Businessmirror november 21, 2014

EXPORTS RISE SIGN OF RECOVERY FOR JAPAN

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Gantry cranes move containers from trucks and container ships at a shipping terminal in Tokyo, Japan, on November 11. Japan’s exports rose the most in eight months in October, supporting an economy that fell into recession last quarter. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

apan’s exports rose the most in eight months in October, supporting an economy that fell into recession last quarter.

Overseas shipments rose 9.6 percent from a year earlier to the highest level since October 2008, the finance ministry said, compared with the median estimate for a 4.5-percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey. Imports grew 2.7 percent, leaving a trade deficit of ¥710 billion ($6 billion).

Rising exports provide support for an economy that contracted for two straight quarters after a sales-tax increase in April. The weaker yen, championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the central bank, may bolster shipments further as Japan heads to an election next month.

“The weaker yen’s boost to car shipments and a recovery in Asia [are] driving a pickup in Japan’s exports,” said Minoru Nogimori, an economist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Imports will fall from November, as declining petroleum prices offset the effect of the yen’s depreciation.”

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POP GOES TAYLOR SWIFT

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B R L | Los Angeles Times

HEY came from Bakersfield, San Diego, Long Beach and elsewhere across the Southland, about three dozen young women plus a handful of young men who had caught the eye of the gathering’s host with posts about her on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and other social-media sites. ❖ Enticed by vague invitations to be part of “an amazing opportunity,” they were shuttled in luxury vans through the winding roads above Beverly Hills on a Saturday afternoon to a two-story mansion where they noshed on pizza and other snacks before being invited into the warmly appointed living room.

Just moments after they’d settled into couches, chairs and nine overstuffed pillows scattered across a large Persian rug, arguably the biggest pop star on the planet popped through a doorway, a fluffy white kitten clutched to her chest.

“Hey, guys,” Taylor Swift said to screams of delight. A few minutes later, Swift explained how her guests had been selected based on comments they had posted on social-media sites. “You guys have been individually handpicked—by mostly me,” she said. “I’m obsessed with Twitter and Instagram and Tumblr. Why I wanted to have you here at this secret session is to play the entire new album for you.”

It was the first of several of Swift’s “secret sessions” during which she personally previewed her fifth studio album, 1989, for groups of fans ahead of the album’s release in late October (others were held at her homes in Nashville, New York and Rhode Island).

That’s a major departure from the veil of secrecy surrounding her two previous blockbuster albums, Speak Now in 2010 and Red in 2012, both of which defied the music industry’s downward trajectory of recent years by selling more than a million copies each in their first week of release.

One reason for these fan listening sessions was to ensure her audience stays with her as she continues her transition from country star to pop.

Starting in the mid-2000s working her MySpace page relentlessly, she’s done the same with other social-media platforms to establish a Permabond-like connection with fans over the last eight years.

The big question facing 1989 is whether Swift will be able to strike platinum a third time. Billboard projections are putting firstweek sales in the 800,000 neighborhood, which in the ever-shrinking world of music sales is still a rare achievement. So far, no album released in 2014 has sold more than 1 million copies, and the biggest first-week sales figure this year came in May with Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, which sold just under 383,000 copies. (“1989” sold 1.287 million copies during its first

week of release, according to Billboard.—Ed.) Swift is always cognizant of the business side of her career and in the weeks leading to the release of her new album, she staged a media blitz with appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, two drop-ins to ABC’s Good Morning America, a visit to NBC’s The Voice and The View on Wednesday, and became omnipresent on the radio as more than 900 iHeartRadio-affiliate pop stations across the country carried programs spotlighting Swift and her new album.

The latter exposure must have compensated for the reduced airtime she likely received from country radio, where Swift established her career starting with the 2006 release of her debut album Taylor Swift. She has called 1989 her first “official pop album,” and much of it was created in collaboration with popR&B producer songwriters Max Martin and Shellback, Ryan Tedder and singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff of Fun. “I think if you respect, admire and love a person—or in this case, a musical community—you’ll be honest with them and very upfront about what’s happening,” she said in reference to her continuing musical evolution. Wearing a creme-colored sweater, chunky heels and plaid mini-skirt, she added: “Looking back, I think when [her 2012 single] ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the [pop] singles chart, a lot of the world should have seen that as a warning flare. It showed that this part of my music is really working, and it’s something I’m really passionate about.

“I don’t think the country music community was shocked that I made a pop album,” she added. “I think they were shocked that I was honest with them about it.

“There was this huge fear that they may be about to hear an album from me that sounded alien to them,” she said, shifting into a singsong delivery as she added, “like I’d be singing ‘Dance, dance, dance in the club, club, club and the beat drops.’”

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china factory gauge at six-month low BusinessMirror

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B3-1 | Friday, November 21, 2014 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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SNOW BLAST

Mark Settlemyer (left) gets help clearing snow on the roof of his mother’s house from Ken Wesley on Wednesday in Lancaster, New York.

Lake-effect snow pummeled areas around Buffalo for a second straight day, leaving residents stuck in their homes as officials tried to clear massive snow mounds with another storm looming. AP/MIKE GROLL

China factory gauge at six-month low

CHINESE factory gauge fell to a six-month low in November, adding to signs broader stimulus is needed to halt a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

The preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from HSBC Holdings Plc. and Markit Economics was at 50.0, below the median estimate of 50.2 in a Bloomberg News survey and lower than last

month’s 50.4. Numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

Following readings that showed fi xed-asset investment in the first 10 months expanded the least since 2001 and credit growth weakened

last month, the manufacturing report suggests targeted monetary easing is failing to boost growth, raising the prospect of further policy support.

“It’s clear that the effects of targeted easing measures are waning,” said Hua Changchun, a China economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. “It’s quite obvious that the central bank should cut the RRR,” he said, referring to the reserve ratio requirement for banks.

Hua maintained a call for the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to cut the RRR 50 basis points by the end of this year, followed by four

more reductions in 2015.

Burdened by overcapacity and weak domestic demand, China’s economy is headed for the slowest full-year growth in more than two decades. The central bank has refrained from broad-based interest rate or RRR cuts to avoid a fresh surge in debt.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index was 0.1 percent lower at the break, while Australia’s dollar held declines.

At a regular cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Premier Li Keqiang said companies are still finding it difficult and expensive to get fund-

ing. China will tweak the loan-todeposit ratio calculation by including some interbank deposits—a move that could boost banks’ lending capacity by 808 billion yuan, the equivalent of 10 percent of new loans in 2013, according to Bank of America Corp.

The PBOC may need to cut reserve ratios two or three times to offset the impact of any additional deposits available for lending, Huang Jie, a Beijing-based analyst with China International Capital Corp, wrote in a note on Thursday.

An index of manufacturing output fell to 49.5, a seven-month

low and below the threshold of 50 that separates expansion and contraction. Today’s report, known as the Flash PMI, is typically based on 85 percent to 90 percent of responses to surveys sent to purchasing managers at more than 420 companies.

“The reading confirms downward pressure on China’s economy,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. “This adds to pressure on the central bank to do more to stimulate growth and exerts downward pressure on the yuan.” Bloomberg News

Honduras beauty queen slain TV LAND PULLS ‘COSBY SHOW’ FROM LINEUP N by sister’s jealous boyfriend

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ISS Honduras 2014 was supposed to fly to London on Wednesday to compete in the Miss World pageant. Instead, she and her sister were found dead near the spa where they disappeared six days ago.

Leandro Osorio, who heads the National Directorate of Criminal Investigation, told the media in Honduras on Wednesday that officials could “confirm 100 percent” that two bodies found buried were those of beauty queen Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, and her sister, Sofia Trinidad, 23. Osorio also said investigators had found both the murder weapon and the vehicle allegedly used in the slayings.

Plutarco Ruiz, Trinidad’s boyfriend, and an alleged accomplice, Aris Maldonado, have been arrested in connection with the case.

The two sisters disappeared after attending a birthday party for Ruiz on Thursday.

