BusinessMirror November 20, 2014

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U.N. Media Award 2008

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Life

The responsibility of parents

WHAT CHILDREN NEED FROM PARENTS AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

iWitness personal-safety app could be a lifesaver NOBODY to walk you back to your hotel or car after dark? This personal safety app may offer some peace of mind.

■ Name: iWitness ■ Available: iOS, Android ■ Cost: $2.99 per month, $29.99 per year ■ What it does: It connects to emergency services and records your whereabouts. It is set up to work in 146 countries. International users can select the region, and the app automatically localizes to the emergency equivalent of 911.

■ What’s hot: Although there’s no substitute for common sense and being street-smart, having immediate access to a 911 call and a record of your situation add a second layer of personal security. Arm the iWitness app, and at the touch of a button or the screen, or by shaking the phone, you can start recording your predicament (for five minutes) and/or call 911.

■ What’s not: Be careful with the 911 feature if you’re testing the app. Once it’s armed, all it takes is a touch of the screen. When I tried to close out of the app, the “calling 911” alarm sounded. Luckily you have five seconds to cancel if it’s not a real emergency.

■ Worth it: I put this app in the most-used area of my phone. Even if you use it only once, it could be a lifesaver. LOS ANGELES TIMES

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WILLIAM GIBSON COAXES THE FUTURE... »D4

BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Thursday, November 20, 2014

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Euros or dollars?

The wrong choice will cost you B C H Los Angeles Times

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NEW way has been devised to part tourists from their money. And guess what? It’s mostly legal.

The practice is called “dynamic currency conversion,” and it is not your friend. It works this way: You go to pay your dinner check in, say, France. The merchant asks whether you would like to pay in euros or dollars.

“How thoughtful,” you think, “Someone is trying to help me overcome my conversion aversion and tell me in US dollars how much I owe.”

The merchant isn’t helping you overcome your math problem; he’s helping himself to a few extra of your dollars. He’s banking on the fact that you don’t know what the exchange rate is.

If you did, you would see that the dollar exchange rate you’re getting probably is lousy. Guess who gets the difference between the real rate and what you’re paying? Hint: Not you. And, by the way, the merchant is supposed to ask you whether you want this conversion done; sometimes he doesn’t, which is contrary to rules that are almost impossible to enforce because there are so many points of sale.

Does it matter which currency you choose? Yes, it does. The currency you should choose when you’re in a foreign country generally is the currency of the country you’re visiting, whether it’s euros, pounds, pesos or whatever. Do you have to know what the rate of

exchange is for that day to make an intelligent choice? In a word: no. All you must know is that if you choose US dollars, you’re probably going to get hosed.

How can merchants justify this practice? Kevin Yuann, director of credit cards for NerdWallet, a personal finance web site, explains that expressing a total in US dollars is painted as a “convenience” for the traveler. He’s not defending the practice, mind you; in fact, he has run afoul of it.

“I was paying for a restaurant bill—this was in Italy— and because I’m aware of dynamic currency conversion, I realized there was a 5-percent fee for using that [total in US dollars],” he said. He told the waiter he had not authorized a bill in US dollars. The waiter, he said, stared at him blankly. Finally, the manager got involved, and the matter was resolved.

You might then ask: Would it matter if I was using a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee? The answer is: not really. The dynamic currency conversion fee is separate from a foreign transaction fee, which can add as much as 3 percent to your bills.

What’s the big deal over a few dollars?

The big deal, says Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive of personal finance web sites www.CardHub. com and www.WalletHub.com, is that the fees add up. If you spend $1,500 abroad, and you’re not paying attention to the dynamic currency conversion and foreign transaction fees, you could be out as much as $150 on that $1,500 you’ve spent. You might as well light that money on fire.

Now that you know you can say no to dynamic

currency conversion, what about the blasted foreign transaction fees? About 90 percent of credit-card charge them, Papadimitriou says; carry one that doesn’t. You can find a list of credit cards that can be filtered to distinguish those with no foreign transaction fees at www.lat.ms/1x9XcTe. What can you do to protect yourself? The experts offer these suggestions: ■ Familiarize yourself with the exchange rate and carry a calculator (there’s one on your smartphone, or you can use an exchange-rate app) to calculate what you’re being charged.

If the amount is negligible, you may want to choose dollars for the convenience, which is how it’s positioned in the first place.

■ Pay close attention to your bill at the point of sale.

If dynamic currency conversion is in play, the merchant is supposed to ask you whether you want to pay in the local currency or in dollars, but that doesn’t always happen. If you get a dinner check in dollars, for instance, ask that it be changed.

■ Keep your receipts. If you are paying in the local currency and a charge shows up on your monthly creditcard bill that suggests you’ve been charged in dollars, dispute the charge with your credit-card company.

■ The easiest way to avoid the conversion, of course, is to pay cash, although that comes with its own concerns about exchange rates, automated teller machine fees and, of course, getting pickpocketed.

There is, then, no perfect solution to money abroad, except to be aware of others who will part you from it. ■

Resorts World Manila president named Hotel Personality of The Year

Local French community awaits this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau

SKAL International Makati, an organization promoting global tourism and friendship, recently awarded Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. (Travellers) President Kingson Sian as Hotel Personality of the Year. The annual SKAL Tourism Personality Awards Night, now on its 24th year, celebrates the achievements of exemplary personalities in the Philippine tourism industry.

As operator of the first integrated resort in the country, Resorts World Manila (RWM), Travellers is now on its fifth year of operation and is currently undergoing expansion projects to accommodate the influx of foreign visitors in the coming years.

In photo: SKAL International Makati Director Farid Schoucair (left) and Consul General/SKAL President Robert Lim Joseph (right) award Kingson Sian the Hotel Personality of the Year award at the Cantonese restaurant Passion in RWM.

TONIGHT, lucky oenophiles at the Tent City of The Manila Hotel will be able to taste this year’s harvest of Beaujolais Nouveau, the young wine from France, part of the more than a million cases sent around the world to celebrate this now traditional ritual in the world of wines. “Unlike some wines that must be aged, Beaujolais Nouveau is only about two to three months old and must be drunk at that age,” Bernard Flour, Soiree Beajolais committee chairman and past president of French Chamber, told the BM during the news conference and Sponsor

B R M

Appreciation Night for Soiree Beaujolais 2014: Tradition and Innovation, held on November 6 at the hotel’s Roma Room.

For the past 23 years, Le Club, or the French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, celebrates Soiree Beaujolais to welcome the harvest and arrival of this young wine, and share with its friends this year’s flavor and aroma.

The Tent City has been booked to accommodate 1,500 guests from the diplomatic corps, and corporate and social circles.

It is also a happy reunion of all French nationals based in the country.

“At one minute past midnight every third Thursday of November, more than

a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey from little villages and towns, especially the Beaujolais region of Morgon, Brouilly, Macon Villages, and Cinsault Rose, through a sleeping France and eventually to Paris for immediate shipment to all parts of the world,” goes the opening invitation for Soiree Beaujolais. Yearly, the Soiree Beaujolais adopts a highly visual theme for its events, and this year would be such icons of France as the Moulin Rouge, the Loire castles, and the streets of Paris. This year’s theme is “Tradition and Innovation.”

France, as an old country, maintains its cultural tradition but at the same

time remains in the leading edge of innovation, such as the fabrication of spacecraft, airplanes, automobiles, underwater equipment, smart information technology, as well as the arts, cinema, fashion, footwear, jewelry and more.

Le Club President Cyril Rocke will welcome the guests tonight night, while French Ambassador Gilles Garachon will deliver the keynote speech and lead the Chamber board of directors, headed by Soiree Beaujolais committee chairman and past president Bernard Flour, in the uncorking of the new bottles, and declaring the arrival and formal tasting of Beaujolais Nouveau.

life

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The World BusinessMirror

Catholic Diocese offers plan to settle abuse claim

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ELENA, Montana—The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena has filed a bankruptcy reorganization plan that proposes a $16.4-million settlement for hundreds of people who said clergy members sexually abused them for decades while the church covered it up.

This May 4, 2013, file photo released by starpix shows revlon brand ambassadors Emma stone (left) and Olivia Wilde at the 16th Annual EiF revlon run Walk For Women’s Cancer research, in new York. AP

Revlon tries to turn heads with new marketing push

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EVLON is looking for love to spice up its brand recognition. The beauty products maker is launching its global “Love is On” marketing campaign, hoping to regain its lofty spot in the pecking order of cosmetic brands.

The campaign features television, print and digital ads, a social-media push and an interactive Times Square billboard that lets people share “love moments.” The new campaign, announced on Tuesday, arrives with the retailer facing growing competition from companies like L’Oreal and Estée Lauder.

There also have been a number of new faces in executive offices at Revlon over the past year or so, as the New York company has attempted to reenergize growth.

Revlon Inc. named Lorenzo Delpani as chief executive officer last fall and also has changed chief financial officers and CEOs. Late last year, the company said it would leave China and trim more than 1,000 jobs as part of a costcutting measure.

Besides its namesake brand of makeup and hair dye, Revlon also makes cosmetics under its Almay and SinfulColors brands.

Revlon shares climbed 45 cents to $33.20 in midday trading on Tuesday, while broader indexes also rose slightly. The stock had climbed 31 percent so far this year, as of Monday’s close. AP

The plan, filed late Monday, calls for the 362 victims identified in two lawsuits filed in 2011 to receive a minimum payment of $2,500 each.

An abuse-claims reviewer will determine the actual payment based on the severity and long-term effects of the abuse. The plaintiffs’ attorneys, unsecured creditors and any future abuse claims also will be paid out of the trust.

“As attorneys for the victims, we are relieved that this long battle is finally coming to an end,” Seattle attorney Timothy Kosnoff wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press on November 14. He expected the plaintiffs to be paid early next year.

The plan calls for insurance companies to contribute $14.4 million to

the trust, while the diocese is asking the court’s approval for a $3.5 million loan so it can contribute $2 million to the trust and cover administrative expenses and operating expenses.

The settlement was reached through mediation, but it still must be approved by the creditors, including the plaintiffs in the lawsuits who said they were abused from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Bishop George Leo Thomas expressed “his profound sorrow” and apologized to the victims in a news conference in January announcing the settlement.

“I know the pain is real, the pain is in the present tense, and in the name of the church, I want to say I’m sorry and we’re sorry as a church,” Thomas

said at the time.

The plan also calls for a wrongfuldischarge lawsuit filed by former Butte Central teacher Shaela Evenson to be allowed, with any judgment being subject to the limits of an insurance policy. Evenson sued after being fired from the Catholic school for being unmarried and pregnant.

In March, she gave birth to a son, the first child for her and her partner, Marilyn Tobin.

The diocese issued a statement on Tuesday saying it could not immediately comment on the plan, which does not accept any liability for a 2012 lawsuit filed against the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province.

