BusinessMirror February 25, 2015

Boracay is best beach in Asia

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ever failing to impress tourists for its pictureperfect view, Boracay on Tuesday was named as the best beach in Asia by the world’s largest travel web site, TripAdvisor, in its 2015 Traveller’s Choice Awards.

See “Boracay,” A2

BusinessMirror

three-time rotary club of manila journalism awardee 2006, 2010, 2012

U.N. Media Award 2008

A broader look at today’s business

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL, Singapore in joint tourism drive

android lollipop Deeds of light

EAR Lord, the layers of bad habits may have dimmed or hidden altogether the brightness of God’s gifts. But if everyone heeds the message of today’s celebration on the Transfiguration, and lets the best in us shine forth through deeds of light, soon the world will be bathed in an ocean of light—the light of a “transfigured mankind.” We ask for God’s grace to shine forth the deeds of light. Amen.

WORD AND LIFE, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life

WINNER EMERGING IN THE LARGER SCENE »D2

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

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B T W San Jose Mercury News

RADITIONALLY, the best word to describe Google’s Android operating system has been “utilitarian.” The engineers behind the world’s leading mobile platform have long emphasized features over aesthetics.

But that may be starting to change. In its latest version, dubbed Lollipop, which has just started to roll out to older phones and tablets, the look and feel of Android and its primary apps get a major overhaul.

Google calls the new look in Android 5.0 “Material Design.” It’s marked by brighter colors, a “flatter” but layered look to applications and icons, and greater emphasis on clear and legible text.

The new design borrows ideas from the flat look that Apple introduced to its mobile operating system in iOS 7 and the interface Microsoft designed for its Windows Phone software. Android remains distinct from both, but it now appears to be in the same family.

For example, when you turn on Lollipop’s new “battery saver” mode, the notification bar at the top of the screen and the taskbar at bottom turn a bright orange. The look is reminiscent of how the notification bar turns green in iOS when you are on a call or blue when you turn on its personal hotspot feature.

Similarly, many of the Google-designed apps in Lollipop have a unique color in their menu bars that serves to distinguish them from other apps. While Gmail’s accent color is red, the one for the contacts app is blue.

The net result is an operating system that feels less like something designed by engineers for engineers and more like something that is lively, fun and accessible to nontechies.

Google made some other design changes in Lollipop.

One is to how Android displays open applications when

you want to switch between them. In previous versions, when you pressed the “overview” button to see which applications you had running, Android would display a vertical list of thumbnail images of those programs.

With Lollipop, Android displays them like a carousel, with the app windows stacked one on top of another. I prefer the new look, because it allows you to see more of the open apps at once.

Google has also revamped the quick settings feature in Android. It’s still available in the notifications area, but it’s now accessible by swiping down twice from the top of the screen.

It also includes some new settings, such as the ability to turn on a smartphone’s hotspot feature or to turn on a device’s flash to use it as a flashlight.

To be sure, Google did more in Lollipop than revamp Android’s look. The updated software also includes lots of new features.

Among them are a greater amount of options and controls for notifications. Android users can now respond to alerts that display on their lock screen. They can turn on a privacy feature that allows notifications to be displayed on the lock screen, but blocks their content, such as the actual message in a text message. And they can turn on a mode that will only display alerts from particular people and apps.

One of the cool new features of Android is that it gives users more options in how to share their devices with others.

Android tablets have been able to support multiple user accounts for a while now. With Lollipop, Android smartphones gain the same ability, allowing consumers to access their own contacts and other data on a friend or family member’s phone. Lollipop also allows users to create guest accounts on both smartphones and tablets that can access any apps, but none of the personal data on them.

Of note for parents, the new software has a related feature that allows users to “pin” a particular app to the

screen so that a child, say, can’t use any other apps or see anything else on the device. That might be helpful if your kid wants to play a game on your phone, but you don’t want them to see your e-mail or reconfigure your home screen.

These types of features—support for multiple users and the ability to easily restrict access to younger users—are ones that I’ve long wished Apple would build into iOS. Google has also enhanced the security in Android.

In Lollipop, encryption is turned on by default; previously, it was hard to know that you could use it to protect your data, because to turn it on, you had to find it deep within the system’s settings. While Android’s ability for apps to work together fairly seamlessly was a selling point over iOS until recently, it’s also been a vulnerability, potentially allowing malware to gain access to important functions on the device.

In Lollipop, Google limits the access particular programs have to the underlying functions; your apps should still be able to work together, but they should pose a lot less of a threat to the functioning of your phone.

As with any new version of Android, the big questions for users are when they will be able to get the new software and the degree to which phone manufacturers will customize it. Although Lollipop has started to become available to certain Android devices, there are lots that still can’t get it. When I tried several days ago to download it to two Android smartphones I’ve been testing—Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge and Sharp’s Aquos Crystal—it wasn’t available.

Meanwhile, few electronics manufacturers offer an unadulterated Android experience. Unless you have one of Google’s Nexus devices, you may not see many of the cool new interface features in Lollipop.

Overall, Lollipop is a sweet new update. With both good looks and cool features, it’s well worth downloading if you can get it. ■

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THE premium brand of wireless services leader Smart Communications Inc., Smart Infinity encourages its members to unleash their inner “shopaholics” as it launches new and exciting gifts that come with its postpaid plans this month. These shop-until-you-drop plans offer subscribers the best premium-brand perks imaginable.

“Smart Infinity has always been about having our members enjoy the lifestyle they want and deserve, thus our latest offerings featuring the Purple Card of our partner Stores Specialists Inc. [SSI],” said Julie Carceller, head of Smart Infinity. She added, “If you subscribe to our plans today, you will receive a generous amount of shopping gift certificates, aka Purple Cards, matched to your chosen package and/ or your iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus device.”

For Aspire Plan 3500 members, they will receive Purple Cards worth P19,000, while members availing of higher plans such as Prestige 5000 and Premium 8000 will receive Purple Cards valued as high as P35,000.

Purple Cards are accepted at all SSI shops, including Anne Klein, A/X Armani Exchange, Debenhams, Calvin Klein, Charriol, DKNY, Jimmy Choo, GAP, Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole New York, Lacoste, Marks & Spencer, Nine West and Zara, among others.

For those who want their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus under Smart Infinity’s customer-priority and pampering services, Purple Cards are available in the following amounts corresponding to specific iPhone plans: P10,000 when you avail yourself of Prestige Plan 5000 bundled with a free iPhone 6 (16GB), P5,000 for Prestige Plan 5000 plus one iPhone 6 (64GB), P21,000 for every Premium 8000 plan with an iPhone 6 (64GB), and P16,000 for every Premium 8000 plan with an iPhone 6 (128GB).

For iPhone 6 Plus offers, the Purple Card amounts are: P5,000 with Prestige Plan 5000 with free iPhone 6 Plus (16GB), P21,000 with Premium Plan 8000 plus free iPhone 6 Plus (16GB), P16,000 with Premium Plan 8000 plus free iPhone 6 Plus (64GB), and P11,000 with Premium Plan 8000 plus a free iPhone 6 Plus (128GB).

Purple Cards are also bundled with Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy S5 premium smartphones. New Smart Infinity members may receive Purple Cards in the amount of P14,000 plus a Samsung Note 4 and Gear S with their Premium Plan 8000 subscription.

life

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the venice

GMovies partners with Power Plant Cinemas GMOVIES, a first and the only oneof-its-kind mobile application in the country developed by Globe Telecom, recently entered into a partnership with Power Plant Cinemas, allowing more users to experience the convenience of an all-in-one app solution of buying tickets and reserving seats right on their mobile phones.

With the app (GMovies.ph), moviegoers can stay updated on the current and upcoming movie releases in cinemas nationwide, check daily movie schedules, reserve the best seats, and purchase movie tickets straight

from their smartphones. With this groundbreaking benefit to movie fanatics, the app has reached 100,000 downloads on the App Store and Google Play, proving its relevance to today’s digital lifestyle.

It is offered as a free download.

“Since we launched GMovies, our main goal has been to give more people access to a convenient way to enjoy the movies.

With our new collaboration with Power Plant Cinemas, we are able to extend the convenience of viewing movie schedules and buying movie tickets to more moviegoers. With its world-class

cinema equipment and facilities, we are excited to partner Power Plan Cinemas and give our customers a movie experience like no other, so they can get inside and not in line,” Globe Vice President for Digital Media Glenn Estrella said.

GMovies allows customers to cut through long queues or dread running out of good seats in cinemas, especially true for blockbuster movies and first-day screenings. The GMovies app also showcases trailers of current movies and allows browsing of movie schedules in major cinemas nationwide. It enables reservation

of seats and purchase of tickets directly from the phone, highlighting its flexibility for moviegoers who want to plan ahead and enjoy the best cinema experience.

In addition to claim codes and MasterCard or Visa credit cards as payment options, GMovies also offers the Bank Payment option, where customers can choose Bank Payment under Payment Options and they will be prompted by a step by step process to complete the payment. Afterwards, an e-mail notification will be sent to the customers’ e-mail address to confirm the ticket purchase.

BusinessMirror

E1 Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Editor: Tet Andolong

B R R R

ENICE is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as well as the dream destination of many people because of its detailed and ornate architecture, epic artwork and legendary canals.

In its desire to develop beautiful residences, Megaworld Corp. has chosen Venice as the inspiration behind its landmark residential condominium in McKinley Hill. The Venice Luxury Residences is a seven-tower development that emulates the lifestyle of the Italian city it is named after. The Venice is more than just a typical luxury residence; it is a realization of every homeowner’s aspiration—to have a getaway that’s all their own with all the conveniences.

Designed by Rome-based architectural consultant Paolo Marioni, The Venice stays true to its namesake. Its skyscrapers boast of varying layouts of living space.

Investors can choose from executive studios, one-bedroom, twobedroom, three-bedroom, and bilevel penthouse units, which are carefully enmeshed with ceramic tiles and stainless steel fi nishes, as well as aesthetically colored kitchens and bathrooms finished with a modern touch.

