Businessmirror may 17, 2015

REBUILDING NEPAL, ONE BRICK AT A TIME

In this May 13 photo, a Nepalese laborer (left) carries a load of bricks at a brick factory in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Nepal, facing billions in reconstruction costs, has appealed for foreign governments and agencies to help with aid and funds. Almost 745,600 buildings and homes have been damaged or destroyed, including at least 87,700 in the capital, according to Nepal’s emergency authority. Engineers say only 40 percent of Kathmandu’s damaged buildings are habitable. Right photo shows a view of the famous Swayambhunath stupa, which dates back to the 5th century, after it was damaged in the April 25 earthquake in Kathmandu.

AP/Bernat Amangue, Niranjan Shrestha

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 17, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 220

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

‘BSP allowing peso to depreciate’

T

week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW Peso

n Previous week: The local currency rallied to average at a slightly weaker rate in the previous week. At the beginning of the week, the peso hit 44.65 to a dollar, a slight depreciation from the 44.615 against the dollar seen at the end of the previous week.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the peso trended lower at 44.79 to a dollar and 44.725 against the US dollar, respectively. A sharp rebound was seen on Thursday, as the peso hit 44.54 to a dollar. The peso ended with a twoweek high value of 44.5 to a dollar. This is the strongest that the peso has been since April 29, or when the peso hit 44.32 to a dollar. The total traded volume is at $3.384 billion, slightly lower than the $3.438 billion seen in the previous week.

The average value of the peso against the dollar during the week, meanwhile, was at 44.641 to a dollar, slightly weaker than the 44.612 to a dollar average in the previous week.

n Week ahead: After factoring in recent local economic data, particularly in the previous week, market players are expected to look into foreign data for leads. The peso is expected to rally during the week, with a downward base owing to continued net foreign selling.

Balance of Payments (April 2015)

Tuesday, May 19

n March BOP: The country’s transactions with the rest of the world snapped its three-month recovery to end the first quarter of the year with a deficit, the Bangko Sentral reported previously. Latest data on the country’s balance of payments (BOP) hit a deficit of $244 million in March this year, reverting the previous month’s $985-million surplus. Thus, owing to March’s BOP deficit, the first-quarter total BOP position of the country contracted

Continued on A2

By Bianca Cuaresma

HE Bangko Sentral (BSP) may be allowing the peso to depreciate to a certain level to help support the recovery of the country’s exports and remittances from migrant workers, an international banking giant said.

In a recent research note, Hong­kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) economists said the central bank may be choosing to “tolerate” the recent decline in the value of the peso against the US dollar.

This is to address the declining data on the country’s exports, as well as the weak growth of remittances in the first two months of the year.

“It [the BSP] may opt to be more tolerant of a weaker peso, helping exporters and overseas Filipino workers gain some valuation effects,” HSBC said.

“This should directly address the external sector, without putting financial stability at risk,” it added.

The peso has been appreciating against the dollar, especially in the last few months. The local currency, as HSBC noted, also outperformed against other currencies in previous weeks.

However, in the first two weeks of May, the peso has declined in value compared to its level in the last two weeks of April.

The country’s exports have See “BSP,” A2

Digitizing economy ‘painful’–Pangilinan

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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HE cost of digitizing the economy might be painful at the onset, but the result of this initiative will eventually reap a large harvest, businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan talked about the ever-changing telecommunications landscape in the Philippines, and explained how his company, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), can improve the delivery of basic needs of the Filipino people.

Continued on A2

PESO exchange rates n US 44.5690

PANGILINAN: “We’d love to change the Philippines with technology—but we don’t have the source code.”

Logistics industry to grow by 16.7% in 2020, study says

Construction workers labor on a site along the South Luzon Expressway near the Susana Heights Interchange in Muntinlupa City in this April 23, 2013, file photo. Record spending on roads, ports and airports, set by the government at P268 billion ($6.5 billion) in 2013 to boost the country’s transport network, has helped remake the archipelago into the region’s fastest-growing economy, after decades of lagging behind peers, International Monetary Fund data show. Julian Abram Wainwright/Bloomberg

By Roderick L. Abad

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LOBAL research and analyst Transport Intelligence (Ti) said in its latest report that the Philippines can become a major growth market for logistics-service providers in the coming years, if the government will take steps to enhance trade flows and invest heavily in infrastructure.

While the country is considered one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide—with a thriving consumer market driven by its growing middle class, remittances and the offshoring of back-office functions by many knowledge and financial institutions—it still lags behind its peers in Southeast Asia, logistics performance-wise.

The study, titled “Philippines Transport & Logistics 2015,” revealed that if policy reforms were done to invite investments by manufacturers—alongside the support of more investments, especially from the private sector in infrastructure—there will be a rise in demand for contract logistics and forwarding.

In addition, if the country can surpass the infrastructure challenges it currently faces at its ports and airports, as well as on Luzon’s highways, then it is poised to turn into a key growth area for manufacturers to move in, according to Ti Head of Operations in Asia Michael King.

“By removing existing logistics-performance issues and the many obstacles to doing business in the country, Ti believes that it is well-placed to become a growing market across the various logistics sectors,” he said.

But since the current administration of President Aquino ends in about a year, he stressed that a lot will depend on the determination of whichever candidate wins the coming presidential elections next year to drive through policy reforms.

“Ti believes that if the next Philippines’s government embraces policy change to address its current LPI [Logistics Performance Index] performance, then it will become a major regional growth engine for both contract logistics and forwarding,” King said.

This, he added, could be improved further by the free-trade options, as the economies of the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations begin to integrate in December of this year, and current restrictions on trade and migration are removed or reduced.

“All of this should boost economic growth and transport demand. But the Philippines will only see the benefits of this if it takes steps to improve trade flows,” the executive said.

In analyzing the local market’s size, Ti looks at every key logistics sector using three growth scenarios—low, medium and high—from 2013 See “Logistics,” A2

n japan 0.3740 n UK 70.3254 n HK 5.7506 n CHINA 7.1872 n singapore 33.7849 n australia 35.9747 n EU 50.8711 n SAUDI arabia 11.8851 Source: BSP (15 May 2015)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, May 17, 2015

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Digitizing economy ‘painful’–Pangilinan BSP... continued from A1

He started off by linking this era to the so-called Digital Revolution, a period when the demand of the people has shifted from traditional or legacy services to digital or essentially anything that involves the Internet.

In the Philippines, more than 60 percent of the people turn to their mobile phones to make decisions. This is particularly true when one wants to avail himself of services of a certain enterprise, or to check which food establishment serves better menu than the other.

Mobile has so penetrated the lifestyle of Filipinos—from children as young as 4, to adults as old as 80.

The time has come, Pangilinan said, for companies, such as utilities, to use this opportunity as a means of revenue growth while improving their quality of service. This is where the new service of the telecommunications titan comes in.

With an initial three-year investment of $30 million, PLDT now is at the forefront of the Big Data space.

“The topic of Big Data today comes with all of us dreaming of using technology to fixing finally our traffic, our airports, our hospitals, our light rail,” he said. “But wisdom, I’d like to believe, cannot

Belmonte...

be programmed, and empathy remains the domain of our limited brains and boundless hearts.”

Pangilinan added: “We’d love to change the Philippines with technology—but we don’t have the source code.”

But to make this proposition of improving the quality of service through data work, an enabling network—essentially an all-Internet protocol or all-IP data network—must be present.

“This so-called digital spine will be the strategic enabler on which all digital apps and solutions will hang. This is precisely why PLDT has been steadily morphing itself into an all-IP data network— the largest and most extensive in the country,” the tycoon said.

He said his telecommunications business is a pioneering member of the Open Data Platform, consistent with its vision of creating a center of data excellence in the Asean region.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve invested about P30 billion annually to enhance our networks: Internet, fiber-optic networks, high-bandwidth ethernet nodes, 3G- and LTE-enabled cell sites, cable-landing stations, international cable systems and international points of presence. Further, we’ve

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foreign firms, allowing foreign investment of up to 100 percent of equity for manufacturing and radio communication, among others.

Other priorities include the proposed amendments to the Retail Trade Act, the institution of a

National Competition Policy which is comprehensive and complementary to ongoing market reforms and a national competition policy which is crucial in enhancing the country’s competitiveness amid increasing regional integration.

invested more than P26 billion in digital infrastructure, platforms and capabilities. And this is just the start,” Pangilinan added.

