Businessmirror march 15, 2015

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

U.N. Media Award 2008

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business

n Sunday, March 15, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 157

International bank warns against fast-rising US dollar

week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW

Foreign exchange

n Previous week: The local currency followed a relatively sharp deceleration path in the previous week, falling from March 6’s 44.09 to a dollar, down to 44.21 to a dollar on Monday’s trading start. The peso further declined in value in the next days—at 44.27 to a dollar on Tuesday and 44.43 against the US currency on Wednesday. The peso then slightly corrected to hit 44.25 to a dollar on Thursday, and ended the week at 44.3 to a dollar on Friday, about 21 centavos weaker compared to the same day in the previous week. The total traded volume is at $3.16 billion from March 9 to 13, accelerating from the trading volume seen in the previous week at $2.28 billion.

n Week ahead: The movements in the currency-trading market will still be largely influenced by external forces in the week ahead with a deceleration bias. Bank of the Philippine Islands Asset Management told its clients that excess liquidity from Europe may find its way to the Philippines as foreign investors look for higher returns. The players in the market are also seen to take cue from the federal meeting later this week.

Balance of payments (February 2015)

March 19, Thursday

n Previous BOP: The country’s balance of payments (BOP)—or the summary of the Philippines’s transaction against the rest of the world—hit a surplus of $136 million in the first month of 2015. This is a steep reversal from the $4.48-billion deficit seen in the same month last year. The surplus was attributed to the strong tourism and business-process outsourcing receipts, as well as the country’s usual external stronghold—the overseas Filipino workers’ remittances.

n February 2015 BOP: The country’s BOP in February is expected to sustain its surplus in the second month of the year, as early indicators— such as foreign portfolio investments and the trend of remittances—yield positive numbers. Earlier, BSP officials also reiterated that the country is on its way to meeting the $1-billion surplus expectation set for 2015. Also, in a separate news statement, ING Bank economist Joey Cuyegkeng said that the country’s low value of oil imports this year may push the Philippines’s currentaccount surplus to exceed by about $1 billion to 2 billion. The current account is one of the biggest components of the country’s BOP. Bianca Cuaresma

T

By Bianca Cuaresma

HE fast-rising value of the US dollar against currencies in the Asian region may post a two-way risk for economies in Asia, an international banking giant warned over the weekend.

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) said in its commentary on the region that the “fast climbing” dollar presents a growth problem in the current environment in Asia.

Luckily for the Philippines, HSBC said the country is largely insulated from the risks of the dollar, owing to its strong dollar-reserve position “that proved to grow even stronger amid the turbulent conditions in the external front.”

“The rising dollar, however, hurts in two ways. First, foreign investors holding local debt will ask for

T

he local partner of the two European firms that submitted a P4.64-billion unsolicited proposal to upgrade the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 claims that its offer is superior than the other rehabilitation offers that the government has received so far.

It is even better, Comm Builders and Technology Phils. Corp.

(CB&T) President Roehl B. Bacar said, than the one the government is currently implementing.

“We are the only company to present the most comprehensive proposal to upgrade the MRT,” he said in an interview. “Our proposal is also P100-million cheaper than the approved budget for contract of the government.”

The proposal, which was submitted by Schunk Bahn- und Industrietechnik GmbH and HEAG Mobilo GmbH to the transportation department on February 25, seeks to place the whole train system under a massive transformation program to augment its capacity and to provide a safe and comfortable travel to commuters from the northern and southern

PESO exchange rates n US 44.2710

The paradox of America’s electoral reform

higher interest rates. Second, servicing of foreign-currency-denominated debt [mostly issued in dollars] becomes more costly. That’s not exactly what Asia needs right now…. Rather, in the current environment, the stronger dollar presents a growth problem. That’s it,” HSBC said.

Amid the assessment, HSBC said that in some economies— such as the Philippines—foreignexchange reserves comfortably cover short-term external debt, citing the country’s improvement in recent years.

See “Dollar,” A2

CB&T proposal ‘best offer’ yet to rehabilitate MRT 3

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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

corridors of Metro Manila.

The proposal calls for the complete overhaul of the 73 light-rail vehicles of the MRT; the replacement of the rails; the upgrading of the line’s ancillary system; the upgrade of the track circuit and signaling systems; the modernization of the conveyance system; and a three-year maintenance contract.

All these amount to P4.67 billion, a little less than the P4.76-billion MRT modernization program that included the aforesaid components.

“The problems and the solutions are outlined here in our proposal,” Bacar said, noting that one of the main issues that the train line is currently facing is the physical state of the rails.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, Bacar added, is not too lukewarm to the proposal, quoting the Cabinet official as saying that his office will continue to welcome unsolicited proposal with caution.

“He said during the congressional hearing that the department will study it,” Bacar said.

His group, the company official said, is planning to remake the MRT Line 3, instead of simply improving the state of the line. Several components will be replaced with high-technology devices and Continued on A2

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he United States presidential-election process matters to the world for two reasons. First, the world’s only global power will be increasingly self-absorbed, and the sitting president—already weakened by the opposition party controlling both houses of Congress— is increasingly limited in what he can do. This is disturbing in some ways, since all presidential elections contain visions of the apocalypse that will follow the election of an opponent. During the US election season, the world hears a litany of self-denigration and self-loathing that can be frightening emanating from a country that produces nearly a quarter of the world’s wealth each year and commands the world’s oceans. GlobalEye»C2

Oil is on its way down again; will gasoline prices follow?

By Jonathan Fahey The Associated Press

N

EW YORK—The price of oil is tumbling again, rattling an already-shaken oil industry and heralding lower prices for consumers.

The price of oil fell 10 percent this week, approaching its lowest price in six years. Many expect it to fall further in the coming weeks, because supplies are rising and the summer driving season is still months away.

The lower crude prices will mean gasoline prices will slide lower in the coming weeks, and many drivers will likely pay under $2 a gallon in the summertime for the first time since 2004.

See “Oil,” A2

Fuel prices over the years National and Mississippi average unleaded gas price per gallon.

2015 average National: $2.16

$4.0 3.0

2000 average National: $1.50

2.0 1.0

Mississippi: $2.00 Mississippi: $1.45 ’00

’02

’04

’06

’08

’10

’12

’14 ’15

Source: Automobile Club of Southern California Graphic: Ashley Dunn, Kyle Kim, Los Angeles Times/TNS

n japan 0.3651 n UK 65.9594 n HK 5.7001 n CHINA 7.0693 n singapore 32.0549 n australia 34.1334 n EU 47.0955 n SAUDI arabia 11.8043 Source: BSP (13 March 2015)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, March 15, 2015

news@businessmirror.com.ph

CB&T proposal ‘best offer’ yet to rehabilitate MRT 3 Dollar... unsolicited proposal and subject it to a competitive challenge.

“It’s only fair to place this in a Swiss challenge, anybody can do this,” he said.

Other companies have also submitted their own versions of the MRT modernization program.

The group of businessman Robert John L. Sobrepeña is proposing to do a “quick fix” solution to make the train system safe for public transport.

Together with foreign firms Sumitomo Corp. of Japan and Globalvia Infrastructuras of Spain, Metro Global Holdings Inc. is proposing to “fix” the ailing system through a $150-million investment that involves the procurement of a total of 96 new train cars, and the rehabilitation of the existing 73 coaches, increasing its capacity by fourfold to 1.2 million daily passengers.

Under the proposal, a single point of responsibility will be implemented, meaning the rehabilitation and the maintenance of the line will

continued from A1

equipment, especially the power supply and the rails.

“Systematically, we can do everything in the given period of three years,” he said. “Once the parts come in, we can start upgrading the train system.”

Currently, the government is in the process of rolling out a P9.7billion multiyear venture to overhaul the line. The complete makeover is expected to be done within the term of President Aquino.

The State, through the Department of Transportation and Communications, is bidding out separate contracts for each component of the MRT 3.