The proposed $3.5-million loan from Placid Enterprises Llc. would be secured by diocese-owned buildings, including the bishop’s $367,000 residence, other property and Legendary Lodge, a church camp on Salmon Lake valued at $3.6 million. The loan has a 5-percent interest rate and requires monthly payments of nearly $14,600 for five years.

The diocese said it was minimizing expenses and, with increased donations, was confident it could successfully reorganize its finances, the filing said. Helena’s diocese was the 11th in America to seek bankruptcy protection in the face of sexabuse claims. AP

NRC chairman: Work needed to finish Fukushima changes

Fast-tracked bill would shield execution drug

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OLUMBUS, Ohio—A bill that would shield the names of companies that provide Ohio its execution drugs continued its swift move through the state legislature on Tuesday as opponents questioned a key defense of the measure.

Those opponents got a minor boost when an official with the attorney general’s office seemed to suggest he wasn’t aware of any threats against such companies—the main defense of the bill.

Democratic Rep. Matt Lundy had asked Thomas Madden, an assistant attorney general, if companies in Ohio had expressed fear of threats.

Madden said he couldn’t speak to the issue. Lundy said he wanted examples because he believes the reality of such threats may not be real.

The state public defender’s office and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio also question whether such threats have ever been substantiated. Ohio would have to have contracted with a company for such threats even to exist, said attorney general spokesman Dan Tierney, who deferred further questions to the state prisons agency.

“Nobody can be threatened if they’re not performing the act in question to begin with,” Tierney said. AP

AkirA OnO, plant chief for the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co., speaks to the media at the main earthquake-proof building at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, on november 12. AP

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TLANTA—The outgoing chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday the industry must finish making the safety changes required after a nuclear disaster in Japan, and it faces unresolved questions over how to store nuclear waste as existing plants close. Allison Macfarlane became the agency’s leader in July 2012 after the stormy tenure of former Chairman Gregory Jaczko, whose management style was described as bullying by fellow commissioners and staffers.

A geologist, Macfarlane will start teaching on January 1 at George Washington University.

Macfarlane said the agency must follow through on changes required after the March 2011 crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Tsunami waves disabled the plant’s electrical and cooling systems, causing a meltdown and explosions that flung debris and radiation into the environment.

“We as regulators need to do what we think is right,” Macfarlane said in an interview during a

nuclear industry conference in Atlanta. “And if we think something is required, and this is something we’ve learned as a result of the Fukushima accident, we need to tell the industry to do it.”

Among the changes, the nuclear industry has set up centers in Memphis and Phoenix that can quickly send emergency gear to a stricken plant. Some plants will install vents meant to prevent explosions during extreme accidents. Regulators are reviewing updated earthquake and flooding hazard assessments for plants across the country.

Earlier this year, Macfarlane lost a vote on whether spent nuclear fuel should be removed more quickly from water-filled storage pools. After used nuclear fuel is removed from a reactor, it must be cooled in water for several years. By law, the US government promised to dispose of that used fuel, but it never has.

As a result, spent fuel continues to accumulate in pools.

Experts have long been concerned that accidental water loss in a cooling pool could cause the old fuel to over-

heat, potentially combust and release radiation. NRC staffers concluded the costs of placing that spent fuel in special casks on land outweighed the safety gains from removing it from the pools, and a majority of the NRC’s commissioners agreed. Macfarlane said the issue deserved more study.

T he NRC faces a radica l ly changed market. Just a few years ago, the utility industry anticipated building a wave of new nuclear power plants. Instead, natural gas prices plummeted and demand for electricity tumbled during the Great Recession and lackluster recovery. Three nuclear plants in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee are being built. Some nuclear vendors have struggled to meet strict quality control rules.

“I think this is new for the industry in general because they haven’t had nuclear construction in this country for so long,” Macfarlane said.

Macfarlane said the NRC will need rules for power companies that are taking existing nuclear plants offline because the facilities are no longer viewed as economic. AP

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Right-to-die advocate’s mom blasts Vatican remarks

This undated file photo provided by Compassion & Choices shows Brittany Maynard, a terminally ill woman who decided to end her life early under an Oregon law. she died on november 1. AP

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ORTLAND, Oregon—The mother of a right-to-die advocate responded angrily to criticism from the Vatican of Brittany Maynard’s decision to end her life early under an Oregon law written to let terminally ill patients die on their own terms.

Days after Maynard’s November 1 death at age 29, the Vatican’s top bioethics official called her choice “reprehensible” and said physician-assisted suicide should be condemned. Maynard’s mother, Debbie Ziegler, issued a sharp written response on Tuesday. She said the comments from Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, came as the family was grieving and were “more than a slap in the face.”

Her response was made through Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group that Maynard worked with in her last days.

Maynard suffered from terminal brain cancer and in the spring was given six months to live. She moved to Oregon from Northern California with her husband and parents because Oregon allows terminally ill patients to die using lethal medications prescribed by a doctor.

Maynard used her story to speak out for the right of the terminally ill to end their lives on their own terms. A media campaign by her and Compassion & Choices sparked a national debate.

Five US states allow patients to seek aid in dying: Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico. Some religious groups and social conservatives, including the American Life League, also have criticized Maynard’s decision.

Pope Francis denounced the rightto-die movement on Saturday, saying euthanasia is a sin against God and creation. Thinking of euthanasia as an act of dignity provides a “false sense of compassion,” Francis said.

He didn’t refer specifically to Maynard’s case. In the letter, Ziegler called her terminally ill daughter’s decision to die a human-rights issue.

Maynard’s family has since moved back to California.

“My 29-year-old daughter’s choice to die gently rather than suffer physical and mental degradation and intense pain does not deserve to be labelled as reprehensible by strangers a continent away who do not know her or the particulars of her situation,” Ziegler wrote.

Ziegler encouraged people to consider all the options when faced with an incurable, debilitating, painful disease.

“The ‘culture of cure’ has led to a fairy tale belief that doctors can always fix our problems,” she wrote.

On Thursday, the day Maynard would have turned 30, Compassion & Choices plans to release a video she made before her death. The group also will call for expanded laws that allow the terminally ill to end their lives.

Oregon was the first state to make it legal for a doctor to prescribe a life-ending drug to a terminally ill patient of sound mind who makes the request. The patient must swallow the drug without help; it is illegal for a doctor to administer it.

More than 750 people in Oregon had used the law to die as of December 31, 2013. The median age of the deceased is 71. Only six were younger than 35. AP

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loans mobsters made to businesses in northern Italy and Switzerland that were unable to get credit otherwise.

In a separate intercepted phone call, one suspect says to tell someone reluctant to repay money: “I will cut his head off.’“ Milan prosecutor Ilda Boccassini said the video shows how “the force of tradition” helps the ‘ndrangheta, a global cocaine-trafficking organization, to thrive.

Suspected mobsters are seen kissing each other on the cheek in greeting. The ‘ndrangheta, rooted in the southern Calabrian region, has spread north as it invested illicit revenues.

In another scene, four males huddle together as words of a loyalty oath are repeated.

“Right in this holy evening, in the silence of the night, under the light of the stars and under the splendor of the moon, I create the holy chain... the holy society,” one man says. AP

B3-4

ARE BACK

By Mike Bresnahan

BRYANT, LAKERS BOOK RARE VICTORY OVER HAWKS

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TLANTA—Kobe Bryant scored 28 points as the Los Angeles Lakers won for only the second time this season, beating the Atlanta Hawks, 114-109, in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Tuesday.

Bryant’s biggest shot came with one minute and 11 seconds remaining, when he backed in against Thabo Sefolosha and made a fadeaway jumper despite being fouled. Bryant completed the three-point play, giving the Lakers a 108-102 lead.

“Man, oh man, that’s a lot better,” Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin said. “It’s been a rough start to the season.”

The Hawks had a chance to force overtime after the Lakers (2-9) failed to put it away at the line. But Los Angeles smothered longrange threat Kyle Korver, leaving Pero Antic to take an open three-pointer. It clanked off the rim and the Lakers grabbed the loose ball to seal the victory.

In other games, Milwaukee topped the struggling New York Knicks, 117-113; Utah beat Oklahoma City, 98-81; and New Orleans defeated Sacramento, 106-100.

Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova had 20 points as the rebuilding Bucks improved to 6-5 on the season—the first time in more than a year the team has had a winning record.

New York cut a 26-point deficit to 115-113 with 7.9 seconds left, but Milwaukee managed to hold on.

Zaza Pachulia added season highs of 14

Los Angeles Times

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THIS TIME, KOBE DELIVERS points and 13 rebounds for Milwaukee, while Carmelo Anthony had 26 points for the Knicks.

In Salt Lake City Alec Burks had 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, and Enes Kanter added 16 points and 15 boards for Utah, which enjoyed a 55-44 edge on the glass.

Playing without the injured Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City has lost three straight and seven of nine. Jeremy Lamb led the Thunder with 19 points.

New Orleans’s Anthony Davis had 28 points and nine rebounds to lead the Pelicans past the Kings in a matchup between two of the Western Conference’s most surprising teams this season.

Ryan Anderson scored 22 points for the Pelicans, who outscored the Kings 31-15 in the third and improved to 6-4 on the year.

DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 17 rebounds for Sacramento. AP

KOBE BRYANT drives against Atlanta’s Jeff Teague during the Lakers game against the Hawks on Tuesday. AP

TLANTA—A simple reason for a rare Los Angeles Lakers victory was the return of Nick Young, the self-proclaimed “Swaggy P” always one step and two laughs ahead in life.

“It’s like my swag just rubbed off on everybody,” he said after bringing some desperately needed scoring to the Lakers.

But the story was more than Young, more complex than the return of one in a 114-109 victory on Tuesday over the Atlanta Hawks.

It started with a long meeting at the team hotel after the Lakers arrived here on Monday night. The topic was their defense. Lack of it, really.

Thought-provoking questions were lobbed from Coach Byron Scott to the players. Are we asking you to do near-impossible things? Are you thinking too much about this defense?

Players shook their heads and committed to improvement after being rallied by none other than Ronnie Price, a training-camp signee whose contract was only partly guaranteed.

It’s not a joyful occasion to allow 109 points in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game, though the Lakers were giving up an average of 112 before the night began and rolled over two days earlier, surrendering 136 to Golden State.

Their effort against Atlanta was “much better than it had been the last three or four games,” Scott said. So was their balance, another plot line through a brutal start for the Lakers (2-9).

Kobe Bryant had 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Carlos Boozer had 20 points and Jordan Hill scored 18. Young had 17 points and Jeremy Lin added 15.

“I thought it was excellent,” said Bryant, who made more than 45 percent of his shots for the first time this season. He also become the fourth NBA player to score 32,000 points, now perched 291 behind Michael Jordan.

