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n Sunday, January 3, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 87

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Milder El Niño, govt preparations tame inflation expectations for ’16

By Bianca Cuaresma

SHARP increase in the growth of consumer prices in the country will not be seen—despite the expectation of an acceleration of inflation at the beginning of 2016— as the predicted effects of the drought season have been tamer than projected. week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW Peso n Previous week: The local currency only traded for two days during the week owing to the holiday trading suspension. On Monday the peso hit 47 to a US dollar, with a thin trading volume of $280.75 million. On the last trading day of the year, the peso slightly depreciated to 47.06 to a dollar, closing the year on the floor of the 47 territory. The total traded volume on Tuesday hit $372.75 million. n Week ahead: Barring unforeseen developments, the peso is expected to open 2016 with a quiet trading play, as markets look for fresher leads and await moves from economies and central banks in the local and international scene.

Inflation

n November 2015 inflation: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last month that inflation hit 1.1 percent in November 2015, accelerating from the 0.4-percent inflation in October. This is the first time that inflation accelerated since February 2015. This is also the highest inflation since June this year, when it See “Outlook,” A2

In a special commentary on the Philippines’s December 2015 inflation rate, Singapore-based DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said the rate of inflation will be slow to creep up only within the target range for the year. Cahyadi said the DBS Bank has revised its inflation forecast of the Philippines for 2016 owing to the said developments, from the initial 3 percent down to 2.5 percent. This is near the lower end of the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for the year. Particulars of its downward revision for inflation include the more modest impact of El Niño on the country and its agricultural production.

Cahyadi: “Despite global commodity prices staying benign, both headline and core inflation might have bottomed out in the third quarter of 2015.”

Cahyadi also said supply fears in the country have eased significantly, following the government’s pledge to increase food imports for 2016. See “Inflation,” A2

Think tank foresees MCIA’s rapid growth By Lorenz S. Marasigan

HE aviation hub in Cebu, which is currently being marketed as the world’s first resort airport, is poised to grow rapidly in the coming years, thanks to the capacity constraints at Manila’s premier international gateway. In fact, Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) emerged as one of the fastest-growing airports in Southeast Asia, with passenger growth through the first 10 months of 2015 increasing by 13 percent to 6.4 million passengers. This was boosted by the relaunch of several domestic and international routes by Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific and several foreign carriers.

PESO exchange rates n US 47.1660

The airport may have ended 2015 with nearly 8 million passengers, initial figures showed. “Given its current growth spurt, Cebu could pass the 10-million annual passenger milestone by 2018, and be close to processing 12.5 million passengers at the end of this decade,” aviation think tank Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation (Capa) said in a report. “With the new private owners, the airport should be able to continue expanding and keep up with growing demand for an alternative hub in the Philippines.” All local carriers, five foreign low-cost carriers and four foreign full-service airlines are served by MCIA. “The Cebu airport is well groomed to be an option for airline expansion, given the steady 6-percent to 7-percent per annum Continued on A2

China building second aircraft carrier in bid to project power

In this October 30, 2012, file photo, Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning docks at a port after its first navy sea trial in Dalian, in northeastern China’s Liaoning province. AP

EIJING—China has announced that it is building a second aircraft carrier—and its first using entirely domestic technology—as the country seeks to project its military influence farther from its shores.

The carrier is being built from scratch with domestic technology in the northeastern port city of Dalian, China’s defense ministry announced on New Year’s Eve. It “has a displacement of over 50,000 tons and uses regular engines,” ministry spokesman Col. Yang Yujun said in a news conference, according to a statement on the ministry’s web site.“It can load J-15 and other carrier-loaded aircraft.” China’s first aircraft carrier, a refurbished 25-year-old Ukrainian ship called Liaoning, was put into service in 2012. “China always adheres to the path of peaceful development, and firmly upholds an independent foreign policy of peace and a defensive national defense policy,” Yang said. “We have a long coastline and a vast maritime area under jurisdiction. To safeguard maritime security, sovereignty, and interests and rights is the sacred mis-

sion of the Chinese armed forces.” Yang said the military has “drawn on a lot of useful experience from the scientific tests and training of the first aircraft carrier,” and that the new carrier will have improvements in many areas. He did not give a timeline for the carrier’s completion Beijing in recent years has stepped up its territorial claims in the South and East China seas—parts of which are also claimed by Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan—with a degree of aggression that has surprised observers and strained diplomatic ties. Beijing claims most of the 1.3-million-square-mile South China Sea, and despite strong protests by its neighbors, has overseen an elaborate artificial island-building project on reefs also claimed by the Philippines. The US has deployed its own aircraft carriers to the area—in-

cluding a high-profile October patrol within 12 nautical miles of the islands—drawing harsh rebukes from Beijing. The South China Sea is thought to be rich in oil and gas; more than $5 trillion in global trade passes through the sea every year. Military analysts, both Chinese and foreign, have for months been circulating images of an incomplete aircraft carrier hull in Dalian, causing speculation that a second carrier was in the works. “The new hull, first noted under construction in imagery captured on March 10, 2015, is in an advanced state of assembly,” said a September post on the web site of the military intelligence magazine IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly. Only 12 countries maintain active aircraft carriers, and very few have more than one. The US maintains 19 ships that could be classified as aircraft carriers, far more than any other country. TNS

n japan 0.3920 n UK 70.1783 n HK 6.0857 n CHINA 7.2697 n singapore 33.5176 n australia 34.2652 n EU 51.7411 n SAUDI arabia 12.5766

Source: BSP (29 December 2015)

NewsSunday A2 Sunday, January 3, 2016

BusinessMirror

Think tank notes MCIA’s rapid growth Continued from a1

economic growth in the Philippines. As the [Philippines’s] second-largest city, Cebu offers a sizable local market. With its position in the middle of the country, Cebu also has the geography to emerge as a large hub linking secondary cities throughout the Philippines, as well as international destinations within the region and afar,” Capa said. MCIA is well-positioned for long-term growth as the airport’s new private owners have begun construction of a new terminal, which will increase annual capacity to 12.5 million passengers yearly. “The new terminal will enable Cebu to be built as a hub for transit traffic, and to benefit further from infrastructure constraints in Manila, which are prompting Philippine carriers to base additional aircraft at secondary cities,” the research body explained. With the launch of long-haul services of PAL to the US, and Cebu Pacific’s planned increase of turboprop operations out of Cebu, the airport is destined to post rapid growth this year. “The second-largest airport in the Philippines is poised for more rapid growth in 2016, as PAL continues to pursue expansion

Outlook…

Continued from a1

hit 1.2 percent. The November inflation also brought the average inflation for the entire 11-month period of the year to 1.4 percent, still below the central bank’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for the year. n December 2015 inflation: The growth of consumer prices is expected to tick up further in the last month of the year, but will not be enough to pull the 12-month average to fall within the government’s

