BusinessMirror May 4, 2015

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

U.N. Media Award 2008

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TfridayNovember 18,2015 2014Vol.Vol.1010No.No.20740 n Monday, May 4,

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SHIPPING LINES TOLD TO REMOVE all CONGESTION-RELATED FEES

Traders still burdened by port-logjam charges

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By Catherine N. Pillas

he removal of the port-congestion surcharge (PCS) by shipping lines and the reduction in trucking fees would not be enough to boost the competitiveness of businessmen, according to local and foreign traders.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business organization, said businessmen are still in a bind as they continue to pay for other fees imposed by shipping lines at the height of the portcongestion problem.

“There are three or four other surcharges aside from the PCS.

[Shipping lines] have to remove other fees, like the Emergency Cost Recovery Surcharge [ECRS],” said Alfredo M. Yao, president of PCCI. Yao estimated that the additional surcharges, including a random container-cleaning fee, that were slapped during the peak of the port-congestion problem, amounted to $600 to $700 per

twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU).

Other charges that continue to burden business groups include terminal-handling fees, container-deposit fee and container-detention charges. Twelve major shipping lines, including Danish shipping giant Maersk, have withdrawn the PCS starting May. The ECRS, however, which amounts to $200 per container, is still being collected by shipping lines.

In a meeting with traders, shippers and business groups last Friday, the consumer-protection arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has pledged to look into the components of shipping charges.

Meanwhile, shippers, represented by the Association of International Shipping lines (AISL), said they are reviewing the possible removal of the ECRS. See “Traders,” A9

special report

Manny Pacquiao connects with a left to the head of Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their welterweight title fight on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in Las Vegas. AP/John Locher

SKILL OVER WILL Mayweather wins decision in richest fight ever

By Tim Dahlberg

L Timta, RFI could cost P-Noy business support

The Associated Press

AS VEGAS—The pressure of a $180-million payday never got to Floyd Mayweather Jr., even if the richest fight ever wasn’t the best.

Using his reach and his jab on Saturday night, Mayweather frustrated Manny Pacquiao, pil-

First of three parts

A

s Congress resumes sessions today, local and foreign business chambers will again be on the edge of their seat as lawmakers—upon the prodding of Malacañang—start deliberating anew on the two bills that businessmen dread—the Tax Incentive Monitoring and Transparency Act (Timta) and the Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives (RFI) bill.

The two tax measures have been inching their way slowly through Congress for the past two years.

But, for President Aquino, who took

severe beating popularity-wise due to the Mamasapano incident, as shown in surveys, these two proposals could just cost him the support of the private sector, as well.

Since their introduction in the 16th Congress, the Timta and the RFI bill have been closely guarded by the business community, as they should: Both measures are seen as the Department of Finance’s (DOF) mechanism to inject control in incentive administration of the country’s investment promotion agencies (IPAs), in a bid to boost the state’s coffers.

The RFI bill, which has failed to get the nod of Congress for 15

PESO exchange rates n US 44.2500

years now, aims to restructure the incentive scheme of IPAs, including those of the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), by removing the coveted income-tax holiday (ITH) and other perks seen as “redundant.” (Table 1 shows the numerous statutes that give various incentives to certain activities that need to be harmonized through RFI.)

A broader stroke for control, however, is enshrined in the Timta, a newer measure introduced in the 15th Congress. The measure seeks to keep track of incentives availed of by registered enterprise Continued on A5

ing up enough points to win a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout. Mayweather remained unbeaten in 48 fights, cementing his legacy as the best of his generation.

After the fight, it was disclosed that Pacquiao injured his right shoulder in training and that Nevada boxing commissioners denied his request to take an

anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight.

Pacquiao chased Mayweather around the ring most of the fight.

But he was never able to land a sustained volume of punches, as Mayweather worked his defensive wizardry again.

Two ringside judges scored the fight 116-112, while the third had Continued on A2

VILLAR WANTS BIRTH-TO-DEATH BUSINESS

By VG Cabuag

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he company led by former Sen. Manuel Villar said it will start operating its own chain of hospitals, schools and memorial parks to serve the needs of its communities.

Villar, chairman of publicly listed Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., said these new ventures will start at its township in Las Piñas, called Vista City.

“I want us to be sort of a onestop shop. But there are still many

components missing. Eventually, we will have the full line of products,” Villar said.

The company has started its hospital business in Vista City in Daang Hari, called VitaMed. “We are starting small. About 150 beds but expandable to 300 beds. It actually has unlimited expansion possibilities, since we have a large property in Daang Hari,” he explained. Villar said they have partnered with doctors for the hospital business that will be providing

the medical services.

The hospital business will be under a holding company of the Villar family, which will also own the schools, so it will be distinct from Vista Land and All Value Holdings Corp., which owns the retail businesses. The family’s school business, called Georgia School, is starting as a primary school. But Villar said they will keep growing it until they can start offering college courses.

“We always start small but we See “Villar,” 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)

A2

News

BusinessMirror

Monday, May 4, 2015

DPWH: No more delays in expressway-dike deal

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Skill over will

ESPITE calls from a qualified bidder to move the auction for the P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike deal to a later date, a senior official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has indicated his office’s solid stance on preventing any more delays in the project’s implementation.

Public Works Undersecretary Rafael M. Yabut said Trident Infrastructure and Development Corp., or Team Trident— composed of Ayala Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Megaworld Corp.—has sought for the deferral of the auction’s schedule to give it ample time to prepare for its bid.

“The request for such extension was made

by Team Trident to give them more time for a thorough preparation, so they can submit a competitive bid,” he said over the weekend.

Yabut added that San Miguel Corp.’s corporate vehicle for the auction is fine by the prospect. “We are still evaluating this without the transaction advisers,” he noted.

Three out of four groups passed the qualification stage of the tender process, namely, Team Trident, San Miguel Holdings Corp. and Alloy-Pavi Hanshin LLEDP Consortium of Alloy MTD Capital Bhd., Prime Asset Ventures Inc. and Hanshin Engineering Constructions. Rainbow Consortium—composed of Rainbow Holdings Inc., PT Nusa Konstruksi Enjiniring Tbk., The No. 4 Metalurgical Co. of China Ltd. and Shindong-Ah Construction Co. Ltd.—was disqualified from the qualification stage due to lack of pertinent documents.

Bidders have until July 6 to submit their technical and financial proposals to the DPWH. The department will then have 20 days to evaluate the technical proposals. The financial bids of those who passed the technical review will be opened and announced on July 27.

The top bidder’s financial proposal will

then be scrutinized and, if it passes, the notice of award will then be issued. The awarding is slated for August 21. By September 20, the government and the private-sector partner should have signed the concession agreement.

The thoroughfare-cum-dike project will help mitigate flooding along the western coast of the Laguna Lake running from Taguig to the town of Bay in Laguna. It will also serve as an alternative transport route to the congested South Luzon Expressway, and enhance the hydrology for the ecosystem of Laguna Lake.

A total of 24 parties expressed their interest in the multibillion-peso contract.

The winning bidder will start designing and constructing the expressway-dike by April next year. The thoroughfare should be commercially operational by 2022.

The project involves the construction of a 47-kilometer flood-control dike—on top of which will be a six-lane expressway—on an offshore alignment 500 meters away from the western shoreline of Laguna Lake. It includes interchanges, bridges, floodgates and pumps, from Taguig to Los Baños in Laguna.

It also involves the reclamation of 700 hectares of raw land adjoining the expressway-dike. The public works department has so far awarded two key infrastructure projects, namely, the P2.2-billion Daang HariSouth Luzon Expressway project, bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011; and the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. embrace in the ring at the finish of their welterweight title fight on Saturday in Las Vegas. AP/Isaac Brekken Continued from A1

it 118-110. The Associated Press had Mayweather ahead, 115-113.

“I take my hat off to Manny Pacquiao. I see now why he is at the pinnacle of boxing,” Mayweather said. “I knew he was going to push me, win some rounds. I wasn’t being hit with a lot of shots until I sit in a pocket and he landed a lot of shots.”

The bout wasn’t an artistic triumph for either fighter, with long periods where both men fought cautiously.

Pacquiao threw far fewer punches than he normally does in a fight, with Mayweather actually throwing more.

That was largely because Pacquiao didn’t throw his right hand often. Promoter Bob

Arum said Pacquiao injured his shoulder sometime after March 11.

Arum said Pacquiao’s camp thought he would be allowed the anti-inflammatory shot because he had gotten them during training and they had been approved by the US Anti-Doping Agency. But he said paperwork filed with the commission didn’t check the injury box, and the Nevada commission ruled against the request for a shot.

“The ruling made tonight affected the outcome of the fight,” Arum said.

Nevada Athletic Commission Chairman Francisco Aguilar said Pacquiao’s camp wanted shots that included lidocaine, a drug that numbs the affected area. But he said Pacquiao’s representatives didn’t check the injury box after the weigh-in on Friday, and the commission had no way of knowing how serious the injury was or what it could be treated with.

“I have no proof an injury actually exists, and I can’t make a ruling based on what they’re telling me,” Aguilar said.

Still, Pacquiao thought he had won the bout, largely on the basis of a few left hands that seemed to shake Mayweather.

“I thought I won the fight. He didn’t do nothing except move outside,” Pacquiao said. “I got him many times.”

There were no knockdowns, and neither fighter seemed terribly hurt at any time. Pacquiao landed probably the biggest punch in the fight in the fourth round—a left hand that sent Mayweather into the ropes—but he wasn’t able to consistently land against

Villar. . .

Continued from A1

will be expanding it. Now we have four branches of schools. We hope to go nationwide,” Villar said.

He explained that these new business are the “logical extensions” of their housing business since their buyers look for these services.

“They need schools and hospitals near where they live. These are necessary facilities for a community to be complete,” Villar said.

Aside from building subdivisions, commercial centers and hotels, with the brand still to be announced, the group is expanding its own chain of AllHome stores selling furnishings and construction supply, as well as the AllDay convenience stores and supermarkets in most of its assets.

AllDay supermarket is replacing some of the company’s supermarkettenants. The first was implemented in its mall in Mandaluyong affecting Puregold supermarket. “I want to cater to our customers from birth to death. We have started our hospital and memorialpark businesses,” Villar said.

the elusive champion.

The fight was a chess match, with Mayweather using his jab to keep Pacquiao away most of the fight. Pacquiao tried to force the action, but Mayweather was often out of his reach by the time he found his way inside.

“He’s a very awkward fighter, so I had to take my time and watch him close,” Mayweather said.

Mayweather fought confidently in the late rounds, winning the last two rounds on all three scorecards. In the final seconds of the fight he raised his right hand in victory and after the bell rang stood on the ropes, pounding his heart with his gloves.

“You’re tough,” he said to Pacquiao, hugging him in the ring.

It was vintage Mayweather, even if it didn’t please the crowd of 16,507. They cheered every time Pacquiao threw a punch, hoping that he would land a big shot and become the first fighter to beat Mayweather.

But a good percentage of what he threw never landed. Mayweather often came back with straight right hands, then moved away before Pacquiao could respond.

“I thought we pulled it out,” Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. “I asked my man to throw more combinations between rounds. I thought he fought flat-footed too many times.” Ringside-punch stats showed Mayweather landing 148 punches of 435, while Pacquiao landed 81 of 429. The volume for Pacquiao was a lot lower than the 700 or more he usually throws.

PLDT. . .

Continued from A12

businesses. This extended partnership aims to develop solutions primarily for the large enterprise level, and will greatly enhance service offerings of the PLDT Group as it heavily promotes business-mobility solutions for enterprise markets, such as the PLDT Cloud, M2M and the Internet of Things.

