BusinessMirror November 12, 2014

BusinessMirror

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014 B3-3

Modi’s ‘Make in India’ push to take on China faces red tape

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CLOTHES marker—Made in India. LARS HALBAUER/

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The Associated Press

India’s largest maker of the alloy isn’t alone. Steel Authority of India Ltd. shut one of its topyielding quarries the same month pending renewal of its lease. JSW Steel Ltd.’s plan to start mining in eastern Jharkhand state has been hampered by a probe begun last month into mine allocations.

Modi is set to trumpet his “Make in India” initiative at the Group of 20 summit in Australia this week as he vies with China to woo manufacturers.

The mine closures show lingering bureaucratic obstacles to his push, stemming from court rulings and officials in India’s 29 states that lie beyond Modi’s direct control. India slid two places to 142nd out of 189 economies in the World Bank’s latest ease of doing business rankings.

“There are things beyond the government’s control,” said Taimur Baig, chief economist at Deutsche Bank AG in Singapore. “If a court makes a pronouncement there is nothing really that the executive can do. For better or for worse, India has many more layers of checks and balances.”

Tata Steel shares have gained 11 percent this year, lagging behind the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex’s 32-percent increase. State-run Steel Authority has climbed 15 percent, while JSW Steel has risen 21 percent.

A HIGH-RISE apartment building (center), where two women were killed by British banker Rurik George Caton Jutting, stands in Wan Chai district in Hong Kong. Both victims in the double-murder case that has shocked Hong Kong were Indonesian women, and one of the victims was frequenting a red-light district on a lapsed domestic worker visa, an Indonesian consulate official said on November 4. AP/VINCENT YU

chose a sadly common option, Indonesian officials say. She overstayed her work visa and hit the bars and nightclubs of Wan Chai to make money off the mostly Western male customers—a much more lucrative, if risky, job.

Kartika is done repaying the employment agency and has her passport back. She said she is sending money home and has no interest in returning to Wan Chai.

“It’s not really good for me,” she said. “I want to do something better, something positive.”

Indonesian Consulate official Rafail Walangitan said his government was aware of problems such as the high fees paid to hiring agencies and the conditions in some employers’ houses, but he said the agencies play an important role in connecting Indonesians with Hong Kong households hundreds of kilometers away.

“You can imagine how they can come to a country without someone to take care of everything here,” Walangitan said.

Hong Kong officials have defended their requirements that domestic workers live in their employers’ houses by pointing out that the city lets in foreign workers only because there is a shortage of local live-in help.

Hong Kong also has been criticized for requiring domestic workers to leave the city within two weeks after losing their jobs. Responding to the UN Human Rights Committee last year, city officials said that mandate was “required for maintaining effective immigration control and eliminating chances of [foreign domestic helpers] overstaying in Hong Kong or working illegally after termination of contracts.”

Yet many women are working illegally here. Ningsih’s last Hong Kong stay was on a tourist visa.

Her father, Achmad Kaliman, said she told him she was going to save her wages to build a house back home.

“She insisted that she go, arguing that she has to work for the sake of her son’s future,” Kaliman said. “She said she would work at the restaurant, in the front section, where she just asked guests what they wanted to eat or drink.”

For a Filipino domestic worker, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Babylen, the past year and a half in Hong Kong has been a bitter disappointment.

An injury on the job led to her dismissal in March. Now, she’s waiting to receive compensation while sleeping in a shelter opened for unemployed domestic workers. The former schoolteacher and mother of two boys said she was forced to go abroad after her husband died.

“It seemed like slavery to me,” she said of working for a Pakistani family in Hong Kong. “All day or night, I can’t say no because I might lose my job. I just want to feed my family. Everyone depends on me.”

Abundant supplies

MODI introduced the Make in India

drive in September to lure investment and revive economic growth after sweeping to office in a landslide victory in May. His government aims to boost manufacturing’s share of India’s $1.9-trillion gross domestic product to 25 percent from about 15 percent currently.

The government needs abundant iron-ore supplies as it vies with nations, such as Thailand and Indonesia, to become a production hub. The ore is used to make steel, which, in turn, is used to manufacture everything from cars to railway lines.

Yet judicial mining bans over environmental and regulatory lapses led to a drop in iron-ore production in four of the past five years. That’s stoked local prices even as global rates fell, and some buyers are turning to imports.

Spot prices of iron ore in Odisha, the biggest producing state, have gained 31 percent in the past year to 3,200 rupees ($52) a ton, said Gunjan Aggarwal, an analyst at commodities consulting firm CRU Group.

Prices at China’s Qingdao port have slid 44 percent to less than $76 a ton as of Monday.

Local purchases

TATA Steel said it is meeting the shortage through local purchases and imports of the material.

“There are challenges in procurement due to logistics constraints

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PICTURE-ALLIANCE/DPA VIA AP

RIME Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to turn India into a global manufacturing hub by curbing red tape. Tell that to Tata Steel Ltd., which closed one of its largest iron-ore mines in September over permit delays.

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ONG KONG—At every stop, the path from Tritin Kartika’s poor Indonesian hometown to her job as a live-in maid in a Hong Kong apartment put her at risk of exploitation.

Back home, she signed an employment contract that required her to give up most of her first six months of wages, to repay her hiring agency for travel and other costs. When she arrived in her new city, the agency confiscated her passport to make sure she paid her debt.

And she soon saw what many migrant workers do if they lose or abandon their jobs: A friend took her to the bars of Hong Kong’s Wan Chai red-light district, where many Indonesian and Filipino women earn money having sex with foreign men.

“I just wanted a better salary, something more than what I could make at home,” said Kartika, 32, whose 5-yearold daughter is still in Indonesia. “I just wanted to help my family.”

More than 160,000 Indonesians, almost all women, have taken similarly perilous routes to jobs as maids, nannies and housekeepers in Hong Kong, lured by salaries as much as five times higher than at home.

Now, they’re mourning two of their own—Seneng Mujiasih and Sumarti Ningsih, former domestic workers in their 20s who were found stabbed to death last week in the luxury apartment of British investment banker Rurik George Caton Jutting.

Jutting, 29, has been charged with two counts of murder in a case that has shocked the former British colony and shed light on the often hidden and dire circumstances facing many of these women.

All told, 320,000 foreign domestic workers clean, cook and care for children in Hong Kong, making up nearly 5 percent of the city’s population, according to a 2013 report by the human-rights group Amnesty International. Most hail from Indonesia and the Philippines, and together they send home hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The women’s slayings elicit a mixture of horror and shame among Indonesians.

“They understand very well when people become trapped in those kinds of forced conditions,” said Eni Lestari, a domestic worker who helps run the advocacy group Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body. “But they also feel bad and ask why people are taking these sex-worker jobs.”

Domestic workers and labor activists say such women are made vulnerable to abuse by Indonesian laws that require people who seek work abroad to go through hiring agencies, as well as Hong Kong regulations that tie domestic workers to their employers, even requiring that they sleep in their places of work.

Workers end up deep in debt and vulnerable to fraud and abuse by the agencies, said Norma Muico, a migrant rights researcher with Amnesty International.

Many women endure sexual harassment and abysmal living conditions but are legally unable to move out of their employers’ houses without giving up their work visas.

Hong Kong’s domestic-worker policies have drawn the attention of several UN human rights committees, with two of them calling for the repeal of the live-in requirement.

“This is exploitation at its highest level,” Muico said. “Very rarely do you see this type of manipulation and way of extracting money from migrant domestic workers.”

Like Kartika, Mujiasih and Ningsih had signed contracts requiring they pay their agencies back for travel and other costs, according to Lestari, who said she has talked to the women’s relatives and friends.

Typical salaries for maids in Hong Kong run about $500 a month, according to Lestari’s group. Agencies can require workers to give up about $335 from each paycheck.

After Mujiasih was fired, she

Wednesday, November 12, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 34

and hence we are facing difficulty in operations,” Spokesman Chanakya Chaudhary said in an e-mailed reply to questions.

Steel rebar from China at Indian ports cost 37,000 rupees a metric ton in October, compared with Steel Authority of India’s price of 44,000 rupees, the company’s data show.

“Steel is the most crucial element,” said Surinder Kapur, chairman at New Delhi-based automobile-parts maker Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. “Steel plants running at lower capacity run contrary to the prime minister’s vision.”

Modi’s changes since taking power include faster environmental approvals for major investment projects, more market-based energy pricing, fewer foreign-investment curbs and steps toward ending the state’s grip on commercial coal mining.

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Oil slump

OIL prices have slumped into a bear market amid speculation of a global

glut, slowing drilling at US shale formations. Producers in the Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries are responding by cutting prices, resisting calls to reduce supply as they compete with the highest US output in three decades.

“The extended drop in the PPI is affected by the prolonged decline of global oil prices and overcapacity in some domestic industries,” Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician at the NBS, said in a statement on Monday.

Eighteen of China’s 31 provinces and municipalities reported a nominal growth rate lower than the price-adjusted level for the first nine months of this year, signaling deflation. China’s imports moderated to a 4.6-percent increase in October from September’s 7-percent gain, according to data released by General Administration of Customs over the weekend.

Hurdles continue

HE expanded his Cabinet two days ago as he seeks faster decision-mak-

“China has entered into a dis-inflation process with rising deflation risk,” analysts at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Hong Kong led by Liu Li-Gang wrote in a note on Monday. “This is a significant risk facing China’s economy, which requires China’s policy-makers to monitor the situation closely and take actions swiftly.”

Liquidity injections

THE central bank could conduct liquidity injections via different policy instruments more frequently, while fiscal policy will be “proactive,” the ANZ Bank analysts wrote.

The PBOC, which has refrained from across-the-board interest rate cuts, confirmed liquidity injections into banks in the third quarter in a report last week. It also cut the interest rate it pays lenders for 14-day repurchase agreements in

September and October.

The yuan strengthened on Monday after the central bank raised the yuan’s reference rate by the most since June 2010.

The currency was also boosted by the announcement that a ShanghaiHong Kong stock exchange link will open on November 17. The PBOC raised its daily reference rate for the yuan by 0.37 percent to 6.1377 per dollar, the strongest since March 19.

“Subdued inflation, lower capacity utilization and excessive inventories all indicate that the world’s second-largest economy is now running below its full capacity,” said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC Holdings Plc. in Hong Kong.

“Targeted easing aside, a rate cut is still a policy option in coming quarters, especially when disinflationary pressure filters through into the labor market.”Bloomberg News

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A WOMAN walks past a clothing store in Beijing, China. China’s economy is headed for the slowest full-year growth in more than two decades. BLOOMBERG

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“The country’s export performance for the last two quarters of 2014 culminated remarkably despite slower growth in July [12.4 percent] and in August [10.5 percent].

From a peak of 21.3 percent in June 2014, the latest merchandise export-growth outturn signals the rebound of the exports sector, even surpassing most economies in the region during the period,” National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Deputy Director General Rolando G. Tungpalan said.

