Businessmirror may 03, 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, May 3, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 206

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

Analysts see gaming boom week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW Foreign exchange

n Previous week: The peso still moved largely within the lower band of the 44 territory in the previous week, albeit at a weaker note during the period. In particular, the local currency started the week moving sideways at 44.275 to a dollar, from 44.245 to a dollar at the end of the previous week. This slightly appreciated to 44.26 to a dollar on Tuesday, then depreciated back to 44.32 to a dollar on Wednesday. The peso saw the biggest slump on Thursday, just before the trading holiday due to the observance of Labor Day on Friday—which is a national holiday. The peso closed the week’s trading on Thursday at 44.52 to a dollar. This is the lowest value of the peso in about two weeks, or since April 15, when the peso hit 44.54 to a dollar. The average trading value of the peso during the shortened trading week is at 44.34 to a dollar, slightly weaker than 44.23 to a dollar in the previous week. The total traded volume is at $2.06 billion, lower than the $2.831 billion in the previous week.

n Week ahead: The local currency is seen to move around the same rate as the previous week’s, with an upward bias of up to about 44.6 to 44.8, several market players said. External-data releases are still seen to hound local markets during the period.

Inflation (April 2015)

May 5, Tuesday

n March 2015 inflation: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation for March fell to 2.4 percent, squarely within the central bank governor’s official forecast range for the month, at 2.1 percent to 2.9 percent. March’s inflation is slower than the 2.5-percent inflation rate seen in the previous month, and the 3.9 percent seen in March 2014. The month’s figure also put inflation average for the first quarter of the year significantly lower than the first-quarter inflation average of 4.1 percent.

n April inflation: No significant surprise is expected from the April inflation print, and is likely to remain around the same rate as the previous month’s. Earlier, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. forecast April inflation to hit 1.9 percent to 2.8 percent.

Also, private-sector economists see inflation hitting 2.4 percent again in April (see related story).

Bianca Cuaresma

F

By Roderick L. Abad

OREIGN investors continue to bet on the different real-estate sectors in the Philippines, especially in gaming, on the back of strong macroeconomic fundamentals and improved buying power of the market.

On the fourth quarter of 2014, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 6.9 percent and the annualized growth rate is 6.1 percent, thus retaining its position as the second-fastest-growing economy in Asia next to China.

Such strong economic performance earned confidence from investors to come in, which led to a P6.20-billion cumulative foreign direct investment for 2014, according to the Bangko Sentral.

The optimism of investors will continue on GDP prospects at 7 percent by end of 2015 and 8 percent for 2016, as forecast by the National Economic and Development Authority.

With favorable inflows to spread across all industries, real estate is seen to flourish further, particularly in the gaming segment, which is now considered as the “sunshine

market,” given the commencement of operations of various licensed casinos and others coming online in the near future.

Driving its growth is the Entertainment City of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

(Pagcor) in Pasay City, the report by Fitch Ratings, dubbed “Eye in the Sky Series: Philippines,” revealed.

In 2013 Solaire Resort and Casino of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. first opened in this gaming complex.

Two years after, the City of Dreams Manila—a joint venture between the SM Group and Lawrence Ho of Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment—recently opened the 940-room hotel, with 380 gaming tables, 1,700 slot machines and 1,700 electronic table games.

See “Gaming,” A2

Inflation RATE seen unchanged in April P

RIVATE economists supported the Bangko Sentral’s view of a well-behaved inflation in the country in April this year on the back of the tame food and utility prices.

Economists polled by the BusinessMirror showed that the median inflation forecast of private-sector economic experts for April 2015 hit 2.4 percent—within the central bank’s own forecast range of 1.9 percent to 2.8 percent, as earlier announced

by BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr.

This means that the average forecast of economists is an unchanged inflation range from the previous month, as March’s growth of consumer prices also hit 2.4 percent.

The forecasts of the seven economists—based both in the Philippines and overseas—have a range of 2.2 percent to 2.6 percent for the period.

In particular, Standard Chartered economist Jeff Ng has the lowest forecast during the month, at 2.2 percent, due largely to base effects for food inflation.

“Food inflation eased to 4.3 percent year-on-year in March, from a peak of 8.3 percent in August; and we expect it to have eased further in April. However, the fuelprice hikes in April likely increased transport inflation and limited further downside to year-on-year inflation,” Ng said.

Local banks, meanwhile, seem to have agreed that inflation hit 2.4 percent in April.

Economists from Security Bank and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) put their

PESO exchange rates n US 44.2500

CHAMP CAKE Zach Yonzon, owner of The Bunny Baker café, poses with the life-size cake of Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao at his bakeshop in Quezon City on Saturday. Yonzon, who says he was bored with making traditional cakes, sculpted the one-of-a-kind life-size cake in the image of Pacquiao to mark the Filipino champion’s megabout with American Floyd Mayweather Jr. Yonzon says his wife Aila and six of his staff helped finish the 66-inch chocolate cake on Saturday, after working 24 hours at the café. AP/Bullit Marquez

inflation forecast at 2.4 percent, along with Moody’s Analytics.

ING Bank Manila’s Joey Cuyegkeng, meanwhile, forecast inflation to hit 2.5 percent, while Singapore-based DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi and Maybank ATR Kim Eng economist Luz Lorenzo see inflation hitting 2.6 percent.

Emerging worries

WHILE most of the economists attributed their low inflation views to decline in oil and food prices, as well as statistical base effects, some analysts said that inflation might start to tick upward, starting in the second half of the year toward year-end, owing to the possibility of a rebound in oil prices and the waning off of base effects.

“A possible rebound in oil prices toward the second half of the year will probably see inflation inch higher to the midpoint and slightly to the upper end of the inflation target,” BPI economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa told the BusinessMirror.

“I think we are in a bottoming-out process for inflation with the base effects until midyear,” Cuyegkeng said.

Amid the emerging worries, all economists maintain that the average inflation for the year is seen to stay within the 2-percent to 4-percent target range set by the central bank for 2015.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will announce inflation figures on May 5.

Bianca Cuaresma

READY TO RUMBLE! L

AS VEGAS—Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao weighed in below the welterweight limit on Friday before a packed arena of screaming, singing fans anticipating the landmark bout.

One day before Mayweather and Pacquiao finally meet in the richest event in boxing history, they took the stage in an MGM Grand Arena filled with 11,500 fans enjoying the public’s best chance to see the fighters in person.

A beaming Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) stepped

on the scales first and weighed in at 145 pounds— two below the welterweight limit.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) followed and weighed in at 146 pounds.

The fighters betrayed few emotions in their staredown, keeping with the impersonal nature of the promotion.

But Pacquiao also said, “Thank you” to Mayweather, who said he didn’t hear it.

“[I was] thanking him for the fans that the See “Ready,” A2

n japan 0.3717 n UK 68.3043 n HK 5.7098 n CHINA 7.1374 n singapore 33.4973 n australia 35.6395 n EU 49.1927 n SAUDI arabia 11.8006 Source: BSP (30 April 2015)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, May 3, 2015

Gaming... continued from A1

It has three towers to cater to these brands: Nobu Hotel, Crown Towers and Hyatt Hotel.

On its opening day, City of Dreams drew 60,000 visitors. At present, it attracts 15,000 guests on a daily basis.

Looking forward, Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada and the joint venture of Philippine billionaire Andrew L. Tan and Genting Hong Kong Ltd. are expected to open their casino resorts here, beginning next year until 2018.

With these developments, CBRE expects strong revenues this year via other licensed players, including Travellers International Hotel Group, Bloomberry Resorts Corp., Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp. and Tiger Resorts.

Meanwhile, industry analysts project double-digit revenues for all of the licensed casino operators in the coming years.

“We are bullish on the growth of the real estate—gaming sector, especially—

when private and public entities focus on developments and implementations that will favor investors,” said Rick Santos, chairman, founder and CEO of CBRE Philippines.

“If the performance of the sector continues on an uptrend, the Philippines can even rival Macau,” he added.

Similarly, the new gaming players will help boost tourism in the country from frequently visiting neighboring cities like Macau, whose casino operators are now experiencing a challenge business-wise.

Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc. reported in its recent “Market Insight” study that Macau has lost steam and realized a revenue drop in 2014 after a decade of expansion.