PLDT is the leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines, having the lion’s share of the duopolized market in the Philippines. Its bottom line, however, suffered from a spike in subsidies and taxes in 2014, booking a 4-percent dip from P35.4 billion in 2013 to P34.1 billion last year.

The 2-percent increase in total revenues to P170.97 billion was heavily offset by the faster 4-percent rise in expenses, which was pegged at P130.46 billion as of end-December.

Core net income—which strips off one-time gains and losses—was at P37.4 billion, well above its revised target of P37 billion. It was, however, 3 percent lower than the P38.7 billion recorded in 2013. The rise in revenues was driven mainly by the contributions of the firm’s data and broadband, as well as domestic voice businesses. There were, however, declines in text-message revenues and the international and national long-distance streams. Shares of PLDT declined by 4 percent to close at P2,770 apiece on Thursday.

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Monday, May 4, 2015 A3

Palace cautions Congress on BBL as lawmakers eye June approval

By Butch Fernandez & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

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ALACAÑANG cautioned lawmakers on Sunday against approving a “watered down” Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), which the House Ad hoc Committee would vote on May 11 or 12.

Centr ist Democratic Par t y Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro, chairman of the 75-man House Ad Hoc Committee on BBL, said his committee report of House Bill (HB) 4994 will be submitted to the plenary on May 18.

Rodriguez added that the House of Representatives is eyeing to pass the proposed BBL on June 11, or before Congress’s sine die adjournment on June 12.

The BBL aims to create the new Bangsamoro juridical entity, re-

placing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Malacañang said this entity would have “greater autonomy” for the Muslim community in the South.

Rodriguez said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) has no option but to accept the House of Representatives’s version of the proposed BBL, which removed eight provisions of the original Palaceproposed BBL dubbed by lawmakers as “unconstitutional.”

He cited that the provisions the

panel deleted include authorizing the new Bangsamoro administration to have its own Commission on Elections, Ombudsman, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit and Commission on Human Rights.

Also deleted was the provision allowing the Bangsamoro officials to create defense and police forces.

“The BBL was drafted by the Bangsamoro Transitional Commission [BTC], whose members were appointed by President Aquino and who did their work in the country,” Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said.

Coloma told the BusinesMirror that, after the BTC members had completed their draft, this was reviewed by the President’s legal staff before being submitted to Congress.

The official was replying to claims attributed to former Ambassador Jose Romero that the BBL provisions were actually drafted in Kuala Lumpur by Malaysian lawyers.

“We have not seen or read the report attributed to Romero,”

Coloma said.

For his part, Chief Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said. “He [Romero] must be joking.” Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte, on the other hand, flatly denied Romero’s claim saying “There’s absolutely no truth to that.”

Asked about the Palace expectations when Congress reopens stalled deliberations on the BBL, Coloma said President Aquino remains hopeful the BBL would be approved in time.

Expected to have been approved last March, the BBL’s passage was delayed after 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force were killed allegedly by the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters during a police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. Irate lawmakers indefinitely suspended deliberations on the proposed law, after the killings on January 25.

The government is hoping both Houses would approve the draft BBL, Coloma said in the vernacular.

He added that the lawmakers’ approval of this draft is the key to the continuing and full realization of the peace process, which would lead to many benefits, long-term progress and raise the livelihood of citizens of Mindanao. Coloma, however, didn’t cite specific and concrete examples of these claims over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

The secretary added that Palace officials “have high expectations” that the appeal the President, as well as “the emerging public sentiment” supporting its passage, would be heeded by the two chambers of Congress.

Coloma cited the appearance of members of the newly formed National Peace Council (NPC), which faced a Congress panel hearing last week to convey their endorsement for the measure to Rodriguez’s committee.

The members of the council, whom Mr. Aquino named, include Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of the Roman Cath-

olic Church, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, former Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See and Malta Howard Dee and Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, founder of Teach Peace, Build Peace movement.

Mr. Aquino said he created the five-man NPC to lead a national peace summit, which he expected “to widen the national debate” and “openly discuss the controversial issues hounding” the proposed BBL. These issues were cited as the legal infirmities and unconstitutional provisions that have thwarted its enactment.

On April 27 the NPC submitted its report on the proposed BBL to the House of Representatives, saying the bill was “overwhelmingly acceptable” and “constitutional.”

Meanwhile, Coloma also reacted to reports that some lawmakers are bent on pushing amendments to cure perceived legal defects and might get the BBL thrown out in court for being unconstitutional.

Economy

A4 Monday, May 4, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

Solons line up economic bills for immediate House passage

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

peaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said that, to make the country globally competitive in attracting foreign direct investments, as well as to spur productivity and employment generation, the lower chamber would prioritize the passage of several economic bills.

Included in the 16th Congress priority bills and are targeted for passage before the sine die adjournment on June 12 are the fiscal incentives rationalization bill, Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act, the Philippine Fair Competition Act, Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime, Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) and the proposed amendments to buildoperate-transfer (BOT) law.

Liberal Party Rep. Antonio Rafael del Rosario of Davao del Norte, one of the authors of House Bill (HB) 5286, or the consolidated version of the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act, said the members of the lower chamber may approve the measure on second reading this month.

The bill seeks to heavily penalize monopoly, anticompetitive mergers and other unfair trade practices.

Centrist Democratic Party Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro, chairman of the 75-man House Ad Hoc Committee on

BBL, said the committee report on HB 4994, or the proposed BBL, will be submitted to the plenary on May 18 and passed before June 11.

Moreover, Liberal Party Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina City, author of the Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime (HB 5367), also said the lower chamber is eyeing to pass the bill before the sine die adjournment.

He said proposed changes in the mining regime seek to provide a new revenue-sharing arrangement between the government and large-scale miners.

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Public Works and Highways is now preparing the committee report on the proposed amendments to the BOT law to be presented in the plenary for the second reading this month.

The measure seeks to amend the BOT law to replace it with a Public-Private Partnership Act. Also ready for plenary debate is the CMTA, which had been approved last November by the House Committee on Ways and Means.

December approval

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Luzon grid to get 2,720 MW additional capacity by 2018

By Lenie Lectura

Meanwhile, Belmonte said he instructed members of the lower chamber to fast-track the floor deliberations of the measure amending the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Belmonte said his Resolution of Both Houses 1, or the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution, should be passed this year so he could incorporate a plebiscite for Charter change in the 2016 national and local elections. The resolution, filed

by Belmonte and Sen. Ralph Recto, is eyeing to amend economic provisions on the 60-40 rule that limits foreign ownership in certain activities in the Philippines.

The resolution will include the phrase “unless provided by law” in the foreign-ownership provision of the Constitution, particularly land ownership, public utilities, natural resources, media and advertising industries.

Under Article XII of the Constitution, foreign investors are prohibited to own more than 40 percent of real properties and businesses, while they are totally restricted to exploit natural resources and own any company in the media industry. The amendments to the Charter will be approved through separate votings by the both chambers, with a threefourths vote required from them.

Also, Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Quimbo said the target approval date for the measure lowering individual income-tax rate has been moved to December. He said the measure on income-tax reforms is likely to be approved by the end of the year—or six months after the original lower chamber’s June 11 target approval.

(See related story on A1.)

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uzon will have an additional 2,720 megawatts (MW) of secured capacity in the next few years from the four new power plants that will be constructed in the Quezon province starting this year.

These are the four coal-powered facilities of Pagbilao Energy Corp. (420 MW) in Pagbilao; San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBP) (500 MW) in Mauban; Energy World Corp. (EWC) (2x300) in Pagbilao; and Meralco PowerGen Corp. (1,200 MW) in Atimonan.

The Pagbilao expansion project is scheduled for testing and commissioning starting mid-2017, with commercial operations to follow in November 2017.

The target commissioning of SBP’s power plant, meanwhile, is in the second half of 2018 to first half of 2019.

Construction for the first unit of EWC’s power facility is ongoing and the second 200-MW unit, company officials said, will come on line shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, MGen’s capitalextensive power project is still in the planning stage.

However, the existing transmission facility could not accommodate the load capacity of these power plants. As such, there is a need to expand the existing Tayabas substation of the Luzon grid.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which holds a 25-

year concession contract to operate the country’s power-transmission network, has applied with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the expansion of the substation.

At present, there are only two major power plants in Quezon province that are connected to the Tayabas substation. These are the 2x367.5-MW Pagbilao coalfired power plant and the 500-MW Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. Co.’s coal fired power plant.

“Considering the growing need for power supply in Luzon, additional generation is highly essential. However, the readiness of the grid to accommodate such significantly huge capacity from the incoming power plants is extremely necessary. Thus, NGCP proposes the implementation of the proposed Pagbilao substation project, in order to accommodate the entry of new power plants in the Luzon grid,” the NGCP said in its 12-page application.

The project cost is P3,628,171,132.13 and the estimated completion is in 2018.

“Preconstruction activities are needed to be undertaken in 2015, in order to meet the target completion of the proposed project in 2018. Hence, the need to file an application with prayer for the issuance of provisional authority before the ERC to be able to implement the project within the target date established,” NGCP said.

The grid operator said if the substation is not expanded, the entry of the new power plants will result in overloading of power transformers.

ADB to boost annual lending, grant approvals to $20 billion

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By Cai U. Ordinario

HE Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) will merge it’s concessional and market-based lending operations starting January 2017.

ADB President Takehiko Nakao made the announced at a news conference at the 48th ADB Annual Meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Manila-based Multilateral Development Bank extends two kinds of lending: the Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR) for middleincome countries at market rates and the Asian Development Fund (ADF) for poor countries at concessional rates.

“This initiative is a win-win situation because it increases financial support for poorer members, expands capacity for operations in middle-income countries and the private sector, and reduces the burden for ADF donors,” Nakao noted.

The merger will boost ADB’s total annual lending and grant approvals to as high as $20 billion—50 percent more than the current level. ADB assistance to poor countries will rise by up to 70 percent.

The Philippines’s ADB loans are obtained from OCR. The ADF, which was established in 1973, is extended to poorer countries at lower interest rates and longer maturities.

Under the new initiative, OCR equity will almost triple to about $53 billion, from about $18 billion as of January 2017. Together with cofinancing, ADB’s annual assistance will reach as high as $40 billion in the coming years, up from $23 billion in 2014.

Poor countries currently eligible for ADF loans will continue to receive concessional loans from expanded OCR on the same terms and conditions as current ADF loans. The ADF will be retained as a grantonly donor fund to provide assistance to eligible countries.

The merger will enhance ADB’s risk-bearing capacity and strengthen its readiness to respond to future economic crises and natural disasters. Donor contributions to continued ADF grant operations will be reduced by up to 50 percent from the current $1.2 billion, beginning with the next ADF replenishment in 2017.

“We will continue supporting countries in their efforts to sustain economic growth through more efficient and effective use of our existing resources,” Nakao said.

“The region’s poorer countries need more assistance to pursue economic prosperity while protecting the natural resources and ecosystems that we and future generations depend on,” he added.

ADB started deliberations on the initiative in the summer of 2013.

Since then, the ADB has had extensive consultations with its developing member-countries, particularly ADF recipient-countries and ADF donorcountries, and with civil society organizations.

By the end of February 2015, all 34 of ADF’s donors gave their formal and unanimous consent to the merger, and ADB’s board of directors delivered its endorsement the following month.

Established in 1966, the ADB is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2014 ADB assistance totaled $22.9 billion, including cofinancing of $9.2 billion.

MacroAsia loses CA case vs NCIP

By Joel R. San Juan

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HE Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the bid of Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp. to conduct mining operation covering 1,113.98 hectares at Sitio Linao, Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

In an 18-page decision penned by Associate Justice Danton Bueser, the CA’s Special Sixteenth Division affirmed the validity of the resolution issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) denying MacroAsia’s application for issuance of a certification precondition necessary for the miner to proceed with the extraction activities at Brooke’s Point.

