BusinessMirror February 9, 2015

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U.N. Media Award 2008

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D.O.T.C. MAY TAP LOCAL DEBT MARKET FOR THE P54B IT NEEDS TO TAKE OVER MRT LINE 3

Govt looks to lenders for MRT buyout

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

he government is bent on taking over the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, so much so that it is now considering tapping the local debt market to raise the P54 billion that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) believes is enough to effect the buyout.

Transportation Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo M. Lotilla, after dodging the question a couple of times, finally gave in, and said that the government may build its war chest to fund the buyout by borrowing from local lending institutions.

He, however, clarified that this is just one of the many options that the

department is evaluating, explaining that his office must abide by what Executive Order (EO) 126 stipulates.

“It’s a question of approvals. If we have to borrow money, then we need the necessary approvals. The normal process for a government entity is for it to secure a Monetary Board Continued on A2

U.S. JOB MARKET GROWTH IN FASTEST PACE IN 17 YRS

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he job market remains a frustrating place for America’s 9 million unemployed—perhaps, more so as hiring has accelerated along with job postings.

The pace of job growth over the past three months was the fastest in 17 years. The gains spanned nearly every industry, and some employers have finally had to dangle higher pay to attract or retain top talent.

And yet, millions of jobseekers still can’t find work.

Some businesses remain slow to fill their openings, awaiting the ideal candidate. Many job seekers lack the skills employers require.

The plight of the unemployed also reflects an economic reality: Even in the best times, the number of job seekers is typically twice the

number of job openings.

The January jobs report that the government issued on Friday pointed to another factor, too: As hiring strengthens, more people typically start looking for jobs. As the number of job seekers grows, so does competition for work.

The number of openings has reached nearly 5 million, the most since 2001. Yet, that’s barely more than half the number of people the government counts as unemployed.

“There’s always going to be a set of job vacancies, and there are always going to be a set of people transitioning from unemployment to work,” said Tara Sinclair, an economics professor at George Washington University. “The transition isn’t instantaneous.”

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PESO exchange rates n US 44.1290

PYRO MUSICAL Fireworks from the Philippines light up the sky at the start of the Sixth Philippine International Pyromusical competition at the SM Mall of Asia shopping complex in Pasay City. The fireworks competition, which runs for six consecutive weekends, features entries from Canada, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Portugal, China, Mexico, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. The Philippines hosts this year’s competition. Canada won the championship last year. AP/Bullit Marquez

MNTC hikes 2015 capital investment to ₧10B FRANCO: “It may reach P10 billion if we include the P3.5-billion up-front payment, which will be handed over after the signing of the concession agreement.”

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he tollways arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has raised its capital investment this year to P10 billion, after it bagged the contract to operate and maintain the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and integrate it to the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex).

Manila North Tollways Corp.

(MNTC) President Rodrigo E. Franco said his company has decided to raise its capital requirements this year to fund the needed investments for the two thoroughfares.

He said the amount will be used to bankroll the P5-billion expansion plan for Nlex; the P3.5-billion deal to operate the Sctex; and another P650 million to integrate the two thoroughfares.

“It may reach P10 billion if we include the P3.5-billion up-front payment, which will be handed over after the signing of the concession agreement,” he told reporters. “We are also looking at the expansion of Nlex, which costs about P5 billion.”

Earlier, Franco told the Busi-

nessMirror that his company is spending P9 billion in capital expenditures this year, but noted that the amount might still go up should the company bag expressway-development deals that would require more than P22 billion in needed investments.

This year’s P10-billion capital investment is significantly higher than the P2-billion capital requirements the year prior.

Currently, the toll-road company See “MNTC,” A2

n japan 0.3755 n UK 67.6851 n HK 5.6929 n CHINA 7.0583 n singapore 32.8365 n australia 34.3952 n EU 50.6733 n SAUDI arabia 11.7593 Source: BSP (6 February 2015)

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Monday, February 9, 2015

A2

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Govt looks to lenders for MRT buyout to its failure, as the operator of the line, to pay billions of equity rental payments to the owner of the rail system.

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

On the other hand, the local flagship of Hong Kong-based conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd. is proposing to shoulder the costs needed for the upgrade of the train system and free the government from paying billions of pesos in equity rental payments.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

President Jose Ma. K. Lim said his group intends to spend $524 million to overhaul the line.

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

The venture would effectively expand the capacity of the railway system by adding more coaches to each train, allowing it to carry more cars at faster intervals. The multimilliondollar expansion plan would double the capacity of the line to 700,000 passengers a day from the current

During the hearings for this year’s budget in 2014, the solons decided against the buyout, as this would only provide for the exchange of money from one government agency to another.

This is because the P54-billion budget, according to lawmakers, was only enough to pay the 80-percent economic interest held by two government-run banks in MRT Corp., the owner of the most-congested train line in the Philippines.

Congress heeded to the calls made by MRT Holdings II Inc. Chairman Robert L. Sobrepeña, who said the P54 billion was not enough to pay for the assets of the line.

Officials of MRTH II, which controls the MRTC, have repeatedly said the train system was valued at roughly P110 billion back in 2009, more than double the fund for the buyout.

But the DOTC is convinced that it is enough to fund the takeover deal.

“There is a formula at the buildlease-transfer, or BLT, agreement for the value of the buyout. The computations are based on that formula,” Transportation Assistant Secretary Jaime Fortunato A. Caringal, a member of the team handling the buyout, said.

To execute the buyout deal, the government must strike a compromise agreement with the private owner of the train line. This would effectively end the ongoing arbitration case in Singapore that was lodged against the government in 2008 due

Continued from A1

approval. But there has to be a decision first that we’ll go that way, then we’ll get the approvals,” Lotilla said in a chance interview.

The prospect of “tapping local banks,” he said, is still being discussed at the department level, explaining that funding the deal via debt would also need the approval of President Aquino.

“The order is specific in how to do the equity value buyout. If you change the mode, you will have to clear it with the Office of the President,” the transport official said.

“We have this roadblock because we don’t have the money, so we have to ask if we can do it this way, because we don’t have appropriation.”

A quick check on EO 126 showed that the Department of Finance is “authorized to raise funding through the issuance of new borrowing, domestic or foreign, to carry out” the buyout and its components.

“The secretary of finance is given the authority to execute any and all types of documents and agreements in connection with said borrowing,” the document read.

The DOTC was forced to look for ways on how to bankroll the initiative, after Congress struck out the funding for the buyout from this year’s appropriations. Lawmakers, after several reviews, decided not to fund the P54-billion takeover deal as it lacked “economic value.”

350,000 passengers daily.

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

MRT Line 3, which connects the northern and southern corridors of Metro Manila, has been operating at overcapacity since 2004.

Currently, the line serves nearly 550,000 passengers per day. It even reached, at one point last year, the 650,000-daily passenger mark. It has a rated capacity of 350,000 daily passengers.

The train line has also been a mainstay at the front page of newspapers, garnering unwanted fame due to its dilapidated state which has caused multiple headaches to both commuters and government officials alike.

MTR Corp. Ltd., which operates the train line in Hong Kong, audited the state of the line, and found that a number of its components are in poor condition.

In a 169-page report, nine train experts said the transport facility is already exhibiting forms of obsolesce. It even warned of a possible derailment that could cause “substantial casualties in a high usage system like the MRT 3.”

Thankfully, the government is currently rolling out a P9.7-billion multiyear venture to overhaul the line. The complete makeover is expected to be done within the term of Mr. Aquino.

It includes the procurement of

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST FEBRUARY 9, 2015 | MONDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER

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

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additional train coaches, train general overhauling, ancillary systems upgrade, platform edge doorstep, signaling system upgrade, rail steel replacement, communications system upgrade, traction motors replacement, and the improvement of the overhead catenary system.

The rehab venture also includes security fence and noise barrier, consulting services, upgrade of conveyance facilities, a footbridge for the North Avenue station, weather protection cladding, Internet connection, passenger information system, and passenger hand straps.

A number of these, including the procurement of rails, have been awarded.

The government failed, however, to procure an upkeep contractor for the train line. The two auctions for the P2.38-billion MRT maintenance contract were snubbed by railway companies despite a sweeter deal.

Multinational and local companies, like Busan Transport Corp., Mosan-Inekon Phils Ltd. Co., SMRT International Pte. Ltd., Miescorrail Inc. and D.M. Consunji Inc. backed out from the first tender, while none of them even expressed their interest in a much better upkeep deal.

Investors were spooked by the glaring defects of the train system, a rail expert said.

The government is now looking for other ways on how to successfully procure a reputable maintenance provider for the MRT 3.

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is completing the construction of Nlex’s Segment 9, a 2.42-kilometer road that will link Nlex to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City.

Featuring two pedestrian foot bridges, two vehicular overpasses and seven drainage box culverts, the alignment is expected to be completed by March this year. The economic benefits that Segment 9 will bring are expected to increase further when Segment 10 of the Nlex Harbor Link is finished in late 2016.

Stretching 5.65 kilometers long, Segment 10 will largely be an elevated expressway, directly linking Nlex and MacArthur Highway to Manila’s Port Area district. The P10-billion alignment will primarily cater to port traffic and is envisioned to significantly speed up and reduce the cost of the transport of goods from Central and Northern Luzon to the country’s premier harbors.

The two alignments will be linked via the Nlex Karuhatan Valenzuela Interchange.

The capital investments this year, the company official noted, will be largely financed internally.

“Right now, we still have money.

But we will borrow when our next project starts,” Franco said. “We haven’t decided yet as to our debt requirements.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

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Terrorists ‘peacefully coexisting’ with MILF–military officials

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By Rene Acosta

alaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Abdul Bassit Usman have been “peacefully coexisting” with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in areas it controls, proving the lack of sincerity on the part of the secessionist group in the peace talks, military officials said on Sunday.