“Some industry players are attributing this to the Chinese government’s high-profile anticorruption drive that spooked the high rollers, which account for bulk of the gaming revenues of Macau,” it said.

Considering that foreign investors are setting their sights on the Philippines, the real-estate industry should maximize its resources by building entertainment cen-

ters with the integration of commercial, leisure and gaming spaces.

CBRE suggested developers to do a holistic approach, taking into consideration the strength of the country as a top tourist destination.

Data from the Department of Tourism showed that visitor arrivals reached 456,524 in February of this year, up 8.02 percent from 422,631 tourist arrivals in the same period last year.

“Tourism does play a hand in the development of the gaming sector as the Philippines goes beyond the casinos; tapping into other hospitality aspects, such as MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibits] and entertainment,” Santos said.

Think tanks are bullish on bright prospects ahead of the gaming sector with the projected influx of gamers and high rollers from neighboring countries.

They agree that simultaneous development of the gaming and tourism business in the country will bring the real-estate industry to greater heights, with demand and supply going up.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Ready...

continued from A1

fight will happen,” Pacquiao said. “I think, I believe that the fight must happen because the fans deserve it.”

Sections of the crowd roared and booed for both fighters, although the majority appeared to support Pacquiao, who raised both arms to the crowd with finger V’s for victory. Mayweather was booed repeatedly when his image appeared on the arena scoreboards, but he also acknowledged his healthy cheering section with waves and a raised fist.

“I’ve dedicated myself to the sport of boxing for over 20 years, and I’m ready,” Mayweather said.

Even an ordinary weigh-in turned into a hot ticket in boxing’s capital city because only about 500 tickets for the actual fight were sold to the public. The promotion took the unprecedented step of selling $10 tickets to the weigh-in and donating the profits to charity, but secondary prices for the weigh-in seats topped $500 on StubHub earlier this week.

The fans began arriving on the Strip on Friday morning, packing the MGM Grand’s parking garage and streaming into the casino from the street. A long line to get into the arena formed several hours early, and the first fans got into the building four hours before any fighter took the stage.

Many Filipino fans dressed in bright colors and waved their nation’s flag, including one with a superimposed “Manny for President!” slogan. The 36-year-old Pacquiao is a congressman, but has patiently pointed out that he couldn’t be the Philippines’s president until he turns 40.

While the fans bought food and merchandise during their wait, hip-hop pioneer Doug E. Fresh rapped and beatboxed on stage. Two groups of fans on the concourse exchanged loud dueling chants of “Man-ny!

Man-ny!” and “Floyd! Floyd!” before grinning security guards told them to cool it.

The weigh-in was the final ceremony before the culmination of five years of negotiations and posturing between the unbeaten Mayweather and the popular Pacquiao, the two most prominent boxers of the past half-decade. AP

EconomySunday BusinessMirror

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

Sunday, May 3, 2015 A3

Senate aims passage of economic bills, BBL as sessions resume on Monday

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

hile the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) remains the Senate top agenda as plenary session resumes on Monday, Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said that the upper chamber would work for the passage of key legislation that would boost the country’s competitiveness amid the emerging opportunities and challenges brought about by the Asean economic integration.

“The passage of the proposed Bangsamoro basic law continues to be important for the upper

chamber. It will receive a special legislative attention in the coming weeks. We will devote extra time

and effort to ensure the passage of BBL that is constitutional, fair and inclusive—one that will help end the decades of strife in Mindanao,” Drilon said in a news statement released on Friday.

“Once the committee on local government, chaired by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., submits its report on the BBL to the body, we will immediately calendar it for discussion. We expect strong debates on the floor over the passage of this bill. We all acknowledge the necessity of this piece of legislation to ensure genuine peace and growth for our brothers and sisters in Mindanao,” he added.

Drilon said the Senate would also devote attention to other bills, including economic reforms to help the country cope with regional developments, such as the Asean economic integration this year.

Other bills to be taken up in-

clude the proposed Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (Timta) and the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Drilon said.

He said the passage of Timta, which gained support from business community, would promote transparency and accountability in the grant of tax incentives to business entities.

The creation of the DICT, also supported by the business leaders, would help the country manage and develop its burgeoning information and communications technology sector, according to Drilon.

He said the Senate would also work on a legislation that would strengthen the public-private partnership scheme to address the infrastructure backlog in the country.

He said the Senate would also

work for the passage of the proposed Customs and Tariff Modernization Act (CTMA), which would reduce smuggling and make customs procedure and operations more simple and transparent. “We intend to advance the discussions on the CTMA to address the most pressing problems of the Bureau of Customs [BOC],” he said.

Apart from helping end the P200-billion annual dent to state revenues caused by smuggling and illegal transactions, Drilon said “automating the BOC’s systems and lessening human intervention would make Customs procedures faster and more credible.”

He said the Senate is also expected to pass on third and final reading three proposed bills when session starts on Monday. These include Senate Bill (SB) 2280, which seeks to amend the Probation Law of 1976, SB 2518, which

aims to remove the conditions for the condonation of all unpaid taxes due from local water districts, and House Bill 945 which seeks to declare the last full week of August as Armed Forces of the Filipino People Week.

Drilon said 33 Senate bills were already on advanced stages of legislation before the upper chamber went on recess in March.

He said the Senate would work on the following legislation: the amendments to the Revised Penal Code, the proposed Unified Student Financial Assistance Act bill, the establishment of Public Employment and Services Office bill, the Pagasa Modernization Act, the amendments to the AFP Modernization Act, the amendments to the prescriptive period for graft and corrupt practices, and the enactment of a national identification system

PSE reelects most of incumbent board of directors for 2015 Metrobank accelerates

By VG Cabuag

T

he Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. on Saturday re-elected most of its 15-man incumbent board of directors, including its chairman Jose Pardo and president Hans Sicat, except for one of its independent directors who retired after serving the bourse for more than a decade.

In its annual stockholders’ meeting, Pardo was elected chairman and Sicat was re-appointed as the president and chief executive officer, both elected to head the PSE for the fourth straight year.

Independent director Cornelio Peralta stepped down after serving the PSE for 11 years.

He was replaced by Ramon Monzon, currently the vice chairman and chief operating officer of Citadel Holdings

Inc. and one of the founders of Carousel Production, which produces Miss Earth beauty pageant.

“All motions including the election of officers and the special approvals (of the board of directors) were just carried through, unanimously,” Sicat said after the PSE's annual stockholders' meeting.

Sicat said that this year will be the last year of the PSE's three-year plan of transforming the exchange to be at par of its peers, the highlight of which is shifting to other trading platform and the merger with the Philippine Dealing System, the platform for the bond market.

“We've been working on these two since last year,” Sicat said.

The PSE this month is replacing its current trading system with PSEtrade XTS,

provided by NASDAQ or National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations.

On the PDS, the PSE is still coming up with the final offer sheet for all the remaining shareholders of the PDS, which the bourse is trying to buy and merge the two trading platforms of bonds and the equities market.

Sicat said that the previously announced P2.25 billion is their “base offer,” while due diligence on the PDS is still being conducted.

“We are in middle of discussing [the terms] with the BAP (Bankers Association of the Philippines). We'll find out in the next two to three weeks and give the final offer sheet to all owners and give them about a month to accept,” Sicat said earlier.

Other programs of the PSE include the

Real Estate Investment Trust, an investment instrument that has shunned by investors due to taxation issues and the government is not showing signs that it will give in to market requests of relaxing some of its rules.

“Unfortunately the government has not changed its stance on the IRR (implementing rules and regulations). But we continue our advocacy in terms of what works in the market. Until they change the IRR [thePSE cannot do anything],” Sicat said. “We have a lot of work to do in the coming year,” he added.

Other 13 directors of the PSE are Emmanuel Bautista, Anabelle Chua, David Chua, Francis Chua, Dakila Fonacier (independent director), Amor Iliscupidez, Eddie Gobing, Edgardo Lacson, Eusebio Tanco, Robert Vergara, Vivian Yuchengco and Alejandro Yu.

Albay to stage Palaro 2016 as a sports-tourism event

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EGAZPI CITY—Albay will host the 2016 Palarong Pambansa with a most welcome twist—a touristic adventure for participants and guests in the different venues of the weeklong games, scattered around the most scenic places in the province.

