks over electronics and other manufactured products is the high local content. The paint and brushes that artists use may be imported, but represent only a small share of the production cost of a painting. The artist’s skill comprises the bulk of the cost.

Because of this, I believe it is fair to assume that the total proceeds of the sale of a painting include a large net value, compared to electronic products, which are made mostly of imported materials.

Paintings and other artworks are now also considered as alternative investments.

It’s good the government, through the Manila FAME International and other agencies, is helping develop the local and overseas markets for Filipino artists through exhibitions.

This effort should also increase the number of Filipino artists in the market, which currently include National Artist awardees Jose Joya and Federico Alcuaz, Ramon Orlina, Angelito Antonio, Norma Belliza, Onib Olmedo, Juvenal Sanso and Malang, among many, many others.

What we’re seeing now is the marriage between art and wealth. No more stories about artists going hungry because they could not sell their craft.

In the future, I would like the Philippines to be famous not only for its beaches, festivals and hard-working people, but also for its artists.

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

banks because they are carrying what could become bad loans of the oil-field operators. Good. Our Filipino banks do not have exposure to those loans anymore than they had to the subprime mortgages back in 2007. And the investors in those loan packages might do well to consider investing in a country and in companies that keep getting creditrating upgrades.

Notice something else. All the negative outlooks for the Philippines, whether it is the corporate debt of the conglomerates or the property sector, always are qualified with the word “if.”

If remittances go down, the property sector could be damaged. If interest rates go too high, the conglomerates might have debt-service problems.

There is a large group of people outside and inside the Philippines that hate the fact that this country is starting to prosper. It is tough to ever hear much positive commentary about the country.

But that is good and we need to listen to their worries. An economy and stock market like ours always climbs the wall of worry.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com.

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

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

From the Bangkok Declaration to the AEC

Tollway row Ernesto M. Hilario

ABOUT TOWN Edgardo J. Angara

W

HEN the original five established the Asean in 1968, many Asian nations had just begun the arduous transition from colonial rule to independence. With the Vietnam War (and more broadly the Cold War) ongoing, the threat of foreign interference—and with it, an atmosphere of mistrust—loomed heavily.

At the signing ceremony of the Bangkok Declaration Singaporean Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam said, “[w]e want a stable Southeast Asia, not a balkanized Southeast Asia,” explaining that Asean’s formation was not an alignment against anything or anybody. He then called for a new way of thinking among member-states—that is, being concerned with regional, alongside national interests.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Narciso Ramos stated that by “pursuing their own limited objectives and dissipating their meager resources,” Southeast Asian countries “carry the seeds of weakness in their incapacity for growth and their self-perpetuating dependence on the advanced, industrial nations.”

With the Bangkok Declaration, Ramos was hopeful the foundation for lasting trust among Asean members was laid down, signed after difficult negotiations that “truly taxed the goodwill, the imagination, the patience and understanding of the five participating ministers.” He then called for more substantial united action, despite the wide diversity among its members to tap the huge potential of the region.

Four decades after, Asean is considered among the most successful regional groupings in the world, having enjoyed a long period of stability and maintained high levels of engagement among its members. The region is now a top-of-mind investment destination and touted to be among the future’s drivers of global economic growth, with the Asean Economic Community (AEC) looming.

This is noteworthy, especially when the region remains among the world’s most diverse—economically, politically and even culturally.

And while the Asean Secretariat has no real supranational authority, regional agreements have been achieved mostly through substantial consensus-building and intergovernmental action.

Therefore, all the more laudable are the sweeping reforms undertaken by member-states because of the AEC—including zero tariffs since January 2010, improved border controls and more efficient customs administration.

However, as some speakers at a

recent Angara Centre for Law and Economics forum have pointed out, the pace of reform is now slowing.

Jayant Menon, an Asian Development Bank lead economist, said this was not surprising, given Asean had already tackled the easier reforms and is now facing the more challenging ones.

Former Asean Deputy SecretaryGeneral Pushpanathan Sundram emphasized that more work needs to be done toward harmonizing product standards and technical specifications, as well as bringing down nontariff barriers.