Currently, PLDT has a network of six data centers with close to 2,500 racks. Two more data centers are under construction. This will bring full capacity to 8,000 racks by 2016, the largest in the Philippines.

Smart Communications Inc., he said, has a Big Data engine, “which enables us to generate insights that can radically enhance customer experience, and create new-frontier solutions for both our consumer and enterprise markets.”

“All these technologies will redefine entertainment, appliances, cars, clothing and accessories— from smart watches to smart cars, and from smart refrigerators to smarter electricity and water utilities,” he said. “We are on the cusp of real-time knowledge-sharing and Big Data understanding—we leave it to our imagination and our boldness to turn data into knowledge, and knowledge into better service—to help people manage their costs, their health, their dreams, their lives better.”

Applications of Big Data vary according to a business’s size. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from Big Data by equip-

ping them with the data-processing backbone to match business capabilities of large enterprises with a portion of the cost—something that cannot be achieved with traditional business models. Large enterprises, on the other hand, can get to know their consumers and think like an SME through insights that they receive at the individual level.

In the First Pacific Group alone, the service can be used immensely to improve each subsidiary’s services.

“There is no real barrier to generating, collating and analyzing data. We are limited only by our imagination, and by our insight into our people and their behavior,” Pangilinan said. “While technology will empower us, and data bind us, it will be the welfare of our people—and the improvement of their lives—that should give us direction and inspiration.”

After all, he said, people pursue technology not for the elegance of it, but in the belief that technology’s whole purpose is improvement of their welfare.

“Thus viewed, the effectiveness of Big Data should be regarded not on the basis of how sophisticated our networks or platforms may be, but on how they both serve the needs of our people.”

Belmonte also said the “Philippines is in a better shape today than it was four or five years ago.”

He added that the economy has registered higher growth rates averaging to around 6.3 percent annually and improved our rankings in various global competitiveness report cards, and had been given an investment-grade credit rating.

“However, we still have much to do to eradicate poverty in our country. We need to make economic growth more inclusive, to create more and better jobs for our people, raise their income and enhance their living conditions. We need more investments and business activities to absorb our growing labor force,” the speaker added.

continued from A1

been dismal in growth in the first quarter of the year, as reported earlier by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). In particular, exports contracted by 0.2 percent in the first three months of the year to hit $14.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the remittances to the country, considered to be one of the important drivers of the local economy, hit a below-expectations growth in the first two months of the year at 0.5 percent in January and 2.4 percent in February. This was only saved by the double-digit growth rate seen in March this year at 11.3 percent.

“As Filipino migrant work-

Logistics...

continued from A1

to 2020, depending on the Philippines’s LPI reaching a certain threshold. Many differences in growth rates are predicted when LPI scores differ.

At the upper range of LPI improvement, the provider of global logistics analysis believes the size of the domestic contract logistics market will expand from €478 million in 2013 to €1.412 billion by 2020.

The latter sizing will represent a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7 percent over the

Outlook...

ers have to exchange their income in foreign currency into peso, the negative valuation effects have dampened the growth rate of remittances. Given that remittances are vital to private consumption in the Philippines, we believe the BSP will be mindful of this development,” HSBC said.

To address this, HSBC said that the BSP’s move would likely be to support a weaker peso.

“The central bank may opt to use more effective tools to mitigate the downside to external sectors.

Tolerating a weaker peso is one solution that addresses the challenge head on,” HSBC said.

periods in review.

But if political leaders will not make business-friendly reforms, the CAGR will increase only by 10.5 percent to a total of €962 million.

Some of the contract logistics market’s growth drivers will, likewise, determine expansion rates for forwarding.

Ti concluded that the overall freight forwarding market can surge by a CAGR of 15.1 percent from 2013 to 2020 under the “high” LPI increase scenario, but only by 9 percent at a “low” forecast.

continued from A1

back to $877 million in surplus, from the previous month’s $1.121-billion surplus.

n April BOP: BSP officials had earlier said that they remain confident that the country’s BOP will still remain in surplus this year. However, early indicators point to a dismal BOP in April this year. In particular, the country’s foreign portfolio investments—

one of the components of the country’s BOP—hit a net outflow of $31.14 million in April this year, as the $1.934-billion inflows during the month was not enough to cover for the $1.965-billion outflows. This is the second time the country registered a net outflow after the country snapped its four-month recovery in March this year. Bianca Cuaresma

EconomySunday

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

BusinessMirror

Govt workers to receive bonus starting June 1

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overnment employees will receive starting June 1 their productivity bonus equivalent to one-month salary.

Disbursement of the said bonus was stated under Executive Order (EO) 181, entitled “Implementation of the Provisions of the FY 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA) on the Grant of the FY 2015 Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) to Government Employees,” which President Aquino signed on May 15.

Only employees with permanent status, with the new ones employed at least four months before May 31, are qualified to receive the bonus.

The EO stipulates that the onetime disbursement of the one-

month salary bonus will be allowed if the government agencies are able to meet at least 90 percent of their 2014 targets under at least two performance indicators, namely, quantity, quality, or timeliness and for at least one major final output under “operations.”

The agencies should have also complied with the posting of the transparency seal as required by law, as well as complied with the posting or publication of the Citizen’s Charter or its equivalent, as required under the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

Some P30.65 billion has been allocated under the 2015 national budget for the performance-based bonus of employees under the national government. PNA

Neda gears up for Apec SRMM

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OR ACAY, Aklan—Preparations for the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) in September will be high on the agenda, when the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (Apec) Economic Committee (EC)meet on Saturday at the Shangri-La Hotel on this island.

Policy discussions on inclusiveness, the role of services in structural reform, and structural policies and innovation are also expected to be discussed during the morning session of the oneday EC meeting.

“With the gradual reduction in tariffs and other at-the-border barriers in the Asia-Pacific region, behind-the border barriers, or structural policy impediments, have become the more important obstacle to economic integration,” said Neda Deputy Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra, who also serves as the leader of the Philippine delegation to the Apec Second Senior Officials’ Meeting.

“These barriers may come in the form of poor infrastructure, unclear property rights, complex licensing procedures, weak enforcement of contracts, excessive regulation of some industries, or an inadequate legal framework for competition,” he added.

Structural reform seeks to reduce such behind-the-border barriers in order to allow firms to enter previously protected markets, reduce the cost of doing business and give

them the opportunity to invest more. This will allow even small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to expand their markets, and eventually reduce prices of goods and services for consumers.

“Structural policies that promote efficient resource allocation and greater competition help to improve productivity, and, ultimately, raise living standards and contribute to sustainable growth,” Esguerra said.

“Structural reform will open new opportunities for the private sector, especially for the SMEs, to take advantage of the gains that the economic integration can provide for local and international businesses,” the Neda official said.

At the SRMM scheduled in September, economic ministers from the 21 Apec economies will review the progress in the implementation of the Apec New Strategy for Structural Reform (ANSSR).

The ANSSR was endorsed by the Apec leaders in 2010 to promote balanced and sustainable growth through advancing transparency, competition, better functioning markets; enhancing opportunities for women; and supporting more education and SME development in the Asia-Pacific.

This will only be the second time since 2008 when a ministerial meeting on structural reform will be held, at which time agreement is expected on a post-2015 Apec structural-reform agenda.

The EC will also meet with the private sector on May 17 to gather its inputs on the themes to be discussed during the SRMM, which will be held in Cebu City. Cai U. Ordinario, PNA

Sunday, May 17, 2015 A3

FDCUI’s 405-MW coal-fired plant seen to ease Mindanao power-supply deficit by 2016

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DC Utilities Inc. (FDCUI), a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), announced on Friday that its 405-megawatt (MW) FDC Misamis coal-fired power plant is on track with its commissioning target by the first half of 2016.

“FDC Utilities will commission its 405-MW coal-fired power plant by the first half of 2016,” FDC President and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said during Filinvest’s annual stockholders’ meeting at the Crimson Hotel in Alabang on Friday.

Yap noted that the P30.02-

billion power plant w ill help a l lev iate the power shor tage in Mindanao.

The three 105-MW phases will be commissioned one by one, but the plant will fully be built by the first half of 2016.

Data from the Department of Energ y (DOE) confirm that the

first unit w il l be operationa l

by June 2016.

FDC has already signed 90 percent of the capacity to offtakers, with an expected 15-percent to 25-percent contribution to its net income by next year.