Sports facilities for the Palaro are presently being constructed in various strategic sites of Albay’s three districts, all with a panoramic vista of the near-perfect cone-shaped Mayon Volcano which is now included in United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Sites tentative list. The facilities have an outlay of P850 million, P700 million of it from the national government approved by President Aquino early this year. Albay shells out the P150 million as counterpart.

The games’ main venue is the Albay Sports complex, in Guinobatan town, which will have an international standard oval track and a grandstand that could accommodate thousands of spectators.

Palaro 2016 also opens door to a titillating and mouthwatering culinary adventure for visitors. Albay’s cuisine now occupies a big role in the province’s tourism program, attracting huge crowds. They received overwhelming raves at the recent Madrid Fusión Manila, a global food fair at the Mall of Asia.

SALCEDA: “Some 15,000 delegates from the country’s 17 regions are expected to join 21 Palaro events, apart from friends, families and visitors. My guidance to Team Albay, the 2016 Palaro technical working group, is to design a ‘multivenue’ layout, that shall distribute participants in different sports sites around the province so they can enjoy our global standard tourism areas while competing.”

Gov. Joey Salceda said that while the Palarong Pambansa is primarily a sports event under the Department of Education, it is also an opportunity for Albay—a leading tourism destination in the country—to showcase its hospitality and its global standard tourism sites to the sportsfest’s participants and guests.

Some 15,000 delegates from the country’s 17 regions are expected to join 21 Palaro events, apart from friends, families and visitors. “My guidance to Team Albay, the

2016 Palaro technical working group, is to design a “multi-venue” layout, that shall distribute participants in different sports sites around the province so they can enjoy our global standard tourism areas while competing,” Salceda said. The 2016 Palaro is Albay’s second time to host the games in 63 years.

With sports tourism still toeing the strict standards of the games, Salceda said Albay plans to distribute the 21 events around the province so participants and visitors also get the opportunity to explore Albay’s best tourism destinations and specialties. Albay’s hosting the games along the line of sports tourism event may go down as first in the history of Palarong Pambansa.

Salceda is the first recipient the Tourism Star Philippines Award given early this year by the Department of Tourism [DOT] in recognition of his exemplary contribution to the Philippine Tourism Industry.”

As the Philippines’s leading province in travel and tourism, Albay was featured at the March 10 to 13 Marche International Proffesionels d’Immobilier at the Palais de Festivals in Cannes, France, and was featured in many national and international travel marketing sorties like the Berlin ITB 2012, London WTM 2013, Shanghai TIM 2013 and the Department of Tourism promotions in Hong Kong in 2014. PNA

expansions in challenging banking environment

By Genivi Factao

T

he Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) has heightened its expansion plans to face new challenges under a fully liberalized banking industry and Asean integration.

Metrobank Chairman Arthur Ty said banking liberalization and Asean integration prompted the bank to increase its coverage footprint and upgrade product offerings.

“These moves allow us to compete effectively against potential new players in the industry and position us to capture new opportunities that may arise from this development,” he said.

He sees tremendous growth potential in the country, as the per capita gross domestic product is approaching the $3,000 level. The country has a young dynamic and growing population to support the regional progress and development.

“Coupled with a favorable interest-rate environment for lending and ample domestic liquidity, we can see that the stars have aligned for sustained economic growth from the Philippines,” he added.

Ty said they are seeing a range of small start-up businesses being fueled by aspiring entrepreneurs. The middle-market players and large conglomerates are looking to fulfill their expansion plans and global aspirations.

“There are countless opportunities in the consumer space, given the increased spending capacity and wealth accumulation of the growing population,” Ty said.

This early, regulators have also signaled that additional capital buffers will be required between 2017 and 2019.

Last year Philippine banks implemented the Basel 3 capital adequacy standards ahead of most other economies. Metrobank has prepared prudently for Basel 3 implementation. Through previous divestments and the completion of a P22.5-billion Tier-2 program in 2014, the bank ended 2014 with a capital adequacy ratio of 16 percent, comfortably ahead of the 10-percent minimum regulatory requirement.

The bank saw notable improvements in corporate governance metrics, ensuring transparency and fairness in all its dealings.

Metrobank President Fabian Dee said that the stricter rules challenged banks to boost capital buffer and balance between growth opportunities, managing risks and preserving capital.

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, May 3, 2015

editorial

Best wishes for PhilippineVietnam relations

I

T has taken long in coming but here it is at last—the broadening and deepening of Philippine-Vietnam relations. The first time many of us first heard of Vietnam was in the middle 1960s, when we sent a Philippine Civic Action Group (PhilCAG) to South Vietnam to assist in the delivery of humanitarian services to the Vietnamese people, instead of a military expeditionary force as we did to South Korea in the 1950s.

The Vietnamese had just defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu and the US had taken up the mantle for the restoration of colonialism in Asia.

Conscious of it or not, we served as an errand boy of the Americans. It would take another 10 years, up to May 1, 1975, to be exact, before the Americans would suffer the same fate as the French. Later, China would be similarly punished.

Vietnam is now a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), fully committed to the acceleration of its national development. With this commitment, it is in the same boat as the Philippines. It is only proper that the two countries came together to pursue their common objective.

Let’s establish a few facts about the two countries as of 2013. In key features, the two countries are nearly the same. In land area, the Philippines has 300,000 square kilometers, Vietnam 330,951 sq. kms. The Philippines has a population of 100 million; Vietnam’s is 90 million. The Philippines’s per capita gross domestic Product is $2,706 in nominal terms and $6,403 in purchasing power parity, while the figures for Vietnam are, respectively, $1,908 and $5,315.

The two countries have about the same potential for successful interaction.

Where they differ is in their external features as shown below in the results for 2013.

Exports Imports Tourist arrivals Foreign Investment Philippines $54.0 mil $65.1 mil 4,681,300 $3.9 mil Vietnam $132.7 mil $132.1 mil 7,572,400 $8.9 mil In all three measures of external exposure and development, Vietnam is well ahead of the Philippines. Closer and Improved relations will, hopefully, contribute to the expansion of these features in the two countries.

Many observers say that it is not the international economics that is propelling the two countries to come together, but international security reasons. That might be the truth of the matter. For security reasons or not, the coming together of the two countries is in the interest of their respective peoples. The Vietnamese and Filipino people must interact more closely not just in the economic and political fields, but in the fields of history and culture, as well in order to maximize benefits from their geographic propinquity to one another.

In this connection, we note with great elation the formation recently of the Philippine-Vietnam Friendship Association, which consists of Philippine businessmen, media people, academics and cultural workers trying to bring the two peoples together through business, cultural and academic exchanges. Similar associations have been formed in Vietnam to interact with Philippine counterparts.

We look forward to the strengthening and warming of relations between the peoples of Vietnam and the Philippines in the years ahead.

Skip the fight

By Kavitha A. Davidson Bloomberg View

A

LL week, people have been asking me where I plan to watch the fight. And all week, I’ve told them to wait for this column to understand my answer: I’m not.

My Bloomberg View colleague Stephen L. Carter isn’t either, for reasons he details in his own piece—namely the immense physical damage boxing causes. That’s all well and good, and brain trauma is certainly one reason for the steady decline of the sport’s popularity (though, the same threat hasn’t made a dent in the juggernaut that is pro football). But my issue is this: I can’t, in good conscience, let $1 of my money—certainly not 100 of them—support Floyd Mayweather Jr. More than any other sport, boxing’s viewers directly reward athletes, because final purses are determined by pay-per-view revenue. More than any other sport, boxing is built on a glorification of violence that is also steeped in a rich tradition of racial tension. And more than any other sport, boxing seems capable of not just ignoring, but enabling—even encouraging— violence against women.

There are 400 million reasons Mayweather will be allowed to step in the ring on Saturday night, but four even bigger reasons he shouldn’t be: The four women he has beaten.

This is where I have to point out that yes, he’s been convicted; yes, he’s served jail time; and no, there aren’t photos. Because if the Ray Rice incident finally gave voice to anti-domestic-violence advocates, it also brought out the anti-victim crowd, quick to call every accuser a liar and demand

Gospel

Sunday, May 2, 2015

‘I

Even without the accusations of at least seven attacks on five different victims, Mayweather has been allowed to skate by with a prehistoric attitude toward women, comparing them to cars and saying a woman is “asking to be disrespected” if she dresses a certain way. visual proof of an attack. If you really need something to look at, take a gander at the handwriting of Mayweather’s then-10-yearold son in this police report: “My dad was hiting my mom”; “my dad kick my mom”; “then my mom told me to run.”