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING NORTHERN LUZON TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING EASTERN SECTION OF CENTRAL LUZON (JANUARY 2, 5:00 AM)

at its second hub, with more new domestic routes and the launch of services to Los Angeles, Cebu’s first long-haul route. The Cebu Pacific Group also plans to expand its Cebu base in 2016, with at least two more turboprops,” Capa said. This edge is actually brought about by Manila’s lack of adequate airside and landside infrastructure, which forced airlines to look for alternative airports to expand their operations. “Foreign and Philippine carriers alike face constraints on expanding in Manila. Cebu is a growing market in its own right—with strength in both the inbound and outbound sectors, but, ultimately, Cebu’s growth is enabled by the constraints at Manila and by its own expansion,” the think tank pointed out. Cebu is also currently operating above its designed capacity of 4.5 million annual passengers, but unlike Manila, it has space and a commitment to expand. Mactan-Cebu was taken over in late 2014 by the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., which has a 25-year concession to manage and expand the air hub. The new terminal is designed to boost the airport’s capacity to 12.5 million passengers when it opens in 2018.

target band for 2015. In a text message from Bangko Sentral Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. recently, he said that inflation is likely to hit 1.1 percent to 1.9 percent for December. “The increase in LPG prices, upward electricity-rate adjustment, transitory increase in food prices due to Typhoon Nona and the weaker peso could provide upward inflation pressures,” Tetangco said.

Inflation… Continued from a1

Meanwhile, for December 2015, the economist said inflation likely slightly accelerated to 1.3 percent for the last month of the year. “Food inflation has gained momentum toward end-2015. A weaker peso has also added some inflationary pressures amid the increase in food imports. Despite global commodity prices staying benign, both headline and core inflation might have bottomed out in the third quarter of 2015,” Cahyadi said. His forecast is within the 1.1-percent to 1.9-percent forecast range for December 2015 inflation given earlier by Bangko Sentral Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. “The increase in LPG [liquefied petroleum gas] prices, upward electricity-rate adjustment, transitory increase in food prices due to Typhoon Nona and the weaker peso could provide upward inflation pressures,” Tetangco said. “Meanwhile, lower domestic rice and petroleum prices could keep inflation subdued for the month,” he added. Despite the anticipated increase, the central bank has already conceded to not making the inflation target for the year. In particular, should inflation hit the bottom of the governor’s target for the month, inflation would likely average at 1.4 percent for 2015. Meanwhile, if inflation hits the ceiling of the BSP chief’s target, it will likely hit an average of 1.5 percent for the year. Both scenarios are below the government’s target band for 2015 at 2 percent to 4 percent.

NewsSunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

BusinessMirror

embassy launches ‘visit philippines again 2016’ in iraq

HE Philippine Embassy is hoping to convince more Iraqis to travel to Manila in the coming months following the launching of the “Visit the Philippines Again 2016” tourismpromotion program in Baghdad. The launching of the sequel to the Department of Tourism’s successful “Visit the Philippines 2015” program was the highlight of the reception the Philippine Embassy hosted on Wednesday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Iraq. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato said there definitely was great interest among not only Iraqis but also foreign diplomats who attended the reception at the Babylon Warwick Hotel to visit the Philippines after seeing the video presentation showing the various tourism destinations the country has to offer. “We hope that the sneak preview convinced many of you to go and experience for yourselves why it’s more fun in the Philippines,” Cato said after the video presentation that showcased such popular tourist destinations as Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Siargao, Vigan, Albay, Davao, Banaue, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro. Among those who are planning to visit the

Philippines is Karim Wasfi, principal conductor of the Iraq National Symphony Orchestra. “After seeing what you just showed us, I now want to live in the Philippines,” Wasfi told Cato. Aside from members of the diplomatic corps and Iraqi officials and business leaders, also in attendance at the reception were representatives from various airlines and major travel agencies who offered to help the embassy promote the Philippines as a holiday destination to their clients. “We will be working with the airlines and travel agencies in the coming weeks so that we could start bringing Iraqi tourists in,” Cato said, adding that the embassy will do as much as it can to make it easier for Iraqis to obtain visas to allow them to visit the country. Last year the embassy issued a total of 206 visas to Iraqis who wanted to go to the the Philippines for business or pleasure. “We will definitely work hard this year to ensure an increase in tourist arrivals from Iraq,” Cato said. Aside from the video presentation, the embassy distributed abaca bags with chocolate mangoes from Cebu, USB cards from the Clark Development Corp. and brochures from the Department of Tourism to give guests a better appreciation of the Philippines. Recto L. Mercene

Proper labeling of food products sought

OOD manufacturers should put proper labeling to their products to promote public awareness on the importance of balanced diet, Lakas Rep. Rolando G. Andaya Jr. of Camarines Sur said. Andaya, vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said all commodities should bear a label specifying the business address of the manufacturer and the nutritional content of the product. The label, Andaya said, should contain the number of servings and calories, vitamin, mineral, fat,

saturated fat, cholesterol sodium, carbohydrates, sugar, dietary fiber, protein and other nutrients. “The proper labeling will provide the consumers with enough information pertaining to their food intake in order to help them make dietary decisions that can improve their health,” Andaya said. It will also provide the consumers with information that can assist them to better understand the nutritional value of food products and get ample warning on the presence of allergens, Andaya added. PNA

Sunday, January 3, 2016 A3

Malampaya natural-gas field to remain highly productive

HE Malampaya offshore naturalgas field in northwest Palawan will remain highly productive for several more years, but this early, a senior member of the House of Representatives wants concerned agencies to plan ahead and identify possible uses for the two massive oil rigs in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) once supply runs out.

“The Malampaya gas wells are bound to dry up, be plugged and abandoned, along with the platforms,” said Party-list Rep. Arnel Ty of LPG-MA, a senior member of the House Committee on Energy. Once vacated, he said, the rigs could be converted by the Navy into an outpost. Ty, a deputy minority leader, has been urging the government to invest in modern warships to secure the West Philippine Sea’s oil and gas deposits, amid the country’s long-running dispute with China over territorial waters. At present, the Philippine Marine Corps is using what is left of the World

War II vintage BRP Sierra Madreas, a makeshift garrison 150 kilometers off northwest Palawan. The ship is grounded atop an atoll in the Spratly Island Group. The Malampaya rigs are two large adjacent structures with facilities to extract natural gas and oil from undersea reservoirs. The platforms are built to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. One of the rigs can house 60 workers and has a helipad. “ T he Bureau of Fisher ies and Aquatic Resources could also use the rigs for a marine-research hub. Even the Bureau of Corrections can opt to transform the platforms into a high-

security prison,” Ty explained. The lawmaker prefers the eventual use of the rigs as a naval station and marine-study center. Besides its vast hydrocarbon deposits that could help assure the country’s long-term energy requirements, the West Philippine Sea is also home to 20 percent of the country’s fisheries catch, and serves as a breeding ground for high-value aquatic resources that have to be protected to sustain the local commercial fishing industry, according to Ty. Discovered in 1991, the Malampaya gas field began commercial production in 2002. The field’s gas is delivered through a 504-km, 24-inch pipeline to Batangas City, where the fuel drives three power plants with a combined 2,700 megawatts in full generating capacity. Located 80 km off northwest Palawan, Malampaya has proven reserves of about 3.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is expected to last until 2024, depending on how aggressively the fuel is extracted. Based on geological surveys, the United States Energy Information Administration estimates that the West Philippine Sea may contain up to 55.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 5.4 billion barrels of oil, “with the bulk of the resources likely in the contested Reed Bank at the northeast end of the Spratly Islands.” PNA