Seemingly nothing comes easily for Bryant nowadays, or without criticism, so he was asked if he heard the chatter that his shot volume was so high this season because he wanted to pass Jordan.

“There’s always something, especially with me,” Bryant said. “First, it’s ‘I can’t come back and play.’ Now it’s, ‘Well he’s not playing well enough.’

Well you just said I’d be in a wheelchair and I wouldn’t be able to play at all. I won’t even waste my time trying to shut people up.”

Young was the opposite, eager to stimulate debate by happily putting himself No. 1 on the list of greatest shooters of all time.

“I might be me at the top,” he said. “Me, Ray Allen, Reggie [Miller], then I might throw in one of the players from Golden State. It depends.”

Um. Larry Bird?

“He’s, like, top 5 right now. He’s probably No. 5.”

What about your coach?

“Byron could shoot? I didn’t know that.”

That might earn some extra sprints at practice. But the ebullient Young, who is nowhere near the top 5 and knows it, will probably be forgiven.

Paul Millsap had 29 points for the Hawks (5-5), who were in deep trouble with a 17-point second-quarter deficit, the Lakers’ early defense a key factor.

DUEL FALLS FLAT M

ANCHESTER, England—The highly anticipated duel between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo fell flat as the world’s two best players lasted just 45 minutes of Portugal’s last-gasp 1-0 win over Argentina in an international friendly on Tuesday.

With Messi and Ronaldo substituted at halftime after low-key performances, many in the crowd at a half-full Old Trafford had lost interest by the time Raphael Guerreiro dived to head in the winning goal in the first minute of injury time.

Stationed on the right wing, Messi only showed glimpses of the brilliance he produces regularly for Barcelona, although he struck a close-range shot against the post in the 11th minute. Ronaldo’s presence was even more fleeting for Portugal at the ground where he spent six years playing with distinction for Manchester United from 2003-2009.

Aside from a neat back-flick near the halfway line and blazing a shot over the bar from 10 meters out, Ronaldo barely made an impression—except for when he missed the ball with a swing of his famous right boot and kicked Argentina midfielder Lucas Biglia in the stomach instead.

This was hardly a night when the great rivals demonstrated their credentials ahead of the latest Fofa world player of the year vote, and there was a smattering of boos when it was announced at the start of the second half that they would not be reappearing.

It was the 27th time Messi and Ronaldo came up against against each other—and surely the most underwhelming.

“We had planned with Lionel after he played the whole match [of last week’s 2-1 win] against Croatia that he should only take part in the opening 45 minutes,” Argentina Coach Gerardo Martino said.

Guerreiro’s goal came from the only clear-cut chance Portugal created. A long-range shot deflected

off Eder and rebounded out to the right wing, where Ricardo Quaresma controlled and crossed for the substitute striker to head unmarked past Argentina goalkeeper Naheul Guzman from 6 meters.

“We knew when we play against a team like that, it is very difficult,” said Portugal midfielder Nani, who is currently on loan from United at Sporting Lisbon. “We defended the result but tried to win the game as well, and in the end we had a bit of pressure and we won the game.”

Nani left his mark on his return to Old Trafford, stamping on the right foot of Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria—the man replaced Nani in the United squad this season. Di Maria required treatment but played on.

“It was a tough blow, a tough knock,” Martino said. “It actually cut the skin a little bit. We are having a look at some x-rays that were taken, but we don’t think that it is too serious.”

Martino has lost two of his five matches in charge of Argentina since taking over after the World Cup in Brazil.

Messi, who has always planned to end his career at Barcelona, meanwhile, is hinting that might not happen.

In an interview published on Tuesday by sports newspaper Ole, the 27-year-old Argentine says: “While I always said that I would like to stay there [Barcelona] forever, sometimes not everything happens the way you want.”

Messi indicated that the club’s current situation—with losses on the field and a new coach in Luis Enrique—could change things.

He says “Barcelona is a very big club. And when you lose two games in a row, problems begin to crop up and critics come out from all sides...crazy stuff, the same as with the [Argentine] national team.”

Barcelona failed to pick up any silverware last season.

CRISTIANO RONALDO and Lionel Messi (inset) barely make an impression. AP

SPORTS

By Bianca Cuaresma

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GOOD TIMES

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| Thursday, November 20, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

BOP still below par despite Oct’s $24-M surplus

This time, Kobe delivers BusinessMirror

he 2014 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), the new roster of preferred economic activities that are entitled to government fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, has been approved by President Aquino, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Wednesday.

See “IPP,” A8

Italian mobsters take secret oath in police video

OME—Recruits for Italy’s ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate have been caught on video taking a loyalty oath, swearing “under the splendor of the moon,” in a ceremony secretly recorded by police in what investigators called authorities’ first such glimpse of the ritual.

Carabinieri paramilitary police in Milan on Tuesday released video of what they said were two “convivial” get-togethers of suspected mobsters at a farmhouse in Castello di Brianza, northern Italy, with one recruit as young as 17.

The oath reminds the recruits that traitors are expected to kill themselves and to keep an extra bullet handy in case it comes to that.

Investigators did not explain how they managed to film at the ceremony. Prosecutors said it was the first time authorities have obtained video of an ‘ndrangheta initiation ritual.

The same investigation led to 38 arrests. The probe concentrated on

THE WORLD

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By Catherine N. Pillas

The trade department said it added another preferred activity to the preliminary list of seven priority areas earlier presented by the Board of Investments (BOI).

Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr., in a text message, confirmed that the Chief Executive has “approved as recommended” the much-delayed IPP last month.

The BOI earlier released a draft list of preferred activities, namely, manufacturing, agribusiness and fishery, services, economic and low-cost housing, energy, public infrastructure and logistics, and publicprivate partnership (PPP) projects. Hospital projects were included in the 2014 IPP’s final version.

Manufacturing activities include motor-vehicle assembly, engineered products, chemicals including fertilizer and pesticides, copper wire rod, paper pulp, tool and dye.

CATHOLIC Diocese OFFERS PLAN TO SETTLE ABUSE CLAIM B3-4 Thursday, November 20, 2014

Tuesday, Thursday,November November18, 20,2014 2014Vol.Vol.1010No.No.4042

P-Noy inks long-delayed 2014 IPP

EUROS OR DOLLARS? THE WRONG CHOICE WILL COST YOU EAR God, of course, producing children is only the beginning of the responsibility of parents. At first, human babies are almost entirely dependent, but as they grow, they need more than physical attention. They need help to develop mentally, emotionally, morally, economically and spiritually. As parents, we have the responsibility to bring our children closer to God daily. Amen.

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HOSPITAL PROJECTS LATE ADDITION TO LIST OF PREFERRED ACTIVITIES eligible FOR PERKS

INSIDE

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A broader look at today’s business

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he country’s balance of payments (BOP) remains under pressure to keep its position afloat the surplus line for the year, with the latest report from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showing the Philippines still has a multibillion-dollar deficit in the first 10 months of the year.

The recovery continues, however, as the central bank reported on Wednesday that the country’s transactions with the rest of the world for October alone hit a surplus of $24 million.

The month’s surplus is larger than the $5-million BOP surplus seen in the same month last year. It is, however, smaller compared to the previous month’s surplus of $98 million.

While the country has been recording a monthly surplus since July, the excess has been steadily declining to contribute less and less to the country’s BOP position for the entire 10-month period.

In particular, the October surplus was not enough to push the country’s 10-month deficit to the surplus territory. Latest data from the central bank showed that the country is still at a $3.408-billion deficit in the Continued on A8

PESO exchange rates n US 44.9390

p-noy in singapore President Aquino shares his views during the open discussions at a meeting with business executives at the Hibiscus Room of the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore on Wednesday as part of his official visit to Singapore. With the President are Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene D. Almendras, Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario and Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo. See related story on A5. Malacañang Photo

U.N.REPORT: DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT MAY BOOST GROWTH

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he United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Tuesday that changing demographics, mainly in Africa and Asia, could lead to rapid economic growth if there is sufficient investment in young people.

The agency said a “demographic dividend” can happen when a country’s working-age population is larger than its elderly and young populations who are dependent.

“Today’s record 1.8 billion young people present an enormous opportunity to transform the future,” the fund’s Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said.

“Never again is there likely to be such potential for economic and social progress.”

He said 90 percent of these young people live in lessdeveloped countries where they face obstacles to their rights to education, health and a life free from violence.

A staggering 57 million are out of school, and young people today account for two in five of the world’s unemployed, he said.

In its State of World Population 2014 report, the UNFPA said demographic shifts taking place in about 60 developing countries, primarily in Africa and Asia, are opening a window for a demographic dividend.

The size of the dividend depends largely on the investment those countries make in young people to realize their full potential, the report said.

Osotimehin said at the launch in London that the report makes the case “for urgent investment in young people so they may be engaged in their communities and Continued on A8

Although in recession, Japan vows continued ODA to PHL

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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Conclusion

okyo, Japan—In addition to investing in human-capital development, Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) to the Philippines must also respond to the changing face of poverty, Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said.

“The scourge of poverty afflicts millions, not only in poor countries, but also in middle-income and higher growth economies. On top of this, poverty is exacerbated by the increased severity of climate change-induced disasters. I believe, therefore, that ODA must continue to target poverty alleviation as an effective means for addressing social inequality and promoting sustainable development,” he stressed.

Del Rosario noted that the natural calamities that ravaged the Philippines in the past quarters signal the need for better disaster resilience, which, in turn, requires financing.

“Given the mega disasters, which we feel may be the new norm, we are

looking for assistance very badly in terms of building a country that is disaster-resilient. Moving forward, funding for disaster resilience could be embedded in development assistance,” he said.

Overall, del Rosario said the Philippines is in need of good governance, a key ingredient in attaining inclusive economic growth.

“We need assistance in providing for good governance, improving our competitiveness and building a disaster-resilient community,” he emphasized.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) President Akihiko Tanaka welcomed these requests, but stressed the importance of completing the current projects that the two countries are pursuing.

“First thing that we need to do is to implement what we have already agreed upon. The tasks that we are facing in the coming years are infrastructure, and the consultation of the government of the Philippines, which are priority areas,” he said.

“We are very positive in designing many projects in line with what Continued on A2

n japan 0.3846 n UK 70.2801 n HK 5.7952 n CHINA 7.3414 n singapore 34.6324 n australia 39.2446 n EU 56.3445 n SAUDI arabia 11.9780 Source: BSP (19 November 2014)

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News BusinessMirror

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Although in recession, Japan vows continued ODA to PHL Continued from A1

Mr. del Rosario mentioned.”

Currently, the two nations are pursuing a P4.76-trillion transportation infrastructure program that would mitigate the worsening traffic in Manila.

“But which ones we should do haven’t been agreed yet. Still, I think in the Philippines there are many demands for infrastructure, industrial and urban development,” Tanaka said.

“Concretely speaking we have to discuss these first with the government of the Philippines,” he added.