Police said Ruiz confessed to shooting them, jealous that his girlfriend had danced with another man. At some point during the night of the party, a heated argument broke out and Ruiz pulled a gun, fi ring fi rst at his girlfriend and then at Alvarado as she tried to flee, said Gen. Ramon Sabillon, director of the National Police. Alvarado was hit twice in the back.

Alvarado had been scheduled to leave for London on Wednesday to compete in the Miss World 2014 pageant. The pageant activities begins on Thursday and take place over three weeks with a finale on December 14.

Honduras won’t compete in the

IN this April 26, photo, Maria Jose Alvarado is crowned the new Miss Honduras in San Pedro, Sula, Honduras. Alvarado, and her sister Sofia disappeared after attending a birthday party in Western Honduras on Thursday.

They were later found dead. AP

Miss World pageant this year because of Alvarado’s tragic death, Honduras pageant organizer Eduardo Zablah said.

On her bio page for the Miss World competition, Alvarado described herself as a dedicated student with aspirations for a career in diplomacy. She used her statement to encourage tourists to see her country for themselves.

“Our ethnic groups like the

Tawakas, Lencas, Pech, Garifunas and Misquitos have made Honduras a country with a cultural diversity rich in customs, gastronomy and religious beliefs,” she said. “For this and more I encourage you to make of Honduras a travel destination, the best is yet to come!”

Julia Morley, the chairwoman for the Miss World Organization, issued a statement on Wednesday “to everyone around the world who has been touched by the awful news from Honduras this morning.”

“We are devastated by this terrible loss of two young women, who were so full of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Maria Jose Alvarado and Sofi a Trinidad at this time of grief,” Morley said.

She added that her organization is planning a special service Sunday for Alvarado and her sister and are planning a fundraiser to benefit a children’s home in Honduras, selected by their mother.

Honduras has been in the news in the US this year because of a steep increase in the number of children from the country crossing into America unaccompanied by adults.

The migration has been driven in large part by high crime and little opportunity in the Central American nation of about 8 million people. Honduras’ overall homicide rate was the highest in the world for 2012, with 90 homicides per 100,000. Much of the high rate of violent crime there is fueled by gang and drug-trafficking conflicts. Los Angeles Times/TNS

EW YORK—NBC has scrapped a Bill Cosby comedy that was under development and TV Land will stop airing reruns of The Cosby Show, moves that came a day after another woman came forward claiming that the once-beloved comic had sexually assaulted her.

NBC spokesman Rebecca Marks said on Wednesday the Cosby sitcom “is no longer under development.”

A TV Land representative said the reruns would stop airing immediately for an indefinite time.

The Cosby Show also was to have been part of a Thanksgiving sitcom marathon.

The NBC sitcom and Cosby Show reruns joined a Netflix Cosby standup comedy special, which was indefinitely postponed late on Tuesday, as mounting evidence of Cosby’s faltering career.

They occurred a day after model Janice Dickinson, in an interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” became the third woman in recent weeks to allege she’d been assaulted by Cosby—charges strongly denied by the comedian’s lawyer.

The developments, which involve allegations that were widely reported a decade ago, as well as new accusations, have gravely damaged the 77-year-old comedian’s reputation as America’s TV dad at a time when he was launching a comeback.

A year ago, a standup special— his first in 30 years—aired on Comedy Central and drew a hefty audience of 2 million viewers. His prospective new series was announced by NBC in January.

Cosby has never been charged in connection with any of the allegations. Former Pennsylvania

BILL COSBY AP

prosecutor Bruce L. Castor Jr., who investigated a woman’s claims that Cosby had sexually assaulted her in 2004, said on Wednesday he decided not to prosecute because he felt there was not enough evidence to get a conviction.

“I wrote my opinion in such a way as I thought conveyed to the whole world that I thought he had done it, he had just gotten away with it because of a lack of evidence,” the former Montgomery County district attorney said.

If Cosby hadn’t been cooperative with the investigation, “I probably would have arrested him,” he said.

Cosby was asked about the growing furor by an Associated Press reporter when the comedian was promoting an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art that features the comedian’s African-American art collection alongside African artworks.

When the Associated Press interviewed Cosby, on November 6, the story involved long-circulated accusations from several women and recent criticism from comedian Hannibal Buress. Cosby de-

clined to comment, saying “We don’t answer that.”

The Associated Press mentioned the allegations and Cosby’s decision not to comment at the end of its story, which, like the interview, was primarily about his loan of more than 50 artworks to the Washington museum.

Since then, two women have come forward publicly to accuse him of sexual assault, Netflix, TV Land and NBC cut ties and an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman was canceled.

In recent days, as the allegations gained increasing attention, AP went back through the full video of the November 6 interview and decided to publish Cosby’s full reaction to questions about the claims.

The Associated Press was among a handful of news organizations granted interviews with Cosby in connection with the art exhibition. After his initial refusal to comment—as the interview was winding down but with the camera still running and Cosby wearing a lapel microphone—the comedian asked the Associated Press to not use the brief on-camera refusal to comment he had just made about the allegations. “And I would appreciate it if it was scuttled,” he said.

The interview was on the record.

The Associated Press had made no agreement to avoid questions about the allegations or to withhold publishing any of his comments at any time.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art has not changed its plans for the show, which opened this month on the National Mall and is scheduled to remain on view through early 2016. AP

The world

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Boxing’s new haven BusinessMirror

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| Friday, November 21, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

ALGIERI SHARP IN HIS DRESS AND INTERVIEWS

By Greg Logan

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FoR MANNy PAcquIAo, MAcAu MEANS SAVING MILLIoNS

Newsday

ACAU—Boxing news conferences generally are exercises in hyperbole, but Wednesday’s made-for-livestreaming-video event advertising Saturday night’s Manny PacquiaoChris Algieri World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title bout did contain one moment of truth. It was provided by, of all people, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who famously is known for saying “Yesterday, I was lying; today, I’m telling the truth.”

Before launching into an ode to box-office star Pacquiao, Arum turned to Algieri and said, “I want to thank you for the tremendous help you’ve been on this promotion.”

That might have been the understatement of the boxing year.

From the moment he popped out of the basement in his parents’ Greenlawn, Long Island, home to win the WBO light-welterweight title from Ruslan Provodnikov and ace out bigger names for the pay-per-view date with Pacquiao, Algieri has been a promoter’s dream, answering every reporter’s question as if it were an essay test.

He was at it again on Wednesday night at the Venetian Macau, sitting down for one last roundtable interview before the event while Pacquiao just put in his time on the dais. Algieri won the news conference on style points, too, looking like a model fresh out of a catalogue in a youthful sports jacket and narrow tie.

“I like to stand out and do something a little different,” Algieri said. “It’s a little old school, too. I think of the guys in the ‘30s and ‘40s.

I’d rather look sharp.”

In the interview, Algieri added that fight preparations came together as neatly as his wardrobe. “I feel awesome,” Algieri said. “Today’s workout was fantastic. My coaches were impressed at how good we’re feeling this close to fight night.”

Despite his status as an 8-1 underdog, Algieri’s middle classto-$1.7-million purse story and his bold insistence that he can upset an eight-division world champion might stir the pay-per-view market to life.

At 5-11, Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) has a pronounced size advantage over the 5-61/2 Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), but the champion’s experience dwarfs Algieri’s. Could a relative neophyte lacking a knockout punch really score such a monumental upset?

Algieri gets the skepticism, especially considering a first-round knockdown by Provodnikov that left him with a shiner of epic proportions.

“Who the hell am I?” Algieri said.

“Who is this guy?

“Most people haven’t seen any of my other fights. They base my entire style off the fight against Ruslan, which is ridiculous because I fought 111/2 rounds with one eye. I wasn’t throwing the right hand because it was pinned against my damaged right eye that couldn’t get hit.”

All the questions Algieri has fielded with such aplomb since the promotion kicked off nearly three months ago will be answered when the fighters step into the ring at a quarter after noon on Sunday Macau time, which translates to 11:15 ET Saturday night.

“It’s going to be a great show,” Algieri said from the dais to the cameras. “You don’t want to miss this.”

Getting into the spirit of things, Pacquiao added, “I know my opponent has trained hard, and he’s excited to win. But I won’t let that happen.”