The Philippines outperformed China

movie editing programs Life with You in heaven

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O be with You forever, Jesus, is the sum of all happiness. And for You to live forever in our hearts is the ultimate goal of each one who wants to go to heaven. We are thankful, oh Lord, for Your presence in our lives. But what an amazing day it will be when we meet You face to face! Life with You in heaven will be greater by far if we do Your will and desires while we are on earth. Amen.

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KEIRA KNIGHTLEY EXPLAINS HER DECISION TO POSE TOPLESS »D2

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

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A battle between the newest movie-editing programs

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THE new Adobe Premiere Elements 13 at work in making movies for amateurs and professionals.

B H G McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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ELL, that was fast.

Only recently I was singing the praises of Pinnacle Studio 18, the latest version of one of the premier budget movie-editing programs.

Now, like someone who upgrades his car every fall, when the new models debut, I’m going to sing the praises of Adobe Premiere Elements, version 13. Praises not because it is appreciably better than version 12, just as Studio isn’t significantly better than version 17, but because it offers something Studio doesn’t: a choice of three levels of expertise: quick, guided and expert. In quick mode, you basically have to know how to import your video clips into a story board, then drag and drop them onto a timeline. That’s the way most movie-editing software works.

If you’re more adventurous, the guided mode—which I recommend—gives step-bystep instructions. The expert mode speaks for itself. A filmmaker has access to multiple story boards, sound tracks, special effects and transitions. Once again, let me say that too many special effects and twirling transitions loudly proclaim “amateur”.

I’ve used previous versions of Premiere Elements for years. It’s more powerful than Apple’s iMovie and Moviemaker for Windows.

But I find Premiere Elements hardly as daunting as, say Final Cut, and the price is right. With Premiere Elements, you can create photo books, scrapbooks and more. Clips can be shared for social media.

Still, iMovie is my favorite program for creating photo books. It’s easy to use, economical and the results are nothing short of brilliant, even for an amateur. (Better yet, iMovie comes free with Apple devices.)

I shoot both photos and movies on my Nikon 5200, and, even though my lenses

By David Cagahastian

he Philippines emerged as the best performer in Southeast Asia and East Asia in terms of merchandise exports in September, after posting a 15.7-percent growth for the month.

ing to speed up growth in Asia’s third-largest economy. His administration has vowed to press ahead with amending land, labor and investment laws to make business easier.

At the same time, regulatory hurdles continue to constrain iron ore production. CRU estimates iron ore imports may surge to 15 million tons in the year ending March 31 compared with the prior 12-month period.

“We are being squeezed,” said Jayant Acharya, marketing director for JSW Steel. “While the international iron ore prices are at a fiveyear low, our own domestic prices are going in an opposite direction.”

About 20 percent of India’s steel capacity is not being used, the Steel Ministry’s Economic Research Unit estimates.

“That’s not a good sign for any investor,” said A.S. Firoz, the chief economist at the unit. “We have to fi x the raw materials issue and take care of infrastructure for smoother movement of raw materials and finished products.”

China factory-gate prices decline for record 32nd month

HINA’S factory-gate prices fell for a record 32nd month in October and consumer prices remained subdued, raising pressure on policy-makers to bolster the world’s second-largest economy as disinflation spreads.

The producer-price index (PPI) dropped 2.2 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in Beijing on Monday, compared with the median projection of a 2-percent decline in a survey of analysts by Bloomberg News.

Consumer prices rose 1.6 percent and the rate was unchanged from the prior month and matched economists’ estimates.

China’s economy, burdened by overcapacity and weak domestic demand, is headed for the slowest full-year growth in more than two decades. Lower oil and metals prices are cutting costs at the factory gate, allowing China’s exporters to reduce prices and adding to deflationary pressures globally.

“China’s domestic demand remained soft and disinflationary risks are on the rise on the back of falling global commodity prices,” said Chang Jian, chief China economist at Barclays Plc. in Hong Kong.

“Subdued inflation offers room for more PBOC [People’s Bank of China] easing, but broad-based monetary easing will more likely to be triggered by disappointing growth numbers, which we will likely see in the coming months.”

Chang said she expects the PPI drop will continue to 2015.

Purchasing prices of fuels fell 3.8 percent in October from a year earlier, while ferrous metals costs dropped 6.9 percent, the NBS data showed. Prices of all nine components dropped.

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Goods exports up 15.7% in Sept

modi’s ‘make in india’ HONG KONG DOMESTIC WORKERS STRUGGLE IN RISKY JOBS

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PHL OUTPERFORMS ASIAN PEERS AS EXPORTERS REBOUND FROM SLOWER GROWTH IN PREVIOUS MONTHS

INSIDE

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A broader look at today’s business

compensate for a shaky hand, Premiere Elements goes a step farther and finishes the job. Unless you are into cinema verite, you’ll probably want to reduce shaking as much as possible. New in version 13 is the ability to show movies in Apple’s retina-display mode.

This version is faster and utilizes 64-bit technology. You’ll need extra RAM to fully utilize that.

I also have been using Photoshop Elements, the little brother to Photoshop, since version 6, and find that it still is the easiest, fastest and best photo-editing software on the planet.

Like its movie-editing cousin, Photoshop Elements has three modes: quick, guided and expert. The quick mode is probably all that an amateur needs. One feature that I liked was demonstrated by a scrapbook photo expert.

She showed how photos can be merged to add objects to the original. In one photo, a husband stands alone; in another the wife stands alone.

Using the merge feature, both people appear in the same photo. This is a big, huge, gigantic no-no for professionals. But there’s nothing to prevent an amateur, who is not shooting for publication, to try it.

So, what to do? Do you upgrade Premiere Elements, which can be bundled with Photoshop Elements, for $119? Or, if you’re using another movie-and-photo-editing package, do you shell out $150 for Windows and Mac for the two Elements? Depends. If you went out and bought Pinnacle Studio, stick with it. Studio has excellent tutorials, but is a bit more difficult to master. If you’re in the market for a program that is a step up from iMovie, go for Premiere Elements, and get Photoshop Elements while you’re at it. If you have version 12 of both Elements program, stick with them. There aren’t enough new features in version 13 to justify the $119 upgrade for both programs.

That should settle it—until an even newer, more feature-rich editing program struts its stuff, and that’s quite likely. ■

(15.3 percent); Vietnam (14.4 percent); Republic of Korea (6.9 percent); Taiwan (4.7 percent); Indonesia (3.9 percent); Thailand (3.2 percent); Malaysia (3.0 percent); and Hong Kong (1.0 percent).

Japan (-1.2 percent) and Singapore (-1.6 percent) saw negative growth.

The Philippines’s total revenues from merchandise exports in September amounted to $5.8 billion, up from the $5.1 billion registered in September 2013. This is due to the increased sales of manufactures, Continued on A2

Microsoft offers Office free for Apple, Android mobile devices SEATTLE—Microsoft says it will offer its Office franchise free to some mobile customers, its latest effort to keep customers using its products in a less PC-dependent world. Microsoft broke with longstanding tradition in March, announcing it would make the Office suite of word processing and productivity software available for the first time on Apple’s iPad. Starting on Thursday, users of iPhones and iPads can create and edit Office documents without a subscription to Microsoft’s paid Office 365 service, the company said. Similar service for Google’s Android tablets is in the works.

For decades, Microsoft’s strategy

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PLDT Home’s “Holideals” upgrade deal features two exciting gadgets: the PLDT Home Telpad and the Quad Core Polaroid Platinum Tablet.

prioritized developing software for its Windows platform, which powered most of the world’s PCs. But, with PC sales stagnant, and more customers using mobile devices powered with Google or Apple operating systems rather than Windows, Microsoft is moving to keep users on its Office products, rather than ask for a few bucks a month.

“It’s incredibly important to us that customers have a consistent experience and the ability to do more—anywhere and everywhere,” the company said in a blog post. Microsoft isn’t giving away the farm, though. Users who want to create and edit Word, Excel

and PowerPoint documents on laptops will still have to pay for access. As will business clients who make up the bulk of Microsoft Office’s revenue.

And, the company says, not all Office features will make the jump to its free mobile apps. For the full package, users will have to buy Office 365. Office 365, which charges users subscription fees for versions of Office they’ve downloaded from the Internet, had about 7 million subscribers at the end of September. Customers can pick from a range of other productivity software, including Apple’s Pages and Google’s freeto-use Docs. MCT

President Aquino is greeted by Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping (center), who is hosting a welcome dinner for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing on Monday. AP/Ng Han Guan

‘HOLIDEALS’ FROM PLDT HOME DSL AND TELPAD SUBSCRIBERS GADGET-SAVVY PLDT Home DSL and existing PLDT Home Telpad subscribers are in for a very merry Christmas as the country’s leading communication and multimedia-services provider has launched a new upgrade deal for subscribers, who level up to a Telpad plan. PLDT Home DSL subscribers, who upgrade to Telpad Plan 1,699 and up can avail themselves of a free Telpad unit plus a Quad Core

Polaroid Platinum Tablet for just an additional P199 per month. Existing PLDT Home Telpad subscribers with Plan 1,699 and up are also qualified to avail themselves of the offer.

For more details, visit www.pldthome.com.

“This Holideals offer from PLDT Home Telpad and PLDT Home DSL combines two powerful gadgets that will definitely make for awesome gifts for the family, especially this holiday season,” Patrick Tang, PLDT vice president and head of home voice solutions, said. “As the world’s first and only landline, tablet and broadband in one, we want to bring the Telpad experience—the combined power of communication and entertainment—to more Filipino homes,” Tang added.

“Our Holideals offers are part of PLDT Home’s commitment to always give our subscribers great value for their money, and to make Christmas a really festive occasion for them and their families.”

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tripledouble!

STEM-CELL TREATMENT FOR NADAL

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Sports

LEBRON JAMES explodes with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the Pelicans. AP

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ARCELONA, Spain—Rafael Nadal’s doctor says the 14-time Grand Slam winner will receive stem-cell treatment on his ailing back.

Angel Ruiz-Cotorro told the Associated Press by phone on Monday that “we are going to put cells in a joint in his spine” next week in Barcelona.

The Spanish tennis star was already sidelined for the rest of the season after having his appendix removed last week.

Ruiz-Cotorro, who has worked as a doctor for Nadal for the past 14 years, said Nadal’s back pain is “typical of tennis”players and that the treatment is meant to help repair his cartilage and is similar to stem-cell treatment Nadal received on his knee last year.

He said Nadal is expected to return to training in early December.

Several National Football League players and baseball players have received stem-cell treatment. Nadal’s fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol, center of the Chicago Bulls, received stem-cell treatment on his knee in 2013.