Marwan, a leader of the Southeast Asian militant group Jema’ah Islamiyah, died during the operations of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force (SAF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on January 25, while Usman managed to escape. A total of 44 SAF members also died during the operation.

“They were within the vicinity [of the MILF] but they were being left alone or they were not being pursued.

Under the peace agreement, the MILF were not supposed to be coddling them, but what happened is Marwan and his company were in the barangay where the MILF is also present,” one military official said.

“If they really wanted to take them, they could do it.

The MILF is aware of their presence,” he added.

“They were just in [MILF’s] area. Why are the two living there, if they are not being guarded by the MILF?” another official asked.

Tukanalipao in Mamasapano where the SAF commandos died after they killed Marwan is a stronghold of the MILF where its 105th Base Command is located.

“The MILF would surely know whether a new face has entered its territory. But [Marwan and Usman], they had lived and existed in MILF’s area. They even have houses,” the official said.

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Monday, February 9, 2015 A3

CA gives go signal to P31.5-M damage suit against Smartmatic

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By Joel R. San Juan

HE Court of Appeals (CA) has allowed the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Malolos, Bulacan, to proceed with the P31.5-million damage suit filed against Smartmatic-Total Information Management (Smartmatic-TIM) by a mayoral candidate who was disenfranchised during the May 2010 elections.

In a 17-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Noel Tijam, the CA’s Sixth Division affirmed the orders issued by RTC in Malolos Branch 7 presiding Judge Danilo Manalastas on June 2, 2011, and September 28, 2011, which denied Smartmatic’s motions seeking the dismissal of the complaint.

In both resolutions, the trial court held that the complainant, Angelito Sarmiento, has a “viable” cause of action against the country’s provider of Precint Count Optical Scanning (Pcos) machines.

“This Court is not unaware of Sarmiento’s

fate [not being able to vote and eventually lost his bid] during the May 10, 2010, elections where he himself was a candidate for mayoral race in San Jose del Monte,” the CA said.

“Equity demands that his case be heard so that the court could render a valid judgment in accordance with his prayer in the complaint,” it added.

In his complaint, Sarmiento recounted that he went to his clustered precinct to vote on May 10, 2010, and after properly shading his choice of candidates on the ballot, he fed the ballot into the PCOS machine but it was rejected.

The ballot was fed into the same Pcos machine three times but was similarly rejected.

Sarmiento said he was not allowed to get a replacement and was advised to leave the precinct, effectively disenfranchising him and violating his constitutionally guaranteed right to suffrage.

He further claimed that he later discovered that there were many similar cases of unlawful disenfranchisement of voters in other precincts in San Jose del Monte characterized by machine rejection of genuine and properly shaded ballots.

This prompted Sarmiento to file a complaint with prayer for preliminary attachment alleging that Smartmatic and its officials Juan Villa Jr. (chairman); Armando Yanes (chief financial officer); Salvador Aque (TIM senior vice president); and Cesar Flores (Smartmatic-TIM president) were guilty of willful and negligent acts contrary to law.

Sarmiento said the defendants should be held liable for their fault and negligence in not programming the PCOS machine to properly count all genuine and accomplished ballots.

In his complaint, Sarmiento asked the trial court to award him P31.5 million in actual, moral, physical and mental sufferings in-

flicted on him by Smartmatic and its officials.

For its part, Smartmatic claimed that the case should be dismissed due to the complainant’s failure to state a cause of action.

The firm said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is the agency tasked to supervise elections all over the country and mandated by the Constitution to enforce and administer all laws pertaining to the conduct of elections.

Smartmatic said it is merely a provider of goods and services to the Comelec and that it complied with all its obligations under its automated contract with the agency.

The company further claimed that Pcos machines passed all the tests and complied with all the requirements of the law and Comelec.

But, the CA said it is precluded to rule on Smartmatic’s defenses “as they are not yet ripe for resolution.”

The appellate court said the arguments raised by Smartmatic are matters that have to be heard and resolved by the trial court.

“This is a matter best left to the sound judgment of the trial court after a full-blown hearing and evaluation of the evidence presented herein,” the CA said.

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Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon • Monday, February 9, 2015 A5

Palace allots over P76B for education projects

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By Butch Fernandez

alacañang allocated over P76 billion for various projects and programs, as the Aquino administration steps up spending to improve the quality of education in the country.

Palace Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. reported on Sunday that, for this year, the government set aside at least P10 billion for the hiring of additional 39,000 teachers and

creation of 1,500 nonteaching positions to fill up the shortage of teachers and their counterparts in state-run schools.

Coloma said the Department of Budget and Management is also

releasing P3.5 billion to buy and distribute 70.5 million textbooks and other instructional materials to public-school students.

In addition, the secretary said the government appropriated “not less than P54 billion” for the construction of 31,728 new classrooms and repair of 9,500 others.

Moreover, he said, part of the P54billion funding will be spent for the improvement of 13,586 water and sanitation facilities like toilets, as well as 455 technical-vocational laboratories and 1.3 million school desks.

Aside from that, Coloma noted that the Department of Education (DepEd) is also setting aside another P8.5 billion to buy over 24,000 “information and communication

technology [ICT] packages” and set up multimedia laboratories in public high schools, as well as computer laboratories complete with basic multimedia equipment in elementary schools under the DepEd’s computerization program.

The Palace official confirmed that under the 2015 national budget, the Aquino administration gave the DepEd its biggest allocation amounting to P367.1 billion, which, Coloma noted, is 19 percent higher than the P309.5-billion funding the DepEd got in 2014.

The government also increased by 17 percent the budget allocated to state colleges and universities to P44 billion, Coloma added.

Budget Secretary Florencio B.

DTI, DOT cut red tape on registration of tourism-related firms

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he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has inked an agreement with the Department of Tourism (DOT) to facilitate the accreditation of tourism enterprises in a move to ease bureaucratic processes that businessoperatorsgothroughintheindustry.

Raul V. Angeles, executive director of the Board Of Investments’s (BOI) Investment Assistance Center (BOI-IAC), told reporters that the DOT is the latest agency that the investment promotion bureau has linked up with for its “Going the Extra Mile” Program.

The program aims to cut regulatory red tape for registered BOI enterprises by simplifying existing rules and guidelines, part of a broader strategy to attract more investments.

According to the memorandum of agreement signed by the DTI and DOT, the partnership will entail information exchange in the areas of rules and policies for the accreditation tourismrelated enterprises.

So far, the BOI-IAC has already concluded similar agreements with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau. Catherine N. Pillas

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NASUGBU AT DUSK

After a day’s sail, fishermen with some kids push their boats ashore in Nasugbu, Batangas. Aside from fishing, fishermen and boatmen in Nasugbu earn from island hopping tours where they take tourists to islands such as the island at the far back called Fortune Island, where divers plunge into the sea to see the rich marine life and shipwrecks. Stephanie Tumampos

he public-private efforts to rid the domestic market of smuggled steel products have scored a major victory with the filing of anti-smuggling cases against importers initiated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Philippine Iron and Steel Instisevilla tute (Pisi) said.

Roberto Cola, Pisi president, said the smugglingrelated charges filed by the BOC versus officials of Stellent Corp. (15-container shipment) last week, and Archer Blaze Marketing (six-container shipment) last year, among others, are sure to sow fear

among smugglers and make them think twice before making illegal importations again.

“Customs Commissioner John P. Sevilla is on the right track; there is no better way to show the BOC’s resolve in ending smuggling than by initiating the filing of strong cases against technical and outright smugglers, and seeing through their conviction,” Cola said.

Sevilla, in approving the filing of smuggling-related cases before Stellant officials, said: “Although there is strong demand for steel products, we cannot let these illegal and unsafe products enter the local market. We are working very hard to prevent the technical smuggling of substandard products that pose danger to people who will use them.”

The charges lodged versus Stellent were developed through the coordination between the BOC’s Legal Service and RATS Group, headed by Dep. Comm. Brig. Gen. Jessie Dellosa with coordination

of Port Collector Brig. Gen. Mario Mendoza and Department of Trade Industry (DTI)-Bureau of Philippine Standards Director in Charge Ann Claire C. Cabochan. Stellent was charged for attempting to bring in to the market P14.3 million worth of steel products from China for violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines and the Bureau of Product Standards law.

Cola said the prompt actions made by the BOC and DTI strengthened the resolve of the domestic steel makers to double their efforts in intensifying the public-private campaign versus smuggling.

“The Pisi and the different steel industry associations will continue to work with the BOC and DTI in the campaign versus smuggling and proliferation of substandard steel products through our constant market monitoring and designation of industry technical experts in the various ports across the country,” Cola said.

the procurement of 1.3 million seats,” Abad said in a statement over the weekend.

The budget chief said besides the Build Back Better Program, the administration also focuses on meeting the government’s commitment in the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 of eradicating poverty by giving access to education, as well as free health and social services.

He said the DepEd’s annual allocation also includes programs that give access to formal education to the marginalized youth, particularly young Muslims in conflict-affected Mindanao, children of indigenous families, as well as out-of-school youth. With Estrella Torres

PHL to hold investment road show in Japan he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), after welcoming a big delegation of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) last week, is embarking on a reciprocal trip to Japan this week to further drum up investors’ interest in the Philippines.

Following the visit of over 100 members from the JCCI to the Philippines this week, the trade office, along with its investment-promotion agencies, will be conducting an investment-promotion seminar.

Trade Undersecretary for Industry Promotion Ponciano C. Manalo Jr. told reporters that the Board of Investments, along with the Clark Development Cooperation, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, will showcase the country’s potential in key sectors such as manufacturing.