The incident report provides even more sickening details on the attack on the boy’s mother, Josie Harris, who was not in a relationship with Mayweather at the time: “Harris awoke to Mayweather over her striking her in back of her head with a closed fist several times.

Mayweather also pulled Harris’s hair and twisted her left arm....

During the incident Mayweather told Harris, ‘I’m going to kill you and the man you are messing around with.’ He also stated ‘I’m going to get someone to pour acid on you.’ Harris yelled for her children to call police. Mayweather threatened them with violence if they did call police.”

May weat her den ies it a l l, calling his victims—including his children—liars, using the lack of visual evidence to his advantage. “No bumps, no bruises, no nothing,” he said. “You guys have yet to see any pictures of a battered woman.”

“He is a coward,” his son told USA Today last year. And he’s allowed to continue being one by

AM the true vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch of Mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

“You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who

those who find him so darn profitable.

Even without the accusations of at least seven attacks on five different victims, Mayweather has been allowed to skate by with a prehistoric attitude toward women, comparing them to cars and saying a woman is “asking to be disrespected” if she dresses a certain way.

He even uses t he ling uistic trademark of misog ynists everywhere: referring to women as “females.”

But there’s no such thing as a gaffe, a misstep or a career-ending domestic-violence scandal in the Mayweather empire, because in boxing, money is the only thing that talks.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) approved his boxing license last week; it has denied licenses to other fighters for offenses far less egregious than Mayweather’s. When ESPN’s Outside the Lines asked an official about the glaring inconsistency and oversight, she simply stated that the commission felt Mayweather had been properly dealt with in the courts.

We should ask ourselves why that answer is acceptable from the NSAC when it’s unacceptable from Roger Goodell.

The fight is expected to gene– rate an estimated $400 million in revenue, with Mayweather’s take pegged at around $150 million.

That’s $150 million coming directly from the pockets of fans and viewers who might not realize that simply by watching a boxing match; they’re directly supporting a man who has attacked women.

If this doesn’t sit well with you, I invite you to join me on Saturday night in avoiding this loathsome spectacle. Turn off the television and #BoycottMay weather.

abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.

“If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”— John 15:1-8

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, May 3, 2015 A5

Wallet in mouth C

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

EO Dan Price did not gather his employees to give them another pep talk about how great the company is doing, and how much better still it will do if they put in more hours and take home less pay. Dan gathered them at the start of the workweek and told them he had cut his annual salary from $1 million to $70,000, and dipped into the company’s $2- million profits to start raising everyone’s salary up to $70,000 over the next three years.

St u n ne d s i le nce me t h i s announcement. Then Nydelis

Ortiz, making $36,000 a year, called her parents, who had been homeless for years, that she was taking home P50,000; a $14,000 raise.

Jason Byrd said that he can start paying back his student loans and, with that off his mind, he can start working even harder and smarter.

“This gives us so much freedom to just do our jobs and not have to worry about money,” he said.

Indeed, lack of money does not motivate you to work harder and better to earn more. It dispirits you. It makes you care less about

doing a good job at all. Marcus Aurelius, the greatest of the Roman emperors, was adopted in the tradition of the Caesars, and at a young age, told he would be emperor. His adoptive father did not believe in keeping his adopted son in suspense, say until he showed Marcus had proven his mettle to be emperor and his worth for the imperial dignity. His adoptive father believed that if you give a man his reward first, he will feel like working harder to deserve it after he has tasted it and after it

has freed his mind of any other concerns except doing the best job he can. The bonus comes first.

Why did Dan do it? He had overheard talk about how hard it is to get decent housing and he knew that you can’t think clearly if you’re worried about where you will go home to or where your wife and children will live.

Dan had also read that additional income makes a significant difference in a person’s emotional well-being—at least until they earn $75,000, when satisfaction marginally declines.

Dan says that when everyone gets

$70,000 each and the firm’s profit is back to what it was before he gave it all away, he will pay himself $1 million again but not before. Even those already making $70,000 were happy, because there was no one miserable around them anymore; the tone of office conversation turned from desperation to dedication, from competition to cooperation.

What does that say? It says that the next time management calls for a pep talk, be sure to walk out if the CEO is not talking to you through his wallet.

Manny Pacquiao fights for the Filipino

By Jose Antonio Vargas Los Angeles Times

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OTHING connects my extended, multigenerational Filipino family—grandparents, aunts and uncles; cousins, nephews and nieces here in the US and back in the Philippines—quite like Manny Pacquiao.

Indeed, nothing connects all Filipinos (about 100 million in the Philippines and 14 million scattered around the world) like the 5-foot-7, 144-pound boxer known in Tagalog as Ang Pambansang Kamao or “The Nation’s Fist.”

“For many people, Manny Pacquiao is the Philippines,” said Ryan Moore, who produced and codirected Manny, a documentary film on the fighter released this year. “Before Manny, when you said you’re Filipino, a lot of people said, ‘Oh, yeah, Imelda Marcos, a lot of shoes.’ Now, when you say you’re Filipino, people will say, ‘Manny Pacquiao!’”

The tie is so tight, a headline in the Guardian newspaper in London, reads: “As Manny Pacquiao’s stock rises, so does the Philippine peso.” It’s so tight that Pacquiao’s “Fight of the Century” against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday is bigger than that catchphrase, the reported $300-million prize money, and boxing itself.

For Filipino Americans, it’s a battle for recognition, for identity in a culture where, for the mainstream, Asians tend to fade into a monochromatic racialized “other.”

Did you know there are 3.6 million Filipinos in the US, that they make up the third-largest immigrant group, behind Mexicans and Chinese? According to a joint report released this week by the Center for American Progress and AAPI Data, the country’s Filipino population has doubled since 2000. Nearly half live in California, most of them in the Los Angeles area. But, unlike Mexicans and Chinese, whose presence and influence, in various forms, are palpable in California and across the country, we have a tendency to disappear, to assimilate to the point of invisibility.

It was only three years ago that the first Filipino American, Rob Bonta, was elected to the California Legislature. And it was only last week that a major news organization, the Washington Post, declared: “At long last, Filipino food arrives. What took it so long?” (Hint: We’re proud of our food, but we weren’t sure anyone else would spend money eating it.)

I first heard of Pacquiao from my lolo and lola (grandfather and grandmother), both naturalized US citizens, in the early 2000s. I was in

college by then, an Americanized kid, who knew a lot about television and movies and nothing at all about boxing. But Pacquiao’s ascent was one of the few things I could discuss with my grandparents.

They identified with his story— raised in a poor fishing town, a caretaker for his family by age 12, fighting for a livelihood with his bare hands.

My US-born cousins and I identified with his crossover success: Here was a quintessential Filipino guy—he looks Filipino, he speaks with a Filipino accent, he loves to sing karaoke– embraced and celebrated by Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike. A generous guy who handed out money back in the Philippines, an athletic wunderkind, who won in multiple weight classes, a certified hero. How could you not cheer?

In 2008, not long after my lolo died, I was working in Washington but I still made it a point to go home to the San Francisco Bay Area, so I could watch Pacquiao fight Oscar de la Hoya with my family. We cheered again; the win was historic. But Pacquiao’s hero status was beginning to slip for me.

In 2010 Pacquiao, a Roman Catholic-turned-evangelical-Protestant, was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives. Rumor has it he has presidential aspirations. But he

has been a mostly absent congressman, who fought against legislation that mandated sex education and subsidized contraception in the Philippines. This is a man for the 21st century?

In Los Angeles where he trains with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Pacquiao spoke out against same-sex marriage.

(He later clarified his position, “I am against gay marriage, but I am not condemning gays.”) But I had to ask, should I still be cheering?

“I can’t speak for Manny and his beliefs. But Manny, like most Filipinos, had a deep Catholic upbringing.

It’s as much a cultural thing as it is a religious thing. In the Philippines, the line between them is blurred,” said Moore, 35, whose mother is a Filipina and whose dad is white.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Moore attended high school in the Philippines, where he saw firsthand just how difficult life was for his mother, Cynthia, and his grandmother, Basilisa, who raised six kids by herself after her husband died.