BOXING’S

NEW HAVEN

By Martin Rogers

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FoR fighting in Macau, Manny Pacquiao can save millions of dollars from tax. AP

USA Today

ACAU—For Manny Pacquiao, fighting Chris Algieri in Macau this weekend just makes too much sense.

Dollars and sense.

While this tiny enclave of China, where gambling is the centrifugal force that drives the region’s economy, has thousands of immigrant Filipino workers and is conveniently close for much of the Pacman’s fan base, it all really boils down to cash.

Pacquiao is guaranteed at least $20 million from Saturday night’s welterweight contest, according to his promoter Bob Arum, and will save himself vast sums of money by preventing the Internal Revenue Service from punching a hole in his pocketbook.

“By fighting in Macau, Manny is not subject to United States income tax,” Arum told USA Today Sports. “Most of that would be at 39.6 percent. We are talking millions of dollars he can save.”

Pacquiao will still be taxed in his homeland, the Phillipines, but at a lower rate of around 20 percent.

A few million is chump change compared to the vast sums that role through Macau on a daily basis, where gambling revenues outstrip those of Las Vegas by a wide margin and where boxing’s greatest modern experiment is currently taking place.

A generation ago, Macau was still synonymous with seedy gambling dens. This weekend’s fight venue–the Venetian Hotel and Casino’s Cotai Arena—was swamp, and professional boxing was outlawed.

Now, a series of gleaming resorts are packed onto a spit of land half the size of Manhattan, the government is hungrily exploring all new avenues to increase tourism, and the sweet science has found itself an unlikely new home.

Perhaps no city-sport combination is more closely entwined than boxing and Las Vegas, but by hosting Pacquiao for his bout with Brandon Rios last November, and now the clash with New York’s

Algieri, Macau is shaking things up with its mere presence in pugilism’s elite circles.

“There is no reason not to keep the foot on the accelerator,” said Ed Tracy, president and chief executive officer of Sands China Ltd., operator of the Venetian Macau. “We are interested in meaningful high-quality events. I’m trying to create a venue for boxing to take the next step in my market.”

That market, namely mainland China, has potential that Arum describes as “unfathomable.”

The promoter said the Pacquiao-Algieri bout will be broadcast on terrestrial television channel CCTV, and is expected to be seen by 300 million Chinese viewers.

Years of drastic revenue growth in Macau slowed since the midpoint of this year, when a huge corruption clampdown by the Chinese government caused some potential high rollers to assume a significantly lower profile.

The next target demographic to grow Macau’s economy is China’s increasingly affluent middle class. The presence of that audience is a key reason why undercard fighter and two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming is likely to hear louder cheers than Pacquiao come fight night.

Las Vegas is not going to be cut out of the boxing picture any time soon, but its once impenetrable stranglehold is no longer in place.

Indeed, if the much-discussed yet still mythical bout between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather ever takes place, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, with its 105,000 capacity, would be a more likely destination than Sin City.

“Vegas has been the king for a long time but it is in an interesting position now,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “Boxing follows the money, that’s how it has always been. If this is where the money is, you’re only going to see more boxing here. And Macau has made a great start.”

Arum, still with a spring in his step at 82, makes little attempt to disguise his affection for Macau and admitted that taking the Pacquiao show on the road has kept his own enthusiasm bubbling strong into his later years.

He already has staged smaller shows on the Chinese mainland and has no doubt as to where boxing’s future growth lies.

“I have staged big fights, but a lot of people have done that,” Arum said. “I want to be known as the guy who brought boxing to China, because if it takes off, and that’s what it is starting to do, it will take the sport to a level it could never have dreamed of. I want that to be my legacy.”

If it’s not Mayweather, Pacquiao mulls drop in weight

By Lance Pugmire Los Angeles Times

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ANNY PACqUIAO is among the millions who’d like his next fight to be against Floyd Mayweather Jr. “Crossing fingers, hopefully that fight will happen,” Pacquiao said.

If it doesn’t, the current

world welterweight champion is positioned for a move back to the junior-welterweight class, where he believes his famed power will return.

Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 knockouts) is defending his World Boxing Organization belt on Saturday night against New York’s Chris Algieri at a catchweight of 144 pounds.

In a meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Pacquiao was at 143 pounds. He said he believes he could even trim down to 135.

From September 2005 through 2009, a year in which he savagely decked Ricky Hatton and then wore down current middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in a 12th-round technical knockout, Pacquiao won eight of

sports

11 bouts fought between 130and 144-pound weight limits by stoppage.

“The speed’s still there, the power’s still there, the hunger’s still there,” Pacquiao said.

“Moving down in fighting weight is good for me.”

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach has Mayweather as his No. 1 choice for Pacquiao’s next

foe, but he expects a dominant showing on Saturday night (Pacific time) against Algieri, and says he’d “love” a Pacquiao fight against another unbeaten 140-pound champion, Danny Garcia.

“Floyd’s my wish, he’s my second wish,” Roach said of Garcia.

Tuesday, November21, 18,2014 2014 Vol. Vol.10 10No. No.43 40 Friday, November

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

By Bianca Cuaresma

he economy is facing downside risks in terms of local output, measured as the gross domestic product (GDP), as the government has proven reluctant to spend even as global growth remains tepid, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday.

Ayala Corp. President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala appears to be deep in thought as he walks in front of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City. Ayala Corp. announced on Thursday that it raised some $275 million through a top-up placement, but saw its share price drop. nonie reyes

LEMON LAW I.R.R. OUT, BUT LOOPHOLES NOTED Ayala Corp. raises $275M Hari sales for infra, power projects up 18% in October T

By Catherine N. Pillas

Sports

AMERIcAN chris Algieri wants to stand out and look different. AP

A broader look at today’s business

In the minutes of the Monetary Board (MB) meeting on October 23 and released on Thursday, the MB said economic growth might have slowed in recent months.

“Notwithstanding the indications of underlying strength in domestic-demand conditions, economic activity in the second half could be dampened by a slowdown in government expenditures,” the BSP said.

“Slower global economic activity could also exert a downward pull on external demand,” it added. A regional banking giant, likewise, cited the feeble fiscal spending that compelled the economic managers to revise the forecast output growth in the third quarter of the year.

See “Growth,” A4

World

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Gross domestic product in the July-to-September quarter shrank an annualized 1.6 percent, putting the world’s third-biggest economy in its fourth recession since 2008 and pushing Abe to delay a further sales-tax increase.

Manufacturers saw output growth weakening in November from the previous month, according to a preliminary Purchasing Managers Index.

“The Japanese economy is already starting to recover from the sales-tax hike,”Takuji Okubo, an economist at Japan Macro Advisors in Tokyo, said in a Bloomberg Television interview, citing export gains and rising retail sales and machinery orders. Bloomberg News

Underspending to slow H2 growth

ROAST BRINED TURKEY »D3

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

Export volumes climbed 3.8 percent from September to the highest since March last year, and the volume of imports was little changed. Exports of cars, ships and steel were some of the biggest contributors to the rise, with the value of motor-vehicle shipments gaining 6.2 percent on increasing sales to the European Union and Asia.

Toyota Motor Corp. this month raised its profit forecast to a record ¥2 trillion, while Nintendo Co., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also cited the weak yen for improved quarterly results.

Surprise recession

DBS BANK, BSP SAY GOVT’S RELUCTANCE TO SPEND HAMPERING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

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Rising volumes

The nation has posted 28 straight monthly trade deficits as energy import costs surged, after all nuclear power plants were shut down in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. The value of crude-oil imports declined almost 11 percent, with the price down 32 percent since a June peak. Total mineralfuel imports declined 5.9 percent.

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three-time rotary club of manila journalism awardee

EAR God, we thank You for giving us the world’s greatest book, the Bible. The stories in it give us the history of the world from when You began to create until right up to our present day. They even tell about Your promises to do in the future. The world’s greatest book gives us an idea of what the Bible is all about. It tells about people how to know, serve and love God most of all and others. Amen.

The yen traded at 118.33 per dollar at 12:49 p.m. in Tokyo, after earlier touching the lowest level since August 2007. The currency has dropped 11 percent in value this year as the Bank of Japan implements its unprecedented easing program, while the US economy recovers and the Federal Reserve ends its quantitative easing.