Manalo added that there will a Philippine booth at an exhibit organized by the Japan Institute for Design Promotion to feature locally crafted products. The exhibit will run from February 17 to 20.

The industry promotion head, likewise, said for 2015, Europe and the US are also on the list of countries to be visited by the DTI for the investment

Steel industry lauds Customs for crackdown vs smugglers

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Abad said the funding for the reconstruction of destroyed public elementary and high-school buildings under the Build Back Better Program for Supertyphoon Yolanda-affected areas is the highest priority allocation from the DepEd’s annual allocation.

He said the amount is allotted for the Basic Education Facilities of the overall budget of the DepEd for 2015. It covers the construction of 31,728 classrooms for public schools in the affected provinces in the Visayas, as well as the repair of 9,500 more classrooms.

“The amount also cover the construction of 13, 586 water and sanitation facilities, 455 technical and vocational laboratories and

road show in the first half of the year.

“For the US, we’re looking at pushing for the aerospace, Information technology and business process management [IT-BPM], health-care information management, and data analytics. For Europe, those same sectors, plus manufacturing,” Manalo said, adding that they are making an extra push for American aicraft manufacturer Boeing to consider the Philippines as a parts supplier.

The JCCI business delegation welcomed last week aired strong interest in expanding existing businesses in the Philippines despite the cited problems of lack of infrastructure and high electricity rates. Other notable topics discussed by the delegation with their meeting with President Aquino were the automotive road map and the proposal to create special economic zones for Japanese small and medium enterprises.

Manalo, part of the President’s retinue during the meeting, disclosed that Mr. Aquino hinted of the release of the automotive road map “soon,” but did not commit a particular deadline.

On the special economic zones put forward by the JCCI delegation, Manalo said the DTI is studying the merits of the proposal. Catherine N. Pillas

National govt debt down by 1%

By David Cagahastian

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he total outstanding debt of the national government stood at P5.735 trillion as of December 2014, a 1-percent increase from the end-2013 level.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) attributed the increase in the national government outstanding debt to domestic debt issuance, since external debt declined last year.

Domestic debt increased by 2.3 percent, or by P87.2 billion, in 2014, reaching P3.82 trillion as of December 2014. External debt was recorded at P1.91 trillion, declining by 1.7 percent, or by P33.1 billion, in 2014 due to currency adjustments.

Domestic debt now accounts for 66.6 percent of the total debt, up from 65.7 percent in 2013. This is in

line with the government’s policy of relying mainly on domestic creditors for its budgetary needs, rather than on foreign borrowings that entail additional costs and risks.

The BTr noted that the decline in the reliance on foreign creditors is also accompanied by improvements in other debt indicators, demostrating the country’s “greater resilience against risks.”

“Consistent with the share of domestic debt, the currency mix of national government obligations indicate a moderate exposure to unfavorable foreign exchange swings as peso-denominated obligations account for 68 percent of the total; followed by US dollar, Japanese yen, and euro at 25 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent, respectively,” the BTr said in a statement.

Tourism&En

Business

A6 Monday, February 9, 2015 • Editor: Gerard Ramos

PASSAGE TO PHNOM PENH W B B L

HEN one thinks of Cambodia, what usually comes into mind is Angkor Wat and its host city, Siem Reap, but Phnom Penh, the capital city, is also worth a visit.

THE Art Deco-style Central Market.

From Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam, my son Jandy and I, together with my companions Violet Imperial, executive director of Nature Awareness and Conservation Club Inc.; and Rosanna “Osang” Kho, CEO of Kho Travel and Tours, were also bound for Siem Reap (where we were to take our plane back to Manila). We decided to go there by bus, the cheapest and the most popular means of overland transport between Saigon and Siem Reap. In between, we were to spend two nights in Phnom Penh.

The long 285-kilometer, sevenhour trip to Phnom Penh included stopovers at the Moc Bai (Vietnam)

and Bavet (Cambodia) border gates for passport checks and lunch plus a 10-minute roll-on, roll-off ferry crossing at Neak Loeung. We arrived at Phnom Penh’s Central Market by 6 pm and hired a tuk-tuk (the local version of the Philippine tricycle) to take us to the fairly new, clean, comfortable and affordable, 19-room Elite Boutique Hotel.

Street 184, where our hotel was located, was also bounded by two of the city’s prime tourist attractions— the National Museum (built between 1917 and 1924) and the Royal Palace.

We first headed out for the latter.

The National Museum, Cambodia’s largest museum of cultural history

THE Silver Pagoda

and the country’s leading historical and archaeological museum, houses one of the world’s largest collections of Khmer art (sculptural, ceramics, bronzes, ethnographic objects, etc.). It also has a collection of over 14,000 items from prehistoric times to periods before, during and after the Khmer Empire.

After our short visit to the National Museum, Osang, Violet, Jandy and I proceeded on our way to the nearby Royal Palace, a good example of Khmer architecture. From Street 184, we turned right to the surprisingly car-free Preah Sothearos Boulevard. On its left is a wide promenade where flocks of doves congregate. Beyond the promenade is a small park, Sisowath Quay and the mighty Mekong River. On the boulevard’s right is the open-air Moonlight Pavilion, built alongside a section of the palace’s high, yellow crenellated defensive walls. It has a balcony that is used for viewing marching parades.

Covering an area of 174,870 square meter., the palace complex is divided by walls into four main compounds.

The buildings of the palace were

gradually built over time, some were dismantled and rebuilt as late as the 1960s, but some old buildings date back to the 19th century. Our guideless tour of the palace compound took us to the cross-shaped Throne Hall, the most impressive building in the royal compound. Though we weren’t allowed to go inside or take pictures of the interiors, its impressive exterior still provided a good photo-op.

From the Throne Hall, we proceeded to south side of the Royal Palace complex to the beautiful Silver Pagoda (so named because of its 5,329 signature silver floor tiles), the official temple of the king of Cambodia. After leaving our footwear outside, we were allowed to enter. More a museum than place of homage, it houses a rich collection of 1,650 royal gifts received by the Royal family over the years, many of them national treasures.

We also visited a number of exhibition halls, such as the multi-purpose White Elephant room, the Showroom of Royal Palanquins and Bossabok (traditional Khmer-style thrones), the Elephant Boxes Showroom and the air-conditioned second floor Show-

THE Throne Hall

THE National Museum of Cambodia

room of Royal Dancers Ornaments.

After our daylong walking tour, we still had time to go to the nearby large, bright ochre-colored and Art Decostyle Central Market, another Phnom Penh landmark and “must-see” built in 1937. Almost anything you can think of are on sale—electronic equipment, secondhand clothing, watches, bags, suitcases, gold and silver curios, dried and fresh foodstuff, jewelry, cheap T-shirts, kramas (Khmer

scarves), antique coins, pseudo-antiques, clocks, fabrics, shoes, flowers, luggage, books (including photocopied travel guides) and lots of souvenirs (key chains, ref magnets, postcards, etc.). After shopping, we had dinner at the nearby eight-story, Western-style Sorya Shopping Center, the first real mall and the largest in the city, before heading back to our hotel. Early in the morning of the next day, we continued on to Siem Reap.

ntertainment

sMirror

tourism@businessmirror.com.ph • Monday, February 9, 2015 A7

SARANGANI REDISCOVERS ITS ROOTS

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ARANGANI has the unique distinction of being one of the youngest provinces in the country—and at the same time— one of its oldest.

Carved out of the coastal municipalities of South Cotabato in 1992, its beginnings date back to the precolonial era when 2,000-year-old anthromorphic burial jars were discovered in the remote caves in Maitum town.

Now on display at the National Museum, the said jars are described as “exceptional archaeological assemblage and unparalleled in Southeast Asia” by its former director, the late Fr. Gabriel Casal.

This old-world charm came into the fore once more as Sarangani held recently the 12th Munato Festival to celebrate its 22nd Provincial Foundation Anniversary.

Munato was derived from the B’laan phrase “muna toh” or first people who passed on a rich cultural heritage.

But instead of the usual street-dance parades that punctuate most festivals, this year’s celebrations took a different route— the Yesterland Theme Park—which captures the province’s journey through the centuries.

Set at the Provincial Capitol Complex in Alabel, the park is an innovative approach to make the people of Sarangani appreciate its history through educational yet entertaining exhibits, Gov. Steve Solon said.

The sprawling complex feature booths representing Sarangani’s different facets, such as Cave of the Ancients, Tribal Village, Wildlife Museum, Looms and Beads, Munato Foto Loco, Street Arts, Historical Lane, Fabli Gu Ni and Farmers’ Market, Moro Cottages, and the Munato Arcade.

The cultural festivity unreeled with tribalinspired ceremonies, punctuated by appearances of its mascot pair—Sara and Gani who graced the entire festival and brought cheers to children.

MORO Cottage The centerpiece booth is the Cave of the Ancients, a recreation of the Ayub Cave where the prehistoric burial jars were unearthed.

An interesting feature are the Moro Cottages, which showcase live tableaus of Maguindanaoan events, authentic cuisine, tapestry, paraphernalia and music.

Another crowd-drawer is the Tribal Village which has hourly dance and musical performances from the colorful T’boli and B’laan indigenous peoples.

Meanwhile, the Looms and Beads pavilion displays the intricate hand-weaving tradition of the upland “lumad” tribes such as B’laan, Tagakaolo, T’boli, Manobo, Ubo and Kalagan.

The intricate Mabal Tabih fabric of the B’laan is considered the crown jewel of Sarangani’s cultural resource conservation, with Gusiye Buan as the resident master weaver at the Lamlifew School of Living Traditions in Malungon town.