Noli D. Hernandez, senior vice president of Megaworld Corp., said it is the norm of the company to establish an identity for every project it develops.

“Each project that Megaworld builds has its own characteristic that makes it stand out on its own.

We are very proud of the fact that no other development in the Philippines bares the same unique qualities found in The Venice. In fact, there are none like it,” Hernandez said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.

“The architecture itself already promises customers an Italian experience that is uniquely their own.

To us, The Venice is more than just a project; it represents Megaworld’s promise to deliver world-class developments to our customers.

Standing tall in the heart of our largest township, McKinley Hill, The Venice has become the township’s signature development. One cannot simply talk about McKinley Hill without mentioning The Venice,” Hernandez said.

“The Venice sprang from the vision of Megaworld chairman, Dr. Andrew Tan, who wants to bring one of the best construction masterpieces of the world to the Philippines and give customers their own piece of this global inspiration,” according to Hernandez, however, he said Megaworld will not stop there.

“We aim to build an avenue that embraces cross-cultural discovery and exploration, where citizens from around the globe can meaningfully converge to consolidate a truly global and complete township where the world unfolds.

The Italian inspiration of The Venice does just that and our customers can look forward to the same vision in our future developments.”

Comfort and convenience are also part of The Venice’s world-class amenities and facilities, which are distinctly Megaworld’s. If an owner wants to take a break from the busy corporate grind, he or she can stroll along The Venice’s various

landscaped gardens—meditation, pocket, rock and sculpture, as well as a palm court—to unwind.

If a resident wants to pursue a physical fitness activity, he or she can hit the fitness station, tennis and badminton courts, and a swimming pool bordered with sculptures. After a workout, they can saunter in the spa, sauna and jacuzzi areas for ultimate relaxation.

The Venice is also conveniently located alongside The Venice Grand Canal Mall and The Venice Piazza—replicas of the most popular icons in Venice. The Venice Grand Canal Mall is a retail and commercial strip that surrounds a grand canal and the famed Rialto Bridge, complete with gondolas and gondoliers.

The Piazza aims to bring to life the ambiance and setting of the Piazza de San Marco and the Piazza Grande.

And just like in Venice, flocks of pigeons complete the city’s feel.

As part of the McKinley Hill township, the residents of The Venice will reap the benefits of Megaworld’s 50-hectare, complete and well-planned community. Several prestigious multinational corporations and also the embassies of the UK, UAE, Qatar and South Korea are present in the area.

The Venice’s location is an ideal place for families and their children as residents can just walk to premier institutions such as Chinese International School Manila, Korean International School Philippines and Enderun Colleges. In short, residents can enjoy the Mediterranean lifestyle at The Venice and get to live-work-play-learn and shop within the township.

Hernandez said The Venice has received a positive response from the market as Megaworld has successfully sold the fi rst four towers since the property’s launch in 2008. He added that residents are now starting to occupy the fi nished units.

“We have now set our sights on completing this project with the last three towers. What customers can look forward to with them is a privileged, full view of The Grand Canal Mall, as well as a view of the entire township. Two of these towers are well on their way to completion and we intend to formally launch The Venice’s last tower this year along with the highly anticipated Grand Canal Mall,” Hernandez said.

Finally, Hernandez pointed out, “Aside from the fact that The Venice’s distinct features make it one-of-a-kind, homeowners will also enjoy the privilege of living in a master-planned township surrounded by world-class institutions. On top of that, its prime location in Fort Bonifacio already promises customers that The Venice is a high-value investment. Its current value speaks for itself as it has doubled its original launch value in 2008. Unique features, combined with a master-planned development in a strategic location give customers every reason to invest in The Venice.”

VENETIAN Canal LIVING and dining room in a three-bedroom unit

Property

THE façade

THE bedroom

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speed & power Sports

| Wednesday, February 25, 2015

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

FLOYD BRINGS SPEED, MANNY THE POWER The matchup sports fans have clamored for since 2009 is long overdue, yet Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao still rank 1-2 in most pound-forpound boxing rankings.

It’s Mayweather’s foot and hand speed, defense and wisdom matched against the southpaw Pacquiao’s rapid flurries of punches from all angles, and his fitness. »

IT’S time to dissect who is the better fighter—Manny Pacquiao (left) or Floyd Mayweather Jr.—nine weeks before they square off in the ring.

By Lance Pugmire

Los Angeles Times

OXING fans kept dreaming about a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight. Once the super-bout was finally announced last Friday, many in boxing circles had their predictions ready to go about the winner of the May 2 fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas Floyd Mayweather Sr., who trains his son, delivered his forecast in a poem.

“Floyd’s the best/I must confess/To all the rest/There is no contest,” the elder Mayweather said.

“Floyd is smarter than him, Floyd is quicker than him, has more knowledge, and I’m going to tell you this right here: Floyd can’t lose to him.”

The man in the other fighter’s corner, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, had a different spin.

Roach has spent years watching Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 knockouts), widely considered the undisputed top pound-for-pound boxer, who will fight the eight-division world champion Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) in a welterweight unification title bout.

Even before the fight was announced, Roach said his careful review of fight film convinced him Mayweather Jr., who turns 38 on Tuesday, has slowed down.

Roach said his confidence in a Pacquiao victory is “100 percent. Everyone says [Mayweather’s] changed his style to become more fan-friendly. He doesn’t [care] about the fans. He just can’t move no more.”

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And here we go...

The matchup sports fans have clamored for since 2009 is long overdue, yet Mayweather and Pacquiao still rank 1-2 in most pound-for-pound boxing rankings.

It’s Mayweather’s foot and hand speed, defense and wisdom matched against the southpaw Pacquiao’s rapid flurries of punches from all angles, and his fitness.

Among those caught up in the fervent, prefight buzz is former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who predicts Pacquiao will win by decision.

“Pacquiao has the edge...

Mayweather makes up [rounds] later, [but] Pacquiao stays ahead,” Foreman said in a text message.

Roach insists Pacquiao, 36, will catch and hit Mayweather.

“Manny has better legs, he’ll be in better shape than Floyd, and he’ll be more

GRANDMAS STAY FIT WITH HANDBALL »

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L ALTO, Bolivia—Dozens of traditional Aymara grandmothers ease many of the aches and pains of aging by practicing a sport that is decidedly untraditional in Bolivia—team handball.

The women, some of them greatgrandmothers, arrive with their tennis shoes every Wednesday at a covered court in El Alto, an impoverished city near the capital of La Paz. Known in the Aymara language as awichas, or grandmothers, the women pull sports jerseys over their long-sleeved blouses and ruffled skirts, then perform warm-up exercises while singing a childhood song.

“There are days my knees hurt from rheumatism, but when I play it goes away,” said 77-year-old Rosa Lima, who first began doing simple

exercises eight years ago, then later took up team handball. She lives alone and looks forward to playing with her friends every week.

Team handball is an Olympic sport in which two teams of pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the other’s goal. The games the grandmothers participate in are part of a program that El Alto sponsors to encourage older people to stay healthy by remaining active.

About 1,000 older people practice sports, play Andean music and recall their younger years through the program that also provides free medical care to around 10,000 participants. The program so far has spread to six of El Alto’s 14 districts.

“This helps us a lot,” says Juana Poma, an 84-year-old great-grandmother of five. “Look, I’m full of life, but I’m also thinner.” AP

AUREA MURILLO, 72, prepares to make a pass during a handball match among elderly Aymara indigenous women in El Alto, Bolivia. AP

motivated,” Roach said.

Some of that motivation comes from Pacquiao allowing Mayweather Jr. to get a 60-percent share of the purse, with the idea that a Pacquiao win means he’d collect a greater share in a rematch.

Mayweather’s own conditioning regimen is legendary, both in the gym and in his dark-of-night runs through the streets of Las Vegas. Roach counters, “I don’t think running at 2 in the morning is healthy for a fighter. We go by the book.

The book wins fights.”

Mayweather Sr. said he doesn’t want his son to overtrain, and boasted that because of the unbeaten fighter’s year-round discipline, “all Floyd needs is two good, full weeks” of training. “Two good weeks and he’ll put him to sleep.”

The elder Mayweather points out that Pacquiao hasn’t knocked out any opponent since 2009, and wonders how the Filipino can crack Mayweather Jr.’s strong chin.

For good measure, Mayweather Sr. dismissed the credibility of Roach’s multiple trainer of the year awards.

“He might be the one that everyone gives awards to, but he won’t be getting the award this damn year,”

Mayweather Sr. said.

Roach said psychology will play a role in the fight. While Pacquiao might be far more soft-spoken out of the ring, inside it, “he’ll penetrate Floyd mentally with his power.”

Both fighters, though, seem past their peaks.

Pacquiao suffered a knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012. He has rebounded with three straight wins, including an impressive decision over former undefeated welterweight champ Timothy Bradley Jr. Meanwhile, Mayweather, known for his defensive wizardry, has been bruised in the last few years in fights against Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Marcos Maidana.

But none of those challengers could effectively sustain an attack against the elusive champion.

That’s why MGM Resorts sports book lists Mayweather as more than a 2-1 favorite to win.

“Floyd has fought younger guys with more power and different technical levels,” said Jay Rood, the MGM’s race and sports book director, who said he expects gambling records to be broken by Mayweather-Pacquiao, along with pay-perview and live-gate marks.

“Certainly, I think Manny can disrupt him, but Floyd is faster and has the ability to control the ring. Very few people can cut the ring off and get him to spots where he’s uncomfortable. His athleticism allows him to escape.”

The “X factor,” Rood says, is how the tensions and years-long animosity between the two boxers will shape the battle.

“This has been brewing so long, maybe Floyd lets his guard down to take a calculated risk to become more aggressive than usual,” Rood said. “If that’s the case, we’ve got a great fight.”

sports

he Philippines and Singapore— through an air agreement that they recently signed—are embarking on a joint campaign that will significantly hike the two countries’ tourism receipts.

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ism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. said during a discussion with the editors and reporters of the ALC Media Group on Tuesday.