ODA to be a catalyst for change, peace Representing Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane told participants of the forum that his country will continue to provide assistance to developing countries.

“Japan’s ODA will be a catalyst to achieve poverty reduction and self sustainability, centering first in Asia for improvements in infrastructure and for the promotion of economic growth,” he said.

“The future of ODA is to serve as catalyst to invite private investments.”

This means that ODA could be a means to jumpstart further investments from other developed countries and private companies.

“Private funds from advanced nations will exceed ODA and are crucial for the growth of developing companies.

In an age like this, ODA has to play a role, which is not the simple provision of funds,” he stressed.

The vice minister added that there is a need for the promotion of peace in the mid of internationalization.

“Japan has announced that she will continue to contribute further to peace, based on internationalization,” he said, adding that Japan’s assistance program is centered around the idea of human security.

“The philosophy and experience of peace-loving will help support Japanese development cooperation in the future,” he noted.

Nakane was referring to the planned revision of the ODA charter by expanding it from simple assistance to cooperation.

“The general principle of cooperation will be a compass for Japan as a responsible country to know the right direction,” he said.

Jica’s Tanaka noted that the new charter would include general statements on future partnerships, aside from simple assistance.

“The new development cooperation charter does not have any budget allocation components. It’s a general statement,” he said. The new charter will be released

by December.

The Japanese ODA assistance policy mainly revolves around the idea of aiding the Philippines to achieve inclusive growth. It has three priority areas, namely, to achieve sustainable economic growth through further promotion of investment, to overcome vulnerability and stabilizing bases for human life and production activity, and to develop peace in Mindanao.

The international aid flow from Japan was responsible for the construction of big ticket infrastructures in the Philippines such as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway, and the Arterial Road Bypass in Cabanatuan, among others.

Taxi operators need to modernize–Abaya

The LTFRB has identified the existing “vehicles-for-hire” category as the likely classification for such vehicles, once its scope is updated to accommodate new technological solutions.

In an inquiry at the House of Representatives earlier this week, LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez reported that his office will conduct a hearing on Monday in relation Continued from A8

Continued from A8

“Continued current account surpluses over 3 percent of GDP [gross domestic product] have turned the Philippines into a large net external creditor, at 7 percent of GDP in 2013,” Fitch noted.

“Strong growth and small fiscal deficits have led to a sustained decline in public-debt ratios,” the credit watcher added.

Among the key rating drivers that may turn the country’s outlook to positive is the sustained and strong GDP growth that would improve the income and development levels.

The credit watcher also seeks a further reduction in the general government debt-to-GDP ratio.

However, Fitch said the low income and poor governance compared with other similarly rated peers lingered as the country’s key weaknesses.

The credit watcher also said a period of economic overheating or financial instability may provide downside risks to the country’s rating.

Likewise, a deterioration in governance standards may also be detrimental to the country’s ratings, according to Fitch.

NOVEMBER 20, 2014 | THURSDAY

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON.

Tail-end of a cold front is the extended part of the boundary, which happens when the cold air and warm air meet. This may bring rainfall and cloudiness over affected areas. It is felt at the northern hemisphere winter season.

NOV 22

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(AS OF NOVEMBER 19, 5:00 PM)

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TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 29°C

METRO MANILA 23 – 32°C

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Text refund. . . continued from a8 Communications Inc. (Smart) to reduce their interconnection charge to P0.15 per off-net SMS (text message) from the then prevailing P0.35.

According to the NTC, the amount of refund would reach P7 billion once the order became effective. Globe had obtained on September 3 a TRO from the CA prohibiting the NTC from imposing its order.

Two other Telcos—Smart and Digitel—had obtained the same TRO. The TRO was effective for 60 days upon receipt of the notice.

It aims to prevent any irreparable injury on Globe should its petition be granted on its merits, and to prevent the petition questioning the refund.

NOV 23 SUNDAY

TAGAYTAY

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PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

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The CA also ordered Globe to post a bond in the amount of P500,000.

In the new ruling, the CA said it could not lift the ruling it issued on the matter.

“Anent the prayer of the NTC that the TRO we issued on September 3, 2014 be lifted, we point out that the Surety Bond in the amount of P500,000.00 was posted by petitioner Globe Telecom Inc. only on October 15,” it said.

“Although the injunctive bond posted appears to be in order, per CMIS Verification Report, the [TRO] Fee and Sheriff’s Fee have not been paid,” the CA added.

Likewise, the CA directed Globe “to forthwith pay within five days from notice the unpaid [fees].” PNA

NOV 22

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NOV 23 SUNDAY

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METRO CEBU 24 – 32°C

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for taxi operations to modernize and improve, as well as this will benefit commuters. I want minimum upgrading requirements such as booking systems through mobile devices, newer and well-maintained fleets, and highlytrained drivers whose identities are disclosed to passengers,” Abaya said.

Ginez earlier ran after carpooling services provider Uber as its operations were deemed illegal then. It was the first app-based taxi-ordering firm to be apprehended by the regulator.

TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LUZON.

eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread cloudiness with rains and showers.

LAOAG CITY 23 – 30°C

to the proposed updating of land transport rules and regulations.

The hearing will also discuss the status of Uber vehicles that are currently deemed illegitimate by law.

As the DOTC is pushing to expedite the process of updating old rules to meet today’s technologies, it is also formulating a taxi-reform program to mandate improved services to the public.

“The ideal result of these developments is

Fitch still upbeat on Philippine prospects

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

TODAY’S WEATHER

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23 – 32°C

HALF MOON

NOV 14

24 – 31°C

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LOW TIDE MANILA HIGH TIDE SOUTH HARBOR

11:16 PM

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8:40 PM

0.10 METER 0.85 METER 8:32 PM Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and/or thunderstorms

Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 24 – 32°C ZAMBOANGA CITY 24 – 33°C

ILOILO/ BACOLOD

24 – 31°C

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24 – 32°C

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

METRO DAVAO 25 – 33°C

Light rains Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated 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

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Economy

A4 Thursday, November 20, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

Senator defends increased tax cap on 13th-month pay to ₧82,000

S

enate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto on Wednesday defended his amendment to Senate Bill 2437, that seeks to raise the tax exemption cap for 13th-month pay and other benefits from the original P75,000 to P82,000, saying the amount merely restores the value of the peso which has been lost to inflation since 1994.

This means that those earnings up to P82,000 be included in 13thmonth pay tax exemption.

The bill seeks to amend Republic Act 7833, enacted in 1994, which mandates that the 13th-month pay and other benefits, such as productivity incentives and Christmas bonuses not exceeding P30,000 given

to both government and privatesector employees are exempted from tax.

Recto, principal author of the bill increasing the no-tax zone on bonuses, said the peso had lost twothirds of its value over the past 20 years.

“One peso in 1994 is worth 36

RECTO: “And even if his [employees] 13thmonth pay is tax exempt upon receipt, it will be taxable when spent, so tax not withheld at source will later be captured in the form of sales tax at points of sale”.

centavos today. Adjusted to inflation, the P30,000 then should be P82,300 today. That is why we peg the new cap at P82,000,” Recto said.

The P30,000 cap entered the tax code in 1994 when, Recto recalled, “the minimum jeepney fare was P1.50, rice was P13 a kilo, bread was sold for P7 a loaf, gasoline was priced at P8.50 a liter, and a can of sardines was P6.”

He said the P30,000 was set so that it could cover the highest salary in the government then which that of the President who was then receiving P25,000 a month.

“The idea was that when all government employees get their 13thmonth pay, it will be in full and without tax deduction.”

Recto said the increase in the taxexempt cap should not be viewed as a revenue loss for the government but as “income gained by the workingman.”

“And even if his 13th-month pay is tax exempt upon receipt, it will be taxable when spent, so tax not withheld at source will later be captured in the form of sales tax at points of sale,” the senator explained.

Another good point of the bill, passed by the Senate on Second Reading on Tuesday, is that the tax cap on the 13th-month pay and other benefits will now be indexed to inflation.

“There is now automatic adjustment every three years. This means the adjustment is a mandatory executive action. No need to run to Congress for a law setting a higher threshold,” Recto said. PNA

Solon presses House probe into noncollection of oil-pollution fund

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lawmaker is seeking a congressional review of the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9483, or the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007.

“RA 9483 provided for the establishment of an Oil Pollution Management Fund to be administered by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), which shall come from a 10-centavo fee per liter to be paid for every delivery or transshipment of oil by tanker barges and tanker haulers,” Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon Kabataan said.

“This amount is expected to increase for the succeeding fiscal years after a joint deliberation of concerned government agencies and owners/operators of oil shipping companies,” the author added.

Ridon is author of House Resolution 1600, “urging the House committee on energy to conduct a review of implementation of the Oil Spill Compensation Law in connection with the noncollection of the Oil Pollution Management Fund, which could have been used to address the Estancia oil spill in Iloilo and other similar cases of oil pollution.”

“Several years after legislation of the law, no implementing rules and regulations [IRR] has been drafted to allow for its full implementation.

The IRR should have been formulated by the Department of Transportation and Communications, pursuant to Section 24 of the law, Ridon pointed out.

However, Ridon pointed out that despite the absence of an IRR, oil companies are duty-bound to set aside 10 centavos per liter, for the oil spill fund as provided by law.

Ridon said the unenforced law has failed to immediately address the damage caused by the Power Barge 103 that ran aground the shoreline of Barangay Botongon, Estancia in Iloilo on November 8 last year.

“The barge was moored at the

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Voluminous national budget book failed to detail previous year spending–Recto

By Estrella Torres

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he 5,947-page national budget package may be as thick and as voluminous as an encyclopedia set but it has one fault: It doesn’t tell what happened to the funds appropriated in the previous national budget.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto cited this weakness of the current budgeting system in pushing for “the installation of the rearview mirror on the national budget.”

Recto bewailed that despite the “fine print of nine budget documents,” nowhere is there a section which says that the projects and programs authorized in the past budget have been implemented or not.

“You can go through the almost 6,000 pages line by line but you won’t find anything which says that the projects lovingly enumerated in the previous year’s budget have been completed,” Recto said.

“Wade through the thicket of numbers and there’s nothing there which says if 61,510 teachers were indeed hired last year, if the plan to recruit 9,000 pushed through, if the roads catalogued in the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] budget were indeed built,” Recto said.

To cure this defect, Recto proposed a “new budget accountability” form which reports on the status of projects funded by the immediate General Appropriations Act (GAA).

He said this can be done by using the GAA format “but it will now be returned to us with annotations showing line-by-line if the projects were indeed implemented.”

“If a line-item in the 2015 GAA says that P100 million is appropriated for this road in Cebu, then what we want is for the government to submit in 2016 the same GAA with a status report opposite the said line-item,” Recto said.