The Topix index of stocks was 0.3 percent higher at the morning break on Thursday.

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he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has released the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Lemon law, although loopholes remain in the provisions on the remedial process that may be considered disadvantageous to consumers.

The trade office, however, vows to clarify the procedures until December.

Trade officials and automotive-industry representatives convened on Thursday at the Board of Investments, and presented the approved IRR of the Philippine Lemon Law, or Republic Act 10642.

The law provides that the consumer, upon finding a defect on a brand-new vehicle, can notify the motor-vehicle dealer, distributor or manufacturer, and is entitled to four repair attempts.

The Lemon law period covers the 12 months from the date of original delivery of the vehicle to the consumer, or up to 20,000 kilometers of operation, after such delivery, whichever comes first.

See “Lemon law,” A4

PESO exchange rates n US 45.0540

By Vg Cabuag

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onglomerate Ayala Corp. on Thursday said it raised some $275 million (about P12.37 billion) through a top-up placement that will be channeled to its power and infrastructure ventures. The company, however, saw its share price fall, after it sold the shares at a discount.

The company said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that it sold some 18.78 million common shares at P660 apiece, or a discount from its last traded price of P682 per share. As a result, its share price at the PSE declined 5 percent.

“The top-up placement entails our is-

suance of equal number of new shares at the same price, with Mermac Inc. as the seller in the placement tranche and subscriber in the subscription tranche,” the company said.

Mermac is the holding firm of the Ayala family.

The placing price reflects a discount of 5.2 percent, based on the 30-day volume weighted average closing price of Ayala shares. It then increased its public float from 38.23 percent to over 40 percent.

“The placement was 2.35 times oversubscribed, with strong demand coming from long-only funds and a good mix of investors coming from Asia, Europe and See “Ayala,” A4

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yundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, on Thursday said it sold 1,982 units in October, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 18 percent.

Year-to-date sales are at 19,675 units, or a 10-percent improvement over the same period in 2013, credited mainly to the performance of the passenger-car (PC) segment.

See “Hari,” A4

n japan 0.3821 n UK 70.6717 n HK 5.8099 n CHINA 7.3620 n singapore 34.5162 n australia 38.8866 n EU 56.5608 n SAUDI arabia 12.0086 Source: BSP (20 November 2014)

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Govt gets control of 40,000-hectare Marcos ‘ill-gotten’ property

By Joel R. San Juan

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HE Supreme Court (SC) has given the government full control anew of the disputed 40,000 hectare Yulo King Ranch (YKR) in Busuanga, Palawan, that is among the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses that are subject of a P51-billion lawsuit pending before the Sandiganbayan.

In a 20-page ruling written by Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr., the SC’s Third Division reversed and set aside the resolutions issued by the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division on June 30, 2009, and April 8, 2010, which granted the motion for summary judgment by Philippine Agri-Business Center Corp. (PABC), a private company, and declared the latter as the real owner of the Yulo properties.

The antigraft court, in the said resolutions, also ordered the government to return possession of said property to PABC. The YKR property was sequestered by the government from the late businessman and known Marcos crony Luis Yulo in 1986 on the belief that it is part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

Prior to its sequestration, YKR was the biggest ranch in Asia and was being developed as a model large-scale livestock production to benefit the local cattle industry.

In granting the two consolidated cases filed by YKR Corp. and the government, the Court held that the Sandiganbayan erred giving weight to the claim of PABC that it is entitled to a summary judgment owing to the failure of the petitioners (government) to present “genuine issue of fact” that would dispute its claim of ownership

over the subject property.

Relief by summary judgment is intended to expedite or promptly dispose of cases where the facts appear undisputed and certain from the pleadings, depositions, admissions and affidavits.

The Court explained that a “genuine issue of fact” is an issue “which requires the presentation of evidence as distinguished from a sham or false claim.

It added that when the facts as pleaded appear uncontested or undisputed, then there is no real or genuine issue or question as to the facts, and summary judgment is called for.

The SC stressed that the party who moves for summary judgment has the burden of demonstrating clearly the absence of any genuine issue of fact.

However, the SC said based on its examination of the records of the case, “there exists a genuine issue of fact” as raised by the petitioners YKR Corp. and the government.

“Considering that petitioners YKR Corp. and the remaining six out of the 10 Yulo heirs were deprived of their day in court, the court a quo should have made its ruling as to the non-existence of genuine issues of fact by clearly stating its basis both in fact and in law and not on purely conjectural determinations...,” the SC pointed out.

Since the petitioners were deprived of a full trial, the Court remanded the case to the Sandiganbayan for further proceedings with dispatch.

Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Bienvenido Reyes, Francis Jardeleza and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Friday, November 21, 2014 A3

Miaa order to integrate terminal fee in airline tickets unenforceable–judge

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By Recto L. Mercene

HE Manila International Airport Authority’s (Miaa) plan to integrate the terminal fee into airline tickets suffered another setback on Thursday, when a judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Pasay City found the memorandum circular (MC) mandating the new collection scheme “unenforceable” owing to “lack of publication as required by law.”

Judge Tingaran Guiling of Branch 109 of the RTC in Pasay, in a hearing on November 17, learned from the government lawyers that the circular was never published in the Official Gazette.

Irene Montalbo, Miaa finance manager, admitted in open court that the circular was never published in a newspaper of general circulation nor was it presented to the petitioners during their consultation meetings.

Thus, Guiling ordered that in the absence of publication as mandated by law, as well as jurisprudence on the matter, the Miaa MC 8 is unenforceable.

The petition for certiorari was filed by former Ambassador Roy Señeres Jr., together

with a number of non-governmental organizations and labor recruiters against the controversial order of the Miaa.

Montalbo said the Miaa, together with the stakeholders of the industry, including the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency and the Departmentof Labor, held several meetings to discuss the implementation of the MC, which pertains to the procedure for the refunds of overseas Filipino workers money.

The MC requires airlines to collect the P550 passenger terminal fee from those who purchase their tickets online or abroad.

The petitioners, however, insisted that the Miaa’s act violates the rules of Republic

Act 10022, which prohibits the collection of the travel tax and terminal fee for OFWs who possess a valid Overseas Exemption Certificate.

T he cour t resolut ion comes amid growing protests by labor recruiters, migrant workers’ organizations and other stakeholders against the illegality of the terminal-fee integration, technically referred to as International Passenger Service Fee. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III filed a resolution on November 10, calling for an investigation in aid of legislation into the matter.

He said officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Miaa face possible charges if they continue to implement the scheme, which was supposed to take effect on November 1.

Groups advocating the rights of migrant Filipino workers called the court resolution a “huge victory,” while Señeres thanked the court for “coming to the rescue” of the migrant workers’ sector.

Economy

A4 Friday, November 21, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

P3.36-B feeding program to benefit 2M kids–Recto

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By Recto L. Mercene

HE government’s massive feeding program for undernourished children next year will cover even those not yet in school, as 2 million 2 to 5-year-olds will be fed healthy meals by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), made possible by the P3.36-billion allocation in the department’s P109-billion budget for 2015.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Thursday said there will be “a division of labor” in the government in the effort to relieve the nutritional deficiencies of millions of “wasted and severely wasted” children.

The DSWD will take care of those not yet in school, while the Department of Education (DepEd) will undertake its own supplemental feeding program for 1.93 million gradeschoolers courtesy of a P3.8-billion allocation in the national budget.

The Senate, he said, has increased the DepEd’s school-feeding budget

by P2.49 billion.

“Combined, the budget for supplemental feeding is about P7.2 billion, while the total number of beneficiaries will reach almost 4

million,” Recto said.

The DSWD’s program involves serving one hot meal a day for 120 days to 2,053,383 2- to 5-year-olds in day-care centers, or those under the care of neighborhood associations or community nurseries.

Bulk of the funds will be coursed through local governments, Recto said. “But the implementation will be handled by a local consortium, which will include the parents of beneficiaries, barangay councils and civic groups.”

“I think the program will operate under the motto ‘It takes a village to feed a hungry child,’” he said.