“The scheme is chaotic in terms of project management,” Bacar said, referring to the government’s decision to implement the multiyear program in separate contracts. “When it is integrated by one entity, there is project planning.”

Hence, he said, the government should consider the group’s

‘Power of the Purse’... shall be fully and automatically released, together with the corresponding Notice of Cash Allocation, by the DBM, at the start of the calendar year, without condition, limitation or restriction.

3. The Senate and the House shall enjoy flexibility in the utilization of funds appropriated for their operations.

4. The Senate President and the Speaker of the House, in accordance with the authority granted to them under the Constitution to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations, and

continued from A8

within the limits provided by accounting and auditing rules and regulations may use their savings for the incurrence of obligations that will enhance the operations and services of their respective offices.

5. The Senate President and the Speaker of the House, in accordance with the authority granted to them under the Constitution to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations, may fix and determine the salaries, allowances and other benefits of their officials and employees and determine and address the bud-

be handled by a single company.

Separately, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is proposing to shoulder the upgrade costs of the train system and release the government from the bondage of paying billions of pesos in equity rental payments.

The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, which earlier entered into a partnership agreement with the corporate owner of the MRT 3, intends to spend $524 million to overhaul the line.

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

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

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

The proposals are still at the mercy of the transportation de-

partment, but the government seems to be lukewarm to these socalled unsolicited proposals.

“They are all working on the budget, as we are working on the technical aspects,” Bacar noted.

Ultimately, the government is keen on buying out the private-sector partner in the MRT contract, pursuing a P54-billion takeover of the train 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 privatesector efficiency and customerservice orientation for operational needs, while retaining regulatory functions for passenger protection with the government.

The train system 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.

getary requirements of their personnel, committees and service units as they may deem necessary given the exigencies and in the best interest of the service.

6. Unexpended year-end balances of approved appropriations for the Senate and the House shall remain valid and shall continue to be available for expenditure until fully spent. Cash allocations to the Senate and the House shall remain under their control and accountability, subject to accounting and auditing rules and regulations. Unexpended balances of the NCSs prior to their lapsing may be transferred to an authorized local bank account in the name of the Senate or the House.

7. Fees, receipts and income received by the Senate and the House from other

sources shall be deposited in an authorized local bank to be made available for any function, projects and activity.”

8. Subject to accounting and auditing laws and rules, both Houses may adapt rules and regulations governing allocations, expenditure and utilization of funds appropriated for their operations.

The resolution also reiterated the need to implement the separation of powers, which recognizes that the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary are supreme within their own spheres and have exclusive cognizance of matter within their respective jurisdictions.

“Thus, one branch may not encroach on the domain or exercise the powers of the others,” the resolution said.

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST MARCH 15, 2015 | SUNDAY

TODAY’S WEATHER

MAR 16 MONDAY

MAR 17 TUESDAY

METRO MANILA

21 – 31°C

22 – 31°C

TUGUEGARAO

21 – 31°C

21 – 32°C

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) in February this year hit $81.34 billion, registering the third consecutive month that the international reserves of the country have risen compared to the previous month’s level.

In particular, February’s GIR is higher than the $80.72-billion level seen in January this year, and also from the $80.54 billion seen in February last year.

At this level, the country’s short-term external debt hits a little over 10 percent of the total GIR of the country. This means that the Philippines has the lowest short-term external debt as a

Oil...

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 21– 30°C

third-biggest one-year increase in the history of the global oil industry, according to BP.

That has pushed oil levels in storage to their highest ever in the US and far higher than normal around the world. Analysts expect supplies to continue to build, forcing prices gradually lower, until refiners ramp up to make gasoline for the summer driving season.

But analysts say price of oil could fall sharply—to under $40 a barrel and perhaps even briefly to $20—if supplies grow so much that storage tanks fill up.

Gasoline prices rise nearly every year around this time. This year has been no different. After reaching a low of $2.03 a gallon in late January, the national average retail price rose every day for more than a month, reaching $2.46 on March 7, according to AAA.

MAR 16 3-DAY MONDAY EXTENDED FORECAST

MAR 17 TUESDAY

MAR 18 WEDNESDAY

22 – 32°C

METRO CEBU

23 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

21 – 30°C

22 – 32°C

TACLOBAN

21 – 32°C

22 – 32°C

21 – 30°C

22 – 32°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO

SBMA/CLARK 22 – 32°C METRO MANILA 22 – 30°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 19 – 27°C

22 – 30°C

22 – 31°C

20 – 31°C

21 – 31°C

21 – 31°C

23 – 33°C

23 – 34°C

24 – 34°C

23 – 33°C

23 – 34°C

23 – 34°C

BAGUIO

14 – 24°C

14 – 24°C

14 – 25°C

METRO DAVAO

SBMA/ CLARK

22 – 32°C

23 – 32°C

23 – 33°C

ZAMBOANGA

TUGUEGARAO CITY 20 – 31°C

BAGUIO CITY 13 – 24°C

TAGAYTAY

20 – 27°C

20 – 28°C

LEGAZPI ILOILO/ BACOLOD 23 – 32°C METRO CEBU 23 – 31°C

TACLOBAN CITY 22 – 31°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 21 – 31°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

23 – 30°C

24 – 31°C

SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

MOONRISE

6:04 AM

6:06 PM

1:00 PM

1:13 AM

19 – 29°C

LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 29°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

continued from A1

Oil prices had appeared to stabilize in a range nearly 15 percent higher than the depths they had reached in late January. But on Friday the International Energy Agency (IEA) called a recent rise in oil prices a “head fake” and a “façade of stability.”

“The rebalancing [of supply and demand] triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course,” the agency wrote in its monthly oilmarket report.

On Friday, oil fell $2.21, or 5 percent, to $44.84 a barrel, within 40 cents of its low for the year of $44.45. Here’s what’s behind the recent drop, and what else to look out for in the coming months.

Oil has collapsed from over $100 because rising global supplies—especially in the US—outpaced weak demand. The increase in US production last year was the

MAR 18 WEDNESDAY

percentage of foreign-exchange reserves in the region, HSBC data showed.

The Philippines’s latest shortterm debt standing is also an improvement from the country’s 2007 short-term external debt ratio to GIR, which hit above 20 percent about eight years ago.

At present, HSBC data showed that Malaysia has the highest percentage of short-term foreign debt in the region, with above 90 percent of its GIR.

The Philippine Dealing System showed that the local currency traded at 44.3 to a dollar at the end of the trading week, depreciating from 44.249 against the US dollar in the previous day’s trade.

WEAK NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON (AS OF MARCH 14, 5:00 AM)

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.

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 22 – 31°C

continued from A1

23 – 29°C

HALF MOON NEW MOON

SOUTH HARBOR

MAR 14

1:48 AM

23 – 31°C

24 – 32°C

23 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

23 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

MAR 20 5:36 PM

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rainshowers

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

METRO DAVAO 22 – 32°C

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

www.panahon.tv

SABAH CELEBES SEA

12:48 AM

0.01 METER

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

Partly cloudy skies

ZAMBOANGA CITY 22 – 33°C

LOW TIDEMANILA HIGH TIDE

@PanahonTV

4:39 PM

0.90 METER

EconomySunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 15, 2015 A3

House urged to investigate ‘overpricing’ of airline tickets

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lawmaker has called for a congressional inquiry into the alleged “overpricing” of airline tickets in the country.

In House Resolution 1960, Rep. Ronald V. Singson of the First District of Ilocos Sur, said a congressional investigation should be conducted to determine if the airlines spikes in airfare pricing are justifiable.

“An explanation must be given as regards to these massively over-

priced airline tickets by the airline companies in order to prevent an injustice to our people, who wish to get their money’s worth,” Singson said.

Citing a current reading of the market prices of airline tickets to local destinations, such as Kalibo and Caticlan, en route to Boracay

Island, the price for tickets on high demand dates, particularly on Labor Day weekend, are greatly overpriced as compared to those of other dates.

Singson said that, because of such overpricing, many potential local tourists have expressed their desire to take a trip outside the country instead, given that the prices for such travel are much lower compared to going to local destinations.