“If the GAA authorizes the recruitment of, say, 10,000 new policemen and 50,000 new teachers, then what we want is for the executive to later

indicate in that GAA a note stating the actual number of policemen and teachers hired,” he added.

Recto said his proposal is easy to implement. “We are not reinventing the wheel or imposing a new administrative budget.”

“We are not even creating a new book. Just the old GAA, but this time, there’s a note opposite line-item indicating if it’s completed, still under construction, or the funds have been impounded,” he said.

“Formatting wise, hindi mahirap, kasi sabi nga nila isang Excel column lang ang idadagdag,” he said.

“Ang status na gusto natin ay hindi kilometric ang haba. One-liner lang or one brief sentence pwede na. Pag tapos na ang isang project, eh di sulatan nila ng “implemented”.

Recto asked the Executive branch to embrace his idea as it would lead to more transparent budgeting.

His proposal, Recto said will lead to the disaggregation of multibillion lump-sum funds.

“Kung halimbawa block fund ang calamity Fund, sa proposal ko itemized na sa post-budget reporting kung saan ito napunta,” Recto explained.

Recto lamented that at present it is impossible for taxpayers to check if a specific project authorized in the GAA has indeed been implemented.

He blamed the “data vacuum” in the “budget accountability phase” to the discontinuation of the same format used from budget preparation to budget authorization to budget execution.

“The National Expenditure Program evolves into the General Appropriations Bill and the latter morphs into the GAA which, in turn, is used as budget release document,” Recto said.

“But what is supposed to be the seamless progression of using one reference format stops at post-implementation because there is no way we will be able to know if a project has been implemented.” He said this can be solved by using the same GAA as report card of fund utilization.

Lawyer: Enough evidence to pursue P5-B Nabcor anomaly PRISON CHRISTMAS enterprise Inmates assemble colorful Christmas lanterns made of bamboo sticks, colored plastic and Japanese

paper as part of the livelihood project inside the Baguio City jail. Mau Victa

south of Estancia but was forced loose by the strong winds and gusts of Supertyphoon Yolanda when it struck the province on November 8, 2013,” he added.

RA 9483, Ridon stressed, is an expression of the State’s commitment to protect its marine wealth that lies within its archipelagic waters, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.

The law was enacted in consonance with the “1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage” and the “1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage,” forged to protect the ecosystem and ensure the dignity of marine life and

the people that benefit from them, the author noted.

As a backgrounder, the barge is owned by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and operated by the National Power Corp.

Even as local media then reported that 200,000 liters of bunker fuel have leaked, the World Health Organization in a joint environment assessment with the Environment Management Bureau of Iloilo and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 800,000 liters of heavy oil spilled into the sea.

“The bunker oil contamination gravely affected marine life in the area and has made fishing

impossible for the fisherfolk community. The damage also gravely affected the mangroves in the area, and with the slow pace of recovery, the people are continually exposed to health hazards,” Ridon lamented.

He also stressed the duty of Congress to determine whether the Oil Pollution Management Fund had in fact been set aside by oil companies or the actual amounts set aside.

“Congress must act in haste for the full implementation of the law to protect and uphold the rights and welfare of its people, especially those affected by oil pollution damages such as the oil spill in Estancia,” Ridon concluded. PNA

PHL, Turkey to inaugurate first direct flight in March

he Philippines and Turkey are set to have direct flights—the first time between the two countries—early next year.

Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Turkey, will have its inaugural flight next year after Turkey and the Philippines signed an airservice agreement early this week allowing direct flights between the two countries.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Philippines-Turkey Business Council Chairman Ernesto Chua told reporters that Turkish Airlines will start its direct flight to Manila and Clark in Pampanga from Ankara and Istanbul in March 2015.

Chua added that Turkish Airlines will offer both passenger and cargo air services three times a week.

“It will cut three hours of travel time between Istanbul and Manila

from the normal 12-hour connecting flight via Dubai,” Chua said.

The Philippines and Turkey signed the air pact during the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu this week when he also met President Aquino in Malacañang.

The air-services agreement grants the country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines and Turkish Airlines to have

three frequencies a week both for passenger and cargo services.

Meanwhile, Chua said Prime Minister Dav utoglu was a lso looking into the development on the proposed creation of the Bangsamoro political entity.

“Turkey is an observer of the Bangsamoro,” he said.

The Philippines and Turkey have 65 years of bilateral relations. PNA

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L AW Y ER of t he sup posed wh i st le - blowers in the P5-billion National Agri-Business Corp. (Nabcor) fund anomaly in 2007 insisted on Wednesday that his clients have submitted enough evidence to warrant a probe by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Lawyer Levi Baligod said former Nabcor officials Rhodora Mendoza and Victor Cacal provided the DOJ with the necessary documents when they surfaced in March to aid the justice department in its investigation. The said documents would back allegations that acting Health Secretary Janette Garin and other former officials benefited from the anomaly.

“I don’t believe there is any lack of documents or evidence. In fact, we [have] submitted strong evidence along with the complaint,” Baligod said. He made the clarification after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima admtited that the DOJ’s investigation into the multibillion Nabcor anomaly failed to prosper due to the failure of the two whistleblowers to submit additional documents required of them.

DeLima also said the investigation did not move because the affidavits of Mendoza and Cacal were not duly subscribed and that probers asked for additional documents that the two have failed to provide.

“Even the ledger containing the bank accounts where the commissions were deposited was annexed to the complaint,” the lawyer countered.

De Lima also announced last week that the probe has been pending with the National Investigation Bureau’s Special Task Force (NBI-STF), the same team that probed the Priority Assistance Development Fund scam allegedly perpetrated by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

The lawyer stressed that they would cooperate with the NBI anyway if its probe would proceed.

“We’ve been waiting for several months already for any investigation since we filed the complaint last March,” he said. In their affidavits, Mendoza and Cacal alleged that Garin and nine other politicians received P1 million each from Nabcor funds during the 2007 polls.

Garin was then the representative of Iloilo’s first district allied with the previous administration before she joined the ruling Liberal Party.

Mendoza was Nabcor’s former vice president for administration and finance, while Cacal, then-general services supervisor, supported her claims. She alleged that then Nabcor President Alan Javellana asked her to use P300 million of the agency’s special public fund for the personal expenses of some politicians in the 2007 midterm elections.

She said they made it appear that P105 million was set aside for the technical studies related to the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program, but the money actually went to the campaign kitties of politicians who ran for reelection in 2007. Joel R. San Juan

Economy BusinessMirror

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Aquino to Singapore firms: Expand investments in PHL

By Butch Fernandez

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resident Aquino arrived home early Wednesday evening from a hectic two-day working visit in Singapore, bouyed by optimism that Singaporeanbased companies are ready to expand their existing investments in the Philippines.

The President flew to Singapore the other day to keynote the annual gala dinner hosted by the international business publication The Economist, where he made a pitch for attractive investment potentials offered by the Philippines.

On his last day in the city-state, Mr. Aquino had scheduled a roundtable with business executives organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center and the Singapore Business Federation, followed quickly by a series of separate meetings with the Singapore Airlines Engineering Company, Temasek Holdings and the Government Investment Corp., also known as GIC Private Ltd. Temasek is listed as a leading investment company, focused primarily in Asia, which is owned by the Government of Singapore with a portfolio of $223 billion. Temasek was incorporated in 1974 to manage investments and assets previously held by the Singapore government, while GIC Private Ltd. was set up in 1981 as a wholly owned company by the Singapore government to manage its foreign reserves.

In a talk with the Philippine media delegation earlier, President Aquino confided he intends to encourage officials of the Singapore companies to increase their investments in the Philippines.

Mr. Aquino noted that multibilliondollar Singapore-based companies like Temasek, GCI, as well as Keppel Corp., a shipbuilding company that has expanded into property and infrastructure businesses, are known to manage investments, sovereign wealth funds and shipping industries.

The President acknowledged that Temasek had been helping the Philippines in various educational fronts, while Keppel was instrumental in making the Philippines one of the best place to go to in terms of shipbuilding.

He recalled that Temasek Holdings is already investing in the Philippines but he is encouraging them to raise their investments in the country. Mr. Aquino added that GIC also has a “presence” in the Philippines, having a sizable investment in Emperador Distillers, noting also that Keppel “helped [the Philippines] become either fourth- or fifth-biggest [in] shipbuilding.”

“First time nating kausap ’yung Temasek Holdings as a government,” he said. “And in the past, probably a year or two, medyo talagang tumaas ’yung interest levels,” the President added. Mr. Aquino voiced optimism that “more investments” are coming to the Philippines from Singapore, making a distinction between his previous talks with Temasek Foundation about assistance in education and study programs.

“But now, it is the business side that is talking to us, which is Temasek Holdings to talk about investments in the country,” President Aquino said. “And we assume, since there are no outstanding problems that have come to my attention, indicative na more investments.”

Thursday, November 20, 2014 A5

P23-billion supplemental budget to scale up Yolanda aid, Apec preps

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By Estrella Torres

he Department of Budget and Management is pushing for a P23-billion supplemental budget to be filed along with the proposed P2.606trillion national budget for 2015 to fast-track infrastructure projects for post-Yolanda rehabilitation and Manila’s hosting of the 2015 AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said a portion of the proposed supplemental budget, amounting to P6.93 billion, will cover liabilities arising from obligated infrastructure projects and projects under government agencies that were originally funded by the

outlawed Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program that were both declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

He said these obligated infrastructure projects include the P1.85 billion under the Department

ABAD: “Most of these projects have already been completed, are ongoing, or are urgently needed to sustain our socioeconomic development. The passage of the proposed supplemental budget will allow us to allocate funds accordingly so we can complete these projects right away.”

of Public Works and Highways, as well as the P5.08 billion that were supposed to fund a number of priority projects under various government agencies. The funds will account for the budgetary requirements of priority projects that were partially implemented or previously approved for implementation this year.

“Most of these projects have already been completed, are ongoing, or are urgently needed to sustain our socioeconomic development.

The passage of the proposed supplemental budget will allow us to allocate funds accordingly so we can complete these projects right away,” Abad said in a news statement

released on Wednesday.

The budget chief said a total of P16.4 billion out of the proposed supplemental budget have been earmarked for new priority initiatives.

Of this amount, the administration’s Yolanda reconstruction and rehabilitation program will get P9.5 billion.

Another P1.44 billion will support key projects in preparation for the Apec summit, which the Philippines will be hosting next year.

“The National Treasury has already certified the availability of funds to support these projects but these appropriations must, likewise, be supported by proper legislation. With the proposed 2015 national budget already subject to Senate deliberations, we need the support of the House of Representatives to pass a supplemental appropriations bill to fund these projects,” Abad said.