The CA agreed with the NCIP that “exploration” and “mining operation and development” are separate activities, although related, that must undergo separate processes.

“By failure to conduct a separate field based on investigation on the part of MacroAsia prior to the extraction stage of its mining operation, the NCIP, thus, correctly denied MacroAsia’s application for issuance of certification precondition,” the CA ruled.

On December 1, 2005 a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) was executed between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and MacroAsia, covering Barangays Maasin, Mambalot and Ipilan.

The primary purpose of the MPSA was “to provide for the national exploration, development and commercial utilization of certain nickel, chromite, iron and other associated mineral deposits existing within the contract area.”

The NCIP subsequently issued a compliance certificate in favor of MacroAsia.

In 2006 MacroAsia proceeded with the mining exploration activies and discovered and identified more than 80 million tons of nickel laterite deposits.

Thus, the mining firm applied for permits, licenses and clearances for the next phase of the mining cycle, which is extraction activities.

MacroAsia also had to secure the certification precondition for NCIP, aside from the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

On April 28, 2010, the NCIP Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) team recommended the issuance of the certification for precondition, noting the overwhelming approval of the Palawan tribes and the directly affected areas of the mining operations.

However, despite the findings of the FPIC team, as well as the concurrence of the NCIP validation team, the NCIP en banc denied MacroAsia’s application for certification for precondtion.

The NCIP noted that despite compliance by MacroAsia with the legal requirement in connection with its application for certification for precondition, such compliance was inadequate and insufficient.

In affirming the NCIP’s decision, the CA held that “MacroAsia’s position that, the NCIP did not take into account the findings and recommendations of its subordinates in assessing MacroAsia’s compliance of the requirements paving the way for the denial of the latter’s application for mining operation does not hold water.”

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BMReports BusinessMirror

Monday, May 4, 2015

a5

Timta, RFI could cost P-Noy business support

Continued from A1

List of Investment Tax Incentive Laws, Investment Promotion Agencies and Tax Incentives

through a reportorial requirement.

The various Timta bills in the two chambers of Congress differ on the proposed mechanism but all agree that the DOF and its agencies will be given an oversight function over the IPAs on the grant of incentives.

DOF explains side

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima—in pushing for the passage of Timta and RFI—challenged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the various IPAs to bring fiscal policy “into the 21st century,”

Based on the first Tax Expenditures Report released by the DOF, the government’s revenue loss from the grant of ITH, reduced income tax rates and duty exemptions to investments was at least P144 billion in 2011. “This represents a significant loss in revenues: 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, 9.3 percent of government’s expenditures, or 10.6 percent of government revenues in 2011.

These figures are conservative given the report covers only 29 percent of all IPA-registered firms.”

“With the current tax incentives system that has been largely unaccounted and uncoordinated, the government loses billions of pesos in revenues every year which could have helped improve our fiscal position,” Purisima said. “Tax incentives distort the tax structure of the Philippine economy. Through these twin fiscal incentives reform measures, in the long term the government will enhance the country’s fiscal capacity to continue to build on its macroeconomic fundamentals, level the playing field and improve competitiveness and investment opportunities. Accounting for tax incentives needs to be transparent, and these tax incentives need to be granted properly.”

Tax expenditures

The DOF defined tax expenditures as a measure of the revenues forgone through the provision of tax privileges such as reduced tax rates, special deductions, or tax credits or allowances to promote or assist specific economic activities or groups of taxpayers. The measurement of tax expenditures requires the establishment of a benchmark tax system that excludes all such tax privileges to form a basis for identifying tax policy deviations and estimating the revenue impact of such tax policy deviations from this benchmark. The tax benchmark reflects decisions that take into account considerations of the ability of persons to pay the tax, and the economic, administrative and compliance costs of the tax.

According to the DOF, the the inclusion of tax expenditures in the budget process allows these policies to get the same level of strict budget scrutiny as normal budget expenditures.

“Accordingly, to make the budget process more complete, all expenditures should be accounted for and allocated to the functions, sectors, or regions benefiting from the tax expenditure. This allows recog-

two measures have been included in the both FREEPORT INVESTMENT chambers’ priorZONES/ PROMOTION STATUTORY TAX INCENTIVES YEAR ECONOMIC AGENCY (IPA) LAW ity bills for the ZONES 1987 EO 226 Board of Investment  ITH 16th Congress.

(BOI)  Duty exempt importation of capital The fiscal incenequipment (EO 528)  Tax credit equivalent tives rationalizato the amount of duties and taxes paid tion bill has been on the raw materials used in the facing strong opproduction of export position due to its products 1992 RA 7227, as  Subic Bay Subic Bay Freeport  5% tax on GIE in lieu provisions, particof all national and amended by RA Metropolitan Zone local taxes 9400 Authority ularly the lifting of  Tax and duty-free (SBMA) importation of all raw  Clark Clark Freeport the tax- and dutymaterials, capital Development Zone equipment, free incentives of Corporation machineries and spare parts, including (CDC) several industries. consumer goods  Poro Point Poro Point Freeport Management Zone Under the draft Corporation bill submitted by (PPMC)  John Hay John Hay Special the DOF and the Management Economic Zone Corporation DTI to the House

 Bataan Morong Special Committee on Ways Technological Economic Zone Park, Inc. (BTPI) and Means, comINVESTMENT FREEPORT 1995 RA 7916, as Philippine Economic PEZA zones  ITH STATUTORY PROMOTION ZONES/ amended

by RA Zone Authority  5% tax on GIE in lieu panies registered YEAR TAX INCENTIVES 8748 LAW (PEZA) of all local and AGENCY (IPA) ECONOMIC national taxes ZONES with the Philippine  Tax and duty free materials, capital importation Economic Zone Auequipment, of raw machineries and

thority (Peza) are spare parts which are PEZA administers the tax incentives in the zone pursuant to RA 9400. directly used in the given two options in registered activity 6 RA 7922 Cagayan Economic Cagayan Freeport  ITH 1995 the measure.  5% tax on GIE in lieu Zone Authority Zone of all local and (CEZA) They can opt for a national taxes  Tax and duty-free four-year ITH, with importation of raw materials, capital either 5-percent tax equipment, machineries and on gross income spare parts which are directly or indirectly earned (GIE) in lieu used in the registered activity of local and national Zamboanga City  ITH 1995 RA 7903 Zamboanga City  5% tax on GIE in lieu taxes, except valueFreeport Zone Special Economic

of all local and Zone Authority national taxes added tax (VAT) (ZCSEZA)  Tax and duty-free and real property importation of raw Annex A. materials, capital tax (RPT) for 11 equipment, machineries and List of Investment Tax Incentive Laws, Investment Promotion Agencies and Tax Incentives years; or 15-perspare parts which are directly or indirectly FREEPORT INVESTMENT cent reduced tax on used in the registered ZONES/ PROMOTION STATUTORY activity TAX INCENTIVES YEAR corporate income in ECONOMIC AGENCY (IPA) LAW  ITH Aurora Pacific Aurora Pacific 2007 RA 9490, as  5% tax on GIE ZONES Economic Zone Economic Zone and amended by RA lieu of local and na ITH Tax and duty 1987 EO 226 Board of Investment  and Freeport zone Freeport Authority 10083 exemptions

(BOI) (APECO)  Duty exempton all tional taxes, except importationsof capital importation BOI Renewable Energy 2008 RA 9513 equipment (EO 528) VAT and RPT for 11 Renewable  Developers Tax credit equivalent INVESTMENT FREEPORT  ITH 7 yearsof to theforamount Energy Act of years, the bill said.  After 7 years of ITH, STATUTORY PROMOTION ZONES/ duties and taxes paid YEAR 2008 TAX INCENTIVES CIT of raw 10%materials on Net on the LAW AGENCY (IPA) ECONOMIC Peza-registered Taxable Income used in the ZONES  Duty Exemption on production of export companies under Equipment and Raw Machinery, products Materials the second option 1992 RA 7227, as  Subic Bay Subic Bay Freeport   0% 5% VAT tax ononGIE saleinoflieu of allornational and amended by RA Metropolitan 7 Zone fuel power from are given the choice

local taxessources renewable 9400 Authority  0% TaxVAT and duty-free  on local (SBMA) of either 5-percent importation of all raw purchases  Clark Clark Freeport materials, capital  Tax exemption of GIE for 15 years, in Development Zone equipment, Carbon Credits Corporation and Freeport Area of  machineries ITH 2009 RA 9728 Authority of Freeport lieu of local and naspare parts, including (CDC)  5% tax on GIE in lieu Bataan Area of Bataan consumer  Poro Point Poro Point Freeport of all localgoods and tional taxes, except (AFAB) national taxes Management Zone  Tax and duty VAT and RPT for Corporation exemptions on all (PPMC) importations 15 years; or 15-per John Hay John Hay Special Tourism Enterprise  ITH 2009 RA 9593 Tourism Management Economic Zone  5% tax on GIE in lieu cent reduced tax on Zone Infrastructure and Corporation of all other national Enterprise Zone corporate income and local taxes,  Bataan Morong Special Authority (TIEZA) license fees, imposts Technological Economic Zone in lieu of local and and assessments, Park, Inc. (BTPI) except real estate 1995 RA 7916, as Philippine Economic PEZA zones  ITH national taxes, extaxes amended by RA Zone Authority  5% tax on GIE in lieu  Tax and duty 8748 (PEZA) of all local and cept VAT and RPT exemption on national taxes importations of  Tax and duty free for 15 years. capital investment importation of raw and equipment.

According to

PEZA administers the tax incentives in the zone pursuant to RA 9400.

Quimbo his panel is still studying the RFI verone of the highest power6 rates in

sion of the DOF and the DTI Asia, when our ports are congestand the same four bills filed in ed, our roads clogged, our airports the lower chamber. crammed, and even data travel

He said, citing the DOF-DTI slow in the information highway, draft bill, it is a policy of the state when business is choked with rules, to grant investment incentives then we try to offset these with tax that encourage long-term and reholidays and the like,” Recto 8 said. current investment, are simple to “In short, we indemnify them administer, time-bound and whose with incentives,” he added. performance and outcomes are easily verifiable.

RFI

Quimbo also said the state On the RFI, Quimbo said the govshall ensure that the grant of inernment wants fiscal incentives centives promotes substantial sostreamlined because these distort cial and economic spillovers and the tax structure of the country equitable development across and take away billions of pesos income classes and across provfrom the government every year. inces, are fiscally sustainable,

“Those billions of pesos could financially and economically jusbe used to improve the country’s tifiable and is consistent with infiscal position and social services,” Quimbo said. ternational treaties. To be continued

According to Quimbo, an Catherine N. PIllas, ally of President Aquino, these Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz Annex A. Table 1

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The Department of Finance used this infographic in pushing the passage of the Tax Incentive Monitoring and Transparency Act and the Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives bill.

nition of the budget support provided to a sector directly through public expenditures and indirectly through tax burden relief. This information enhances the debate about both the magnitude of public support and the appropriateness of the modalities for delivery of support to a sector, economic activity or group of taxpayers.

Accounting for tax expenditures also highlights the tradeoffs that need to be recognized in awarding or enhancing tax privileges. A key tradeoff is that the enhancement of a tax expenditure favoring a specified group or sector has to be offset by increased tax burdens on the rest of the economy to sustain existing direct expenditure-supported programs.

The tradeoffs need to be considered include lowering (raising) the benchmark tax rates for most taxpayers in exchange for decreasing (increasing) the tax privileges for some taxpayers. Alternatively, tax expenditure support for a sector could be considered a better (worse) delivery mechanism than assistance through direct expenditure programs.”

The DTI, tasked to promote investments and spur economic activity, has been hard-pressed to concede to the DOF’s demands on the measures. It didn’t help that the RFI, in particular, was included among the President’s priority economic bills this year, the third year in a row.