Yap said the company had no problem in finding offtakers for the power plant due to its recent experience in finding offtakers for its independent power producer administrators (IPPA) contracts for 40 MW of the Unified Leyte geothermal power plants and 100 MW of the Mount Apo 1 and 2 geothermal plants.

Meanwhile, Yap also expects FDCUI will have an increased income this year due to its two IPPA contracts. “We look forward to rec-

ognizing revenues from these IPPA contracts this 2015, a year ahead of schedule.”

FDC will also allocate P18 billion to FDC Utilities Inc. for its capital expenditures this year.

Yap further said FDCUI will continue to look for opportunities, from either conventional or renewable resources, to support the economic growth of the country.

She cited FDCUI’s bid on a hydro service contract offered by the DOE. FDC Utilities has six other subsidiaries, namely, FDC Negros Power Corp., FDC Davao del Norte Power Corp., FDC Danao Power Cor p., FDC Camarines Power Corp., FDC Misamis Power Corp. and FDC Casecnan Hydro Power Corp. PNA

Bill seeks to amend Labor Code on employment of foreigners

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measure enhancing the regulation of employment of foreign nationals by requiring them to secure a working permit from the labor department and raising penalties for law breakers has been recently approved at the House Committee on Labor.

House Bill 5470, principally authored by House Deputy Majority Leader and Liberal Party Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles of Davao, seeks to amend Articles 40, 41 and 42 of Title II, Book 1 of Presidential Decree (PD) 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.

The amendment to Article 40 of PD 442, which pertains to employment permit of nonresident foreign nationals, provides that all nonresident foreign nationals seeking employment in the country shall obtain an employment permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The bill added that an employment permit may be issued to a nonresident foreign national subject to the Labor Market Test (LMT) on the nonavailability of qualified and willing Filipino national. The measure also said the labor secretary shall be authorized to grant exemptions from the LMT to foreign nationals as provided for under existing laws and agreements, as well as in industries or occupations or practice of professions where there is short supply after tripartite consultation.

For an enterprise registered in preferred areas of investments, the

Deft climbers Workers take advantage of the summer season to spruce up the façade of a building along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. Nonoy Lacza

employment permit may be issued upon recommendation of the government agency charged with the supervision of said registered enterprise, the bill said.

Meanwhile, the proposed amendment to Article 41 of PD 442, which pertains to prohibition against transfer of employment, provides that af-

ter the issuance of an employment permit, the foreign national shall not transfer to another job or change his employer without prior approval of the DOLE secretary.

Under the bill, any nonresident foreign national who shall take up employment in violation of this act, as well as the employer or the responsible per-

son representing the employer, shall be punished with a fine of P50,000 to P100,000, or imprisonment of six months to six years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. It added that the foreign national shall be subject to deportation after service of his or her sentence.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

SundayV

Busine

A6 Sunday, May 17, 2015

editorial

Time and the PPP project

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F the present administration is to be remembered at all in our history, it will be for presiding over the unspeakable deterioration of our country’s transportation facilities and services.

Under its watch, city streets and provincial highways degenerated; motorized urban transport units crashed and malfunctioned; railway lines broke; sea ports congested; and airports were declared by international aviation authorities as some of the worst in the world.

Now, the same administration is telling us it has bid out or is in the process of bidding out various infrastructure projects worth P6.58 trillion in the transportation, social, water, energy and communications sectors, the bidding to be completed by mid-2016, the end of its term.

What is the administration trying to do? Convince us that it is busy? Or impress us with what it thinks is a monumental achievement? Whatever it is trying to do, it is merely raising in the public mind a question: What has it been doing in the last five years?

Obviously, it has been doing close to nothing, perhaps it was “noynoying,” as the young people would say.

Infrastructure projects certainly need to be planned, and planning requires time. But this planning will only be for describing the general contours of the projects and estimating the financial costs for the guidance of the private bidders. It is the successful bidder that will lay out the details of the technical plans and the specifics of the financial scheme. For any given project, any moderately competent engineer and financial adviser can complete the job in at most two years.

This means that we should have been enjoying the benefits of some completed projects since 2013. Instead, we are made to wait for pies in the sky.

The Department of Transportation and Communications is well-known for its possession of highly qualified engineers and financial analysts who knew their jobs and carried them out well. Are they still there? Or have they become victims of political vindictiveness and pettiness? Transportation Secretary Emilio A. Abaya, whom many consider as the most incompetent transportation and communication secretary the country has ever had, would know.

Unlike the present administration, the next one can be expected to regard signed contracts with respect and proceed to implement them as soon as it can. This should prevent us from losing some more precious time. The private sector will be something else, however. It might decide to go to court and question elements of past biddings, in which case not just the six years under the present administration will have been lost but additional years, as well.

We cannot afford to throw away many more years through sheer incompetence. We must work double time if we are to catch up with our neighbors, who are marching speedily forward. The economy is in serious need of infrastructure to underpin growth and development. If this infrastructure is not forthcoming or is forthcoming only in spurts, it will consign the economy to stagnation and decay.

We cannot wait for July 1, 2016.

05172015

Don’t believe NoKor horror stories A

Bloomberg View

Leonid Bershidsky

Gospel

Sunday, May 17, 2015

NORTH Korean defense minister is executed with anti-aircraft fire for falling asleep in a meeting (or was it a parade)? If you don’t find that hard to believe, you probably buy everything you see advertised on TV. Even so, news media throughout the world repeated this story about the alleged demise of General Hyon Yong Chol, based on an anonymous report from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Although the NIS later backtracked, saying Hyon had been “purged” but not necessarily executed, much less in such a gruesome manner, more such stories will circulate and find an eager audience—and not just about North Korea. They’re also likely to have longer legs than the subsequent denials, because the Internet audience is little different from that of old-style TV and newspapers: It still selects news and opinion consistent with its attitudes and beliefs.

People are more likely to share a news story when it chimes with their worldview, or with that of popular network users they follow. Selective exposure, as the phenomenon is known in academic circles, is a source of joy for propagandists and intelligence services that seek not so much to convert people to their views as to reinforce the core beliefs of their respective audiences.

North Korea, as a secretive dictatorship with media resources limited to a few toothless propaganda sites, is a particularly easy target.

Its current leader, Kim Jong Un, is apparently tougher on the country’s ruling elite than his father Kim Jong Il and his grandfather Kim Il Sung used to be.

In a recent article for the Moscow Carnegie Center, North Korea expert Andrei Lankov wrote that, of the seven top officials who stood next to Kim Jong Il’s coffin at his funeral, six have since “disappeared without a trace.” One was arrested during a government meeting and his execu-

A

tion was reported in North Korea.

Another simply lost his post and was edited out of official photographs.

Make no mistake: The North Korean regime is not run by liberal softies.

Still, the most gruesome tales of the youngest Kim’s brutality have turned out to be hoaxes. No, he did not execute former lover Hyon Song Wol for making porn movies.

And, no, he didn’t feed his uncle Jang Song Thaek to 120 hungry dogs. It has never been proven that North Korea used mortars or flamethrowers to execute people, for the simple reason that no one willing to talk to the media has ever been present at a North Korean execution.

The blurry satellite images used as proof of North Korean executions by anti-aircraft guns should strike a familiar chord with anyone who has been closely watching the conflict in eastern Ukraine: There, such pictures and out-of-context videos have been used daily by each side to accuse the other of unspeakable brutality, including the downing of the Malaysian passenger jet, in which 298 people died.

Many of these watchers draw conclusions from photographs juxtaposed with Google Maps satellite images, the provenance of which is all but impossible to verify: Who put them on the Internet and why? Every time such findings make the news, there’s an answering salvo using similar material. Much of this kind of analysis is simply grist for people who already have an established view of what happened.

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin really snap a pencil during last February’s tense cease-fire talks in Minsk? No, he didn’t, but Ukrainians and their Western sympathizers were primed to believe it when someone posted a doctored image from the pool footage online.

Did former US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki really say: “There are no Ukrainian refugees in Russia. Those are tourists.

In the Rostov Mountains, there is

ND, He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My Name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents; and, if they drink any deadly thing, it will

wonderfully healing air”? No, she didn’t, but Putin fans like to think she’s too ignorant to know the Rostov region has no mountains and too stubborn to admit that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled to Russia since the conflict started.

The list goes on. In the case of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the falsehoods are described as part of a “hybrid war.” North Korea’s case shouldn’t be treated any differently.