“The Philippine air panel just finished a very bruising discussion on new air talks with Singapore,” he added. Jimenez said the idea came about after looking at a map and seeing the close proximity of southern Philippines to Singapore.

Continued on A2

OPEC STILL NOT TAKING ACTION FOR NOW TO STOP OIL-PRICE DROP

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BusinessMirror

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By Recto Mercene

The general idea of the joint tourism drive is to allow some of Singapore’s 11 million annual European visitors to go to southern Philippines, where they will spend a few days in prime tourist spots like Samal Island, and then go back to the city-state for their return flights to Europe.

“It’s a business proposition they find very difficult to resist, and so they asked us if we could come to an agreement, which we did,” Tour-

‘La dolce vita’ at The Venice V

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Enjoy an ‘infinite’ lifestyle

Android Lollipop gives Google operating system a sweet new look

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

JIMENEZ REVEALS PLAN TO BUNDLE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES WITH SINGAPORE IN TOUR PACKAGES

INSIDE

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TfridayNovember 18,25, 2014 Vol. 10 Wednesday, February 2015 Vol.No. 1040 No. 139

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he Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has no plans to hold an emergency meeting amid falling oil prices, according to a delegate from the group.

Crude prices have dropped almost 50 percent from a June peak, as Opec refused to cut production and US output reached a threedecade high. There have been no concrete discussions about holding an emergency meeting, said the delegate, who asked not to be identified because the group’s talks are private. Opec’s next regular meeting is on June 5.

Brent for April settlement added

PESO exchange rates n US 44.2560

29 cents to $59.19 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1 p.m. Singapore time.

Monday prices rebounded to gain 45 cents in intraday trading, after Opec President Diezani Alison-Madueke said in an interview with the Financial Times that she will call a meeting if prices keep declining.

“An emergency meeting would suggest that they are going to do something to support the market,” said Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in Saint Louis, which oversees $2.4 billion. “If there is no emergency meeting, then there is Continued on A8

Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. (center) receives a token of appreciation from the ALC Media Group—represented by (from left) BusinessMirror Advertising Sales VP Marvin Estigoy, BusinessMirror Editor in Chief Jun Vallecera, BusinessMirror Publisher T. Anthony Cabangon and VIEW Magazine Publisher Dominga Rufina Cabangon Chua—after a discussion held in Makati City. ALYSA SALEN

Banks pass real-estate stress test

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By Bianca Cuaresma

hilippine banks have ample safeguards protecting their collective balance sheet in the event of instability borne of the sector’s overexposure to real estate, the central bank said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said on Tuesday that the country’s banks passed the rigorous stress test on their ability to continue to operate in the event of a failure by the real-estate sector to overcome a simulated crisis.

In mid-2014, the central bank mandated local lenders to go through a “real-estate stress test” (REST) to see if they are well-equipped to handle the associated risks to realestate lending. In particular, the test will determine if financial institutions have sufficient capital to absorb simulated credit risks to the property sector.

The results of the very first REST have yet to be published.

“In terms of the REST, they also do [remain above the minimum capital requirement]. Other banks, they’re near [the threshold] but you know

they have to explain. But they are still above. They still meet [the standards],” Tetangco told reporters on Tuesday. In the circular issued last year mandating banks to go through REST, the central bank said failure to meet the prudential limit requires banks to submit themselves to socalled remedial action.

Banks that do not make the grade are mandated to submit an action plan to meet the required stresstest levels within a reasonable time frame. The action plan must be submitted within 30 calendar days from date of notification.

n japan 0.3726 n UK 68.4109 n HK 5.7053 n CHINA 7.0826 n singapore 32.5771 n australia 34.6617 n EU 50.1598 n SAUDI arabia 11.7978 Source: BSP (24 February 2015)

News

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A2

PHL, Singapore in joint tourism drive

Boracay is best beach in Asia and the Secret Lagoon Beach in El Nido, Palawan, ranking 16th. The Department of Tourism (DOT) on its official Facebook and Instagram accounts, meanwhile, welcomed the country’s newest achievement.

“What makes this recognition significant is because the list of award-winning beaches is determined based on the quantity and quality of millions of traveler reviews and ratings for beaches on TripAdvisor, gathered over a 12-month period,” the DOT said.

“Summer in the Philippines is coming fast and make sure Boracay is in your bucket list,” it added.

Continued from A1

Boracay’s White Beach, to be specific, received the top rank for its “calm, warm waters, gently sloping sand,” which the site described as “very relaxing” and “possibly the most beautiful beach in Asia.”

The site also noted that the best time to go to Boracay, which has also been dubbed as Asia’s 24/7 Island, was during peak season, or from December to May. Also making it to the list of best beaches were the Yapak Beach (Puka Shell Beach) also in Boracay, Aklan, which ranked fifth,

Continued from A1

Jimenez said during a brainstorming session with Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilo A. Abaya, he floated the idea: “Pretend that Changi is your airport and Boracay is your beach.”

“Basically what we’re saying is, if you look at the map very closely, you will find that if we are agreed that Mindanao is beautiful, which, in fact it is, then let’s talk of Singapore’s potential,” he added.

The potential was seen after deliberating that, normally, tourists would stay only for about five days in Singapore. “After four days, you are climbing up the wall, you don’t know what to do.”

Singapore is a tiny place and shopping could be done in a day or two, followed by visits to Sentosa Island.

After that, tourists would have plenty of time in their hands and would

The full list of best beaches in Asia are as follows:

1. White Beach in Boracay, Aklan 2. Radhanagar Beach in Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 3. Nai Harn Beach in Rawaii, Thailand 4. Ngapali Beach in Ngapali, Myanmar 5. Yapak Beach (Puka Shell Beach) in Boracay, Aklan 6. Agonda Beach in Agonda, India 7. Railay Beach in Railay Beach, Thailand 8. Kata Noi Beach in Karon, Thailand 9. Phra Nang Beach in Ao Nang, Thailand 10. Otres Beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia 11. Palolem Beach in Canacona, India 12. Varkala Beach in Varkala, India 13. Nusa Dua Beach in Nusa Dua, Indonesia 14. Mandrem Beach in Mandrem, India 15. Yonaha Maehama Beach in Miyakojima, Japan 16. Secret Lagoon Beach in El Nido, Palawan 17. Cavelossim Beach in Cavelossim, India 18. Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An, Vietnam 19. Sunrise Beach in Ko Lipe, Satun Province 20. Haeundae Beach in Busan, South Korea 21. Thong Nai Pan Noi in Ko Phangan, Surat Thani Province 22. Dhanushkodi Beach in Rameswaram, India 23. Yalong Bay in Sanya, China 24. Nishihama Beach in Hateruma-jima Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun 25. Benaulim Beach in Benaulim, India. PNA

AmCham. . .

want to do something different.

It was this situation that gave rise to considering the Philippines “as a value extension of Singapore, a twining effort between the two,” Jimenez said. “Remember that Singapore receives almost 11 million European tourists a year,” he said, then mentioning the attractive images of Mindanao.

“Judging from the way we earn money from tourists, it’s billions of pesos for them because all you have to do is to bring them to Singapore for four days, then shuttle them over for, let us say, Samal Island, where they spend three days.”

After three days in any of Mindanao’s beautiful spots, the tourists go back to Europe via Singapore, “then Singapore grows its business by 20 percent.” In this connection, Jimenez said the country will embark on improving not only its

Continued from A8

In the draft bill approved by the DTI and the DOF, the government will offer a four-year ITH to Pezaregistered exporters. After its expiry, they can either pay a 5-percent tax on gross income earned (GIE) in lieu of local and national taxes, except value-added tax (V AT) and real-property tax (RPT) for 11 years, or 15-percent reduced tax, on corporate income in lieu of local and national taxes VAT and RPT for 11 years. The ITH is nonextendable.

Currently, Peza can offer ITH for up to six years, which can be extended up to eight years. After its expiry, exporters can be granted perpetual availment of the 5-percent tax on GIE. If ITH is not granted, the draft bill indicates that exporters may either be allowed to pay a 5-percent tax on GIE in lieu of local and national taxes, except VAT and RPT for 15 years, or 15-

percent reduced tax, on corporate income in lieu of local and national taxes except VAT and RPT for 15 years.

Meanwhile, Hincheliffe said American businessmen remain keen on investing in the Philippines. He revealed that US firms will join a trade mission in June.

“There will be about 20 companies, the mission will be focusing on ethanol but their interest here will be in different sectors,” he said.

The US is the among the Philippines’s top trading partners and is one of the country’s largest foreign investors. According to latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, two-way trade between the Philippines and the US in 2014 reached $1.15 billion. Outward shipments of local products to the US amounted to $675.41 million last year.

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST FEBRUARY 25, 2015 | WEDNESDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER

TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE AREA (LPA) AFFECTING EASTERN MINDANAO. RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE AREA (LPA) AFFECTING NORTHERN LUZON. (AS OF FEBRUARY 24, 5:00 PM)

Trough of Low Pressure Area is an elongated region of LPA. It can bring in cloudy conditions and precipitation or cold air mass.

SBMA/CLARK 22 – 31°C METRO MANILA 20 – 32°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 19 – 29°C

FEB 27 FRIDAY

21 – 31°C

22 – 31°C

TUGUEGARAO

20 – 30°C

20 – 31°C

20 – 31°C

21 – 31°C

airports but seaports as well due to the expected growth of cruise tourism. He said, in 2013, the country received 14 cruise ships, but for the first two months of this year, that number had already been achieved.

“We need to improve Manila, Palawan, Cagayan de Oro and three others; we need to improve everything,” Jimenez explained, adding that this year, ready or not, the country will receive 62 cruise ships.

“That’s how rapidly were growing, let us say the infrastructure has to improve, but which comes first, business or infrastructure? In case of the Philippines, the demand is so strong that traffic will arrive ahead of the infrastructure, hence, the congestion at the airports and seaports.”

He said this is an indication of robust growth in tourism that he advises those wanting to invest to consider tourism-related ventures

BSP. . .