Even lawmakers, despite oppositions from business groups,

have given indications the two measures will pass

House Committee Ways and Means Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina said the panel has decided to prioritize the passage of these economic bills.

Timta

The Timta, or House Bill 2942, authored by Liberal Party Rep. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo of Camarines Sur, seeks to promote transparency and accountability in the grant and administration of tax incentives to business entities, private individuals and corporations.

Among the salient features of the bill that the business group is opposing is the creation of a tax expenditures account (TEA) in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA). This would account for the incentives, pinning more accountability to how IPAs administer and grant such incentives, and providing the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) authority to impose requirements before the award of such perks, among others.

But Quimbo said: “They [businessmen] don’t have to worry, we [the both chambers] already deleted the provision creating TEA in the annual GAA.”

“We’ve also removed the provisions that require IPAs to appear before Congress and ask for budgetary tax subsidy. What we now require is simply a transparency measure—a reporting system of incentives given out,” the

lawmaker added.

Senate Bill 2669, a consolidation of bills authored by Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, provides for the monitoring of tax incentives with the creation of a Tax Incentives Information section in the annual Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing.

The Senate’s Timta version, senators clarify, does not, in any way, affect the independence or autonomy of the IPAs or other government agencies to administer incentives granted by law to registered business entities and qualified private individuals or corporations.

“The bill merely requires that the incentives be accounted for. It does not tamper with the fiscal incentives presently enjoyed by companies; it only requires that their use be made transparent,” Recto said.

“It does not rescind, nor recall any investment perk; it just obliges companies and the government to record and report it. Why? Because in taxation, it doesn’t mean that when taxes are forgiven, you can already forget about them,” he added.

Recto said the viability of an idea is tested on simulations of its implementation. “This saying is true in legislation, as in cooking: Just because a rose smells better than cabbage should not lead us to conclude that it makes a better soup.”

He said the Philippines offers incentives, or perks, to compensate for its “handicaps.” “When we have

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Tourism&E

BusinessM

A6 Monday, May 4, 2015 • Editor: Gerard Ramos

PHL TAKES FIRST STEPS TO BE FOOD

TOURISM LEADER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA B S A | Special to BUSINESSMIRROR

‘K

UMAIN na kayo [Have you eaten]?” is usually the first greeting people receive when they visit our homes.

TOURISM Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. (left) and Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Luis Antonio Calvo (center) blow into a pipe to light up a giant palayok, at the opening ceremony of the Madrid Fusión Manila on April 24 at the SMX Convention Center. At right is Madrid Fusión President Jose Carlos Capel. MADRID FUSION MANILA

AT the Mindanao lunch for delegates, there were (clockwise, from left) fresh tuna sashimi, mudcrabs called Buntan from the Caraga region, with the meat blended with coconut milk then steamed in banana leaf as created by Chef Gilbert Alan Mathay of Almont Hotel, Butuan City. STELLA ARNALDO VIA PICSTITCH

It is our way of welcoming visitors, and making sure they feel right at home with us. Sharing a meal, either with friends, family or even strangers, is our way of bonding. It fills our tummies and warms everyone’s hearts.

At the Madrid Fusión Manila (MFM) held from April 24 to 26 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, there were, indeed, a lot of full stomachs and hugged hearts. The event was the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) first step to attract foreign travelers to our shores, and make them notice how much “fun” it is eating in the Philippines, as Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. put it during his opening remarks in the first gastronomy event of this caliber held in Southeast Asia.

For three days, Michelin-starred chefs from Spain and Asia, as well our own celebrated local chefs, shared their expertise and passion for cooking, pastry-making, or beverage blending, and showed off their creativity to eager delegates at the International Gastronomy Congress— a major feature of the MFM. But what was most uplifting was how our own Filipino chefs— both known, and those still making a name for themselves—worked overtime to feed the over 1,000 delegates in several regional lunches celebrating local cuisine and ingredients.

There were also quite a number of outstanding Filipino products from all over the country that made everyone quite proud about how far we’ve come in making high-quality tasty food and crafting exportable palatepleasing liquors.

At the welcome dinner fiesta hosted by the SM Group at SM By The Bay, delegates and participating chefs feasted on 25 pieces of roasted piggies from the leading lechoneros in Metro Manila. Of all, my favorite was Pepita’s lechon with salted egg and rice. This, along with free beer and the excellent Philippine Opera Company serenading guests OPM hits, made for an interesting Friday for me and my media colleagues.

At the Luzon lunch for delegates, one of the unique dishes was Via Mare’s Sorpresa de Balut (sautéed fertilized duck eggs), which came in a tasty soup with hints of mushroom. At a separate Luzon lunch program, Destileria Limtuaco premiered its brandy-based cacao liqueur called Intramuros. It was sweet and chocolatey, but the magic happens when poured over ice. It literally perked up my afternoon. (Wink!)

At the Visayas lunch hosted by the Department of Agriculture (DA), the menu card read like a who’s who in Filipino cuisine. I didn’t realize how many

Ilonggos and Bacolodnons have been dominating our restaurant kitchens.

But the breakout star was definitely Vicente “Enting” Lobaton, a professional cook from Sagay, Negros Occidental, who many foodies dub as the “kinilaw master.” His Enting’s Special on Lacson Street in Bacolod is the go-to place by foodies and Negrenses who just love his straight-up sincere creations.

Aside from his medley of kilawin (fresh fish marinated in vinegars and spices), he prepared a roasted baby lamb with cuts so tender you could cry in joy, and served with, of all things, malunggay bread.

Other noteworthy dishes were Chef Tony Boy Escalante’s dinuguan and puto (pork face blood stew paired with steamed native rice cakes), and Chef JP Anglo’s batchoy (oxtail, pork belly and offal noodle soup). The texture and viscosity of Escalante’s dinuguan was a welcome change from the soupy kind we usually get in Metro Manila— the influence, no doubt, of Northerners. Meanwhile, the broth of Anglo’s batchoy had great depth; it’s the kind you want to take when you need a hug.

It was, indeed, the traditional Ilonggo comfort food.

On the last day of the MFM, the Mindanao regional lunches just overflowed with ingredients and cooking methods many Metro Manilans may still be unfamiliar with.

There were huge mud crabs called Buntan, with its delicate meat steamed in banana leaves with coconut milk, and served by Chef Gilbert Alan Mathay of Almont Hotel in Butuan City.

From Cagayan de Oro came the sinuglaw (pork kinilaw), which used the tabon tabon fruit juice to wash and soak the pork pieces. (The tabon tabon looks like chico and, when sliced in half, the insides look like a brain.)

At the DA-sponsored Mindanao lunch, Manila-based chefs likewise, used the bounty of Mindanao for their dishes. Chef Roland Laudico made a particularly uplifting tuna kinilaw using suwa (native lime) and tabon tabon, while Chef Tippi Tambunting’s Endulsao Chavacano (braised pork belly and pickled radish served over heirloom rice) was fork-tender, with the rice just surprisingly light and chewy.

Also arresting was Chef Juan Carlos de Terry’s Maja Blanca, an otherwise ordinary Filipino dessert, but his version is custard soft, with the lambanog vanilla syrup just giving it the right kick and surprise to the taste buds.

Again, Destileria Limtuaco was the source of the bottled lambanog, now exported to many countries.

At the Trade Exhibit, there was even more eating as Spanish companies

CLOCKWISE, from right: At the SM Group’s welcome dinner, 25 lechons from leading lechoneros in the Metro were prepared for delegates and participating chefs of Madrid Fusión Manila; some dishes served at the Luzon regional lunch, such as lumpiang Bikol Express with curry sauce and Chorizo de Gambas from The Oriental Legazpi. STELLA ARNALDO VIA PICSTITCH

AT the MFM Trade Exhibit, there were a number of export-quality products on display or sale, such as (clockwise, from top) Destileria Limtuaco’s cacao liqueur, Intramuros; Cebu’s Ralfe Gourmet's Truffles and other sikwate treats; and San Miguel Purefoods’s Jamon Royale. STELLA ARNALDO VIA PICSTITCH

DELICIOUS sardine pâté and Bacalao de Chavacano from Dipolog and Zamboanga; the tabon tabon fruit from Northern Mindanao used for kinilaw dishes; and the Department of Agriculture’s booth, which featured a number of exportable fruits and vegetables grown by small farming communities. STELLA ARNALDO VIA PICSTITCH

THE Visayas lunch curated by chef and food blogger JJ Yulo featured regional ingredients and celebrated chefs from Iloilo and Negros Occidental. Clockwise, from top: Dinuguan and puto (Chef Tony Boy Escalante); Super Batchoy (Chef JP Anglo); and kinilaw master Enting Lobaton here posing with Chef Elena Arzak, and his medley of kinilaw. PHOTOS: MADRID FUSION MANILA, CRES YULO, AND STELLA ARNALDO VIA PICSTITCH

testing their feet in Manila, as well as local food and beverage companies plied delegates with free food and wine samples.

San Miguel Purefoods’s Jamon Royale was my discovery of the year, with its Jamon Royale tasting close to the salty hams of Spain. A longer period of curing, and perhaps some smoking, could really push the envelope and make this product truly of international caliber.

Another impressive product is Ralfe Gourmet’s sikwate (chocolate)-based truffles and other sweet treats from Cebu. While it may be less smooth and creamy than foreign chocolates, RG’s

products had more cacao content that made it pleasingly on the bitter side.

On their free time, the delegates, as well as visitors, on the last day when the MFM was open to the public, crowded around Terry’s Selection’s stall. The restaurant/deli brought in Michael Lopez Teves, a Filipino master carver who lives in Madrid, who made paper-thin slices of the sublime Jamon Iberico (yum!). Terry’s also served up a variety of Spanish cheeses and smoky sausages with a delicious array of Spanish wines, to the crowd’s delight.

There were stalls selling coffee from Mount Apo, longganisa (local sausages) virtually from every part of the coun-

try; tutong (yes, the burnt underpart of cooked rice) ice cream from 1st Colonial— the same company that gave us sili ice cream; curacha from Zamboanga’s famed Alavar’s Restaurant; organic vegetables; and more.

Many foreign food writers have been heralding Filipino cuisine as the next big thing, noting the mushrooming of Philippine-themed restaurants in major cities like Washington, D.C., and New York. Even Top Chefs of Filipino descent, like Dale Talde, Paul Qui and Sheldon Simeon have gotten the thumbs-up from food critics, as they served up dishes based on Filipino food during the show.

With Madrid Fusión Manila, perhaps, foreigners will be not so content watching Filipino dishes served up on their TV screens or eating in their neighborhood Pinoy restaurant, but actually make their way over to our shores to taste what our islands have to offer.

The DOT hopes that after this megaevent (with more MFMs to follow), the Philippines will be known not only for its white beaches and the sunrises viewed from atop verdant mountains, but also for our exceptional cuisine and food-and-beverage products, as well—best shared, of course, especially among newfound friends.

Entertainment

Mirror

tourism@businessmirror.com.ph • Monday, May 4, 2015 A7 A BOAT docked on Burot Beach

Affordable beach getaway near Manila S    N  G

B

UROT beach is a remote strip along the shores of Calatagan, Batangas. It has a stretch of semifine cream-sand beach kissed by calm waters, beautiful rock formations and dotted with trees. As one of the nice beaches near Manila, it’s a beach destination among weekenders and those who seek a quick weekend getaway. It’s a beach enjoyed most by people who appreciate tranquillity, peace and natural beauty. Formerly

known as “Elizalde Beach” and is now a private property of the SM Group of Companies, it is an undeveloped, unspoiled and peaceful beach near Metro Manila, roughly a three-hour drive passing by Cavite and Tagaytay and Calatagan, Batangas.