It’s hard to say who benefits the most from the stories of flamethrowers, anti-aircraft guns and hungry dogs: South Korean conservatives and intelligence operatives, who want to portray North Korea as a version of hell; Western governments that need Kim as a bogeyman; or Kim himself, who doesn’t mind being feared, as long as he isn’t mocked.

“You know what’s more destructive than a nuclear bomb? Words,” a fictional Kim says in the recent Hollywood comedy The Interview, blamed for bringing on the recent Sony hack. It’s not quite certain that North Korean hackers perpetrated that crime, but again, pinning it on them benefits everyone. Sony gets some sympathy as a victim of government-sponsored terrorism; US intelligence is seen doing its job, tracking down cybercriminals; and even North Korea gets some grudging respect for pulling off the biggest computer attack in history.

If North Koreans have really learned computer warfare, expect them to pick up the media skills of Russian and Ukrainian propagandists soon. No doubt North Korean spin doctors would glamorize Kim’s corruption fighters and portray his brutal regime as one of the last bastions against pervasive US spying; it worked for China.

And what if Kim has already mastered the game and all the gory rumors originate from his covert propaganda machine? If that’s impossible to believe, maybe selective exposure is playing its tricks on you, too.

not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.— Mark 16:15-20

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, May 17, 2015 A7

I love the Philippines W Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

HY do I love us? Why do I love my country so much as to amount to a passion, albeit laced with frequent insults.

One reason is that we Filipinos don’t agonize over problems; we take them out.

The other is that we are never divided over issues like the one that has split Paraguay. Should a 10-year-old girl, who was raped and impregnated by her stepdad, get an abortion?

In Paraguay the debate circles around the issue whether the risk of giving birth to the health of a 10-year-old is such as to justify a le-

gal abortion—or not. Msgr. Claudio Gimenez, president of the episcopal conference who needs to be raped, said, “Some want to legalize abortion, the killing of an innocent still in a period of gestation.”

Oooohhhh, so the church wants the baby to be born first before it is thrown into a garbage can. The monsignor is, of course, an idiot.

Nobody wants to legalize abortion; abortion is legal in Paraguay when giving birth poses a grave risk to the mother’s life. The question is, if such a grave risk exists.

As the debate goes on, the risk

increases. Thus, five months into the debate as the girl’s belly got bigger and bigger, the health minister, herself an idiot, said the girl is fine; she should give birth because the baby is now viable. As if the issue was whether to abort her when the fetus could not live outside the womb or to wait until it could, and then not to abort her naturally.

Meanwhile, Paraguayan cops arrested her stepdad for raping her and her natural mother for letting him.

In our country, the 10-year-old would have gotten an abortion the moment it was discovered she was

pregnant; any doctor would do it; if he couldn’t, he’d find one who would; and if it was discovered, no one would prosecute the doctor; the law will leave him be. The main consideration would be the risk to her mental health, if she ends up a mother at 10.

Meanwhile, her stepdad would be shot for trying to grab the gun of an officer with his hands tied behind his back, and it is not unlikely that the girl’s natural mother will meet an untimely end.

Now, arguably this summary practice, this habit of ours to just bury our problems rather than our heads

in the sand, won’t stand moral scrutiny. I should know. I am, perhaps, the only Filipino to have studied directly under the leading American moral and legal philosopher, John Rawls, at Harvard’s Emerson Hall.

But morals have to do with what ought to be; not with what already is: in this case what is, is a dead rapist. In law, we’d set aside the issue as “mute” and academic, which is to say something one could talk about when there’s nothing that can be done about it—like the weather—so it’s best just to let it pass as done, but best left unmentioned.

Americans still value trains; why doesn’t Congress?

By Harold Jackson The Philadelphia Inquirer

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GREW up watching trains crossing tracks less than a mile from my home in Alabama, counting cars while patiently waiting for the caboose to end the parade. At night, the sound of a train whistle followed by the rumble of an engine pulling freight as it approached and then faded into the distance was like a lullaby. But I never rode a train until I was an adult, many decades later.

These days, I ride the Amtrak quite a few times a year; sometimes to New York, but more often headed south to Virginia to visit grandchildren. On those trips, the thought of an accident like last week’s derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight people never entered my mind.

The most that has happened to me aboard the Northeast Regional was be-

ing stuck in a station for an hour after the train lost power.

The derailment brought to mind the most exciting and boring train ride I have ever made—from Xian to Beijing, a 750-mile trek that took less than six hours aboard one of China’s high-speed trains. It was exciting to know you were traveling 300 kilometers (about 186 miles) an hour, but boring because you would never know it. The ride was smooth even when we slowed for infrequent stops.

Peering at the landscape through the window indicated you were going fast, but it didn’t seem that fast. In fact, it was more interesting to watch how the maids in each car scrambled to keep them spotless, even mopping the floor at regular intervals.

I don’t think enough people in this country realize how far behind other nations we are in some areas, including rail travel. Congress’s apparent be-

lief that rail travel is old-fashioned is itself out of date. Decades ago, it may have looked like trains would go the route of the horse and buggy as more and more people traveled either by air or car. But that hasn’t happened.

Instead, the number of people taking advantage of the convenience of trains continues to grow, especially in the Northeast, where an abundance of rail lines makes it easy.

The 457-mile Northeast Corridor connecting Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston serves 200 million commuter-rail and 13 million Amtrak riders every day. Amtrak ridership has increased nearly 50 percent since 2000, to more than 32 million passengers annually.

Yet, Congress still balks at providing adequate funding to Amtrak.

Not even the derailment kept the House Appropriations Committee from voting to reduce Amtrak’s al-

location from last year’s $1.4 billion to $1.13 billion.

It’s true that increased ridership hasn’t made Amtrak profitable. It lost $1 billion last fiscal year, with total revenue of $3.2 billion.

But Amtrak began its existence mired in a deep fiscal hole created by the private railroads it replaced in 1971 and it has made some bad spending and route decisions that it is still trying to correct. But Amtrak can’t be successful without the funding needed to upgrade ancient tracks, wooden ties and other infrastructure to make it a safer, more viable option for travelers.

It’s believed that the Philadelphia derailment might have been prevented had that section of track been equipped with the new “positive train control [PTC]” system, which by federal law must be installed on all passenger and major freight railroads by the end of 2015. Cost is one reason PTC has

not yet been installed throughout the Amtrak system. A less-sophisticated “automatic train control [ATC]” system was also missing from the northbound tracks where the Philadelphia derailment occurred, although ATC did exist on the southbound tracks.

Was that a cost-saving decision, too?

China spends $128 billion a year on rail transportation and Congress wants to give Amtrak barely $1 billion. Well, you get what you pay for, and what Americans are getting is a train system with bad rails, dilapidated infrastructure and missing safety systems that might have prevented eight deaths.

Even if an investigation finds that the Philadelphia derailment was primarily the result of human error, it’s also clear that the tragedy might have been averted with electronic equipment that could have slowed that speeding train.

Isn’t that worth properly investing in Amtrak? TNS

Sunnis need aid to fight the Islamic State

By Trudy Rubin

The Philadelphia Inquirer

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NYONE who wants to understand how the Islamic State (IS) can be rolled back needs to heed the message of two Sunni Arabs who visited Washington this week.

I’m not referring to the Saudi crown prince and his deputy, who came to seek assurances from President Barack Obama that he’s not cozying up to Tehran. (When it comes to ousting the IS, the Saudis are as much a part of the problem as they are part of the solution.)

Rather, I’m referring to two prominent Iraqi politicians who came to warn that the IS can’t be defeated unless Washington helps Iraqi Sunnis who want to drive the jihadis out.

One of the visitors was Rafe al-Issawi, an urbane, English-speaking physician who was once Iraq’s respected finance minister. But the previous prime minister, the sectarian Shiite Nouri al-Maliki, had Issawi’s bodyguards arrested in 2012 and started investigating him on bogus terrorism charges. Under Maliki, thousands of Sunni civilians were imprisoned.

The Maliki government “intimidated

and exiled all Sunni leaders” who wanted to participate in Iraqi politics, Issawi told me. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is a far more conciliatory Shiite leader, he continued, but is unable to get the charges against Issawi dropped because of opposition by powerful Shiite militias.

“They are squeezing Sunnis to extremism,” Issawi said.