Meanwhile, the Wildlife Museum hosts Sarangani’s preserved tropical fowls and underwater animals which attest to the province’s rich biodiver-

TABIH weaver Fu Gusiye Buan

NATIVE tribal beads

TINAGTAG cooking in Malapatan T’BOLI tribal dance sity. Sarangani Bay is reputed to be among the richest bodies of water with its diverse marine life and aquatic resources.

Last the Historical Lane at the Capitol Building chronicles the birth of Sarangani and its march to progress since then. Receiving special attention is the town of Glan, one of the oldest towns in the American-

era Empire Province of Cotabato, which marks its centennial founding this year.

With the people’s warm reception, Solon said that organizers plan to enhance the Yesterland concept and partner with theme-park developers to make Munato Festival more educational and interactive.

He noted that in addition to its cultural

treasures, Sarangani is also endowed with natural getaways and adventure activities that make it a haven for culture, adventure and nature.

One of the province’s newest tourist drawers is paragliding at the Safi Ranch in Maasim town which is fast becoming an international sporting event.

Another action-packed recreational activity is white-water tubing in Maitum,

which takes visitors to a heart-pounding 1.6-kilometer ride through Pangi River.

Watersports include scuba diving at Tinoto Wall in Lemlunay Resort in Maasim; kayaking at Gumasa Beach in Glan; and snorkeling at the Tuka Marine Park in Kiamba.

The Munato Festival drew to a close as leading pop band Sponge Cola rocked the night away in an evening concert at the Provincial Capitol Complex.

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TheElderly

Monday, February 9, 2015 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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Septuagenarian farmer wins Tofarm major award

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By Oliver Samson | Correspondent

SEPTUAGENARIAN farmer in Sorsogon who has been growing pili for over 20 years, won the top award during The Outstanding Farmers of the Philippines (Tofarm) 2014 Awards held at the Shangri-La Manila on January 30.

Jose E. Amador,72, who pioneered grafted pili farming in the country in 1987 and a Magsasakang Siyentista, was chosen Tofarm 2014 Farmer of the Year for his innovative, organic, sustainable and integrated agriculture.

Before pili production, Amador planted 4.5 hectares of their land in Barangay Guinlajon, Sorsogon City, in the 1980s with calamansi trees from the earning he brought home as a public-utility jeepney driver.

The lemons generated a fortune that expanded their land to 12 hectares in the 1980s, after purchasing an adjacent tract. A few old lemon trees are still there, bearing some fruits only good for home consumption.

The calamansi trees can earn good cash from age three to 10, after which

fruit production begins to decline, he said. When that happens, replanting is required.

He was reluctant to substitute pili trees for his lemons at the start, Amador said. The problem he saw in pili trees was their height. They can grow tall, which can pose a difficulty in harvesting the fruits.

He was wondering if he could graft pili. He asked an agriculturist in the early 1980s. But there were no grafted pili at the time. His inquiry must have given the concerned government agency the idea and a challenge that after two years, he was told grafted pili planting materials were already available.

His concern for height was addressed. So he purchased 300 grafted pili seedlings and planted them.

JOSE Amador, 72, wins the top award in The Outstanding Farmers of the Philippines 2014 Awards. OLIVER SAMSON

After three years, his pili trees began bearing fruits, Amador said.

At the age of five, the grafted pili produced more.

In 2006 the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (Opag), through Esteven D. Garcia and Debbie Ferwelo of the Opag, helped Amador plant

two more hectares with grafted pili.

Currently, he has about 800 fully grown pili trees, all bearing fruits throughout the year.

“I am happy for growing pili,” he said. “It is the ideal crop for the climate in Sorsogon and for my age.”

The pili tree is the ideal crop for

Sorsogon, said Garcia, who is an agriculturist. The province has a yearround rainfall, perfect for growing the trees bearing fruits.

Since 1987, the year Amador planted grafted pili, not a single pest struck the farm, Garcia said. The trees are also resilient to typhoon.

Sorsogon experiences a number of typhoons in a year, the agriculturist noted. But it does not seriously affect the trees and fruits. After stroked by strong winds, the trees grow flowers again.

“Pili is a centennial plant,” Amador said. “It can live and bear fruits for over 100 years.”

The pili tree can grow in the wilds without care from human, Garcia said. The resin its branches releases, as well as leaves kills the weeds.

“Pili is a crop like no other,” Amador said. “The farmer has no headache. The trees just stay there, bearing fruits for generations.”

Amador sells de-pulped pili at P40 to pili-nut processors in Bicol. His 800 trees can produce 300 to 500 kilos of de-pulped pili in a month.

He educated their two children in college with the earnings they made from pili.

Hosted by the Junior Chamber International and sponsored by the Universal Harvester Inc. (UHI), Tofarm 2014 awarded 55 other farmers.

“Through Tofarm, we want to show our farmers that support for them is always present, and that their efforts will always be recognized and put to good use,” said Dr. Milagros Ong How, UHI EVP. Tofarm is “committed to help educate, uplift, recognize and inspire Filipino farmers,” How said.

DOH: All senior citizens are now eligible for free PhilHealth insurance Retired US trooper stole $680K from sick father A S part of the current celebration of National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) Month, the Department of Health (DOH) reminded on Friday all Filipino senior citizens 60 years old and above that they are already Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) members and, therefore, qualified to avail themselves of free medical services under the program.

The DOH made the reminder to highlight the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the PhilHealth also during this Heart Month.

Created in 1995 to provide universal health coverage for the Filipino people, PhilHealth is a tax-exempt, government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) attached to the DOH. “If your parents are more than 60 years, they are qualified for free PhilHealth insurance and there is no need for contributions paid to be recognized as members,”DOH Spokesman Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy said. He said such free membership to PhilHealth for Filipino senior citizens 60 years old and above is due to the signing of President Aquino of Republic Act (RA) 10645, on November 5, 2014, as part of the government’s commitment in boosting the universal health-care program.

Prior to the signing of RA 10645, only the indigent senior citizens were given free PhilHealth coverage under the then existing laws.

“With the amendment, regardless of whether the senior citizen is rich or poor, he or she will become automatic member of PhilHealth and can avail of the services from accredited hospitals as part of giving recognition to senior citizens’ great contribution to the country,” Lee-Suy said.

In the same vein, existing PhilHealth members (individually paying or retired employees) who turn 60 years old are automatically qualified as “lifetime members,” meaning they are no longer required to pay contributions.

Through PhilHealth membership, the member who pays the premium can avail himself or herself of lesser payments on health-care services once he or she is hospitalized. The same privilege is also available for dependents like the spouse and children 20 years old and below.

In addition, indigent members can avail themselves of the “no balance billing” once they are confined in a government hospital.

It is a form of “financial risk protection” that members can benefit from once hospitalized or even incasesofconsultationaspartofthegoalofstrengthening the health-care program and reducing costly hospitalization by encouraging early checkup and diagnosis. As part of the 20th year celebration of PhilHealth, it will be conducting a simultaneous fun run in 13 regions of the country on February 15.

Dubbed as “PhilHealth Run 2015” or ”PhilHealth: Ready, TSeKaP Go!,” it seeks to promote awareness on PhilHealth’s benefits and services and also to encourage participants to help the vulnerable sectors of society who will benefit from the project. PNA

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spending time with friends Elderly men take time in the city of Baguio reminiscing about their past and taking advantage of the pleasant weather.

mau victa

Judge shaves 6 weeks off Berlusconi’s community-service time

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OME—Citing good behavior, a judge in Milan on Monday shaved six weeks off former Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s once-a-week community service helping Alzheimer’s patients, the media mogul’s penalty for a tax fraud conviction.

Lawyer Valentina Bolis said the judge lopped off 45 days from Berlusconi’s penalty, meaning he’ll complete the stint in early March. The director of the Milan-area Sacred Family center for elderly and infirm, as well as a social worker who meets monthly with the 78-year-old Berlusconi, were among those providing favorable reports about his service, Bolis said.

A general amnesty reduced Berlusconi’s four-year sentence to one year. His age made him eligible for house arrest, but he was ordered to do community service instead.

The conviction cost him his Senate seat but he still leads Forza Italia, his center-right party. Berlusconi wants to stay influential in politics, and has pledged his lawmakers’ help to Premier Matteo Renzi on the government’s electoral reforms agenda.

But he was stung last week when Renzi brushed off his objections to the premier’s choice of a candidate for a new Italian president in balloting in Parliament.

Last year Berlusconi’s lawyers

convinced the European Court for Human Rights to take up an aspect of an appeal related to the 2013 tax fraud condition. Berlusconi has denied wrongdoing in the case, which stemmed from a purchase of TV rights for his Mediaset network.

The France-based court will examine Berlusconi’s claim that fair trial rules were violated.

Berlusconi was ousted from Parliament under a 2012 law preventing anyone sentenced to more than two years from holding or running for public office for at least six years.

Berlusconi’s lawyers contend that the law should not have been applied retroactively to him. AP

HE Alaska Office of Elder Fraud and Assistance has accused a former Girdwoodbased trooper and his wife of extorting roughly $680,000 from the trooper’s 92-year-old father. The money was supposed to pay for the elderly man’s assisted-living bills, according to a lawsuit filed last week by the state.

The lawsuit named Michael and Susan Opalka as defendants. The state’s elder office is representing Opalka’s father, Emil “Joe” Opalka, a World War II prisoner-of-war survivor, according to the complaint.

Emil became “extremely ill” and was placed in the care of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department in July 2009, the complaint said. The next month, Michael obtained power of attorney for his father, gaining the authority to handle his father’s finances.

The couple is accused of withdrawing money from Emil’s bank account beginning around the time Emil got sick and continuing for four years.

Michael also allegedly impersonated his father in letters to access investments at a brokerage. Michael said in a phone interview on Tuesday that the state’s allegations are unfounded. “Essentially, my father gave me that money over the years,” he said. “That was a decision between my father and me and long before this stuff came up.”