“This is because liquidity is already going down. We also don’t want it to go down too much because we need to provide resources to the real economy,” Tetangco said of the need to carefully balance all the economic balls still bouncing in the air at the moment.

“But, at the same time, you got capital inflows, which serve to expand liquidity. Again, countervailing factors, so we need to watch that,” he quickly added.

The central bank will have its next monetary-policy meeting on March 26. This will be the second rate-setting meeting of the Monetary Board this year.

Previously, the BSP kept the monetary levers steady on the back of low inflation made possible by the steep decline in oil prices.

Latest data show inflation averaging 2.4 percent in January, which was a further deceleration from 2.7 percent in December, and from 4.2 percent in January last year.

This was also within the government target of 2-percent to 4-percent annual inflation for the year.

FEB 28 SATURDAY

24 – 31°C

23 – 32°C

24 – 31°C

21 – 32°C

TACLOBAN

22 – 31°C

22 – 32°C

23 – 31°C

22 – 32°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO

22 – 32°C

23 – 31°C

22 – 31°C

23 – 32°C

23 – 32°C

23 – 31°C

23 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

14 – 23°C

15 – 23°C

SBMA/ CLARK

22 – 30°C

23 – 31°C

23 – 32°C

ZAMBOANGA

20 – 30°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

LEGAZPI

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 23 – 31°C

METRO CEBU 23 – 31°C

TACLOBAN CITY 22 – 30°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 21 – 31°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY 24 – 33°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

23 – 31°C

23 – 32°C

SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

MOONRISE

6:15 AM

6:03 PM

--:----

11:11 AM

20 – 30°C

23 – 32°C

NEW MOON HALF MOON

FEB 19

24 – 32°C

23 – 32°C

FEB 26

1:14 AM

CELEBES SEA

0.14 METER

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers

23 – 31°C

23 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

Cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers and/or thunderstorms

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

www.panahon.tv

SABAH

10:45 PM

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers and/or thunderstorms

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

METRO DAVAO 24 – 31°C

LOW TIDEMANILA HIGH TIDE SOUTH HARBOR

7:47 AM

24 – 32°C

FEB 28 SATURDAY

22 – 32°C

14 – 23°C

19 – 29°C

FEB 27 FRIDAY

METRO CEBU

LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 30°C

ILOILO/ BACOLOD 23 – 31°C

FEB 26 3-DAY THURSDAY EXTENDED FORECAST

BAGUIO

TAGAYTAY

seriously. “That’s why I kept telling young people, ‘if you want to invest I would seriously consider tourism,’ not because I am in tourism, but it is the last remaining growth industry in the world.”

He said in 2012, over 1 billion people crossed borders. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimates this will increase to almost 1.5 billion this year.

“That’s how big the travel industry is,” Jimenez pointed out, saying that in Southeast Asia, there were 103 million tourist last year, and it is growing by leaps and bounds.

“That’s why in Asean it [competition] is called ‘coopetition,’ because every time we advertise, the tourists arrivals grow everywhere around us.

Every time Singapore and Malaysia advertised, we tend to grow each other’s business because travel is now decided by a mouse click.”

Continued from A8

METRO DAVAO

TUGUEGARAO CITY 19 – 30°C

BAGUIO CITY 13 – 23°C

FEB 26 THURSDAY

METRO MANILA

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 21 – 30°C

news@businessmirror.com.ph

@PanahonTV

2:51 PM

0.83 METER

Partly cloudy skies

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Wednesday, February 25, 2015 A3

Aquino to House leaders: Fast-track BBL approval

A

By Butch Fernandez

mid lingering misgivings by lawmakers following the January 25 massacre of 44 Special Action Force police commandos

by Moro rebels, Malacañang prodded Congress leaders to speed up the approval of the proposed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), with a veiled warning that failure to do so would mean resumption of war in the South. See related stories on B3.

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. confirmed on Tuesday that President Aquino appealed for the resumption of stalled congressional deliberations on the BBL granting greater autonomy to the Muslim community in Mindanao, after briefing Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and House leaders on the Mamasapano incident during a meeting at the Palace the other day.

Coloma said Mr. Aquino as-

sured lawmakers that he had already given marching orders to the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation to gather evidence to back up appropriate charges against Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters blamed for the massacre of SAF commandos ordered to serve warrants on two high-value terrorist targets in a known MILF territory in Mamasapano.

President Aquino, he added, also affirmed to lawmakers the need to pass the BBL before Congress adjourns in May, citing the tight schedule to ratify the proposed law in a plebiscite to pave the way for the election of officials of the new Bangsamoro entity in the 2016 polls.

A ccord i ng to Colom a , t he P resident h i m se l f e x pl a i ned that timely approval of the BBL is needed “so as to pave the way for the holding of a plebiscite and if the people will approve the same, to give the members of the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority sufficient time to demonstrate its capabilities.”

Aside from Belmonte, among those in attendance at the Palace meeting with the President were House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales Jr., Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the House ad hoc committee drafting the BBL. Coloma quoted Mr. Aquino as telling the lawmakers that “if we believe in the BBL, then we should meet the schedule” for approving the controversial proposal.

President Aquino told Congress leaders he was open to continuing the dialogue with lawmakers to

clarify other BBL-related issues, he added.

In turn, the lawmakers, signalled to Mr. Aquino they were open to the resumption of BBL deliberations even as they sought further clarification of unresolved Mamasapano-related issues.

In asserting the need to pass the BBL, President Aquino was quoted as saying “there is not a better alternative for this country...[as] nobody wants war.”

Asked If Mr. Aquino will hold another meeting on the BBL with the senators, Coloma said he has yet to be informed about it.

House hearing on BBL resumes on March 3

The House Ad Hoc Committee on BBL is set to resume its BBL hearings on March 3, a lawmaker said a day after President Aquino met with lawmakers.

Rodriguez, chairman of the committee, said the panel would resume its hearing on the BBL next week after the Philippine National Police-Board of Inquiry submits its investigation report on the bloody encounter between SAF commandos and Moro rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on January 25.

“We are eyeing to pass the BBL on committee level on March 18 and May 4 in the plenary,” Rodriguez of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino said.

The police commandos were on a mission to serve a warrant on Afghanistan-trained bomb makers Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his cohort Abdul Basit Usman, when the Mamasapano encounter between the elite policemen and the alleged members of the MILF and BIFF transpired..

“We’ ll resume just to have deliberations but we won’t put it into a vote. Because if we put it into a vote, there’s a possibility of losing the vote even in the committee because congressmen want to have three things to be done by the MILF: total return of firearms, help the government in arresting Basit Usman and once the Department of Justice files criminal charges based on evidence, then they surrender their men,” Rodriguez added.

The BBL aims to create the new Bangsamoro juridical entity replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Prior to the Mamasapano incident, the lower house had originally set the BBL’s approval on third

and final reading before the end of February.

‘Let him finish his term’

Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) President Francisco “Popoy” F. del Rosario, meanwhile, said the furor surrounding President Aquino’s role in the Mamasapano bloodbath, and the subsequent call for the President’s resignation is divisive and disruptive.

“MAP is for peace and unity. Any call for the President to resign is disruptive. We should let him finish his term,” del Rosario told reporters at the sidelines of the MAP’s unveiling of its priority programs for the year.

Del Rosario added that, in the remaining months, Mr. Aquino should make good on his promise for economic gains such as bringing in higher foreign direct investments and roll out of more projects under the Public-Private Partnership Program.

Further, del Rosario said that letting the Mamasapano incident remain unsolved could hinder lasting peace in the region and serve to discourage investors’ interest.

With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz, Catherine N. Pillas

Economy

A4

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Philippines halts oil, gas exploration at Reed Bank

T

By Lenie Lectura

HE Department of Energy (DOE) was told by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to suspend any exploration activities on the disputed Reed Bank area of the West Philippine Sea. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, or West Philippine Sea to the Philippines, while Manila and Vietnam, along with Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, claim parts of it.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla Jr., said on Monday night that “there may be some developments” between the Philippine and Chinese governments, “that’s why we were told to hold off.”

Petilla could not say if there are ongoing talks between the two countries, since he is not privy to any discussions. But he agrees Forum Energy Plc. should not undertake any form of exploration activities in the area while both countries try to sort out their dispute.

“We just don’t want the project to be the culprit, just in case they point to it as the reason,” he said.

Forum Energy has a 70-percent stake in Service Contract (SC) 72, an oil- and gasexploration permit covering the Sampaguita natural-gas prospect in the Reed Bank, to the west of Palawan. It is 60.45 percent owned by Philex Petroleum Corp., led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan. Petilla said exploration activities are suspended until summer of this year.

‘Not giving up’

Pangilinan, for his part, said Forum Energy will not give up the contract awarded by the DOE. “Of course, not. I believe [that the disputed area] is ours,” the Philex chairman said.

He added that the situation right now is complex, as reports indicate that China is building outposts on Philippine reefs so it can assert its claim. “Knowing that, what do we do?

What are our options? Do we just accept it? Do we do something about it? I don’t know.”

Still, Forum Energy will continue to seek for an extension of its working permit when it expires next year. It recently obtained approval from the DOE to extend by one year the drilling of two appraisal wells to August 15, 2016.

“Maybe we will. I think the DOE will grant it,” he said. But when asked if he believes that the project is still a go, Pangilinan is uncertain. “Hindi na. Hindi ko alam,” he replied.

“I don’t think China will give up its claim on sovereignty. It’s as simple as that. We expect them to give up…but the other guy is telling this is mine," he added.

Petilla, for his part, said that the SC 72 permit could still be extended in hopes that any discussions that could take place between the two countries could lead to a fruitful exploration of petroleum resources in the area.

“If there’s a chance, even if it’s only 1 per-

cent, then it should still be explored. Even with the slightest chance, it’s still worth to delay it,” the energy chief said.

Losses for Philex

While both countries continue to assert their claim on the disputed area, Pangilinan was asked what will happen to the petroleum asset. His reply was, “We will continue to report losses.”

