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EAR Lord, wherever human beings feel compassion for the pains of their neighbor and do their best to relieve them, You, Lord is present and in action for You continue Your mission through those who have become the instruments of Your healing care. Can we be Your instruments, Lord? Are we worthy of that role? Please give us Your grace and love. Amen. EXPLORING GOD’S WORD, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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Toshiba Chromebook 2 raises the bar
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B J R The Dallas Morning News
HOPPING for laptops can be maddening. There are hundreds of laptops from many different manufacturers, and they’re mostly fine. But remember, you get what you pay for. It’s pretty easy to find a Windows laptop that costs as little as $400 or as much as $2,500. A few years back Google introduced a new operating system based on its Chrome browser. A few manufacturers introduced laptops running on the new Google operating system, also called Chromebooks. Some of the main features of Chromebooks are an absence of internal hard drives, very few expansion ports and an (almost) constant need for an Internet connection. Oh, and very low prices. I’ve been testing the Toshiba Chromebook 2 ($329.99, www. toshiba.com), which is a nice step up from early Chromebooks. Why choose a Chromebook over a Windows machine or a Mac? For most people, choosing a Chromebook is about price, but as we know, lower-priced computers mean trading away some features for a few more dollars in your pocket. Chromebooks tend to be aimed at specific tasks—Internet browsing, e-mail, watching streaming video and working with documents in Google’s suite of online apps. Chromebooks are also dependent on a WiFi connection, but in my week of testing, I was never out of Wi-Fi range between home, work and even my mother-in-law’s house. Chromebooks store the majority of your work in the cloud. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 has only 16 gigabytes of storage, the amount found in a low-end iPhone. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 is a nice machine. Its standout feature is a vivid 13.3inch IPS display with a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels (1080p). The display is gorgeous and a huge step up from the 720p screen in Toshiba’s original Chromebook. It’s powered by an Intel Celeron N2840 processor with 4 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. The storage is enough for downloading some documents or even a movie or two, but it won’t be holding your entire music library. Toshiba does include 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage for two years. The Chromebook 2 has the latest in wireless technology with 802.11AC Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. There is a video-chat webcam above the screen. Ports are scarce, as on any Chromebook, but the Toshiba has one USB 2
port, one USB 3 port, one HDMI video output, an SD card reader and a headphone jack. Toshiba has partnered with the audio manufacturer Skullcandy to make sure the speakers in the Chromebook 2 sound good. I was really surprised by the sound, which radiates up through the keyboard. I haven’t heard music this good from a Chromebook before. The 44Wh battery can provide up to nine hours of power. There is a cheaper ($249.99) version of the Chromebook 2 with 2 GB of RAM and a 720p (1366 by 768 pixels) display. The Chromebook 2 is made of plastic and weighs just under 3 pounds. I found a lot to like about the Chromebook 2 and one thing that really bugged me. The fit and feel of the all-plastic case were good. The screen hinge works smoothly, and typing on the full-size keyboard is quite comfortable. The screen was good and made using the Chromebook 2 easy to use. What worked against me, however, was the trackpad, which kept registering a right-click when I was only clicking with one finger. This was vexing and happened often enough to make me dig in my bag for a Bluetooth mouse to use instead of the trackpad. Perhaps my thumb is too big or perhaps I’m spoiled by the trackpad on my Macbook Pro. I let some others try the trackpad, and they didn’t experience the same problems. The Chromebook 2 can certainly be the only computer you’ll need for most tasks. For use at home, I found it a viable replacement for my Macbook Pro for the last week. I guess my home computing needs are getting simpler. Besides surfing the Internet, reading e-mails and writing this review, I used the Chromebook for watching some Netflix videos and played a few games. I could see this being a great laptop for a student or senior citizen or even as a computer for casual Internet use on the living room couch in the evenings. As long as you know the limitations of the OS (stay in Wi-Fi range), are good with the features and ports available and can tame the trackpad better than I, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 is easily the standout among Chromebooks.
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■ Pros: Inexpensive, great screen, fast enough. ■ Cons: Trackpad could improve. ■ Bottom line: Best Chromebook so far.
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AYALA LAND TO BUILD NEW TOWNSHIP IN THE NORTH Wednesday, March 18, 2015 • Editor: Tet Andolong
AYALA LAND TO BUILD
MALL entrance
NEW TOWNSHIP IN THE NORTH
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AERIAL perspective of Cloverleaf
COMMERCIAL strip
ALI is the company behind the Makati Central Business District, Bonifacio Global City and Nuvali, which have become the dynamic communities that we know today. Aside from Ayala Mall, Cloverleaf will have a hospital, retail and business offices, as well as two residential towers—Avida and Alveo. The groundbreaking of the Cloverleaf was held on March 16 and led by ALI Senior Vice President and Head of the Strategic Landbank Management Group Meean Dy. “Our vision is to create a pocket
urban development” Dy said. “Cloverleaf will give people access to refreshing retail, business, lifestyle and residential possibilities—elements that create an ideal urban lifestyle.” Cloverleaf, which used to be an old textile mill property, is on an 11-hectare mixed-use development that would further energize the district. According to Dy, “ALI would be spending P15 billion for the development of Phase 1 in the first five years and another P10 billion for Phase 2 in the next five years.”
The township is another of ALI’s product that will bear the unmistakable mark of its expertise. ALI defines privacy and exclusivity, convenience and accessibility, enhanced by its strategic locations and diversity of lifestyle options anchored on a well-thought out blueprint for growth. The development is flanked by Metro Manila’s major cities, including Caloocan and Quezon City, with the community being easily accessible via the Light Rail Transit Line 1 that traverses the Metro. Adding to the convenience of its location is the ongoing construction of the third phase of the Skyway Stage 3 project, which is only 20 minutes away. “We always make it a point to locate our products and services in
such a way that makes them easily available to more people,” Dy added. “The Skyway Stage 3 project will improve the traffic situation in the area. We will be building our own terminal, which will be 200 meters away in front of the mall by 2017.” A highlight of the development is the landscaped pedestrian promenade that will connect Edsa to A. Bonifacio and will allow residents, shoppers and workers to have a safe and comfortable walking experience. The residential towers will occupy 34 percent of the area, including a 1.4-hectare Avida Towers compound with about 2,000 units and Alveo towers that will have a total of 600 units. Avida is preselling for
P110,000 per square meter. A studio is estimated at around P2.5 million. Alveo, however, will start its preselling on the third quarter of 2015. Amenities for Avida and Alveo will include a clubhouse, pool and gym. The Avida Tower is set to be finished by 2019, while the Alveo Tower is scheduled for completion in 2020. Sixty-two percent of Cloverleaf is envisioned to house numerous retail and business developments, including a 40,000-sq-m Ayala Mall with its own customer parking. The mall is expected to be a melting pot Asian culture, offering gathering and dining concepts not only for residents of Balintawak, but also locals of Caloocan, Malabon, Novaliches and Valenzuela. The basic shopping needs
of the market shall be fulfilled by the supermarket and junior anchors, while discerning customers will have an array of top-tier fashion and active brands to choose from. For bargain hunters, there will be bazaars for fashion and gadgets, as well as a food hall for affordable dining. Capping off the retail offerings will be the cinemas and entertainment zone on the top floor. The target market will be the nearby residential areas in Quezon City and Caloocan, most notably the Filipino-Chinese community, as well as motorists and public transport commuters traveling along the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and A. Bonifacio corridor. The mall is set to open by 2017. The township will also feature Qualimed’s flagship hospital, a 250bed medical facility offering quaternary care services, specializing in cancer and cardiology that will offer the most comprehensive healthcare services in the QualiMed Health Network. The hospital will be completed on the fourth quarter of 2017. It will have its own parking for doctors and visitors. QualiMed is a network of healthcare facilities that is borne out of a strategic partnership between ALI and Mercado General Hospital Inc. It has three types of health facilities— mall-based multispecialty clinics, ambulatory or day surgery centers and general hospitals. Medical rates are 30 percent to 40 percent lower than what are being offered in the market. The network also has bundled services which will result in prices that are even lower than QualiMed’s regular rates, making its health services accessible to more Filipinos.