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, January 3, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

editorial

Employment in the age of technology

ITH all the gadgets of modern technology now in front of us—the cell phone, the iPod and the computer, among others—many of us have wondered how we survived those days when we had to make a long-distance call only to discover that there was no connection to that part of the country, or when we had to produce a document only to find that we had to type it out on Gestetner paper and hire a half-dozen persons to collate the pages, or when we had to count the number of words in the telegram we were sending because the cost of transmission was reckoned on a per-word basis. Thank the engineers or whoever it was who made the electronic wonders possible, all we have to do now to communicate or prepare papers is whip out an iPod, touch it and do everything there. Today everybody is texting, has a Facebook account, or is on Instagram—how convenient, how inexpensive and how global. Except that this awesome technology has a cost. How many telephone operators, typists, mimeograph operators, office assistants and messengers have lost their jobs? How many stores and shops have shut down, never again to reopen? How much investment has been lost? The new technology is extinguishing jobs, exacerbating unemployment. But the new technology is creating jobs, as well—new jobs, jobs that require higher educational preparation. This is the new reality, and everybody—prospective workers and political leaders, among others—had better get adjusted to it. The challenge to political leaders is greatest. There is no abbreviating the job-creation process. Promote economic development by increasing and accelerating investment. This is what will generate employment opportunities, spread them out to the larger labor force. Luring investment, whether domestic or foreign, requires careful planning, the building of infrastructure and the establishment of an enabling environment. Critical to this environment is peace and order, a functioning justice system, and a steady and consistent regulatory machinery. Members of the community, in particular the working people, have a responsibility as well, that of preparing for the new job opportunities by acquiring responsive education. Experience will be helpful, but it may not be necessary to the new job openings. The business-process outsourcing industry, for instance, does not require experienced workers, only people with the ability to communicate in the English language. From more industrially advanced societies, like the United States, we learn that jobs destroyed are never resuscitated. There are no jobs to return to by workers previously displaced. There are only new jobs to apply for and these require new skills, new abilities. In the Philippines this historic change places a responsibility on the government whose mandate includes specifically the inculcation of education among the people. The educational system must be broadened and deepened to provide to the people the education they need to become productive members of society. The hour is late, but there is still time to recognize the new technological reality and respond to it in a realistic manner.

Evil men at work Part Two

Database

By Cecilio T. Arillo

Gospel

Sunday, January 3, 2016

HEY called her evil, greedy, extravagant, a plunderer, a racketeer, an obstructionist and many other names. In response, Imelda Marcos said: “They were not only individuals; they were governments and superpowers who systematically destroyed us and our society using greedy politicians, leftists, socialist democrats and elite businessmen, backed by foreign and local propagandists.” Indeed, most of the stories printed and aired in the local and international media for almost a generation appeared to be one-sided and distorted against the Marcoses. She said: “After they conspired to oust us from power and accused my husband and me of allegedly stealing money from our people, the Aquino regime and US government prosecutors presented in court 95 witnesses and 350,000 documents, including those they claimed came from our private chambers in Malacañang, purportedly showing that we embezzled billions of dollars or billions of pesos from the Filipino people. “There were varied estimates of the so-called loot. One estimate says our wealth was within the vicinity of $356 million. Other estimates, although sourced from rumors and guesswork, had it that the Marcoses had Swiss accounts ranging from $7 billion to $13.4 billion and a gold horde worth more than $250 billion stashed in Swiss banks and other overseas banks. “Whatever is the figure or amount, it simply doesn’t make sense to me for how could we have stolen such a huge amount when the total accumulated official budget of the Marcos regime in 20 years was only P486.2 billion (roughly $22.8 billion at P47 to $1). “Not only that. Victor Macalincag, national treasurer and deputy minister of finance, also admitted that there was P28 billion in the national treasury when former President Ferdinand E. Marcos was forcibly exiled to Hawaii, debunking claims by the Cory Aquino administration that the treasury was empty.” When the US and the Aquino administrations claimed the Marcoses have

stolen foreign aids, they investigated them at the US Senate, at the US General Auditing Office, at the Japanese Diet and at the Japanese Internal Revenue Bureau. “They found nothing to support their claim,” Imelda said. (Details of this particular story are in the book A Country Imperiled, written by this writer and published by Amazon Inc., 2011 edition). Before answering more questions on the New York trial in a series of exclusive interviews with this writer for her book Imelda (Published by Amazon’s Kindle and CreateSpace, US, 2012), she made a brief comparison of the budgets of the presidents who succeeded former President Marcos: President Corazon Aquino, in six years and four months, P1.6 trillion; President Fidel V. Ramos, in six years, P2.237 trillion; President Joseph E. Estrada, in two years, less than P1 trillion; and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in nine years, more than P7 trillion. President Aquino, on the concluding year in office, had already spent more than P8 trillion. Mrs. Marcos recalled that, by persistently calling her husband a dictator and a thief, they made him also a scapegoat and a convenient cover for their sinful acts of omissions and commissions because after his time in the presidency, his successors spent more than P30 trillion and their governments left behind a paper trail of plunder, corruption, economic deprivation, gruesome human-rights violations, insurgencies, hundreds of killings involving journalists, and serious problems of brownouts, flooding and horrendous traffic. The New York trial took all of four months in a cold courtroom with 12 jury members who knew nothing of their lives, their culture and their dreams, she said. “When President Marcos died on September 28, 1989, I was left alone to defend myself. I think there was no other woman who had such a trial as sensational as that in recent history. “The flash of camera lights blinded my eyes and contraptions recorded the sadness of my face for the whole world to see. The landscape I had drawn about the world, about people and about myself was no longer the landscape before me. “I saw stone, steel and cemented steps leading to dark corridors and darker