At end-September last year, Philex Petroleum’s losses nearly doubled to P376.9 million, from P190.2 million in the same period a year ago. The increase in net loss was also because of an impairment loss related to SC 6A recorded by Pitikin Petroleum Plc., which is 53 percent owned by Philex Petroleum, the upstream oil and gas subsidiary of Philex Mining Corp.

For his part, Philex Petroleum President Carlo Pablo said SC 72 remains a key asset of Forum Energy despite the setback.

SC 72 covers an 8,800-square-kilometer area in offshore west Palawan. It is estimated to contain prospective resources of as much as 16.6 trillion cubic feet of gas and 416 million barrels of oil.

The DOE has recently approved the conduct of a geotechnical survey by Forum Energy. But it can’t proceed with the survey, which was supposed to be conducted in the second quarter of this year upon instructions from the DOE. “Yes, Forum has been informed about it,” Petilla said.

The survey was suppose to aid Forum Energy to determine which areas have strong potential for oil and gas. Drilling for appraisal is targeted to happen next year.

“The survey was supposed to happen this year and drilling next year,” Pangilinan said.

Forum Energy has already conducted a 3D seismic data covering 565 sq km and 2D seismic data covering 2,202 line kilometers in 2011 to further define additional leads identified within the SC 72, area but has not been able to proceed with any exploratory drilling.

Appraisal wells are drilled to assess the size of gas or oil discoveries. An estimate of $60 million to $70 million may be needed to finance the drilling. The dispute has delayed the company’s plans to drill two appraisal wells.

Recently, China lambasted the Philippines when the DOE extended the working permit for SC 72.

“Without permission from China, oil and gas exploration by any foreign companies in waters under China’s jurisdiction is illegal and invalid,” Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesman Hong Lei was quoted as saying.

Govt deletes ‘national security virus’ at NGCP

T

HE Philippine government is not taking any chances.

On Monday night Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla revealed that the visas of 18 Chinese working in the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) will no longer be renewed.

This, after Sen. Miriam Santiago on Sunday said that the Philippines has been “infected by a national security virus.” The senator was referring to the Chinese experts working at the NGCP, a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related assets.

The consortium holds the 25-year concession to operate the country’s power transmission network and is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., led by Henry Sy Jr., Calaca High Power Corp., led

by Robert Coyiuto Jr., and the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) as technical partner.

SGCC sent its experts to be in charge of the technology that is currently being adopted by the country’s transmission system.

However, according to Petilla, their presence has alarmed National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia who said that power transmission grid should have been kept solely in the hands of the Philippine government.

“I understand concern of Senator Santiago.

It’s also our concern. It is the job of the NSA [National Security Agency] to be paranoid. So, to reconcile, we agreed during a high-level meeting as early as second quarter of last year that there will be no Chinese nationals who will operate the national grid,” said Petilla, who added that the meeting was attended by top officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice, National Security Council and the Department of Energy.

The NGCP has yet to comment. Petilla is confident that nonrenewal of their working visas is not going to be an issue because “this has been agreed upon.” Moreover, Petilla said NGCP President Henry Sy Jr., who was present during the meeting, did not raise any objections.

The working visas of the 18 Chinese are valid up to July 2015, Petilla said. However, two Chinese board members of the NGCP will remain. “Two visas will remain in their capacity as board of directors.” Lenie Lectura

Economy

BusinessMirror Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon • Wednesday, February 25, 2015 A5

news@businessmirror.com.ph

briefs peso ends sideways vs greenback ahead of Yellen testimony The Philippine peso closed sideways to a US dollar on Tuesday, ahead of the Senate testimony of Federal Reserve (the Fed) Chairman Janet Yellen later in the day.

The local unit ended the trade at 44.33 from 44.27 in the previous trading, which a trader said is in line with regional currencies.

The trader said investors are waiting for hints on how and when US monetary officials will implement the anticipated hike in the Fed’s interest rates. ”Most investors are still hoping that the rate hike will happen in the middle of this year, but nothing is definite until its done so everyone is waiting for what Yellen will say,” the trader said.

Another factor on Tuesday’s currency trading, among others, is the Greek debt crisis and the trader said this helped the general strengthening of the greenback. ”Of course, investors still prefer the safe haven,” the trader added.

For the day, peso opened at 44.28, a tad weaker than the 44.23 a day ago.

It traded between 44.33 and 44.28 bringing the day’s average to 44.31.

Volume of trade reached $529 million, higher than the $334.1 million on Monday.

For Wednesday, the peso is seen to trade between 44.20 and 44.40. PNA

government spending on track–abad

The Department of Budget and Management reported that the total national government disbursements from January to November in 2014 rose 5.1 percent compared to the same period in 2013, from P1.677 trillion to P1.762 trillion.

This performance is consistent with the improvements in disbursements seen at the end of October, with spending up by 6.4 percent compared to the same 10-month period in 2013.

Spending performance for these two months was driven largely by subsidies to government-owned or -controlled corporations, transfers to local government units, and increases in maintenance and capital spending compared to the previous year.

Notably, capital outlay for infrastructure saw a 6.3-percent, or P14-billion, improvement for the 11-month period compared to 2013 levels, from P223.3 billion in 2013 to P237.3 billion last year.

This reflected the administration’s continued commitment to building and rehabilitating roads and bridges, as well as completing other infrastructure projects.

In terms of year-onyear performance, however, disbursements during the month of November were 7.7 percent lower than those made during the same month in 2013. This drop in spending contrasts with the performance in October of 2014, when NCA utilization by agencies contributed to a 6.4-percent surge in spending compared to the same month in 2013. PNA

chambers renew push for creation of d.i.c.t.

Local business groups and the joint foreign chambers on Tuesday reiterated their support for the creation of an information and communications technology department.

In a letter addressed to Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and Senate Chairman of the Science and Technology Sen. Ralph G. Recto, the local and foreign chambers said: “We note that the bill creating a DICT [Department of Information and Communications Technology] is a “lowhanging fruit”—legislation that has progressed in both chambers in the last Congress, but failed to pass. In the case of the DICT Act, it was passed by both chambers on third reading, but the bicameral conference committee was never constituted. Thus, we encourage the Senate to pass the version approved last Congress,” the letter read. Catherine N. Pillas

SC to Comelec, Smartmatic: Defend P268.8-M PCOS deal

T

By Joel R. San Juan

HE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and technology provider Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) to answer the petition filed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), seeking to declare as null and void the P268.8million contract that they entered into for the diagnostics of all the 82,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) voting machines sans public bidding.

At a news briefing, SC Spokesman Theodore Te said the 15-man High Tribunal decided during its regular en banc session on Tuesday to give the Comelec and Smartmatic a nonextendible period of 10 days to comment on the petition before it acts on the IBP’s plea to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to immediately enjoin the implementation of the contract.

The IBP, an organization of the country’s lawyers, headed by its President Vicente Joyas and General Counsel and former UP College of Law Dean Pacifico Agabin, argued that the contract signed by Comelec and Smartmatic by virtue of Comelec Resolution 9922 violated

Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. Direct contracting opted by the Comelec was not justified under the law.

The Comelec earlier said it chose to approve Smartmatic’s extended warranty proposal instead of conducting a public bidding due to “tight time schedule” in the preparations for the forthcoming national and local elections if public bidding were to be conducted.

The poll body also reasoned out that it would be “too great a risk” to give the refurbishment and repair of the PCOS machines to any third party other than Smartmatic, considering the highly technical nature

of the refurbishment and repairs of the machines.

But the IBP stressed that the supposed tight time schedule in the preparation for the May 2016 national and local elections is not a ground to dispense with the conduct of public bidding under the law.

It noted that, under RA 9184, there are only three instances when direct contracting may be resorted to. “ T he perceived t ight t ime schedule in the preparations for the forthcoming elections, and the alleged great risk involved in awarding the contract to parties other than Smartmatic, is not one of the allowed instances,” the IBP pointed out.

The Court has earlier directed the Comelec and Smartmatic to comment on the petition filed by election watchdog Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections, seeking to blacklist the latter from participating in any bidding process for next year’s elections. and to nullify the contract for PCOS’s machines diagnostics.

Smartmatic is eyeing to bag contracts with the Comelec for the procurement of the Optimal Mark Reader and Direct Recording Electronic machines and the procurement of papers, or the lease of Election Management System and Precinct-Based Direct Recording Electronic Technology.

Aside from the IBP and C3E, another election watchdog, Automated Election System Watch, has also filed a similar petition before the Court.

Meeting MDGs not only about money–DOH

By Cai U. Ordinario

A

part from insufficient funds, the lack of data and cooperation is among the reasons the Philippines will fall short in meeting all the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the end of this year.

Health Assistant Secretary Enrique A. Tayag said for the Department of Health (DOH), funds to support the MDGs have not been a problem.

Despite this, MDG 5 on Maternal Health is one of the goals that the country will not meet this year. The latest data showed that maternal death rate in the country was at 221 per 100,000 live births, over four times the target of 52 per 100,000 live births.

“Ang katotohonan ho niyan, malaki talaga ang naging investments para ma-achieve natin ’yung targets, but hindi lang pera ang problema. Sabi ko nga kahit bilhin mo lahat ng bakuna, kung ayaw mo pabakunahan ’yung bata, walang magbabakuna, walang hiringgilya, karayom, hindi dinala ng nanay, pano? Kailangan din natin kumilos. [The truth of the matter is that we have invested to achieve the targets, but the problem is not just all about money. Even if we could be able to procure all the vaccines, what happens if there’s sheer lack of will to vaccinate the children?],” Tayag said on Tuesday.

The DOH allocated some P37.37 billion for MDGrelated activities between 2014 and 2016. Around P8.78 billion of the amount was allocated for 2014 and over P14 billion annually will be allocated this year and 2016. However, he said what the DOH found particularly challenging is the lack of data, since only 66 percent of deaths are registered in the Philippines.

The DOH official said, nonetheless, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), through the civil registration system, is now asking the cause of death of women aged 15 to 49 to check if the women died of childbirth.

This, he said, is a better measure than survey data.

Tayag said civil registration is the new “gold standard” in monitoring MDG performance, particularly in child and maternal mortality.