Missing income

The elder fraud office investigates allegations of fraud committed against older Alaskans who aren’t capable of bringing complaints forward themselves. The agency works with law enforcement and social service agencies, and may bring a civil suit against alleged perpetrators. It doesn’t have legal authority to file criminal charges but can recommend cases to the district attorney’s office.

According to the office’s case on behalf of Emil, he was incapable of caring for himself until November 2013 due to dementia and physical illness. That’s when the VA told Michael that his father no longer required full care, the complaint says.

Emil’s health improved enough for him to move from an extended care

facility to the less intensive environment of an assisted living facility.

The VA said Emil could contribute to his bills thanks to the amount of federal benefits he’d been receiving.

Michael was responsible for paying those bills, the complaint said.

Around February 2014, Emil was admitted to Providence Horizon House, the assisted-living facility where Emil’s monthly health-care costs totaled about $5,500.

Supervising attorney Beth Goldstein, who wrote the complaint, said the VA sent a “report of harm” to the elder fraud office when it noticed Emil did not have the income they expected. The VA looks at all benefits patients may be receiving when it stops paying for full care. The VA would have an idea of what their incomes should be, Goldstein said.

“And when you have a vet who’s been in extended care for years, there’s an assumption that a certain amount of money would be built up, because he hasn’t had to pay for anything,” she said. “The Veterans Administration discovered the money that should be there wasn’t.”

Come August, none of the Providence bills totaling more than $13,000 had been paid by Emil, according to the complaint; the VA had paid for much of what was owed. The state was appointed Emil’s guardian within a month.

Agreement prior to dementia Michael worked as an Alaska state trooper for 22 years before retiring in the early 2000s. For years, he served as the lone trooper in Girdwood and was the main law between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. The office in the back of his home served as the community’s trooper post, he said. Over the years, he was a familiar source in media accounts about head-on collisions on the Seward Highway, windsurfing accidents, bear sightings and crime.

For the past few years, Michael said, he needed help paying bills.

His wife’s third bout of cancer cost him a lot of money, he said, and his son’s suicide was costly, too. He said he reached an agreement with his father years ago, before the dementia became severe. Tribune Content Agency Llc.

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Monday, February 9, 2015

A9

Aquino, Widodo to discuss ‘areas of mutual concern’

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RESIDENT Aquino and visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo will be tackling wide-ranging issues of mutual concern affecting the two Asian partners, and sign agreements, including trade and investment, Malacañang said on Sunday.

Aquino and Widodo are scheduled to hold expanded bilateral talks at the Aguinaldo Room of Malacanang early Monday evening after which the two leaders will proceed to the Palace Reception Hall to sign agreements and issue joint press statements before sitting down for a state dinner at the President’s Hall.

Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the two leaders’ talks would cover common concerns between Manila and Jakarta during Mr. Widodo’s state visit and the two are expected to firm up agreements on boosting trade and investment, defense and maritime cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and migrant workers issues, as well.

“On the invitation of President Aquino, Indonesian President Widodo is starting (this Sunday) an introductory State visit in the country,”

Coloma said yesterday.

He noted this is Mr. Widodo’s first official visit to the Philippines since his election as Indonesian leader last October 20, 2014.

President Widodo’s visit is part of expressing unity and cooperation with other leaders of neighboring countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Coloma added citing statements from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Accompanied by his wife Hj Iriana Joko Widodo, Mr. Widodo and his official delegation arrived in the Philippines Sunday afternoon following visits to Malaysia and Brunei.

The Indonesian leader and his party will fly back to Indonesia from Villamor Air Base after the state dinner on Monday, according to the official schedule released by the Palace. Butch Fernandez

Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrives at the Villamor Air Base, Pasay, on February 8. Widodo is set to meet Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and other top officials on Monday to discuss ways to enhance economic, security ties and regional issues including territorial conflicts in the South China Sea. AP

Lawmakers to suspend deliberations on BBL

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HE chairman of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) said the panel will indefinitely suspend formal deliberations on the law pending receipt of reports on a clash in Maguindanao that led to deaths of 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF).

Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro said in a radio interview on Sunday respective reports from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, PNP, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process are expected to be submitted to his office

by Monday afternoon.

“We have agreed last week that we will continue the deliberations on the provisions of the BBL at 9:30 a.m. (Monday) excluding the four deferred provisions (public order and safety, national security, operational control of the chief minister). So we will continue,” said Rodriguez, who is also chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee.

Rodriguez said that the panel decided to suspend its hearing to give members time to study the report carefully. “First of all, when we receive the reports, we should read them very carefully because these will be detailed reports. It cannot be done in a way that we just go and have a hearing. We need to have our time to read the reports. That’s one reason why we will suspend indefinitely until we will have some findings on the reports and what actions that we can do in relation to BBL, in relation into the report.”

Rodriguez added: “Secondly, why we are suspending is because on Wednesday, the Committee on Public Order and Safety together with the Committee on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation and the Committee on National Defense will hear those who had been invited to shed light on the Mamasapano incident. And most of our members in the committee are also chairmen and members of these three committees.”

The lawmaker also admitted that the January 25 incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, will delay

the passage of the BBL in Congress.

“We are going to await the results of the investigations so that it will give us clearly what should be done to (the) bill so that it can really provide for lasting peace in Mindanao,” Rodriguez said.

He added that the ad hoc panel would also wait for the results of the investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“We would also await the DOJ to finish their investigation so that those commanders and men identified who belong to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) will now be facing multiple criminal charges. And then when the time comes, the committee...me as chairman, would call for the MILF to surrender these people whom the DOJ would find to be responsible for the death of the fallen 44,” he said.

“So we cannot anymore say if we can resume because one, we don’t know when the committees of Congress will end their hearings and come out with their findings and recommendation. We also don’t know

when the DOJ would be able to finish its investigation and file charges. So these are the two important things that we have to wait for because we cannot just continue discussions on the bill,” Rodriguez added.

Also on Sunday, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian of Valenzuela urged President Aquino to certify as urgent A measure creating an independent fact-finding panel TO investigate the bloody Mamasapano incident.

Gatchalian filed on Wednesday House Bill 5404, to be known as the “Mamasapano Truth Commission Act,” which was patterned after the Davide Commission that investigated the series of attempted coups d’etat against the government of President Corazon Aquino.

Gatchalian said the urgency and gravity of the January 25 incident requires the swift passage of a measure establishing the Mamasapano Truth Commission that will have the power to summon resources persons and witnesses, including President Benigno Aquino III. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Govt eyes Malampaya to fund measures addressing power crisis

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HE government mulls tapping the Malampaya fund to finance the costs to be incurred by the measures meant to address the looming power crisis.

A Senate version of a joint resolution said a “Special Fund” authorized funding source of extraordinary expenses arising from the implementation of the resolution seeking to grant President Benigno Aquino III additional power to establish additional generating capacity. The “Special Fund” was created under Section 8 of Presidential Decree 910.

Earlier, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the House Joint Resolution 21 granting Mr. Aquino additional powers to address the possible power crisis.

Aside from the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), the Malampaya fund is also being eyed to finance the ‘extraordinary expenses’ to be incurred by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) from the increased

pumping operations of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan Pump Storage Power Plant (CBKPSPP) units in Laguna. Likewise, the fund is being eyed to fund the differential costs of diesel and natural gas fuel for the Ilijan combined cycle power plant and the fuel supply and expansion of fuel storage of the Malaya thermal power plant.

The Senate urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to declare all CBKPSPP units as must load units from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. from Monday to Saturdays and Sundays, if and when requested by Psalm, and as ‘must-run’ units during peak period hours to achieve the desired water elevation of the Caliraya Lake and optimize the existing output of the said units.

T he Nationa l Power Cor p.

(NPC) will also incur expenses for “displacement compensation” to affected households and resort owners within the Caliraya Lake for actual damages incurred as a result of raising the water elevation of the lake.

The national government has earlier raised the idea of sourcing ILP expenses from the Malampaya fund.

The ILP seeks to encourage heavy users of electricity to run their own generator sets during peak demand periods instead of getting their supply from the Luzon grid. The electricity that would not be taken from the grid would be available to household and small users, preventing a rotating blackout.

The Senate, in its version of the joint resolution, said there will be payment to customers which are allowed an option to recover their de-loading compensation from the government as maybe provided in the ILP rules.

There will be compensation to entities enjoying discounted generation, transmission and distribution rates for the incremental increase in electricity rates arising from recovery of the de-loading compensation.

When sought for comment, Energy Secretary Carlos Jerico Petilla

said around P0.5 billion will be sourced from the Malampaya fund.

“My estimate is P500 million.

Only the incremental part and not the whole ILP amount will be shouldered by consumers. It depends on the market clearing price as to how much consumers will shell out,” said Petilla.

As of August 2013, Malamapaya funds amounted to P130 billion.

The Aquino administration, Petilla said, so far used P15 billion of the governments share from the Malampaya project, which totaled P165 billion since the project commenced in 2001.

The previous administration, meanwhile, used up almost P20 billion of this amount, according to Petilla.

The government used the funds for the fuel requirements of the NPC-Small Power Utilities Group, for the Pantawid Pasada fuel subsidy program for public utility vehicles and for the cost incurred when it took delivery of a Navy ship donated by the US government. Lenie Lectura

Electricity, fuel rates to go up this week Continued from A12

Moreover, MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore) gasoline increased by $8.50 per barrel last week versus the previous week’s average.

Gasoline was supported by possible strikes in several US refineries ahead of the summer driving season. Gasoline is averaging nearly $66.00 a barrel in February versus January’s full-month average of just over $57.00 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Asian diesel prices increased by an average of $6.00 a barrel last week compared to the price recorded a week ago.