“It is understandable that some prices can go up because of the law of supply and demand, but the Filipino people would like to know why prices become double or triple even when the flights are scheduled only

days apart,” Singson stressed.

He said that the preference for overseas destinations over local destinations will deprive many of the local businesses the chance to earn through tourist visits.

He lamented that many local and foreign tourists now prefer to go across Southeast Asia, instead of going to local destinations because of sudden spikes in airfares and, thus, causes a loss of potential customers and clients for local businesses.

The resolution directs the House committees on Transportation, Tourism and Legislative Franchises to conduct an inquiry. PNA

ATI allots P2.8-B capex for Manila, Batangas ports expansion

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

L

ISTED port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) has earmarked P2.8 billion in capital expenditures this year to bankroll the expansion of its terminals in Manila and Batangas.

A filing to the local bourse showed that the capital investments, which will be sourced from internally generated funds, is higher than the P2.2-billion requirements that was

announced in 2014.

“The planned capital expenditures will be used to acquire more container-handling equipment, upgrade port systems and technologies and develop new container storage areas within the Manila South Harbor expanded port zone and the Batangas Port,” the disclosure read.

It also reported to the stock exchange that its net profit stood at P1.9 billion as of end-December, a 58-percent rise from P1.2 billion

the year prior.

The rise in earnings was driven by the “robust growth of cargoes at Batangas Port along with foreignexchange gains.”

Revenues also grew by 25 percent to P8.24 billion, from P6.57 billion the previous year “due to the higher international containerized cargo volumes in Batangas Container Terminal, the higher noncontainerized volumes handled in Port of Batangas and the higher revenues from Inland

Clearance Depot.”

In 2014 Batangas Container Terminal handled a record-volume of over 98,000 twenty-footer equivalent units of international containers, increasing by over 750 percent from 2013.

The Batangas Port also remained as South Luzon’s biggest passenger port and preferred gateway for imported completely built-up car units, as well as bulk and breakbulk cargoes.

Manila Water seen to cut rates next month

By Roderick L. Abad

M

ANILA Water customers will see a reduction of rates in their bills next month, after the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) had approved the water distributor’s foreign-currency differential adjustment (FCDA).

The Ayala-led company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday that the approved FCDA for their rates will be P0.05 per cubic meter starting April 1.

This is P0.31 per cubic meter, less than the P0.36 per cubic meter in the previous quarter.

The adjustment is based on the exchange rates of $1:P44.6044 and ¥1:P0.3764, Manila Water said.

“The FCDA component of the water bill of Manila Water customers will be adjusted to 0.18 percent of the basic charge for the second quarter of 2015,” the utility firm said in the disclosure.

It will translate to more than P1 reduction in the water bills of customers using 20 cubic meters a month.

MWSS added that the FCDA is a “tariff mechanism

formulated to account for foreign-exchange losses or gains arising from the payment by Manila Water of concession loans and foreign-currencydenominated borrowings of the MWSS, as well as loans of Manila Water for service expansion and improvement of its services.”

The East Zone water concessionaire, likewise, noted that the FCDA has no impact on its projected net income.

Manila Water reported a slight increase in consolidated net income last year to P5.82 billion, or 1 percent higher than P5.75 billion in 2013.

Combined revenues for the 12 months ending December 31, 2014, also grew to P16.36 billion, up 3 percent from P15.93 billion in the same period two years ago.

The improved financial results could be attributed to higher bills volume and water service connections within its concession areas in Metro Manila, as well as in Boracay, Laguna, Clark and Vietnam.

Total billed volume rose by 12 percent to 671.2 million cubic meters (mcm) in 2014 from 599.4 mcm two years ago.

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, March 15, 2015

editorial

Export expansion as the way to go

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E have, at every opportunity, pushed for export expansion as a driving force of our national economic policy for the reason that export expansion is one of the easiest ways to develop an economy, create employment and generate income.

That is a reason we have argued for the reactivation of our diplomatic and economic relations with good old Mother Spain, Mexico and other Latin-American countries, including Cuba and, geopolitics notwithstanding, China. We have supported the export of halal products to Islamic populations in various countries.

Countries and autonomous areas, like South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, until recently called the newly industrializing economies, saw their development initiated, accelerated and sustained by exports. China is the most recent example of export-driven growth, emerging from the bottom of the development totem pole to now the world’s second-largest economy, all in a period of 35 years.

One can argue that export-oriented policies propelled those economies to high growth rates, because the rest of the world in that period was on a high growth path, receptive to exports from developing countries, but that period is over. Now, the industrial countries are battling a depression, hardly in a position to absorb exports from the least-developed countries.

There is a point there. In fact, our own Department of Trade and Industry thinks our exports might not expand as fast this year as we thought they should, because of an unreceptive global environment. The more critical point is that, however big we think we are, we are a small country, and our export-expansion efforts will hardly matter to the absorptive capacities of the industrial world. With only a bit of exaggeration, we can say we can export as much as we can.

That growth opportunities are there for our exports is confirmed by current events. Last December the Philippines was given beneficiary status under the European Union’s (EU) Generalized System of Preferences (EU GSP), a scheme that allows the export of 6,274 products to any of the 28 members of the bloc, at zero tariff, for a period of 10 years. In addition, the country was given access to the EU’s Geographical Indications (GI) scheme, under which products that carry unique features specifically attributable to their geographical origin enjoy additional privileges.

Most of the zero-tariff products are related to food, and the Philippines produces much of them.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Guy Ledoux recently called on the Philippines to maximize its benefits from the GSP and the GI schemes.

On this point, the consultation-dialogue carried out by Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz with members of the Socsargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries in General Santos City early this week is extremely important. Baldoz called on tuna industry players to pursue reforms in their labor practices and make sure that these are aligned with international standards. Tuna products are one of the zero-tariff products under the EU GSP. Failure in this respect might prejudice our participation in the EU schemes.

When an industry expands, it also increases the number of people it employs, or else it increases the remuneration of its existing employees through overtime and related pay schemes.

One way or another, it increases employment and/or increases the income of the labor force.

This is the opportunity for accelerated growth and improved income distribution that export expansion offers us. Let us not allow it to slip away from our grasp.

Dan Loeb takes on Japan’s mega-bot O Bloomberg View William Pesek

Gospel

Sunday, March 15, 2015

BSESSIVELY secretive Fanuc has a love-hate relationship with hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb. The Japanese robot maker no doubt appreciates the billionaire investor’s many compliments, including “reminds us of Apple in its product approach.” It just as surely abhors the media spotlight, never mind being told what to do by some loud foreigner—or gaijin, as the Japanese say.

Four weeks ago, Loeb’s hedge fund, Third Point, started a public campaign demanding changes at the Yamanashi-based company.

It’s having some effect, in ways Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would be wise to encourage and facilitate on the legislative front.

Founded in 1972 by the father of its current president, Yoshiharu Inaba, Fanuc has long been a corporate black box. Outsiders are rarely allowed near its campus on the slopes of Mount Fuji, where, 24/7 in windowless factories, legions of yellow robots make more robots. My Bloomberg News colleague Jason Clenfield, who has been inside Fortress Fanuc’s walls, reports e-mail is mostly banned for its 5,300 employees. Fear of hackers and computer viruses means business is often done by fax. Japan’s 10th-biggest company by market value holds no conference calls with analysts and has no investor-relations department.

To many Japanese, Fanuc’s attitude is a source of pride and nostalgia for a time when their corporate samurai were free to do things the Japanese way. To Loeb, it’s an anachronistic example of the opaque Japan of old that Tokyo

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must rein in to boost competitiveness. One can quibble with Loeb’s grab-a-stake-and-demand-change approach, but he’s getting results.

Last month Inaba unveiled plans to invest more than $1 billion in new plants and researchand- development. On Fr id ay Fanuc raised the ante with talk of increasing dividends, opening a shareholder-relations arm and meeting with stock owners. Small beer to punters in New York or London, but important progress for Japan at an ideal moment—as Abe works to tighten his nation’s notoriously loose corporate governance.