I heard similar complaints from Atheel al-Nujaifi. He was the elected governor of Iraq’s Nineveh province until the IS invaded in June and captured its largest city, Mosul. Many Sunnis initially welcomed the IS as preferable to the Maliki government, Nujaifi told me, in Erbil, Kurdistan, to which he fled after the IS takeover.

Most of those Sunnis are now fed up, he added. However, they will only rise up against the IS if they believe they have a future in Iraq.

“If we want to get people involved, we must give them hope for some change,” he said, in a message he repeated in Washington. “Sunnis must see that things won’t return to the way they were before June 10.”

So the first prerequisite for a rebellion against the IS is to assure Sunnis that they have a political future in Iraq.

Nujaifi said Sunnis now want autonomy for provinces such as Anbar and Nineveh, where they comprise most of the population, something authorized by the Iraqi constitution but which they previously opposed.

The second prerequisite, equally important, is to help Sunni tribesmen who want to fight the IS in Anbar and Nineveh, but complain they aren’t getting sufficient weapons and training. Here, despite the modest US military presence, Americans have a critical role to play.

“Maliki and Abadi have refused to give weapons to Sunni tribes,” Issawi complains, but have given Shiite militias “more heavy weapons than the army.”

He is particularly critical of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a collection of Shiite militias, some of whom are well-organized fighting forces backed by Iran. (Other less controversial PMF units consist of volunteers who answered the call of senior Shiite clerics when the IS was threatening Baghdad.)

Issawi fears that, with Iran’s help, the Tehran-backed militias aim to create an Iraqi version of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has become the backbone of Iran’s military forces.

The head of the IRGC’s Quds force,

Gen. Qasem Soleimani, has frequently appeared in Iraq at the side of Shiite militia commanders.

“Is Soleimani the most powerful general in Iraq?” I queried Issawi.

“Do you have any doubt? ” he quickly replied.

The role of the Shiite militias—and their relationship to anti-ISSunnis tribes—will be especially important in Anbar, the next battlefield in the fight against the IS (the much-heralded fight to take back Mosul probably won’t happen this year).

Sunni leaders are fearful about Shiite militias entering Anbar, given their previous track record of seizing or destroying Sunni property and land. Rather than use militias to fight the IS, Issawi wants the Iraqi parliament to create national guard units that would fight at the provincial level, under the aegis of the Iraqi army. But, given strong Shiite opposition, the legislation is stalled.

Meantime, US officials are urging the tribes to provide around 7,500 men for training by US and other coalition officers at bases in Anbar. The tribal fighters would then be considered a Sunni arm of the PMF until the day—if it ever comes—when the national guard

is approved.

A thousand of Issawi’s fellow Albu Eissa tribesmen have already entered this program, but he says “the training in Anbar is not serious.” He says the Sunni fighters either get no arms or else weapons too light to battle against the heavily armed IS. He also says there is no clear mission or command structure. The still-broken Iraqi army has very little presence in Anbar.

This raises the question of whether such a scattered Sunni tribal force can make headway against the IS in Anbar, and what the administration can do to improve the odds.

US officials have pledged air and intel support to the Sunnis, and say they won’t provide such help to Shiite militias backed by Iran. However, US weapons support will go primarily to the Iraqi army, not the Sunni tribal forces. It’s unlikely that the Iraqi government will give Sunnis the weapons they need.

Unless Washington can pressure Baghdad to provide Sunnis with heftier military and political support, it’s hard to see them pushing the IS out of Anbar and Mosul. And if the Sunnis don’t do it, it’s hard to see who else will.

Why Obama is right to shake things up in the Middle East

By Andrew J. Bacevich Los Angeles Times

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N his second term, President Barack Obama has demonstrated a real knack for ticking off putative American friends. First, he annoyed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who registered his complaint by promptly taking it to Capitol Hill. Now (apparently) he has irked Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, who signaled his unhappiness by skipping this week’s summit with Gulf allies at Camp David.

The rocky turn in US relations with two long-standing strategic partners has caused much hand-wringing. But is it really such a bad thing? Or does it hint at a long-overdue policy shift that will align US commitments to these countries with actual American interests?

Obama has refused to defer to governments in the habit of expecting deference. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia have expressed alarm at the Obama ad-

ministration’s pursuit of a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. Disregarding such concerns, Obama has forged ahead.

As others have noted, the nuclear negotiations are not really about nukes.

The real aim of the talks is to end Iran’s diplomatic isolation, which dates to the Carter-era hostage crisis. Yet, bringing Iran in from the cold will alter the strategic landscape in ways that Israel and Saudi Arabia find discomfiting. A completed deal will instantly transform Iran from a pariah into a major regional power. For existing regional powers, the result can mean only one thing: reduced room to maneuver.

Coming from a president not known for boldness, this strategy represents a very bold and indeed risky gambit. Two mutually reinforcing developments explain Obama’s willingness to take those risks.

First, long-standing US policies are not working. American assertiveness, typically expressed in the use or threat-

ened use of force, has not stabilized the Middle East. As for all the mumbo jumbo about spreading democracy and advancing the cause of human rights to transform the Islamic world, forget it.

Second, the circumstances that inspired those policies in the first place have ceased to exist.

The image of Israel as David encircled by hostile Arab Goliaths and, therefore, facing imminent extinction no longer conforms to the facts, if it ever did. That Israel still confronts threats to its security is doubtless true. Yet, equally true is the fact that Israel exacerbates those threats through ill-advised actions, such as settlement expansion in the West Bank and heavy-handed treatment of Palestinians. The US commitment to ensure Israel’s right to exist is irrevocable.

Why that commitment should extend to underwriting Israeli policies that then cause headaches for the US elsewhere is no longer self-evident.

Similarly, the American way of life

no longer depends on ensuring US access to Persian Gulf oil. In 1980 Saudi Arabia appeared to be the world’s gas station.

With North American oil and naturalgas production booming, however, the US has become its own gas station. The US, therefore, need not turn a blind eye to Saudi actions—for example, underwriting radical Islamism—that eventually exact a toll in American blood and treasure. It’s perfectly understandable that Israel and Saudi Arabia are pushing back against the shift that Obama is engineering. Both governments face an unwelcome choice: Either accommodate changes in US policy or look elsewhere for a patron or protector.

As a practical matter, however, viable alternatives to the US are few in number and come with considerable disadvantages. In what some saw as a swipe at Washington, the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council recently invited French President François Hollande to attend a GCC summit—the first such

invitation ever extended to a Western leader. Does the Saudi royal family really want to entrust its fate to France?

Does France even possess the wherewithal to assume that burden?

Scaremongers suggest that courting Iran implies a willingness to sell out Iran’s adversaries. In fact, the recalibration of relationships now under way points to something quite different: It holds out the prospect of putting US-Israeli and US-Saudi relations on a more businesslike footing.

Diplomacy is transactional. Successful diplomacy means striking the right balance between give and get. However belatedly, the Obama administration recognizes that when it comes to Israel and Saudi Arabia, the US has done too much giving and too little getting while paying too high a price. Obama aims to fix that. He may not succeed. But if he does, who cares if an Israeli prime minister and a Saudi monarch express a bit of pique? TNS Forum

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A6 Sunday, May 17, 2015 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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House probe on deadly Valenzuela factory fire sought

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he House Committee on Labor is set to conduct an investigation into the occupational-safety practices of Kentex Manufacturing Corp., after a fire burned down its Valenzuela slipper factory, killing at least 72 of its workers, its chairman said over the weekend.

House Deputy Majority Leader and Liberal Party Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, chairman of the panel, said that his committee is set to investigate the incident on May 20.

“This horrific fire should serve as an eye-opener for employers to be mindful of the safety of their employees at all times. I can hardly understand the high number of casualties, despite the alleged existence of fire exits. It should be worthy to find out if the best practices in occupational safety are observed by factories like Kentex,” Nograles said.

According to Nograles the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has already dispatched occupational-safety officers and labor-law compliance officers to investigate the factory site, and his committee would definitely ask for a copy of their report.

Meanwhile, Nograles said there are at least four measures now pending in his committee which are related to the issue on occupational safety, and he would push for marathon hearings for their early approval.

These bills include House Bill

(HB) 2226, or the bill criminalizing non-compliance with occupational safety and health standards; HB 2471, or the bill providing uniform warnings on personal protective equipment for occupational use; HB 4594, or the measure institutionalizing occupational health and safety of workers in the construction industry; and HB 4635, or a measure imposing strict compliance through mandatory inspection and providing penalties for violations of occupational safety and health provisions of the Labor Code.