The hike was supported by lower stockpiles in Japan and demand from other Asian countries ahead of maintenance turnarounds at several refineries.

“With these developments, local pump prices are expected to rise in the range of P2.00 a liter.

This will be the first major price hike for the year,” said the source.

Since the start of the second semester of 2014, when international oil prices started to drop until the first week of February 2015, gasoline and diesel have gone down by P18.00 to P19.00 per liter.

Since the start of 2015, gasoline prices have declined four times or a total of P3.60 per liter while diesel prices have rolled back times or a total of P4 per liter.

Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said higher electricity rates will be reflected in the consumers’ electric bills due to higher generation charge. Meralco will announce the adjusted figures this week.

The adjustment, Meralco President Oscar Reyes said, can be attributed to the frequent power plant outages.

“The price at the spot market, we can’t estimate that. Remember that WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices are a supply and demand thing. Although we are sourcing only a small portion of our requirements at the WESM, it still affects the overall power rates. Yes, there may be higher generation charge in February,” said Reyes.

Meralco said it is closely moni-

toring prices at the spot market.

“We are awaiting the billing of WESM to see how all these outages affected spot market prices,” said Meralco utility economics head Larry Fernandez last week.

In terms of share to Meralco’s total power requirements for the December 2014 supply month which were reflected in the January 2015 electricity bills, the power supply agreements (PSAs), Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and WESM accounted for 52, 45, and 3 percent, respectively.

Generation charge has been low in the past months but Meralco said this series of lower generation charges may be difficult to sustain, especially since the Malampaya gas facility would be shut down during the summer months or from March to April.

Meanwhile, a resolution calling for an investigation of high electricity cost in the Philippines has been filed at the House of Representatives.

House Resolution 1819, authored by Liberal Party Rep. Alfredo Benitez of Negros Occidental, directs the Committee on Energy to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the continuous high cost of electricity despite the decrease in the global price of coal—a major source of energy generation in the country.

Citing a report from the Department of Energy, Benitez said that as of 2013, over 36 percent of total power generation in the Philippines today comes from coal energy, making it the highest percentage among other forms of energy sources.

“Despite the recent plunge in coal prices, the cost of electricity in the country still remains one of the highest among Asian countries,” Benitez said.

“It is undeniable that Filipinos continue to feel the burden of paying the high cost of electricity in the country and that recent surveys reveal that the Philippines ranks atop the nations with the highest electricity rates in Asia,” he added.

According to Benitez the global price for thermal coal has gone down from a high of $85 per metric ton (MT) in 2013 to as low as $48.6 per MT as of January 2015.

Opinion BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, February 9, 2015

editorial Foreign investment incentives: What to change

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HREE critical economic policy issues and the implementation of them have been facing the Philippines for several years. These are: the tax and revenue sharing scheme for the mining industry, the infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership program and the rationalization of investment incentives particularly for foreign investors.

The mining policy has been stalled and in limbo for so long, obviously nothing is going to be accomplished in this area until there is leadership that is will to make hard decisions and offer hard choices. The PPP projects are moving so slowly that here again it will be until there is a new administration before any of the big ticket developments are completed.

The third, a new and more sensible and realistic investment incentive program could be done before 2015 ends.

We have been told repeatedly that the problem in the Philippines attracting more foreign investment is that we do not provide a legal framework that is attractive to the investors. Suggestions have ranged all the way to changing the Philippine constitution to allow, for example, foreign ownership of land.

However, changing same of the specifics of the rules and incentives for investment could be accomplished without too much drama.

The purpose of these changes would be, according to the proponents, of putting the investment landscape on a more competitive footing with our regional neighbors who seem to have better solutions to attracting investment.

The problem is that whenever we start talking about changing the incentives, it is the foreigners that start complaining.

This from the Businessmirror this past Saturday: “The Philippines could see a decline in investments from Japan if the government would push through with its plan of restructuring its incentive scheme for investors, according to an official of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines (JCCIP).” According to JCCIP Vice President Nobuo Fujii, “There is going to be less investment [from Japan] in the future.

We don’t want any change in existing incentives.”

It is always good to listen to your customers. But here our question for Mr. Fuji: If the existing investment incentives are so great in the Philippines, why did Japanese companies invest over $10 billion in Thailand in 2013 and only $1.2 billion in the Philippines?

We have examined both countries investment laws and incentives. The major difference is that the list of excluded types of business is much less in Thailand and Thailand allows up to 100 percent foreign ownership unlike the Philippines which requires 60 percent local ownership.

But as to incentives, PHL and Thailand are about the same. Again for Mr. Fujii: what other factors led to 8 times as much Japanese investment in Thailand over the Philippines?

The World Bank estimates that it is costing PHL P200 billion annually by giving out various fiscal incentives, the majority going to foreign investors. We received about P270 billion in foreign investments in 2014. We spent over P100 billion in incentives. That may not be the best business model. We need some sensible changes.

But as Akio Mimura, chairman of the JCCI, says, the government needs to address obstacles such as infrastructure gaps, high transport and power costs. That is where we should start.

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Economy grew 6.1 percent in 2014 Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

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HE government’s economic and business policies are bearing good fruit, as evinced by the strong showing of the country’s economic performance in 2014, against expectations.

According to a statement two weeks ago of Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, the economy grew 6.9 percent in the last quarter of 2014, for an average 6.1 percent growth for the year.

The figures were higher than the forecasted 6 percent and 5.8 percent respectively.

In terms of rankings against other Asian nations, in the fourth quarter our country was third after China (7.3 percent) and Vietnam (7 percent).

But for the year overall, the Philippines, at 6.1 percent, came in second to China’s 7.4 percent, with Vietnam third at 6 percent.

All three major sectors—agriculture, industry, and services— showed strong performances in 4Q-2014.

Agriculture grew 4.8 percent during that period, compared to the 0.9 percent it notched in the same period the previous year.

Industry grew 9.2 percent, the highest showing in the last six quarters, and services grew 6 percent.

The country is developing apace, with good chances of stronger growth this year, more so after Budget Secretary Florencio Abad announced last week that government is poised to increase its infrastructure investments this year.

This should address the underspending issue of the previous year that was said to have slowed economic growth in the early quarters.

The second-largest allocation in the 2015 national budget—P303.2 billion—goes to the Department of Public Works and Highways. From that amount, P185.8 billion will be spent to complete bridges along national roads by 2015 and all national roads by 2016.

The Department of Transportation and Communication will also be embarking on its own infrastructure programs, and has been allot-

ted a budget of P59.5 billion. These programs include improvement of the railway systems as well as airport and seaport projects.

According to Abad, infrastructure spending will account for four percent of the country’s projected gross domestic product for this year, and five percent in 2016.

With the aim of further developing the agriculture sector, which made a strong showing last year, the Department of Agriculture was given an additional 11.5 percent for their budget, for a total of P89.1 billion for 2014.

The department also has infrastructure projects in the pipeline, such as the construction of farmto-market roads, irrigation systems, fish ports, and fish landings.

Also according to Balisacan, lower petroleum prices and electricity rates and a healthy supply of key food items led to lower inflation of 2.4 percent in January this year from 2.7 percent in December last year.

The lower inflation “bodes well for consumption growth,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is seriously pursuing other economic development initiatives, including those on the international front.

The country is chair of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, and held the Apec Senior Officials’ Meeting from January 26 to February 7 at Clark and Subic.

The discussions focused on

Want to arm Kiev? Better have a Plan B

By Rajan Menon

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Los Angeles Times/TNS

O say that the truce in eastern Ukraine, where Russiabacked breakaway“republics”are battling the pro-Western Kiev government, isn’t holding is like saying the Titanic sprung a leak. The cease-fire signed in September is a dead letter. There’s a full-blown war afoot.

And whatever Moscow may claim, Russia is deeply involved, and not just as a source of “volunteers.”

So should the West arm the embattled Ukrainians?

Yes, according to a new report released by the Atlantic Council, the Brookings Institution and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Washington notables involved in the report include Michele Flournoy, until recently a senior official in the Defense Department; Strobe Talbott, deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration; and two former US ambassadors to Ukraine.

Their proposal to funnel defensive weapons (the offensive-defensive distinction is in fact hardly clear-cut) to Ukraine must be taken seriously. It calls for $1 billion in arms to Ukraine for 2015, and the same in 2016 and 2017.

The thoughts of these Beltway power brokers could shape US policy.

Moreover, their prescriptions have made

a splash at a delicate moment. The Obama administration appears to be under pressure from hard-liners inside Congress and from various policy wonks to do, at minimum, what this group recommends.

That a cluster of people with clout has offered one answer doesn’t mean it’s the right one. In fact, it’s not; the report is flawed, even dangerous.

The group assumes that sending Ukraine arms will send Russian President Vladimir Putin a clear message. Just so. But what message exactly?

They assume that Putin will recalculate and wind down the war once he sees that the United States is serious about backing Ukraine and that victory will be costlier, bloodier and more uncertain than he’d anticipated.

Well, that’s one possibility. But it’s not the only one.

Putin’s main defense for his war has been that the West has been actively undermining Russia’s security by drawing into its

orbit what from the Russian standpoint is a critical country. Arming Ukraine, therefore, probably would prompt Putin to scale up the war. He would send the secessionists more troops, advisors and arms.

The Russian people would approve. Whatever we may think of Putin’s war, it has deep support in Russian society, and so does he.

And, no, it’s not just because of government propaganda.

The arrival of American arms and advisors in Ukraine won’t weaken Putin politically. It would, despite the economic crisis, bolster him.

There’s a bigger problem. Western sanctions have created colossal problems for Russia’s economy. But the 50 percent collapse in the price of oil is a body blow.