This is still a place where virtually all annual shareholder meetings are held on the same day to limit attendance. Independent directors are rare on corporate boards; non-Japanese and women are ever rarer. Courts remain biased against private-equity firms, while takeover defenses like cross-shareholdings abound.

All that gives CEOs a free hand to build corporate empires at the expense of shareholders and the return on investments Westerners hold so dear. Abe is trying to pass legislation to impose a more international code of conduct on Japan Inc. Even if it lacks teeth or imagination, passage would mark progress.

The timing of Loeb’s Fanuc campaign couldn’t be better. Even though Sony ignored his demands to sell assets—he announced in October that Third Point sold its stake in the onetime electronics behemoth—Fanuc is proving to be surprisingly receptive to calls

nd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who

for greater shareholder returns.

Although Fanuc denies the Loeb effect, it’s plenty clear that the black-ships dynamic is prying open Fanuc’s black box. The reference here is to Commo. Matthew Perry’s black-hulled fleet that in the 1850s cruised into Edo (now Tokyo) Bay, opening Japan for trade and dragging it into a fastglobalizing world.

In recent decades, a succession of would-be Perry imitators tried and failed to extract greater value from Japan Inc. Billionaire T. Boone Pickens was among the first. The Texas oil tycoon who helped pioneer the hostile-takeover game in the 1980s met his match with Toyota supplier Koito Manufacturing. Pickens gave up in 1991, after losing a battle to gain a board seat. In the years to come, his experience was shared

by Warren Lichtenstein of Steel Partners and Britain’s Children’s Investment Fund. In 2008 thenEuropean Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson derided Japan as the developed world’s “most closed market.”

Loeb’s budding success hints change may be afoot. Granted, it could end badly, with Fanuc ultimately telling Loeb to bug off and Japan Inc. circling the wagons. But this moment is an opportunity for Abe to use the bully pulpit to get his corporate-governance measures enacted. If the insular graybeards who dominate executive suits object, show them the money: Fanuc’s stock surged 13 percent on Friday, the highest level since the company listed in 1976.

Bring on those black ships.

does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.— John 3:14-21

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, March 15, 2015 A5

Married to Christ P Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

OPE Francis, bishop of Rome, along with bishops here, urges Catholics to attend the Congress on Prayer this Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena; a first event of its kind and one of several leading up to the fifth centenary on March 28 of the birth of Teresa de Ávila, one of the great mystics of any religion and a doctor of the Church.

The first could have been predicted.

It was said that she had what the Arabs called the quality of duende: full-blooded, flamenco, gypsy-like; rooted in flesh, yet

easily transported in spirit.

She was beautiful and mischievous; indulged by her parents, willful and a bit spoiled. She was haunted by the humiliation of a Jewish grandfather, who was paraded naked in the streets of Toledo by the Inquisition; yet, she thrilled to the adventures of her five brothers, who were conquistadores in the conquest of New Spain—Peru, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia.

She grew to become a desirable bride, of whom it was rightly pre-

dicted that, with her fine mind, shapely legs and ample dowry, she would marry whomsoever she chose in an age of arranged marriages.

And so, as befitting her rank and talent, she chose no less than the King of Heaven, to be worthy of whom she hoped and despaired; recording her struggle in what Tessa Bielecki calls the “raw” and “refreshing” Book of My Life, the title of her autobiography.

Bernini’s sculpture of Teresa in ecstasy, penetrated by rays of divin-

ity, celebrates the rare and fleeting union of a bride with Christ.

I know next to nothing about her, though I have been to the castle town of Ávila, which is reached by crossing the surrounding desert, which is ringed by mountains— like the stark approaches to her Interior Castle. Sadly, all I took away were two boxes of moist, not overly sweet, best yema balls in the world.

Even Francis waxes more eloquently about another Thérèse of Liseux; as if dancing around but fearful to come too close to the

formidable figure of a woman who represents the intractable Jewish spirit of Catholic Spain.

She is said to have said, “More tears are shed over answered prayers,” from which Truman Capote took the title of his last failed book. But her words only seem to contradict her promise that, “if you speak with God as with a father, brother or lord, or as with a spouse, He will teach you what to do”—how to get it, I guess, or maybe choose better. I don’t know.

You find out.

A radical approach to global citizenship education

By Wayne Hudson InterPress Service

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RISBANE—Although global citizenship education has now received the recognition it deserves, much of the literature recycles old agendas under another name—“education to promote peace and justice,” “sustainability,’ “care for the environment,” “multifaith” and “multicultural understanding”—and so forth.

Another literature proposes that children learn specific global knowledges: world history, global ethics, global law, etc. In my view, these approaches do not grasp the revolution that global citizenship involves.

They do not rise to the level of the times and promote an approach to education which is radical enough to bring about the changes which are needed. There is also a problem about the tendency for some advocates of global citizenship education to promote political and social activism under another name.

Finally, there is a major problem about the way global citizenship education tends to be presented in Western terms, heavily indebted to the European Enlightenment. I propose an approach to global citizenship education which is much more radical and involves a new conceptuality of pedagogical practice.

Clearly, I would not argue for a global citizenship education that ignores the achievements of the

West or the rich heritage of the European Enlightenment. Equally, however, global citizenship education cannot be education in the Enlightenment ideology of the West.

It cannot ignore the substantive claims of Islam. It cannot pretend that Russian Orthodoxy is some sort of private option and that the Russian Federation is a secular nation state. And it must relate to the actual diversities—political, cultural and ethical—found around the world, if it is not to be yet another example of educational utopianism with only limited impact on the ground.

Global citizenship education cannot be simply Western, and it must relate to children living in poor countries and in rural environments, and not only to the children of urban elites. Many current forms of global citizenship education do not seem to address their needs.

First, it needs to make a postsecular leap and reconcile moderate secularity with a recognition of nonmundane performances in both public and private life. This represents a rejection of American ideology about “the public square” or “the public sphere.”

It reconnects with real-world realities, and involves a model of global citizenship education, which takes different spiritual perspectives seriously at the level of religious citizenship, at the level of human rights, and at the level

of the role of the state.

Pious declarations which simply recite Western Enlightenment mantras about these matters will fail in practice in the Islamic world and Russia. They may not even recommend themselves to Islamic minorities in Western Europe. In the longer term they may not be implemented in practice in much of Asia, including India, Burma and China.

To this extent, global citizenship needs to be more global than most writers on global citizenship education currently envisage. It needs to take cultural, religious and civilizational differences much more seriously than is currently the case.

What is at issue here is not particularism, or an irrational form of cultural relativism, but an approach that addresses actual heterogeneities and real world contexts and does not rely on Kantian moral philosophy, or on AngloAmerican political philosophy.

‘Global’ cannot mean Anglosaxon or even European. A global approach must both respect, and to a degree explain, differences, and this implies the need for more powerful concepts than individual traditions traditionally provided.

This leads on to the second leap.

In my view, global citizenship education also needs to make a leap toward a new conceptuality: one that can encompass histori-

cal and historical particularities, while also creating portability across cultures and nation-states.

This is a strong claim, and one with which educationists around the world are relatively unfamiliar, even though it is possible that nothing less will adequately traverse the world of electronic media, especially social media, or allow an integration of the sciences with the humanities and the fine arts.

A new global conceptuality is not on offer in educational institutions at present, and it does not inform most thinking on educational development. This is partly because the type of thinking involved is more commonly found among mathematicians, physicists and philosophers than among professors of education.

However, it may not be that difficult to produce and exemplify such a conceptuality in pedagogic practice.

Indeed, I think that it will be easier to establish this conceptuality in pedagogic practice than to explicate the new concepts in philosophical or other theoretical terms.

Here, my position is substantially alternativist and obviously requires considerable exemplification. The approach I commend differs from many dominant strategies in education, which often assume that curricula should implement pre-existing educational concepts and strategies.