OW, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and

rooms where you could not see the sun and the sky. I was shedding tears, but I knew I was not crying for myself, but for those who had taken away my landscape, perhaps, because they never had one. “The judge wore black, the lawyers wore black and the marshals wore black; it looked like I was in a funeral parlor, except that there was no dead body and I could see some people watching me in contempt as though I was already guilty. I was crashed and lonely. “What made me sadder was the thought that they had taken a life; dissected its parts and unleashed them to the highest bidder; mocked it as a specimen of humanity’s vile; laughed at the dreams you have built; put a price tag on the beautiful that you had given to your world; and then called you a racketeer and extravagant. “But can anyone be more extravagant than nature itself? Or how could you be more extravagant than the landscape in your heart? “After a while, I felt even lonelier because Ferdinand, the man they accused and the other half of me, could no longer defend himself. Death had sealed his lips. “My suffering caused me to cough blood, and the prosecution, as if showing some kind of pity, offered me a medical severance to spare me, according to them, of further agony.” Flatly refusing their offer, Mrs. Marcos told them: “More than life, President Marcos and I valued honor.” “As I stood at the opening of the trial, my only guide was the rosary in my hand. I touched the small crucifix in the bead, held on to it firmly and closed my eyes, imagining I was on that cross, too, and almost at the same time telling myself: ‘Be brave and courageous; the truth shall make you free.’” Last July 2, on her 60th birthday, the 12-man jury unanimously acquitted her on all charges. “I felt vindicated!” she said. “On bended knees, I praised the God whose quality of justice no courtroom and no mortal power could ever match. As I breathed deeply, I felt a deafening silence of peace, saw the vision of my landscape, embraced it in my mind and held it as close to my heart as I could.” To be continued

ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for The Child, and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I, too, may come and worship Him.” When they had heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where The Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house, they saw The Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.— Matthew 2:1-12

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, January 3, 2016 A5

Moving on T

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

HE Telegraph reports that last Christmas Day the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was formally established by the adoption of its articles of agreement. The US and Japan declined to join. They have the Asian Development Bank (ADB), but Australia, Germany and Britain did. The 17 founding members account for 50 percent of its share capital: China, $28 billion; India, $8.3 billion; Russia, $6.5 billion; Germany, $4.5 billion; South Korea,

$3.7 billion; Australia, $3.6 billion; France, $3.3 billion; Indonesia, $3.3 billion; Brazil, $3 billion; the United Kingdom, $3 billion. I don’t know why the Philippines is not a founding member. I suppose it just wants to stay one of the beggars—it’s core competency. Three billion dollars is a drop in the bucket. It need not be taken from the P3-trillion annual budget, which is spent on nothing worthwhile after paying salaries for never-delivered public services. The seemingly huge sum can be

taken from the unaccounted cash contributions of the casinos, specifically the 5 percent of gross revenue for sports development that Cory Aquino signed into law, but which the sports agencies have never received. It continues to be dutifully paid by the casinos and pocketed by Palace bagmen, who are usually in uniform, except for two years, when it was pocketed by a politician and his son. We will eventually have to engage with China. Better to do it on terms of equality than of mendicancy. China Finance Minister Jiwei said, “The

establishment of AIIB”—typically dropping the article “the”—“marks a milestone in the reform of [?] global economic governance system.” Again dropping “the.” We’re gonna have to live with Chinese English like the French had to live with English French after the former’s repeated defeat by England. The AIIB is not seen by China as a rival to the ADB, but to the World Bank. The bank will not focus on developing backward areas—which ADB itself correctly scorns. Why throw

good money after bad?—people eking out an existence in such places should move out or rot there—but sensibly on power, transport and urban infrastructure in Asia. “Joining the AIIB at the founding stage,” said Britain’s John Osborne, a perennially well-dressed gentleman who must be someone important in the government, “will create an unrivaled opportunity for the UK and Asia to invest and grow together.” There you go. The world is moving on, while somebody is still fighting the last war, which is over.

The EU proves it’s here to stay I Bloomberg

By Leonid Bershidsky

N recent years, there hasn’t been much to like about the European Union (EU), with its low growth, high unemployment, political squabbles, xenophobia, stifling bureaucracy, and constant threats of a breakup. But 2015 may have been the year the EU pulled through the worst of its troubles: It has now been sufficiently stress-tested to survive anything. There were three types of trials: The viability of the euro zone; the survival of Schengen borderless travel area; and the tension between member-countries’ domestic politics and the union’s values. In each case, the edifice creaked, but remained standing. Despite the shocks, the European economy is more or less back to precrisis levels, with employment rising and growth returning.

22 percent say they like it, according to a November Eurobarometer poll —they have accepted EU aid and are more or less gamely taking their bitter medicine. The third Greek bailout is ugly, contentious and even outrageous to some both inside and outside Greece, but it reflects Greeks’ preference for keeping the common currency.

The euro

That’s easy to understand

This year the Euro Break-Up Index, calculated by Sentix, a German company that measures investor sentiment, rose to the highest levels since its 2012 inception:

The probability of the currency union’s breakup looked very real in the spring and summer, as Greece resisted attempts by northern European countries to force it into a managed bailout. Luminaries—including the Nobel laureate Paul Krugman and Hans Werner Sinn, a German government adviser—favored a Greek exit from the euro. The Greeks, however, didn’t want to leave, and their firebrand government was forced to back down. Greece experienced a 0.9-percent contraction in the third quarter of 2015 because of the upheavals that almost tore apart the euro zone, and economists expect its output to shrink 0.7 percent for the year. The country, however, is adopting economic-reform legislation and getting support to recapitalize its banks. Although Greeks have the least positive opinion of any EU citizens—just

The euro lost just 10 percent of its value against the dollar, and its share in global foreign-exchange reserves only dropped to 20.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2015, from 22 percent, according to International Monetary Fund data. The Danish and Norwegian krones, the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand dollars all retreated more this year. At the same time, economists polled by Bloomberg predicted a 1.5-percent economic growth for the euro zone this year—the best result since 2011, and only slightly less than the 1.8 percent expected for the EU as a whole. It even holds up pretty well compared with the US, which is expected to post growth of 2.5 percent this year.

Schengen

AS refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern war areas flooded into Europe, one of the united continent’s achievements, borderless travel, seemed in jeopardy. The United Nations (UN) estimates that about 1 million refugees arrived

in 2015, and Germany alone took in almost that many. For January through November, the number of asylum applications in Germany increased 132 percent from a year earlier. And yet, the Schengen agreement, which allows travelers to avoid passport checks between European countries, has not been suspended. Despite the political uproar—58 percent of all Europeans and 76 percent of Danes, Czechs and Germans believe immigration is the biggest problem facing the EU—1 million is a fraction of the bloc’s population of 506 million. Even 2 million or 3 million migrants wouldn’t overstrain the union, which added 1.3 million residents last year. Even in countries that accept most of the newcomers, no major hardship is expected. According to Peter Praet, a member of the European Central Bank executive board, Germany will need to spend an additional 0.3 percent to 0.4 percent of economic output in 2016 and 2017 to accommodate and integrate

the refugees. But the spending also will boost output. Mild border controls were introduced in some parts of Europe this year, but that was mainly a response to the bureaucratic overload that the refugee influx created and to appease fears fueled by the media. Europeans, according to the Eurobarometer survey, are highly unwilling to give up their freedom of travel: 78 percent support “the free movement of EU citizens who can live, work, study and do business anywhere in the EU.” Europe has been groping for solutions. It has promised Turkey €3 billion to make a better effort to keep refugees in their camps, and it has decided to invest more in common border protection. It’s not clear how well that will work, but stepped-up efforts to prevent more migrant deaths at sea appear to be paying off. For January through September, 2,980 people drowned in the Mediterranean, according to the UN. In the two-and-a-half months that followed, there were 645 casualties—a rate of eight deaths a day, compared with 11 earlier this year. No crisis response can be perfect, but Europe is dealing with the emergency well enough to make the dismantling of fundamental EU institutions such as Schengen unnecessary. Next year, the handling of further refugee flows—which will subside, anyway, if the peace process in Syria shows progress—will be much more orderly.