Yet there’s not a shred of evidence that Putin has changed course in Ukraine. To the contrary. Moscow’s backing for the separatists has increased, enabling them to regain some of the land lost to Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

The presumption that Putin will back off once Kiev gets US weaponry is not based on evidence but hope. And hope is not a strategy.

Then there’s the Plan B problem. There’s a basic axiom in war: Don’t take a big step (or even a small one) without having thought hard, and planned for, what you will do if it doesn’t have the intended effect.

joint actions related to trade and investment with the objectives of creating jobs, improving productivity, and ensuring economic sustainability, in line with an “inclusive economies” policy to combat inequality and promote regional and global growth.

Attending the meetings were some 1,700 senior officials and technical experts from the 21 Apec member economies: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Japan; South Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Taiwan; Thailand; the United States; and, Vietnam.

We congratulate the organizers of this year’s Apec, and wish all the participants the best as they forge policies and guidelines that will enable the region to realize its potential for growth and development, ensuring better and greater opportunities for its people.

This, coupled with the good news on overall Philippine economic growth last year, augurs well for this year and we look forward to upwardly-adjusted forecasts for 2015 that reflect the effectiveness of the reform agenda of the present administration.

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II is the vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

There is no Plan B in the report. We’re simply to assume that Putin’s response will be the one the experts anticipate. Given what’s at stake, what amounts to a “trust us” approach won’t do.

But here’s the plan’s biggest flaw. Imagine that a Ukrainian army beefed up with American weaponry suffers serial defeats.

This is not a fanciful scenario. Russia has a lot more at stake than the US does and will fight hard. Moreover, it knows the terrain and players in eastern Ukraine a lot better, and it’s a lot closer.

What then? You won’t find an answer in this report.

Following the counsel of this all-star conclave would put the United States in a position that even those with a rudimentary grasp of strategy know to avoid. We would have to retreat or wade in deeper.

If things don’t go according to plan, solemn warnings from hawks about the loss of American credibility would inevitably follow.

There would be calls to up the ante. Heeding that counsel could put us at war with Russia _ on its doorstep.

What American interest would that serve?

Rajan Menon is a professor of political science at City College of New York and a senior research fellow at Columbia’s Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. He is author, with Eugene Rumer, of the just-published Conflict in Ukraine.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

US policy muddle aids the Islamic State

Right

By Trudy Rubin

The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

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HEN Islamic State thugs burned a Jordanian pilot alive inside a cage and released a video of the murder Tuesday, it could have marked a historic turning point in the fight against the jihadis.

The grisly video enraged the victim’s tribe, along with Arabs across the region. Even Jordanians who opposed their king’s participation in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State condemned the depraved killing.

Prominent Muslim clerics denounced it as a gross violation of Islam.

So some pundits surmised that the video would rally Arab leaders and publics to unite in battle against the jihadis.

In theory, this sounds plausible.

But without a coherent US strategy to fight the Islamic State, this moment will be lost.

There are several reasons the death of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh should galvanize the region. For one thing, the handsome military pilot was a Muslim, so his killing resonates there far more than beheadings of Western hostages.

For another, the Islamic State overplayed its hand. It clearly intended to humiliate Jordan for joining the US-led military coalition and sending planes to strike the Islamic State, while signaling to other Arab countries that they should stay out of the fight lest their pilots meet a similar fate. But the sadism of the murder– making the pilot watch as the flames lapped a trail of gasoline into the cage– inspired tribal calls for retaliation.

Clerics denounced the Islamic State for having disregarded Quranic rules on the treatment of prisoners of war.

So for now, says former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, “public opinion wants revenge–wants the government to go after the Islamic State.”

But the Jordanian government can do little more than it is already doing: participating in air strikes against the Islamic State, sharing intelligence, and helping the United States train moderate Syrian rebels.

Indeed, burdened with 1.3 million Syrian refugees, tiny Jordan needs more US (and Arab) aid just to continue its current role.

Moreover, Kaseasbeh’s death won’t rally broader Arab support for the fight against the Islamic State unless the White House shows greater commitment to that struggle. A key ally in the US-led coalition, the United Arab Emirates, suspended its air strikes against the Islamic State in December, after Kaseasbeh was shot down.

The reason: The United States hadn’t put proper assets in place in northern Iraq to rescue downed pilots.

That contradictory US approach– urging its Arab allies to fight the Islamic State in the air and on the ground, but not giving them the necessary support–makes Arab governments and tribes wary of engaging the jihadis. Arabs are uncertain about what Obama wants in the region given

the contradictions of American policy.

This is especially true of Sunni tribes in Syria and Iraq–some of them related to Jordanian tribes–which the administration is counting on to rebel against the Islamic State.

Yet the current US approach discourages Sunni tribes under the Islamic State control from taking up the fight against the jihadis. There is no American policy of engaging and coordinating tribal opposition and linking it with coalition air strikes.

Tribes that do rebel cannot match the Islamic State’s weapons (most of which were seized from US-supplied depots in Iraq) and are often slaughtered.

Here are two gruesome examples: 322 members of the Albu Nimr tribe were massacred in Iraq’s Anbar province when they ran out of bullets while fighting the Islamic State in October, while 700 of Syria’s Shaitat tribe were beheaded, crucified, and shot after they revolted against the Islamic State in August. The Shaitat got no Western arms or supportive air strikes and received scant coverage in the Western press.

So don’t expect a wider Sunni tribal revolt against the Islamic State unless the White House gets its strategy together. In Iraq, the administration is relying on a nearly defunct national army (plus the Kurds) to battle the Islamic State, while the real ground fighting is being done by Shiite militias backed by Iran.

“The Shia militias are as brutal as the Islamic State, which keeps Iraqi tribal leaders from rising against the Islamic State,” said Rick Welch, a retired colonel and Green Beret who served several tours in Iraq and is known for his expertise on Sunni tribes. The militias are often as keen to kill Sunni villagers as they are to fight the Islamic State.

Iraqi tribal leaders, says Welch, are waiting to see whether new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will be more inclusive of Sunnis and will finally arm tribal national guards to fight the Islamic State. (So far, Iran and its Iraqi Shiite proxies have nixed this, and the United States has done little to hasten the process.)

As for Syrian tribes that are willing to fight the Islamic State, Welch says he sees no US strategy to aid them. He says the United States has the ability to pull together tribal leaders in Syria and Iraq and build a force that could, and wants to, fight the Islamic State.

“But we have to be willing to say we’re going to do this.” Welch adds. “We’re going through the motions but aren’t too serious yet.”

I agree. And that is why the burning of Kaseasbeh, however shocking, won’t mark a turning point in the fight against the Islamic State–unless there is a turning point in Washington first.

Teddy Locsin Jr.

Free fire

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RESIDENT Ramos told Karen Davila that one commission of inquiry is enough; not 5 at the latest count; hilong-hilo na ang sundalo. Right.

I don’t believe in any commission; better a free for all; no compulsion to appear; no compulsion to lie to get back at politicians. Truth is the daughter of time and it will be born.

Ramos gave 10 reasons the massacre happened: 1. It was conducted like a fire drill but in a real conflagration. You can learn on the job but in battle you will die doing it.

2. If Purisima called the shots, said Ramos, that’s okay. That’s his job. But the president should not follow him without clearing it with Espina in the Army. Right. I have no doubt Purisima was around but I doubt he called the shots during the operation. He was the architect of the operation; suspension did not change that advantage.

3. The chain of command pertains to the president as commander-inchief of the armed forces. He has a right to insist that the chain of command be followed but he must respect it himself. But he did that;

America’s dollar, the world’s problem

By Mark Gilbert Bloomberg View

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HEN officials from the Group of 20 nations gather in Turkey this week, the worsening currency wars will likely be a source of friction. The biggest question is whether the United States will finally get sick of being a casualty in the ongoing skirmishes.

With nations from Canada to Australia to China to Denmark springing surprise rate cuts on investors in recent weeks, everyone has been in a race to the bottom, devaluing their currencies to boost exports and growth. Everyone, that is, except the US. In the past year, the dollar has surged against the currencies of the US’s trading partners. It’s up more than 16 percent against the Federal Reserve’s trade-weighted index of 26 other currencies, ranging from

the euro (which accounts for 16 percent of the basket) to Switzerland (1.73 percent) to Colombia (0.66 percent).

Not surprisingly, US exporters are squealing. Procter and Gamble, the world’s biggest consumer products maker, blamed a 31-percent drop in second-quarter profits on what it called the “unprecedented” pressure in the foreign exchange market. “Virtually every currency in the world devalued versus the US dollar,”

Monday, February 9, 2015 A11

complained CEO A.G. Lafley.

Tony Sagami at investment advisory firm Mauldin Economics has argued that the members of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rely on overseas sales for 46 percent of their revenue and almost half of their profits.

Companies from Pfizer to McDonalds to DuPont to Microsoft are already bemoaning the damage done to their earnings; even the mighty Apple, which is increasingly proactive in its efforts to hedge against currency shifts, would have had better profits “absent fierce foreign-exchange volatility,” according to CEO Tim Cook.

The nascent US economic recovery, one of the few bright spots in an increasingly gloomy economic environment, risks being snuffed out if the ascending dollar crushes exports. The US trade deficit has already swollen to its widest in two years, with figures this week showing it expanded

he respected the chain of command from top to bottom, and thereby relied on the assumed expertise of his commanders. Big mistake. During a coup however, ignore the chain of command, that’s my experience 4. Unity of command. PNP and AFP are one force whose combined or separate reach is national; that reach cannot be shortened by negotiators.

Two things will never change: we have one country and war is men’s work. Even Condoleeza Rice, the leading expert on the Soviet military, would never have presumed to second-guess tactical requirements.