Nadal experienced severe back pain during the final of the Australian Open in January when he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka. “[Nadal] has a problem typical in tennis with a back joint, he had it at the Australian Open, and we have decided to treat it with stem cells,” Ruiz-Cotorro said.

He said that stem cells were recently extracted from Nadal for a cultivation process to “produce the necessary quantities.”

“When we have them we will put them in the point of pain,” he said, with the goal of “regenerating cartilage, in the midterm, and producing an anti-inflammatory effect.”

Nadal, now 28, won a record ninth French Open along with three other titles this season before a stunning loss to teenager Borna Coric at the Swiss Indoors in October dropped him to No. 3 in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings. That tournament was only his third since Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.

The Mallorca island native has struggled with injuries over recent years.

A knee injury caused him to miss several months in 2012 before coming back to full strength to win 10 titles in 2013, including the US Open and again dominating at Roland Garros.

Nadal’s 14 Grand Slam titles tie him with Pete Sampras on the all-time list led by Roger Federer and his 17 victories. AP

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| Wednesday, november 12, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

By Bianca Cuaresma

DERRICK ROSE has 24 points and seven assists in his return to the lineup as the balanced Chicago Bulls beat Detroit, 102-91. AP

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TRIPLE-DOUBLE! The league’s newest “Big Three” dominates in the second half of the Cavs’ 118-111 victory on Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

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LEVELAND—LeBron James had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double of the season and the league’s newest “Big Three” dominated in the second half of the Cavs’ 118-111 victory on Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Kyrie Irving had 32 points and nine assists, and Love had 22 points and five rebounds, marking the first time all three of the Cavs’ stars each scored at least 20 points in a game this season.

James and Irving combined for 30 of the Cavs’ 34 points in the third quarter and the Cavs outscored the Pelicans 16-1 to end the quarter, turning a fivepoint halftime deficit into an 85-79 lead entering the fourth. Kevin Love made four three-pointers in the fourth, including three within the first four minutes.

Still, the Pelicans pulled within 101-99 on a lay-up from Anthony Davis, but Love countered with his fourth three-pointer of the quarter and Irving completed a three-point play to extend the Cavs’ lead to 107-99 with 2:59 left.

Davis had 27 points and 14 rebounds and forward Ryan Anderson had a season-high 32 points off the bench for the Pelicans (3-3), who won at San Antonio last Saturday and had their brief two-game win streak snapped.

Anderson made five three-pointers in the first half, but sat the first eight minutes of the third quarter and didn’t make his first three-pointer of the second half until seven minutes remained in the game.

The triple-double, James’s 38th in his career, was completed when he assisted on Irving’s threepointer with 2:26 left.

Dion Waiters missed the game with a sore lower back he injured in Friday’s win at Denver.

In Chicago Derrick Rose scored 24 points and dished out seven assists in his return to the lineup as the balanced Chicago Bulls beat Detroit, 102-91.

Rose was nine-for-20 from the field in 32 minutes after being sidelined by sprained ankles.

The 2011 National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player had missed four of the previous five games after he was injured in an overtime loss to Cleveland on October 31.

Pau Gasol had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago, and Joakim Noah finished with 13 points,

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14 boards and six assists. The Bulls outrebounded the Pistons, 49-46, after they had lost the battle on the glass in the previous six games, rankling hard-nosed Coach Tom Thibodeau.

Josh Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit, which was coming off a 97-96 home loss to Utah last Sunday. Greg Monroe had 16 points and 10 boards, and reserve DJ Augustin scored 16.

Pistons center Andre Drummond, who began the game in a jersey that had his name misspelled on the back, grabbed 12 rebounds, but was 0-for-5 from the field and finished with two points.

In Los Angeles Kawhi Leonard equaled his career high with 26 points despite playing with only one good eye as the San Antonio Spurs closed with a rush to beat the Clippers. 89-85.

Leonard’s vision has been affected by a case of conjunctivitis. Still, he pulled down 10 rebounds and gave the defending NBA champions their first lead with 1:44 left.

Tim Duncan added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Tony Parker scored nine of his 13 in the fourth quarter for the Spurs.

The Atlanta Hawks beat Brooklyn, 91-85, for the Knicks’ fifth straight loss after Paul Millsap scored 19 points and Dennis Schroder extended his best stretch in the NBA with two big baskets in the final two minutes.

Kyle Korver added 17 points as Atlanta finished a home-and-home sweep, including a 103-96 win last Saturday at home.

Indiana’s Roy Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help the Pacers end a six-game losing streak with a 97-86 win over the Utah Jazz.

AJ Price had 22 points and Lavoy Allen added 12—also season highs for both players—as the Pacers won for the first time since the season opener.

Allen also had 15 rebounds and Hibbert grabbed five.

Price scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including two three-pointers during a 13-2 run that gave Indiana an 87-79 lead midway through the period.

Gordon Hayward scored 30 points to lead Utah. Enes Kanter had 18 points and Derrick Favors added 13 points and eight rebounds.

THE Clippers’ Blake Griffin ties to pass the ball from the floor under pressure from the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard. AP

HE African Cup of Nations tournament is scheduled to start in two months, but nobody wants to host it.

The organizing Confederation of African Football (CAF) is running out of time and is without a host country because of the threat of Ebola. CAF has refused to reschedule.

Initial host Morocco stood firm this weekend in its decision not to host the 16-team event early next year and still wants it postponed until 2016 because of the outbreak of the deadly virus in West Africa.

CAF will meet on Tuesday to make a final decision on the cup—and may have to give up on the tournament in 2015.

The Cairo-based African football body, which rejected Morocco’s previous request for a postponement, said it will look for a new host to stage the continent’s top tournament on its scheduled dates of January 17 to February 8 if Morocco is unrelenting.

Morocco could be stripped of its hosting rights at the CAF executive committee meeting and possibly punished further, but there is no obvious plan B for the African Cup if CAF goes ahead.

Four possible stand-in countries—South Africa, Sudan, Egypt and Ghana—have also indicated they are not willing to host. It is unclear if any other countries met Saturday’s deadline to put their names forward as hosts in place of Morocco.

Ghana ruled itself out on Monday when its sportsminister, Mahama Ayariga, said it had taken advice from health workers not to host because of Ebola.

CAF approached seven countries as backup hosts last month, according to one of them, South Africa.

CAF has declined to name the countries, but Nigeria and Angola have been mentioned as possible stand-in hosts alongside the four that have declined.

One of CAF’s pressing concerns is that its showpiece tournament fits into Fifa’s calendar, but Africa’s best players— like Manchester City’s Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure—may not be released by their clubs to play in early 2016, if the Cup of Nations is postponed until then.

Repeating its stance on the Ebola threat last Saturday, Morocco’s ministry of youth and sports said in a four-page statement that it still wanted the Cup of Nations postponed for a year because of the “serious risk of spread of the deadly Ebola pandemic.” AP

sports

Akron Beacon Journal and AP

C1

sm cebu’s landmark centerpiece BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, November 11, 2014

E1

THe SM Seaside City

SM Cebu launCheS

landMark CenterpieCe

S

to the resilience of the Cebuanos in particular and the Filipino people in general. Viewed from any angle and perspective, The Cube consistently appears the same. This consistency reflects the philosophy of the SM group to bring to its customers the same quality service in all areas it operates. Interestingly, the letters of the word Cube, when rearranged, forms the word “Cebu”.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was the guest of honor during the landmark’s launch. SM Prime Holdings EVP and CFO Jeffrey Lim, SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia and SM Prime Vice President Marissa Fernan joined him along with the mall’s future tenants. Msgr. Vicente Tupas Jr., rector of the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod, officiated the blessing of The Cube.

Mayor Michael Rama expressed his appreciation to SM for launching of Cebu City’s newest landmark, which coincided with his birthday.

‘T CeBu City Mayor Michael rama (center) was the guest of honor during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of The Cube at SM Seaside Cebu. He is shown with (from left) South road Properties Manager roberto Varquez, , SM Prime Holdings inc. executive Vice President and CFo jeffrey Lim, Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod rector Msgr. Vicente Tupas and SCMC President annie Garcia

Lim, meanwhile said the SM Group remains confident in the potentials of Cebu City with its “dynamic population and flourishing business landscape”.

He added that “The launching of The Cube is just the start of many exciting features coming to SM Seaside City Cebu.

The public will now begin to experience the unfolding of a whole new Cebuano lifestyle that will transform the way people live, work and play in this community.”

SM Seaside City will be the third mall in the Queen City of the South after SM City Cebu in the North Reclamation Area and SM City Consolacion in northern Cebu.

The mall will have over 800 food

and retail shops, including international brands. It will also have furniture zone and a fashion boulevard to showcase the talent of Cebu’s many local designers.

The 460,791-sq-m mall will have multiple anchors, including a twostory The SM Store and SM Hypermarket, a four-theater cinema, two theater director’s club, a center stage, a large-format cinema, and 16-lane SM Bowling and Amusement Center, a Food Court, a rink and a roof garden.

With SM Seaside City Cebu’s landmark centerpiece leading the way, visitors can now take photos with The Cube as perfect background for photoshoot, such for as weddings, debuts.

CPMC awards lot title

C

ITYSTATE Properties and Management Corp.

(CPMC) turned over the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) to Qurino Romano B. Lejano III on October 25 for a lot he purchased at Nalé, Sandari Batulao. The turnover took place at Crust Brick Oven Pizza. Sandari Batulao’s latest restaurant that serves hand-tossed Neapolitan-style pizzas using the finest of ingredients. CPMC is the developer of Sandari Batulao, a luxurious eco-centric mountainside residential and leisure development with majestic Mount Batulao as its backdrop.

Sandari Batulao is 10 minutes away from Metro Tagaytay, and 15 minutes away from the beaches of Nasugbu, Batangas. Visit www.sandaribatulao.com.

Generation Y more inclined to rent than own

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

M Seaside City Cebu recently opened The Cube, the landmark centerpiece of the world-class mall, set to open in October 2015 at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City.

The Cube is the second landmark to open in the much-anticipated mall after the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod, which was launched just in time for Thanksgiving Mass following the canonization of the Visayan saint. The first of its kind urban development at the SRP, SM Seaside City Cebu, is envisioned to dramatically change the landscape of the city with its nautilus-inspired design of expanding, concentric arcs from a central multipurpose space.

Located on a 304,544-square-meter site fronting the Cebu Channel, SM Seaside City Cebu is very much like the SM Mall of Asia, which has Manila Bay and its glorious sunset as a picturesque backdrop. And The Cube is envisioned to be an iconic landmark to the mall in the same way the Globe has been to the SM Mall of Asia.