NANCY B. COO (from left) business development consultant; Dominga Rufina S. Cabangon Chua, vice chairman of City State Properties and Management; Dominga Michelle S. Cabangon Chua, executive vice president of CPMC; Cezar F. de Guzman Jr., president of Terrabona Shelter Solutions and spouse, Rosemarry D. de Guzman, Ma. Guia C. Buenaventura, vice president sales of CPMC ITYSTATE Properties and Management Corp. (CPMC), in partnership with Terrabona Shelter Solutions, recently held a groundbreaking in preparation for their first premier house and lot package offering at the eco-centric Sandari Batulao. The partnership promises value-
for-money and the first-of-its-kind eco-house and lot packages that will complement the nature-inspired theme of Sandari Batulao. Terrabona is known to partner with big land developers local and international and specializes in modified pricing designs for more saleable products. CPMC is the developer of Sandari
Batulao, a luxurious mountainside residential and leisure development with majestic Mount Batulao as its backdrop. Sandari Batulao is 10 minutes away from Metro Tagaytay, and 15 minutes away from the beaches of Nasugbu, Batangas. www.sandaribatulao.com.
SITE development plan
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maria labors Sports BusinessMirror
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| Wednesday, MarCh 18, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao
MARIA LABORS MARIA SHARAPOVA beats Victoria Azarenka (inset) on sixth match point at Indian Wells. AP
Maria Sharapova took a 40-15 lead to set up her fifth match point, but netted a forehand. She converted on her sixth one with a shot that Victoria Azarenka couldn’t return near the net.
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By Beth Harris
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The Associated Press
NDIAN WELLS, California—Maria Sharapova defeated Victoria Azarenka, 6-4, 6-3, on her sixth match point in a third-round pairing of former No. 1-ranked players at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday. Sharapova hit 23 winners, one more than Azarenka, and had 10 fewer unforced errors than Azarenka’s 37 to even their all-time series at seven wins apiece. Azarenka fought off four match points on her serve in the eighth game to hold trailing 5-3. They dueled through five deuces until Azarenka fired a big serve to keep herself in the match. Sharapova took a 40-15 lead to set up her fifth match point, but netted a forehand. She converted on her sixth one with a shot that Azarenka couldn’t return near the net. Sharapova, a two-time champion at Indian Wells, will meet defending champion Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round. Seeded 15th, Pennetta beat Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-2, on an outside court. Azarenka, who beat Sharapova for the title here in 2012, is just starting to return to form, after a left foot injury limited her to nine tournaments last year and dropped her ranking to 32nd. The two-time Australian Open champion led 4-3 in the first set before Sharapova won the final three games. Two more former Indian Wells champions and top-ranked players went out in the third round. Fourth-seeded Caroline
ORTO SANT’ELPIDIO, Italy—Peter Sagan sprinted through the rain to win the penultimate stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico on Monday, while Nairo Quintana retained the overall lead heading into the final day. Sagan won a mass sprint to complete the victory in five hours, four minutes and 14 seconds in difficult conditions over the 210-kilometer route from Rieti to Porto Sant’Elpidio, the sixth stage of the race across central Italy. The Slovak sprint specialist pumped his fists in the air, as he crossed the line ahead of Gerald Ciolek and Jens Debusschere for his first victory for Tinkoff-Saxo, after two second-place finishes in this year’s Tirreno and 15 runnerup spots overall this season. “Finishing second so often was bad because I wanted to win,” Sagan said. “I honestly don’t know how many second places I got. So many. It could have been a load of first places. “But it’s all an experience, life is like that, too, sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down.” Quintana, who was runner-up last year, tops the overall standings, retaining a 39-second advantage over Bauke Mollema and a 48-second lead over Rigoberto Uran. Tuesday’s final stage is a 10-km individual time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto. “I expected my rivals to try to do something on a day with such difficult conditions,” Quintana said. “But it went exactly as I wanted. “Tomorrow’s stage has to be raced with maximum speed. There won’t be any secrets and no place to hide. I think the advantage that I have is enough.” Sunday’s stage was a tough one, with snow falling heavily on the difficult climb to Terminillo. There were several withdrawals before the start of Monday’s stage and several more during the route as the rain continued to lash down on the riders, who also had to endure low temperatures. Alessandro Vanotti, Stijn Devolder and Yukiya Arashiro broke clear after 15K (9.3 miles) and had a lead of nearly six
Wozniacki lost to 31st-seeded Belinda Bencic, 6-4, 6-4, and fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic lost to 25th-seeded Caroline Garcia, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Bencic earned her first win over a top 5 player and at 18 became the youngest player to reach the fourth round this year. Last year in Istanbul, Bencic failed to win a game off Wozniacki. “In Istanbul I had maybe too much respect and I was afraid, nervous,” she said. “Today I really had a good game plan. I served well kind of, and had sometimes some easy points on my serve because of that.” In other women’s matches, No. 6 seed Eugenie Bouchard beat CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-3, 6-2, and qualifier Lesia Tsurenko defeated 20thseeded Alize Cornet, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2. Andy Murray outlasted Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in a nearly two-hour baseline slugfest under a hot sun. Murray earned the only two breaks of the third set and closed out the win when Kohlschreiber’s forehand went wide, one of 35 unforced errors by the German. The temperature topped 90 degrees (32 Celsius), unusually warm for this time of year. Cool mornings, hot afternoons and warm evenings have made for changing court conditions and ball speed in the desert, and Murray was affected by them. “When you are playing in those matches during the heat of the day, you need to trust your shots. You need to go after them, because if you back off and try and sort of
guide the ball in these conditions, it doesn’t work,” he said. “During the day it’s ridiculous how high the balls bounce and how quick they move through the air and jump off the court.” Murray moved on to a fourth-round match against Adrian Mannarino, who beat 14th-seeded Ernests Gulbis, 6-4, 6-4. Fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori was stretched to three sets before overcoming Fernando Verdasco, 6-7 (8), 6-1, 6-4. Nishikori double-faulted twice in the final game before advancing to the fourth round for the first time in his seventh appearance at
SAGAN WINS PENULTIMATE STAGE
CYCLISTS race around Malaysia’s landmark Petronas Twin Towers during the last stage of Le Tour de Langkawi in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. AP
minutes before the peloton started to reel them in. The Tinkoff-Saxo team, which was riding for Sagan’s bid for a stage win and Alberto Contador’s faint hopes of retaining his Tirreno title, upped the pace on the ascent up to Montelparo—the sole categorized climb of the day— and cut the gap to 1:34.
The three leaders were caught with 51 kms remaining before Vanotti broke again and established a lead of 25 seconds as he approached Porto Sant’Elipidio before the two final laps of 14.4K (9 miles). Alexis Vuillermoz left the peloton and bridged the gap to Vanotti, with the two building a lead of 30
Indian Wells. “Third set, it could go both ways, but I got first break,” Nishikori said. “I really served well. Until last game I didn’t face break points. It was still close the last game, so really happy to beat Fernando.” John Isner beat 18th-seeded Kevin Anderson, 7-6 (8), 6-2, setting up a possible fourth-round match against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who played Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a night match. Isner has lost just 12 points on his big serve in his first two matches. “Winning that, it’s pretty big for my confidence,” he said. “Serve came up huge when I needed it in the firstset tiebreaker. 146 right on the line, and I just gutted it out and I played a good second set.” Jelena Jankovic, who won here in 2010 and spent 18 weeks at No. 1 in the world, outlasted Madison Keys, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, despite the Serb having just 13 winners and 42 unforced errors. Jankovic is coming off a back injury and torn muscle in Doha, which hampered her practice schedule. Keys, a 20-year-old American coached by former top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, had her chances to take control, leading 3-1 in the final set. She hit 39 winners, but came undone with a whopping 64 unforced errors. Serena Williams, meanwhile, is returning to play World Team Tennis (WTT) for the Washington Kastles for the first time since 2011. The 19-time major champion’s participation in the league that will run from July 12 to August 2 was announced by WTT on Monday, when its draft took place. Williams’s sister Venus will also be on the Kastles, as will International Tennis Hall of Fame member Martina Hingis. The Washington team has won four consecutive WTT titles. Eugenie Bouchard, the Wimbledon runner-up last year, was taken No. 1 in the draft by the Boston Lobsters.