class. These facts, and America’s inevitable demographic future, put recent campus protests into sharp perspective. The complaints voiced by black, Latinos and other minority students (and their white allies) strongly indicate that a racially prejudicial environment still exists at four-year colleges, which remain more white (61 percent) than the students in the K to 12 pipeline. Yet, it is imperative that minority students succeed at these colleges. These slow-to-change institutions must successfully invest in diversity, making minorities’ contributions, voices and concerns central to their educational mission. The message needs to be heeded beyond college campuses, as well, by public officials, corporations, even city police forces: Investing in the success of today’s diverse youth is critical for the entire nation, which needs a productive labor force and its attendant contributions to Medicare, Social Security and other programs. The baby boomers, in particular, need to hear the message. Now in their 50s and 60s, too many of them are more concerned with lowering their taxes than investing in the younger generation. Given the choice between a larger government that offers more services and a smaller

government with limited services and lower taxes, white boomers are far more likely than millennial or Gen X minorities to choose the latter, according to a 2013 Pew survey. And it has been shown that those states with the largest gains in minority children, but mostly white seniors including Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona—rank among the lowest third of states on a measure of child wellbeing that includes education, health and other areas in which state government programs can assist. Such attitudes among older whites—the only growing segment of the white electorate—shouldn’t necessarily be interpreted as racist. Instead, they reflect a fear of the unknown, potential negative economic consequences for themselves, and a lack of personal connection with the younger generation outside their own families. When the nation’s college students return to campus after winter break, it would be understandable if they added a new slogan to their petitions, tweets and picket signs: “Don’t trust anyone over 30, and especially don’t trust anyone over 50.” Older, white Americans need to recognize diversity’s importance to the nation’s future and, once and for all, realize that the 1960s are long gone.

Greece experienced a 0.9-percent contraction in the third quarter of 2015 because of the upheavals that almost tore apart the euro zone, and economists expect its output to shrink 0.7 percent for the year. The country, however, is adopting economic-reform legislation and getting support to recapitalize its banks.

A new generation gap By William H. Frey Los Angeles Times/ TNS Forum

N the 1960s a flip but stilleffective aphorism summed up the rebelliousness of youth: “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” As it turns out, that admonition is a much more fitting bumper sticker for today’s student activists than it was 50 years ago. Young people now—the postmillennials—face a far deeper generational divide than the one that separated baby boomers from their parents. And the US faces a far more serious crisis if that divide cannot be bridged. The wave of mostly white, mostly middle-class boomers that flooded college campuses in the 1960s got swept up in a variety of causes—Vietnam, civil rights, feminism. They questioned authority in ways their Depression—and World War II-era parents never did. Yet, it could be argued that most of them had little reason, in general, to object to the status quo. They had benefited from post-World War II prosperity and government programs, such as the GI Bill, that allowed their parents to raise them in comfortable suburban homes and send them to free, decent public schools. Later, Great Society initiatives,

such as the Higher Education Act of 1965, enabled them to attend college in historic numbers at a reasonable cost, and there were jobs in the offing after graduation. Back then, public investments in America’s families and youth were embraced by older generations who wanted their children and grandchildren to achieve the American dream. The situation—and the demography—is much different today. The younger population of the US is now highly diverse. Racial minorities, who are not always from the middle class, represent roughly half of the students in the nation’s K to 12 public schools. That level of diversity is destined to increase: Since the 2010 census, in 46 out of 50 states and in nearly 9 out of 10 of the country’s 3,100 counties, more white youths have turned 20 than were born or in-migrated. By 2023, whites will comprise less than half of the US population under age 30. More important, the entire white working-age population will decline by 12 million over the next 15 years because of aging and retirement; that means young Latinos, blacks, Asians and other minorities must take their place. This new diverse majority of young people will have far fewer advantages compared with

The situation—and the demography—is much different today. The younger population of the US is now highly diverse. Racial minorities, who are not always from the middle class, represent roughly half of the students in the nation’s K to 12 public schools. the white-majority boomers in the ’60s. Although high-school dropout rates among young black and Latino students have been falling, fouryear college enrollment is well below whites’, a situation compounded by high attrition rates. Should these patterns continue, the nation will see an absolute drop in college graduates after 2020. Moreover, income inequality is hitting the younger minority generations particularly hard, as evidenced by their continuing high rates of child poverty. It is still the case that many blacks and Latinos attend highly segregated, underresourced public schools and lack the finances and guidance to get into postsecondary programs that are the best pathways to the middle

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Philippines ready to help Iraq in fight vs human trafficking

HE Philippines recognizes the progress Iraq has made in the fight against human trafficking and is looking forward to assisting Baghdad in its efforts to strengthen its existing mechanisms to address this concern, the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad said.

“We would like to continue our collaboration with Iraqi authorities in fighting human trafficking,” Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato said in his remarks during a reception the Philippine Embassy hosted to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Manila and Baghdad. “The Philippines is encouraged by the positive steps that the Iraqi government has taken during the past several years to address humantrafficking issues,” Cato told the more than 100 Iraqi officials, foreign diplomats and other guests who attended the reception at the Babylon Warwick Hotel on Wednesday. The Filipino envoy cited in particular the support and cooperation extended by authorities to the Philippine Embassy that resulted in the successful rescue and repatriation two months ago of 10 Filipino trafficking victims in the Kurdistan region. Cato said the Embassy is ready to share its experience in helping Iraq formulate more effective measures to allow it to not only go after human-trafficking syndicates, but also to assist Filipino and other migrant workers victimized by these syndicates.