The proposed 2014 supplemental appropriations also aims to fund a number of priority projects, ranging from the rehabilitation of the Light Railway Transit Lines 1 and 2, to the construction of permanent housing for the victims of Yolanda, Abad said. With PNA

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Thursday, November 20, 2014

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

The 21st-century entrepreneur

M

ANY say old habits die hard. Bad habits die even harder. And among an entrepreneur’s habits, the worst is clinging to the notion of “business as usual.” Nothing so mangles, so restricts success than a business venture barely able to keep up with the times.

The world of big-time commerce has changed from what it was 20 years ago. Everything has changed, in fact: consumer habits; purchasing power; the value of the legal tender; protocols in business, even entrepreneurial character.

The frequency of the change in the costs of products tells us that what we can afford two decades ago may not fit our budget today. Or maybe it can fit, but with a catch: the product’s quality is not what it used to be. We see this in many fast-food products, the size and taste of which hardly match the company’s claims in its advertisements.

This puts the entrepreneur in a serious quandary: How can he or she convince his or her target market to purchase his or her product at a higher price without losing its quality?

To remain competitive, the 21st-century entrepreneur must go back to the basic principles of trade and commerce: product development. Here, we are not simply talking of any product, but one that fits the needs of the times.

One such product is the source of power. With the way the prices of electricity are skyrocketing, a serious entrepreneur would do well to rise above the occasion. The Philippines remains as one of the countries burdened by obscene electricity costs. Needless to say, the need for alternative sources of energy is already there.

As the key sources of fossil fuel thin out, businesses must secure stable sources of energy, not only to power their own plants, but also to engage in a useful and productive enterprise. Solar cells and other renewable-power sources may just do the trick.

The way entrepreneurs look at technology must also change. The idea that technology can be utilized for product development must level up to also mean “market possibilities.”

Social media, for example, is taking the world by storm. Consider the statistics provided by Digital 2wist Inc.: “[1] The fastest-growing demographic on Twitter is the 55 to 64 age bracket; [2] this demographic has grown 79 percent since 2012; [3] the 45 to 54 year age bracket is the fastest-growing demographic on both Facebook and Google+; [4] for Facebook, this group has jumped 46 percent [and] for Google+, 56 percent.”

To market your product using social media (an example is “marketer blogging”) can do wonders for your business. Of course, there is the challenge of online-content production. But then again, knowing your client demographic is a good five steps ahead of the race to become No. 1.

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Zombie economics John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

D

ISASTER and horror movies have always been popular.

People like to be scared by something they have no control over. The French and Japanese were already making horror films before the 20th century.

We have gone through periods of being frightened by natural and manmade disasters, aliens, asteroids and cosmic events. The last few years have seen the revival of zombie horror.

Of all the types of horror, it is, perhaps, the zombie apocalypse that strikes the closest to our deepest fears. The story usually starts with everything being normal, until one day, everything changes. The reality is that no person is safe, regardless of his or her wealth, location or social class. There is very little that can be done to prepare for this apocalypse.

Once it starts, it no longer becomes a matter of winning; it only becomes a matter of survival.

The zombies themselves depend on destroying the healthy to survive, and they are relentless in their pursuit of them. It always seems like the government has something to do with it: It either caused the zombie

outbreak or failed to respond quickly and urgently enough.

I know it is silly to compare a potential global financial disaster to zombies, but if you look at the “factors” causing a zombie apocalypse and compare them with those causing a financial Armageddon, you will see that there’s not much of a difference.

Japan is now officially in recession after its economy shrank in two consecutive quarters. Its third-quarter gross domestic product decreased by 1.6 percent over the same period in 2013. But the big news is that this is the third time that Japan has been in recession since 2008, when its economy racked up four quarters of negative growth. Japan’s economy in 2011, 2012 and now 2014 showed two or more quarters of negative numbers. If this were basketball, it would be a triple-double.

As would happen in the zombie

apocalypse, the Japanese government, perhaps, has a long list of excuses. Japanese Minister for National Strategy and Economic Policy Akira Amari was quoted as saying the recession was not a failure of government economic policy. Amari protested that the economy still expanded 0.5 percent in the first nine months of the year and refused to use the word zombie—I mean, recession.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga blamed the contraction on slow inventory buildup, the weather and a bad consumer mind-set. Why is it that politicians blame bad weather on “climate change” and bad economies on the “weather”?

In the movie Contagion, everything started with a diseased pig in a kitchen in Macau, so maybe China is the problem plaguing the Japanese economy, and not the Japanese government’s policies.

But no matter how bad it becomes, there are always survivors; they either have immunity to or the ability to avoid the outbreak. Thailand, though, just lowered its 2014 economic-growth forecast by nearly 50 percent. This came after a worsethan-expected third quarter, and the reason for that were bad exports, in spite of the “robust” United States growth that we hear so much about.

So how can you tell if your country is marked for zombie extermination?

The first sign is the integration of government agencies and private-

Beginning of the end in Hong Kong Adam Minter

T

BLOOMBERG VIEW

UESDAY morning saw the beginning of the end of the pro-democracy protests that have wracked Hong Kong for nearly two months. Armed with a court order to clear part of the main protest site in the city’s Admiralty district, bailiffs dismantled and removed barricades with little opposition. Several protesters vowed to continue occupying the streets until Beijing meets their demands for open nominations for Hong Kong’s next leader. Their numbers are dwindling fast, though, and Hong Kong authorities are understandably confident that the remaining sites can be cleared in the coming days.

It’s time to admit the obvious: The protests have run their course. The Hong Kong government, which had once sat down across from idealistic student leaders, now declines to meet with them. Over the weekend, a poll revealed that almost 70 percent of Hong Kong’s people want the protesters to go home. Clinging to their few tent encampments would only further undermine the movement’s credibility, as what ultimately happened with the listless and unpopular Occupy Wall Street.

That’s a pity, because, unlike Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Central

actually has a definable and sympathetic goal: holding China to its promises of full suffrage for Hong Kong. What it needs is a strategy for keeping up that fight over years, not weeks. Here’s where protest leaders might start: First, send everyone home. Clear the sites in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and the gritty Mong Kok neighborhood, and do so peacefully. The protesters need a break, and so does Hong Kong. Nobody will look askance if Occupy leaders simply announce that their message has gotten out, and that it’s now time to

stop inconveniencing fellow citizens.

Next, figure out who is actually in charge of the movement. Is it the students? Is it the professors and professional legislators? Which students?

Which professors? In late October, in one of the Occupy movement’s most embarrassing episodes, the various pro-democracy groups supporting the protests canceled a vote on how to take the movement forward. Why? Because they couldn’t agree on how to phrase the poll questions. If the various protest groups can’t even coalesce around an informal vote, what makes them think that Hong Kong citizens should embrace their pro-democracy message?

Third, the movement needs to revise its goals downward, at least in the near-term. Stunts, such as last weekend’s failed attempt by three student leaders to fly to Beijing and demand a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, should be abandoned, as should unrealistic demands. Beijing is not about to reverse its decision that candidates be vetted by a nominating committee. While truly open nominations can remain an ultimate ambition, protest organizers should be much more focused on wresting what influence they can now and using that as a foundation to push for more changes in the future.

To that end, protesters should

sector cartels, where the government purposefully protects privatesector interests. It is one big illegitimate family, with no disputes and large, easily awarded governmentfunded contracts.

Next, the country has a heavy reliance on exports for growth and profits with domestic savings, which provide the capital for export expansion. In other words, banks loan all their money to fund exports.

Finally, government corporations and the private sector are being forced to write off large amounts of bad loans that will never be paid.

Some, if not many private-sector bad loans are paid for by government bailouts, or “zombie” loans.

None of those factors describes the Philippines.

After extensive research on zombie literature, two conclusions can be made: Pockets of humanity will survive the zombie apocalypse because of conditions not found in other places; and the apocalypse will end only when all the zombies are shot in the head and burned.

The same factors apply to the economic zombie apocalypse.

Send me an e-mail to mangun @gmail.com. Visit my website at www. mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter at @mangunonmarkets.

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take up pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip’s suggestion that the students be given seats on the nominating committee. That might seem like selling out, and, indeed, China’s Communist Party has a long and infamous history of co-opting onetime opponents.

But what better way to highlight all that’s wrong with the committee than by revealing its flaws from within? As long as they hold true to their convictions, protest leaders can work to open up the system bit by bit.

And finally, they should remember that they always have the option of returning to the streets. The point is to avoid making protests an irritating chronic feature of the Hong Kong landscape (much like Occupy Wall Street). Instead, demonstrations should be rare, well-organized, timed for maximum turnout and—above all—concise in their aims.

Certainly, it will not be easy to draw tens of thousands of average citizens into the streets again.

But if pro-democracy leaders can show themselves to be effective representatives for ordinary Hong Kongers, both within and outside the system, they can credibly project an important message: There’s a generation in Hong Kong that doesn’t feel a part of what their city is becoming, and they need to be heard and respected.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Why RMC 54-2014 is void The King of compassion Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Tax law for business

M

ANY taxpayers were taken aback by the issuance of Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 54-2014 and its retroactive application. All pending claims for refund of value-added tax (VAT) that were not elevated to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) 120 days from their filing (with the complete documents) are deemed denied. If the taxpayer did not elevate the “deemed denial” within 30 days from the expiration of those 120 days, then the taxpayer permanently lost its claim.

The controversial phrase in this RMC is “deemed denial.” Where did it come from?

The Supreme Court (SC), in the San Roque case (GR 187485, 2014), derived this phrase, not from the Tax Code, but from the charter of the CTA, which provides that, if the Internal Revenue commissioner fails to decide within “a specific period” required by law, such “inaction shall be deemed a denial” of the application for tax refund or credit.

It is not the first time that the SC has passed upon the phrase. In the Lascona case (667 Supreme Court Reports Annotated 458, 2012), the High Court ruled that, in tax assessment, a taxpayer has two options on when to appeal its protest to the CTA: One, appeal within 30 days from the lapse of the 180-day period that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has not acted on the taxpayer’s protest, which the SC considers as a deemed denial; and two, wait for the BIR’s decision on the protest, no matter when it is handed down. According to the High Tribunal, a taxpayer cannot be prejudiced if it chooses the second option.

These two options in the Lascona case must also be applicable to claims for refund. Section 228 of the Tax Code (which outlines the appeal process in tax assessments) and Section 112 of the Tax Code (which outlines the appeal process in VAT refunds) uses almost the same words.

According to Section 228, if the BIR does not act on the protested assessment within 180 days, then it will be treated as inaction. The same rationale applies in Section 112. If the BIR does not act on the claim for refund within 120 days, then it will be also treated as inaction. According to the CTA charter, when there is inaction, the taxpayer has 30 days to appeal to the CTA. This was confirmed by the SC in the Lascona and San Roque cases.

But there is a very important difference between these two cases. In the former, the SC was confronted with the BIR’s decision on a disputed assessment. This decision denying the protest was issued way beyond the 180-day period. So the SC was able to resolve squarely that, even after the 180 days have passed, if the BIR decides on the disputed assessment, the taxpayer can still appeal to the CTA within 30 days. It, therefore, became clear that a taxpayer has the option to wait.