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seconds. The Frenchman then left Vanotti alone but was reeled in with 3.2K (2 miles) to go as the teams set up their riders for the sprint finish. Sagan opened his sprint at the same time as Ciolek and quickly opened up a lead of a bike length over the German cyclist. AP
RANSPORTATION Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya on Tuesday accused a number of car dealerships in the Philippines of “shortchanging their customers,” warning these companies that a violation may warrant a suspension, or even a revocation, of their authority to operate. of delinquent dealers in the coming weeks to show which ones aren’t fulfilling their promises to their customers,” he said. Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Assistant Secretary Alfonso V. Tan Jr., Abaya said, decided Continued on A2
INDUSTRY REPORT SUPPORTS U.S. EXPORT OF OIL AS GLUT WORSENS
SANDARI BATULAO BREAKS GROUND WITH TERRABONA
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By Lorenz S. Marasigan
His accusation is simple: These companies are “ del iberately” misinforming their customers as to the status of their licenseplate applications. “The public deserves to know if their car dealerships are shortchanging them. We will release lists
BusinessMirror
LOVERLEAF, a development by Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), is set to rise in the Balintawak area and serve as an easy avenue to more people who travel along Edsa and A. Bonifacio.
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‘Erring’ car dealers face sanctions
NO MORE EXCUSES FOR IGNORING OLD MOVIES »D2
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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
TfridayNovember Wednesday, March18, 18,2014 2015Vol.Vol.1010No.No.40160
D.O.T.C. TO REVOKE ACCREDITATION OF DEALERS that ARE ‘SHORTCHANGING THEIR CUSTOMERS’
TOSHIBA CHROMEBOOK 2 RAISES THE BAR The instruments of Your healing care
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he long-standing ban on selling American crude oil overseas is aggravating the effects of the oil-price collapse to jeopardize the US energy boom, influential energy historian Daniel Yergin argues in a new report that will be closely read as the industry pushes Congress to remove the ban. The report, being released on Tuesday by IHS Energy, a consulting firm led by Yergin, also maintains that dropping the ban on oil exports will help the entire energy-supply chain, from construction to banking, with Texas and California getting the most benefit and even states, such as Florida and Washington, that aren’t significant petroleum producers enjoying spinoff effects. “Continued growth in the oil and gas industry and in the supply chain supporting it could be
PESO exchange rates n US 44.4020
imperiled by low prices and outdated crude-oil export policies that restrain market access and hinder future investment and production,” the report says. The IHS study was funded by energy and oil-field service companies, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, Exxon Mobil and Halliburton. The industry is pushing hard for Congress to lift the export ban, which was imposed in the wake of the 1970s Arab oil embargo with the idea of protecting consumers from higher gasoline prices. The industry argues that the ban is a relic of failed price-control efforts, and is especially outdated now that the US is an oil superpower, drilling so much that it helped create a global glut that sent prices crashing. See “Oil,” A2
princess anne in manila
Britain’s Princess Anne talks with Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario before meeting President Aquino in
Malacañang on Tuesday. AP/Romeo Ranoco
PAL profitability improving–Bautista
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hilippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) posted a “small” profit last year, after billionaire Lucio C. Tan regained full control of Asia’s oldest carrier, with lower oil prices and new planes helping to boost its passenger count, President Jaime J. Bautista said. Tan “has invested time and money; and for all these investments, it’s really worth getting back Philippine Airlines,” Bautista said in a March 16 interview with Bloomberg Television’s Mark Crumpton in New York. The carrier, which is now wholly owned by Tan, after he bought back a 49-percent stake last year that San Miguel Corp. had purchased from him in 2012, started flying again to New York this week after a break of almost two decades.
Airbus Group NV agreed to help the airline restructure its fleet, which included delivering a total of 10 A321s this year and next, and 28 more planes in the next seven to eight years, Bautista said. In January he said that the company might end up reducing the number of planes it receives from Airbus this year and deferring remaining orders. PAL has been reviewing programs it carried out under the management of San Miguel, which revamped the carrier’s fleet as it geared up to handle more routes. In 2013 it signed an agreement to acquire at least 64 planes from Airbus, and resumed flights to London after a 15-year absence. PA L’s profitabilit y has improved in the four months since
Tan regained management of the company, Bautista said, without providing details. Parent PAL Holdings Inc., whose income comes mostly from the unlisted carrier, had a net income of P233.7 million ($5.3 million) for the nine months ended September. That compares to a P2.2-billion loss in the first six months of 2013, when it was reporting based on a fiscal year, according to stock-exchange filings. Shares of PAL Holdings fell 2 per-cent on Monday to P4.46. Bautista said the company had hired a financial adviser to help select a strategic investor. Tan, in a January 23 interview, said he’s in talks with a Middle Eastern investor to sell a stake in the flag carrier in a deal that may happen this year. Bloomberg News
n japan 0.3658 n UK 65.8304 n HK 5.7179 n CHINA 7.0902 n singapore 31.9462 n australia 33.9933 n EU 46.9196 n SAUDI arabia 11.8383 Source: BSP (17 March 2015)
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Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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news@businessmirror.com.ph
Low inflation cuts yield of govt bonds By Cai U. Ordinario
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Singapore, which posted gains of 2 and 26 basis points, respectively. The two-year LCY government bonds that posted above 20-basispoint reduction in yield were those issued by Indonesia, with 40 basis points; Vietnam, 34 basis points; and China, 26 basis points. The ADB said widening credit spreads, a stronger United States dollar, Greece’s debt crisis, and plunging oil prices are growing risks to LCY bonds in emerging East Asia. “While the US Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates and the cost of servicing USdollar-denominated debt is increasing, central banks in several Asian economies are easing their monetary stance and the prices of local currency bonds are broadly holding up well,” ADB chief economist ShangJin Wei said. “The sharp fall in oil prices has drawn attention to the financial health of oil and gas companies, but overall market exposure to the oil and gas segment is modest and manageable,” Wei added. As a share of gross domestic product, the size of emerging East Asia’s local bond market slipped to 57.8
lower inflation helped push the country’s 10-year local currency (LCY) sovereign bond yields 45 basis points lower over a three-month period ending February this year, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In ADB’s Asia Bond Monitor, the Philippines had the second largest drop among emerging East Asian countries in terms of 10-year bond yields during the period. Data showed Vietnam had the highest drop in bond yields with a 65-basis-point reduction between December 2014 and February 2015. “Between end-December 2014 and mid-February 2015, LCY government bond yields fell for most tenors in emerging East Asia on falling inflation. Slower global growth and falling oil prices have led to reduced inflationary expectations in the region,” the ADB said in the report
released on Tuesday. Data showed that apart from the Philippines, the economies posting over 25-basis-point cuts in their 10year government bonds included Hong Kong, China with 35 basis points; followed by Indonesia, 30 basis points; Malaysia, 29 basis points; and China, 27 basis points. Only Thailand bucked the trend and posted a 3-basis-point gain in its 10-year LCY government bonds during the period. Short-term bonds or two-year bonds, on the other hand, saw most of emerging Asia with reductions in yield except for the Philippines and
‘Erring’ car dealers face sanctions. . .