He said the Philippine Embassy will be working closely with the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the High Commission on Human Rights and other concerned agencies on this important concern in 2016. Cato said the Philippine Embassy will also further strengthen its collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) so that it could better respond to trafficking cases involving Filipino nationals in Iraq. He said the IOM also played an important role in the repatriation of the 10 trafficking victims from Kurdistan. Last July the Philippine Embassy participated in an IOM-sponsored workshop that brought together Iraqi government agencies and embassies of labor-sending countries to discuss issues involving migrant workers in the country. Last November the Philippine Embassy and the IOM conducted a briefing on human trafficking for members of the Filipino community in Erbil. The Philippine Embassy believes there are as many as 2,000 Filipinos working in Iraq, most of them in the Kurdistan region and some in Baghdad, Basra and other parts of the country. Recto L. Mercene

CHARGÉ d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato (right) and former Iraqi Ambassador to Manila Ahmed Kamal Hassan Al-Kamaly, head of Department of Consular Affairs of Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, slice the ceremonial cake during a reception hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Iraq. The reception, which was held at the Babylon Hotel, was attended by Iraqi officials and members of the diplomatic corps and the private sector. Philippine Embassy Photo

Stray bullet House panel sets probe on slow Internet speed hits girl, 9 By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

9-YEAR-OLD girl in Marikina City was added to the list of stray-bullet victims, a day before the year ended. The Department of Health (DOH) said the girl was hit by a stray bullet in the left- chest area while watching a television show at home. The girl was rushed at the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center. She was later transfered to the Marikina Valley Medical Center, where she is scheduled for operation. Health Secretary Janette Garin, however, said the number of casualties during the 2016 New Year revelry was lower than in previous years. Garin, who visited the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center and Philippine General Hospital in Manila and the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, said that 384 firework-related injuries were recorded by the DOH as of 6 a.m. on Friday. The figure is 250 cases (57 percent) lower compared to the same period as last year, which was 634. Of the cases, 46 percent, or 85 injuries, were recorded in Metro Manila with the Bicol Region at far second with 31 cases (16 percent). In Metro Manila, Quezon City has the most number of injuries with 26 (31 percent), with the City of Manila at close second with 23 injuries (27 percent).

H E H o u s e C o m m it t e e on Infor mation and Communication Technology will prioritize the investigation on the snail-pace Internet service in the country when Congress resumes session on January 18. T he slow connectiv ity severely affects some business establishment who are Internet dependent like business-process outsourcing (BPO) companies. T his, after Par t y-list Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz of Abakada noted mounting complaints that Internet service became very slow, especially in the last Christmas and New Year celebration. He wants an explanation from telecommunication companies on the implementation of the fair-use policy (FUP) on Internet users in the country, which he described as “so slow and so far behind.” In House Resolution 2344, dela Cruz urged the House panel to investigate the impact of slow and expensive Internet connection to consumers and businesses.

The veteran lawmaker said the country is lagging behind its Asian neighbors and that it is the third to lowest in terms of connection speed, just behind Vietnam. Dela Cruz said the Philippine Long Distance Co. group has 72.5 million subscribers composed of 24.7 million Smart subscribers, 31.9 million Talk and Text subscribers and Digitel/Sun subscribers with 15.6 million. Globe has 36.5 million subscribers composed of 34.5 million Globe and TM prepaid subscribers and 1.98 million postpaid subscribers. “Despite the unprecedented avalanche of computer users, we have yet to have a truly world-class information and communication service infrastructure as evidenced by our abysmal Internet speed,” dela Cruz said. A recent study shows that the country’s actual speed never reaches the advertised speed; speed performance declined for all Internet service providers year after year and Filipino Internet subscribers pay more for less every year.

The study said the country’s Internet is run by two major operators who control infrastructure and pricing. It also suggested that the government should encourage more competition in the market and invest in more infrastructures. Only 37 percent of Filipinos had Inter net connectiv it y in 2013, accord i ng to a recent United Nations report. Among the 190 countries evaluated, the Philippines ranked 110th. The Philippines ranks 176th out of 202 countries worldwide. The average broadband download speed is 23.3 megaby tes per second, nearly eight times faster than the Philippines. The demand increases during the holidays, but telcos have done nothing to improve their services despite charging more that they give to their subscribers, he said. It is high time, dela Cruz added that the government need to open the market of telcos who can deliver better services to forced existing telcos to upgrade their system. PNA

Army troops repel attack by NPA guerrillas By Rene Acosta

HE military said on Saturday that it repelled an attack by New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas on its troops in Camarines Sur, adding it was the second recorded violation by the rebels of the existing Christmas cease-fire. The attack was reported by the Armed Force as it prepared to resume its normal military operations against the rebels upon the expiration of the cease-fire at 12 midnight on Sunday. The Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command reported that at around 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day the rebels attacked

an Army team in Barangay Scout Fuentebella, Goa, Camarines Sur. The attack happened while government forces were observing the unilateral suspension of offensive military operations (Somo) nationwide declared by the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines’s unilateral declaration of cease-fire, which both started on December 23 at 12:01 a.m. and will expire at 12 midnight on January 3. Lt. Col. Zacarias Batalla, 83rd Infantry Battalion commander, eight soldiers and six Citizens Armed Forces Geographic Unit Active Auxilliaries were fired upon by some 10 rebels, triggering a 20-minute

firefight. “No one is hurt among our troops, however, on the side of the rebels, bloodstains were seen scattered on their position,” Batalla said. He also said that an M-14 rifle and an AK-50 rifle along with 12 backpacks with two hand grenades, bandoleers with 18 assorted magazines and ammunition were recovered at the encounter site. “It‘s a New Year’s visit to assure the barangay folk of our presence, that we are not remiss in our duty to provide them security when the attack happened leaving the soldiers no choice but to fire back,” Col. Claudio Yucot, commander of the 901st Infantry Brigade, said.

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DENR to push for integration of biodiversity conservation in National Adaptation Plan

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) will push for the integration of biodiversity conservation in the National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The crafting of the NAP is one of the commitments under the historic climate agreement forged in Paris, France, last month during the 21st session of the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Climate Change Commission, the country’s climate-change body, will take the lead in crafting the NAP. BMB Director Theresa Mundita Lim said that this year, the DENR-BMB will align all programs and activities related to biodiversity conservation to the recently forged Paris climate agreement, which primarily aims to reduce global carbon emissions to limit temperature increase below 2⁰C between 2020 up to 2030. Lim said the DENR-BMB will participate in the formulation of the NAP to make sure that biodiversity and ecosystem services are integrated in the plan. “What we are going to do this year is we will link our various programs and activities to the Paris agreement, but focusing more on ecosystem-based adaptation and mitigation,” Lim added. The Philippines vowed to reduce its carbon emission by 70 percent based on a business-as-usual scenario between 2020 and 2030 under its intended nationally determined contribution, but its commitment is largely dependent on the support it will get to finance various climatechange projects. “We will make sure that part of the National Adaptation Plan is our main asset, biodiversity and ecosystem services,” she said. The role of Protected Areas (PAs) in adaptation and mitigation, as well

as coral recovery and rehabilitation, which was given funding of P500 million for the first time this year, will all be aligned to the Paris agreement, she said. Lim added that the country’s Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which has been aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) approved during the United Nations General Assembly in September last year, will also be fine-tuned to be consistent with the NAP and the Paris agreement. The Paris agreement is more on climate, while the SDGs is more encompassing, as it includes various goals to ensure sustainable development, such as poverty, hunger, health and well-being, education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions, and partnerships for goals. “We will make sure that consciously, all our programs and activities will be integrated to be able to contribute to the Paris agreement,” she said. On coastal rehabilitation, more than providing livelihood support, it should be designed for resiliency to the impacts of climate change, Lim said. “ There are existing studies where we can take off from in implementing coral recovery and rehabilitation. We will coordinate with the academe to take stock of the data that is already available. We will also seek the help of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, to map out coral reefs across the country,” she said. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Colorado scientists develop fully recyclable, biodegradable plastic By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