Like my grandparents, he sees his family’s struggle in Pacquiao’s struggle—from nothing, something; from hardship, triumph.

Moore has known Pacquiao for six years, five of which he spent filming and editing Manny. He’s gone to al-

most all of Pacquiao’s fights and is not much conflicted about the fighter’s iconic status.

“I mean, imagine, for a Filipino to be fighting in what is being called the Super Bowl of Boxing,” Moore said, “what is being called the biggest fight of our time, to have a Filipino fighting for us. He even wrote a song about it.”

I asked Moore whether Pacquiao thinks he’s going to win.

“Manny believes that whatever is going to be will be. That’s God’s plan.

He goes out there and does his best.

But, is he extremely confident? I’d say so. I’ve never seen him this confident before.”

What does Moore think?

“I’ve never made a prediction about any of Manny’s fights,” he said, “but I will for this one because I’ve never seen him so fired up. I’m not a gambler, but if I did gamble, I would bet.”

Moore will be in Las Vegas watching live. Along with my lola, my uncle Rolan and my aunt Alma will be glued to the screen at a Pacquiao party.

Just on Thursday, my cousin Gladys told me that she’s been praying for Pacquiao all week. Still conflicted, I’ll be watching, too. That song Pacquiao wrote? It’s called “Lalaban Ako Para Sa Filipino. [I Will Fight for the Filipino.]”

How could I turn away?

The UN at 70: Impressive successes and monumental failures

By Somar Wijayadasa Somar Wijayadasa, a former Representative of UNAIDS and a one-time United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization delegate to the UN General Assembly sessions, is a Moscow-educated international lawyer.

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EW YORK—The United Nations (UN) was created to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, protect human rights, maintain international peace and security, and uphold international law. Its 70-year history is marked with many successes, but also disappointments. We need to look at both sides so that we can make the UN more effective in the future.

The UN has an impressive record of resolving many international conflicts. UN peacekeepers have, since 1945, undertaken over 60 field missions and negotiated 172 peaceful settlements that ended regional conflicts. Right now, peacekeepers are in 20 hot spots around the world trying to save lives and avert wars.

The Security Council must be reformed and strengthened to enable the UN as a whole to confront and resolve complex challenges of our world.

The UN also fought for the liberation of countries that have been under colonial rule for over 450 years.

Eighty nations and more than 750 million people have since been freed from colonialism.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowered the UN to

act as custodian for the protection of human rights, discrimination against women, children’s rights, torture, missing persons and arbitrary detention that was occurring in many countries.

Moreover, the UN and its specialized agencies are engaged in enhancing all aspects of human life, including education, health, poverty reduction, the rights of women and children and climate change.

As a result, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded 12 times to the UN, its specialized agencies, programs and staff. This included an award in 1988 to the UN Peacekeeping Forces, and in 2001 to the UN and its secretarygeneral, Kofi Annan.

The UN defined, codified and expanded the realm of international law, governing the legal responsibilities of states in their conduct with each other, and their treatment of individuals within state boundaries. More than 560 multilateral treaties on human rights, refugees, disarmament, trade, oceans, outer space, etc. encompassing all aspects of international affairs were negotiated by the UN. The UN has made progress with its eight Millennium Development Goals, which will be followed by 17 Sustainable Development Goals to enhance social, environmental and economic progress by 2030. But it could not stop the US from abandoning the Kyoto Protocol, ignoring the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, repudiating the Biological Weapons Convention, and repealing the AntiBallistic Missile Treaty.

The UN is not without shortcom-

ings. In 1970 when the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) was signed by 190 nations, all five superpowers owned nuclear weapons. Later, despite the NPT and Partial Test Ban Treaty, several countries—North Korea, Israel, Pakistan and India— developed nuclear weapons. This revealed the UN’s inability to enforce regulations on offending nations.

Along similar lines, the UN’s International Court of Justice has resolved major international disputes, but the UN’s veto powers have limited its effectiveness at critical times.

The International Criminal Court, established in 2002, has prosecuted several war criminals— but it has been criticized for prosecuting only African leaders while Western powers too have committed war crimes.

Dag Hammarskjold, secretarygeneral from 1953 to 1961, said that the “UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.” The UN has solved many violent conflicts, prevented wars, and saved millions of lives but it also faced disappointments.

In Cambodia, a peacekeeping mission (1991 to 1995) ended violence and established a democratic government, but well after Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge (1975 to 1979) had executed over 2.5 million people.

In Rwanda, over 800,000 were massacred in 100 days. In 1995 Bosnian Serb forces overran the “safe zone” of Srebrenica and massacred 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

In Darfur, an estimated 300,000

Sudanese civilians were killed. In Nigeria, Boko Haram has killed over 13,000 people.

A recent report by “Body Count” revealed that “in addition to one million deaths in Iraq, an estimated 220,000 people have been killed in Afghanistan and 80,000 in Pakistan as a result of US foreign policy.”

Last year, Israel attacked homes, schools, hospitals, and UN shelters in Gaza killing 2,200 Palestinians.

Condemning that action, Navi Pillay, UN high commissioner for human rights, said that “Israel was deliberately defying international law in its military offensive in Gaza and that world powers should hold it accountable for possible war crimes.”

The UN Security Council (SC) has failed as the US vetoes any action against Israel.

The Arab Spring in the Middle East caused thousands of deaths and regime changes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Libya is devastated with over 40,000 deaths, and the civil war in Syria has killed over 220,000 people. These wars have displaced over 50 million people.

Now, ISIS has infiltrated these countries causing gruesome killings, human-rights abuses, and war crimes, at an unprecedented rate.

These catastrophic events might have been prevented if the Member States of the UN had the ability to resolutely act in a timely manner.

But the UN is not a world government, and it does not have a standing army of peacekeepers ready for deployment. And, it is the nemberstates that make decisions at the UN.

These setbacks clearly reflect the shortcomings of the UN SC, and its veto powers that allow some members’ own interests to be placed ahead of the need to end a raging conflict.

Navi Pillay, addressing the SC, said that “short-term geopolitical considerations and national interest, narrowly defined, have repeatedly taken precedence over intolerable human suffering and grave breaches of—and long-term threats to—international peace and security.”

During the last 70 years, geopolitics have changed drastically that call for reform of the UN—to meet global needs and challenges of the 21st century.

Member-states accuse the SC of being arrogant, secretive and undemocratic but the veto powers resist change. Meanwhile, violations of the UN Charter by powerful countries continue to erode the effectiveness of the UN. However, as mandated by its Charter, the UN has prevented another World War. The UN has made impressive and unprecedented progress in all aspects of human development, bringing great benefits to millions of people around the world.

Our convoluted world needs the UN. The SC must be reformed and strengthened to enable the UN as a whole to confront and resolve complex challenges of our world.

As President Obama has said, the UN is imperfect, but it is also indispensable.

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, May 3, 2015 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

www.businessmirror.com.ph

No negotiated deal for PCOS Legislators confident machines, solon tells Comelec of Pacquiao ring victory

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

lawmaker has warned the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on its reported plan to close a negotiated deal for the automated elections, saying there is still enough time left for the poll body to conduct open and transparent biddings for the automation requirements of the 2016 elections.

Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela made a statement after Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said that “the [Comelec] is not yet closing its doors on [Smartmatic-TIM], in case it decides to enter into a negotiated bid for the refurbishment of 80,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan [PCOS] machines.”

Earlier, Jimenez said that “the Supreme Court [SC] decision junking the poll body’s deal with Smartmatic does not say that the joint venture is disqualified from being directly contracted to do the refurbishment,” as “very clear indications that something fishy is being cooked in the Comelec.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Albano said on the reported plan of the Comelec to negotiate contracts for the repair and refurbishment of 80,000 PCOS machines, after the SC struck down the poll body’s deal with the Smartmatic-TIM.

He added that “these recent statements emanating from the Comelec are serious signals that again some audacious and unscrupulous parties are out to resurrect the sordid Smartmatic-TIM contracts through negotiation.”

With barely a year before the May 9, 2016, national elections, Albano said that the Comelec still has ample time to undertake contingency measures without violating the law, saying the poll body will have to make sure that the manner of contracting for the refurbishment complies with the existing laws.