Liability

Meanwhile, Party-list Rep. Neri J. Colmenares of Bayan Muna said that all those liable in the Kentex inferno should be investigated.

“The upcoming probe by the House Committee on Labor on May 20 should not just look at the occupational-safety mechanisms of Kentex but on the liability of the Department of Labor and Employment and the administration for allowing like structured factories to proliferate in the country,” Senior Deputy Minority Leader Colmenares said.

“The Bureau of Fire Preven-

tion [BFP] should also be summoned at the hearing, because structures like the Kentex factory, dealing with highly combustible materials, should have higher fire-safety standards,” Colmenars added.

Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio of ACT Teachers, for his part, called for justice for the deaths of 72 workers on May 13.

“The death of at least 72 workers in the Kentex factory fire is a national shame that has exposed the horrific and life-threatening conditions that many Filipino workers face on a daily basis,” Tinio said.

“The working conditions in Kentex factory were inhumane—the workers labored 24/7 surrounded with foul-smelling chemicals, packed in an enclosed, nearly airless building,” he said.

The lawmaker also said that laws and regulations mandate municipal and city fire marshals of the BFP, who are under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, to routinely inspect establishments for fire hazards, and require that each have enough exits and extinguishers to ensure the safety of persons inside them.

State weather bureau adopts five new storm categories

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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LARK FREE PORT—Five new classifications for weather disturbances entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) have been adopted by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomic al Services Administration (Pagasa) beginning this month.

Dr. Esperanza Cayanan, Pagasa weather division chief, made the announcement during the media forum “Inn the News” at the Rodizio Restaurant of the Holiday Inn here, organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc., in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp.,Social Security System and the hotel, last Friday.

Cayanan said the new system of classification by the weather bureau will be immediately reflected in the initials preceding the name of the particular weather disturbance.

The five new categories for weather disturbances are tropical depression, or TD, with maximum wind velocity of about 61 kilometers per hour (kph); tropical storm, or TS, with wind maximum wind velocity of 62 to 88 kph; severe

tropical storm, or STS, with maximum wind velocity of 89 to 117 kph; typhoon, or TY, with maximum wind velocity of 118 to 220 kph; and super typhoon, or STY, with maximum wind velocity of over 220 kph.

Beginning this month, Cayanan said, Pagasa will be affixing the said initials before the names of the weather disturbances entering the PAR. Cayanan explained that if the name of a super typhoon is Dodong, it would be referred to as STY Dodong in weather advisories.

However, she added that public stormwarning signals, which indicate the windvelocity forecast of a weather disturbance for a certain period, would remain the same.

Thus, signal no. 1 would be used to warn the public of wind velocity of 30 to 60 kph in the next 36 hours, signal no. 2 for 61 to 120 kph wind velocity within 24 hours, signal no. 3 for 121 to 170 kph wind velocity within 18 hours, signal no. 4 for 171 to 220 kph within 12 hours and signal no. 5 for wind velocity of 220 kph or more within 12 hours.

Cayanan clarified that PAGASA can still raise the signal alert shorter than the time projections if the need is warranted.

Pinoy fashion designers to dress up contestants in intl beauty contests

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lawmaker has filed a measure requiring contestants representing the Philippines in international beauty pageants to wear gowns that are made or created by Filipino fashion designers.

Rep. Eric L. Olivarez of the First District of Parañaque City said House Bill (HB) 5691 to be known as the Filipino Fashion Designers for Filipino Beauty Pageants Contestants Act of 2015, mandates that Filipino fashion designers must at all times be involved in the designing of garments, dresses and costumes for Filipino beautypageant contestants.

The bill also provides that garments, dresses or costumes, which are representative of Filipino culture, identity and nationality, shall, at all times, be the default fashion design for every Filipino beauty-pageant contestant in any international pageant competition.

HB 5691 allows foreign fashion designers to assist Filipino fashion

designers in the creation of garments, dresses or costumes of Filipino beauty contestants in an international beauty-pageant contests, provided that the fashion designers creating the costumes or dresses are working as a team and that the team is headed by a Filipino fashion designer.

“The foreign fashion designer may also assist the Filipino fashion designer in the selection of materials to be used for the finished products to conform to factors such as age, gender and physical status of the Filipino contestants,” Olivarez explained.

In filing the bill, Olivarez said in any international contest, most especially international beauty pageants, nationality and design should always reflect the country’s expression of excellence and ingenuity.

“It is for this reason that our Filipino fashion designers, who are experts in their fields, should be the entrusted designers for our Filipino contestants in international beauty pageants,” he said.

The bill mandates the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as the primary commission

to regulate fashion designers for beauty pageants and other fashion-design competitions the Philippines is participating.

“The measure also aims to facilitate greater coordination among fashion designers in the country with the help of the NCCA, as well as to require local franchise holders and other institutions of beauty pageants to standardize the recruitment of fashion designers to be strictly Filipino,” Olivarez said.

The bill requires all local franchise holders, sponsors, handlers, organizers and other institutions of beauty pageants to recruit or have a pool of Filipino fashion designers who could immediately be engaged, hired or tapped in any international beautypageant competition.

Any franchise holder, handler, organizer and sponsor, whether a corporate institution or individual who or which grossly violates any of the provisions as provided under this proposal, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six months or a fine of P100,000, or both at the discretion of the court. PNA

4 more Pasig Ferry stations Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis N. Tolentino (center) leads the

ribbon-cutting ceremony of four more additional terminals of the Pasig River Ferry System on Friday at the Lawton Station in Manila. PNA

Cebu power firm to roll out e-billing system

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EBU CITY—The Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), Metro Cebu’s lone power utility, will soon roll out its electronic billing (e-billing) system as part of the company’s sustainability efforts to lessen carbon footprint, an official said.

Veco Reputation Management Manager Theresa Sederiosa said they are only waiting for its approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Sederiosa said the firm plans to forego of distributing physical copies of billing statements to customers within its franchise area who will opt to enroll in its e-billing system. She said those customers who will opt to enroll in their e-billing system will no longer be given hard copies of Veco’s billing statement and their bills will be sent to them via e-mails.

“This initiative is part of the company’s sustainability advocacy to lessen our carbon footprint. We are

actually giving options to our customers who want to go paperless,” Sederiosa said.

She said this system is being widely used by powerdistribution utilities overseas. “The system is ready for rollout. But we are still in discussions with the ERC,” she said.

The ERC requires firms to send hard copies along with billing statements sent via e-mail. This setup is being adopted by some banks and telcos.

“Veco designed a system in such a way that if the customer enrolls in our e-billing system, he will no longer be given the physical copy. Otherwise, if we will adopt the setup practiced by many firms, it will defeat the purpose of our sustainability effort,” Sederiosa said.

Sederiosa added that Veco can save at least 380,000 pieces of paper per month if all of its customers within its franchise area will enroll to their e-billing system. PNA

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Local govts, residents reject construction of dam for power generation, Metro Manila water supply

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By John Bello | Correspondent

UCENA CITY—Local governments, the provincial board, as well as residents and tribesmen in the affected area have rejected the construction of a dam designed to provide power in the province as well as augment Metro Manila drinking water supply.

Liberal Party Rep. Vicente Alcala of Quezon disclosed on Saturday that as early as May 2011, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Quezon passed a resolution rejecting the construction of a dam for a hydropower plant in the right or left portion of the Agos River in General Nakar town.

“May kapasiyahan na kami noon sa Sangguniang Panglalawigan na kami ay tumututol diyan sa pagtatayo ng anumang dam sa kaliwa o kanan ng Agos River sa General Nakar,” Alcala said.

The resolution, Kapasiyahan Bilang 2011-633, states, “Kapasiyahang mahigpit na tinututulan ng Sangguniang Panglalawigan ang planong pagtatayo o pagpapagawa ng dam ng

Hydro Power Plant sa kanan at kaliwang bahagi ng Agos River, General Nakar, Quezon.”

Alcala said the resolution was approved on May 16 during the regular session by nine SP members, including Alona Obispo, Ferdinand Talabong, Victor Reyes, Manuel Butardo, Rachel Ubana, Gerald Ortiz, Lourdes de Luna-Pasatiempo, Marvin Loui Villasenor and Joana Rose Martija.

Ubana, Villasenor and Martija are no longer SP members but the rest were reelected to their present positions.