My approach to global citizen-

ship education implies a very different conception of pedagogy and learning, one which paradoxically has links both with strong cognitivism of a type educationists tend not to favor and with strong pragmatism of a type they favor, but do not always practice.

It has particular links with the pragmaticism of the American philosopher and mathematician Charles Sanders Peirce, as opposed to the weaker pragmatism of John Dewey, William James or Richard Rorty.

My claim is that such an unusual approach to philosophy and practice has benefits for global citizenship education. Pedagogy based on this approach has the advantage of being suited to delivery using new technologies.

It is also inexpensive, practical and easy to implement in local communities around the world.

Of course, such an innovative approach may be controversial, at least until the foundations for the approach in contemporary philosophy, mathematics and cognitive science are better understood.

However, this is the approach I am working on. It is one that I think can make a real contribution to the current debates.

Wayne Hudson is a professor at the University of Queensland, Charles Stuart University and the University of Tasmania, Australia.

Congress must bind Iran’s nuclear program or else

By Michael Krepon CQ-Roll Call/ TNS

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SRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t spell out an effective way to block Iran’s path to the bomb in his address to Congress. If Netanyahu were more candid, he would acknowledge that the only way to achieve his aims is through military strikes rather than negotiations. In this event, Iran would have far more reason to build nuclear weapons. If members of Congress who favor an agreement were candid, they would acknowledge it will weaken global norms for nonproliferation. If, however, Congress kills a deal that effectively constrains Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the consequences for proliferation will be far worse.

Congress is in a bind. We’re long past the point of closing the barn door on Iran’s enrichment capability. Tehran built this capability during the George W. Bush administration and expanded it greatly in the Obama administration. At this juncture, the best of a poor set of choices is to constrain Iran’s nuclear capability under close scrutiny. Alternatively, Congress can seek ways

to reject or block an agreement, assuming one can be successfully negotiated. Rejection could lead to the expulsion of international inspectors, and increased enrichment and air strikes. Air strikes would lead down many roads, none of which point to safe destinations.

Nonproliferation has taken a hit because Iran’s nuclear facilities are sized for bomb-making rather than electricity. It will take a more severe hit, unless these facilities operate at only a small fraction of their capacity. Iran’s neighbors, notably Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, have also decided they must have nuclear power plants—the purported rationale for Iran’s enrichment facilities. Uranium enriched to 5 percent, appropriate for generating electricity, is readily available for purchase. Purchasing low-enriched uranium, however, comes with inspectors and safeguards. Enriching uranium to 90-percent suitable for bombs requires having an unsafeguarded, indigenous capability. Whether more uranium-enrichment plants are built in the Middle East, and whether enrichment occurs under inspection depends, in large

measure, on the outcome of these negotiations. The spread of unsafeguarded enrichment plants in the Middle East will doom the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

An effective agreement will be possible if Iranian leaders see more risk than reward in acquiring nuclear weapons. Opponents of an agreement cannot imagine this to be the case. They are convinced Iran’s leaders will use the bomb to backstop their ambitions in the region. Even worse, religious zealots in Iran might not hesitate to start a nuclear war. Just read their threats about burying Israel.

T his pessimistic appra isa l might be right. It might also be wrong, in which case it would be foolish and tragic to assume the worst and then unwittingly help make it happen. Nikita Khrushchev threatened to bury the United States during the Cold War. This threat was taken seriously, but was overtaken by realism and affected by political engagement. The Soviet Union decided the bomb was too dangerous a weapon to use.

Instead, a succession of Soviet and US leaders agreed to do things that only wishful thinkers could

have hoped for: Washington and Moscow agreed to limit, reduce and even eliminate many of their most powerful weapons and means of delivery. They even agreed not to test nuclear weapons—and haven’t done so for more than 20 years.

These achievements, which remain in place even under Vladimir Putin, happened despite the warnings of pessimists who couldn’t envision how geopolitical and ideological adversaries could reach such accommodation. Rewards came to those who took risks for negotiated settlements, while being prepared for the consequences of failure.

US negotiations with the Soviet Union and Iran are different in many ways, but alike in how little the two sides can relate to each other.

During the Cold War, US war plans were predicated on managing escalation, while the Soviet General Staff disregarded this.

The two superpowers nonetheless found common ground and reached accords despite their differences.

How do Iran’s leaders really think about nuclear weapons? Are we to take Iran’s supreme leaders literally when they talk about annihilating Israel, but not when they say

that the bomb is an “un-Islamic” weapon?

The Obama administration seeks to constrain Iran’s nuclear capabilities in ways that can dampen proliferation elsewhere in the Middle East.

Our interests, and those of our friends and allies in the region, would be better served by limiting Iranian capabilities in verifiable ways than by demanding the impossible, watching sanctions erode and seeking temporary solutions in bombing runs.

Nuclear dangers have been reduced and our worst nightmares have been avoided, thanks to leaders who were willing to take risks to reach unlikely agreements. Congress is at this juncture once again.

An agreement with Iran that effectively constrains its bomb-making ability in verifiable ways is worth trying. Rejecting or blocking such an agreement is to concede failure without trying.

Michael Krepon is cofounder of the Stimson Center and the author of Better Safe Than Sorry: The Ironies of Living with the Bomb. He wrote this for CQ-Roll Call.

NewsSunday

A6 Sunday, March 15, 2015 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

Bicam impasse on grant of emergency powers to Aquino remains unresolved

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

ongress has yet to set a date for the resumption of the bicameral meeting for the joint resolution seeking to grant President Aquino special powers to address the projected 782megawatt (MW) electricity shortage in Luzon, a lawmaker said.

Liberal Party Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, chairman of the House Committee on Energy, said over the weekend that the House of Representatives and the Senate are locked in a stalemate over the joint resolution on emergency powers, as the leadership of the lower chamber maintained its

position on no-pass-on scheme.

As a result of the stalemate, Congress has yet to set another date for a bicameral meeting, Umali said.

He also admitted that the bicameral committee may not be able to pass President Aquino’s emergency powers if the Senate would pursue the no-pass-on cost provi-

sion under the joint resolution.

“The lower house decided to stick by it,” Umali said, referring to the House version of emergency powers to be granted to Mr. Aquino.

Members of the lower chamber are strongly pushing for the no-passon scheme in using the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), as it is eyeing to tap Malampaya Funds as subsidy.

But, the Senate said, the adoption of the ILP scheme would cost consumers P7 to P8 per kilowatthour under its version of the emergency powers.

“He [President Aquino] said [the government] is willing to subsidize the ILP, as long as there is no brownout,” Umali said.

Umali added that he is still optimistic the Senate will reconsider its position and adopt the House’s position on the no-pass-on provision.

“I’m a hopeless optimist. I still hope the Senate will change its

mind, because [foregoing the passon cost] will provide a relief to a lot of people,” he said.

Both chambers want the government to mainly use the ILP in generating additional power capacity this summer.

Ba sed on t he d at a of t he House Committee on Energy, over 400 companies have committed around 1,000 MW to the ILP. The program had a 75-percent participation rate during a test run conducted recently.

Umali also said another disagreeing provision under the joint resolution is the time frame, where the Senate wants the special powers to be extended until July 2016, while the House has set a Marchto-July duration.

Meanwhile, should negotiations for the measure fall through, Umali said the ILP can still run, but the cost will have to be passed on

DENR issues warning vs El Niño effects

K to 12 Program implementation to push through, Belmonte says

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ouse leaders have reaffirmed their support for the implementation of the K to 12 Program being pushed by the Department of Education (DepEd), despite the growing clamor from certain sectors to scrap the program.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., in a recent joint hearing of the House committees on Basic Education and on Higher Education, said the K to 12 Program is needed to elevate the country’s education system.

Belmonte made a statement, despite the admission of Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro before lawmakers that some 39,000 college faculty and non-teaching personnel of highereducation institutions (HEIs) will be displaced by the full-blown implementation of the K to 12, or Republic Act 10533, next year.