In the latter, however, the SC was only confronted with the following facts: 1) a taxpayer appealed its claim for refund to the CTA before the 120 days lapsed (premature filing); and 2) a taxpayer appealed to the CTA beyond the 120+30-day period (late

filing). The factual milieu prevents the SC from resolving the third scenario, where a decision was made by the BIR after the 120-day period lapsed and the taxpayer appealed the same to the CTA. Why is this distinction important? The BIR is basing RMC 542014 on the San Roque case. This circular cannot go beyond what the SC has resolved, which is basically only the two scenarios described above. It is a rule that the High Court can only resolve the actual facts and controversy before it. What the SC has resolved in San Roque is that a taxpayer may elevate its claim for refund to the CTA when the 120-day period has lapsed to avoid premature filing and late filing. The High Tribunal did not categorically say that this is the only option. Again, it must be emphasized that the SC was limited by the actual controversy before it. Thus, it is yet to resolve a scenario where a taxpayer has opted to wait for a decision of the BIR that was issued beyond the 120+30-day period.

With this in mind, it is paramount for the SC to resolve the limitations of the San Roque case by cutting down the sweeping position of the BIR that a taxpayer’s only option is to appeal its claim for refund when a deemed denial has set in after the 120-day period has lapsed. It is, thus, important that the RMC is questioned before the SC, because it might be the chance for the High Court to resolve the actual controversy, i.e., whether or not the circular is correct in excluding, as an option, that a taxpayer may wait for the decision of the BIR on a claim for VAT refund, even if this decision is issued beyond the 120+30-day period.

If taxpayers are not vigilant and the RMC is not questioned, and since the SC cannot resolve a hypothetical case, would there be a taxpayer willing to be a test case by waiting for the BIR’s decision on its claim for refund beyond the 120+30-day period? The bigger problem is, that decision might never come.

The author is a partner of DuBaladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of World Tax Services Alliance.

The article is for general information only, and is neither intended nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice.

Send comments or questions about the article to the author at irwin.nidea@ bdblaw.com.ph, or call (632) 4032001, local 330.

Alálaong Bagá

T

HE Lord is a shepherd who cares for His flock, so that goodness and kindness will always follow His loved ones (Psalm 23:1–2, 2–3, 5–6). In the end, the Son of Man will let into God’s kingdom those who have treated His disciples well, and exclude those who failed to show kindness to the least of His brothers (Matthew 25:31–46).

The Lord takes care of His flock ONE of most beloved psalms in the Bible, Psalm 23 portrays God as a shepherd who guides His flock to green pastures and refreshing waters, and shields them from predators and from harm while passing through difficult territory. To portray the Lord as a shepherd is to have trust and confidence in His ability to look after His flock with tender compassion (rahumin) and to attend to their needs. Each sheep leads a peaceful life under His tender care; with abundant grass for grazing and calm waters to drink from, he is nourished and refreshed in his deepest being.

The shepherd’s relationship with His sheep is also moral; for the sake of the Lord’s name, the psalmist is led in the right path, in the way of righteousness. This way of the Lord is His enduring covenant kindness (hesed) that accompanies His covenant partner all his life. That is

why man fears no evil while passing through dark valleys, because he knows that the Lord is there and being true to His commitment.

And the psalmist speaks directly to God: “You are with me, and with Your shepherd’s staff You ward off dangers and steady the entire flock.

You prepare nourishment for me.

It testifies to all my foes how much You love me. You anoint me and I will enjoy Your favor until I dwell in Your house forever.”

Come and be blessed by my Father

IN apoca ly ptic splendor and majesty, the scene of the Last Judgment portrays the separation of the righteous from the unrighteous, the sheep from the goats. All people are brought before the glorious throne of the Son of Man; there is no escaping the final evaluation. What is the principle of division, of putting the sheep on the right hand (the place

China 101 Ariel Nepomuceno

DECISION TIME

W

HEN it comes to China, the views that people have about it and the emotions they feel for it are mixed, even contradictory. It is practically inevitable that China would become a global leader and a very strong rival of the only remaining superpower in the world, the United States.

It’s in our best interest to carefully define the framework of our relationship with Beijing.

The current territorial dispute between the Philippines and China, which was triggered by conflicting claims to several islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), is of utmost importance. The economic and political value of these islands is definitely significant.

This dispute, however, must not hinder us from seeking a stronger relationship with China. In fact, it is even urgent that we build closer ties with our giant neighbor, so that this dispute can be resolved. This can be achieved without necessarily betraying our decades-old alliance with the US. Wa sh i ng ton wou ld e ven ap preciate it if the Philippines would not be like Cuba in the 1960s, when Russia and the US were on the verge of a nuclear war. On the contrary, a healthier relationship between the Philippines and China would even help the US in maintaining a stable balance of power in Southeast Asia.

Thus, we must first improve our understanding of the intricacies of China’s communist government and its centuries-old society. Its history—more than 4,000 years of it—testifies to the

resilience and greatness of more than a billion people, who, like us and other Asians, cherish virtually the same conservative values, particularly of family and kinship. The traditional role of elders in business, politics, culture and even religion is still deeply ingrained in our societies.

Huge, but diverse CHINA’S population of more than a billion people may be politically managed or controlled by a strong, single entity— the Chinese Communist Party—but its society is divided in terms of language, industries, geography and market segments. Outsiders often mistakenly assume that there is a homogenous group of 1 billion people who can instantly become one massive market for their products and services. While the Communist Party can efficiently communicate with their people through its existing political channels, corporations must express their messages through various strategies that would consider the differences found among the Chinese consumers.

The centers of progress are also thriving in different areas. Foremost among

Thursday, November 20, 2014

of privilege) and the goats on the left? The righteous ones are invited to enter the Kingdom envisioned already for them at the foundation of the world; they are blessed by the Father of the Son-King with such an inheritance. The unrighteous, on the other hand, are condemned to the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his companions. One receives eternal life; the other, eternal punishment.

The Father blesses those on the right because they have been good to His Son-King. They ministered to Him, provided food, drink, shelter, clothing, medication and companionship. When did the blessed ones give the Son-King food, drink, shelter, medicine and friendship? Bewilderment appears on the part of the accursed. They are dismissed and condemned to suffer everlasting punishment, because they did not minister to the Son when He was hungry, thirsty, naked and sick. When? They do not remember seeing Him so, and doing nothing for Him. Is how you treated the King all that matters?

For one of the least of my brothers

THE answer of the Son-King to their questions is this: “Whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers, you did for Me. And just as you did not do it to one of the least of them, you did not do it to Me.” The Son of Man—the King—reveals that He is so connected and united with His followers and family that when anyone performs these services for even the least of His brothers and sisters, he

these is that of Beijing, the seat of the Chinese government. The population in this area, which is sometimes referred to as the Bohai Sea region, is at least 25 million. Another center is the old commercial area of Shanghai, in the famous Yangtze River region, which has a population of at least 80 million. And last, but definitely not the least, is the southern region along the Pearl River Delta, which boasts of the industrial provinces of Shenzen, Guanzhou, and Fujian, where our Chinese-Filipino taipans came from.

We can include Hong Kong in this area of almost 50 million people.

At present, millions of rural Chinese are migrating to their country’s megacities for employment opportunities and to have a piece of the recent unprecedented growth of their economy. This phenomenon, in effect, divides their society into two: the distinct urban sector, to which at least 150 people belong; and the agricultural province, where hundreds of millions of Chinese still live.

Modern and international orientation

INSIDE China, the financial system has undergone a dynamic transformation in the last 20 years. This has enhanced the capability of huge and midrange Chinese corporations to become global players.

Also, the Chinese government has also effectively managed its publicly owned companies in their aggressive expansion to the international market.

Chinese manufacturing firms, like Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Lenovo Group Ltd., which produce computers and communication devices; BYD Co., which manufactures universal joints; Haier Group, the fourth-biggest appliance producer in the world; and mobilephone maker China Mobile Communications Corp., have won strong international acceptance.

or she performs them for Him. To receive Jesus’s disciples, His brethren, the little ones (Matthew 10:42), is to receive Him, and to reject any one of them is to reject Him (cf. Matthew 10:40).

The righteous ones—the sheep— did not see the Son of Man or the King; they simply attended to the needs of their neighbors who were hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick and jailed. They extended their love to others who were distressed without calculating their status or ability to repay. The accursed ones—the goats—did not also see the Son-King, but had they known it was Him, they would have helped.

The King has the resources to repay; therefore, they would have calculated that such good deeds would have been ultimately beneficial to them.

Alálaong bagá, for the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Son-King of the Gospel, the shepherd full of tender compassion for His flock in Psalm 23, looks for that one quality in those for whom the Kingdom of the Father has been prepared. He wants to see His boundless love reflected in the love of those who love others, as He loves them. That means caring for every person we encounter, immediately, because we are thereby sharing with one another the Kingdom of God. Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Chinese oil companies, such as the China National Offshore Oil Corp., Sinopec Ltd. and PetroChina Co. Ltd., are also slowly dominating regional markets in many parts of the globe. Big Chinese construction firms, including China State and Construction Engineering Corp. and China Railway Construction Corp., are building multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects around the world.

Recently, China spearheaded the launch of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to which it contributed a capital of $50 billion. We can expect this institution to be instrumental in expanding the economic, and even political, clout of Beijing.

Long-term interest

WE must examine the finer details of our short-term decisions that would influence our long-term relationship with China. We cannot avoid the reality that, in our region, Beijing will continue to exercise a different brand of leadership patterned after the modernizing leadership of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s to the early 1990s and Jiang Zemin in the early 1990s to the early 2000s. China has already regained full confidence in its economic prowess and influence.

President Aquino has already expressed the need to more openly pursue closer ties with Beijing during the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Let’s set aside first the issues that divide us. To move forward, let’s first capitalize on the programs that would mutually benefit our countries.

Probably, the common friends of Beijing and Manila could assist us toward this goal.

Ariel Nepomuceno is the deputy commissioner for the enforcement group of the Bureau of Customs.

Kardashian’s nude photos expose her value system–and nobody else’s

By Heidi Stevens Chicago Tribune (TNS)

K

IM KARDASHIAN can do whatever she wants with her own derriere. She can allow it to be photographed and photoshopped. She can take pride in it and profit from it, and predict that the mere sight of it unclothed will #BreakTheInternet.

What she can’t do—isn’t, I would argue, trying to do—is speak for anyone else.

“I like how a month ago all the female celebs were crying over their leaked nudes & now Kim K is just like ‘Hello World, Full Frontal For Ya,’”

tweeted one commenter last Thursday, sounding a common refrain.

In other words: “Make up your mind, ladies: Do you want us staring at your assets or not?”