Recto said the Senate finance subcommittee that he chairs has also recommended an increase to the DSWD budget for care and nutritional needs of street children by P50 million.

Revenue Region 6 warns public vs illegal tax collection, enforcement operations of ‘fake’ BIR officer

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he Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Revenue Region 6 on Thursday warned against an “impostor” posing as a BIR revenue officer who might have been collecting money from business establishments in malls in the city of Manila while conducting alleged tax-enforcement operations.

BIR Regional Director Araceli Francisco said she has received information about the certain

impostor, and has reminded the public that BIR enforcement operations, such as surveillance or any Tax Compliance Verification Drive, should be covered by mission orders duly signed by the regional director concerned.

Under Section 6C of the National Internal Revenue Code, revenue officers may conduct activities relative to bookkeeping rules and regulations, particularly on non-issuance of sales or receipts.

They may also take an inventory of active units of cash register machines/point-of-sale machines authorized to issue receipts and check the taxpayer’s compliance with the provisions of Revenue Regulations 4-80, as amended

by Revenue Regulations 10-99, which governs the use of these cash register machines/point-ofsale machines in lieu of registered sales invoices or receipts.

But Francisco noted that these

functions of revenue officers can only be exercised with the appropriate mission orders signed by the regional director.

Without such mission orders, the operation is deemed to be illegal.

She called on the public, especially business establishments, to immediately report to the BIR’s Revenue Region 6 any illegal activities like extortion or unauthorized tax-enforcement operations at 518-0604 or 518-0651. David Cagahastian

news@businessmirror.com.ph

briefs 9 convicted in 1996 ozone disco fire in qc A Philippine court has convicted nine people for graft over a 1996 nightclub fire that killed 162 people, mostly students celebrating the end of the school year.

The Sandiganbayan antigraft court on Thursday convicted seven former city engineering officials of suburban Quezon City and two operators of the Ozone disco and handed out sentences of up to 10 years.

About 400 people were packed in the disco when the fire broke out, but many were unable to escape because the emergency exit was blocked by a new building next door.

The court also disqualified the former city officials from ever holding public office for approving the nightclub's building permit despite noncompliance with the building code. AP

palace to dbm: clarify p23.34-b supplemental budget

Malacañang on Thursday sought to clarify the P23.34-billion supplemental budget the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is asking Congress to pass, on top of the P2.6-trillion proposed national budget for 2015 the DBM submitted earlier.

Residential Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma, at a news briefing, said the DBM’s supplemental budget request listed three general categories, including: “new urgent projects and programs” mostly for Yolanda reconstruction and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum the Philippines is hosting next year, totaling P16.4 billion; obligations arising from infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, P1.85 billion; and, “projects previously approved but have not been implemented or have been partially implemented,” P5.08 billion, for a total of P23.34 billion.

But Coloma admitted the DBM did not provide him with a “more detailed breakdown” of the proposed expenditures that the Executive is asking Congress to pass alongside the regular national budget for 2015. Butch Fernandez

dotc eyes dec bidding for upgrade of davao sasa port

THE government seeks to roll out the bidding process for the P18.99-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization Project before the year ends, a Cabinet official said.

“It was already approved. I don’t know if we could publish before the end of the year. It’s in our interest to publish it soonest,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said.

What he was referring to is the approval secured from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board last quarter. The development of the port aims to improve trade access to Mindanao and the Philippines by providing a dedicated containerized port in the region. This will also support the region’s growing agro-industrial sector and spurring economic growth in Mindanao.

The construction and modernization of the existing port includes the new apron, linear quay, expansion of the back-up area, container yards, warehouses and the installation of new equipment like ship-to-shore cranes and rubbertyred gantry. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Lemon law. . . continued from a1

The dealer has 15 days upon receipt to fix the vehicle. When the vehicle is delivered back to the consumer, the consumer, likewise, has 15 days to return to the dealer if the defect persists.

Otherwise, if the consumer fails to return the vehicle after 15 days, the repair is deemed accepted and the problem fixed.

According to Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, the 15-day period is meant to give a fair chance to both consumers and the manufacturers to test the validity of the defect claim.

However, trade officials and industry stakeholders were not able to respond to a media query on what is the recourse of consumers if, after 15 days of no incident, the original defect reappears.

“I had the same question and we want to relax the period a bit. We have to consult the auto industry, of course, but it would be better if the 15-day period is not there. We have to check if the law allows that,” Domingo said

Ayala. . . continued from a1

the US. Orders from the Philippines were solid as reflected by demand from local institutional investors,” the company said.

As a top-up placement, the principal shareholders who lent their shares for the fund-raising exercise will be buying back the shares at the same price.

Ayala recently raised some P13.5 billion in the re-issuance of its nonvoting preferred class b shares, proceeds of which will be used to pay off its debt instead of plowing it to its capital-intensive infrastructure projects.

For this transaction, however, the company said it will use the proceeds in power and infrastructure projects, the two emerging businesses of Ayala that it wants to have more contribution in its income within five years.

“Proceeds raised from this placement will allow Ayala to expand into business lines that will result in robust and sustainable earnings for the company. At the same time, this equity issuance further strengthens the balance sheet of the company,” said Delfin Gonzalez Jr., the company’s

Growth. . . continued from a1

In an e-mail sent to reporters, DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said they have lowered their third-quarter GDP assumption from 6.9 percent to 6.7 percent for this year.

“We had expected third-quarter GDP at 6.9 percent year-on-year earlier, but it may come in slightly lower than that. There is some drag from fiscal spending, which has actually shrank on a year-on-year basis, despite fiscal revenues coming in strong during the period,” Cahyadi said.

The economist also noted similar gains such as the underlying support from private consumption and strong remittance flows.

The central bank also said the Philippine economy is still in an “expansion phase” despite the downside risks, saying that manufacturing companies

Hari. . . continued from a1

The PC category posted a 33-percent gain in sales to 1,476 units in October, driven by its popular models EON, i10 and Accent. The Accent registered the highest sales in the category with a total of 667 units sold in October.

From January to October, the PC category had a 25-percent increase in sales to 13,799 units versus the 11,002 units sold during the same period last year.

in chance interview after the briefing.

The remedial process of four attempts is allowable per defect detected on a vehicle.

After the fourth attempt and the issue persists, a “final attempt” is given to the manufacturer, after which the consumer can already fill out a Lemon law Availment Form and seek either a replacement or refund of the vehicle.

In the case that the manufacturer and the consumer fail to agree, the complainant can seek redress from the Department of Trade and Industry that will conduct an alternative dispute resolution.

Trade officials clarified that the Philippine Lemon law is an additional avenue for recourse that is on top of the warranty given by car manufacturers.

The IRR, as approved in the original form, is presently in effect but the trade department will likely issue the revisions in the remedial-process period in December. Catherine N. Pillas

chief finance officer.

CLSA Ltd. acted as sole global coordinator, while CLSA and Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd. acted as joint bookrunners and placement agents and BPI Capital Corp. acted as domestic bookrunner and placement agent.

Gonzalez earlier said the company is still looking to raise some $1 billion to increase its GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant by 1,000 megawatts (MW) and some $600 million to construct a new 600-MW coal-power plant in GN Power Kauswagan.

“We expect to complete the construction by 2018 for everything we have. We should be able to achieve financial close of the Kauswagan plant before the end of the year, while in Bataan, we expect financial close in the middle of next year. Our partner is Sithe Power, a unit of Blackstone Group,” Gonzalez said. He said the company is looking at export-credit agencies to bank roll the said projects.

continue to operate above the long-term average capacity utilization of 80 percent in the third quarter of the year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority is expected to release the third quarter output expansion numbers by the end of the month.

The government has targeted growth for 2014 ranging from 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent, higher than last year’s 6 percent to 7 percent.

Latest data shows the $270-billion economy already expanded by 5.6 percent in the first quarter and by 6.4 percent and in the second quarter, bringing the country’s first half-growth to 6 percent.

This means that the country must grow by 7 percent in the next two quarters to hit the low end of the target for this year.

The light-commercial vehicles (LCV) segment, however, continued to decline, registering a 12-percent dip from the year-ago level. The LCV category sold 506 units in October compared to the 576 units sold in October 2013.