On top of physical connectivity through infrastructure development, legal connectivity must also be assured, he emphasized. To date, some Asean members, including the Philippines, have domestic laws that are not congruent with the aims of the AEC. Effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms will also be needed, given member-states may comply on paper but remain protectionist in practice. For instance, Menon related how Thailand had already signed off on the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for the nursing profession. Theoretically, Filipino nurses would now be free to work in Thailand, but to date they still need to pass an exam administered in Thai.

Such issues will persist even after the December 2015 deadline. And they will be exacerbated by a persistent development divide within the region, illustrated by how Singapore’s economy is up to 60 times larger than Myanmar’s. In contrast, the ratio between the European Union’s richest and poorest members is 1:8.

Menon said these gaps must be bridged, as Sundram underscored the fact that achieving equitable development was among the four pillars of AEC integration—something uniquely Asean, making it stand out among regional groupings.

Clearly, the momentum for reform must be sustained if the goals of the AEC are to be achieved. And hopefully they will be done sooner rather than later—a pace and scale the private sector heretofore unengaged in the integration process may readily provide.

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

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ONDER no more why the private sector sometimes look askance at the much-vaunted Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program.

Take the case of the Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway (SCTEx). At 94 kilometers long, it is the country’s longest toll road at present.

It was built by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) at a cost of P34.9 billion, 78 percent of which came from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

Opened in 2008, the four-lane SCTEx traversing the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac, is definitely world-class. It is operated by Manila North Tollways Corp.

(MNTC). This toll road provides a direct link to Metro Manila via the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex), which is also run by MNTC. According to the MNTC, daily traffic in SCTEx has jumped from an average of 9,302 vehicles in 2008 to 19,706 in 2009; 24,543 in 2010; 23,439 in 2011; 25,612 in 2012; 27,843 in 2013; and to this year’s 30,8555 (or an over threefold increase over the six-year period).

The MNTC won the bidding for SCTEx’s privatization in the last year of the previous administration, but the Business and Operating Agreement (BOA) between the BCDA and the MNTC—a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC)— was signed only in 2011.

Malacañang suspended this accord in 2012 and asked MNTC to offer

better revenue-sharing terms, leading to protracted negotiations that culminated in the firm’s third offer in February 2013 of a 50-50 income share plus a P3.5-billion cash component (inclusive of P600 million for a bridge repair and the Nlex-South Luzon Expressway integration).

Last week the BCDA published in the major dailies an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for the price challenge on the privatization of SCTEx. This move by the BCDA caught the MNTC by surprise as it says it was not consulted at all by the state agency on the Terms of Reference (TOR) in violation of the BOA they signed in 2011.

In the published ITB, the staterun firm invited qualified foreign and local proponents to a price challenge of MNTC’s offer, comprising: (1) payment of up-front cash of P3.5 billion (inclusive of the 12-percent value-added tax or VAT) to the BCDA; (2) 50-50 sharing of the gross toll revenues between the BCDA and the private-sector partner (PSP); (3) assumption by the PSP of the operation and maintenance costs and responsibilities over SCTEx; and, (4) assumption by the PSP of the ongoing integration agreement for the toll-collection system of the SCTEx and the Nlex.

“The object of the price challenge is the up-front cash only, which should be higher than P3.5 billion,

BLOOMBERG VIEW

A

s the world watches to see what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does with his renewed mandate in Japan, my eyes are on Haruhiko Kuroda instead. After all, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor probably deserves about 90 percent of the credit for whatever success Abe’s reflation efforts have had thus far—in particular, a more than 70-percent rise in the benchmark Topix index. Whether the prime minister now goes further and implements the real structural reforms Japan needs depends as much on Kuroda as anyone else.

Abe’s victory was not as sweeping as might appear at first glance.

Amid record-low turnout, his Liberal Democratic Party ended up with a couple fewer seats than previously—although still enough for the ruling coalition to maintain its twothirds majority in the lower house

of parliament. Not surprisingly, officials in Tokyo are talking less about politically difficult reforms and more about putting money in the hands of Japanese to spend.