Albano also said the Comelec cannot invoke “limited time” to resort to questionable and legally infirm shortcuts.

He added that the Comelec is duty bound to present to Congress its contingency plans to ensure the conduct of clean, honest and efficient elections next year.

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olleagues of United Nationalist Alliance Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao of Sarangani in the House of Representatives have expressed confidence that the Filipino boxing icon will win against American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their “Fight of the Century” bout in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the House of Representatives is in full support for Pacquiao.

“Win or lose in this big, historic battle that will further define his career, Manny has already brought tremendous global honor and respect to the Philippines as the first and only eight-division world champion, winning 10 world titles and the first to win a lineal championship in four different weight classes,” Belmonte said.

“Manny’s feat has not only created a legacy in the history of boxing but his rags-to-riches story, likewise, continues to inspire our youth that determination and hard work do lead to success,” he added.

Deputy Speaker and Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao of Isabela said that the much-awaited fight once again unites Filipinos here and abroad in praying for the safe and convincing victory of Pacquiao, whose key assets include his speed, stamina, power, ring intelligence, rigid training and resoluteness.

“I wish Manny speed and strength, and luck. And however this fight may come out. I hope Filipinos

would remain united and proud,” Aggabao said.

NPC Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela said there is no doubt that Pacquiao will emerge as the winner because of his rigid training, speed, power and indomitable spirit to prevail over any challenge.

“We, the Filipino people, will always be behind you, Manny. You have all the qualities and endowments of a true champion. Remain humble and magnanimous in victory or in defeat,” Albano said.

House Deputy Speaker and Nacionalista Party Rep. Carlos Padilla of Nueva Vizcaya said the country would be united in rooting and praying for the safe and convincing win of Pacquiao as they have done in the past.

“We are praying not only for the victory but also the safety of our Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao. May the Lord protect him during the entire duration of the highly anticipated megafight,” Padilla said.

NPC Rep. Gwen Garcia of Cebu also wished Pacquiao well, and assured his fellow Visayan of her all-out support.

Also, Liberal Party (LP) Rep. Isidro T. Ungab of Davao City said the bout would once again display the resoluteness, wisdom and strength of Pacquiao, which will be instrumental to his victory.

LP Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City said the entire nation joins Pacquiao in spirit and prayer in his quest for another glorious victory for the country. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

briefs

japan coast guard ship ‘yashima’ to arrive today

The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) ship Yashima (PLH-22) will be arriving at Manila South Harbor for a visit to its Philippine counterparts at 9 a.m. today.

She will be welcomed by officers and enlisted personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard.

The Yashima is one of the Shikishima class patrol ships of the JCG. The vessels were built by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Tokyo.

Planned to guard plutonium-transport ships, the Shikishima class is the largest and heaviest-equipped patrol vessel of the JCG. With her cruising capacity, she can make voyages from Japan to Europe without making any port calls.

The Yashima was commissioned on December 1, 1988. She has a gross tonnage of 5,204 tons and measures 130 meters in length and has a width of 15.50 meters.

The ship has a molded draft of 6.50 meters and a complement of 130 officers and ratings.

She is armed with a 35mm auto-cannon and a 20mm Vulcan cannon.

She is also equipped with a Bell 412 helicopter. PNA

2 sorsogon towns warned of possible steam-driven explosions

LEGAZPI CITY—The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has warned local government units and the public in Juban and Irosin towns in Sorsogon province that entry in the 4-kilometer radius permanent danger zone of the Bulusan Volcano is strictly prohibited due to the possibility of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions.

Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon exploded on Friday morning, which coincided with the Labor Day celebration.

The Phivolcs also warned the people living within valleys and along rivers and stream channels to be vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars in the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall.

It further warned civil-aviation authorities to advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejecta from any sudden phreatic eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.

These, after the Bulusan Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the country, exploded at 8:09 a.m. on Friday and produced steam and ash explosions, which lasted for five minutes, based on seismic records. PNA

t.u.c.p., climate change commission join forces to reduce carbon emissions The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the largest labor federation in the Philippines, and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) observed Labor Day with a landmark agreement that brings Filipino workers directly into the mainstream effort to mitigate disastrous impacts of climate change.

The TUCP, led by former Sen. Ernesto Hererra, and Heherson Alvarez of CCC signed a pact launching a “carbon war” to signal Filipino workers’ all-out support for a legally binding universal agreement to curb global carbon-dioxide emissions, goal of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris this December.

Alvarez said the TUCP’s participation in an anticarbon coalition is crucial in generating public support for the Paris conference, noting the trade union has more than 1 million members in some 30 federations, including the urban poor, youth and overseas Filipino workers sectors.

In a joint statement, Alvarez and Hererra stressed: “Climate change, as a man-made disaster, needs collective global action. Leaders all over the world are preparing for a decarbonization deal for the Paris conference to save the ailing planet and guarantee human survival.” PNA

250k local, overseas job vacancies offered in 65 job fairs nationwide on labor day

AT least 8,619 applicants have been assured of having a job, after they were hired on the spot (HOTS) at the Labor Day 2015 job and livelihood fairs in Pasay City on Friday.

Based on data released by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), 7,794 were hired for local jobs, while 825 others were accepted for overseas employment.

A total of 67,802 job registrants went to the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum 1 and 2 for this year’s job and livelihood fairs, with a theme “Disenteng Trabaho at Kabuhayan, Alay Natin sa Bayan.”

Of the number, 39,984 were looking for jobs in the country, while 9,800 applied for jobs abroad.

Some 51,080 applicants were qualified and referred for interview—42,075 and 9,005 for local and overseas jobs, respectively.

Those who lacked documents or training or the total near-hire applicants comprised 32,093 for local and 4,184 for overseas. PNA

RegionsSunday

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

BusinessMirror

DENR pins hope on mycorrhiza to boost NGP trees survival rate

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HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is eyeing a higher rate of survival of trees planted under the National Greening Program (NGP) with the development of a promising plant microorganism.

Called mycorrhiza, the plant microorganism promises to help trees survive in hostile soil conditions.

The NGP, which is now on its fourth year of implementation, aims to reforest 1.5 million hectares with 1.5 billion trees by 2016.

Some of the areas are known to be hostile environments, such as mined-out areas, which makes it difficult for tree seedlings to survive.

Mycorrhiza is known to benefit plants by making sure that plants and trees survives in any soil condition, Acting Director Henry A. Adornado of the Environment Research Development Bureau (ERDB) said.

Mycorrhiza is cost-effective, environment-friendly and sustainable. Once it is inoculated in the roots, it will stay in the roots of the plants throughout its lifetime, he said.

“This technology, commercially known as the Hi-Q Vam 1, is helping trees to grow much faster, doubling the rate compared to those without mycorrhiza,” Adornado said.

It was in 2000 when ERDB’s mycorrhizologist, Evangeline T. Castillo, led the collection of different species of mycorrhiza all over the Philippines in search of the right species that could be used in environmental-rehabilitation programs.

Castillo said field experiments revealed that mycorrhiza plays a “conduit role” in poor soil conditions by actively spreading its roots to obtain the needed nutrients of the plants to survive. Thus, in 2012, it was patented as a utility model by the Intellectual Property Office.

“Since many of the marginal areas, such as upland, grassland, mined-out and other areas in the country have been degraded owing to unsustainable farming, grazing and ore-extraction, the mycorrhiza that is naturally available in many plant species have been lost from the soil,” Castillo said.

The DENR has recognized the potential of mycorrhiza technology to rehabilitate the country’s degraded ecosystems.

Hi-Q Vam 1 is now being used in the production of quality planting materials for the NGP. For 2015 and 2016, the ERDB will produce 411 metric tons (MT) of Hi-Q Vam 1 under the supervision of Carmelita Mojica, a research specialist at ERDB. This biofertilizer will be injected in the planting materials for the NGP to ensure the high survival of planted seedlings.

Angelito Exconde, assistant national coordinator and executive officer of NGP, said “mycorrhiza serves as cheap source of promoting plant growth.”

Even with an upfront cost of 20 centavos per application of mycorrhiza per tree, the investment pays off as trees survive and generate income over the years.

To address the need for Hi-Q Vam 1 inoculation in NGP’s quality seedlings, the ERDB has already constructed facilities for the production of mycorrhiza.