CIENTISTS at the Colorado State University (CSU) have beaten other researchers in the race to develop a fully recyclable and biodegrable plastic, rendering petroleum-based polluting plastics obsolete. The researchers also undercut the work of US biotechnologists who have been coaxing fungi to produce plastic sheets in a process called biomimesis. This product could potentially reduce global pollution by preventing the dumping of nonbiodegradable plastics in sanitary landfills and the dumping grounds of computers and other gadgets in China, US, the Philippines and other countries. In 2013 the European Union (EU) estimated that hard plastic formed a significant volume of the electronic waste (e-waste) that comprised 25 percent of the waste exported to Africa and Asia for recycling. “The global volume of electronic waste is expected to grow by 33 percent in the next four years, when it will weigh the equivalent of eight of the great Egyptian pyramids, according to the UN’s Step initiative, which was set up to tackle the world's growing e-waste crisis. “Last year nearly 50 million metric tons of e-waste was generated worldwide—or about 7 kilograms for every person on the planet. These are electronic goods made up of hundreds of different materials and containing toxic substances, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and flame retardants,” the Guardian of

the United Kingdom reported on December 14, 2013. Recycling plastics and other metals in Guiya, Guangdong, the biggest landfill for e-waste, has led to many cancer cases among the workers sifting through the materials in search of copper, gold, zinc, berylllium, tantalum and rare earths. “Once in landfill, these toxic materials seep out into the environment, contaminating land, water and the air. In addition, devices are often dismantled in primitive conditions. Those who work at these sites suffer frequent bouts of illness,” Greenpeace said. Moreover, with the use of recyclable and biodegradable polymers developed by Prof. Eugene Chen and post-doctoral fellow Miao Hong at CSU, the huge pile of ewaste could be reduced substantially, with the plastics being used again and the metals in computers, cellular telephones and tablets retrieved with less waste. For his work on the completely recyclable and biodegradable plastic, Chen was recently bestowed the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge award. In their report to the November 23, 2015, issue of Nature Chemistry, Chen and Miao described the characteristics of the polyester that when simply reheated for an hour converts back to its original molecular building blocks and is, thus, ready for reuse. Biodegradable plastics have been around for some time, Chen noted, and most of them are made from the biomaterial polylactic acid but they are not fully recyclable.

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Turning Points: Global Agenda 2016 is a year-end package of opinion pieces and features, photos and cartoons covering events and trends in 2015 that will influence 2016 and beyond.

Sports TOO MUCH HEAT M BusinessMirror

A8 | Sun

day, January 3, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

IAMI—Miami jumped a slow-starting and inaccurate Dallas to set up a 106-82 win against the Mavericks on Friday, moving within one game of the lead in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Southeast Division. Hassan Whiteside had 25 points and 19 rebounds for the Heat, who were without an ill Dwyane Wade early, but still dominated. Elsewhere, Toronto rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Charlotte, and Chicago blew a big lead before steadying and beating New York. Miami’s Gerald Green added 19 points off the bench for Miami, which was forced to adjust its starting lineup shortly before tip-off, when Wade was stricken by flu-like symptoms. Wade got some intravenous fluids and checked in early in the second quarter, just his 10th time playing off the bench in his 13-year career. Whiteside made 12 of 16 shots, and the Heat enjoyed their biggest victory margin of the season. Dallas had only 10 points in the first quarter—its low for any period

this season—and shot just 36 percent for the game, compared to 56 percent for Miami. Zaza Pachulia’s 14 points and 13 rebounds were best for the Mavericks, who had won their previous four games. Toronto came from seven points down after three quarter to defeat Charlotte 104-94. DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, and Kyle Lowry added 18 points and 11 assists for the Raptors. Kemba Walker had 18 points for the Hornets. Chicago blew a 17-point lead before pulling away again in the final quarter to beat New York 108-81. Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, and Nikola Mirotic had 17 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who won comfortably despite Derrick Rose missing a second straight

Miami Heat forward Gerald Green dunks the ball over Dallas Mavericks forward Charlie Villanueva. AP

game with hamstring tendonitis. Carmelo Anthony scored 20 for New York, which has dropped five of six. Washington beat Orlando for

the 11th straight time, with John Wall contributing 24 points with 13 assists toward a 103-91 victory. Los Angeles’s Lou Williams scored 12 of his 24 points in the

fourth quarter against his former team to guide the Lakers to a 93-84 win against Philadelphia in a match of the league’s two worst teams. AP

CARLOS

Jobim banners crack field in PHL Amateur

OBIM CARLOS hopes to cap a remarkable amateur career with another victory in the country’s premier golf championship—the Philippine Amateur (Stroke Play) Open—which unwraps on Tuesday at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club’s Aoki course in General Trias, Cavite. Carlos outgunned Rupert Zaragosa in a thrilling backside duel to capture the crown last year, with the former University of San Francisco standout going all-out for a repeat and the needed boost to his much-awaited pro campaign starting in February. The ace shotmaker was actually set to join the pro ranks last year, even topping the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Qualifying School, but decided to stay as an amateur and further hone up for the grueling campaign in the big league. He made the grade again in last month’s PGT Q-School and teamed up with Inigo Raymundo to pocket the National Golf Association of the Philippines National Doubles Amateur crown at Aguinaldo last week. But Carlos will be facing a crack field in the upcoming 72-hole championship serving as the kickoff leg of this year’s National Amateur Golf Tour, with Zaragosa and 2014 winner LJ Go leading the local challenge.

SERENA STARTS TOUGH SEASON AT PERTH Subic hosts national age-group race T B RISBANE, Australia—There may be no tougher act to follow in any sport in 2016 than Serena Williams’s attempt to match her nearly perfect season of tennis last year. Williams, who won the first three majors in 2015 and lost in the US Open semifinals—26 consecutive wins in majors, just missing a calendar-year Grand Slam—will begin that attempt when she teams with Jack Sock for the American team at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Western Australia. The Americans play their first match on Monday against Ukraine. The tournament is part of the Australian Open Series that includes the Brisbane International, which begins on Sunday and includes defending champions Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, and next week’s Sydney International and Hobart International, culminating in the start of the Australian Open on January 18 at Melbourne Park. In between, Auckland, New Zealand, will also host separate women’s and men’s tournaments over the next two weeks. This week, Shenzen, China, hosts a Women’s Tennis Association tournament and Doha, Qatar, (Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the headliners) and Chennai, India, (with Stan Wawrinka) hold Association of Tennis Professionals events. Last year Williams began her 53-3, five-

After a dominating 2015, can Serena Williams do it again this year? AP

title season with a win over Sharapova in the Australian Open final. She followed that with a win on clay in the French Open and on grass at Wimbledon before losing in a shocking upset to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals. Williams and playing partner John Isner lost in the Hopman Cup final last year. Her singles opponent in Perth on Monday, Elina Svitolina, is winless in three matches

against Williams, who was named Associated Press female athlete of 2015. The Ukrainian, who will team with Alexandr Dolgopolov, says it’s always best to try to get to Williams early in a match. “Sometimes she starts slowly,” Svitolina said. “It makes it really tough because you never know if she’s going to serve an ace, or a double fault, or it’s going to be a normal point.”