Analysts are expecting a rush of new fiscal stimulus early in the new year. Kuroda, too, will face pres-

payable upon signing of the agreement,” said the BCDA. MNTC insists that it had not seen the TOR, nor had it been consulted about it, before the ITB was published last week.

MNTC executives are therefore worried that not all of the BOA’s relevant terms will be contained in the TOR or discussed with the would-be bidders, hence leaving them—the interim SCTEx operator—with the short end of the deal.

First, the BCDA set in the ITB a minimum up-front fee of P3.5 billion, which the MNTC has supposedly offered. This is not exactly true because while MNTC had indeed offered P3.5 billion, it is actually broken down into a front payment of P2.9 billion plus a P600-million allocation for the repair of an SCTEx bridge and the Nlex-SCTEx integration.

Second, the ITB set a 50-50 revenue-sharing arrangement in sync with MNTC’s offer, but it did not specify that the interim operator’s offer was for a minimum revenue share for the government of P400 million annually from next year till 2019.

Third, rather than limiting the challenge to the P3.5-billion offer, MNTC executives assert that, in the interest of fair play, the technical and operational offers of the wouldbe bidders should also match those of MNTC. Hence, contrary to the BCDA’s disclosure in the published ITB about MNTC’s “right to match” the offer of whichever among the would-be bidders (other than MNTC) ends up as the Highest Rated and Responsive Proponent (HRRP), and thereby win the contract, there is no guarantee that MNTC will exercise that right.

In a letter to the BCDA and in official disclosures to both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Dealing &

A7

Exchange Corp., the MNTC said, in pursuit of a successful auction and with no intent whatsoever to delay the process, it has requested an immediate discussion with the BCDA of the terms, conditions, procedures and timetable for the price challenge before the TOR is released to the public.

But if the BCDA proceeds with the auction without the MNTC’s concurrence on the TOR provisions and without prior common understanding that the would-be awarded contract should be anchored on the 2011 BOA, the interim SCTEx operator said “the validity of the price challenge may be questioned for having been undertaken by the BCDA unilaterally and without legal basis.”

“We may also be constrained to review our legal options in order to protect our interests,” the MNTC added.

The MNTC issued the disclosure reports and sent its letter to BCDA CEO Arnel Paciano Casanova on December 9. It warned that the auction, unless done in a fair and transparent manner, could go the route of another major public transport project—the planned common station for the Light Rail Transit Line 1, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and upcoming MRT 7, which is facing a protracted court battle over the surprise decision by the Department of Transportation and Communications to transfer the terminal from SM North Edsa to the nearby TriNoma Mall, in violation of a 2009 memorandum of agreement approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.

If businessmen are reluctant to take part in PPP projects, chalk this one up as yet another reason.

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

Climate change and inequalities: How will they impact women?

By Susan McDade Inter Press Service

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NITED NATIONS—Among all the impacts of climate change, from rising sea levels to landslides and flooding, there is one that does not get the attention it deserves: an exacerbation of inequalities, particularly for women.

Especially in poor countries, women’s lives are often directly dependent on the natural environment.

Women bear the main responsibility for supplying water and firewood for cooking and heating, as well as growing food. Drought, uncertain rainfall and deforestation make these tasks more time-consuming and arduous, threaten women’s livelihoods and deprive them of time to learn skills, earn money and participate in community life.

But the same societal roles that make women more vulnerable to environmental challenges also make them key actors for driving

sustainable development. Their knowledge and experience can make natural-resource management and climate-change adaptation and mitigation strategies at all levels more successful.

To see this in action, just look to the Ecuadorian Amazon, where the Waorani women association (Asociación de Mujeres Waorani de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana) is promoting organic cocoa cultivation as a wildlifeprotection measure and a pathway to local sustainable development.

With support from the UN Development Program (UNDP), the women’s association is managing its land

Time to take away the punchbowl in Japan William Pesek

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

sure to one-up himself when the BOJ meets on Friday. Like addicts looking for their next fix, markets want the central bank governor to outdo his “shock-and-awe” from April 2013 and recent Halloween surprise on October 31, when he boosted bond purchases to about $700 billion annually.