A steel 21x21 meter sculptural piece, the Cube is a symbol of strength and stability. It is a tribute

MART seeks further review of securities trading rules

Quirino D. Lejano jr. (from left), a&M Luckyland realty sales executive (lot owner’s father); amelita B. Lejano, a&M Luckyland realty sales manager (lot owner’s mother); Maria Guia C. Buenaventura, vice president for Sales of Citystate Properties & Management Corp.; Qurino romano B. Lejano iii (lot owner); and Mary ann T. Catalan (lot owner’s fiancé)

HE Generation Y is more receptive to renting than owning a property,” said KMC MAC group residential leasing consultant Fatima Macalintal.

“The current trends in the Philippines and abroad indicated that Generation Y are more inclined to rent a space in a condominium or a housing unit, rather than buying a unit, in a gated community.” Macalintal noted that people under 35 are shifting from owning to renting. She cited five reasons they prefer to postpone homeownership following: 1. Accessibility, the younger generation prefers to live near the major city hubs and hot spots.

They find greater comfort and convenience in living close to commercial business districts (CBDs) and prime locations surrounded by restaurants, shopping centers, entertainment and leisure spots and key real-estate developments like mixed-use urban blocks.

They think that it’s more convenient to live near the office sites, business centers and main transport terminals than deal with the metro’s day-to-day monstrous traffic jams. Residential options offer this kind of accessibility in key city locations and CBDs are condo units and apartment buildings.

She said that the price is also a major factor. “Houses in prime city locations come at a much-higher price, especially those high-end properties in Metro Manila that cost around P22 to 28 million, as opposed to luxurious condos that may cost around P7 million to P14 million only.”

2. Not in the rush to tie the knot. Generation Y do not marry early because they love to move from one job to another. The younger generation are always in search for a new opportunity and want to explore all other options. “They don’t normally settle for one thing, and it seems that they’re in no rush to settle down until they’ve lived their life to the full. That’s why most prefer sharing a residential space (condo unit or apartment) with their roommates

than buying a house to live with their partners and start a family,” she said.

3. Buying a house is a risky proposition, although they have a higher earning capacity. The younger generation gives priority on travels, vacations, fitness, hobbies and living the life. She said Generation Y thinks investing in property is quite a risk and worry about the long-mortgage. “And since this generation wants to keep their options open, buying a house is met with some reluctance. With the current trends in real estate, renting a swank apartment or posh condominium for the young and successful seems more appealing than settling in a house in suburb or subdivision along with other families,” she said.

4. Generation Y wants full amenities and less maintenance.

“The availability of resort-type amenities in some condominiums and apartments make renting a condo unit and other residential spaces a better option for the younger generation. “With their fast-paced lifestyle, they take full advantage of the little maintenance required in their rented space. If any part of the unit needs some fixing, this can be handled by the landlord or the property management, especially for common facilities,” Macalintal said.

5. Living in a rented space seems more practical. With little time spent here because of their fastpaced lifestyle and hectic workload, younger professionals investing in a house is not practical. Most condominium and apartment units in the city are specially designed to provide the modern comfort and bare necessities. The space may be limited, but all sides and corners are well used to meet the modern lifestyle needs of urban junkies. According to Business dictionary .com (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/GenerationY.html), “Generation Y refers to the people born in the 1980s and early 1990s. Members of Generation Y are often referred to as “echo boomers” because they are the children of parents born during the baby boom.”

PROPERTY

E1

he Money Market Association of the Philippines (MART) is seeking further review and consultation with market participants before implementing the proposed nonrestricted trading and settlement system seen coming on stream later this month.

On Tuesday members of MART executive committee and board of directors said several issues need to be clarified to market participants before allowing tax-exempt and nontax-exempt participants to access the single trading and settlement platform this month.

Equal access by taxable and taxexempt entities has gone through the process this year, and has reached its finalization set for implementation on November 24.

Under existing rules, tax-exempt institutions, such as the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), are only allowed to sell or trade with similar tax-exempt institutions. Under the proposed nonrestricted trading and settlement environment, the securities may now be traded with other

CHINA USING APEC IN BID TO EXPAND REGIONAL ROLE

C

hinese President Xi Jinping called on Asia-Pacific leaders on Tuesday to strengthen trade ties at a summit that Beijing is using to boost its role as a regional power with a flurry of trade and finance pacts.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, Xi called for progress on a “road map” toward closer economic integration among the group’s 21 member-economies. They include 40 percent of the world’s population and 60 percent of global economic output.

“Clarify the goal, the direction, the road map,” Xi told the leaders, including President Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “At an early date, let prospects become reality, and make the two sides of the Pacific highly open and integrated.”

Apec, which also includes Japan, South Korea and Australia, is the first major international gathering in China since Xi took power. The presence of world leaders gives Beijing a platform to lobby for a bigger leadership role.

On the eve of the gathering, Beijing announced a free-trade agreement with South Korea. Also on Monday regulators approved a plan to open Chinese stock markets wider to foreign investors by linking exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. That followed the weekend announcement of a $40-billion Chinese-financed fund to improve trade links between Asian economies.

At the summit, China is promoting its own regional freetrade pact, despite US pressure to make progress on other initiatives. It is the first time Beijing has taken the lead in promoting a multinational trade agreement.

The moves reflect Beijing’s insistence on having a bigger role in US-dominated economic and security organizations Continued on A2

See “Mart,” A2

PESO exchange rates n US 44.879 n japan 0.3910

n UK 71.1153 n HK 5.7876 n CHINA 7.3336 n singapore 34.7710 n australia 38.7623 n EU 55.7711 n SAUDI arabia 11.9614 Source: BSP (11

November 2014)

A2

News BusinessMirror

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Goods exports up 15.7% in Sept Continued from A1

petroleum and forest products.

To date, total merchandise export revenues reached $46.6 billion, an increase of 9.9 percent from the nine-month total of $42.4 billion in 2013.

Tungpalan said outward shipments of manufactured products reached $5 billion in September, or a 19.7-percent growth from the $4.2 billion in revenues from manufactures in September 2013.

“Supporting this growth are the strong gains from machinery and transport products, as well as the continued solid expansion of electronics

during the remaining months of the year owing to the holiday season.

The Japanese and the US markets will likely boost Philippine exports for the remaining months given the recent optimism building up in the Japanese manufacturing sector and the broad-based expansion in industrial production in the US,” Tungpalan said.

Japan remains as the country’s top export market, accounting for 29.6 percent of the Philippines’s total revenue from merchandise exports in September. The US is second with a share of 13.6 percent, followed by China with 10.5 percent.

exports, especially in semiconductors and electronic data processing. Worth noting are the higher outward shipments of chemical products and the resurgence of coconut oil exports,” Tungpalan said.

Tungpalan said despite the slower pace of recovery in the global economy, the September 2014 merchandise exports performance hints of a positive mood across some markets, or at least for the country’s top trading partners such as China, Singapore, Germany, South Korea, Thailand and the Netherlands.

“Overall, total exports is expected to continue to post positive gains

MART. . . continued from a1

OCLP. . . continued from a8

He was referring to several feuds, such as the dispute on the location of the P1.4-billion Common Station, which would link three overhead train systems in Metro Manila.

The two property firms are contesting the location of the said station, following the transportation agency’s decision to move the location of the hub from SM North Edsa to TriNoma.

The government’s move to transfer the Common Station prompted SM Prime to seek legal remedies, bringing the case to the High Court, which issued a temporary restraining order in August halting the transport agency from relocating the hub.

Under the original proposal, the common station will connect three urban transit lines: the Light Rail Transit Line 1, the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, and the future MRT Line 7, which will run from the Common Station to Bulacan via Commonwealth Avenue.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya has said his office is studying the possibility of constructing a mini-station near SM North Edsa to appease the property giant controlled by billionaire Henry Sy. Lorenz S. Marasigan

nontax-exempt institutions. The transactions will be monitored by a tax-tracking account system.

MART member and CTBC Bank First Vice President Bunny Recto explained they have several concerns on the nonrestricted trade and settlement system set for implementation as early as this montth.

Among the issues include the reliability of the tax-trading system, the fluidity of the environment and the differentiation of settlement amounts for market players.

MART also said the confidentiality of tax positions of the entities involved could inadvertently be disclosed.

“We want participants to get familiar with the system they are entering,” Recto said.

As a result, MART is holding a “mini-forum” on nonrestricted trading and settlement with representatives from the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp., Bureau of the Treasury, as well as market players to thresh out issues surrounding the adoption of a nonrestricted trading and settlement environment.

MART President Reynaldo Montalbo Jr., also senior vice president at First Metro Investment Corp., said this was the first time the entire market is thoroughly oriented on the new trading and settlement processes and systems.

Montalbo clarified MART is not proposing to delay the implementation of the nonrestricted environment. However, he said the trade group hopes to clear all the issues in the upcoming forum before actually introducing the new system to the market.

China using Apec in bid to expand regional role Continued from A1

NOVEMBER 12, 2014 | WEDNESDAY

Low Pressure Area (LPA) develops when warm and moist air rises from the Earth’s surface.

In other initiatives this year, Beijing joined 20 other Asian countries in launching a regional development bank, despite US objections that it needlessly duplicated the World Bank’s work. In May Xi called for creation of a new Asian structure for security cooperation based on a group that excludes Washington.

On Monday Obama insisted Washington sees no threat from Beijing’s growing economic and political status.

“The United States welcomes the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and stable China,” the American leader said in a speech at the business conference.

Still, American officials chafe at Beijing’s insistence on promoting its proposed trade pact, the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.

It comes at a time when progress on a US-led initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), has stalled.

The chief US trade envoy, Michael Froman, said last Saturday the two pacts are “not in competition,” but he said Beijing should focus on wrapping up a US-Chinese investment treaty and a separate agreement to lower barriers to trade in information technology.

to reflect China’s status as the world’s second-biggest economy.

China says its motives are benign.

But its growing economic weight as the top trading partner for most of its neighbors from South Korea to Australia could erode US influence.

On Monday Xi met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and shared an awkward handshake seen as a gesture toward easing two years of tensions between Asia’s biggest economies.

A spat between China and Japan over islands in the East China Sea and other issues has raised fears of a military confrontation, which could draw in the United States, Japan’s ally. Last Friday the two sides issued a joint statement agreeing to gradually resume political, diplomatic and security dialogues.

Tuesday’s meeting took place under elaborate security at a government conference center set in rolling, forested hills north of the Chinese capital Beijing.

In an effort to appear more open, organizers took the unusual step of allowing access from the press center to web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that usually are blocked

by China’s extensive Internet filters.

LTFRB. . . continued from a8 by each of its partner-driver, as well as safety inspections to ensure the roadworthiness of its vehicles.

The LTFRB also wants access to the identities of Uber drivers for security reasons.