to bare the names of “delinquent dealerships upon receiving reports that the latter deliberately misinform their customers as to the status of their license-plate applications.” “The problem is that the delinquent dealers tell their customers that the LTO does not have new plates, when in fact, they’re the ones who
aren’t fulfilling their services. They let months pass despite knowing fully well that the plates are ready—and they even mislead their customers about it,” Abaya explained. Tan added: “License plates for first-time motor vehicle registrants are available-on-demand. Yet many of these plates remain unclaimed
percent in the last quarter of 2014 from 58.1 percent in the previous three-month period. ADB said most of the region’s currencies weakened against the US dollar from end-December 2014 to mid-February 2015, with the Indonesian rupiah experiencing the sharpest depreciation at 3.3 percent. The Manila-based multilateral development bank said this was due to the impact of lower global oil prices on the country’s large oil and gas sectors. On the other hand, the Philippine peso and the Thai baht appreciated against the US dollar. Across emerging East Asia, the recent plunge in oil prices has raised concerns over the financial vulnerability of some companies in the petroleum sector and their capacity to meet debt obligations—as well as a decrease in collateral values, which affects their lines of credit. The Manila-based bank said a shift toward foreign-currencydenominated debt since 2010 has greatly increased the currency risk exposure of borrowers in Asia, where the largest issuer of oil and gas industry bonds is China with over $160 billion worth of bonds outstanding.
from LTO offices.” The regulator will release the list of delinquent dealerships in the coming weeks, to better inform the public as to which dealerships actually deliver the services they offer to their customers, and which ones are shortchanging them. “For owners of new motor vehicles
MARCH 18, 2015 | WEDNESDAY
“While low prices are the primary challenge facing the industry in 2015, the ban on exports of US crude-oil production will hinder or even cut short any recovery on Wednesday,” according to the IHS report. US oil producers could make more money by selling abroad. The international benchmark price of oil is averaging $7 to $12 a barrel higher than the domestic price for American crude oil. The difference hurts the competitiveness of US drillers and investment, according to IHS, especially with the price collapse putting wells already near the breakeven point for being profitable. Oil traded near the lowest price since March 2009 before US government data forecast to show that crude inventories in the world’s biggest consumer expanded further from a record high. Futures were little changed in New York after falling 2.1 percent on Monday. Crude stockpiles probably gained by 3.3 million barrels to 452.2 million last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report on Wednesday. Prices may drop to $40 a barrel if they fail to stabilize at current levels, said Stephen Schork, who’s worked in commodities trading for more than 25 years.
Rising US supplies are exacerbating a global glut that drove prices almost 50 percent lower last year. Iran could increase exports by 1 million barrels a day if international sanctions were lifted, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said as talks resumed over its nuclear program. The country is the fifth-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. “There’s an issue with supply,” Jonathan Barratt, the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney, said by phone. “We’re right on the lower end of the trading range. If it holds, it may break back through $45.” West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery was at $43.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 23 cents, at 1:16 p.m. Singapore time. The contract slid 96 cents to $43.88 on Monday. The volume of all futures traded was about 16 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have decreased 18 percent this year. Brent for May settlement was 5 cents higher at $53.99 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The April contract expired on Monday after losing $1.23 to $53.44. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $7.94 to WTI for the same month. MCT, Bloomberg News
whose dealers tell them that the LTO is not ready with new plates: come to our offices so you can claim them yourselves. Your license plates are ready at your place of registration,” Tan said. Vehicle dealerships are regulated by the LTO, which can suspend and even revoke accreditation when warranted.
The new plates are part of the regulator’s License Plate Standardization Program, which will phase out the nine existing designs currently in use, over the next two years. They sport a sleek black-on-white design, which improves visibility as it can be seen from different angles. The new plates contain various
security features such as tamperresistant locks, reflective sheeting material and a “third-plate” sticker. These third-plate stickers replace the windshield stickers currently issued as proof of annual registration. Similarly, registration stickers attached to license plates will no longer be issued for new license plates.
MAR 19 THURSDAY
MAR 20 FRIDAY
METRO MANILA
23 – 32°C
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TUGUEGARAO
22 – 34°C
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MAR 21 SATURDAY
TROPICAL STORM “BAVI” (INTERNATIONAL NAME) OUTSIDE THE PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY WAS ESTIMATED AT 1,435 KM EAST OF CASIGURAN, AURORA
Tropical Storm is a cyclone category with winds of 64 - 118 kph.
MAR 20 FRIDAY
MAR 21 SATURDAY
21 – 31°C
METRO CEBU
24 – 32°C
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22 – 32°C
TACLOBAN
23 – 32°C
22 – 31°C
22 – 31°C
22 – 31°C
CAGAYAN DE ORO
22 – 32°C
22 – 32°C
22 – 31°C
24 – 34°C
23 – 34°C
24 – 33°C
23 – 33°C
24 – 33°C
24 – 34°C
(AS OF MARCH 17, 5:00 PM)
LAOAG
LAOAG CITY 22– 31°C
SBMA/CLARK 23 – 33°C METRO MANILA 21 – 33°C
TAGAYTAY CITY 20 – 29°C
22 – 32°C
23 – 32°C
BAGUIO
14 – 23°C
13 – 23°C
13 – 22°C
METRO DAVAO
SBMA/ CLARK
23 – 33°C
23 – 32°C
22 – 32°C
ZAMBOANGA
TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 33°C
BAGUIO CITY 14 – 22°C
TAGAYTAY
20 – 29°C
21 – 28°C
LEGAZPI ILOILO/ BACOLOD 23 – 30°C METRO CEBU 24 – 30°C
TACLOBAN CITY 23 – 32°C
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 21 – 31°C
ZAMBOANGA CITY 22 – 33°C
PUERTO PRINCESA
ILOILO/ BACOLOD
23 – 31°C
23 – 31°C
SUNRISE
SUNSET
MOONSET
MOONRISE
6:02 AM
6:07 PM
4:00 PM
3:55 AM
20 – 29°C
LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 31°C
PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)
MAR 19 3-DAY THURSDAY EXTENDED FORECAST
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE AREA AFFECTING NORTHERN LUZON.
Ridge of High Pressure Area (HPA) will bring fair weather to the country except for isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 23 – 31°C
Continued from A1
Continued from A1
3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST
TODAY’S WEATHER
Oil. . .
23 – 30°C
HALF MOON NEW MOON
SOUTH HARBOR
MAR 14
1:48 AM
23 – 32°C
24 – 31°C
24 – 32°C
MAR 20 5:36 PM
23 – 32°C
24 – 33°C
Cloudy skies with rainshowers and/or thunderstorms
Watch PANAHON.TV everyday at 5:00 AM on PTV (Channel 4).
METRO DAVAO 24 – 34°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
3:31 AM
-0.09 METER
Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers and/or thunderstorms Partly cloudy skies
23 – 32°C
LOW TIDEMANILA HIGH TIDE
@PanahonTV
8:25 PM
0.98 METER
The Nation BusinessMirror
news@businessmirror.com.ph
Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Wednesday, March 18, 2015 A3
PALACE BLAMES MAMASAPANO CARNAGE FOR APPROVAL, TRUST RATING DROP
Aquino liable for SAF massacre–Senate report
S
By Butch Fernandez
ENATE investigators said President Aquino could also be held liable for allowing suspended National Police chief Alan Purisima to play a key role in the bloody police mission that ended in the massacre of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos by Moro rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
The Senate report, submitted by Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday, asserted that Aquino must “bear responsibility for giving assent to and failing to prevent the unlawful exercise of official functions by PDG [Police Director General Alan] Purisima in connection with Oplan Exodus.” “It is beyond doubt that the President was fully aware that PDG Purisima was preventively suspended by the Ombudsman on December
4, 2014, and that PDDG [Leonardo] Espina was designated officer in charge of the PNP on December 12. 2014,” the report said. “Yet, the President allowed PDG Purisima to join the January 9, 2015 meeting at the Bahay Pangarap, where a sensitive and classified police operation was being discussed.” It noted that Aquino even “instructed PDG Purisima to coordi-
nate Oplan Exodus with the Armed Forces” and “communicated exclusively with PDG Purisima in regard the progress of Oplan Exodus on January 25, 2015.” Moreover, the Senate report noted that Aquino “gave instructions to PDG Purisima as to the conduct of Oplan Exodus on January 25, 2015, as when the President sent PDG Purisima a text message reading, ‘Basit should not get away.’” “The President himself admitted that all the communication regarding Oplan Exodus emanating from him to PDIR [Police Director] Getulio Napeñas, and vice versa, was being coursed through a then suspended PDG Purisima,” the Senate report added. The committee, headed by Poe, also endorsed the filing of murder and robbery charges against stillunidentified members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and other rebels who took part in the January 25 encounter that killed 44 SAF commandos serving warrants against two terrorists in MILF territory. The Senate investigating com-
mittee also recommended charging Purisima for usurpation of authority in “supervising” the ill-fated SAF mission as he conveyed Aquino’s orders to Napeñas. Napeñas, in turn, was recommended to stand trial for grave misconduct and incompetence. Senators came up with these recommendations even as the lawmakers endorsed continued peace negotiations between the Aquino administration and the MILF, which also suffered 18 fatalities, apart from five dead civilians caught in the crossfire as the SAF commandos were extricating after completing their mission to neutralize their main target, Malaysian bombmaker Zulkifli bin Hir. Reacting to the Senate committee report’s findings, Sen. Ralph Recto said his first impression is that “it is fair, perceptive and judicious.”