Tayag added that, for certain goals such as those on maternal health, the DOH found it difficult to convince mothers to make lifestyle changes that involve giving birth in hospitals. Apart from MDG 5, the Philippines may also not meet MDG 1 on poverty and MDG 3 on Gender Equality by year-end.”

In a presentation at the forum, Michael Provido of the National Economic and Development Authority Social Development Staff said MDG 1 on Poverty may already be statistically difficult to achieve, given the short period of time until the deadline.

Provido said, as per the MDGs, the country’s goal is to halve poverty incidence to 17.2 percent by year-end. But as of 2012, poverty incidence was still at 27.9 percent.

He added that the progress of attaining the goal

nationwide has been uneven. Data showed that there are regions, like the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), where poverty incidence worsened over the 15year period since the 1991 baseline.

In 1991 poverty incidence in the ARMM was at 30.5 percent. But in 2012, poverty incidence in the region increased to 55.8 percent.

Bicameral conference on Aquino emergency powers set on March 2

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

C

ongress is set to conduct a bicameral conference on President Aquino’s emergency powers that seek to solve the projected power shortfall this summer on March 2, a lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Liberal Party Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, chairman of the House Committee on Energy, in a news conference, said the bicameral conference will be conducted to reconcile the Senate and the House versions of the measure, giving President Aquino the authority to establish additional power-generating capacity from March to July.

“The Senate is eyeing to approve its version of [emergency powers] on Wednesday [today], so we set March 2 as our bicameral conference for the resolution,” Umali said.

Umali, also the cochairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, assured the public that there will be no passed-on costs to consumers in using the Interruptible Load Program (ILP).

“The intent is there will be no pass on to consumers, the intention is not to burden the public with additional cost of electricity,” Umali said.

Earlier, Umali said the government would need at least P200 million for the implementation of the ILP. The lower chamber is eyeing to tap the Malampaya Funds as subsidy.

Moreover, according to Umali, 886 megawatts (MW) have been committed under the ILP. House Joint Resolution (HJR) 21, which grants President Aquino emergency powers, wants the government to mainly use ILP in generating additional power capacity.

Based on established protocols, ILP is implemented during a red-alert status (minimal power reserve) upon the notice of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the power utilities informing ILP participants to deload from the grid.

The ILP is a voluntary program whereby businesses, such as malls and factories, that have their own generators can be disconnected from the power grid in times of short supply, and can sell any excess power they

generate to distributors.

Through the ILP, the aggregate demand for power from the system will be reduced to a more manageable level, helping ensure the availability of supply during the summer season.

Besides the ILP, the resolution said that additional generating capacity shall be sourced from the fast-tracking of new committed projects; plants for interconnection and rehabilitation; and adoption and execution of energy efficiency and conservation measures shall be pursued vigorously in both public and private sectors.

Based on the data of the House Committee on Energy, the additional capacity from new committed projects and plants for interconnection and rehabilitation is now at 297 MW. Meanwhile, under the approved HJR 21, the projected power shortfall this year is 782 MW. “In the course of congressional hearings conducted, it was revealed that in the week 14 [or in April beginning first week of January] of 2015, a maximum projected shortfall of 782 MW, of which 135 MW is needed to meet the required regulating reserve, and 647 MW is needed to meet the required contingency reserve. Corollarily, a total of two weeks of red alert and 15 weeks of yellow alert is projected for the critical period,” the resolution said.

On September 12, 2014, President Aquino requested Congress for authority to establish additional power-generating capacity to ensure the energy requirements of the country during periods of very tight energy supply as a strategic response to the need for specific, focused and targeted acquisition of additional energy capacities to meet the imminent power shortage in the Luzon grid due to the Malampaya turnaround, increased levels of forced outages of power plants, and delays in the commissioning of committed power projects.

Pursuant to Section 71 of Republic Act 9136, also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act , Congress may, upon the determination by the President of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, authorize the President, through a joint resolution, to provide for the establishment of additional generating capacity.

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Wednesday, February 25, 2015

editorial

Policy imperatives of people power: A meditation

A

S the people’s rage on the lack of candor of the current administration on Oplan Exodus continues to intensify, it is incumbent on those who believe a change for the better is possible to deal with the question of what to do after an Edsa 2. Putting in new people with proven moral integrity and demonstrated technical competence is appropriate. But what are the new leaders to do to respond to the people’s felt needs, which, after all, are the main driving force of people power?

The emphasis on moral integrity as a requisite to leadership in a new dispensation is necessary in order to restore the people’s respect for the character of government. Public officials have been associated with graft and corruption for far too long. The national community has forgotten what honest and dedicated service is. Sadly, those at the highest levels have been the ones linked to fraud on a scale boggling the imagination. Nefarious activities must cease. National development will be broader and deeper if the billions of pesos of public funds routinely plundered are directed instead to the establishment and maintenance of infrastructure, social development programs and other public facilities.

There should also be concern for technical competence in a new dispensation to help ensure inauguration of new programs, strengthening of planning and speed in the implementation of programs. Technical incompetence is the reason for the absence of new development initiatives, the emergence of problems and glitches not anticipated, and the freezing or delay of the implementation of structures and facilities already in the pipelines. Postponements and delays cost money.

Technical competence will not guarantee success but will go a long way in raising our success rate.

Notwithstanding continuing efforts to replace the old with the new, the people’s problems of poverty and inequality have remained unsolved. What is the challenge to the leadership of any new dispensation?

Clearly, the new leadership must have an employment program to cure the poverty problem, a productivity program to deal with the income issue, and a combined industrial and fiscal program to confront the inequality problem.

From the historical record, programs on employment creation and income expansion have had measures of success, as limited as these have been. But those relating to the alleviation of income inequality have been bankrupt of achievement. This is because income-inequality issues arise from systemic defects rather than individualistic failures. To be eradicated, they require a modification of system rather than a change in people. The capitalist system generates not just high incomes but also deep inequalities of income. Why this is so is a matter that cannot be tackled with justice in a few words here.

We are not the first people to be revolted by social inequalities. Religious leaders preceded us by 300 years, social analysts by 200. Yet, inequalities have persisted to this day. According to Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twentieth First Century, these will widen as we move on to the 22nd century. Oxfam, the international non-governmental organization, says the wide inequalities are already here.

We must reject prevarication, fraud and incompetence in public service, but a new leadership must go beyond installing new faces. It must find answers to questions that spring from the very heart of our system.

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Isabela farmers get subsidy for SSS payments Susie G. Bugante

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All About Social Security

or almost four years now, the Social Security System (SSS) has been aggressively pursuing the coverage of informal sector workers including self-employed farmers through a partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In March last year the SSS signed an agreement with the DA for the social-security protection of farmers and fishermen, wherein the former agreed to fully subsidize the farmers and fishermen’s contributions as self-employed members. Immediately after the SSS-DA partnership was formalized, more than 200,000 farmers who are members of rural-based organizations (RBO) or community extension workers (CEW) in good standing with the DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), signed up as self-employed SSS members, considerably adding to the 450,000 farmers

and fishermen already enrolled.

The DA-ATI, with RBOs and CEWs as its partners, implements extension and training activities to promote state-initiated food-sufficiency programs and other priority thrusts of the DA. The subsidy for SSS contributions forms part of the DA-ATI’s compensation for qualified members of RBOs and designated CEWs. Included in the list of RBOs are rural improvement clubs; the youth-based 4H Clubs; Pambansang Mananalon, Mag-uuma, Magbabaul, Magsasaka; Magsasaka Siyentista; and indigenous people.

Despite their invaluable role in our nation’s food security, farmers often struggle with seasonal incomes and their livelihood’s vulnerability against typhoons, floods and other whims of nature. Like most other workers, they, too, are susceptible to life’s contingencies such as sickness, disability, old age and death, among others. Thus, they deserve to have social-security protection, as well.

True to its commitment to cover farmers last week, the SSS and the provincial government of Isabela inked an agreement to cover 10,000 marginalized farmers in this Northern Luzon province. Dubbed as the RBO-Sapat na Seguridad para Sa mga Magsasaka (RBO-SSSM), the agreement provides for the allocation of P18 million to subsidize half of the SSS contributions of small farmers with one-fourth to 1 hectare of tillage. Kudos to Isabela provincial Gov. Faustino Dy III and provincial agriculturist Danilo Tumanibo for supporting SSS efforts to provide social protection to farmers! May the other provinces across the country follow Isabela province’s example and give

Dish Network’s ‘Seinfeld’ strategy

By Justin Fox Bloomberg View

C

harlie Ergen should get a lot more attention than he does. It isn’t clear whether this attention should be positive or negative, but really, who cares. Just pay more attention to the guy! You will be rewarded.

Ergen is the cofounder, majority owner and chairman of satellite-TV provider Dish Network and its much smaller manufacturing and commercialservices sibling EchoStar. He’s No. 35 on the Bloomberg Billionaires list of the world’s richest people, with a net worth estimated today at $21.1 billion, which is in itself a bit of surprise for those of us who haven’t been paying close attention.

I had figured him to be the third wheel of a Denver self-made billionaires trio led by Phil Anschutz and John Malone, but no, thanks to a sevenfold rise in Dish Network’s stock price over the past six years, Ergen is now worth more than the two of them combined.

It’s what Ergen is trying to do with his money that’s most interesting, though.

The satellite-TV business in the US has peaked, as is pretty clear from Dish’s subscriber numbers: (See graph) Ergen readily and frequently acknowledges that the satellite business is “mature.” That leaves him with three choices: Milk Dish for its cash flow and give the money to shareholders—meaning mainly him.

Sell to somebody bigger and stronger, as rival DirectTV is doing with AT&T. Figure out some way to make a go of it in the fast-changing world of digital media. By all appearances, Ergen and Dish are going with Option 3. That “by all appearances” is an important caveat, as the man has played lots of poker (as well as blackjack and backgammon) and has been known to quickly change tactics.

But he’s definitely acting like he’s all in.