There’s neither electricity nor accommodations available in the area, but there are makeshift cottages for day trippers, and you have to bring your own camping equipment for an overnight stay. Tents for rent are available at P300 each, and there’s a small store where you can buy your basic needs.

WEST side of the Burot beach. Some tourists spend their time by enjoying a beautiful view of the sunset while fishing.

CAMPERS pitch their tents under a tree to block the heat of the sun.

On the west side of the beach, you’ll find a pile of rocks and small trees, which separate the calm water where you can see starfish around it, and, on the other side, you can swim to see corals and fishes. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy some remarkable sunsets, snorkeling, snapping photos, beach combing and fishing.

Burot Beach is a nice beach destination that isn’t too far from Manila. It’s still open to the public for a fee, but SM plans to close the property to construct a beach resort and golf course soon.

A LADY catches a starfish while swimming.

TheElderly BusinessMirror

A8 Monday, May 4, 2015 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Seniors find livelihood in solid waste

SENIOR citizens of Barangay Holy Spirit in Quezon City display the handicrafts they made from solid waste at their office. OLIVER SAMSON

A

By Oliver Samson | Correspondent

GROUP of senior citizens in a populous barangay in Quezon City turns solid-waste materials into handicrafts it sells.

run for a number of days at the barangay hall this May to showcase and sell the handicrafts, said Ricardo Lopez, head of the barangay’s Office for Senior Citizen Affairs.

This is an opportunity for the seniors to introduce their products to the public and generate income for both the chapters and themselves, he said.

The prices of their products range from P10 to P35, depending on size and time spent on producing them, Lopez said.

In March over 20 chapter leaders of seniors in Barangay Holy Spirit underwent a three-day livelihood trainers’ workshop at Holy Spirit’s livelihood training center, Lopez said.

T he work shops inc luded h a nd ic r a f t - m a k i n g , co ok i n g kakanin and food processing, Lacson said.

The trained chapter leaders will, in turn, train their members in the different areas of Holy Spirit, she added.

Holy Spirit has 14 senior citizen chapters with over 3,000 members.

Aside from handicraft-making, the chapter leaders were trained on urban container gardening, converting solid waste, like discarded canisters, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, tin cans and plastic sacks, to pots for growing organic vegetables, Lacson said.

They were trained by barangay agriculturist David V. Balillia, who is in charge of the multiawarded Gulayan at Bulaklakan sa Barangay Holy Spirit, which won in January the top award in the category of local government units for The Outstanding Farmers of the Philippines of 2014.

Composting, which is environment-friendly, is one of the components of the training on urban container gardening, Lacson said.

Vegetables, like pechay, eggplants beans, spinach and tomato, even strawberry, can be grown organically in Metro Manila in discarded containers, with the technology of the Gulayan at Bulaklakan, Balillia said.

Said plants have been grown with good yield at the Gulayan and Bulaklakan, he added.

The seniors were told by Barangay Chairman Felicito A. Valmocina that they can use their share in the annual 1-percent internal revenue allotment to sustain this livelihood program, she added.

The handicraft and container gardening are offshoots of Barangay Holy Spirit’s solid-waste management program, Valmocina said.

38 elderly, 75 street kids receive financial help from Iloilo govt

I

LOILO CITY—Indigent children and elderly people received their financial assistance covering the first quarter of the year in a simple ceremony held at the City Hall Penthouse on Thursday afternoon.

A total of 75 street children who have been helped by the Iloilo City government to be in school received their regular cash assistance from Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, said Rey Delfin, consultant and spokesman at the city mayor’s office.

“This cash assistance puts the children in school and keeps them off the street. This cash assistance gives them hope and a chance for upward mobility,” Delfin said.

Children who are enrolled in elementary and secondary schools are

P

HILIPPINE Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the staterun health insurer, on Thursday urged senior citizens to remain vigilant against fixers who may be charging fees in exchange for their help in facilitating their enrollment with PhilHealth.

“In the first place, there is really no need to rush for enrollment since they can readily avail [themselves] of PhilHealth benefits once they need it with or without a PhilHealth ID. They just need to present their senior citizen card and have already coordinated with our accredited health-care providers about this matter,” said Alexander A. Padilla, PhilHealth president and CEO. Since the effectivity of the law on November 25, 2014, senior citizens are flocking to the local health insurance offices to enroll in the program, which unfortunately creates an opportunity for fixers to capitalize on the vulnerability of some senior citizens.

“Do not deal with fixers. Enroll-

paper in their finished state.

Other products from solid waste include bags, placemats and baskets made of old telephone directory, and ornaments, like flowers, for home and office use, Lopez said.

The seniors also turn discarded cloth into rugs, Lacson said.

A mini bazaar is scheduled to

Apple, IBM, Japan Post team up to improve elderly care

Nuclear-attack survivors, 70 years later, now fading away

N

EW YORK—Apple, IBM and Japanese insurance and bank-holding company Japan Post have formed a partnership to improve the lives of elderly people in the country.

The companies said they hope other countries will follow suit as the world’s population ages. About a quarter of Japan’s population, or more than 33 million people, is over 65, the companies said, citing data from Japan’s health ministry.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Japan Post CEO Taizo Nishimuro announced the deal in New York on Thursday.

The program will provide iPads with apps designed to help seniors manage day-to-day lives and keep in touch with family members.

IBM will provide cloud services and help create apps to improve seniors’ quality of life, whether that means finding a plumber, keeping in touch with distant family members or remembering to take medications.

Cook said Apple strives to make its products accessible and easy to use, and noted that a many of the company’s recent products have focused on health. Its HealthKit system, for example, lets users share health information such as heart rate or weight with various phone apps to get a more complete picture of the user’s health and fitness level.

Apple Inc. and IBM formed a partnership last year to create mobile apps for a broad range of industries. This has led to the creation of 22 apps so far. AP

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HIROSHIMA survivor Setsuko Thurlow (right) participates in a march against nuclear weapons on April 26 in New York. At 83, she is part of a generation of nuclear-attack survivors that is quickly disappearing. AP

water to a field full of people dying.

She has spoken about her experience, she said, thousands of times around the world.

“My health? I’ve been blessed,” she said after Sunday’s march. But friends say she lives with pain every day.

Japan is famous for having the world’s oldest population, but supporters of the hibakusha warn that the health effects of a nuclear attack likely will shorten their lives.

Taniguchi was 16 years old and riding his bicycle about a mile away from the epicenter when Nagasaki was bombed. About 70,000 people were killed. His back was so badly burned that he spent much of the next three and a half years lying on his stomach. His friends say he still has open wounds and cannot sweat.

“Nuclear arms are weapons of the devil, which will not allow humans to live nor die as humans,” he told an audience at a disarmament gathering in New York over the weekend.

Later, waiting for an elevator to go up one floor, a chain of origami peace cranes around his neck, Taniguchi declined an interview request.

Too tired, his friend Hiroko Kumagai explained.

“I am very worried about his health condition,” she said quietly.

“It’s a miracle he’s alive. And he’s a super heavy smoker,” Kathleen Sullivan said. The program director for a project called Hibakusha Stories said this year will be the last to bring survivors to speak at New York City schools, “because frankly, it’s concerning bringing

given P30 a day allowance, while those in college receive P5,000 annually.

Meanwhile, 38 indigent senior citizens from the city each received P1,500 for their first-quarter pension from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The pension is expected to help augment the daily needs of the indigent elderly, especially for the purchase of their medicines.

“The mayor reminded them to put the money to good use that will benefit them,” Delfin said.

The mayor also urged their full cooperation and support to encourage more investors that will enliven the city and enable the city government to come up with more programs for the less-privileged residents of Iloilo City. PNA

PhilHealth warns seniors to beware of fixers

These senior citizens are still productive, innovative and seeking to earn at retirement age.

Discarded papers are made into wristband beads and earring pendants, said Chit Lacson, president of Barangay Holy Spirit senior citizens federation, in a recent interview.

The products do not look like

NITED NATIONS—What a nuclear attack didn’t take from them, old age will.

Seventy years have passed since the United States shocked the world by dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As nuclear powers gather this week to discuss a landmark disarmament treaty, the now-fragile survivors warn this may be their last chance to use their personal horror to hurry that work along.

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, review conference happens just every five years. The average survivor, called hibakusha, is about 80 years old.

There are signs they are fading.

Sunday’s thousand-strong rally in Manhattan against nuclear weapons was led by a trio of women in wheelchairs, slowly making their way along the mile-and-a-half route.

One of the most famous survivors, 86-year-old Sumitero Taniguchi, could not join them. Frail and silent, he sat in a wheelchair and watched the march set off up the avenue. Japanese media surrounded the Nagasaki survivor with cameras, leaning in for a better view.

“I was shocked when I saw him,” said 83-year-old Hiroshima survivor Setsuko Thurlow, who completed the march in a wheelchair. “He was so much thinner.”

Thurlow was 13 when Hiroshima was bombed and 140,000 people were killed.

“People at a distance saw the mushroom cloud and heard a thunderous roar. But I did not see the cloud because I was in it,” she said when she tells her story. She climbed from flaming ruins and spent hours giving

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so many elderly people together.”

Sullivan teared up for a moment over the recent death of a good friend, a survivor who was in his late 80s. She worries about how to carry stories forward as a unique generation passes away.

In the past few years, trainings have begun in Hiroshima and Nagasaki so that people can share the experiences of specific survivors, she said. But the personal impact will be missing.

The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has made a special point to thank the hibakusha. “I defy anyone to look into the eyes of these courageous and resilient individuals and say you know better what nuclear weapons bring,” he said in a statement as the nuclear conference opened.

About three dozen hibakusha came to New York for the nuclear conference, but it’s the last time a significant number will be able to make the trip, said Joseph Gerson, disarmament coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee.

Pain and shame around radiation exposure at Hiroshima and Nagasaki lifted slowly in Japan, inhibiting public discussion. Hibiki Ouchi’s grandfather was a Hiroshima survivor who later died of skin cancer, but no one told her his story until a few years ago, when her mother got breast cancer and worried that it was because of the bomb.

By then, Ouichi was already working with the Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs.

“I never met my grandfather, but maybe he made me do this,” she said.

“Whenever I hear a hibakusha testimony, I feel they are him.” AP

ment in the program is free, wala po kayong dapat bayaran. Huwag ninyong hayaan na maging biktima kayo ng mga fixers,” Padilla said.

PhilHealth issued Circular 33, series of 2014, encouraging senior citizens to enroll with PhilHealth in coordination with their respective Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca), or through any office designated by the local government, in localities where they reside. It also taps the Department of Social Welfare and Development, senior citizen organizations duly registered with appropriate national agencies, any non-governmental organization or any nonprofit private organizations to ensure coverage of senior citizens.

“We are encouraging bulk enrollment of senior citizens through Oscas or any other recognized senior citizens groups. This will be more convenient for them,” Padilla said.

“Also, those who already have PhilHealth coverage under the Indigent or Sponsored Program need not register,” he said. PNA

La Trinidad centenarians to be cited

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A TRINIDAD, Benguet— The local government unit (LGU) of La Trinidad recognizes its residents blessed with long and healthy life with the approval of Municipal Ordinance 016, Series of 2015, “An Ordinance Paying Tribute the Centenarians of La Trinidad.”

The explanatory note states that “only a few reach the age of 100 years or more, thus the Sangguniang Bayan [SB] saw it fitting to recognize and reward the elderly citizens through this municipal ordinance.”

Penned by Councilors Horacio Ramos and Estrella Adeban, the ordinance will allow qualified centenarians rewards of P10,000 cash incentive and P5,000 annual medical assistance.

Some P10,000 funeral benefit will also be given the centenarian in case of death.