These are at ERDB’s production facility at the Science and Technology Park of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna; Ramon Magsaysay Technological University in Botolan, Zambales; and Bohol Island State University in Bilar, Bohol. With these facilities, the ERDB can produce 500 MT to 1,000 MT of mycorrhiza annually for around 4 million seedlings.

Sunday, May 3, 2015 A7

DILG prepares for more disasters

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By Angeline Valencia | Philippines News Agency

AGBILARAN CITY, Bohol— Being in a country that ranks third of 15 countries with the highest risk to hazards, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) recommends “preparing for the worst.”

DILG-Bohol Cluster Head Maria Reina Quilas noted that, aside from being third among the countries with the highest risk, the Philippines also ranks third among the 15 countries most exposed to natural hazards.

“The Philippines is No. 1 country visited by wind storms. The country’s geographical location [makes it] prone to be subjected to wind storms,” Quilas added.

On this, the DILG-Bohol has been conducting rounds of dialogues on Operation Listo—a project of the national government that ensures local officials take the correct steps in responding to calamities and the aftermath.

DILG Central Visayas Director Ananias Villacorta emphasized the preparedness of local governments as the new gauge of the efficiency of the officials, especially the mayors.

Their commitment and sincerity in undertaking disaster preparedness can be a basis for the electorate to choose its leaders in the coming

elections, Villacorta added.

He called on the civil-society organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to get involved in the disaster- preparedness campaign, and assist local governments that lag behind.

DILG Bohol Director Maria Loisella Lucino said local governments can tap CSOs and non-governmental organizationss, especially those with programs directly assisting the barangays.

Lucino heads the secretariat of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council chaired by Gov. Edgar Chatto.

During the dialogue, Quilas briefed the participants on the checklist of Early Preparations for Mayors and areas for engagement for partners in early preparations.

As of now, the DILG-Bohol intends to furnish the households with information materials, such as the Family Guide for Disaster Preparedness in the vernacular, Quilas said.

The DILG-Bohol also campaigns for “e-balde”—short for emergency balde (pail) to serve as their personal evacuation kits—wherein households are urged to place clothing, some food, water and other supplies that family members can easily carry to evacuation centers during emergencies.

Quilas also advised households members to place their important documents near the emergency pails, so that these can easily be brought with them.

Infra audit is also conducted to make sure evacuation centers meet the standard specifications and can hold the evacuees.

A template for localized notice for suspension of classes is also provided to make it easier for local officials—even barangay captains—to compose the notice and immediately transmit it to the people.

It was also recommended that, in dissemination of warning about a coming typhoon, like those through the recoreda, the advisory should have a comparison with the previous typhoons experienced so that the people will have reference or idea of what to expect.

Quilas also explained that the stages in early preparations for mayors start from creating structures and systems, then institutionalizing policies and plans, then building competencies and equipping their areas with hardware and supplies.

GenSan to upgrade public market US blogger persona non grata in Sorsogon

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AVAO CITY—The city government of General Santos would upgrade its public market in its bid to boost revenue buy spurring the growth of local busnesses.

Mayor Ronnel Rivera said he was studying two options: to develop and upgrade the market in Barangay Bula or to relocate it.

Rivera announced the move during the Second Micro Small Medium Enterprises Regional Congress last week.

He said the public market project was already on top of the list of major infrastructure projects in the city.

Rivera said he was advised to use the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme for the project, saying that more than P100 million is needed to fund it.

Rivera said that, aside from the local government, “there should be a third-party partner that would manage, regulate and maintain the public market for it to be properly preserved.”

“More than the financial cost for the renovation, the greatest challenge is the maintenance,” he added.

In July last year, Rivera signed an agreement with the PPP Center “to train and equip the local government officials on managing PPP linkages.”

“Specifically, the PPP Center will enable the local government to pursue linkages for the integrated

food terminal and city public market components of the Integrated Economic Development for Regional Trade in General Santos City,” the city information said in a statement.

PPP Center is a devolved agency of the National Economic and Development Authority.

Rivera said, however, that relocating the public market “is also a viable option, given that there is an available area for it.”

He revealed that the Aurelio family has donated a lot to the local government in Barangay Labangal. “We will conduct a study for the relocation of public market so that we will know how it will affect the economic flow and mobility of the city,” Rivera said.

“I am also compelled to construct several public markets on strategic areas to cater to the growing population of the city,” he added.

In December last year the World Wild Fund for Nature and the Bank of the Philippine Islands Foundation Inc. identified General Santos City as “too attractive due to its promising growth, and, thus, can cause the increase in the number of people from neighboring areas to move in to the city.”

“If we cannot address this situation, we will be having problems in the future. It is important that we should not look on the present alone; we have to find sustainable solutions to every problem that we have now,” Rivera said. Manuel T. Cayon

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EGAZPI CITY—The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Sorsogon has declared American blogger Nathan Allen a persona non grata as an expression of protest for the derogatory remarks he made against the Donsol tourism office that was published in his “I dream of this” weblog last month.

Board Member Frank Eric Ravanilla filed the resolution declaring Allen as persona non grata which was approved by the council during its regular session last week.

Ravanilla filed the resolution owing to Allen’s insulting remarks against Donsol tourism officials, as well as the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Part of Allen’s article read: “Is the DOT just hiring members of their families who need jobs? I hope not… these people need to Actually be qualified!”

Allen got angry when he was not

readily accommodated by the Donsol tourism personnel upon his arrival in the place.

He visited Donsol town, the world’s Whale Shark Capital, without prior notice to local tourism officials.

Ravanilla said Allen’s blog already got more than 3,000 likes, adding that those potential tourists who read the comment may decide not to come to Donsol anymore.

“We are really bothered by this blog because this may affect the community-based tourism activities in Donsol that are giving jobs and income to small businessmen and marginal stakeholders,” the local legislator said.

The resolution said Allen’s statement in his blog site assailing tourism officials in Donsol for not giving him the reception that he expected is irresponsible and self-serving.

“It is rather surprising—if not ridiculous—that an experienced

traveler like Allen, who seems to have gone to many countries visiting tourist destinations and promoting them, would go to Donsol without supplying himself with any information about the place he intends to visit that other tourists normally do when they make a trip to a certain place which is readily accessible in the Internet,” the resolution added.

Ravanilla reminded Allen that if he could not adapt to the local culture, he should at least respect it.

He said the Sorsogon officials were enraged by the US citizenblogger for maligning the tourism personnel of Donsol town, known for whale shark interaction worldwide.

Ravanilla said they already sent copies of their resolution to the US Embassy in Manila,t he Sorsogon local governments, as well as the provincial governments of Masbate and Albay. PNA

DAR sets legal Boracay’s official Labor Day celebration draws thousands clinics in Iloilo

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HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has scheduled a series of seminars for agrarian-reform stakeholders in Iloilo province to enhance their knowledge about the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform law.

The legal clinics aim to bring the DAR to the people, Agrarian Legal Services Chief Rexinor John D. Demogena said.

Demogena said the DAR aims to reach out to agrarian-reform beneficiaries, landowners and other stakeholders and shed light on various agrarian-related problems, issues and concerns free of charge.

During the seminars, stakehoders can directly consult or seek legal advice regarding agrarian-related problems, issues or concerns, he added.

“The legal staff will personally entertain various clients coming from nearby municipalities in the area. The staff of the Land Tenure Services and the Technical Advisory and Support Services, will also be around to address legal queries and concerns relative to operational matters and support services being undertaken by the DAR,” Demogena said.

The legal clinics will be conducted in the West Visayas State University, Janiuay Campus in Janiuay, Iloilo, on May 7; Saint William Jubilee Hall, Poblacion, in Passi City on May 14; Covered Gym, Poblacion Ajuy, on May 21; Pa-on Beach Club in Estancia on May 28; and Poblacion in Barotac Nuevo on June 4.

Thousands flock to the first night of Sun-kissed Boracay, the official Labor Day weekend celebration of the country’s premier beach destination. The four-night party series is mounted by Fearless Productions in partnership with mobile services leader Smart Communications Inc. and the Department of Tourism. The bureau expects 75,000 tourists to visit the island over the weekend, a perfect time to promote Boracay as “Asia’s 24/7 Party Island.”