Dish said today that Ergen will soon be taking back the reins as president and CEO—and while it was pretty clear who was calling the shots during Joseph Clayton’s four years as CEO, this still feels significant. The company also made $13.3 billion in winning bids for wireless licenses last month, giving it total wireless holdings valued by Bloomberg Intelligence at almost $50 billion. And it just introduced SlingTV, a $20-a-month “over-the-top” Internet-TV service aimed at millennials.

All this is rattling both Dish’s pay-TV rivals and the big wireless companies. It isn’t that Dish is going to stomp all over anybody; it’s an also-ran with a mostly rural customer base that scares rivals precisely because it’s so scrappy and willing to take risks. As Ergen put it at an All Things D conference in 2013: “It takes a lot of guts to work at this company. We’re a little bit like an Indiana Jones movie, where we’re always in trouble and we always get out of it. We’re going from alligators to arrows to snakes.”

That was in response to a question about a Bloomberg Businessweek article that called Dish “the meanest company in America.” As writer Caleb Hannan described in entertaining detail, Dish executives have to put up with long hours, no perks and a high-pressure atmosphere—all under a driven, volatile boss who constantly second-guesses their decisions and, most maddeningly of all, is usually right. In today’s earnings

conference call, a couple of the analysts prefaced their questions to Ergen with a “Congratulations, Joe” to the departing Clayton. At Dish Network, making it to retirement is apparently a big accomplishment.

Ergen also has a long history of court battles with shareholders, neighbors, business rivals and even business allies.

Dish’s negotiations with the networks over the right to transmit their programming usually feature blackouts and threats to walk away forever. The Hollywood Reporter, in another entertaining 2013 Ergen profile, called him “The Most Hated Man in Hollywood.” His biggest offense at the time was the introduction of the Hopper, a DVR service that allows customers to watch network shows with the ads stripped out. Fox Broadcasting sued, and that court battle is still going, although it seems close to certain that the Hopper will survive it.

With Dish’s big wireless spectrum buys, rivals such as AT&T and T-Mobile are grumbling that it (a) used sneaky

not only partial but full subsidy of the farmers and fishermen’s contributions to their pension fund.

On a different note, congratulations to the Southern Mindanao cluster for opening a new branch at the heart of Davao City. Named as the SSS Ilustre Branch, it is the second full-service office in this city of durian and other exotic tropical fruits. Located at the 5th floor of the Gaisano Grand City mall at the center of Davao City, this new branch is expected to serve some 3,180 employers representing 20,000 employee-members.

It is manned by seven hardworking personnel, led by Branch Head Mary Ellen Estoque.

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

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

means to acquire spectrum via allied companies and (b) may now just sit on the spectrum it acquired for 10 years.

Ergen offered a simple response to the first complaint in the company’s earnings conference call today: “We went by the rules.” In response to the second, his answers were much more meandering, and for good reason. He hasn’t decided yet what to do with all the spectrum Dish has acquired—and even if he had he wouldn’t tell anybody before he absolutely had to.

Ergen described this approach in a 2011 conference call with a reference to Seinfeld, the TV series famously conceived as a “show about nothing”: “There’s a lot of things that happen in the first about 28 minutes of that show where you don’t know exactly where that show was going. But it seemed to all come together in the last couple of minutes. So it could be a strategy about nothing, if you’re skeptical. But I think that everything we do has a purpose.”

Meaning: We should probably keep paying close attention.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Discrimination by law

The Putin effect on post-Soviet economies

BusinessMirror

By Rana Allam Inter Press Service

C

AIRO—In November 2013 a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey ranked Egypt as the worst of 22 Arab states with regards to women’s rights.

Several people argued that any country strictly following Islamic laws should rank lower, because Egypt and many other Arab and Muslim countries are not strict in following Islamic Sharia (religious laws), like in cutting off the hand of a thief, for example.

However, Egypt—along with most Muslim countries—incorporates a list of laws based on Islamic Sharia. Some of these are indisputable Sharia laws while others are based on individual interpretations, and both are indeed discriminatory.

Suffice to say that in the second highest ranking Arab state in the survey, Oman, women inherit 50 percent of what men do, a man can divorce his wife for any reason while a woman needs grounds to file for divorce, and there are no laws against female genital mutilation.

The starkest examples of sexist laws in Arab and Muslim countries come in the personal status laws.

Regardless of whether these laws are Islamic Sharia compliant or not, they are presented as such and thus are nonnegotiable.

With the many interpretations of Islamic text, it falls on the legislators and the (so-called) Muslim scholars to enforce what laws they “understood” from the text. These laws should be revised if we are to enforce gender equality. Here are some examples: n Polygamy is legal for men only. n A man can divorce his wife with no grounds and without going to court, while a woman has to have strong reasons for divorce, must convince a court of law of some ordeal about her marriage, and the judge may or may not grant her divorce. A new law introduced in Egypt in 2000, called Khula law where a woman can file for divorce on no grounds, but then she has to forfeit her financial rights and reimburse her husband the dowry (and any gifts) paid when contracting the marriage. n A woman inherits half what a man inherits.

In some Muslim countries, like the UAE, a woman’s testimony is half that of a man’s in court. In most Muslim countries, if a contract requires a certain number of witnesses, a woman is counted as “half” a man. n There is no set minimum age for marriage in Islam, so some countries like Sudan can marry off a 10-year-old girl, and in Bahrain, a 15-year-old, however, in Libya the minimum age is 20. n A Muslim man can marry a nonMuslim woman, but a Muslim woman is not granted the same right. n In most Muslim countries, spousal rape is not recognized in the laws. n Abortion is illegal unless there is risk to the mother’s life and even this has to be with the husband’s consent.

It is one thing to fight culture and an intimidating environment and another thing to have sexist laws, where even in a court of law, a woman has no equal rights. For women in Egypt, the general atmosphere is one of hostility and intimidation, prevalent aggressions and complete impunity with regards to violence against women.

Amnesty International titled its latest briefing on the subject “Circles of hell: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt.” Women in Egypt must not only fight such culture, but must also deal with discriminatory laws.

Muslim men have a unilateral and

unconditional right to divorce, while women can only divorce by court action.

A man need only say the words “I divorced you” and then register the divorce.

Actually, an Egyptian Muslim man may not even tell his wife he is divorcing her, he can register the divorce (regardless of her consent or attendance), and it is the duty of the registrar to “inform” her. On top of this, there is such a thing as a “revocable divorce” which means the husband has the right to revoke the divorce at his own accord during the waiting period and without having to sign another marriage contract.

Such a waiting period is only a woman’s burden. She has to remain unmarried for three months after she gets divorced, and such waiting period is nonexistent for men.

Adding insult to injury, Egypt has an “Obedience Law”. This law stipulates that a man may file an obedience complaint against his wife if she leaves the marital home without his permission.

The woman in this case has 30 days to file an objection detailing the legal grounds for “her failure to obey”, a judge may not be convinced of course. If she fails to file such objection, and does not return home, she is considered “deviant” and is denied her financial rights upon divorce—if she was ever granted one.

Naturally, such proceedings delay her divorce lawsuit, and risk a just financial settlement.

Although legislators in Egypt have always cited Islamic Sharia when enforcing such strict personal status laws, when it comes to adultery, Egyptian laws stray far from Islamic teachings and are outrageous.

The issue is such a taboo that no one even dares mentioning it. In Egypt, if you are a man, you can literally kill your wife and get away with it, if you catch her “red-handed” committing adultery.

Laws pertaining to the crime of adultery are an embodiment of sexism and discrimination: n A married woman would be charged with adultery if she commits the crime anywhere and with anyone.

A married man would only be accused of adultery if he commits the crime in his marital house; otherwise there is no crime and no punishment. n The punishment for a married man (who committed the crime in his marital home) is imprisonment for six months, but women are given a sentence of two years in prison (regardless of where the crime took place). n If a married man commits adultery with a married woman in her marital house, he would merely be an accessory to the crime. n If both are unmarried, and the female is over 18, he receives no punishment, while she may face charges of prostitution. n If a married man catches his wife red-handed in the crime, and kills her and her partner, he does not face intentional murder charges or even manslaughter, he only gets a sentence as low as 24 hours. If a wife catches her husband red-handed and kills him, she immediately faces murder charges with its maximum sentence as the judge sees fit.

Not only do we have to fight taboos, sexist culture, violence on the streets and at home, gender-bias in every police station, court of law or place of business, but we also have a long way to go to at least have equality in the eyes of the law.

Leonid Bershidsky

BLOOMBERG VIEW

A

ll five of the world’s worst-performing currencies so far this year are post-Soviet ones—and that list doesn’t include the Russian ruble. The reasons for the sharp currency devaluations differ between countries, but there is a common underlying problem: Russia’s economic crisis and aggressive policies. As long as post-Soviet countries—including ones that are not particularly friendly toward Moscow—are still economically intertwined, cascading crises of this sort are inevitable.

Here is the list of the past two months’ biggest losers as of today, following massive devaluations of the Azerbaijani manat and Moldovan leu last week:

where most of the country’s metals production is concentrated. In November 2014, the last month for which International Monetary Fund (IMF) data are available, Ukraine’s

The Ukrainian hryvnia is, by far, the worst performer, having lost another 11 percent of its dollar value on Tuesday. In response, the Ukrainian National Bank strengthened its capital controls, banning banks from issuing hryvnia loans with the purpose of buying foreign currency and warning importers that any prepayments of more than $50,000 will be scrutinized.

Ukraine’s devaluation has more varied causes than those in other post-Soviet countries. Russia has taken out Ukraine’s biggest foreign currency sources, annexing its tourist mecca, Crimea, and unleashing a war in the eastern industrial regions

exports stood at a little less than $4 billion, compared with $5.6 billion the year before. Meanwhile, the National Bank of Ukraine has proven remarkably inept. Its attempts to control the exchange rate amid dwindling reserves resulted in a rampant black market. When the central bank began floating the currency, at the recommendation of the IMF, it began recording its greatest losses in reserves—a reflection of pent-up demand for foreign exchange and anxieties about clueless regulatory efforts to come.