But sales for the Tucson was an exemption in the LCV category as the model managed to grow by 29 percent year-on-year. Catherine N. Pillas

Economy BusinessMirror

Friday, November 21, 2014 A5

Higher tax cap on bonuses not on Palace priority list

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By Butch Fernandez

N awaited bill raising tax cap on year-end bonuses, to grant tax exemptions on workers’ 13th-month pay up to P82,000 from the existing P30,000 limit, is not on the list of Palace priority bills that Malacañang wants Congress to pass quickly.

According to Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr., the Aquino administration’s priority measures pending in Congress, as of now, are “the proposed 2015 national budget; the supplemental budget recently submitted by [the] Department of Budget and Managament; the proposed Bangsamoro basic law; and the joint congressional resolution needed to address the projected power-supply deficiency for next year.”

Coloma told reporters at a news briefing that the Office of the President was leaving it up to both chambers of Congress to act on the proposed bill being pushed by Sen. Ralph Recto to adjust the tax cap on 13th-month bonuses eroded by inflation since the tax cap was imposed in 1994, or 20 years ago.

“Iyan po ay nasa pagpapasya ng ating Kongreso. Meron na pong naipasang batas ang Kamara de Representantes, at nasa final stages na doon sa Senate. Nasa pagpapasya

po ’yan ng Kongreso,” the Palace official said.

He noted that in the process of crafting Recto’s remedial legislation, both the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue already gave their inputs to guide lawmakers in their deliberation on the measure. “So let us just wait what would be the final form that lawmakers will pass.”

Coloma indicated, however, that the Executive branch would still need to review the final version that would come out of Congress as the government is always striving for a situation where legislation should be “revenue neutral,” or not result in loss of revenue.

“Kailangang tingnan kung ano ’yung itatadhana ng batas na ilalabas ng Kongreso at sa lahat ng pagkakataon ang sinisikap na matamo dito ay ’yung sitwasyon na hindi mawawalan ng rentas internas ang ating pamahalaan,” he said.

Coloma also indicated that President Aquino is not likely to certify urgent passage of the Recto bill for early enactment into law so workers and their families could enjoy the benefit of the higher tax cap on 13th-month bonuses this coming Christmas.

Coloma explained that the President uses “sparingly” his power to certify bills as urgent. “Ginagamit lang ’yan sparingly at kung meron talagang emergency,” he said.

Recto, in filing the bill increasing to P82,000 the tax-exemption cap for 13th-month pay and other bonuses, said “the amount merely restores the value of the peso, which has been lost to inflation since 1994,” adding that “the peso has lost two-thirds of its value over the past 20 years.”

According to Recto, “P1 in 1994 is worth 36 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 recalled that when the existing cap was imposed in 1994, “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; a can of sardines was P6.”

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Friday, November 21, 2014

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

From Beijing to Brisbane

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HE distance between Beijing, China, the venue of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, and Brisbane, Australia, where the Group of 20 (G-20) Leaders’ Summit was held, is only 5,216 miles. However, the difference between those two meetings could not have been more dissimilar than the dinner menus of Australia’s Porterhouse beef steaks, served with Lockyer Valley cauliflower, and China’s Beijing duck and xiaolongbao (steamed buns).

Apec was Asia; G-20 was the West.

According to our simplistic and certainly biased interpretation, Apec was about Asian nations coming together for their own self-interests, while the G-20 was about the United States and Europe “leading” the rest of the world to where the West wants them to go.

Take climate change, for example. After working for many months behind the scenes, the US was able to get China to pledge to reduce carbon emissions.

According to the US media, this was a huge victory for America and President Barack Obama.

What China agreed to was that it would set an undefined peak for its emissions by 2030. In return, Obama, while at the G-20, pledged $3 billion to the United Nations (UN) Green Climate Fund—money that was, no doubt, partially borrowed from China. We hope the Philippines will get some of that money.

The European members of the G-20 want a UN protocol, with legal force, against polluters. French President François Hollande even said climate change “could lead to catastrophe, if not war.” Obviously, Hollande was not talking about China, since the students at that country’s People’s Liberation Army National Defense University have a better military than any of those in Europe.

The G-20, led by the West, approved a package of 800 measures that are estimated to increase their economic output by 2.1 percent by 2018. For Asian Apec members, 2.1-percent growth is considered an economic failure.

But if they can achieve the figure, perhaps, at the 2016 G-20 meeting that will be held in China, they will be able to afford a fine bottle of wine. Chateau Hansen “Red Camel” Cabernet Sauvignon is produced in the Chinese autonomous region of Ningxia and costs $625. The grapes are fertilized by the droppings of Mongolian sheep.

In the Apec leaders’ ceremonial photo, Obama was off to one side. In the G-20 photo, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who was on the sidelines.

But of all the G-20 members, which country do you think has the lowest debtto-gross domestic product ratio? As one headline read, “What a difference a week makes in international diplomacy.”

At both events, though, there was one leader who was always standing in the middle: Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is still the Asian century.

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief

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James Jimenez

spox

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T’S not a debate when you both agree that corruption is the pernicious evil that tears society down from the inside. It’s not a debate when you both agree that more transparency is needed in the government. It’s not a debate when you both agree that peace is the ultimate goal.

It’s not a debate when all you want to do is outshine the other guy. That’s not even an argument—it’s a sales pitch. It’s not a debate when all you do is trumpet your own achievements. That’s called something else entirely, something that would ordinarily not be mentioned in polite company.

It’snotadebatewhentheonlythingyou want to talk about is why your opponent shouldn’t win the elections. That’s called campaigning. And it’s most certainly not a debate when you turn the podium into a soapbox from which you can hurl insults—whether blatant or veiled—and mud. Creatively enough, that’s called mudslinging.

A real debate starts with a proposition:

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a statement that presents a worldview that isn’t universally accepted. Often, this proposition is worded as a plan of action. Thus, for instance, “the death penalty should be reinstated” is a valid proposition. It presents the worldview that certain crimes are so heinous that the state needs to end the life of the perpetrator, either as an act of justice or of vengeance. Obviously, there are those who would agree with this, just as there are those who wouldn’t.

In a debate, these two points of view would be expressed through opposing arguments, thus, setting up what debaters call a clash—a clear and irreconcilable conflict. Yes, irreconcilable. Irreconcilable, because a debate isn’t intended to

craft consensus—a debate that ends in agreement is pointless—but to demonstrate the superiority of one idea over another; the supremacy of one debater’s intelligence and wit over his or her foe’s.

In this sense, yes, a debate is divisive, but that’s a good thing, especially in a presidential election. Argumentation is the whetstone upon which we sharpen our ideas and plans. Without disagreement, intellectual stagnation becomes a clear and present danger, at best. At worst, half-cocked ideas become policy.

The political environment in the year before the nation elects a new president is one that has traditionally been characterized by battling sound bites. Some candidates, perhaps, sensing a close fight and wanting to lay the predicate for a protest later on, spare no expense in undermining the electoral system.

Most churn out campaign promises that all boil down to a better life in case they win, and—to varying degrees of explicitness—doom, if they lose. And all candidates extol their own virtues, capitalize on their life stories and wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Apart from a great deal of passiveaggressiveness, however, very few candidates ever bother to tackle issues head-on, much less challenge the assertions made by their opponents. It’s like a gunfight where everyone is shooting

every which way but straight. As a result, most of the voters who have not yet made up their minds are left with no clear understanding of the issues involved and practically no way of differentiating one candidate from the others. They might as well flip a coin.

We have to ask ourselves: Do we really want to keep on ending up at the polling place with no idea which candidate presents the best solution? If so, then all we have to do is to keep going the way we’re going, without changing a thing.

If, on the other hand, we want an electorate that has been given the opportunity to see and hear candidates defending their platforms and their stands on various issues—like using nuclear power to address our energy problem—then a debate is the way to go; more specifically, a debate where the public is presented with a clash of intelligent arguments on various issues, and not just platitudes. Given that opportunity, we can say that voters, at least, have a better than 50-50 chance of voting intelligently.

Sadly, the issue right now is not whether we should have debates or not.