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

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Sunday, May 3, 2015

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MCIAA dangles perks to raise Cebu airline traffic

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

NCENTIVES await airlines that are keen on operating at the second-busiest airport in the Philippines, according to documents from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), as its new operator seeks to stimulate air traffic at the aviation hub, which is currently being modernized under the government’s PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) Program.

In a nutshell, the airport’s management is reducing the landing and takeoff fees at the airport for all kinds of operations, depending on the frequency of flights per week. Specifically, long-haul routes could get as much as 75 percent in rebate for both landing and takeoff fees, while short- and medium-haul operations could get as much as 65 percent in discount. Domestic routes could also enjoy a 65-percent rebate on landing and takeoff fees.

“The incentive plan is a route development and marketing tool to spur new routes, add frequencies, or increase capaci-

ties to Mactan-Cebu International Airport, in particular, and its destinations, in general—Cebu and Central Visayas,” the aviation hub’s general manager, Nigel Paul C. Villarete, said in a text message.

In 2014 roughly 56,281 domestic and international aircraft operated at the airport, a 13-percent decline from 64,945 the year prior. Passenger volume also dropped by 2.1 percent to 6.8 million last year versus the 6.9 million passengers in 2013.

Hence, the incentive plan was launched with the hopes of spurring air travel in and out of Cebu.

“It aims to encourage more opportunities for travel to and from Cebu; promote tourism and business opportunities; and achieve the airport’s ultimate objective of supporting economic and social development in the region and the country as a whole,” Villarete said.

Cebu serves as a hub for several domestic and international airlines, such as Philippine Airlines and its sister airline PAL Express; AirAsia Philippines, Cebu Pacific and its sibling Tigerair Philippines; Air Busan, Cathay Pacific, Asiana Airlines, Air Nuguini, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Far Eastern Airlines and China Airlines.

The corporation, led by Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructures Ltd., started to operate and maintain the second-busiest gateway in the Philippines in October last year, after the company bagged the contract in March 2014.

The transport agency and the MCIAA’s 25-year concession agreement with GMRMegawide Cebu Airport Corp. entails the construction of a new, world-class international passenger-terminal building, which will be constructed beginning next year and will be opened in 2018.

Among the improvements listed in the pipeline is the equipping of the immigration section with passport readers and computers, and its relocation to a larger area.

This will shorten queuing time and maximize the use of airport space, as the

airport’s annual passenger count is expected to increase from 4.5 million today to 12.5 million in 2018.

Interior-design improvements are also included in the pipeline to provide a more pleasant, comfortable experience for the public. These include simple enhancements, such as importing new seats for the waiting areas and rehabilitating comfort rooms. In addition, an air-conditioned room will be constructed at the arrival area to accommodate greeters and well-wishers.

Mactan-Cebu’s information technology system will also be upgraded to allow the integration of screening areas and check-in counters, which will further expedite passenger processing.

The consortium will also refurbish the

existing terminal, for completion in 2019.

The firm will spend at least P30 billion three years from now, the official said, to build the new terminal. It involves the P14.4-billion premium that it offered to win the key infrastructure contract.

Megawide has cemented its image as a mainstay in the government’s flagship infrastructure program, bagging a number of PPP projects, namely, the P16.42-billion PPP for School Infrastructure Project Phase I; two of the five contracts under the P8.8-billion PSIP Phase II; the P5.7-billion deal for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Philippine Orthopedic Center; and the P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System Southwest Terminal contract.

DOTC eyes contract award of P17-B Davao Sasa port modernization deal by Dec.

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ODERNIZING the busiest seaport in Mindanao may take a few years to complete, so the government is jumpstarting the contract’s procurement as early as now, with hopes of awarding the project by the fourth quarter this year.

A document from the transportation department showed that the awarding for the P17-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization has been set for December, the same month when the technical and financial proposals of bidders shall be opened.

It will take about two weeks, according to an indicative timeline, for the agency to award the deal to its winning concessionaire.

Interested parties have until June 30 to submit their prequalification documents to participate in the actual tender process. Qualified bidders will be informed by July 8. A month later, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will then meet the bidders separately to hear their side on issues pertaining to the project.

But as early as now, the deal has drawn criticisms from at least one port operator. Hijo Resources Corp.’s chief executive earlier said the project is too expensive at P17 billion. The project will also result in competition against privately owned terminals in Mindanao.

Hijo Resources is the joint-venture partner of International Container Terminal Services Inc. in developing the Hijo Port in Davao del Norte. The Razon-led company earlier said it is not interested in the Davao Sasa contract.

Based on the contract’s invitation to prequalify to bid, the deal involves the “modernization of the existing port and the establishment of dedicated container-handling facilities with an initial design capacity of 1,900 container ground slots to a minimum of 2,7000 container ground slots, comprising of the construction of a new apron; development of a linear quay; expansion of the back-up area; provision of container yards; warehouses; and the installation of appropriate container-handling equipment throughout a 30-year concession period.”

Currently, the Davao Sasa wharf has a total area of 18.1 hectares, with a quay length of 1,093 meters and a berth dept of -11 meters. The 4.15-hectare container-yard size houses 864 ground slots. It has a reefer yard of 0.2 hectares, and the largest vessel accommodated at the port has a capacity of 800 twenty-foot equiva-

lent units (TEUs). It has an annual capacity of 550,000 TEUs.

Davao City serves as the main trade, commerce and industry center of Mindanao, and is known to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the Philippines.

The government has awarded nine contracts since the infrastructure program’s inception in 2010, namely:

n the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway project, bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011;

n the P16.42-billion first phase of the PPP School Infrastructure Program (PSIP), which went in 2012 to the consortium formed by Megawide Construction Corp. and Citicore Holdings Investment Inc., as well as the BF Corp.-Riverbanks Development Corp. Consortium;

n the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013;

n the P3.86-billion PSIP Phase II contract, partially awarded in 2013 to Megawide and the BSP & Co. Inc.-Vicente T. Lao Construction consortium;

n the P5.69-billion Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center project, which went to the Megawide-World Citi Inc. consortium, also in 2013.

n the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System contract, awarded to the AF Consortium of Ayala and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) in 2014;

n the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal project, bagged in 2014 by Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructures Ltd.;

n the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension deal, awarded in 2014 to Light Rail Manila Consortium of Ayala and MPIC; and

n the P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System Southwest Terminal, won by Megawide and partner Walter Mart Property Management Inc. of billionaire and retail magnate Henry Sy in January.

The state intends to plug the gap in the country’s transportation facility in the next decade by rolling out massive infrastructure projects that are seen to spur economic growth.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

Oversupply causes govt bonds to continue drop on 3rd month

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hilippine 10-year government bonds declined for a third month, the longest run of losses since September, before the implementation of new rules that will expand the pool of tradable securities.

State-controlled bodies, including the two biggest public pension funds, will start trading existing government debt from May 4, according to a memorandum issued on April 20 by the Bureau of the Treasury. That will add about P800 billion, or $18 billion, of notes to the pool of tradable securities.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose 15 basis points, or 0.15 percentage point, in April to 4.31 percent at the close of trading, according to prices from Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. It rose 18 basis points on Thursday.

“Everybody is defensive,” said Dave Estacio, vice president at First Metro Investment Corp. in Manila.

“Hopefully, buyers offset sellers. If they all sell at the same time, the yields might move higher.”

The new trading and settlement system was originally scheduled to be implemented on November 21, and was reset three times to allow for smooth transition by market participants. Intended to boost

liquidity in the secondary market, it unifies taxable and tax-exempt segments of the market by removing current trading restrictions. That means government securities can be traded by various entities regardless of their tax category.

Fed outlook

Bonds also fell after Federal Reserve (the Fed) policymakers left open the possibility of raising US interest rates in the second half of this year by playing down the significance of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy in the first quarter. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen and her colleagues reiterated their belief that growth will pick up to a “moderate pace.”

“Some are trying to trim positions ahead of the Fed and the new month,” said Sheryl Uy, fixedincome trader at Bank of the Philippine Islands in Manila. “The market is still on a wait-and-see mode on the actual effect of” the new trading and settlement system, she said.

The peso fell 0.5 percent on Wednesday to 44.52 a dollar at the close of trade in Manila, according to the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines. That pared its monthly gain to 0.4 percent. Bloomberg News