The session was presided by Alcala, then-Quezon vice governor, and the approved resolution, sponsored by Butardo, was signed

by Gov. David Suarez.

Alcala, who had marched with tribal folk leaders in protesting construction of the Laiban Dam project in General Nakar, still expressed his firm opposition to the establishment of any power dam project, saying it would adversely affect the health and living condition of the residents in the area.

The 2011 SP resolution came out in the light of the initial public consultation on Friday on the proposed Kanan wind, hydropower and bulk-water project hosted by the SP's joint Committees on Environment and Natural Resources, on Energy,on Tourism, on Culture and the Arts, and on Investment, Trade and Industry.

Representatives of project proponent Energy World International (EWI) Ltd., the Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee, municipal and barangay officials and tribesmen, as well as residents of Real, Infanta and General Nakar (Reina), the areas to be adversely affected by the power project.

The then-SP took into consideration the strong opposition of the non-governmental group Task Force Sierra Madre-Northern Quezon, which believed that the construction of the proposed 91.4-meterhigh and 206.7-meter- long concrete dam by the Kanan Hydroelectric Power Corp. is not in consonance with the environment, forests and

Pampanga speeds up preparations for K to 12

GOV. Lilia Pineda urges Pampanga mayors to give full support to the K to 12 Program in a forum held at the Session Hall of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. With the governor are board members Mike Tapang, Nestor Tolentino, Arthur Salalila and Leonardo Zapanta, Department of Education Pampanga superintendent. JUN JASO

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By Joel P. Mapiles | Correspondent

ITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Gov. Lilia Pineda said on Friday that Pampanga must be ready for the full implementation of K to 12 Program.

Pineda urged the Pampanga mayors to help the Department of Education (DepEd) in the preparation for the full implementation of the K to 12 Program by providing more funds for the construction of classrooms intended for the incoming senior high-school students.

“Our assistance to the DepEd for K to 12 Program is tantamount to helping the youth in your respective towns and cities as they are the direct beneficiaries,” the governor told the mayors during the “Forum on the K-12 Program: Senior High School Implementation in Pampanga” held at the Session Hall of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Friday. It was learned that the Philippines is the last country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle. Angola and Djibouti are the other two.

Celia P. Lacanlale, officer in charge of the Implementation Division of DepEd Pampanga, said the success of K to 12 also lies in the hands of the local governments, parents-teachers associations and the non-governmental organizations that are helping the department by sponsoring the construction of more classrooms.

“Tayo ay para sa edukasyon. We need each other for the success of this program. Our convergence and cooperation may mean a better preparation for K to 12 Program,” Lacanlale said.

In response, the Pampanga mayors, led by their president, Apalit Mayor Oscar Tetangco Jr., said they are one in providing full support to the K to 12 Program.

The other mayors who attended the forum are Arayat Mayor Emmanuel Alejandrino; Bacolor Mayor Jomar Hizon; Candaba Mayor Rene Maglanque; Floridablanca Mayor Eddie Guerrero; Guagua Mayor Dante Torres; Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda Cayabyab; Porac Mayor Condralito de la Cruz; San Simon Mayor Leonora Wong; Santa Ana Mayor Rommel Concepcion; Santo Tomas Mayor

Lito Naguit; Macabebe Mayor Annette Balgan; Masanto Mayor Dan Guinto; Sasmuan Mayor Nardo Velasco; Magalang Mayor Romulo Pecson; City of San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago; Mabalacat City Mayor Marino Boking Morales; and Minalin Mayor Edgardo Flores.

The mayors said they are very much willing to help, however, they need also the cooperation of the DepEd in providing them detailed information on what would be their participation so they appropriately respond to the needs especially in terms of providing classrooms.

During the forum, it was agreed that the DepEd, provincial and municipal or city governments will converge their resources for the completion of needed classrooms.

The mayors also asked Pineda to increase the annual P5-million financial aid of the provincial to the municipal governments to P10 million so they could address the lack of classrooms for senior high-school students.

With the additional funding assistance from the Capitol plus local funds, the mayors said they could increase the funds for the construction of school buildings. Pampanga Education Supt. Leonardo Zapanta said that the department is getting ready with for the implementation of senior high school in School Year 2016-2017.

“We are on the fifth year of the implementation of the K to 12 Program.

Our last mile is the senior high school. We have finished planning and have figures on enrollment a year in advance,” he said.

Zapanta said senior high school means two additional years for the students to equip them with skills that will better prepare them for the future, whether it be: employment, entrepreneurship, skills development (further technical vocational training) on higher education or college.

“Beginning SY 2016-2017, students must go through Grades 11 and 12 to graduate from high school. If a student chooses not to go to senior high school, he is considered Grade 10 completer, but not high-school graduate.

Elementary graduates are those who finished Grade 6; high-school graduates must have finished Grade 12,” he added.

the whole ecosystem in the area and could even cause a tragedy worse than what happened during the massive landslide on November 29, 2004, which killed a thousand people and destroyed properties, crops and animals owing to alleged massive and rampant illegal-logging activities in the Reina area.

During the initial public consultation on Friday, Graham Elliot of the EWI presented the P46.5-billion proposed project that is designed to generate 410 megawatts (MW) of electricity and up to 500 million cubic meters per year of bulk water.

The project requires the construction of an 80-meter concrete buttress dam for the creation of a reservoir to harness the power potential and water supply from the Kanan River.

The total reservoir area has total capacity of 124 million cubic meters of water; while a wind farm that will generate as much as 200MW will be developed in four phases to augment hydropower generation.

Initial water supply to be generated will be 275,000 cubic meters per day, Elliot said He said that benefits to the host province include revenue sharing in which Quezon will receive up to 4 percent of all revenues amounting to about P250 million a year; direct investment in local power and water infrastructure and envi-

ronmental protection totaling 1.5 percent of revenue per year; realproperty tax payments; additional payment of royalties from power generation to the municipalities for forest protection and other local development programs; employment of more than 2,000 people during construction and full-time work force of over 500 in which priority employment would come from local residents in the Reina area.

The Task Force Sierra Madre for Balanced Ecology chaired by Fr. Mario Establecida and heads of the tribal groups in Reina have submitted a joint statement of protest and opposition to the proposed bulk water and dam projects during the consultation.

The joint statement was accompanied by resolutions of the Sangguniang Bayan of Real and Infanta opposing the planned construction of mega dams in Sierra Madre, Kaliwa and Laiban dams; a resolution by the Municipal Development Council of Infanta declaring firm opposition to the granting of clearance to the New Centennial Water Source Project-Kaliwa Dam Project to be undertaken by Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System; and a resolution issued by the tribal communities of General Nakar expressing strong opposition to the Kaliwa and Laiban dam projects.

Sunday, May 17, 2015 A7

Bacolod police files complaints against 5 militant group leaders

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ACOLOD CITY—The Bacolod City police filed three criminal complaints against five leaders of militant groups here for the violence that marred a protest rally during President Aquino’s visit to Negros Occidental on April 30.

Two police officers were wounded during the encounter between the protesters and a group of antiriot policemen.

Senior Supt. Melchor Coronel, Bacolod City police officer in charge, confirmed on Thursday that investigators filed complaints before the City Prosecutor’s Office against the five respondents for alleged illegal assembly in relation to Batasang Pambansa 880, direct assault upon an agent of person in authority and physical injuries.

Among those charged were Christian Tuayon, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Negros; Noli Rosales of the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Negros; Diego Malacad of United Negros Drivers and Operators Center; George Arca of the Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees; and Clarissa Dagatan of Gabriela-Negros.

The commotion started when policemen blocked the protesters who were going to the Negros First Cyber Center on Hernaez Street, which was inaugurated

by Aquino.

Police Officers 1 Mary Joy Togonan and Edward John Timonan, both members of Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB)-6, were injured after they were hit by stones and placards. PNA

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Sunday, May 17, 2015

Belmonte cites the need for ‘effective legal system’ to attract more investors

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he leader of the House of Representatives said the Philippines needs an “effective legal system” to attract investors and promote inclusive growth.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., in his recent speech before the Philippine Bar Association (PBA), said that an effective legal system is pivotal to a strong economy, particularly on the inflow of investments.

“Clearly, the proper functioning of our country’s legal system is strongly linked to matters of good governance and economic growth,” he said.

Belmonte added that it is essential for the Philippines to continue working toward having a legal envi-

ronment that is more conducive for attracting investments and enhancing competitiveness in preparation for the Asean integration this year.