The answer—obvious to many, but not to enough—is that women

don’t speak as some sort of unified, amorphous, sexually confused blob.

Each of us navigates the world with our own set of values and ambitions and proclivities and comfort zones.

The famous-for-being-famous 34-year-old chose to pose nude for Paper magazine, which released two of its covers last Wednesday. One shows Kardashian’s fully consenting bare bottom perched above the words “Break the Internet.”

Whatever. Women and men have been posing nude since the beginning of time. Kardashians have been

posing nude since the beginning of my Kardashian consciousness (konsciousness?).

These particular photos just happen to arrive smack in the middle of an international dialogue on the exploitation of women’s bodies, from the catcalling video that went viral to the campus-rape epidemic that has captured the White House’s attention to the nude images stolen from more than a dozen celebrities’ iCloud accounts.

We’re grappling—loudly, messily—with our deeply ingrained

notions of the female body as public property, ours for the taking.

Women—and, increasingly, men— are finally speaking out against the belief that to be female is to invite judgment, comment, contact.

The Kardashian photos muddy those waters a bit. But they shouldn’t.

It’s lazy and wrongheaded to assume the actions of one person speak for the desires of another. All celebrities don’t want their naked photos hacked just because one celebrity offers hers up willingly. All women don’t want their bodies viewed as

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fair game just because some women profit from baring theirs.

Someone, somewhere along the way, taught Kardashian that her body was the most interesting thing she has to offer the world. I doubt that’s true, and I guess it’s a little sad that she’s not exploring some other pursuits.

Then again, she’d probably think it’s a little sad that I can’t pay my Visa bill.

Thankfully, we don’t speak for each other. Her body is her business.

(And a lucrative one at that.)

My body (and my Visa bill) are mine. Her photos don’t change that.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Thursday, November 20, 2014

Fitch still upbeat on Philippine prospects

By Bianca Cuaresma

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he country’s prospects remained buoyant for an international ratings agency, as the Philippines’s strength is sustained amid global volatilities.

In its Asia Pacific Sovereign Credit Overview in November this year, Fitch Ratings said: “The Philippines’s ratings are anchored by a resilient economy, a credible monetary-policy framework and a large net external creditor position,” Fitch said in its latest report on sovereign credit overviews in the region.

Fitch reiterated its stable outlook for the country, citing its external finances and macroeconomics as its strength; its structural issues as its weakness; and a neutral view on public finances.

The international credit watcher further noted that the country’s steady inflow of overseas Filipino workers remittances and the increase in the business-process outsourcing industry as the major supporters to the country’s healthy growth performance for the year despite the tighter monetary conditions set by the central bank this year.

Continued on A2

Taxi operators need to modernize–Abaya

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

ABAYA: “People prefer to use these tech-based transport services because they are more convenient. It’s that simple. So my advice to taxi operators: modernize, innovate and improve your systems and services.”

ransportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya challenged taxi operators to modernize and improve their services to keep pace with the changing demands of time, with competition in the transportation sector heating up due to the proliferation of carpooling services in and around Metro Manila.

The transport chief recognized the new trend that has been penetrating the market for a few months now. He observed that commuters prefer tech-based transport services because of their convenience.

“People prefer to use these tech-based transport services because they are more convenient. It’s that simple. So my advice to taxi operators: modernize, innovate and improve your systems and services,” he said.

He also questioned the motive of taxi operators complaining about the carpooling services of the likes of Uber, Grab Taxi and Easy Taxi.

“Commuters say they feel safer taking these private vehicles-for-hire; that the fleet are newer, that app services are faster and more efficient. So why put a stop to what is clearly for their benefit? Poorer services should be upgraded to match their

competition—not the other way around,” the transport chief added.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have begun crafting improvements to regulations, which currently classify vehicles offering services through Uber and similar apps as illegal or colorum.

This move came after the transport chief called on the government to support, rather than obstruct, the use of technology in solving transport problems.

Continued on A2

C.A. JUNKS NTC’s BID TO LIFT T.R.O. ON TEXT REFUND T

STILL CONGESTED Trucks pass by stacks of container vans at a port in Manila. According to a report, Filipinos with relatives abroad who are sending

he Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the petition of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) seeking the lifting of the appellate court’s order stopping NTC’s order to telecommunications companies (telcos) to refund their subscribers the amount of P7 billion for alleged excessive short-message-service (SMS) charges.

In a November 4, 2014, ruling written by Associate Justice Maria Elisa Sempio Diy, the CA’s Special 17th Division denied “the NTC’s prayer for the lifting/dissolution of the temporary restraining order [TRO] pursuant to [its] September 3, 2014 resolution for being premature.”

Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Romeo Barza and Rodil Zalameda.

The CA earlier directed the NTC to stop from enforcing its ruling issued on November 20, 2012, and resolution dated May 7, 2012, which ruled that telcos violated NTC Memorandum Circular 02-10-2011 requiring firms such as Digitel, Globe Telecom Inc. (Globe) and Smart See “Text refund,” A2

Agribusiness and fishery activities include extraction of natural ingredients, mechanized agricultural support services and agricultural infrastructure support. Economic and low-cost housing, both vertical and horizontal, as well as energy exploration and development of energy sources and power-generation plants are also on the list.

The services include integrated-circuit design, ship repair, testing facilities, charging stations for electric vehicles, industrial-waste treatment and maintenance, and repair and overhaul of aircraft.

Under public infrastructure and logistics are airports and seaports, newly purchased ships, aircraft, seaplanes, rollon, roll-off vessels and capital equipment specified under the category.

For export activities, a category separate from the preferred areas, the list specifies production and manufacture of export products, services exports and activities in support of exporters.

Under the law governing incentives administration, the yearly IPP should be released at the end of March. The BOI justified the delay, noting that

this year’s list is a complete overhaul of previous editions.

BOI Executive Director Corazon Halili-Dichosa earlier said the finalized IPP would be comprehensive as each subsector of activity would include exhaustive sectoral analysis to pinpoint the weakness and gap per industry, so the plan would not just provide for incentive administration but also identify policyintervention areas.

BOI Governor Lucita P. Reyes also mentioned earlier that the 2014 list would be “geographically sensitive” in the way that it would identify the particular locale where a specific activity is recommended to take place so as to maximize the benefits of the incentives in the locality.

The trade department will be conducting public consultations as part of the process for crafting the general and specific guidelines for the 2014 IPP. A consultation session is scheduled on November 21 at the Philippine Trade Training Center for the guidelines.

Stakeholders from academe, chambers of commerce, business organizations and local government units are expected to attend the consultation.

Government to entertain fresh Sctex bids–BCDA

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he deal to operate the longest toll road in the Philippines will see a better offer after President Aquino ordered to place the contract under a competitive challenge.

Four years after Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) won the contract to operate and maintain the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (Sctex) under the past administration, President Aquino has finally decided to subject the deal to a Swiss Challenge, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said.

“We are drafting the terms of reference [TOR] for the price challenge based on the President’s instructions. We may start the publication of the TOR by early December,” he said.

Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) President Rodrigo E. Franco said his company has been informed of the President’s decision, but has not yet seen the order released

by Malacanang.

“We have to study the details. We are not yet clear on what has been approved by the President,” he said.

Under a price challenge, another company may offer a higher concession fee.

This means that the government may get a better deal, should the group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan decide to match the challenge price. Earlier, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. President Ramoncito S. Fernandez called the plan to subject the deal under a price challenge as “grossly unfair and without legal basis.”

He noted that the deal was a solicited project, with the bidding conducted aboveboard.

MNTC bagged the Sctex contract during the Arroyo administration, but Mr. Aquino suspended the deal on concern about the revenue-sharing scheme.

Under the original terms of the contract, state-run BCDA shall assign to MNTC the management, operations and maintenance of Sctex, as well as the government agency’s rights in the Toll Operations Agreement, including the right to collect toll revenues for 25 years, renewable for another eight years.

MNTC, which operates the SCTEx and the North Luzon Expressway, had proposed a 50-percent revenue-sharing scheme, which the Department of Finance endorsed to President Aquino for approval last year.

In November 2012 MNTC raised BCDA’s revenue share to P90 billion from the original proposal of P64 billion.

MNTC also provided a longer period— from the earlier endpoint of 2016 to the new schedule of 2019— within which the company would subsidize payment of BCDA’s existing P31-billion debt to the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The loan, which was used to build the Sctex, will mature in 2041.

Lorenz S. Marasigan

balikbayan boxes this holiday season will definitely experience delays of up to two months in receiving them due to port congestion. ALYSA SALEN

IPP. . . continued from a1

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BOP still below par despite Oct’s $24-M surplus Continued from A1

January-to-October period. This year-to-date deficit is a reversal of the $3.83-billion surplus seen in the same 10-month period last year.

“The BOP surplus in October can be traced mainly from foreign-exchange deposits of the national government and income from foreign investments of the BSP, which were partly offset by national government payments of its maturing foreign obligation,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in his statement following the BOP data release.

“We are reviewing the full-year BOP numbers to take the latest available info into account. Any changes to the projections will be announced at

the appropriate time,” he added.

At present, the government’s target BOP surplus at the end of the year stands at $1.1 billion.

This means that for the government to reach this assumption, the Philippines must post a surplus of more than $2.25 billion consistently for the next two months of the year.

The last time that the country was able to register such amount of BOP surplus was in January 2013, when the surplus hit $2.044 billion in one month alone.

Asked if the country could still meet the government’s target or even push the BOP to the surplus territory with only two months remaining in 2014, Bank of the Philippine Islands associate economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said

he still expects the BOP to fall within a surplus for 2014, although the current deficit is “worrisome” for the country.

“The external position of the Philippines has been the ace up our sleeve and the deficit is worrisome. Although I do expect the Philippines to post a positive BOP on current-account surpluses, the recent trend is indeed a cause for concern,” Mapa said in an e-mailed reply.

“The recent outflow of portfolio assets may become more severe if the Fed [US Federal Reserve] signals it will be hiking interest rates as early as the second quarter of 2015. As such, we will have to hope we post several healthy months of surplus to end the year in BOP surplus,” Mapa added.

UN report: Demographic shift may boost growth Continued from A1

the development of their nations.”

It recommended sustained investment in “relevant, high-quality education,” comprehensive health care “encompassing all aspects of sexual and reproductive health,” and opportunities for young people to earn a living.

Osotimehin cited East Asia as an example: It invested in young people in the 1960s and reaped a demographic dividend that contributed to a 6-percentage-point surge in GDP and a quadrupling of per-capita incomes in some countries.

If sub-Saharan Africa adapted this experience to local conditions and made comparable

investments in young people, he said “the region could experience an economic miracle of its own, adding as much as $500 billion to its economies every year for as many as 30 years.”

The report said a demographic dividend of this magnitude has the potential to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and raise living standards and catapult economies forward. AP