Andy Murray and Heather Watson representing Britain, also play their opening match Monday against France’s Caroline Garcia and Kenny De Schepper. The Hopman Cup begins on Sunday when the Australia Green team—Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova—play Germany’s Sabine Lisicki and Alexander Zverev. In the other match, the Australia Gold team, featuring Lleyton Hewitt, who will retire after the Australian Open, and Jarmila Gajdosova, play Karolina Pliskova and Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic. At Brisbane, top-seeded Federer and second-seeded Kei Nishikori are among those with first-round byes, while Sharapova will play fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in a replay of last year’s Australian Open semifinal. “For a first match, it’s a pretty highquality match against a pretty tough opponent,” Sharapova said. Sharapova and top-seeded Simona Halep are both in the top half of the Brisbane draw. Halep, after a first-round bye, could face two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who plays a qualifier in the first round, in the second round. Garbine Muguruza is the No. 2 seed. Sharapova said the hot and humid weather in subtropical Brisbane is the perfect preparation for the often scorching conditions in Melbourne during the Australian Open. AP

MANNING: BOTH TRANSCENDENT AND THROWBACK D

ENVER—Not since he was a skinny 18-year-old freshman at the University of Tennessee has Peyton Manning served as a backup. With his longtime understudy Brock Osweiler making his seventh-straight start for the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Manning will be the No. 2 quarterback for the first time since replacing an injured Todd Helton against Mississippi State University on September 24, 1994. That’s 7,772 days. A fourth interception in a loss to Kansas City in mid-November, and a searing jolt of pain in his left foot, brought a premature end to Manning’s day and maybe even his magnificent career. Manning, who remains tied with Brett Favre for most regular season wins—186—by a starting quarterback, spent the next six weeks in street clothes before being able to suit up again. His legacy, though, was on display in every

single National Football League (NFL) game played during his absence. Like Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White on defense, or Jerry Rice and Don Hutson at wide receiver, Manning changed the game itself. “He was on the forefront of basically a revolution in the way offenses are run in the NFL,” Joe Theismann said. “His footprint was bigger than just the cities he played in. He transformed the position. The style of offense that he ran in Indianapolis was revolutionary and nobody ever figured out how to stop it there—or in Denver. “The only thing that’s basically slowed Peyton Manning down was Father Time.” Whether he’s back in the shotgun this month or next season hollering out “Omaha!” No. 18 has left an indelible imprint on America’s most popular sport. And on Madison Avenue. His dry wit and star power have been a staple of late-night television and 30-second commercials for nearly two decades. And when he stepped onto the gridiron as the top

overall draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998, Manning was equal parts transcendent and throwback. A pioneer in the way, he deciphered defenses and directed play at the line of scrimmage, pacing from tackle to tackle, pointing and hollering, he became a model for every quarterback who’s come along since. He was at the vanguard of the aerial fireworks shows that light up today’s scoreboards and big screen TVs. “From the sense of quarterbacks, he’s been fast-paced, no-huddle, dynamic offense, score a lot of points, and score quickly,” said his brother, Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl winner for the New York Giants. “Now you see that more. More teams are doing it. The Colts kind of started that trend and did it well for a long time.” So did the Broncos, where Manning threw 140 of his NFL-high 539 touchdown passes, including a record 55 in 2013. Manning was also old-school in the way he

served as his own de facto play caller, endearing him to the players of a previous epoch, noted former safety John Lynch, whose playing career spanned Manning’s arrival. Lynch called the five-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) a “genuine game changer,” and said he’s among the biggest reasons the NFL is so popular. “I started in 1993, my preseason went like this: Marino, Elway, Kelly, and then we opened against the Chiefs and Joe Montana. So, I caught that era, and now I caught this current era,” Lynch said. “And so much of your opinion of who’s the best ever is how you fared against them, and my teams never fared well against Peyton Manning. He was always one step ahead of us.” Manning was never the best athlete, but his off-the-charts preparation and otherworldly recall made him rise above the rest, DeMarcus Ware suggested. “He beat you mentally,” said Ware, who came to Denver for the chance to play

HE Subic Bay Freeport Zone will welcome hundreds of triathletes who will converge at the ACEA Subic Bay (formerly Sands of Triboa) on February 21, for the 2016 National Age-Group Triathlon (NAGT) and the Philippine National Games (PNG) Triathlon Finals. The two-in-one event, organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), will see the participation of 87 PNG finalists (45 men and 42 women), competing alongside with members of the national team in a standard distance of 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run race, which will determine the national champions for 2016. Age-groupers in the event, sponsored by the PSC, ACEA Subic Bay, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines, Century Tuna, Harbor Point Ayala Mall, Ocean Adventure, Camayan Resort and Lighthouse Marina Resort, will vie in their respective categories in the standard distance,

sprint distance (750-meter swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run) and mini-sprint (500-meter swim, 16-km bike and 2.5-km run) contests. Among them are 2015’s top 15 men and top 15 women from last season’s events in Subic Bay, Sipalay and Cagayan de Oro. At stake for event winners are especially designed medals and gift items. Meanwhile, PNG champions in the men and women categories will get a chance to become members of the national team. The Philippines, meanwhile, made it to the list of Developed National Federations for Technical Officials and Coaches based on the year-end report of the Asian Triathlon Confederation that was published recently. The national athletes are classified as developing with the recent two-gold medal haul in the June 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore and a couple of first-place finishes in Pariaman Duathlon in Indonesia and Singapore International Triathlon.

YEAR’S BEST The awardees in bowling and badminton pose for a class picture after the recognition night of Team Prima at the V Corporate Centre in Makati City.

with Manning after Dallas released him. “That was his guide: Physically, you might be faster than me, you might be more athletic than me, but I’m going to outsmart you every time.” Manning’s work ethic and machinations at the line allowed him to find the underbelly of any defensive formation, adjust accordingly, and deliver the pass with precision. Broncos guard Evan Mathis also came to Denver to play with Manning, and he said the passer’s perfectionist style was infectious. “You have your natural leaders, and he is in that category. You’re not only learning schematics or on-the-field stuff, but you’re learning and seeing proper habits,” Mathis said.

“That kind of stuff is contagious.” Theismann said Manning’s “understanding of the game and work ethic were at the highest standard. He was the barometer by which so many measured excellences in the league. Brock’s had literally the best seat in the house to be able to learn.” Indeed, Osweiler said, “There’s not a day that’s gone by since I’ve been in the league that I haven’t learned something from Peyton.” Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas said he, too, has been blessed to work with Manning, because “when you see him on the field, you want to be perfect, too. And before long, you’re better than you thought you could be.” AP