“The existing legal framework may not be sufficient for the region to achieve a completely free exchange of goods and services [for the incoming Asean integration],” he said.

According to Belmonte, the Asean integration demands that Asean lawyers must learn to navigate multiple legal jurisdictions.

“In the Philippines the practice

of law right now is limited only to Filipinos. In the wake of efforts in the Supreme Court to liberalize the profession, there is a proposal to welcome foreign lawyers in the Philippines to assist their clients in international matters and cross-border transactions,” he said.

The move or proposal to liberalize the legal profession in the Philippines, Belmonte said, is a key first step toward making Filipino lawyers significant players in Asean integration.

He also sought the lawyers’ expertise to help liberalize several other professions apart from the legal profession.

Trade and services

Moreover, Belmonte explained before the PBA that the increased trade in goods and services in the Asean region and greater flows of investments and skilled labor will not only expand the country’s economy but also help create more of the much-needed jobs and opportunities Filipinos need.

AMLC renews vow to pursue mandate ‘without fear or favor’

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he Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it will not be used as a “tool for political persuasion,” responding to recent controversies surrounding the recent freeze orders on Vice President Jejomar C. Binay’s bank accounts on the basis of the petition cases submitted by the AMLC to the Court of Appeals.

In a news statement released by the AMLC late Friday, the agency said it is still “fully committed” to the delivery of its objectives to “combat money laundering and help preserve the integrity of the financial system.”

“The cases filed by the AMLC are results of its investigation in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, as amended [AMLA],” the AMLC said.

Further, the AMLC vowed to “continue to discharge” its legal mandate “without fear or favor.”

“The AMLC has been doing its job quietly and without fanfare. It has never allowed, and will never allow, itself to be used as a tool for political persecution or harassment, or as an instrument to hamper competition in trade and commerce,” the AMLC added in the statement.

“It is not, and will never be, beholden to anyone but the Filipino people,” it added.

The AMLC said any issue concerning a pending case should only be raised by the parties “before the proper court.”

Ealier, Binay’s family lawyer Claro Certeza issued a statement, saying that the “AMLC was also not truthful with the Court of Appeals, because it deliberately concealed the fact that Binay and his wife, Elena, were earning additional income from their respective businesses, in addition to the Vice President’s salary.”

“I believe that it is high time that we worked to attune and adjust our economic policies more strategically to the needs and demands of our time,” Belmonte said.

Belmonte is the author of Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 1, which vests upon Congress the power to set restrictions on foreign ownership in key economic sectors, including public utilities, property, mass media and advertising, educational institutions and development of natural resources.

RBH 1 is one of those listed in the priority of Congress seeking to liberalize very restrictive legal provisions on foreign participation in strategic sectors of the economy, and is also on the priority list of the Joint Foreign Chambers and Philippine Business Group.

Also on the list are the proposed amendments to the Foreign Investment Act, particularly those on the Foreign Investment Negative List.

The amendments include lowering paid-in capital requirements for

Reveal everything

The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), meanwhile, dared the AMLC to reveal everything it claims it has uncovered with regard to the alleged hidden wealth of the Binays.

In the weekly forum at Annabelle’s Restaurant, UNA Interim President and Rep. Toby M. Tiangco of Navotas also hit the AMLC for its “Mafioso-like” characters, as it tries to pin down all those who are against the Aquino administration.

“Aside from the Mafia, it is only in the case of the AMLC where the identities of the officials are shrouded in complete secrecy,” Tiangco said.

The AMLC has already denied that the agency is being used in politics.

“I have openly accused them of allowing themselves to be used on the political agenda of the Liberal Party [LP], and, of course, they are, as they have been appointed to their post courtesy of the LP for having leaked the report on the freeze order on the assets of the Binays and, yet, they won’t come out in the open to deny that and give details on their findings, since it is already out in the open anyway,” the lawmaker added.

According to Tiangco, the AMLC should bare all the details listed in its report on the Binays’ assets.

“I dare them to show in public its accounting of the Binay assets in public, and I will assure you everything will jive in what the Vice President stated in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth,” Tiangco said.

“I also dare them to prove that the Vice President has 242 bank accounts, and I will assure you all they could come out is the five bank accounts VP Binay maintains and has already admitted,” he added.

See “Belmonte,” A2

briefs

WTO chief slated to visit philippines next week

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevêdo will visit the Philippines next week to attend an Asian Development Bank (ADB) event, as well as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting.

The WTO confirms that Azevêdo will deliver a speech in an event organized by the ADB on Thursday, where he is also set to meet high-level government officials.

On Saturday the WTO chief will attend Apec’s Minister Responsible for Trade meeting in Boracay.

The trade department earlier said that the Apec committee invited Azevêdo to give updates on the Bali package, as well as to inform Apec economies in the preparation of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Nairobi, Kenya, in December.

Prior to his visit to the Philippines, Azevêdo will be in Malaysia on May 19 and 20 for a meeting with high-level government representatives.

He will also attend a session in Kuala Lumpur organized by Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies. PNA

Air Force allots P12M for OV-10 aircraft upgrade

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has allotted P12,007,256 for the procurement of spare parts needed for the upgrade and maintenance of one of its Rockwell OV-10 “Bronco” attack aircraft.

The amount will be used for the procurement of “electrical, pneudraulic & APG System requirements” for OV-10 aircraft.

Prebid conference is on May 21 at 1 p.m. at the PAF Procurement Center Conference Room, Villamor Air Base, Pasay City.

Submission and opening of bids was set on June 2 at 9 a.m. at the above-mentioned venue.

Prospective bidders should have an experience in similar project within the last five years.

The PAF is known to operate between six and eight OV-10 air frames.

It is used primarily for air-to-ground and patrol missions. PNA

DENR denies tree-cutting permit application for Cebu’s P10.6-B BRT, 3 other projects

CEBU CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 has denied the treecutting permit application by proponents of Cebu City’s P10.6-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which is set to be implemented in 2017.

At least 300 trees on N. Bacalso Avenue and Osmeña Boulevard stand to be affected by the bus system.

Three other government projects, mostly road widening, also failed to get their tree-cutting permits from the DENR 7.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 will forward to its national office the four applications for tree-cutting permits.

“All requests for tree cutting need the endorsement of Secretary Rogelio L. Singson,” DPWH 7 Information Officer Marie Nillama said.

Dr. Isabelo Montejo, DENR 7 executive director, said the applications were returned because they failed to comply with certain requirements, including Singson’s approval. PNA

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Bianca Cuaresma & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

BSP set to intensify prevention of ATM card fraud

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By Genivi Factao

HE Bangko Sentral (BSP) said banks have increased their security measures to prevent automated teller machine (ATM) skimming, and educating customers is the more effective way not to fall prey to fraudsters.

BSP Deputy Director and Head of Financial Consumers Affairs Group Prudence Angelita A. Kasala said it only takes 10 minutes to put the ATM skimming device that victimizes both the bank and depositors.

“The percentage of reported incidents of skimming to entire cardholders is less than 1 percent,” Kasala told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the Philippine Retail Investment Conference. Card skimming is the illegal copying of information from the magnetic strips found on ATM cards.

In most of the cases, she said, the bank will restitute the unauthorized withdrawals.

“The banks managed to handle the disputed transactions because they have future transaction with clients, so they don’t alienate them. But, what they want to ensure is that, they are not being abused,” she said.

Kasala said it’s also possible that clients can be in connivance or the ones perpetrating the fraud. “So, banks are quite careful on how they treat the complaints,” she explained.

Kasala warned that a movable device in the ATM slot could be a skimming device.

“ATMs are safe, but you also have to be disciplined on planning when to use the ATM cards. Some people are making the ATM cards as their wallet. You’re subjecting yourself to high risk, if you withdraw in ATMs located in a dark and not frequented place,” she said.

Kasala added that the BSP is supporting a House bill that mandates banks to offer ATM theft insurance.

She said banks are supposed to offer ATM insurance but not require customers to buy, because it requires additional cost to the customers.

“It gives the customers an option to make their accounts insured. It does not mandate customers to insure their accounts. But we encourage those who are very active with their transactions to get ATM insurance,” she said.

According to BancNet, the country’s largest ATM consortium, there were over 44.2 million ATM cardholders and more than 12,500 ATMs nationwide. Bancnet has 112 member-banks and affiliates.