It’s time for Kuroda to do exactly the opposite: hold his fire and prod Abe to begin doing his part to push through his “third arrow” structural reforms. To this point, Kuroda has been a dutiful and circumspect policymaker—perhaps to a fault. Other than a brief flash of impatience with Abe’s foot-dragging in a May Wall Street Journal interview—when he said “implementation is key, and implementation should be swift”— Kuroda has held his tongue. Yet, he bears a responsibility to play the honest broker role that monetary powers have over the years—from Paul Volcker at the Federal Reserve decades ago to Raghuram Rajan at

the Reserve Bank of India today.

On Friday Kuroda should tell reporters: “Now that the election is over, it’s up to Prime Minister Abe to carry out the will of the people and deregulate the economy. For now, we at the BOJ have done all we can—and are willing to do—to make Abenomics a success.”

Stock traders would abhor such candor from a central bank that’s spent the last 21 months refilling the punchbowl. But a smart economist and wise tactician like Kuroda has to know this Japanese experiment will end very badly if Abe fails to encourage innovation, loosen labor markets, lower trade tariffs and cut red tape. If bond traders drive government bond yields higher and credit-rating companies pounce, the blame will fall squarely on Kuroda.

In a recent report,titled “The Year of Living Dangerously,” HSBC strategists David Bloom and Paul Mackel warn that if Abe pressures the BOJ

collectively and working toward zero deforestation, the protection of vulnerable wildlife species and the production of certified organic chocolate.

In the process, the women are building the resilience of their community by investing revenues from the cocoa business into local education, health and infrastructure projects, and successfully steering the local economy away from clear-cutting and unregulated bushmeat markets.

Indigenous women are also driving sustainable development in Mexico. There, UNDP supports Koolel-Kab/Muuchkambal, an organic farming and agroforestry initiative founded by Mayan women that works on forest conservation, the promotion of indigenous land rights and community-level disaster risk-reduction strategies.

The association, which established a 5,000-hectare community forest, advocates for public policies that stop deforestation and offer

alternatives to input-intensive commercial agriculture. It has also shared an organic beekeeping model across more than 20 communities, providing an economic alternative to illegal logging.

Empowered women are one of the most effective responses to climate change. The success of climatechange actions depend on elevating women’s voices, making sure their experiences and views are heard at decision-making tables and supporting them to become leaders in climate adaptation.

By ensuring that gender concerns and women’s empowerment issues are systematically taken into account within environment and climate-change responses, the world leaders who wrapped up the UN Climate Change Conference 2014 in Lima, Peru, can reduce, rather than exacerbate, both new and existing inequalities and make sustainable development possible.

In reality, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has fallen into the same trap that ensnared Masaru Hayami, the BOJ leader from 1998 to 2003 who pioneered quantitative easing. Just as then, by assuming responsibility for reenergizing growth, the BOJ is unintentionally becoming a crutch for politicians eager to seize any excuse to avoid challenging vested interests.

to any sign that the government is heading down a route of overt monetization.”

The investment world views Kuroda as a maverick—a man who’s breaking all the rules in Tokyo. In reality, though, he’s fallen into the same trap that ensnared Masaru Hayami, the BOJ leader from 1998 to 2003 who pioneered quantitative easing. Just as then, by assuming responsibility for reenergizing growth, the BOJ is unintentionally becoming a crutch for politicians eager to seize any excuse to avoid challenging vested interests.

Kuroda’s policies have indeed been bold—bolder than anything Abe himself has been willing to attempt. But the BOJ’s policies are allowing the government to sidestep its responsibility. That must stop if Abenomics is to come off life support. On Friday Kuroda should begin nudging Abe to do something with his popular mandate for change.

Anything.

to do more, “it’s entirely possible that the yen decline becomes disorderly and swift.”

They fear the apparent drift toward increased stimulus: “We do not expect a ‘helicopter drop’ of income into every household, but the yen would react very badly

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, December 16, 2014

New property growth area emerging in Metro Manila

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esearch firm Cuervo Far East revealed that a new growth area in the realestate sector is emerging in Metro Manila, with its property values seen to double in five years.

In an independent study, Cuervo said the western portion of southern Metro Manila is fast-growing as a major area of growth in the real-estate sector, following Makati City, Ortigas and Fort Bonifacio.