NOV 7the use “Our aim is to encourage

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

TODAY’S WEATHER

news@businessmirror.com.ph

NOV 13

THURSDAY

NOV 14

FRIDAY

of even more technologies and innovations across all forms of public land transport. Our taxi reform program, for instance, could adopt similar services, such as centralized booking, passenger access to driver identities, and tracking

NOV 15

SATURDAY

NOV 13

NOV 14 FRIDAY

SATURDAY

24 – 31°C

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METRO MANILA

22 – 31°C

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METRO CEBU

TUGUEGARAO

21 – 30°C

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TACLOBAN

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CAGAYAN DE ORO

24 – 32°C

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METRO DAVAO

25 – 33°C

25 – 34°C

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23 – 33°C

23 – 34°C

24 – 34°C

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL LUZON. (AS OF NOVEMBER 11, 5:00 PM)

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 20 – 31°C

BAGUIO CITY 14 – 21°C

METRO MANILA 22 – 31°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 19 – 28°C

20 – 31°C

21 – 31°C

BAGUIO

13 – 21°C

14 – 21°C

SBMA/ CLARK

23 – 31°C

23 – 31°C

TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 30°C

SBMA/CLARK 23 – 31°C

TAGAYTAY

19 – 28°C

18 – 28°C

14 – 21°C

24 – 32°C

LEGAZPI ILOILO/ BACOLOD 26 – 33°C

TACLOBAN CITY 22 – 31°C

METRO CEBU 25 – 32°C CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 23 – 32°C ZAMBOANGA CITY 23 – 33°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

23 – 29°C

23 – 29°C

ZAMBOANGA SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

5:55 AM

5:24 PM

10:19 AM

23 – 29°C

FULL MOON HALF MOON

NOV 7

24 – 31°C

23 – 31°C

NOV 14

11:16 PM

CELEBES SEA

8:48 AM

-0.11 METER

12:19 AM

1.02 METER

Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms.

25 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

25 – 33°C

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers.

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

www.panahon.tv

SABAH

LOW TIDE MANILA HIGH TIDE

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and/or thunderstorms

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

METRO DAVAO 24 – 33°C

10:08 AM

SOUTH HARBOR

6:06 AM

25 – 32°C

MOONRISE

18 – 28°C

LEGAZPI CITY 23 – 30°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

systems for lost-and-found items,” Abaya added.

Ginez earlier ran after the carpooling-services provider, as it was earlier deemed illegal. Uber was the first application-based taxi-ordering NOV firm7to be apprehended.

LOW PRESSURE AREA

WAS ESTIMATEDAT 580 KM EAST OF HINATUAN, SURIGAO DEL SUR.

Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”. It affects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread cloudiness with rains and showers.

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 32°C

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

The TPP includes the United States, Japan and 10 other countries, but excludes China. Few details have been released but its promoters say it would reduce or eliminate tariffs on most goods among the member-countries.

That might hurt China by encouraging member-countries to trade more with each other.

China’s initiative is much less ambitious and is aimed at reducing conflict among overlapping trade agreements between pairs of Asia-Pacific economies.

The Chinese initiative is a logical response to being excluded from the TPP, said Li Wei, an economist at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing. “If the US doesn’t want China to join the TPP, then China can form its own trade groups,” Li said.

Li also pointed to limits on access to US markets for some Chinese technology companies such as Huawei Technologies Ltd., a maker of network switching gear, on security grounds.

“The world, with the US leading, is retreating from free trade. It is moving into protectionism,” Li said. “If the US is saying, I should be careful about who I have free trade with, then China should take a more liberalizing role.” AP

@PanahonTV

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Wednesday, November 12, 2014 A3

Watchdogs warn vs ‘bogus bidding’ for voting machines

A

By Joel R. San Juan

N election watchdog on Tuesday warned of a possible bogus bidding for the purchase of P2 billion worth of additional voting machines for use in the 2016 elections.

The Automated Election System (AESW) Watch headed by former Elections Commissioner Gus Lagman noted the insistence of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)

to include Smartmatic in the bidding and the possibility of a negotiated contract for the P1.2-billion refurbishing of the Precinct Scan Optical Sanner (PCOS) machines.

RICARDO A. REYES of Jaen, Nueva Ecija, and Las Piñas City died last Sunday after a lingering illness.

He is survived by his son BusinessMirror chief photographer Nonie, daughter-in-law Malou and grandchildren Elise and Eunice.

Reyes’s body lies in state at the Holy Trinity Chapel on Sucat Road, Parañaque City.

A memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday. It will be followed by the cremation at 12 noon.

“That can happen. That can very well happen,” Lagman said, referring to the bidding being conducted by the Comelec for the lease of 23,000 Optical Mark Reader or Optical Scan systems that started last week.

The AES is among the groups calling on the Comelec to blacklist Smartmatic from participating in any manner in the conduct of the 2016 elections.

Aside from the AESW, a group of computer experts and cause— oriented groups organized the Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E) to guard against “electronic manipulation” of elections.

They also sought the banning of Smartmatic from the electoral

LAGMAN: “Something is really fishy...Eh palpak na nga, ang dami pang viniolate na batas [ng Smartmatic] at saka bidding rules, kasi bidding specifications viniolate na. So anong kalokohan ng Comelec ang ginagawa nila.”

exercise.

Five prospective bidders, including Smartmatic, the vendor of the 82,000 units of the Pcos used in

the 2010 and 2013 elections bought bid documents and showed up at the Comelec’s prebid conference on Tuesday.

Lagman said Smartmatic should have been barred from bidding for additional voting machines because of its numerous violations.

“Something is really fishy....Eh palpak na nga, ang dami pang viniolate na batas [ng Smartmatic] at saka bidding rules, kasi bidding specifications viniolate na. So anong kalokohan ng Comelec ang ginagawa nila?” Lagman said.

“Andaming violations na ginawa [ng Smartmatic], noon bakit sinasali pa nila? Kung nag-violate sa rules mo, sa laws of the country, bakit isinasali

pa sa bidding. It doesnt make sense.

Hindi ko alam sa Comelec, bakit sinasali pa, despite those violations,” he added.

Lagman said that among the violations committed by Smartmatic were the absence of digital signature, the failure of comnpact flash cards, the open ports that leave the machines susceptible to third party manipulation and Smartmatic’s non-disclosure that it did not own the software.

On the other hand, Hermenegildo Estrella of C3E said: “There is a great possibility of a large-scale electronic manipulation of the 2016 elections if Smartmatic remains to be the supplier of automated-election systems.”

House panel okays hike in soldiers’ subsistence allowance

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

T

HE House Committee on Appropriation recently approved a resolution calling for an increase in the subsistence allowance of military officers and personnel.

Party-list Reps. Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo and Gary C. Alejano of Magdalo expressed confidence that the House of Representatives will pass the proposed increase in the subsistence allowance for all officers, enlisted men and related personnel listed in House Joint Resolution (HJR) 11 on November 17, the resumption of the session.

“The House Committee on Appropriations has already approved and recommended the plenary consideration and passage of House Joint Resolution 11,” they said in a statement.

HJR 11 is titled “Joint Resolution increasing the subsistence allowance of all officers, enlisted personnel, candidate soldiers, probationary second lieutenants, cadets and civilian active auxiliaries of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and all commissioned and non-commissioned personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau

of Jail Management and Penology and the Philippine National Police Academy cadets from P90 to P150 per day, effective July 2014.”

The lawmakers noted that the Senate has recently passed a similar, or counterpart, Senate Joint Resolution 2, which the Department of Budget and Management endorsed for enactment, with the recommendation to include the uniformed personnel of the PCG and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority as well as for the increase in manpower of certain agencies.

“It is high time that we recognize and honor the very vital

roles played by our soldiers and policemen and related personnel by looking after their welfare and providing them with decent and adequate compensation as well as reasonable and substantial benefits,” they said.

The authors also said that the current subsistence allowance they receive can hardly support the subsistence of the family of soldiers and police personnel, noting that the National Statistics Office officially stated that monthly cost of living for a family of five should be at least P13,200 in order to recoup a decent living.

Economy

A4 Wednesday, November 12, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

Industry output grew 3.2 percent in September

T

HE local manufacturing output for September of this year grew by 3.2 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported in its Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) released on Tuesday.

The PSA said the positive growth volume of production index (VoPi) at the end of the third quarter this year was supported by double- to more-than-double-digit growth of six industries.

Printing led the production growth in September, which surged by 195.4 percent.

This was followed by beverages, with output increasing by 49.4 percent; fabricated metal products, with production growing by 42.6 percent; leather products, with an increment of 12.8 percent; petroleum products’ output, climbing by 12.4 percent; and machinery except electrical, which manufacturing output jumped by 10.9 percent.

However, the PSA noted that the VoPi growth in September this year was at a slower rate compared to the 19-percent manufacturing output growth in the same month in 2013. Hence, with the slower growth in VoPi in September 2014, value of production index (VaPi) is also at a slower rate in the said month compared to a year ago.

VaPi in September this year was at 3.8 percent, lower than September 2013’s VaPi growth at 10.9 percent. The PSA also attributed the slower growth in VaPi in September this year to the decline in production value of transport equipment.

Still, the positive growth in VaPi was supported by increment in production value of printing, at 195.4 percent; beverages, at 50.6 percent; fabricated metal products, at 34.4 percent; leather products, at 16 percent; and petroleum products, at 10.4 percent.

Meanwhile, capacity utilization of manufacturing facilities in September 2014 was at 83.5 percent.

“More than 50 percent, or 11 of the 20 major industries, operated at 80 percent and above capacity utilization rates,” the PSA said.

These industries with 80 percent and above utilization rates include basic metals, at 88.8 percent; petroleum products at 88.6 percent; non-metallic mineral products, at 86.3 percent; Machinery except electrical, at 84.6 percent; electrical machinery, at 84.6 percent; food manufacturing, at 84.5 percent; chemical products, at 84 percent; paper and paper products, at 83 percent; rubber and plastic products, at 82.5 percent; printing, at 81.9 percent; and wood and wood products, at 81.3 percent. PNA

Yolanda fund now P199.48B–Palace

T

he Supertyphoon Yolanda fund for the recovery and rehabilitation of devasted cities and towns hit by last year’s killer typhoon added up to nearly P200 billion, coming mostly from foreign loans, financial grants and donations, Malacañang reported on Tuesday.

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr., citing consolidated data from the Department of Finance (DOF), said the Philippines received a total of P199.48 billion, based on the $1=P43, or the prevailing rate during the time it was received.

Coloma said that according to finance department, the fund was used for “rescue and relief” and “reconstruction and rehabilitation” phases of the areas affected

by Yolanda, adding that the amount represents all aid that were coursed through the DOF and accounted for by the Bureau of the Treasury.

The Palace official added that 85 percent of the total amount, or P169.48 billion, was coursed through the various government agencies, while the remaining P30 billion was channeled through non-governmental organizations.

“The DOF said that about 53 percent of the P199.48 billion, or P106.41 billion, has already been disbursed for the various programs, activities and projects within the Yolanda corridor,” Coloma said.