According to SB Administrative Officer Edward Juanito, the elderly must be at least 100 years old prior to the effectivity of the ordinance; a bona-fide resident of the town for at least 10 years with barangay certificate of confirmation and a registered voter of the town.

He or she should present certified true copy of birth certificate or marriage certificate, and valid document attesting the true birth date or age.

The appropriate awards and recognition will be presented during the Senior Citizens Month Celebration every October. PNA

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S. Koreans open Xenia Hotel, cite Clark’s robust economy

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B J P | Correspondent

LARK FREEPORT—Citing the booming economy at Clark, South Korean investors on Saturday opened their 200-room hotel here.

“Clark is new and upcoming tourism hub of the country,” said Xenia Hotel officials led by its chairman, Park Jin-yong, when asked by journalists why they had invested P200 million at the new hotel along CM Recto Highway.

“The million-dollar investment in Clark has been unanimously concluded by the Xenia Hotel Corp.board of directors as one of the most strategic management decisions that the group has ever made.

The investors strongly believe in it. And we believe in its potential contribution to the country’s regional economy,” said a statement of the group.

“C l a r k F r e e p o r t h a s b e e n strongly recognized as one of the most strategic international gateway in the country, affecting positively both local and international business and tourism” “Business in general and tourism in particular, have been registering a consistent robust growth rates year on year and we would like to leverage on this,” it added.

Xenia officials also cited the growing passengers at the Clark I nt e r n at ion a l A i r p or t (C I A ), which is about five minutes away from their hotel. There are at least 3.3 million passengers at the CIA from 2012 to 2014.

THE 200-room Xenia Hotel in Clark, Pampanga. The new hotel prioritizes hospitality and service. LEO VILLACARLOS

Daily flights to South Korea via CIA are available.

“But we don’t just target Korean tourists, but all visitors, including Filipinos,” said Yul Duguil, consultant of Xenia Hotel Corp. (XHC).

Tourism Regional Director Ronnie Tiotuico said there are “between 15,000 and 20,000” South Koreans in Pampanga, most of whom stay in

Aquino to visit Canada, United States on May 6-9 B B F

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RESIDENT Aquino is set to fly mid-week to Canada and the US on economic-diplomatic missions, and also visit Filipino communities in these two countries. Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. confirmed that on May 6, Mr. Aquino is traveling with a number of Cabinet officials for a scheduled three-day state visit to Canada.

“Nakatakdang maglakbay si Pangulong Aquino kasama ng ilang miyembro ng Gabinete sa bansang Canada upang simulan ang tatlong araw na state visit na maglalayong ibayo pang patatagin ang ugnayang pang-ekonomiya at diplomatikong relasyon sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Canada,” Coloma said on Sunday.

The secretary recalled that Mr. Aquino earlier accepted an invitation extended by Canadian Gov. General David Johnson, the first state visit by a sitting Philippine President since 18 years ago when President Fidel V. Ramos visited Canada in 1997.

Coloma said President Aquino and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will witness the formal signing of a number of agreements seen to boost people-to-people relations and solidify the two countries’ ties on labor cooperation, development assistance and infrastructure development. The Palace official recalled that last year, Canada announced the designation of the Philippines as a “country of focus” for development assistance, as well as a “priority emerging market” for Canadian overseas trade and investment.

In the second leg of his latest foreign trip, Mr. Aquino and his delegation will fly from Canada for a one-day “working” visit to Chicago before flying home to Manila by weekend.

“Tutungo rin ang Pangulo at ang kanyang delegasyon sa lungsod ng Chicago sa Estados Unidos para sa isang araw na working visit upang makipagpulong sa mga negosyanteng nais mamuhunan sa bansa at makipagtalakayan sa Filipino community,” Coloma said.

Anti-age bias bill filed in House

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MEASUR E prohibiting employers, l abor cont rac tors and labor organizations from discriminating against any one due to age has been filed at the House of Representatives. House Bill 411, to be known as “Prohibition Against Age Discrimination Act,” authored by Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Susan Yap of Tarlac, seeks to ensure that a person is not denied a job, an equal chance of training, or a promotion because of age.

The measure provides for sanctions to the employers, labor contractors and labor organizations that discriminate against employees or job seekers on account of their age in all the aspects of employment—recruitment, employment terms and conditions, promotions and transfers, training and dismissals.

Under the measure, it shall be unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any one or discriminate against any one with respect to his or her compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of age. The bill prohibits employers to limit, segregate, or classify their employees in any way, which would deprive or tend to deprive any one of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect their status as an employee, because of age.

The measure also prohibits labor contractors from failing or refusing to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against any one because of such one’s age, or to classify or refer to employment any one on the basis of such one’s age.

“It shall be unlawful for a labor organization to exclude or to expel from its membership, discriminate against any one because of his or her age,” the bill said.

The measure also prohibits labor organization to limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to refer for employment any one, in any way, which would deprive or tend to deprive any one of employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee or as an applicant for employment because of age.

Violators will face a fine of not less than P50,000, or imprisonment of not less than three months or both at the discretion of the court, the bill said.

The bill is now pending at the House Committee on Labor and Employment chaired by Liberal Party Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City.

Yap said the bill seeks to promote a positive attitude toward the contributions that older people can make to society. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Clark, Angeles City, Mabalacat City and Porac town. The XHC said its officials, managers and staff are prioritizing service and “the value of hospitality is the core of our business.”

“Xenia Hotel is your new home,” they said in the brochures of their hotel. It has at least 85 workers, most of whom are from the nearby communities.

Xenia can accommodate at least 700 guests for business meetings and conferences.

It has wine bars, coffee shop, restaurants, outdoor swimming pool, fitness gym, wellness spa and other necessary facilities.

Others who joined the ceremonial ribbon-cutting were Dangerous Drugs Board Undersecretary Edgar Galvante, Dr. Jocelyn Purla of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center, Donggwang Corp. Chairman Lee Shinkun, Park Hye-won, Xenia Vice Chairman Kim Byung-cheol and T helma Ocampo, manager for marketing and operations of the Clark Development Corp.

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Monday, May 4, 2015

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Maximino T. Cruz, General Manager of AISL, said during the meeting that not all shipping lines collect the ECRS. Cruz maintained that the association cannot intervene in the decision of shippers to impose fees.

“We cannot interfere with the commercial decision of members but what we can do is dialogue with them if they think it is the proper time to remove the ECRS,” said Cruz during a news briefing following the meeting.

Shipping firms and the DTI will meet again in the following weeks to review the proposal.

“Shipping lines were urged to remove what was considered unreasonable continued imposition of ECRS; it is a serious concern,”Trade Undersecretary

Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said. On the part of truckers, the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines has issued a new schedule of rates which reflect a reduction of between P1,000 to P2,000 per 20-foot and 40-foot container unit.

While shipping lines and truckers are gradually reducing or removing their fees altogether, an official of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said locators are not yet satisfied. The Peza official, who declined to be named, said charges must be reduced further to ease the burden of traders. Locators are hesitant to go into expansion mode given the losses and additional expenses they have incurred due to the port congestion problem.

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editorial

What is important for economic growth?

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RESIDENT Aquino said on Friday that the Philippine economy should expand by 7 percent to 8 percent this year. We will reserve judgment on that forecast.

However, if attained, it would be the faster growth in 60 years. The President went on to once again the country will attain more success if voters will choose the right candidates in the 2016 elections.

Political leaders have this ingrained idea that they and their decisions are the primary factor in a nation’s economic growth, and without them, we would all be lost. But is that actually true?

In the October 2014 issue of the World Journal of Economic and Engineering, researcher Izac Schmieder presented a paper titled “Factors Influencing Economic Growth” to answer that question.

Schmieder’s article culled research and studies over many decades in both developed and developing countries to understand what are the most factors for better and sustained economic growth. One initial conclusion is that “democracy may both retard and enhance economic growth depending on the various channels that it passes through.” We have heard that before from Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew. There are at least a dozen factors and variables from geography and demographics to government policies and institutional strength that make an economy work better. However, there are several that are most important and stand out.

Interestingly some of the things that we in the Philippines worry about the most do not seem to be at the top of the list from the experts.

A global survey of academics, government policy-makers and business people of “Factors Advancing Economic Dynamism” put the quality of human capital and technology at the top. Therefore, it would probably be wise not to vote someone into office who is against better education and wants less technological advancement for the Philippines.

While “good infrastructure” comes in at No. 6, foreign direct investment (FDI) is lower at No. 9. After the human capital considerations, “secure formal institutions” including the legal system, property rights, tax system and the financial system is a priority. It would seem that the Judicial branch of the government is more important for good economic than the Executive branch. While the Executive branch touts its importance, the experts in both the public and private sector, as well as academia rate its role under “robust macroeconomic management” at No. 12.

Those are some of the positives. What are the negatives against economic prosperity?

No. 1 on the negative list is an unstable political environment. While we may think of that factor as a “restless military” and the like, perhaps the most unstable political environment is one where the leaders are more interested in power than performance.

“Insecure formal institutions” (No. 3) can cause more economic problems than “inadequate infrastructure” (No. 7) and is well above “low FDI” at No. 10.

The overall conclusion of Schmieder’s research is that all the factors are important. “Priorities in terms of policies for economic dynamism should be quite different between countries of different state of development.” Perhaps our conclusion should be that elected officials should understand what their job is, how the nation’s economy actually functions and possess a large amount of common sense.

PCSO Davao anniversary Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

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N April 25 the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board of directors and senior officials went to Davao City to join the personnel of the agency’s Mindanao branch offices in celebrating PCSO’s 80th anniversary.

With me were Directors Betty B. Nantes, Mabel V. Mamba, Francisco G. Joaquin III and Bem Noel.

We were joined by the agency’s recently appointed Chairman Erineo S. Maliksi. He delivered a rousing address to the assembled officials and employees who were excited to meet the new chairman, the board, and other Manila-based personnel.

The day before the anniversary celebration, we turned over two ambulances: one to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for the city of Davao, and the other to Mayor Jenny de Asis for the municipality of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. Under its ambulance-donation program, the PCSO gives ambulances to fourthclass to sixth-class municipalities for free and to first-class to thirdclass municipalities under a 60/40 cost-sharing scheme.

Duterte thanked PCSO for the ambulance, saying that it would make Davao City more prepared to meet an Ebola virus

crisis should such arise. Duterte added that the city will look into purchasing protective gear and other related equipment as part of a standby plan.

Davao is a delightful place and we noted the city’s cleanliness and strictly enforced no-public-smoking policy. We were impressed by how bustling and vibrant the city is, even on a weekend. Fresh food is abundant—seafood and pomelo may be had anywhere for a reasonable price, and durian flavors a myriad of dishes from candy to coffee. One restaurant even serves durian wonton and durian rolls. nnn

THANK you to all who supported and attending the opening of Art for a Cause, a benefit art show by the Saturday Group to raise funds for liver-transplant patients at The Medical City (TMC).

The exhibit opened on May 2 at LRI Design Plaza in Bel-Air II, Makati City, and stays there

until closing time today, May 4.

Then it moves to the TMC lobby from May 8 to 22.

The Saturday Group, comprising established and upcoming artists, often holds fund-raising activities for charity causes and this year’s beneficiaries are indigent pediatric patients who will undergo liver transplants at the TMC, under a team of surgeons headed by Dr. Vanessa de Villa.

De Villa spearheaded a groundbreaking effort to accomplish the first successful liver transplant in the Philippines in January 2011 with an all-Filipino team of doctors and nurses. Now, liver transplant patients no longer need to travel abroad as before for the life-saving procedure.

The Art for a Cause show features some 50 paintings and sculptures donated by Saturday Group artists. Those participating are Lydia Velasco, Migs Villanueva, Anna de Leon, Buds Convocar, Buddy Ching, Hermes Alegre, Roel Obemio, Omi Reyes, Aner Sebastian, Francis Nacion, Jaime Gubaton, Gerrico Blanco, Norlie Meimban, Carlo Magno, Ross Capili, Jonathan Dangue, Herbert Pajarito and myself.