Drop in ratings
MALACAÑANG on Tuesday took note of the over 20-percent drop in President Aquino’s approval and trust ratings at the height of the public uproar over the massacre of 44
SAF commandos in Maguindanao. In a media briefing, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. acknowledged the results of the latest Pulse Asia performance approval and trust ratings for the President as of the first week of March 2015. “We note further that there has been a significant drop in these ratings,” Coloma conceded, saying that “while the President’s approval rating declined by 21 percent, the disapproval rating recorded at 12 percent and the number of undecided rose by 9 percent compared to the last quarter’s survey results.” Similarly, Coloma added, Aquino’s trust rating dropped by 20 percent, with the number of those who distrust the President increasing by 14 percent, while those undecided increased by 6 percent. “These ratings reflect public sentiment arising from the SAF’s operations to capture international terror suspects in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” Coloma explained. He pointed out that from the outset, President Aquino had “acknowledged his personal responsibility” for
the Mamasapano Massacre. Coloma recalled Aquino declaring during the President’s February 6 televised nationwide message: “I am the father of this country and 44 of my children were killed. They can no longer be brought back. This tragedy happened during my term and I will carry this to the end of my days. They were my responsibility together with the rest of the forces of the SAF involved in this operation, as well as those who rescued them and whose lives were, likewise, put in danger.” Despite the setback, the Palace official said the Aquino administration remains “determined to work even harder to continually earn our people’s trust and confidence.” “He [Aquino] also remains firmly committed to rendering justice, as well as pursuing the peace process. In the remaining 15 months, the President and the Cabinet will intensify the implementation of development programs and the strengthening of institutional reforms toward achieving sustainable and inclusive growth and fulfilling our people’s aspirations,” Coloma said.
Econ
Business
A4 Wednesday, March 18, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon
Villar to challenge ‘terminal-fee integration’ before SC
S
en. Cynthia Villar on Tuesday vowed to challenge even up to the Supreme Court (SC) a memorandum circular issued by the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) that automatically collect airport terminal fees through purchase of airline tickets online or abroad.
“I will do everything for you to recall this order. I have already been talking with Sen. Koko [Pimente] to question this before the Supreme Court,” Villar warned Miaa General Manager Jose Angel Honrado during the Senate inquiry on Miaa’s Memorandum Circular 8. Villar said the memorandum
violates Republic Act 8042, or the Migrant Workers Overseas Filipinos Act, which exempts overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from paying the P550 terminal fee. The lady lawmaker, who has been helping OFWs since 1993 through their Villar Foundation, said the Miaa issued the circular without the support of the
board resolution. Although the OFWs are allowed to refund the terminal fee upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Villar said the process created inconvenience for the country’s so-called modern heroes. “I cannot understand what is your plan. Are you interested in the P1 billion that will not be refunded? Everybody has been appealing to you to recall this circular, but you remain firm. You kept on insisting. You don’t want to help our OFWs,” the visibly irked Villar told Honrado. Villar grilled the Miaa officials after they failed to come out with a complete figure on the number of the OFWs who have refunded the terminal fee and on what the Miaa will do to the unrefunded amount. “They decided to do this without knowing first how many OFWs will be affected,” Villar said. She instead suggested for the
Miaa to recall the circular and create a computer program that will exempt the OFWs from the terminal-fee integration. Villar said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is willing to shoulder the amount to be used for the creation of a program that is favorable to the OFWs. The lawmaker revealed that even the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has asked the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to review the automatic collection of airport terminal fee. In its letter to the DOTC, the DFA conveyed the sentiment of the OFWs worldwide in objecting to the collection of the airport terminal fee “as it may cause inconvenience and unnecessary burden on them.” “The DFA supports the proposal to suspend the implementation of Memorandum Circular 8, while the
said memorandum is under review,” Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Laura del Rosario said in a letter to the DOTC dated March 13. During the hearing, Pimentel said the Office of the Ombudsman can also come in to help the OFWs seeking for the stoppage of the International Passenger Service Charge. ”The Ombudsman can instruct the Miaa to correct a case like this misinterpretation to promote good governance. The Ombudsman have that kind of power. Maybe we should think out of the box. Why not invoke that seldom-used power of the Ombudsman,” Pimentel said. Over 200 OFWs, led by the #Noto550 Coalition attended the Senate hearing, seeking the assistance of the Senate to recall the circular that integrates P550 airport terminal fee to the airline tickets for all international passengers, including OFWs. PNA
LTFRB hails CA ruling on phaseout of aging minibuses By Lorenz S. Marasigan
O
PERATIONS of public-utility minibuses that are more than a decade and a half old should be stopped immediately, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) chief said on Tuesday, citing a ruling issued by the appellate court this week. Following the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) to scrap the petition of parties opposing a resolution of the LTFRB that pro-
vides for the imposition of a 15-year age limit on public utility minibus, the agency can now implement the said ruling immediately. LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez said his office was happy with the decision of the appellate court, considering that his office’s resolution was issued two year’s ago. “Since I took the chairmanship of the board two years ago, my marching order was to find ways to modernize our transport system to make it safer for the commuters and at par with our neighboring Asian countries,” he said.
He said the program is part of the Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) “Modernization of Public Transport Service” initiative. “A transport system with modern and roadworthy public utility vehicles plying the national roads prevents pollution and ensures a reliable and safe commute for the riding public,” Ginez said. This was opposed by a group of minibus operators, who sought to overturn the LTFRB resolution.
briefs dfa denies abduction of 4 more filipinos in libya
The Philippine government on Tuesday denied that four more Filipino workers were kidnapped in Libya. Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said embassy officials were able to contact one of the four, who are working as nurses, and said they were all “safe.” “A local friend concerned of their safety moved them to a safer accommodation,” Jose said at a news briefing. “The reports are false. Our embassy has verified this information.” Libya is in a state of civil war and eight Filipinos have been captured by militants in separate kidnappings in the last two months. Their whereabouts are still unknown. Manila has declared Libya unsafe for Philippine travelers and called on all remaining Philippine nationals there to leave and avail themselves of mandatory evacuation that it is offering. PNA
fastcraft in cebu pier mishap ALLOWed to sail again CEBU CITY—The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) 7 has allowed the MV St. Sealthiel of SuperCat Fast Ferry Inc., which bumped the Cebu pier last week, the clearance to sail again. Marina Legal Officer Jose Cabatingan said personnel from the Marina Enforcement Service in Manila arrived on Friday to investigate why MV St. Sealthiel hit the Pier 1 berthing area in Cebu City last week. At least 21 persons, including 18 passengers and three crew members, were injured in the incident. PNA
nomy
sMirror
news@businessmirror.com.ph A5
Government allots P793.62B for Metro Manila PPP projects
T
he government has allotted close to P800 billion for publicprivate partnership (PPP) projects in the National Capital Region (NCR), according to a report on the status of PPP projects for Metro Manila presented during the House Committee on Metro Manila Development meeting on Monday.