He noted that, in terms of sources, about 63 percent or P126.18 billion are comprised of foreign loans extended by multilateral lending institutions and development agencies such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the French Development Agency.

The remaining P73.3 billion constitute donations and grants from other countries, which includes Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, UK, US and the European Union.

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

PHL export growth likely to hit 10 percent in 2014

T

he Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PhilExport) is optimistic that the country can hit its target growth by end-2014, PhilExport President Sergio OrtizLuis Jr. said.

Ortiz-Luis told the Philippines News Agency on Tuesday that the growth drivers for export industry will be the recovering electronics sector, as well as the consistent exports growth of other sectors.

The industry eyes a 10-per-

cent growth this year from 2013’s merchandise exports revenue of $56.698 billion.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also reported on Tuesday that the country’s export earnings for the first nine months increased

by 9.9 percent to $46.596 billion against last year’s same period of $42.386-billion export revenue.

PSA data showed that eight out of top 10 major exported products from January to September this year manifested positive growth of up to 85 percent, while only two out of the top 10 major exported products had negative growth of 1.4 percent for chemicals and 8.3 percent for metal components.

Chemical products is the secondlargest exported product in the said period, while metal components is the 10th most exported goods.

Top export earner in Januaryto-September 2014 period is electronics industry, with $18.726-

billion revenue.

Other top export products of the country in the said period include other manufactures, machinery and transport equipment, other mineral products, woodcrafts and furniture, aircraft and ships, coconut oil and articles of apparel and clothing accessories.

Ortiz-Luis noted that the current level of exports revenue can further grow. He, however, said the port congestion and power shortage that occurred this year impeded the potential of the industry.

“It is more of the opportunities we lose,” he said.

“In spite of those problems, we still grew. But, of course, we could have grown more,” he stressed. PNA

OFW FOUNDATION

Sen. Cynthia Villar of Villar Sipag Foundation presented recently to the media three repatriated overseas Filipino workers from Malaysia and one from Doha, Qatar, who were identified only as Jobelle, 28, of Davao del Norte; Mary Grace, 28, of Gusi Paombong, Bulacan; and Marilou, 28, of Iloilo, who opted to return to the Philippines after suffering various forms of maltreatment from their employers. Roy Domingo

No more time left to consider lease, purchase of gensets, DOE’s Petilla says

By Lenie Lectura

E

nergy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla has given up on the possibility that the lease or purchase of additional generating capacity will solve the country’s power woes next year.

“The option to purchase or lease has diminished because there is no time,” Petilla said on Tuesday.

Before Congress went on recess, the Senate and the House of Representatives separately said they see no reason why they should fast-track the issuance of a joint resolution that will, among others, grant President Aquino an authority to negotiate contracts for the acquisition of additional generation capacity either via lease or purchase of about 500 megawatts (MW). It will be the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities and Management Corp. (PSALM) that will conduct the negotiation for the government.

However, it will take six months upon issuance of the joint resolution for government to negotiate and sign a contract with the private sector that is willing to provide for the additional capacity to the grid. This is no longer feasible as March 2015 approaches, Petilla said.

On one hand, PSALM, later in the day, made public a list of companies that have expressed their willingness to make this option feasible.

It said it was tasked by the Department of Energy to engage in exploratory discussions with companies for the purchase or lease of generator sets as a measure to address the anticipated power crisis in the summer months of 2015.

For the past months since President Aquino asked Congress for the authority to establish additional generation capacity under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. PSALM said it has been receiving several letters of intent and accommodating requests for meetings from these potential contractors.

“In the interest of transparency,” PSALM said, there are 21 companies that have “expressed their willingness to address the government’s need in one way or another.”

These are Aggreko Pte. Ltd., APac Energy Rental Pte. Ltd., APR Energy, ATN Philippines Solar Energy Group Inc., Cinta Asia (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Energreen Technology Inc., Enertech Systems Industries Inc., General Electric Co., Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau, Horizon SynergyCo. Ltd., Itochu Corp., Jeongan Electric Co. Ltd., JS Philippines Global Corp., Novo-Gapmec Power Philippines Inc., PT Sumberdaya SewatamaPower Solution Provider, Philman Corporate Distribution, Ring Power Corp., Siemens Inc. Philippines, SO Energy, International Inc. and Third

Millennium Holdings Corp.

Remaining options

Petilla said four options remain.

These include the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), energy-saving measures, faster implementation of power projects and attempts to reduce force outages.

“This is where we will focus on,” Petilla said.

He said a meeting with the grid management committee will be set soon on how it can monitor and reduce forced outages. “We want plant owners to be more conscious about not having forced outages,” Petilla said.

The energy chief also wants temporarily do away with the tedious permitting process because it only delays the implementation of the power projects.

For instance, Petilla cited the road right-of-way problem encountered

by Millennium Energy.

The power firm was supposed to produce 100 MW of additional capacity by upgrading its Navotas power plant. The rehabilitation is targeted to be finished by March 2015.

However, the planned rehabilitation has now been put on hold because the Fish Port Development Authority (FPDA), which owns the property where the power facility is located, has yet to give its green light.

Millennium Energy’s power facil-

ity in Navotas is situated in a property under the FPDA.

No brownout

“All of these we will try to pursue.

I am still confident that all four options can result in no brownout. That I am sure of,” Petilla said.

The Energy Secretary said his biggest concern is that all these four options are nonfirm, meaning there is no formal agreement that binds the interested party to comply with any of the four measures left to address the Luzon power shortage in summer of 2015. “These are all voluntary in nature,” Petilla stressed.

Latest figures from the Department of Energy has it that up to 678 MW will be needed to cover both generation deficiency and provide minimum reserves as against an earlier projection of 900 MW. The agency estimates that for every 100 MW of power shortage a one-hour daily power outage is imminent.

The power crisis is anticipated to occur starting March 15 when the Malampaya gas facility undergoes a one-month maintenance shutdown.

Luzon grid is dependent on Malampaya as it fuels three power plantsSanta Rita (1,000 MW), San Lorenzo (500 MW) and Ilijan (1,200 MW).

This facility currently provides over 40 percent of the country’s energy needs.

Palace to prioritize new fiscal-perk package to lure Asean investors

A

S part of Philippine preparations to stay competitive in the region, President Aquino’s legal advisers are working to fast track fine-tuning a new fiscal incentives package to keep luring more investors under an integrated Asean economic regime set to take effect next year.

Addressing delegates at the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Chief Executive Officers’ Summit in Beijing, Mr. Aquino assured that the government’s main thrust is to “level the playing field” for all business ventures eyeing investment opportunities in the Philippines.

He noted that the upcoming Asean economic integration would lead to the removal of tariff and nontariff barriers “in a systematic way that does not disrupt economies.”

According to Mr. Aquino, even as each Asian country enjoy “varying degrees of advancement,” they must try to “accomodate each others needs and wants to the best degree for collective growth within Asean,” as well as their dialogue partners.

At the end of the day, it is a review of all the current regulations, ensuring that there is a logical flow from that whichwewanttoachieveandthemeans of achieving that,” the President said.

Mr. Aquino explained this would involve a review of “all of the fiscal incentives that might have outlived their usefulness and the introduction of new incentives for all the investors and businesses to become more efficient in doing business.”

At same time, he added, there is a need for the Philippines to review its laws and regulations to give the country “a new economic direction.”

Asked if the Chief Executive was ready to endorse to Congress urgent passage of fiscal-incentive reform measures to keep the country investment friendly as Mr. Aquino had also promised CEOs at the recent Apec Summit, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. confirmed this was a priority measure but that the bill is still being reviewed by the Palace.

Coloma said Presidential Legislative Liason Officer Manuel Mamba had confirmed that a draft administration bill submitted by the economic development cluster of the Cabinet was “now under study” at the Office of the President.

“This is one of the priority bills of the President,” Mamba said in a text message to Coloma. Butch Fernandez

brief Philhealth coverage for 6m elderly

THE country’s more than 6 million elderly just have to present a valid ID proving his or her age to avail themselves of PhilHealth benefits and look forward to spending years without worrying about the excessive cost of hospital bills.

President Aquino signed into law last week the measure granting automatic membership to the country’s elderly from 60 years and above. Recto Mercene

MMDA MULLS OVER REVIVAL OF CHRISTMAS AND MABUHAY LANES

TO help ease traffic congestion during the forthcoming Christmas holiday rush, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is eyeing the revival of Christmas and Mabuhay lanes.

“We will study this week if these Christmas lanes are still available,” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said.

The MMDA is expecting a monstrous traffic during the holidays in December because Filipinos are flocking to shopping malls and markets to shop, among others.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

Reaping the BOT Law’s full benefits

T

HE Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law—formally known as Republic Act (RA) 6957 of 1990, as amended by RA 7718 of 1994—represents one of the most forward-looking laws ever passed by the Philippine legislature. The law liberated the government from the straightjacket of its budget by authorizing the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects by the private sector—that is to say, the establishment of vast public works with the use of other people’s money.

Since its initial implementation in the late 1990s, we have been enjoying its benefits.

With the exception of one or two that have been financed with loans from the government because their internal rate of return was too low for the private sector to take up, the highways, expressways, airports and seaports that now dot the landscape in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao are all funded by the private sector.

The law did not only bring huge public facilities into existence without the government spending a single centavo, it also enabled the government to redirect the billions of pesos saved to social development—the establishment, expansion and improvement of social facilities needed by the population, particularly the poor (schools; clinics; livelihood programs; welfare projects; conditional cash transfers; and social safety nets, including unemployment benefits, among others).

But we need a lot more BOT projects to accelerate our national development. That is why the never-ending delays in the bidding out of many BOT projects in the last four years are a serious disservice to the Filipino people. These delayed biddings condemn the people to longer periods of traffic congestion and air and water pollution; and the economy to costly power rates and hours of lost output. The bidding frenzy that now seems to be taking place is obviously an effort to assure the public that the department in charge is, after all, not sleeping on the job. Too late; service delayed is service denied.

Now, there is a problem looming on the horizon. Soon, we shall be at that stage when the operation and maintenance of many of these BOT projects will pass on to the government, as stipulated in the BOT contracts.

Remember the road now known as the South Luzon Expressway, which was built by a private firm under a contract with the government in the 1970s? When the firm was allowed to operate and maintain the road after the contract expired, the homeowners in the subdivisions along the road demanded that it be evicted and that the government take over. They got their wish, but they did not expect the indescribable deterioration that set in after the government had taken over. When the private firm returned soon afterward, it was welcomed with open arms.

Let’s hope the past does not haunt the future. If it does, God help us.

Let us improve efficiency for now and the future. Let us not deny the benefits of the BOT Law to the population.

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A year after Yolanda Susie G. Bugante

All About Social Security

W

HEN Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) struck the Visayas on November 8, 2013, it left thousands of people dead, as well as untold destruction in its wake. It is said to be the strongest typhoon ever to have made landfall in recorded history.