Photographer Mandy Navasero will be presenting her portfolio of Batanes images. Since 2006, her regular photo sessions in that province have helped transform it into a major destination.

The show delights as an anthology of diverse styles and methods.

Velasco’s portrayal of everyday

women brings out their inner strengths. Villanueva’s naïf art is refreshing, while de Leon’s surreal works in mixed media fascinate.

Convocar and Ching are known for their leadership in mixed media abstractions; Alegre sets Filipinas in tropical surroundings.

Obemio’s work evokes that of Botero, featuring rotund personages in fantasy settings.

Reyes’s steampunk series rivet attention, while Sebastian’s works blaze with color and texture. Nacion depicts stylized folktales in a light manner, Gubaton’s Cityscape series are a commentary on social inequality, while Blanco’s Safari Series animals are realistic and masterfully rendered.

Meimban combines digital art and media to suggest visual movement; Magno is an abstractionist; Ross Capili’s Imagined Landscape series evokes other worlds.

Dangue and Pajarito are both winners of the Metrobank Art and Design Excellence award. Dangue cont r i but e d f re e for m br a s s sculptures while Pajarito is an abstract painter.

My own works feature tribalthemed designs and digital art.

We encourage art aficionados to visit the show and acquire some of these artworks for their own; in doing so, they can help save lives.

Lawyer Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II is the vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

A proactive, impactful look at words I despise

By Gina Barreca

The Hartford Courant/TNS

A

LTHOUGH I love language, there are certain words that make me break out in hives. I have an allergic reaction when I see or hear them: I shiver as my temperature rises, I turn a mottled shade somewhere between mauve and crimson and my jaw clamps shut.

Like poison ivy, these often appear in clumps. Most recently, I’ve walked into thickets and groves of the following toxic terms: “disrupt,” “cohort,” “synergy,” “lifestyle,” “wheelhouse,” “iconic,” “branding,” “curated,” “vocalize,” “artisanal,” “impactful” and “relatable.”

“Toxic” should probably be there, too. What’s wrong with these words?

Individually and in their native habitats, they’re fine. “Vocalize” is dandy, fitting snugly into the world of music; as my friend Jana explains, “Vocalize should be restricted only to use by singers, who associate very specific meanings and actions to the word.” She goes on to ask, “What term is the corporate world going to appropriate next—‘audiate’?”

But when my students write, “Jane Eyre vocalized her inner emotions to Mr. Rochester” I underline “vocalized” as well as “inner emotions” and insist they write something more text-specific, precise and informative. “What do

you mean and why is it important?” is what I usually ask.

By the third rewrite, they usually know what they mean and they know how to say it.

I’ve learned, after 28 years of teaching, that “vocalize,” like “relatable,” is a dodge: It is an intellectual sleight of hand. If a student defines a character as “relatable,” I ask: Does that mean he’s sympathetic, intriguing, recognizable, emotionally complex, cliched, seductive, likable, familiar, accessible or perspicuous? If my student says, “Yeah, that’s right—relatable” I know she hasn’t done any of the reading.

Overused or misused words become bankrupted of whatever original meanings they might have had. Used to obscure rather than to clarify ideas, they don’t express thought but instead divert attention away from the fact that the person using the term employs it as an act of camouflage, disguising his or

her inability to say what needs saying.

“Proactive,” for example, should be struck from our vocabulary.

Why? Because it means “active.” A friend, who knows that “proactive” is anathema to me, said, “I want to motivate my staff. I tell them to be ‘proactive.’

What other words can I use?”

“How about asking them to be enthusiastic, energetic, engaged, insightful or thoughtful? Even better, how about asking them to do what you really want? You want their focused attention? Ask for it. You want them to tell you practical ways in which they can do their jobs better? Make it possible for them to be direct and honest in their responses and then make the changes they suggest.”

You don’t have to “implement” “fundamental paradigm shifts” as an “influencer” to “ensure sustainable best practices” by “mobilizing your resources” in an “accelerated” “ideadriven” and “powerfully transformative” “watershed event” with “high-stakes” “holistic” “modeling behavior” creating an “organic,” “abundant” and “quantifiably,” if not “dazzling,” “win-win” environment that will be so “mindful” and “balanced” that “gurus” and “unicorns” from throughout the “blogosphere” will applaud the “mission and mandate” your “revolutionizing vision” will have

on “setting a gold standard.”

Next in line for execution (as in “to be exterminated” not as in “being put to use”) are feeble conversational caveats such as “I just wanted to say,” “No offense, but,” “Can I just mention that” and “I don’t know if you’d agree, but...”

When folks begin sentences this way I want to shout, “If you’re going to say something dull, uninformed or belligerent, don’t apologize in advance. Either stand up for what’s coming out of your mouth or wait until you know what you think before you speak.”

Also deserving to be driven out of our vocabularies with pitchforks and torches are the following: “moving forward,” “circle back,” “content driven,” “low-hanging fruit,” “hash-tagging,” “out-of-the-box,” “thought leader,” “take-away” and “come together.” (Of this last one, my friend Rose Valenta quips “Are we all practicing our Kegel exercises now?”)

Of course the “ize” have it: “optimize,” “monetize,” “galvanize,” “strategize,” “prioritize,” “incentivize,” “globalize” and “utilize.”

Why use “utilize” when you can use “use”?If you love language, treat it with respect, honor and intimacy. Play with it, but never treat it lightly.

And never, ever use the word “impactful.”

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Monday, May 4, 2015 A11

Supreme Court of the US should not usurp the voice of the people

By Christine M. Flowers Philadelphia Daily News/TNS

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OHN Roberts cut through the semantics and the florid prose about “dignity” when he said this to one of the attorneys arguing in favor of same-sex marriage: “You’re not seeking to join the institution. You’re seeking to change what the institution is.”

And there, my friends, you have the critical question: is marriage a largetent institution that embraces many different variations of “devotion” (and therefore gays and lesbians are only asking to enter under the tent), or is it a solemn petrified edifice that must be remodeled, stone by stone, to accommodate the wishes of a newly empowered minority.

When you put it that way, you understand what is really at stake.

It’s common to hear opponents of same-sex marriage described as bigots, religious zealots or inhabitants of the “wrong side of history,” as if we were walled up behind Check Point Charlie in East Berlin. There is this sense of inevitability on the part of gay-marriage advocates, to the point that they can sometimes even show sympathy for those of us who insist on traditional definitions. I’ve had conversations where my enlightened interlocutor will smile sadly, tilt her head as if dealing with a confused child and figuratively pat me on the head as if I were Cindy Lou Who and she was sending me off to my bigoted bed with a glass of milk.

The attendant sigh says “she’ll learn.”

Actually, “she” has been learning a lot of things lately, particularly in the wake of the conscience law controversy in Indiana last month. Hopefully, the justices on the high court have been studying up as well, particularly when it comes to that crash course in societal bullying.

John Roberts wasn’t explicit, but it’s clear he was referring to what happened in his native Hoosier state when he observed that gay and lesbian couples are trying to impose their conception of marriage on a pre-existing institution, changing it beyond recognition. Attorney General Donald Verilli also realized what was happening when, in response to a question about what impact the universal legalization of gay marriage would have on a religious school’s right to deny teacher housing to a gay couple, he delivered the equivalent of a sophisticated “uh, um” and failed to provide a legitimate answer.

That’s what usually happens when marriage-equality advocates are faced with the blunt question: “What do you do if someone doesn’t want to bake you a cake?” or in more general terms, how does your concept of equality square with someone else’s sense of freedom?

Before the Indiana dust up, proponents of same-sex marriage tried to make it seem as if legalization of these unions was simply a matter of due process and equal protection, or as Justice Anthony Kennedy likes to trill in his Rod McKuen-like majority decisions, “dignity.” But when it comes to the dignity of people who object to gay unions on religious or moral grounds, they are

dismissed as bigots. The rainbow flags come out, CNN marches into the street to find the most aggrieved and photogenic victims and, poof!, a governor is reduced to blathering apologies about offending a minority whose political clout far outweighs its size.

I’m actually glad this happened so close in time to these critical oral arguments on same-sex marriage, because it provides a blueprint for the justices of how we arrived at the point where two men marrying each other became an undeniable civil right, and speaking out against it became hate speech.

This is the classic modus operandi of those who seek change by all costs, even through intimidation. The advocates for marriage equality (clever term) are well-versed in that practice which was perfected by feminists of the Roe v. Wade era. They could not find an actual “right” to abortion in the constitution, and so they switched their focus and started talking about the “dignity” of women while, at the same time, minimizing the dignity of the unborn child. At some level, it was a fabulous success. Abortion became legal at a national level.

But anyone who has been a warrior on the bloody battlefield of abortion rights over the past four decades knows how Roe kept the debate alive, because we who think judges shouldn’t usurp the voice of the people on these crucial issues refused to go gentle into that nihilistic night.

I’m predicting that will be the case if the justices rule in favor of the samesex advocates. Frankly, if you asked a majority of Americans, they’d have no problem with giving same-sex couples all of the legal rights and privileges (and headaches) conveyed by traditional marriage. By nature, we tend to be an egalitarian population that rewards fair dealing.

But we don’t like to be told by a few men and women in black robes that, because we disagree with the frenetic wave of change orchestrated by a motivated minority, we are bigots. As Justice Roberts said, “People feel very differently about something if they have the chance to vote on it than if it’s imposed on them by the courts.”

If the high court chooses to reward the loudest voices with a right that simply does not exist at either common law or in the reverent folds of the constitutional fabric, they can rest assured that there will be battles waged by those who refuse to capitulate in someone else’s version of “dignity.”

They could be people of faith. They could be atheists with a devotion to constitutional integrity. Or they could simply be people who prefer the stability of a great stone edifice to the windwhipped flimsiness of a fragile tent.

The only miracle

By Trudy Rubin

A

MMAN, Jordan—When Islamic State (IS) jihadis poured into Iraq from Syria in June and attacked Sheikh Abdullah al-Yawar’s compound, he urged the Iraqi government to fly weapons to a nearby airfield so his Sunni tribesmen could hit back.

But the Iraqi defense minister refused Yawar’s offer, which might have prevented the capture of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. After Mosul fell, Yawar asked Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to let him recruit two battalions of tribesmen to police the border and prevent more jihadis from crossing. The Shiite leader told him, “We don’t need your help.”

Yawar’s men fought on, buying their own guns. But in October, IS blew up his home and his huge diwan, where, as a leader of the Shammar tribe, he used to rally hundreds of followers. Sitting in the large, elegant reception room of a home in Amman and dressed in a long, black, pinstriped jalabiya and traditional headdress, Yawar showed me photos of the rubble and of his son who left

university studies to join the fight.

“The international community should be directly working with people who want to fight Islamic State,” the sheikh insisted. Yet, both the Iraqi government—and US policy—oppose arming tribal leaders like Yawar.

His story helps explain why it is so hard to curb the Islamic State threat to Iraq, the Middle East IS and the West.

The Iraqi regions seized by IS are populated almost entirely by Sunni Arabs. Many local Sunni leaders view the jihadis as preferable to a Shiite-led government they see as oppressive. But there are also many Sunnis, such as Yawar, who had good relations with the US military in the 2000s and who want to drive out the

never said that the punishment did not fit the crime. The Philippine Embassy merely insisted that Mary Jane is not guilty. When the real criminal turned up, Widodo had reason to listen.