“There’s absolutely no suspension that come from us. It’s only themselves who and I call upon them to be realistic and say we cannot do it. We gave them the law, and it cannot be suspended anyway just like that. We have to go on. Based on discussions, I think they [DepEd] are on the right track,” he said.

Belmonte a lso ex pressed conf idence that the DepEd can implement the gover nment education prog ram.

“I don’t think everybody will be able to say that I am ready 100 percent, but,

PAJE: “Use recycled laundry water for gardening, flushing the toilet and washing your car and floor.”

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

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Craftsmanship

An exhibitor cleans a stand displayed at the Philippine International Furniture Show 2015 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City to showcase the world-class quality and appeal of Philippine-made furniture and home accessories. The exhibit will run until March 16. ALYSA SALEN

I think, they are substantially ready. I think there are inevitably some initial glitches, but I’m very confident they are up to their job,” Belmonte said.

Luistro had earlier assured that the DepEd is ready to implement the K to 12 Program in 2016.

To help the 39,000 college faculty and nonteaching personnel of HEIs, Luistro said tertiary schools are planning to construct senior high school, where professors to be affected by the program can teach, adding that the DepEd can also hire them.

Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon of Kabataan, meanwhile, sought the scrapping of the K to 12 because of so many problems besetting the basiceducation system.

“Even as the K to 12 Program enters its last phase, the DepEd has not yet resolved the shortages in the basiceducation sector,” Ridon said.

Liberal Party Rep. Roman Romulo of Pasig, chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, insisted that the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Edu-

cation are not prepared to implement the K to 12 Program.

He also urged the government officials to exert effort to resolve some glitches before the program is fully implemented by 2016.

“At this point in time, they are not ready,” Romulo said. Among the problems that hound the K to 12 Program are the lack of classroom, absence of safety nets for displaced teachers and academic personnel, poor technical-vocational model and others.

RDC-3 cites SBMA for financial and investment gains

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

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Street-food delight

to consumers, in accordance with protocols established by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Given the impasse, Umali also said the projected power crisis in Luzon would cost a huge amount to the economy.

“Every centavo increase in the power price will cost about P700 million to the economy in Luzon alone,” Umali said.

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

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

A woman displays a bunch of tokneneng, a tempura-like Filipino street food of deep-fried orange batter-covered hardboiled egg for P10 per stick in Caloocan City. Tokneneng is traditionally made with chicken or duck eggs, while kwek-kwek’s main ingredient is smaller quail egg or itlog ng pugo. Due to their similarities, the two are often confused, with some people calling tokneneng kwek-kwek and vice versa. Tokneneng is usually served with a spiced vinegar-based dip. KEVIN DELA CRUZ

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC-3) has recognized the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for its contribution to regional growth by making significant financial and investment strides in the past three years.

In a resolution passed in January, a copy of which was received by the SBMA recently, the council commended the SBMA for “the financial viability of the authority, improving the collection of customs duties and other taxes, as well as increasing investment commitments within the freeport and special economic zone, and for optimizing container traffic at Subic Port.”

The RDC-3 pointed out that the SBMA was able to restore financial viability by posting annual net incomes ranging from P0.8 billion to P1.3 billion, from 2012 to 2014, thus making “a complete turnaround from the negative income streams ranging from P0.2 billion for six consecutive years, from 2006 to 2011.”

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia recently announced a new record high for the SBMA, as it posted a net income of P1.6 billion in 2014, compared to P1.1 billion in 2013, or a substantial increase of 40 percent.

The RDC-3, which serves as the counterpart of the National Economic Development Authority Board at the subnational level in Central Luzon, likewise, said the implementation by SBMA of trade facilitation measures and innovations in systems and procedures had boosted the collection of customs duties and other taxes.

S the country braces for the adverse effects of El Niño, or the long dry spell that hits during summer season, the country’s chief steward of the environment and natural resources appealed to the public to conserve water.

Aside from water shortages, the country may experience forest fires that usually happen when natural water and the lush vegetation in the forest dry up, according to Environment Secretary Ramon JP Paje.

Paje’s appeal came after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration announced that the country is now experiencing a mild case of El Niño.

El Niño is an abnormal weather pattern caused by the warming of the Pacific Ocean, affecting global climate and causing unusual droughts and f loods. It occurs every two to seven years, with the Philippines experiencing it last between mid-2009 and mid-2010.

With the threats of El Niño, Paje said people should conserve water even more as the water levels of major dams are expected to recede.

The public, he added, should be more conscious of their water consumption in day-to-day activities, such as bathing, tooth-brushing and handwashing.

Paje also urged the public to recycle water.

“Use recycled laundry water for gardening, flushing the toilet and washing your car and floor,” Paje added.

The Department of Environment and Nat ura l Resources chief said the dry spell also increases risk of forest fires.

He said upland dwellers, nature lovers and trekkers, hence, should exercise extreme caution when performing activities with the potential of starting forest or grassfires.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

briefs ngcp activates lumban bay line 2 power-transmission line THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has energized the 230-kiloVolt Lumban Bay Line 2 in Laguna, a vital transmission facility that will boost power supply in the Luzon grid.

The line is crucial to the Batangas area, where a total of 2,100 megawatts is being produced by power-generating plants in Santa Rita, San Lorenzo and Calaca.

“The Lumban Bay line was energized through the Lumban Substation. We were able to loop the line to the Luzon grid. With this upgrade, we will be able to accommodate additional capacity from incoming power plants in the area,” NGCP President Henry Sy Jr. said.

The energization of the Lumban Bay line is part of NGCP’s commitment to the Department of Energy to expedite projects that will ensure maximized transmission capacity during the summer of 2015.

NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits highvoltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related assets. Lenie Lectura

tolentino, singson to abaya: open pnr alternate route in magallanes Stressing that there is a need for an alternative route, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino and Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson on Saturday jointly appealed to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio L. Abaya for the temporary use of a portion of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) line adjacent to the Magallanes Interchange in Makati City.

Tolentino and Singson’s appeal came following the denial of a prior request by PNR General Manager Joseph Allan Dilay.

“With the upcoming repair of [the] Magallanes Interchange for 24 consecutive days, there is an urgent need to look for an alternative route,” Tolentino said, as he warned for a possible " monstrous gridlock to happen within the Magallanes Interchange.”

Both Tolentino and Singson have requested the Department of Transportation and Communications for a temporary access that will allow the use of the PNR’s northbound and southbound ramps to relieve motorists of the impending traffic congestion brought about by the impeding Magallanes closure.

In appealing to Abaya, both officials said, “All these we implore in the primordial interests of the general public.”

dnd to acquire 3 missile-capable mpacs

IN line with its efforts to beef up the offensive capabilities of the Philippine Navy, the Department of National Defense (DND) announced that it is allocating P270 million for the acquisition of three multipurpose assault craft (MPACs) capable of being fitted with missiles and other advanced weapons systems.

Funding for this program, which is called MPAC Acquisition Project, will be sourced from the General Appropriations Act and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act Trust Fund 2000.

The contract includes mission equipment and initial integrated logistics-support packages.

“These new set of seagoing MPAC shall be capable of operating at sea state 5 without systems degradation and shall be fitted with provisions for installation of advanced weapons system [remote weapons system, as well as missile launch…],” the DND said.

The Navy is currently operating six MPAC units. PNA

RegionsSunday

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

BusinessMirror

House Bangsamoro panel member seeks verification of MILF leaders’ citizenship

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

MEMBER of the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) on Saturday urged the panel to verify the allegations of former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan that Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim and MILF Peace Panel Chairman Mohagher Iqbal are Malaysian citizens before continuing with its deliberations on the proposed law.

Liberal Party Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles of Davao, said that, if the allegation were true, Congress can be held criminally liable for treason for selling out the country’s sovereignty to foreigners.

“According to former Secretary Rafael Alunan III, both Chairman

Murad and Chairman Iqbal travel with Malaysian passports, and are, in fact, Malaysians. This is a very serious allegation and must be investigated immediately, even before we continue deliberations on the BBL,” Nograles said.