Committee Chairman and Rep. Winston Castelo of the District of Quezon City led the House inquiry on the development of the PPP proj-
ects, amounting to P793.62 billion, composed of transportation-infrastructure projects aiming to ease traffic in Metro Manila.
At the committee hearing, representatives from several government agencies reported that six out of the 29 PPP projects for the region have already completed the procurement of transaction adviser, preparation of business case/feasibility studies, finalization of project structure by implementing agencies, Investment Coordination Committee approval, National Economic and Development Authority Board approval, bidding stage and awarding of contract. These projects include the Daang Hari-Southern Luzon Expressway (Slex) Link Road Project, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (Phase 2); modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, Automatic Fare Collection
System, Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension Project and the Integrated Transport SystemSouthwest Terminal Project. Meanwhile, the bidding stage for the Integrated Transport SystemSouth Terminal Project, Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project, operation and maintenance contract for LRT Line 2, New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project, North-South Railway Project (South Line), and North Luzon Expressway-Slex Connector Road projects remain pending, while the 17 other PPP projects are in implementation stage. The report presented to the committee also stated that there was a total of 61 PPP projects being developed as of January 2015. Twenty-six of the said projects
are being handled by the Department of Transportation and Communications, while 12 are under the Department of Public Works and Highways. On the other hand, the Department of Health, Department of Education, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, and other government agencies will implement the rest of the projects. Among the proponents of the implementing government agencies are the Ayala Corp., Optimal Infrastructure Development Corp., Megawide World Citi Consortium, AF Consortium, Lightrail Manila Consortium, Megawide Corp. and WM Property Management Inc., Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., and the Universal LRT Corp. Ltd. PNA
Abad says P8-billion housing fund to support ongoing Yolanda rehab
T
he budget department has released P8 billion to the National Housing Authority (NHA) as part of the national government’s continuing rehabilitation and recovery of areas affected by Supetyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in November 2013. The amount is part of the P19 billion approved by the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as funding requirement for resettlement projects in Yolandaaffected areas. The P8-billion fund will be charged against the 2014 supplemental appropriations for the construction of permanent housing for victims of the super typhoon. Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said,
“The 2014 supplemental budget fortunately enabled us to fast-track the implementation of the Yolanda rehabilitation plan instead of having to wait for the next fiscal year. What’s more, with the help of Congress, we had the budgetary space to address high-priority needs that couldn’t wait for the turnover to the next national budget.” The NHA’s Yolanda Permanent Housing
Program was created to address the housing needs of 205,128 families in Regions 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, and Caraga, as approved by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery. Prior to this release, the budget department had released P11 billion in October 2014 charged against the NDRRM fund under the fiscal year 2014 General
Appropriations Act. Abad said, “Creating the budgetary support for the NHA’s permanent housing program for Typhoon Yolanda victims is just part of the National Government’s thrust to ‘Build Back Better.’ By incorporating prevention and preparedness in our rehabilitation efforts, we’ll be able to safeguard settlements throughout the country against future tragedies.” PNA
briefs house panels ok revision of cabotage law Three House committees approved on Tuesday a priority measure of President Aquino that aims to liberalize the entry of foreign vessels between ports in the country. Liberal Party Rep. Antonio Rafael del Rosario of Davao del Norte, vice chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, said the House Committees on Trade and Industry, Ways and Means, and Transportation have jointly adopted and approved the Senate version of the measure allowing foreign vessels to transport and co-load foreign cargoes for domestic transshipment. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
wage hike for filipino hswS in BRUNEI The Philippine government’s labor-reform platform has scored another solid achievement for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), this time by securing employers’ assurance of wage increase for household service workers (HSW) in Brunei Darussalam. This was the gist of the report filed by Philippine Labor Attaché to Brunei Violeta D. Illescas to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz as the full implementation of the new wage, which took effect on January 5, is now in place, and with job orders and individual employment contracts submitted to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Brunei for verification already showing a BN$520 monthly salary for HSWs and unskilled/lowly skilled workers. PNA
A6 Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Opinion BusinessMirror
editorial
An exchange rate for development stimulation
T
he US dollar has been strengthening lately, which should be welcome news to the Philippines, because it implies a weakening of the Philippine peso. A weakened currency is a major tool for stimulation of the economy, because it promotes exports, discourages imports and increases the total absorptive capacity of the economy. Yet, the Philippine peso has been strengthening, the explanation given being that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is trying to keep a lid on the money supply to avoid a resurgence of inflationary pressures. Understandably, there is now the news that the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. is complaining that its members are being hurt by the strengthened peso. Earlier, it was the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who protested against the rise of the Philippine currency. We sympathize with our exporters and OFWs. Their complaint may be self-serving but this self-centeredness happens to be in the national interest. The expansion of exports attains the objectives described above and also helps alleviate poverty—one of our main concerns at this time. OFW remittances raise consumption expenditures, increasing the demand side of our country’s gross domestic product (GDP), thus promoting growth. We urge the BSP to take a serious look at the matter. If it is true that the strengthening is the result of an effort to keep inflationary pressures down, the fear of inflation is not well founded for the reason that the BSP itself has successfully reined in Philippine inflation and that deflation, not inflation, is the most serious threat to the global economy these days. Despite all the news that the US economy has been recovering, pieces of information coming from its various sectors suggest it is still in the doldrums. Quantitative easing remains the Federal Reserve Bank’s central policy. In the case of Japan, not all the trillions of yen (hundreds of billions of US dollars) poured into the economy have yet succeeded in lifting the economy out of its stagnation mode. In the European Union (EU), the fear of deflation is what grips the member-countries. The terms imposed on Greece, and in milder fashion on Spain and Portugal, as a condition for the EU bailouts are all deflationary. Not to mention the US sanctions on Russia, where the sanctioners are now hurting as much as the sanctioned. Of course, a weakened peso will raise the peso cost of the servicing of external debt, whether public or private. But this fear has no solid basis. The Philippine government is awash with cash, the international reserves are at their highest levels, and Philippine private corporations are busy declaring dividends. At the same time, opportunities for export expansion are coming our way, the latest of which is the granting of beneficiary status to the Philippines under the EU’s Generalized System of Preferences and Geographical Indications scheme. We cannot afford to let these opportunities slip from our grasp. Given these considerations, it will only be appropriate for the BSP to allow the peso to find in the foreign-exchange market its own rate, which can be expected to be lower, i.e., weaker, than today’s rate. This does not mean the BSP will just fold its arms to events unfolding before it but merely return to its normal stance of keeping intervention to the minimum. A weaker peso for the Philippines, at this stage, will be a helpful boost to our economic and social transformation.
Important notice to Taiwan-bound overseas workers Susie G. Bugante
All About Social Security
D
O you know that Taiwan is a popular destination for Filipinos looking for jobs overseas? Not only because of the higher pay to be had there but also because of the proximity, tropical climate, familiar cuisine and other cultural similarities, Taiwan is an attractive place of work to many. Based on the latest statistics of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), more than 41,000 newly hired and rehired Filipino workers left for Taiwan as of end-2013, 22 percent higher than the Filipino jobseekers five years before. Given the increasing trend from 2009 to 2013, it won’t be surprising to know that the number of Taiwanbound workers has grown by the end of 2014.