5. Coordination is not just talking, said President Ramos; you must have a plan, a policy, and implementation. Noy had all that but the operation that dropped Bin Laden, Zero Dark 30, was rehearsed repeatedly before it was a go. Where do you rehearse in a small country where everybody talks? I do not believe the MILF woke up to the sound of gunfire; they had massed in huge

by 17.1 percent in December to reach $46.6 billion: US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said this week he’s ready to retaliate if he sees other countries pursuing currency policies he deems unfair.

But sympathy for the US may be in short supply. Raghuram Rajan, India’s central bank chief, said this week that with the Fed looking increasingly like the only central bank with any appetite for raising rates this year, the US “will have to accept some appreciation of the dollar simply because it’s the first one out of the box.”

In 1971, John Connally, Richard Nixon’s Treasury secretary, told the world “it’s our currency, but it’s your problem.” More than four decades later, the US currency is the US’s problem. Depending on how the country reacts, the currency wars may be just beginning.

numbers, which they seldom do, and they were waiting. Somebody talked. Clausewitz said, War is the continuation of policy by others means. Therefore policy is the bedrock of strategy. What is our policy?

It was dictated by 9/11; we go in wherever the war on terror needs us in our territory.

6. The MILF were never apart of the historic war of secession waged by the MNLF with tactical brilliance and Napoleonic mass.

But the Republic beat it. Its leadership joined the democratic process and through free elections came to dominate Muslim Mindanao; the best of them were my mentors in Congress. But Noy wants to turn over the leadership to Hataman and his other chums without the benefit of elections. The MILF just sprouted like mushrooms after a rain.

7. What is the mission? Destroy the enemy? No, said President Ramos. And Clausewitz said the mission is to destroy the enemy’s will to fight—by beheading the leadership, by killing a fourth, half, as many as it takes until the will is broken.

8. We are over-dramatizing the bounty, said Ramos. Right. It is offered throughout the world to everyone like us who have joined the war on terror.

9. Espina should have been informed but Roxas is not in the chain of command, said Ramos.

Right. But not telling Mar shows not loss but utter lack of confi-

dence; ditto Volts, one of our most seasoned combat officers.

10. This is not 100 percent the fault of Napeñas, said Ramos; the fault goes all the way where the buck stops. Sure the buck stops with Noynoy but his refusal to stop operations against terrorists that have been ongoing since 9/11—more often killing the wrong terrorist but what the heck, same, same—shows that it is not his understanding that the peace agreement creates a homeland for terrorism especially foreign terrorism. The peace panel might think it does; they should be asked. The peace process must be reviewed, said Ramos. Right. This operation proves that the Bangsamoro Basic Law assumes that the national government can go in with massive force to enforce the basic laws of the Republic.

And finally, this tragic event will be remembered as the time 44 SAF lost their lives successfully taking out Marwan, a terrorist on the US watch list pursuant to our international obligations, without the benefit of satellite imagery though maybe we did not ask. I remember that we did ask on earlier occasions under previous governments.

Salute a man whose business is war. Oh, by the way, he is not exPresident Ramos; there is no such title in protocol; it is just President.

Ex is only for those who regularly had sex with a famous person but no more.

Here’s the table of how the dollar’s competitors have done in the past year:

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, February 9, 2015

Balance of payments seen returning to surplus in 2015

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By Bianca Cuaresma

he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) remains confident that the balance of payments (BOP), reflecting the country’s transactions with the rest of the world, will still yield a surplus this year amid the foreseen tides in global monetary policy and growth.

Randell Tiongson, who writes on financial matters, quoted BSP Deputy Governor for the Monetary Stability Sector Diwa C. Guinigundo as saying that the BSP has high hopes on the country’s external sector.

“On the external front, I see our initial forecast of sustained external payments

surplus continuing to be broadly appropriate.

The balance of payments should be able to bounce back strongly from a shortfall in 2014 to a surplus in 2015, with the current account expected to show increasing positive position of at least $6 billion,” Guinigundo said.

The BSP earlier reported that the BOP

GUINIGUNDO: “On the external front, I see our initial forecast of sustained external payments surplus continuing to be broadly appropriate.

The balance of payments should be able to bounce back strongly from a shortfall in 2014 to a surplus in 2015, with the current account expected to show increasing positive position of at least $6 billion.”

stood as a deficit of $2.88 billion in 2014.

This was a steep reversal from the previous year’s BOP, which was a surplus totaling $5.085 billion.

The BOP deficit last year was attributed by the central bank to capital outflows seen earlier during the year, when markets fidgeted over plans by the US Federal Reserve of ending its trillion-dollar quantitative easing program.

Despite the expected rise in US interest rates this year following the conclusion of its bond-buying program, Guinigundo said the forecast BOP surplus of $1 billion for the year remains valid.

“These are premised on, one, recovery in the global economy, but at an uneven pace. This dimension is important, because unevenness should lead to divergent monetary policies.

The US is turning the corner, so I expect it to start preparing the stage for some tightening, which could result in some capital outflows in the Philippines,” Guinigundo said.

“Europe and Japan remain soft, so monetary policy is needed to be accommodative, which could drive some capital to flow to emerging markets, including the Philippines,” he added.

No matter the optimism, Guinigundo said the Philippines—particularly the BSP—must remain vigilant, as there are a lot of moving parts in the global economy that can affect the country within the course of the year.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Electricity, fuel rates to go up this week

By Lenie Lectura & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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onsumers should expect an increase in local pump prices this week, as well as an upward adjustment in their electricity bills, an industry source said.

The industry source said there will be a price hike of about P2 per liter on petroleum products, reflecting the movements in the international market.

Asian benchmark Dubai crude, said the source, rose by an average of $7.50 per barrel last week over the previous week. The surge can be attributed to weak US economic data and the announcement of oil majors that they will cut capital expenditures for 2015.

This has fueled speculation that reduced investments will curb crude-oil production.

For February, Dubai crude is averaging $52 per barrel versus the January average of $45.50 per barrel, representing a 14-percent increase.

Continued on A9

MOODY’S: MANUFACTURING SUSTAINED GROWTH IN DEC.

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anufacturing—one of the sectors with an increasingly important share in the Philippines’s economic expansion—likely sustained its robust growth in December last year, the research arm of an international credit watcher said.

In its Weekly Data Economic Preview, Moody’s Analytics said the country’s manufacturing numbers likely expanded at 7.5 percent in December 2014.

Moody’s Analytics’s forecast is slightly slower than the surge in November’s volume of production index (VoPI) at 8.1 percent.

“Industrial production in the Philippines grew strongly through the second half of 2014, and we expect this to continue in the December report. Robust domestic demand and improving export demand are driving a solid upturn in manufacturing,” Moody’s Analytics said.

The view of a sustained strength in the VoPI in the country’s manufacturing sectors is already suggested in the fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) numbers.

“Fourth-quarter GDP figures have already been released, showing a 7.3-percent year-on-year expansion in manufacturing. We expect a similar return in the final industrial production print for the year,” the major credit watcher added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier reported that the gains in the volume of production in the country are brought by the six out of 13 sectors that posted positive increments during the period.

Printing influenced the largest increase, followed by fabricated metal products, beverages, nonmetallic mineral products, paper and paper products, and basic metals.

The PSA will be reporting the country’s value and volume of manufacturing data as of December 2014 on Tuesday. Bianca Cuaresma

US job market growth in fastest pace in 17 yrs Continued from A1

For many, the transition can be maddeningly slow. Complaints abound about online job sites that seem to function more as black holes than as gateways to employment. Applicants can’t get past online portals to explain gaps in their résumés. Multiple interviews and other steps—even for low-paying jobs—can prolong the process.

Carlie Kozlowich, 23, had three interviews last year with a marketing company for a job she was told would involve “travel”and “events.”Only after accepting the job did she learn it involved selling goods at a booth in a Costco. Having amassed roughly $50,000 in debt to earn a college degree, she felt she had to turn it down.

“Three interviews just to say, ‘Would you like to try a pierogi today?’” she said.

Steven Davis, an economist at the University of Chicago, calculates that it took employers an average of 25.6 working days to fill a job in November, the latest period for which data are available. That nearly matched July’s figure of 26, the longest in the 14 years that the government has gathered the data Davis uses.

An extended hiring period can in some ways be a positive sign: It suggests that companies are having a harder time finding workers because the economy has strengthened. The number of unemployed peaked at 15.4 million in October 2009, just after the recession ended.

Still, the fact that it takes companies so long to fill vacancies, even with 9 million people unemployed, suggests that more discouraging factors may be at play.

Some companies that are seeking high-skilled

workers in fields like information technology and advanced manufacturing complain about a shortage of qualified candidates. Some recruiters and online job sites describe “skills mismatches.”

Paul D’Arcy, senior vice president at the job listings web site Indeed.com, says lower-skilled jobs generally receive a flood of résumés, while higher-skilled positions attract far fewer.

Jobs in management, computers and math, and architecture and engineering far outnumber job seekers in those fields, according to Indeed’s data.

That doesn’t sit well with Bill Gahan, 51, who has sought work for nearly a year after moving to Salt Lake City. Gahan worked in manufacturing and logistics for 29 years, including as a vice president for logistics at a manufacturer of hardware and software for visually impaired people.

Told that some experts think many of the unemployed lack the right skills, Gahan says, “I want to have a conversation with whoever is saying that.”

Increasingly, many economists agree with Gahan. Though skill shortages exist in some highly technical positions, if shortages of qualified workers were pervasive, employers would likely offer higher pay. Despite a sharp gain in January, average pay still hasn’t risen much.

Many employers also remain highly selective, perhaps assuming there are still legions of unemployed to choose from. They may be right: There are 6.8 million part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs—50 percent more than in 2007, before the recession began.

The recession also left some companies reluctant to make permanent hires. They have turned instead to temporary and contract workers. AP