“I raise this concern because if it is

true that we are writing the BBL Law for Malaysians then we, in Congress, will be criminally liable for acts of treason,” he added.

He said it is a good thing that the House leadership has decided to extend the life of the ad hoc committee on the BBL for another two months, as this would allow the panel members to get a better view on how the proposed law would affect the country’s national interest.

“I call on our ad hoc committee chairman [Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino] Rep. Rufus Rodriguez [of Cagayan de Oro City] to immediately call the officials of the Bureau of Immigration and subpoena all travel documents of Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and Mohaguer Iqbal to shed light on this matter and confirm whether or not these allegations are true,” he added.

Originally, the ad hoc panel was given six months from its creation to review and fine tune the Palaceendorsed BBL, but has failed to make its final recommendation, following the gruesome death of 44 PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) commandos that clashed with armed elements in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which include members of the MILF last January 25.

House deliberations

RODRIGUEZ, meanwhile, said the lower chamber is set to resume its executive session on the proposed law creating the new Bangsamoro juridical entity replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao from April 6 to April 16, despite Congress’s summer break.

Based on the calendar of the 16th Congress, the both houses will take breaks from March 21 to May 3 and on June 12 to July 26.

Rodriguez said the resumption of the BBL hearing would focus on the Bureau of Investment report and what the panel will do to the defense, security and public order provisions of the BBL, which still on question after several lawmakers expressed dismay to support the measure following the massacre of the SAF troopers in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, by combined MILF and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters gunmen.

Rodriguez said both chambers of Congess have until June 11 to work on the proposed BBL, which seeks to stop the conf lict in Mindanao.

Massive evacuation worries Moro professionals

By Jeffrey M. Tupas Philippines News Agency

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AVAO CITY—The Young Moro Professionals Network-Western Mindanao (YMPN-WP) condemned and experessed alarm over what it called “insufferable violence” affecting nearly more than 90,000 people, most of them children, in at least 11 towns of Maguindanao because of the all-out offensive by the government against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (ARMM Heart) earlier reported that at least 19,075 families were forced to abandon their homes in the towns of Shariff Saydona, Mamasapano, Datu Unsay, Shariff Aguak, Datu Salibo, Saudi Ampatuan, Rajah Buayan, Talayan, Guindulungan, Talitay, Datu Anggal and Midtimbang, owing to the clashes.

“For many of bakwits [evacuees], this new round of exodus is a repeated life of harrowing tragedy that they do not deserve,” said Ameen Camlian, communications officer of YMPN-WM. Camlian cited how school children have been affected by the conflict as they were forced out of school.

Some of them are supposed to graduate from elementary and high school this month.

“At the evacuation centers, we could only feel sorry for their pain and agony as they go through the hard life of being bakwits once again: congested sleeping areas, insufficient food and lack of clean drinking water, children getting ill and the uncertainty of what’s to come tomorrow for them and their children,” Camlian said.

“The sad truth is the civilians are suffering the consequences of the war waged by the government against the BIFF. It disrupted the normalcy of their lives, putting them in a situation where they are most vulnerable to more and more violence.”

“At the evacuation centers, the bakwits are a picture of human suffering,” he said. “And all these reports of violations of human rights only prove the vulnerabilities of civilians in times of war.”

That the soldiers are after the BIFF is something that the network understands, he said. He, however, said that what should be primarily considered is the impact of the war on the civilians. “We are reminding the government and the BIFF to pay utmost respect to human dignity and basic rights as mandated by the Geneva Convention on the Protection of civilian persons and populations in time of war,” Camlian said.

Maranao foodfest Gov Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (left), Party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Hataman of

Anak Mindanao (second from left) with Lanao del Sur Gov. Bombit Alonto Adiong Jr. (right), his wife, Raifa (second from right) and Soraya Alonto Adiong pose for a photograph during the First Lanao del Sur Food and Bazaar Exhibit at Provincial Capitol Complex in Marawi City. Maranao cuisine, delicacies and pastries were featured at the exhibit.

Pepsi helps light up homes in Tacloban

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ORE than 50 volunteers from Pepsi Philippines swooped down recently on a resettlement village in Tacloban City on a mission to light up homes and streets in the area inhabited

by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) survivors.

By nightfall, 76 solar bottle house lights and 23 solar street lights were installed, benefitting 76 households in New Kawayan resettlement site, who began to enjoy the basic benefits of solar power.

It was a welcome change in the lives of these families,

who have been accustomed to the dark since Yolanda struck in November 2013.

PepsiCo Country Manager Maricelle Narciso said, “This latest Pepsi Liter of Light effort in Barangay New Kawayan has also united the corporate social responsibility initiatives of PepsiCo and Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. into one unified volunteer project. It is our way of giving back to make this world we live in a better place.

Through the Pepsi Liter of Light program in Tacloban, we hope to literally bring light and hope to our fellow Taclobanons to restart their lives back to normalcy.”

Sunday, March 15, 2015 A7

Natl Police BOI report soft on Aquino–Bayan Muna

By Marvyn N Benaning Correspondent

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HE Lower House must pursue the investigation into the massacre of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers after the National Police Board of Inquiry (BOI) failed to dwell on the responsibility of President Aquino for the botched operation and his criminal culpability, as well.

Party-list Representatives Neri J. Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna said the BOI did not look into the role of the President in the implementation of Oplan Exodus that led to the death of the commandos.

Colmenares and Zarate, in a statement, said “Aquino approved Oplan Exodus and authorized then suspended, now resigned, National Police Chief Alan Purisima to take command and control of and supervise the Mamasapano operation.”

The two lawmakers said that, “while the BOI report contains facts that are already disclosed to the public, it fails to put the main burden of accountability on the most responsible for the operation, who is President Aquino himself. It is obvious that the BOI deliberately understated Aquino’s direct responsibility of illegally authorizing Purisima to act as National Police chief during his suspension and allowing unlawful US involvement in the police operation.

“When Aquino broke the chain of command, he has taken direct and command responsibility over [former] SAF Commander Director GetulioNapeñas,SAF’sandArmedForces’actions,inactions and failures,” the two stressed.

“It is very questionable why the BOI did not get President Aquino’s statements or testimony, whenthereareanumberofquestionstheyshould have raised, which are:

“Did President Aquino authorize the sus-

pended Purisima to take command and control and supervise Napenas on Oplan Exodus?

“Why was Purisima reporting directly to Aquino on Oplan Exodus during his time of suspension? Why is Napeñas not directly reporting to Aquino but to Purisima if Napenas were given ‘delegated authority’?

“What did Aquino and Purisima discuss when Napeñas left the January 9 meeting on Oplan Exodus, and why did Purisima ordered Napeñas, ‘sabihan mo na lang ang dalawa [Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and National Police Officer in Charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina] kapag andun [na]; ako na ang bahala kay [Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio] Catapang?”

“Why did Aquino lie on national television on Purisimas’s involvement in the Mamasapano operation? and,

“Why did he allow US involvement in the operations? What is his legal basis for this when this is not covered by the Visiting Forces Agreement [VFA] or the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca)?”

As it is the report just confirms what we already know, like the presence of US personnel at the tactical command post (TCP) and Purisima calling the shots, but the report stops short on the accountability of Aquino on the botched operation in Mamasapano operation, the two said in the statement.

“The report itself says that it has shortcomings like not being able to interview Aquino, Purisima, Catapang, Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero [Western Command chief] and all the military officers involved. They were also not able to get the verbatim SMS messages of all those involved in the Mamasapano incident as well as the text and call logs,” Colmenares said.

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Sunday, March 15, 2015

More needs to be done to improve Philippines’s FDI inflows–Diokno

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By Bianca Cuaresma

he Philippine economy needs a “more welcoming environment” for investors, as foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the country still pale in comparison with its Asean 5 peers, despite hitting record-high volume in 2014, a former Cabinet official said.