Among the many requirements to obtain a work visa for Taiwan is the Unified Multipurpose ID (UMID) issued by the Social Secu-
rity System (SSS). I suppose the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (Teco) in Manila finds the UMID a reliable identification card, with
Stand down, sky police Adam Minter
BLOOMBERG VIEW
A
merican aviation’s last line of defense is quickly evaporating. Disgruntled federal air marshals, according to National Review, are leaving the service at an alarming clip—in 2014, an average of 10 agents were reported to have left the service’s Washington, D.C., office every month. It seems only a matter of time until the US government will be forced to consider a major overhaul of one of its biggest post-September 11 security upgrades. That could be a good thing, but only if Washington is willing to entirely rethink the program. There’s little reason to believe that a Federal Air Marshal Service—which is currently thought to have around 3,500 officers—was ever the best way to protect the more than 26,000 commercial flights that take off in the United States, on average, every day. America’s planes can be made far safer, far more efficiently. The idea that armed guards should protect passenger flights dates back to the administration of President John F. Kennedy, who placed border agents onto jets in response to a series of hijackings of planes by Cubans. The program was formalized as a Sky Marshal program in 1968, and by 1970 there were 1,784 active officers. Nonetheless, between 1968 and 1972, approximately 75 US flights were hijacked, according to ProPublica—a significant increase over the hijack-happy first half of the 1960s. Hijackings only declined after airports introduced technologies like metal detectors and X-ray machines in the mid-1970s, and the US and
Cuba implemented anti-hijacking laws. The US government soon drew the reasonable conclusion that air marshals (or sky marshals, as they were then known) weren’t terribly useful, and the best place to ensure airplane security was on the ground before takeoff. In the following decades, their ranks shrunk dramatically—by 9/11, the service had only 33 agents. Of course, those numbers expanded very quickly thereafter. Congress, with the approval of the Bush administration, increased the air marshal program’s budget from $4.4 million in 2001 to $545 million in 2003. An agency that previously had one office suddenly expanded to 26 field offices. Previously, managers made individual decisions about placing agents on planes; now they had access to an automated system designed to assign thousands of agents to high-risk flights, including international routes. But amid the frantic post-9/11 push to strengthen security, the government neglected to scrutinize whether a major ramping up of the Air Marshal Service made much
biometrics that assures Teco officials of the true identity of the working-visa applicant. However, the SSS has informed that it is “currently experiencing delay in the UMID card production, as the card printing is temporarily suspended due to the ongoing acquisition of the UMID card-printing services.” Considering the urgent needs of Filipinos applying for work in Taiwan, the SSS has made representations with the Teco to accept the SSS certification in lieu of the UMID card for Taiwan-bound members, and the Teco has graciously acceded to the request. Hence, the SSS has issued an advisory for Taiwan-bound workers as follows: 1. Only Taiwan-bound members who applied from December 10, 2014, onward, or those with earlier applications that had passed fingerprint investigation, will be
issued the certifications. 2. Authorized representatives or liaison officers of recruitment agencies are allowed to request for certifications on behalf of their Taiwanbound clients. 3. Taiwan-bound members with pending UMID card applications can file their request for certificates at any SSS branch until May 15, 2015. 4. The SSS certification will be issued after two working days from receipt of the request at the SSS POEA branch.
sense. The program now costs $825 million per year. It’s only fair to wonder whether the money spent hiring air marshals—who, in aggregate, averaged only 4.2 arrests per year during the 2000s—could be better spent on other, lower-cost safety measures. Strangely, Congress and the rest of the federal government have never taken much interest in assessing the program’s value. In January Sen. Tom Coburn, the former chairman of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee, published a report earlier this year emphasizing that the government hadn’t even bothered to compile the relevant data: In part due to limited publicly available oversight evidence, it is unclear to what extent the Federal Air Marshals program is reducing risk to aviation security, despite the more than $820 million annually that is spent on the program. Thankfully, others have taken the limited amount of unclassified information available on the Federal Air Marshal and issued assessments of their own. The most widely cited cost-benefit analysis of the Federal Air Marshal program was conducted by a US political scientist and Australian engineering professor in 2008. They concluded that the costs imposed by the Federal Air Marshal Service—they estimate an annual cost of “$180 million per life saved”— are unreasonably high. The government’s money, they argue, has been far better spent on another ongoing safety measure: hardened cockpit doors. According to their analysis, those doors have an annual cost of $800,000 per life saved. They suggest other measures might be similarly efficient. One
possibility would be for airports to focus on improving pre-boarding security. Another would be to place more trust in the ability of passengers to serve as a last line of defense. Since 9/11, passengers have managed to subdue a fair number of in-cabin disturbances initiated by unruly passengers and crew. Of course, an air marshal can do things that a cockpit door and unarmed passengers can’t—like shoot people. But if the goal is to have an armed presence on flights, the federal government already has a far cheaper option: the Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDO) program under which eligible flight crew members are trained by the TSA to use firearms aboard flights. It’s been around since 2003 and, according to the Airline Pilots Association, which supports the program, FFDO costs approximately $13 per flight—compared to the air marshal program, which costs around $3,000. In fact, if anything calls into question the cost effectiveness of the Air Marshal Service it’s the 14.6-percent cut its budget has taken since 2012. Those cuts, according to the Department of Homeland Security, had led to elimination of air marshals “by attrition”—yet so far, at least, there’s been no increase in terror on American airplanes. That’s not an argument for abolishing the Federal Air Marshal Service entirely. They still have a role, especially on particularly risky routes where there may not be FFDO crew, or in accompanying dignitaries. But it’s time to get past the idea that America’s safety is being compromised by their shrinking numbers. In all likelihood, it makes no difference—except to the wallets of US taxpayers.
For more information about the SSS and its programs, call our 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@sss.gov.ph. Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the Social Security System. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.
Opinion BusinessMirror
opinion@businessmirror.com.ph
Gender equality, the last Asean Insurance Council big poverty challenge By Preethi Sundaram & Fiona Salter
N
EW YORK—It is estimated that women account for twothirds of the 1.4 billion people currently living in extreme poverty. They also make up 60 percent of the world’s 572 million working poor.
Rapid global change has undoubtedly opened doors for women to participate in social, economic and political life, but gender inequality still holds women back. Around the globe, women and girls continue to have subordinate status, fewer opportunities and lower income, less control over resources, and less power than men and boys. Son preference continues to deny girls the education they have a right to. And the burden of care work that women face impinges and intrudes on their opportunities in terms of education and career. Now a new report launched by the International Planned Parenthood Federation on March 16 in New York examines the links between SRHR and three core aspects of gender equality: social development, economic participation, and participation in political and public life. The report, “Sexual and reproductive health and rights—the key to gender equality and women’s empowerment,” provides specific recommendations to governments and to United Nations agencies to make sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality become a reality. The reason for the report is to assess objectively what we have long suspected, namely, that sexual and reproductive health and rights are critical to achieving equality. Why? Because when women are able to maintain good health the trajectory of their lives can be transformed. There are fewer maternal deaths and less reproductive illness; women and girls can realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights, they are free to participate in social, economic and political life. Stark figures show that the denial of sexual and reproductive health and rights is a cause and consequence of deeply entrenched ideas about what it means to be a man or a woman. Gender norms leave women and girls at risk and unable to reach their full potential. In some extreme cases, they can kill. Women die because they cannot access the abortion services they need. Women die of preventable causes in childbirth. Women die at the hands of their violent partners. We see examples of this in all corners of the world. Globally, one in three women experience either intimate-partner violence or non-partner sexual violence during their lifetime. And, shockingly, women who have experienced intimate-partner violence are 50 percent more likely to contract HIV. Sexual and gender-based violence is a major public health concern in all corners of the world. It’s a barrier to women’s empowerment and gender equality, and a constraint on development, with high economic costs. And then there’s work. The percentage of women working in formal wage employment has increased over the last half century, but a striking num-
ber of women are still likely to work in the informal economy due to gender inequality. Across cultures and in all economies, women continue to do the bulk of unpaid care work. Women make up the majority of workers in the informal economy—83 percent of domestic workers worldwide are women. Work in the informal economy can be more insecure and precarious, and can have specific impacts on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women. For example, lack of regulations can make women more vulnerable to lower wages, limited access to health care, maternity leave or child care and workplace discrimination, including sexual assault. In virtually every country, men spend more time on leisure each day, while women spend more time doing unpaid housework. Women devote one to three hours more a day to housework than men; two to 10 times the amount of time a day to care (for children, elderly and the sick), and one to four hours less a day to market activities. Globally, female labor-force participation decreases 10 percent to 15 percent with each additional child for women aged 25-39. Women also tend to have less access to formal financial institutions and saving mechanisms. While 55 percent of men report they have an account at a formal financial institution, the figure is just 47 percent for women. Here, too, women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are key—true economic empowerment and stability comes from ensuring that regulatory frameworks across both the formal and informal economies take into consideration women’s reproductive lives. In the political realm, gender norms limit women’s opportunities to participate in decision-making. As a result, women’s domestic roles are overemphasized, they have less time to engage in activities outside of the home. This then restricts their influence to informal decision-making, which tends to be hidden, or not respected. Hardly surprising, then, only 1 in 5 parliamentarians is female. One reason for women’s low participation in public and political life is because party politics and strategic resources are dominated by men. In addition, women also have to overcome barriers that men don’t, such as poor networking, limits on whether they can travel. Women voters are four times as likely as men to be targeted for intimidation in elections in fragile states. After all, would you vote if you faced threats on your way to the polling station? What this report shows is that gender inequality prevents girls and women from reaping benefits and contributing to social, economic and political life. So what’s the answer? Truth be told, no single approach will work. We have to look at solutions that work for women’s varied and complex lives.