There’s no doubt that Yolanda tested our mettle as a people. It also brought out the worst and the best in us, but mostly the latter. We saw the bayanihan spirit at work: Thousands of people volunteered their time and resources to help the millions of Filipinos in Eastern Visayas, the area most affected by Yolanda.

On November 5 a disaster-response volunteer summit, organized by the International Association for Volunteer Efforts-Philippines and Oplan Hatid, was held to gather all those who volunteered to help Yolanda survivors. Among those who shared their volunteering experiences were Dr. Eric Talens, University of the Philippines Manila Ugnayan ng Pahinugod director; Alfredo Li, CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation, Philippines; Philippine Red Cross Secretary-General Gwen Pang; and Abigail del Puerto of the

Citizens Network for Psychosocial Response, who is a faculty member at De La Salle University.

If there is one thing that the Yolanda experience taught us, it’s that there is no heart more courageous than a volunteer’s. Thousands of volunteers endured physical hardships and discomfort, as well as risked their lives traveling night and day, just so they can bring comfort to the suffering. Kudos to all the volunteers!

So how are the affected provinces doing a year after Yolanda struck?

According to official reports, damage to infrastructure and other sectors is estimated to cost more than P89.5 billion. Based on its Build Back Better principle, which serves as the guiding framework in the development and implementation of postYolanda rehabilitation and recovery interventions, the government has

committed a total funding requirement of more than P167.8 billion, of which more than P52 billion has been released. This amount reportedly went to the construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, school buildings, hospitals and other health facilities, flood control, irrigation projects, permanent and temporary shelters, and so on.

Experts say that, in such a short time, Yolanda-affected areas are starting to bounce back, and people are starting to pick up the pieces of their broken lives.

As for the Social Security System (SSS), it has provided assistance to 32,195 Yolanda-affected members who have availed themselves of the salary-loan early-renewal program, totaling P562,275,500. It has also paid six months advance pensions to 17,394 pensioners that amount to P287,130,739.80.

The Social Security Commission also approved a P10-million fund for rehabilitation projects. SSS employees also passed the hat and raised more than P1.2 million, which was matched by the pension agency’s management. The total amount— more than P2.5 million—went to the construction of 20 housing units to Yolanda victims in Leyte and Capiz provinces. The units will be turned over to the beneficiaries next month.

Aside from these calamityassistance programs, the SSS has granted sickness, disability and

Xi’s dream calls for love, not money William Pesek

BLOOMBERG VIEW

A

FTER two years of waxing poetic at home about a “China Dream,” Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to enchant Asia—and is dangling $1.25 trillion to make sure he does.

“China’s development will bring huge opportunities and benefits to the Asia Pacific and the world,” Xi told business leaders in Beijing on Sunday.

“We are willing to work with others to realize the Asia-Pacific Dream.”

So far, though, it seems Xi only wants to pay the continent to realize that China has Asia’s back in ways that Barack Obama’s America and Shinzo Abe’s Japan can’t afford.

That $1.25 trillion is the total in outbound investments that China plans to make over the next 10 years.

Beijing is also lavishing $40 billion to recreate the Silk Road to bolster trade with Europe. A $50-billion infrastructure fund will make the World Bank and Asian Development Bank look like archaic vestiges of a bygone geopolitical age. And China’s Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific is timed to rival the United States-led

Trans-Pacific Partnership.

But Beijing’s financial charm offensive lacks one crucial element: love. Its $4 trillion of currency reserves and rapid growth buys China lots of attention and any meeting it wants—just not the affectionate “soft power” it craves. This won’t come via spending or from China’s rising clout. It will come from actions worthy of a more mature, reasonable and civil global stakeholder.

Through trade and investment, China has been able to bind many emerging Asian economies to its own, explains Rajiv Biswas, chief Asia economist at IHS Global Insight in Singapore. But it has undermined its own efforts to establish Chinese leadership in Asia through “poorly managed, inward-looking political and military posturing.”

China is embroiled in territorial

disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines and several other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean (Japan, too, of course). These entanglements often do more harm than Beijing’s largess helps. The same is true of Beijing’s moves to scrutinize foreign companies from Microsoft to Toyota, silence the international media and police cyberspace. China’s heavyhanded response to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement hardly projects secure, confident power.

Genuine affection comes from acting in partnership with Asian neighbors, not buying their loyalty with the odd multibillion-dollar dam, bridge, road or power grid. For years, China tossed money at unsavory regimes, and looked the other way as environmental and labor protections were ignored. Yet, if China wants to buttress its soft power, it should consider following the Japanese model.

No, huge infrastructure projects aren’t altruism. But Japan has long provided governments like India or Indonesia the money and technical expertise to upgrade their own infrastructure in ways that enrich local economies. That means using local materials and labor, as opposed to Beijing’s preference that countries import both from China.

It surprised no one in August to

death benefits to qualified members and their beneficiaries.

Some people might not be happy with what they perceive as slow intervention and rehabilitation work, but as Stephen P. Groff, Asian Development Bank vice president for East Asia, Southeast and the Pacific, said: “We understand there’s a high expectation for recovery, but four to five years is the norm.

But just the same, progress is being made. There will always be capacity constraints on the part of the government, but these are not unique to the Philippines. Even developed countries like Japan still face challenges.”

Also quoting Sofia Klemming Nordenskiöld, a press officer with Plan International in Sweden: “Now, having visited the Philippines three times over the past year [in November 2013, and then in May and September 2014], I truly believe the disaster recovery has come this far because of the remarkable resilience and spirit of the Filipino people.”

For more information about the SSS and its programs, call our 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@sss.gov.ph.

Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the Social Security System. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.

hear Joko Widodo, then Indonesia’s president-elect, calling Japan “our largest partner” and urging more investment to ramp up a $46-billion bilateral trade relationship.

Since becoming Japan’s prime minister for a second time in December 2012, Abe has visited all 10 Asean members. Last December Japan pledged $20 billion in Southeast Asia investments over five years. Abe has since shifted billions in foreigndirect investment from China to Southeast Asia.

Before Xi can realize his Asia-Pacific Dream, he has to define it. Even many of his 1.3 billion people are confused about what their domestic China Dream entails. Does it refer to building a modern, prosperous, more egalitarian society? Is Xi suggesting his masses should harbor Americanstyle aspirations like owning a home?

Or is it just a rhetorical device that contains more than a whiff of nationalism on the part of a leader fond of cribbing Mao Zedong speeches? No one can say for sure—at least, not yet.

Xi’s broader dream lacks both clarity and the toolkit necessary to win Asia’s love. Much of emerging Asia may want China to lead regional economic development, but that can’t happen until Asia’s largest economy reconsiders its inward-looking political and military policies.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Mutual life insurers and premium tax

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ Lito U. Gagni

Atty. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

A

N insurer cooperative is entitled to exemption from payment of taxes on life-insurance premiums and documentary stamps. To avail of these tax exemptions, registration with the Cooperative Development Authority is not required, for there is no such requirement under the Cooperative Code of the Philippines, the Tax Code and the Insurance Code.

In Commissioner of Internal Revenue v Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. (Court of Tax Appeals [CTA], EB Case 585, March 14, 2011), the CTA held that “mutual life-insurance companies are purely cooperative companies, and are exempt from the payment of premium tax and DST [documentary stamp tax],” pursuant to Section 123 (formerly Section 121) and Section 199 (a) (formerly Section 199 [1]) of the Tax Code.

The rationale for the exemption was discussed in Republic v Sunlife Assurance Co. of Canada (GR 158085, October 14, 2005). Citing the Court of Appeals, the tax court said the “respondent was deemed exempt from premium [tax] and DST, because its affairs are managed and conducted by its members with money collected from among themselves, solely for their own protection and not for profit.

Its members or policyholders constituted both insurer and insured, who contribute, [through] a system of premiums or assessments, to the creation of a fund, from which all losses and liabilities were paid. The dividends it distributed to them were not profits, but returns of amounts that had been overcharged them for insurance.”

Section 123 of the National Internal Revenue Code (Nirc) defines a cooperative as an association “conducted by the members thereof with the money collected from among themselves and solely for their own protection and not for profit.”

A cooperative engaged in a mutual lifeinsurance business should, therefore, benefit from the exemption from taxes on life-insurance premiums under Section 123, which provides: “There shall be collected from every person, company or corporation [except purely cooperative companies or associations] doing life-insurance business of any sort in the Philippines a tax of 5 percent of the total premiums collected x x x.”

On the other hand, Section 199 (a) of the Nirc of 1997, as amended, provided: “Section 199. Documents and Papers Not Subject to Stamp Tax.—The provision of Section 173 to the contrary notwithstanding, the following instruments, documents and papers shall be exempt from the DST: (a) Policies of insurance or annuities made or granted by a fraternal or beneficiary society, order, association or cooperative company, operated on the lodge system or local cooperation plan and organized and conducted solely by the member thereof for the exclusive benefit of each member and not for profit.”

A mutualized insurance company is one that has converted itself from a stock life-insurance company to a nonstock mutual life-insurance corporation under the Insurance Code and where its ownership has been vested in its member-policyholders who are each entitled

to one vote, and who, in turn, elect from among themselves the members of its board of trustees. Being the governing body of a nonstock corporation, the board exercises corporate powers, lays down all corporate business policies and assumes responsibility for the efficiency of management.

The Sunlife case further characterized a mutual life-insurance company as one “conducted for the benefit of its member-policyholders, who pay into its capital by way of premiums. To that extent, they are responsible for the payment of all its losses. ‘The cash paid in for premiums and the premium notes constitute their assets x x x.’ In the event that the company itself fails before the terms of the policies expire, the memberpolicyholders do not acquire the status of creditors. Rather, they simply become debtors for whatever premiums that they have originally agreed to pay the company, if they have not yet paid those amounts in full, for ‘[m]utual companies x x x depend solely upon x x x premiums.’

Only when the premiums will have accumulated to a sum larger than that required to pay for company losses will the member-policyholders be entitled to a ‘pro rata division thereof as profits.’ x x x Contributing to its capital, the memberpolicyholders of a mutual company are, obviously, also its owners. Sustaining a dual relationship inter se, they not only contribute to the payment of its losses, but are also entitled to a proportionate share and participate alike in its profits and surplus.”

The operation of a mutual life-insurance company was also described in Sunlife: “Where the insurance is taken at cost, it is important that the rates of premium charged by a mutual company be larger than might reasonably be expected to carry the insurance, in order to constitute a margin of safety.

The table of mortality used will show an admittedly higher death rate than will probably prevail; the assumed interest rate on the investments of the company is made lower than is expected to be realized; and the provision for contingencies and expenses, made greater than would ordinarily be necessary.

This course of action is taken, because a mutual company has no capital stock and relies solely upon its premiums to meet unexpected losses, contingencies and expenses.”