The bigger question is: Can we actually make a real debate happen?

Debatable.

James Jimenez is the spokesman of the Commission on Elections.

BPW: Moving forward, stepping up and looking back

Romeo M. del Castillo

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Every which way but straight

Isabel “Beng” Tesoro

Women Stepping UP

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S we move toward the end of the year and cap our second year of existence as Business and Professional Women (BPW) Makati, it may be fitting for us to pause and look back at what we have accomplished and what we can look forward to.

The call for women in business and in professions to “step up” has been heard and responded to: From 21 members when BPW Makati was incorporated in 2013, that number has grown to 51.

This number represents a diverse range of specialties and generalities—from business to baking, from law to cosmetic retailing, from information-technology commerce to yoga, from academe to government. All are women who are ready and committed to advance the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) under the United Nations Global Compact (www.weprinciples.org). For BPW Makati, we have chosen to focus on economic empowerment for women, as we believe that this has the highest impact in furthering gender equality and all the positive effects it engenders.

To this end, we engaged in various activities, such as the e-Woman Bazaar of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

(RCBC); cohosting networking nights with Coca-Cola and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.’s (PLDT) SME Nation in separate events, during which multinationals presented their women’s-empowerment programs; aligning with the Cherie Blair Business

Mentoring program; and nominating young entrepreneurs. We hosted, with RCBC, a talk on financial mentoring, in which Anton Mauricio of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines shared the principles of financial planning, and Jessie Sincioco of the Chef Jessie Restaurant group shared tips on how to succeed in the competitve food business.

In February BPW Makati cast a vote in the international board of the International Federation of BPW during its congress in Jeju, South Korea. Five members attended: Ambassador Delia Albert, our founding chairman; founding president Jeannie Javelosa and founding mem ber Luvy Villanueva, who both spoke about the multisectoral GREAT Women Platform; Lexi Schulze, another founding member who was a speaker on women in media (and who was recently nominated as a director to the Philippine Commission for Women); and Karmi Palafox, another founding member who represented us in the Young BPW. In presenting our programs and goals, the congress’s other attendees saw “The Face of the Global Filipina,” in which we want the world to know that

she is talented, capable and empowered by a culture that has long recognized the value of women. That the Filipina, having been given opportunities in education, as well as to operate in a relatively open society, is emancipated yet feminine, is competent yet caring.

That the Filipina is world-class and in a class of her own: Making the most of a mixed heritage, is Westernized yet still Asian, and able to handle all these influences and opportunities to maximize her potential.

You are that Filipina. At BPW Makati, we believe that a common thread binds the fabric of our being. No matter where we came from, no matter the size of our organization or what stage in life we are in, we all want to learn and share with each other how to do better in the socioeconomic sphere we all operate in.

From a fundraising donation from the SungJoo Foundation and BPW International, we donated P840,000 to Habitat for Humanity. We will build homes that will be given to typhoon victims, specifically the female heads of households.

Going forward to 2015, BPW Makati members are working toward accessing financing programs from the Development Bank of the Philippines and RCBC to give women preferential access to capital; a women’s forum with PLDT SME Nation in March that will focus on women’s businesses moving toward Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic integration; aligning with PLDT/Smart Communications for the creation of the GREAT Women ICT (information and communications technology) Platform, with the goal of providing, in the virtual space, networking opportunities for members in trade,

services and other interests; through other members in social media, a mentoring program on “Personal Branding,” while using ICT to boost one’s profile and business goals.

The big idea for 2015 is our involvement in the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit next September, which the Philippines will host once again. It is an opportune return, as Albert stresses that it was during the 1996 Apec summit that women’s discussion was included on the agenda to address women’s rights, welfare, progress and opportunities for them.

Twenty years, hence, the members of BPW Makati will come to this forum of international relations as representatives from the private sector, specifically from the gender-concerns platform, to show that, in the Philippines, we sustain and are committed to advancing those universal rights, that we are an example, for all the world to see, that women in the Philippines are not just beloved icons, paragons of beauty, and examples of domesticity and service, but full-fledged members of an inclusive society, of a nation in progress, because it is open to and harnesses the power and talents of its women.

Join us at BPW Makati and help continue to make this happen.

Isabel “Beng” Tesoro is the president of the Tesoro’s Group of Companies and the vice president of Business and Professional Women (BPW) Makati.

This article reflects her opinion and is not the official stand of BPW. Women Stepping Up is the rotating column of members of BPW Makati and comes out twice a month.

For more information on BPW Makati, visit www.womensteppingup.org.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, November 21, 2014

A7

Wanted in the 2016 polls: Cinema Rehiyon Reloaded: Peripheral films, peripheral powers A leader for sustained and inclusive growth Tito Genova Valiente annotations

Dr. Fernando T. Aldaba

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EAGLE WATCH

HERE is now a consensus among Filipino and foreign economists that the Philippines has shifted to a higher growth level of 6 percent to 6.5 percent. Ceteris paribus, or all other things being equal, we expect this trend path of the economy to continue for the next six to eight years, encompassing the period of the next administration. The chart below shows this trajectory to a higher level of growth for the Philippine economy. While we experienced a moderate economic expansion of 4.63 percent during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, it was only recently (2010 to 2013) that the country experienced an average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.12 percent.

Definitely, the altered political climate has been a major factor in this development, as the Aquino administration spearheaded key governance and economic reforms. However, pundits on the Philippine political economy will agree that a lot still has to be accomplished, especially in terms of poverty reduction, human-capital formation, infrastructure provision, and reviving the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Obviously, these cannot be achieved in the last two years of President Aquino’s term.

This early, various names have already cropped up as possible contenders for the position of chief executive of the land. Survey institutions have already started releasing their results from the past quarters that show Vice President Jejomar C. Binay still leading the pack.

The ongoing investigations into the anomalies allegedly committed during his stint as mayor of Makati City have further heightened the ongoing political firestorm. By next year, the atmosphere of increased political uncertainty will start to dampen the investment appetite of both local and foreign firms. The next president will have to maintain a political and governance milieu that will nurture the higher growth trajectory of the economy.

What, then, should be the characteristics of this person who will lead us to sustained and inclusive growth from 2016 to 2022?

Integrity. Given the tremendous public backlash against corrupt officials and the “good” approval rating that the current “clean” President is still getting, his successor should definitely be perceived as a person of integrity. Corruption, dishonesty, malfeasance, and the luxurious lifestyle of the candidate and his or her family will weigh negatively on the electorate across all classes. Disdain for these kinds of politicians has probably reached an all-time high more than a year ago, when the P10-billion pork-barrel scam exploded.

Effectiveness. Many are tired of ineffective and incompetent leaders of government institutions who fail to produce the outputs expected by the general public. The next president must be able to lead an effective Cabinet that can deliver palpable results in terms of facilitating basic services, improving infrastructure, cutting red tape and weeding out undesirables, and promoting efficiency in the bureaucracy.

Promotes unity. Too much “politics” and factionalism have hindered the policymaking process and implementation of major government programs.

The next head of the country must be a

leader who is able to reach out to various groups and sectors, even those outside his or her allied groups, and unify them.

The next president must also be a conflict manager, bringing opposing groups together to provide solutions to urgent social problems. Inclusive development will require huge investments in social capital, and the new president must be the catalyst for building trust and confidence among the citizenry.

Savvy in handling the political economy.

While heeding the advice of economists, political scientists and other experts, the new chief executive must be able to navigate the political seas and be aware of the key forces that will help him or her push for major economic and political reforms. He or she must also be able to weigh or balance the costs and benefits of state intervention in the workings of a market economy. Reviving the agricultural and manufacturing sectors will require a leader who is cognizant of the state-market dynamics in the pursuit of an effective industrial policy.

In touch with the people. This is the socalled Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, model.

Under this model, the leader needs to regularly visit and have dialogues with key sectors or groups in his or her constituency to get the public pulse. The importance of these activities is to get feedback directly from the people, rather than relying mostly on one’s Cabinet or advisers. If the leader wants growth to be inclusive, then this is strategic in terms of crafting development policies that will benefit the majority of the people.