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BLOOMBERG VIEW
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aruhiko Kuroda can now give his troubles a name: Toyota. It’s hard to draw a kinder conclusion as the company that’s benefited most from the central bank governor’s easing policies offers its 63,000 union employees a measly $33 per month pay hike. Kuroda stood pat at today’s Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy meeting, despite warning that inflation could temporarily decline to zero percent, if not go negative, because of falling energy costs. The hope is that lower oil prices and annual raises, which are being negotiated between unions
and corporations right now, will finally encourage Japanese to start spending again. It’s becoming clear, though, that Kuroda needs to worry as much, if not more, about a “deflationary mind-set” among companies as consumers. Take Toyota, which makes more profit than
poll said they weren’t benefiting from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reform program, they made clear that a main reason they weren’t spending was because costs were rising while wages weren’t. Why are companies being so chary? Weak unions don’t help matters; they’ve long been co-opted by a system they’re supposed to be squeezing for concessions. But the larger problem seems to be that executives remain unconvinced by the government’s reform efforts. When Kuroda launched modern history’s most audacious monetary experiment two years ago, he hoped that by buying $700 billion of public debt annually, and then some, the BOJ would increase demand for credit, boost asset prices and ignite wage gains. Yet, corporations appear to be waiting for the third phase of Abenomics—
pro-growth steps to deregulate industry, loosen labor markets and enliven growth—before they feel confident enough in future prospects to ramp up wages. In effect, they’re calling Tokyo’s bluff. Standing pat, or even opening up the spigots wider, won’t likely change things. In an interview with Bloomberg News, University of Tokyo economist Tsutomu Watanabe suggests an interesting idea: The government should look beyond bond buying and reengage in old-fashioned industrial policy to force companies into being more generous. “Generally, a central bank shouldn’t get involved in wages, but in these kinds of circumstances, it’s unavoidable,” Watanabe says. What might this entail? Along with implementing his structural reforms more convincingly, Abe could use the bully pulpit to shame
executives into fattening paychecks. Rather than cut corporate taxes for all, he could reward companies who share profits with workers. Lawmakers could also slap tax penalties on corporations for hoarding $2 trillion of cash that could be deployed to reinvigorate the economy. For his part, Kuroda could increase corporate debt purchases and pump more liquidity into exchangetraded funds in return for wage gains. These wouldn’t be specific quid pro quo arrangements with companies, but indexed bond purchases that spread the largesse out broadly. And why not a little BOJ shaming, too, for good measure? Kuroda could surely buy up more government bonds and give a more deflation-is-dead speeches. Or he could call Toyota headquarters and start demanding a little solidarity.
SEAN was originally formed in 1967 by the governments of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In April 1978 the insurers of these countries met in Jakarta and decided to establish a council, which would be a nongovernmental organization (NGO), where regional cooperation in the insurance industry can be attained.
Toyota’s measly $33 won’t save Japan William Pesek
insurance association of Brunei as a member of the council. In August 2001 Vietnam was admitted as the seventh member of the AIC during its 27th meeting held in Singapore. Representation in the council is through the life and nonlife insurance associations of the Asean member-countries. As stated in Article II of its MOA: “No association or organization shall be admitted to membership of the council unless it represents member-companies that collectively write more than 50 percent of their business in life insurance and general insurance in the respective member-country.” As of 2003 the Philippines is represented by the Philippine Life Insurance Association Inc. and the Insurance and Surety Association of the Philippines, now the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers
office for a term of two years, but eligible for reelection. The present (2015) secretarygeneral of the AIC is Evelina F. Pietruschka from Indonesia. Pietruschka was the chairman of the Indonesia Life Insurance Association and the Federation of Indonesia Insurance Association. She is also the president commissioner of the Wanaartha Life, a leading insurance company in Indonesia founded in 1974. She holds a masteral degree from Pepperdine University in California, USA. She also holds insurance professional degrees of Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant from Singapore College of Insurance. The present chairman is Vincent Kwo who succeeded Kornelius Simanjutak. Kwo is the president of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia, while Simanjutak is the president of the General Insurance Association of Indonesia. The AIC undertakes a number of projects, among them are the Inaugural Asean Insurance Summit held at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, last October 1, 2014, and the conduct of the School of Advanced Insurance Leadership.
INSURANCE FORUM
On April 4, 1978, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed establishing the Asean Insurance Council (AIC), at that time as an informal adjunct of Asean. It was only on June 23, 1983, during the Fifth Meeting of the Asean Standing Committee in Bangkok, that the council was formally affiliated as an Asean NGO. Its principal objective is to promote and stimulate the development of the insurance industry within Asean and to build relationships among insurance companies in Asean. On January 7, 1984, Negara Brunei Darussalam (Brunei) was formally admitted as the sixth member of the Asean through a Declaration of Admission signed in Jakarta. A year later, or on October 3, 1985, the insurance council passed a resolution admitting the national
all other Japanese carmakers combined. It’s offering to raise monthly base wages by a piddling 1.1 percent, one-third less than what the Toyota Motor Workers’ Union requested. That’s the equivalent of sharing four days of profit with employees; the company earned a record $18 billion profit this year, largely because of the 30-percent drop in the yen engineered by the BOJ’s quantitative-easing program. Even Nissan, which is expected to offer the largest base-pay increase among domestic manufacturers, is only looking at increasing wages by about $41 per month. Kuroda’s focus is on generating a 2-percent inflation. But deflation remains a symptom of Japan’s twodecade funk, not the cause; forcing prices upward won’t necessarily lead to revived growth. Last month, when 81 percent of respondents in Nikkei
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Association. Brunei is represented by the General Insurance Association of Brunei Darussalam. Malaysia is represented by Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia and the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia. Singapore is represented by the General Insurance Association of Singapore and the Life Insurance Association. Thailand is represented by the General Insurance Association and the Thai Life Assurance Association. Vietnam is represented by the Association of Vietnamese Insurers. Each member-organization is, in turn, represented by an individual it nominates. On December 17, 2002, during the 28th meeting of the council in Thailand, the Indonesian membership was replaced. The Dewan Asuransi Indonesia (Insurance Council of Indonesia) was replaced by Asosiasi Asuransi Umum Indonesia (Indonesia General Insurance Association) and the Asosiasi Asuransi Jiwa Indonesia (Indonesia Life Assurance Association). On September 19, 2013, the AIC inaugurated its Permanent Secretariat office in Permata Building in Kuningan, South of Jakarta. The council consists of the following members: the chairman of the council, six vice chairmen, the secretary-general, and six individuals (now revised), one from each member-country of Asean. The secretary-general holds
Dennis B. Funa
Inter Press Service
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Atty. Dennis B. Funa is the Insurance Commission’s deputy commissioner for legal services. Send comments to dennisfuna@yahoo.com.