Today’s moves prove such fears were justified. Perhaps when longawaited IMF funds arrive in the

Mideast nations key to stopping terror act

I

f the goal of the “braintrust” of the rogue jihadists calling themselves the Islamic State (IS) is to alienate and outrage most of the world’s governments through repeated gruesome acts of terror, it’s working.

The actions are drawing in more and more countries that have wanted to stay on the periphery of the fight. Egypt entered the fray on Monday with a dawn raid by fighter jets on IS training camps and weap-

ons stocks in neighboring Libya. It marks the first Egyptian military intervention since the 1990 gulf war and was prompted by the horrific mass beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians, which was broadcast over the Internet.

The Egyptian raid also highlights the lack of consensus of opposing forces on how to deal with the IS. Egypt, which has received billions in aid from the US, didn’t bother to inform its longtime ally

before launching the attack. President Barack Obama has favored a political solution to the situation in Libya.

It’s imperative that the Middle East nations opposing the group work with the US to reach consensus on how to stop its growing threat.

A statement released by Egypt’s military said, “(we) must take revenge for the Egyptian blood that was shed.”

Egypt shares 700 miles of border

with Libya, which increases the sense of urgency for the Egyptian military.

In a nationally televised speech on Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called the beheadings an “abhorrent act of terrorism” and said Egypt reserved the right to respond. He also banned all Egyptians from entering Libya.

Libya’s air force confirmed it launched coordinated strikes with Egypt, claiming to have killed more

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A7

coming weeks to replenish Ukraine’s foreign reserves, the National Bank will come to its senses and cancel the useless capital restrictions. In the meantime, they will contribute to the bank’s further loss of control over the foreign-exchange market.

The cases of Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan are less extreme, but the problems of each are related to the regional turmoil.

The Moldovan leu lost more against the US dollar last week than in all of 2014. The tiny nation, squeezed between Ukraine and Romania, could no longer handle a deep structural imbalance in its economy.

It buys about 70 percent of all its consumer goods from abroad, so its imports are about twice as high as its exports. The shortfall was partly covered by remittances from migrant workers, which reached $1.61 billion last year. In the fourth quarter, however, the remittances fell by 20 percent, because many of the Moldovan migrants work in Russia, and as the ruble lost value, they weren’t able to send as many dollars and euros home. Moldova’s exports to Russia almost halved last year, both because of the latter’s economic problems and because Moscow was trying to pressure Moldova to stay within its economic orbit rather than integrate with the European Union.

Adding to these problems, the previous Moldovan government spent part of its meager foreign reserves to bail out three large banks, a move the country’s leftist parliamentary opposition described as a money-laundering scam. Moldova’s international reserves now stand at less than $2 billion, their lowest level since 2011. The leu devaluation is likely to continue because there’s no plausible way to stop it.

The core of Azerbaijan’s problem is that it’s an oil exporter. Since

2011, it had pegged its currency, the manat, to the US dollar, but as the oil price fell, the peg became expensive to maintain. On January 31 the country’s foreign reserves stood 11 percent lower than a year before. The devaluation would not have needed to be as sharp as it was, however, if Russia hadn’t been the country’s biggest export market. Those exports fell sharply last year—by 30 percent in the third quarter, the last one for which data are available.

As for Georgia, its exports to Russia actually increased last year, at least in the period for which the IMF has data. Yet, exports to Ukraine, which had become a major trading partner when Georgia’s relations with Russia were particularly strained last decade, have fallen by about half over the past year. In total, Georgia’s exports in January were 20 percent lower than the year before.

For this tiny economy with less than $2.5 billion in foreign reserves, the drop in exports made devaluation inevitable.

Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, is completely dependent on Moscow for extra-cheap energy imports. So it predictably suffered more than others—except Ukraine—when Russia effectively started a price war with its neighbors by devaluing its currency.

The region’s currencies will almost certainly continue to plummet.

It’s a rare opportunity to watch the kind of crisis Europe might have experienced in a world where it hadn’t adopted the euro and Germany decided to boost its export competitiveness by devaluing the Deutsche Mark. It’s all well and good to criticize the euro, but it insures Europeans against these kinds of disasters.

For post-Soviet states, on the other hand, a currency shock for one can still mean a currency shock for all.

than 60 militants and saying the strikes would continue.

Just weeks ago the IS goaded Jordan into similar air attacks after releasing a video of a captured Jordanian pilot being burned to death.

Since that ghastly event, Jordan’s military has been a full participant in air strikes against IS positions.

The pilot’s death also has managed to greatly solidify public sentiment in Jordan behind the notion of stopping the group.

No one should think that there are easy answers to stopping the IS and its campaign of terror.

There aren’t.

This is a complex regional fight that has centuries-old underpinnings. But one key element is for nations such as Egypt, Jordan, Libya and Saudi Arabia to recognize that it is in their own interest to work together and with the US to stop this bloody scourge from spreading any further. TNS

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, February 25, 2015

AmCham prefers cut in CIT over limited ITH

By Catherine N. Pillas

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usinessmen belonging to the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (AmCham) favor a reduced corporate income tax (CIT) for 15 years as an incentive over a limited income tax holiday (ITH) regime.

AmCham made the statement after the departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Finance (DOF) had approved the streamlining of fiscal incentives for exporters registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

“The 15 for 15 looks better than the four-year ITH then-payment of 15-percent reduced income tax for 11 years,” AmCham Executive Director David Hincheliffe said in an interview. While they still have to crunch the numbers, Hinchecliffe said the 15-percent reduced CIT for 15 years appears to be more “palatable” to incoming American firms, as it may provide bigger savings.He said, however, that AmCham is in favor of the DTI’s position to make the 15-year period for the reduced corporate-income tax renewable, subject to certain terms.

See “AmCham,” A2

Traders to continue feeling pinch of logistics constraints

T

By Cai U. Ordinario

ransportation constraints in Metro Manila remain as among the risks faced by the export and import sector in the near term, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan said transportation woes, which resulted in port congestion, weakened the country’s external trade sector last year.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the countr y’s import receipts only posted a 2.4-percent growth to $63.9 billion in

2014, from $62.4 billion in 2013.

“A more lasting solution to the port congestion and other transportation/logistics issues need to be in place, specifically in Metro Manila, where, approximately, 25 percent of all imports passes through. Transportation constraints could further lead to unnecessary escalation of commodity prices,” Balisacan said.

Balisacan also said that other

risks include the plunge of oil prices, which caused the decline in import growth in December 2014. This, he said, was particularly evident in the last three months of 2014.

Data showed that import receipts posted a contraction of 10.6 percent to $4.9 billion in December 2014. This growth was the slowest since April 2012, when import receipts contracted 13.3 percent.

However, Balisacan noted that, because of the decline in imports and the stable increase in exports, the country recorded its narrowest trade gap in over a decade. Balisacan said the country’s trade-in-goods deficit reached $2.1 billion in 2014 (from $5.7 billion in 2013), the narrowest trade gap recorded since 2001.

“What could sustain imports are domestic consumption and investment. Given these, the manufacturing sector will likely continue its growth momentum, thus, keeping imports of raw ma-

Opec still not taking action for now to stop oil-price drop. . . no reason to get excited, and that’s really where we are now.”

Opec, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s crude, pumped 30.9 million barrels a day in January, exceeding its target for an eighth straight month, according to production estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA)

forecast that US output will increase to 9.3 million barrels a day this year, the most since 1972.

Crude stockpiles rose to 425.6 million barrels as of February 13, the most in EIA weekly data beginning 1982.

If the oil price “slips any further, it is highly likely that I will have to call an extraordinary meeting of Opec in the next six weeks or so,”

Alison-Madueke said in the interview.

Oil traded below $50 a barrel before US government data, forecast to show crude inventories, expanded from a record high in the world’s biggest consumer.

Futures were little changed in New York, after falling 2.7 percent on Monday. Crude stockpiles probably rose by 3.75 million barrels

terials and intermediate goods brisk,” Balisacan said.

“Also, stable prices, availability of jobs and more vigorous business activity are seen to further increase consumption spending that could support a healthier demand for imports of consumer products,” he added.

In 2014 the country’s top imports were electronic products at $14.82 billion, followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, at $13.19 billion; and transport equipment, $6.22 billion.

Under electronic product imports are Components/Devices or Semiconductors, which accounted for $11.45 billion of the total electronic product imports.

In 2014 the country’s top import sources were China, which accounted for 15 percent of the country’s total imports for the year; followed by the US, including Hawaii and Alaska, with an 8.7-percent share; and Japan, including Okinawa, with an 8-percent share.

Continued from A1

last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before an EIA report on Wednesday. Supplies have increased the prior six weeks to 425.6 million, the most in records dating back to August 1982. Opec, which pumps about 40 percent of the world’s oil, has no plans for an emergency meeting, according to a group delegate. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BSP may keep rates for most part of 2015

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is likely to keep the current monetary policy settings unchanged for the most part of 2015 if existing economic and monetary conditions, both local and overseas, persist for some time.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the seven-man policy-making body has adopted a wait-and-see stance as they continue to monitor economic data, unless going forward the numbers compel them to act otherwise.

“Right now, given the facts that we have, we think the monetary policy stance remains appropriate. And, if current conditions continue, then we’ll probably be able to maintain the policy stance for the most part of 2015,” Tetangco told reporters on Tuesday.

At present, the BSP borrows from and lends to the banks at only 4 percent and 6 percent, respectively. The central bank also maintains a special deposit account facility, where banks could earn interest income of another 2.5 percent. Several economists earlier said the BSP was likely to keep rates on hold until the September Monetary Board meeting, on account of the stable and low inflation. That monetary policy is widely divergent across central banks in Asia and around the world also helps the BSP keep its policy rates where they are.

Amid the policy guidance that rates can remain unchanged for “most of 2015”, Tetangco said things can change, depending on the impact of developments in advanced economies on capital flows to and from the country.

Tetangco also said the BSP is looking at how the volatility in capital flows impact domestic liquidity levels, which could alter the policy setting altogether.

See “BSP,” A2