Known as the “Southern Manila West Growth Area [WGA],” it comprises portions of the cities of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa on the west section of the South Luzon Expressway (Slex). This area, the study said, will experience robust growth in property prices within five years.

According to the study, the land value within the Southern Manila WGA is seen to increase by 10 percent to 15 percent annually

CUERVO: “An expected increase in zonal values in the near term will affect the cost of sales for land, which will result in higher asking prices.”

until 2019.

“The Southern Manila WGA was identified based on an active increase in historical market values, posting an average of 20 percent per year since 2009. While, for the next five years, we made a conservative projection of a 10-percent to

15-percent rise, this could definitely go further,” said Cuervo Far East President and CEO Jose Maria C. Fernandez-Cuervo.

Based on zonal values conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the villages under Southern Manila WGA, such as Ayala Alabang, Alabang Hills Subdivision, Hillsborough Subdivision and Southvale have risen from P14,000 per sq m in 2009 to P62,000 per square meter in 2014.

“An expected increase in zonal values in the near term will affect the cost of sales for land, which will result in higher asking prices,” Cuervo added.

Cuervo also explained that the current residential-land valuation for select residential developments now reached a minimum of P30,000 to P80,000 per sq m. But, due to new developments and infrastructure projects, the market value of land could go as high as P100,000 by 2019.

Another factor of the steady appreciation in Southern Manila WGA is the effective road networks and new developments brought

about by some of the biggest real-estate developers in the Philippines, such as Ayala Land, Megaworld and Filinvest.

The study also highlights the major infrastructure projects that are existing and currently being undertaken in this area and will open next year: the Manila-Cavite Expressway; Slex-Daang Hari Road; MuntinlupaCavite Expressway; and the CaviteLaguna Expressway.

These new road networks will offer new routes to motorists and can minimize the traveling time going to Manila, various Philippine ports, airports and nearby central business districts by almost half of their current time. The study also revealed that the Southern Manila WGA remains to be one of the safe areas in Metro Manila as far as floods and landslides are concerned.

“The accessibility, geohazards and new developments or facilities brought about by some of the biggest real-estate developers also create a deep impact on the land values in Southern Manila WGA. These are some of the biggest factors that attract investments,” Cuervo said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

JAPAN’S ABE FACES RESISTANCE ON REFORMS DESPITE VOTE WIN

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apan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces strong resistance to a promised economic and political overhaul despite a weekend election victory that gives him up to four more years in power.

In Sunday’s snap election, the conservative Liberal Democrats (LDP), who have ruled for most of the post-World War II era locked up a solid majority of at least 291 seats. About 35 seats were claimed by the LDP’s coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed Komei party, giving the ruling bloc more than twothirds of the 475-seat House of Representatives.

That majority will enable the coalition to override resistance in the upper house, but not necessarily the powerful vested interests and bureaucrats opposed to major reforms that many economists say are needed to revitalize Japan’s economy.

Businesses are reluctant to sink their cash hoards in a shrinking home market, farmers are dead set on keeping their cushion of subsidies and tariffs, and voters remain leery of many of Abe’s plans. The election victory changes none of that.

Japan could gain significantly by boosting its productivity through labor reforms and improving business conditions for foreign

companies, but such initiatives have made little headway.

“Nor has there been any progress in the government’s stated aim of deregulation,” Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a commentary on Monday. “Unfortunately, we fear that reform progress will remain glacial in coming years.”

The solid majority for the ruling coalition does reduce the likelihood of challenges against Abe from within the LDP. That could allow him to put off the next election until as late as December 2018.

After his win on Sunday, Abe said his top priority was the economy, which fell back into recession after a tax hike in April. “Economy first,” he told national broadcaster NHK, adding that he would also tackle other major issues, including national security.

The “Abenomics” blend of aggressive monetary easing, public spending and economic reforms has pushed share prices higher and weakened the value of the Japanese yen, helping big exporters like Toyota Motor Corp.

But wages and business investment have remained sluggish, and inflation and growth have fallen short of the targets set

by Abe when he took office two years ago. AP