Former Budget Secretary Banjamin Diokno said that, while the country has already made advancements in making the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors, the administration still has to raise its investment gain and sustain its reforms up to the next administration.

This, as FDI inflows of the country, amid its all-time-high level in 2014, remained a laggard compared to other countries comprising the Asean 5. Aside from the Philippines, other members of the

Asean 5 are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

“We need a more welcoming environment for investors, in general. The cost of doing business has to be reduced sharply; corruption has to be controlled; the tax system has to be competitive; and the huge infrastructure gap has to be bridged,” Diokno said,

“Tall order for an administration on its way out. These should be the major challenges for the next President and his men,” the former budget chief and a re-

Diokno: “We need a more welcoming environment for investors, in general.

The cost of doing business has to be reduced sharply; corruption has to be controlled; the tax system has to be competitive; and the huge infrastructure gap has to be bridged.”

nowned economist said.

Diokno noted that the country’s record-high FDI inflows in 2014 were not enough in comparison to Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand’s FDI.

The former budget secretary noted that, for comparative purposes, the Philippines had $4.875-billion FDI in the first three quarters of the year.

While this has exceeded government expectations for the entire year, it is still dwarfed by the $8.13-billion FDI in Malaysia;

$19.219 billion in Indonesia; $7.97 billion in Thailand; and $58.202 billion in Singapore.

Likewise, from a mediumterm perspective—from 2010 to 2013—the Philippines was only able to attract $9.6-billion FDI, while all other countries had double-digit figures during the period.

In particular, from 2010 to 2013, Malaysia had $47.3 billion; Indonesia had $75.8 billion; Thailand had $41.6 billion; and a whopping $220.9 billion for Singapore.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Power situation not grim despite Malampaya shutdown–D.O.E.

By Lenie Lectura

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UZON is assured of over 3,000 megawatts (mW) of power reserve until Monday, the second day of the 30-day Malampaya natural-gas facility shutdown.

During the shutdown, Malampaya will not be able to provide natural gas to three power plants—Santa Rita, 100 MW; San Lorenzo, 500 MW; and Ilijan, 1,200 MW.

The Malampaya naturalgas facility, which accounts for about 40 percent of Luzon’s power requirements, will shut down from March 15 to April 13.

The natural-gas plants, as they shift to liquid fuel from natural gas, will still be able to produce power, “except Ilijan, which will run at only 420 MW or a bit more [capacity], the two others will run at their full capacity,” said Department of Energy (DOE) Director Myleen Capongcol in a text message.

Based on its power-situation outlook, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said gross power reserve for Luzon stands at 1,981 MW on March 15 and 1,280 MW on March 16.

Demand in Luzon is expected to peak at 6,418 MW, as against an available capacity of 8,399 MW on March 15. The following day, March 16, Luzon’s available capacity at 8,999 MW is enough to supply an estimated peak demand of 7,719 MW.

NGCP has yet to provide a power-situation outlook after March 16.

The DOE, for its part, said on Saturday it is optimistic on the power condition during the 30-day turnaround, but forecasts thin power reserves during the period.

With thin power reserves, a power shortage could happen, especially when power plants go offline unexpectedly.

“For as long as power plants do not go on unplanned or forced outage, we should be okay. Otherwise, we will experience intermittent disturbances during the time when plants on forced outage are down,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said.

Petilla, however, added that these intermittent power disturbances would only cover the days when these power plants are down and not for the entire summer months.

On Friday the 1,200-MW Sual coal-fired power plant in Pangasinan conked out, resulting in a 30-minute brownout in some parts of Metro Manila.

The glitch at the country’s largest coal-power plant caused 175 of the 700 circuits within Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) franchise area to go into automatic load dropping, Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Team Energy, owner of Sual power plant, said on Saturday that the two units were synchronized to the grid and declared fully available.

“We will do our best to monitor and lessen the downside during the summer season,” Team Energy Spokesman Froilan Gregory Romualdez III said.

House leaders launch bid PAL returns to regain control of ‘power to New York of the purse’ from Palace

By Estrella Torres

H

ouse members have filed a resolution seeking to regain the power of Congress to craft and scrutinize the national budget, as they raised their concerns over Malacañang’s insertion of lump-sum funds that has led to rampant misuse of public funds.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Committee on Accounts Chairman Eleandro Jesus Madrona, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora filed House Concurrent Resolution 10 that seeks to implement measures toward “affirming, ensuring and operationalizing the fiscal independence of the Congress of the Philippines.”

“The present budgetary policies formulated by the Executive, through the Department of Budget and Management [DBM], insofar as they apply to the Congress of the Philippines, threaten its independence, encroach on its exclusive domain and violate the principle of separation of powers, upon which the entire fabric of our constitutional system is based,” the House leaders said in a news statement released over the weekend.

The resolution also said that “the imposition by the DBM of restrictive policies, rules, procedures, guidelines and conditions relative to the release and utilization of appropriations, applicable only to executive offices and agencies on the Congress of the Philippines, is an undue encroachment on the exclusive domain of the legislature and a violation of the principle of separation of powers.”

The resolution affirmed claims of former National Treasurer and Social Watch convener Prof. Leonor Briones that the Aquino ad-

ministration has “weakened and eroded” Congress’s power to craft, scrutinize and monitor spending of the national budget.

Briones said the DBM crafted the P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget, with half of the amount not going through the mandatory congressional scrutiny and monitoring.

The House leaders said in the resolution that “the Judiciary and other constitutional bodies, to safeguard and guarantee their independence, enjoy the full control of their financial affairs, while Congress is subjected to regulations similarly imposed on executive agencies.”

“The legislative power vested in the Congress of the Philippines is plenary, complete, unimpaired and subject only to such limitations as are found in the Constitution,” the resolution said.

The resolution has also lined up measures that are needed to regain the fiscal independence of Congress, based on the resolution.

These include:

1. The Senate and the House shall have full autonomy in determining the appropriations required for their operations. Their budget proposals shall be submitted to the Office of the President, through the DBM, but shall not be subject to the same process of evaluation, budgetary guidelines and standards applicable to the other agencies of the national government (NG). The amount of appropriations, as proposed and determined by the Senate and the House, shall be included in the annual budget of the NG without reduction, alteration or modification.

2. The appropriations provided for the Senate and the House under the General Appropriations Act and other appropriations laws See “Power of the Purse,” a2

F

By Recto Mercene

LAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will fly to New York starting Sunday, with its chairman, Lucio C. Tan, leading a high-level delegation of government and airline officials onboard the inaugural flight.

The 70-member delegation, composed of PAL, tourism and civil-aviation officials, as well as media guests, will leave Manila close to midnight on Sunday and stop for two hours in Vancouver before heading to the US East Coast.

“This auspicious start of regular flights to New York will coincide with PAL’s 74th founding anniversary,” Tan was earlier quoted as saying.

“We are confident we will be able to meet the expectations of our passengers in New York with PAL’s brand of quality service that is distinctively Filipino,” PAL President Jaime J. Bautista added.

Ceremonies at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, Vancouver and John F. Kennedy airports will mark the reintroduction of four-times-weekly service to the Big Apple since flights were suspended in 1997.

In November last year PAL offered introductory roundtrip fares for as low as $610 (exclusive of taxes and surcharges) for economy and as low as $3,560 for business class.

Flight PR-126, utilizing the long-range Boeing 777, departs Manila every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving the following day at Terminal 1 of JFK International Airport. The flight—covering a distance of 14,501 kilometers or equal to 18.5 total flying hours—will be PAL’s longest route.

As PAL’s 36th international point, New York will bring to five PAL’s US destinations, following Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.

PAL said its return has been keenly anticipated by the huge Filipino-American communities on the US Eastern Seaboard.

About half-a-million ethnic Filipinos reside on the East Coast, with over 253,000 in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, 90,000 in Virginia and 75,000 in Washington, D.C., and environs.

Overall, Filipinos on the East Coast account for 15 percent of the estimated 3.4-million-strong Filipino population in the US, which is the natural base market for PAL.