There is, at present, only one mutual life insurer in the Philippines, and this is the Insular Life Assurance Co. Sunlife Assurance Co. has already been demutualized.

MARKET FILES

T

HIS idiomatic expression that serves as the title of today’s column may well be the Commission on Elections (Comelec) phrase of choice to again defend the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and automated-election system (AES) it used in the 2010 and 2013 polls as an interminable array of charges are being hurled anew at the poll body, which, sad to say, could delay the 2016 elections.

Put simply, the PCOS machines and the AES used in the last two elections were deemed successful, even by third-party organizations, such as the Carter Center, an advocacy group founded by former US President Jimmy Carter. The glitches that occurred, which are being blown out of proportion by those opposed to the PCOS machines and who advocate the use of other systems, were simply due to human error and unexpected events, like heavy rains.

Still, these glitches continue to be cited, even in the face of the plaudits that the Comelec and its partner in the automated elections, Smarmatic Corp., received for ensuring democratic processes. Truth to tell, what the oppositors wanted to put in place of the PCOS machines is a mongrel version that includes manual voting, which conjures up memories of the lamentable dagdag-bawas scheme

that once characterized elections in the country.

Partly because of the opposition to the Comelec’s plan to again use the PCOS machines, there is the possibility that the 2016 elections—which is the reason for the posturing, the intense competition for media exposure and other attention-grabbing gimmicks seen in various forums and even in Congress—may experience delays, which is a shame, since the AES has proven to be successful that there is no reason for the poll body to change what it had successfully implemented.

But that is precisely what those opposed to using the PCOS machines wanted to impose on the Comelec and, given the proclivity of the courts to grant petitions for court action, it is not far-fetched to assume that they may again succeed in delaying the use of the PCOS machines by again cit-

A7

ing the glitches found in some PCOS machines, which the Carter Center even said were not representative of a trend.

“Due to legal suits seeking an injunction against the use of electronic voting, the Comelec discovered the electoral calendar to be significantly compressed, resulting, at times, in ad hoc procedures and implementation of the system. In practice, the discovery, one week before the election, that 76,000 memory cards had to be recalled and reconfigured and then redistributed underscored the importance of a realistic electoral calendar,” the Carter Center’s final report said, even as it cited the challenges that the poll body could address in the next polls.

And this is what the Comelec has done. Thus, for the 2016 elections, the poll body would put in place a biometric voter-identification apparatus that can identify a voter at once via his or her thumbprint; address the problem of long queues by reducing the number of voters per precinct from the current 1,000 to about 600 to 800; and allow concerned parties to have an early review of the automated system to be implemented, among other measures.

These were points that the Carter Center had cited as challenges that the poll body had to face in the last two polls, and that is why the Comelec came up with the desired solutions. However, it is expected that those opposed to the PCOS machines

and those who want their own technology to be used in the 2016 elections would again come up with various challenges that would, again, unnecessarily delay the conduct of automated elections.

But even with these reforms, the oppositors, which include a former Comelec commissioner, are expected to put the AES through various court challenges, and it is expected that they would again cite the same reasons for their opposition to the poll body’s automated-election thrust.

While this is part of a democratic exercise, the oppositors could throw a monkey wrench into the planned automation that is necessary to ensure the democratic process.

Even in the face of incontrovertible evidence that no fraud marred the last two elections, the oppositors are expected to file lawsuits again and see trends where there are none and score the Comelec for various legal infirmities. This is what happens when the oppositors magnify the extent of the human errors that characterized the supposed glitches. Here, the Comelec could find comfort in the title of today’s column.

As for the oppositors, they may find comfort in what Aristotle once said: “One swallow does not a summer make.” Indeed, they should choose to let the country enjoy the spring of its new method in choosing their leaders.

news conference last week.

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Neil Reeder echoed his words, adding, “The ability of the country to bounce back was faster than we’ve ever seen in other humanitarian disasters.”

Experts say the Filipinos’ bayanihan—a sense of neighborhood and communal unity—helped strengthen the daunting rehabilitation process.

“Yolanda was the largest and most powerful typhoon ever to hit land and it impacted a huge area, including some of the poorest regions in the Philippines.

It is important that we look at the scale and scope of this disaster one year after Yolanda,” Groff stressed.

He said the super typhoon

affected 16 million people, or 3.4 million families, and damaged more than 1 million homes; 33 million coconut trees; 600,000 hectares of agricultural land; 248 transmission towers; and over 1,200 public structures, such as provincial, municipal and village halls, and public markets.

Also damaged were 305 km of farm-to-market roads, 20,000 classrooms and over 400 health facilities, such as hospitals and rural health stations.

In total, the super storm affected more than 14.5 million people in 171 cities and municipalities in 44 provinces across nine regions.

To date, more than 4 million people still remain homeless.

E-mail: hugagni@yahoo.com.

Atty. Dennis B. Funa is the Insurance Commission’s deputy commissioner for legal services. For comments, send an e-mail to dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Filipinos take to the streets one year after Yolanda

By Diana Mendoza Inter Press Service

First of two parts

P

EOPLE covered their bodies with mud to protest the government’s ineptitude and abandonment; others lighted paper lanterns and candles and released white doves and balloons to remember the dead, offer thanks and pray for more strength to move on; while many trooped to a vast grave site with white crosses to lay flowers for those who died, and to cry one more time.

These were the scenes last Saturday, November 8, in Leyte province’s Tacloban City, known as ground zero of Supertyphoon Yol a nd a (i nter n at ion a l code name Haiyan).

One year after the super storm f lattened the cit y w ith 250 -

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

kilometer-per-hour winds and 7-meter-high storm surges that caused unimaginable damage to the city center and its outlying areas and killed more than 6,500 people, hundreds remain unaccounted for.

November 8 marked the first a nniversa r y of Yol a nd a, t he

strongest storm ever to make landfall in recorded history.

Thousands of stories—mostly about loss, hopelessness, loneliness, hunger, disease and deeper poverty—flooded media portals in the Philippines. There were also abundant stories of heroism and demonstrations of extraordinary strength.

Understanding the scope of the disaster

THERE may be some signs that suggest a semblance of revival in Tacloban, about 580 km southeast of Manila, but it has yet to fully come back to life—that process could take six to eight years, possibly more, according to members of the international donor community.

Still, the anniversary was marked by praise for the Philippines’s “fast

first-step recovery” from a disaster of this magnitude, compared with the experience of other disasterhit places, such as Aceh province in Indonesia after the 2004 Asian tsunami that devastated several countries along the Indian Ocean.

In its assessment of the relief and reconstruction effort, released prior to the anniversary, the Philippines-based multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that, while “reconstruction efforts continue to be a struggle,” a lot has been done.

“The ADB has been in the Philippines for 50 years, and we can say that other countries would not have responded this strongly to such a huge crisis,” ADB Vice President for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Stephen P. Groff said in a

To be concluded on Thursday

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

OCLP deal to launch Ayala-SM partnership

T

he recent amicable settlement between property giants Ayala Land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc. over the ownership of OCLP Holdings Inc. (OHI) is seen as a launch pad for more partnerships and reconciliations on disputed assets and projects.

SM Prime President and CEO Hans T. Sy made this statement on Monday night, just a few days after his firm and rival Ayala Land signed an agreement to end the war over the parent company of Ortigas and Co. Ltd. Partnership (OCLP).

The agreement will allow for both property giants to acquire a quarter each of OHI shares, thus, gaining two board seats.

The two companies, along with their respective allies in the Ortigas family, will form partnerships to further expand Ortigas-owned properties. The OCLP is the company behind Greenhills Shopping Center, Tiendesitas and Capitol Commons.

The signing of the investment agreement also marked the end of several court cases involving the disputed assets.

“This is the very first step for many agreements and settlements,” Sy said in a chance interview. “Ortigas is the first step, if it does well, we’re looking forward to all other issues, settlements and even projects.”

See “OCLP,” A2

LTFRB, Uber to update transport rules together

T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

he war between the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and carpooling-services provider Uber Philippines has finally come to an end, a Cabinet official reported.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said government officials and executives of Uber Philippines and Uber Singapore met on Monday to review current traffic laws and, subsequently, modernize them.

He said the officials were searching “for ways for rules and regulations to support—rather than stifle—innovations which improve services to the public.”

“Both sides came to the table to find concrete ways to make government regulations more in tune with today’s technologies. We all agreed on two things: first, Uber’s services are for the people’s benefit; and, second, regulation is a must for public safety and order,” he said.

LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez and Executive Director Roberto P. Cabrera III, who both participated in the meeting, proposed several means by which applicable

ABAYA: “Both sides came to the table to find concrete ways to make government regulations more in tune with today’s technologies. We all agreed on two things: first, Uber’s services are for the people’s benefit; and, second, regulation is a must for public safety and order.”

rules may be updated in order to accommodate similar information-technology-based solutions within the legal framework.

The regulators indicated that such services may fall under the existing “vehicle-for-hire” category, and that the corresponding rules could be updated in order to encourage the use

of similar technologies across other public landtransport services, including taxis.

“The LTFRB made it clear that government regulation is a must where public services are concerned. After all, this is not only a requirement of law, it is meant to protect the public,” Abaya said.

Uber’s representatives shared their previous experiences in other countries, which, likewise, clamped down on the technology company’s unregulated services, citing new legislation in the US as well as the adjusted policies in Singapore, to show that both long-term and immediate reforms are possible in the Philippines.

The LTFRB will now craft an updated set of rules applicable to vehicles-for-hire that would accommodate modern solutions, while Uber will submit reforms done in other countries to modernize its own land-transport regulations.

“We will always push for anything that modernizes the country’s transport systems under my watch. The government welcomes tech solutions to transport problems and, fortunately, Uber also wants to work with us to make it happen,” Abaya said.

All sides agreed that ensuring passenger safety remains the top priority. Thus, safety measures will include Uber’s current practices of requiring passenger insurance to be provided See “LTFRB,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Breakthrough reached on IT trade accord

T

he US said it struck an agreement with China to move forward on talks to eliminate tariffs on $1 trillion in global sales of informationtechnology (IT) products.

The agreement, reached during marathon negotiations at the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Beijing, creates a pathway for a final deal as soon as December, one that would mark the first major cuts to tariffs at the World Trade Organization in 17 years.

“This is encouraging news not just for the US-China trade relationship, it shows that the US and China work together to both advance our bilateral economic agenda, but also to support the multilateral trading system,” US Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Tuesday in Beijing.

Froman called the agreement a“breakthrough,” and said negotiators would “work quickly” to finalize the terms of a deal to expand what is known as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

The announcement of progress is a win for President Barack Obama, as he seeks to advance high-priority trade pacts during his trip to Beijing for the annual Apec gathering. Negotiations continue on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation accord that has been a central component of Obama’s efforts to have a greater US policy focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Bloomberg News