A servant leader. Last, the next chief executive must be a model of public service. In all his or her actions, the public good must be his or her yardstick, not the promotion of any personal or sectoral objective. This is important, as various groups align themselves with the president in the pursuit of an implicit vested interest. He or she must be able to go beyond these and, instead, advance the public welfare and the majority’s aspirations.

We do not expect the next leader to have all these characteristics and to be a superman or superwoman. But he or she must be seen as someone striving toward having or enhancing these qualities.

Quality leadership and governance will be a critical factor for sustained and inclusive growth for the Philippine economy.

It is incumbe nt upon the citizenry to be able to choose this right leader in 2016.

Fernando T. Aldaba, PhD, is a professor of economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and a senior fellow of Eagle Watch, the school’s macroeconomic and forecasting unit.

T

HE laughter was raucous and infectious, as high-school boys and girls filled the screening room of the College of Science of state-run Bicol University in Legazpi City, Albay province. It really didn’t matter if the dialogue was in Cebuano and the whole story was taking place in Cebu province’s Camotes Island. The film was Iskalawags by Keith Deligero, himself a Cebuano.

It was the second day of Cinema Rehiyon Reloaded, a project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’s (NCCA) National Committee on Cinema. The project’s aim is to bring to different places short and full-length feature films that were shown in various film conferences, called Cinema Rehiyon. It also aims to solve the problem of the NCCA and other institutions championing the cause—and effect—of independent cinemas and, ultimately, finding out that, in many parts of the Philippines, there are students majoring in communications and other related studies who have not been updated about independent films.

At Bicol University, Kei Tan, the NCCA film curator for Luzon, arranged a cluster of short films and two full-length films. The short films ranged from hilarious send-ups to award-winning animated works from Xavier University and Ateneo de Naga University.

Iskalawags particularly engaged the young audience, as it is a coming-of-age film set not in Metro Manila or in big cities, but in a rural environment. The wit of the film is attributed mainly to a group of boys who emulate Jeric Raval, an action star of the 1990s. The fact that Raval did not make it to the big league makes for a realistic and poignant story about this group of boys who, it seems, are not cut out to become big deals.

The Q&A session that followed the screening was an indication of how much we do not know our children, the young audience. We remain protective of them, but, in the end, these “kids” have developed a capacity to understand films about them.

One young man was concerned about how the parents have disappeared from the film. The boys in the film are able to get away with anything.

As the young critic asked, where are the parents who would tell them that what they are doing is bad?

A young lady asked Deligero if there were influences in his cinema production. The very young filmmaker replied he was not aware of any, but added that, indeed, he noticed how American director Wes Anderson—the name mentioned by the student—seemed to be present in his works.

I told the audience that this characteristic of cinema to remind us of many things is called “referential” and/or “derivative.”

Young filmmakers are so awash in sensory overload that, when they write or make films, the so-called influences slowly creep onto the surface of their completed works.

Two other full-length films were shown: Alvin Yapan’s Debosyon and Arnel Mardoquio’s Riddles of My Homecoming. While I was not around during the screening of Yapan’s film, I could almost imagine the response of the audience as they witnessed their own Mayon Volcano not merely being postcard-pretty, but become an element in the film’s narrative.

The audience, I was told, was particularly curious how actor Paulo Avelino, who plays the role of a Bikolano named Mando, learned to speak the Rinconada language, which has a reputation for being different and difficult to learn. Even stranger to them, perhaps, was the notion that Rinconada is used in a scene that first takes place in Naga City—the residents of which use a different language—and then shifts to the purported woods of Iriga or Buhi, and ends with Mando surfacing at the foot of Mayon. Languge and

Growth isn’t God in Indonesia William Pesek

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BLOOMBERG VIEW

OKO WIDODO’S rise from nowhere to Indonesia’s presidential palace showed the wonders of that country’s democracy. Now he wants to democratize its economy as well, focusing as much on the quality of growth as the quantity.

Sixteen years ago Indonesia was cascading toward failed statehood.

In 1998, as riots forced the dictator Suharto from office, many wrote off the world’s fourth-most populous nation. Today Indonesia is a stable economy that grows modestly at 5 percent, with quite realistic hopes of exceeding that figure.

There’s plenty for Widodo, a former governor of Jakarta who is known by his nickname “Jokowi”, to worry about, of course. Indonesia still ranks behind Egypt in corruption and near Ethiopia in ease-ofdoing-business surveys. More than 40 percent of the nation’s 250 million people live on less than $2 a day. A dearth of decent roads makes it more cost-effective to ship goods to China than across the archipelago. Retrograde attitudes abound: To this day,

female police recruits are subjected to humiliating virginity tests.

But this week, Jokowi reminded us why Indonesia is a good-news story—one from which its Asian peers could learn. His move to cut fuel subsidies, saving a cash-strapped nation more than $11 billion in its 2015 budget, showed gumption and cheered investors. Even more encouraging is a bold agenda focusing not just on faster growth, but better growth that’s felt among more than Jakarta’s elites.

This might seem like an obvious focus in a region that’s home to a critical mass of the world’s extremely poor (those living on $1 or $2 a day).

But grand rhetoric about “inclusive growth” hasn’t even come close to meeting the reality on the ground. In India, for example, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi boasts that he will return gross domestic product (GDP) to the glory days of double-digit growth rates, as if the metric mattered more than what his government plans to do with the windfall.

The “Cult of GDP”, the dated idea that booming growth lifts all boats, has long been decried by development economists like William Easterly. The closer growth gets to 10 percent, the more likely governments are to declare victory and grow complacent. In many cases, rapid GDP growth masks serious economic cracks. In her recent book GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History, Diane Coyle called the figure a “familiar piece of jargon that doesn’t actually mean much to most people.”

Jokowi appears to see through the hollow superlatives that global consumer companies toss around when it comes to Indonesia—a middle class that will double to 141 million by 2020; a population in which half are younger than 30. Per-capita income—$4,000, at best—significantly lags peers like Malaysia and Thailand. For all the hype about Indonesia’s supposed middle-class boom, many households still grow rice and other crops for a few hundred dollars per harvest. That’s why Jokowi’s early policies are populist in thrust: welfare programs, handouts

geography are conflated in cinema.

Riddles of My Homecoming was the more difficult film to show. We expected resistance from the crowd, given that the film is almost silent.

There are no words to connect visually arresting and disparate images.

Scenes do not follow each other in terms of cause and effect. Logic is absent, if one is looking for a hold on the narrative. What the film shows are like tattered memories of a catastrophe that befell on the Mindanao of Mardoquio. The filmmaker has been consistent in exploring that island’s landscape. In Riddles, he places layers and layers of historicity and reality. A boat goes in and out of the water. A man who preaches about and lures men and women to a god that looks like him feeds the fish with peso bills that he had stolen through religion and politics. There is a heap of dead people that serves as a backdrop to men and women escaping the land. A huge backhoe is a fixture on the horizon, as it summons the elegiac memory of the November 23, 2009, massacre, the Ampatuans and how they may actually escape punishment.

A hermaphrodite appeared onscreen. There was a chorus of shock from the viewers. The fluidity of gender is difficult to understand, whether it is presented in Luzon or Mindanao. The film reloading, however, has already aroused the interest of the audience. They are ready for anything. They are ready to watch the Other Philippines.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

to local governments, and improved access to health and education.

But Jokowi also is taking five vital steps that should do more than add a few dollars to daily salaries: attacking official corruption; cutting the red tape that turns off foreign investors; launching an ambitious infrastructure-improvement program; increasing tax-collection efforts among the politically connected elite; and strengthening industry, particularly manufacturing, to boost incomes broadly.

While each is crucial, the last one could be Jokowi’s most important legacy. The idea is to emulate Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in making added-value products through better training and infrastructure. That would diversify an economy that still relies too much on exporting natural resources to China.

Roadblocks abound, not least an opposition eager to maintain its privileges and cozy business dealings. Nor will it be easy to balance pro-investor strategies with protectionist currents in Jakarta.

But for neighbors like Vietnam, Myanmar and even Thailand, which also suffers from dramatic levels of inequality, Jokowi’s agenda provides a pretty decent road map to spreading the benefits of growth.

Good news, indeed.