Yet, Widodo did not spare her life. He delayed the day of her death until the matter of her guilt has been threshed out again. There were rumblings abroad that Indonesian justice has no sense of proportion between crime and punishment. When Widodo reprieved Mary Jane, he made a stronger case for the high quality of Indonesian justice by allowing new evidence to disprove her guilt. This is seldom allowed in the West, where judicial stability dictates that truth cannot stay the hand of death. A last-minute stay of execution saved Mary Jane for a wider and ampler Indonesian sense of justice. This may still take the form of her execution if the new evidence is unconvincing; or a reduced sentence if someone else is condemned to the maximum allowed under Philippine penal law.

Indeed, close to a miracle but not quite is if Mary Jane had been shot at alongside the 8 yet all the marksmen missed her. But mock executions have been done before; most famously to Dostoevsky in Siberia and Ninoy in Laur.

The real miracle here is that Mary Jane has kept up her spirits, held on to her sanity and maintained her composure in the repeated face of imminent death.

But that is just the miracle of human nature—at its best.

military aid to Sunnis. Yet, these same Shiite politicians have funneled funds and arms to Iran-backed Shiite militias, which have become more powerful than the weak Iraqi army.

This creates an impossible situation in which there are no plausible forces to drive IS out of Iraq.

T he ar my, which is being retrained by the US and other coalition forces, is far from ready for prime time against the militants, with the exception of limited numbers of special forces.

The powerful Shiite militias do want to drive IS out. But they terrify Sunnis because they have looted and burned in Sunni areas such as Tikrit. If these Shiite militias move into occupied Sunni areas, the locals are likely to resist or flee.

Meantime, Sunni tribal leaders, who can provide critical local manpower and ground intelligence, are rebuffed. Yet, IS won’t be uprooted unless local Sunni tribes help drive it out.

I heard complaints similar to

Yawar’s from tribal leaders in Iraq’s western Anbar province, where IS controls substantial territory and nearly captured the capital, Ramadi, last week.

Ahmed Sajer Jasim, a sheikh of the Malahma who wore a business suit to our meeting, told me that members of his tribe fought for 40 days in January 2014 against an IS invasion.

“We local tribes and police fought with light weapons and no help from the central government,” he said. “We called the prime minister and minister of defense, but nobody came.” His tribesmen had to flee their homes with their families; I interviewed him in Erbil, Kurdistan.

The sheikh, whose clan allied with US forces against al-Qaeda in the last decade, says the tribes need weapons and more coalition air strikes. He shakes his head, adding: “We have been ignored by our friends from the United States, but the [Shiite militias] got help from their friends in Iran.”

Facing brutal subjugation by IS, many tribal leaders are now debating whether to ask the “devil”—Tehran—for help. Yawar believes, and I agree, that the Iran option will provoke more sectarian violence.

He still hopes the Americans will help Sunni leaders with weapons and more air strikes. “Start by supporting some Sunnis on the ground who want to fight and link them together,” he proposes.

“If you Americans will not help us, tell us,” he urges. “People keep asking me why you aren’t recruiting us, training us. The longer you wait, the more Islamic State is expanding.”

Yawar’s last point is essential.

The administration should be far more aggressive in drawing trustworthy Sunni tribesmen into the fight by pressing Abadi to act and sending US advisers to help tribal leaders.

If Sunnis aren’t encouraged to rebel against IS, the jihadis are likely to remain inside Iraq for a very long time.

Teddy Locsin Jr.

T

Free fire

HERE is no 11th-hour miracle. There can be a miracle only past 12. It is called resurrection. That hasn’t happened since Jesus. While there is life there is hope. Where there is hope, there is politics and no need for miracles. The Department of Foreign Affairs alone gave a sober explanation for Mary Jane’s reprieve: a change of mind on the part of Widodo, the head of the government that set the hour and place of her death.

It is presumptuous to insist that prayers move God to correct the negligence of the Philippine government. Mary Jane’s case was old; no effort was made to find her recruiter and back up her defense that the evidence against her was planted. Indeed, no effort was made at all even after her impending execution became a national issue. Her recruiter turned herself in because her parents, quite rightly, threatened to kill her right after their daughter’s execution. This is the least that parents should do for their children.

The 11th-hour reprieve sent the Philippine media into orgasmic spasms of fervid anticipation of a telenovela until I insulted it on Twitter. It is a disservice to our country to encourage its innate infantilism. Every issue becomes cute. President Joseph Estrada— fondly called Erap, which is not an alias, as moron’s maintain,

Help Sunnis take on Islamic State The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

but a nickname alongside his real name—famously said, “Wag natin i-baby ang insurgency.” But we baby everything and turn it into showbiz.

The Filipino editorial sense is baduy.

Mary Jane’s reprieve has a political explanation, and the credit for staying her execution goes only to Widodo. No one can share in it.

Not Megawati, the chief of his party which he repeatedly ignores; not the activists who kept vigil even though “Wee-doh-doh” listens to human-rights concerns, not international pressure from countries that also impose the death penalty; certainly not God. No credit goes to any government that pleaded with him. None could make Widodo change his mind about carrying through a legal imperative of the Indonesian justice system for executions to follow convictions in shooting offenses.

Widodo listened to one thing only even if it could not compel a

change of his mind. He listened to that one thing because it could serve as a good reason if he did change his mind. Changing one’s mind is a preeminently executive privilege but there must be a reason—in other countries but not in ours, where mental shifts are inexplicable and gratuitous.

If Mary Jane was shot along with the 8, despite evidence now available that could show she was innocent, it would condemn Indonesian justice as barbarous in the eyes of mankind. In no jurisdiction is planted evidence a criminal offense. The arrest of her recruiter, who actually turned herself in, gave Widodo the excuse he needed for a change of heart.

To credit God for the risk only Widodo took of disappointing his people’s thirst for stern justice will discourage him from taking the same risk again when the conviction of Mary Jane’s recruiter should reduce her sentence or give her back her freedom.

Not God but reasons of state, gave Widodo a further motivation to stay Mary Jane’s execution. The head of state of a longtime Indonesian ally had humbled himself to plead for her life before a minor Indonesian official because Widodo was unavailable. The embassy of that ally never flagged in its pleading for another chance to prove Mary Jane’s innocence. Our embassy never said, as Australia and the rest of the addicted Western world insisted, that death is too harsh for drug trafficking. It never conceded she was guilty. It

militants. They need heavy weapons and training to face jihadis rich in sophisticated arms seized from Iraqi army depots.

However, when Yawar contacted US military officers he knew and asked for assistance, their response was also negative. They told him to work through the Iraqi government.

(US policy is to strengthen the Iraqi army, not sectarian forces.)

“I told them the Iraqi government is not interested,” Yawar recalled. “I told them, if you are waiting for the central government, you will wait a very long time.”

Indeed, the Shiite-led Baghdad government, even under the new and more open-minded prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has failed to help Yawar fight IS. Legislation that would let Sunnis create national guard units that would be subsumed under the Iraqi army is going nowhere.

“There is no chance for the national guard legislation,” Yawar said bluntly. He is correct. Iran-backed Shiite political parties oppose any

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, May 4, 2015

PLDT, Samsung expand business solutions tie-up

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

D

omina nt telecommunications firmPhilippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is expanding its longstanding partnership with South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to deliver full-service packaged business solutions for the large enterprise market.

The partnership, which also includes Smart Communications Inc., the wireless subsidiary of the telecommunications titan, is essentially an extension of the three companies’ tie-up that seeks to support the development of Samsung devices paired with PLDT and Smart’s service offerings designed for corporate clients, like the Smart M2M (machine-to-machine) solutions.

“We are excited to further strengthen our ties with a globally admired brand, such as Samsung.

This partnership definitely adds value to the services we provide our customers, and bolsters our position as the preferred and trusted ICT [information and communications technology] provider of large enterprises,” PLDT Executive Vice President Eric R. Alberto said over the weekend. “We are confident that, through this continued support and

partnership, the PLDT Group will sustain its leadership and bring forth exciting solution bundles, both in hardware and software offerings, to the market.”

Through this partnership, the PLDT Group and Samsung will co-develop specialized business solutions for the enterprise level with an “Operated Dedicated Support” agreement, including dedicated after-sales hot lines for business-to-business handset models, and full participation in commercialization and co-branding in marketing efforts.

“We are looking forward to this extended tie-up, as this will greatly benefit our market in terms of marketability of Samsung, when partnered with a long-standing enabler such as PLDT and Smart.

We are hopeful that this collaboration can give compelling business innovations suitable for the current market,” Samsung Philippines President Harry Lee said during the contract-signing.

Since partnering with Samsung, the PLDT Group has offered specialized business packages that bundle unique Samsung devices with business connectivity and solutions targeted at both enterprise and small and medium enterprises See “PLDT,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Groups demand safeguard norms from China-led AIIB

A

By Cai U. Ordinario

mid the recent decision of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to collaborate with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), groups expressed the need for the China-led institution to adopt safeguard standards.

Safeguard policies, which are part of the governance structure of multilateral development banks (MDBs) like ADB, are necessary to ensure that projects funded by these institutions are socially and environmentally responsible.

“We appeal to the bank [AIIB] and the leaders of China to carry the concerns and needs of Asia’s most vulnerable groups and communities through the creation of superior safeguard policies,” said Rayyan Hassan, executive director of the civil-society network NGO Forum on ADB. The NGO coalition added that the AIIB must ensure that its operations respect local traditions, culture and knowledge systems.

These include those involving

indigenous peoples, ethnic and cultural minorities, women, children, persons with disabilities, and sexual-orientation and genderidentification expression.

The forum also said the bank’s projects and programs should not harm local environment, ecosystem and biodiversity, as well as thoroughly consider climate-change impacts.

“Given that the AIIB is founded on lessons learned from existing MDBs and private sector, the bank is on the right path toward institutionalizing socioenvironmental shields that would minimize, if not outrightly contain, any collateral damage or rights-based violation caused by poorly implemented development projects,” Hassan stated.

Apart from safeguard policies,

the AIIB’s overall governance structure is of utmost concern to countries like the Philippines.

While the Philippines has signed a memorandum of understanding to join discussions to establish the AIIB, the country’s commitment to join the AIIB remains contingent on the MDB’s governance structure.

Earlier, National Treasurer Roberto B. Tan said the governance structure of the AIIB must be responsive to the needs of poorer members of the MDB. One of these needs is for a transparent procurement process, according to National Economic and Development Authority Deputy Director General for Programming Rolando G. Tungpalan.

Tungpalan told the BusinessMirror that when the country obtains official development assistance loans from the ADB, their procurement process will be followed, which often subscribes to international competitive bidding.

Under cofinancing arrangements between the ADB and other MDBs, like the Agence Française de Developpement, or the French Development Agency, and the European Investment Bank, the bigger lender’s procurement rules will be followed.

ADB President Takehiko Nakao and AIIB Multilateral Interim Secretariat Secretary-General Liqun

Jin agreed to cofinance infrastructure projects on the sidelines of the ADB’s 48th Annual Meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Nakao and Jin agreed that both MDBs can play a critical role in closing the infrastructure gap in the region. These infrastructure projects can support sustainable development and poverty reduction, and the importance of safeguard policies on environmental and social impacts of projects.

“The ADB will cooperate and cofinance with the AIIB on infrastructure financing across Asia by using our long experience and expertise in the region,” Nakao said.

In May last year, ADB East Asia Department Director General Ayumi Konishi said the infrastructure needs of Asia are expected to double to around $800 billion a year in the 2011-to-2020 period, from around $400 billion a year in the preceding decade.

But, Konishi said, multilateral institutions, like the ADB, the World Bank and International Finance Corp., and other existing organizations could only provide, at the most, $50 billion a year. This leaves around $750 billion worth of infrastructure projects unfunded in this decade.

The AIIB was proposed by China’s President Xi Jinping in a visit in Southeast Asia in October 2013.