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n Sunday, November 22, 2015 Vol. 11 No. 45

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Apec leaders firm up commitment on PPP infrastructure development

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

HE heads of Asia-Pacific economies have firmed up their commitment to develop quality infrastructure that promote inclusive growth through the so-called Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program, which is included in the Cebu Action Plan adopted by the 21 economies on Friday. week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW n Previous week: The local currency only traded for one day this week, as trading was suspended for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. On Monday the peso traded at 47.14 to a dollar. This is a depreciation from the previous week’s end at 47.05 to a dollar. The total traded volume during the day is at $670.5 million. n Week ahead: Players in the foreign-exchange market look for fresher leads following the long trading holiday. Markets are likely to be swayed by the sentiment surrounding the release of the local GDP growth for the third quarter, which will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.

GDP

November 26, Thursday n Q2 GDP: The PSA earlier reported that GDP grew year-on-year by 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015. This is lower than the 6.7 percent in the same period last year but higher than the growth rate of 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2015. The second-quarter growth was said to be driven by the Services sector, with the positive growth exhibited by Trade, Other Services, Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities, and supported by the growth of Manufacturing and Construction. n Q3 GDP: Economists have expressed their views that GDP will likely pick up in the third quarter owing to stronger government spending. The acceleration from the previous quarter’s growth rate, how-

See “Outlook,” A2

BusinessMirror media partner The region’s political and economic leaders vowed to aid one another in promoting initiatives that will significantly improve connectivity and infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region, advancing the program that taps private-sector expertise and funding in develop-

ing much-needed facilities that spur economic growth. “We appreciate progress in implementation of initiatives, which will greatly improve connectivity and infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region; and progress of the initiatives, which will help resolve the bottleneck of financing in this field,” economic leaders belonging to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group said in a joint statement. Financing issues, they said, can be resolved through collaboration and aid, as transport, power, housing and water facilities will help advance economic integration and expansion in the region. “We encourage further collaboration among these initiatives, in order to promote regional economic integration and the common See “Apec,” A2

PHL needs to integrate more with Asean, Apec countries By Bianca Cuaresma

ESPITE the Ph i l ip pi ne s ’s solid growth owing to domestic consumption, the country still needs to work on being more integrated to the region to be able to ride with its strong growth momentum— one which is seen to outpace other economic blocs across the globe. For the Philippines to do this, the country must be able to shift some of its attention from enter-

PESO exchange rates n US 47.0320

ing into bilateral-trade agreements to making adjustments within the country by being more accessible to foreign trade and transactions through the institution of domestic structural reforms. In the recently held Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, heads of economies and industry leaders of the group concluded that the Asia-Pacific region is set to take center stage as one of the economic blocs that will lead global growth down the line, despite expectations of a slowdown of See “Phl,” A2

Air strikes hurt, but don’t halt, I.S. oil-smuggling operations

Two Rafale jet fighters fly over Iraq in this September 19, 2014, file photo. AP/ECPAD

How Islamic State gets money Although Islamic State receives some money from outside donors, those donations will come under increased scrutiny from the U.S. With outside donations cut, the group could still make an estimated $100million to $200 million this year through criminal and terrorist activities. Here are some ways they get funding.

Through extortion of small businesses Some shopkeepers have paid the militants $100 a month six or seven times in fear of retaliation. The militants take money from small merchants, gas station owners, generator owners, even pharmacists and doctors,

Through checkpoints on roads Checkpoints in the last few months demanding money from passing cars and trucks. The money purportedly goes into a fund, but some sums go to pay bonuses or salaries of fighters.

Through export of oil The Islamic State now has access to five oilfields in Iraq, each of which has between 40 to 70 oil wells.They deal with middle men, some of whom are affiliated with Iraqi oil companies. They have checkpoints to move around the oil convoys, specifically to export the oil to Turkey. They can make up to $1.2 million a day.

Through hostages

Source: Reuters Graphic: Greg Good

ABC News reported that one U.S. hostage held by Islamic State is a 26-year-old female aid worker. The Islamic military has demanded $6.6 million in ransom. Focus, a German magazine, said in April that France paid $18 million for the release of four French hostages who had been held by Islamic State.

EIRUT—The United States and Russia are going after the Islamic State (IS) group’s oil industry, destroying refineries and hundreds of tanker trucks transporting oil from eastern Syria in a heavy bombardment in recent days aiming to break the extremists’ biggest source of income. The campaign already appears to be having some effect, with oil prices rising in areas of Syria that rely on crude smuggled out of IS areas. But experts say it will be difficult to cut off the militants’ trade completely, since they are likely to switch to smaller, more elusive vehicles. See “Air strikes,” A2

n japan 0.3835 n UK 71.6438 n HK 6.0679 n CHINA 7.3787 n singapore 33.0327 n australia 33.4771 n EU 50.5688 n SAUDI arabia 12.5416

Source: BSP (16 November 2015)

NewsSunday A2 Sunday, November 22, 2015

Air strikes… Putting a total end to the industry would mean destroying the oil fields in Syria, but that would also bring hardship to millions in the population under IS rule and others who depend on the group’s oil, causing fuel shortages as winter sets in. Otherwise, taking the fields would require ground forces. Still, the campaign could hit hard on an industry that US officials say generates more than half the revenue the IS group uses to maintain its rule over its swath of territory across Syria and Iraq and pay its fighters. IS controls almost all of Syria’s oil fields, concentrated in the east of the country, producing some 30,000 barrels a day, along with one field in Iraq. It smuggles most abroad, mainly to Turkey, selling at cut-rate prices and generating nearly $50 million a month. In the wake of the bloody attacks in Paris last week—and the downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt’s Sinai widely blamed on IS—American and Russian warplanes unleashed a stepped-up wave of strikes on oil infrastructure. Russia’s bombing blitz this week by warplanes and cruise missiles from navy ships destroyed 15 oil-refining and storage facilities in Syria and 525 trucks carrying oil, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday. Aerial footage released by the military showed air strikes hitting a column of oil tankers in the Syrian desert, and sections of a large oil refinery bursting into flames. On Sunday US defense officials said warplanes destroyed 116 oil-hauling trucks in eastern Syria, the biggest strikes on the oil trade since the US-led air campaign began more than a year-and-a-half ago. Attack planes and gunships pounded the trucks as they clustered near an oil facility in Abu Kamal, a town close to the

BusinessMirror Continued from a1

Iraqi border. On November 9 a French air strike hit an oil-supply center in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour. The US-led coalition has targeted oil infrastructure occasionally in the past, including a heavy attack last month on Syria’s Omar field near the town of Deir el-Zour that hit refineries, command and control centers and transportation nodes. “Degrading this source of revenue will reduce Isil’s ability to fund their military and terrorist operations,” said Col. Steven Warren, the spokesman for the US-led coalition in Baghdad, using another acronym for the group. “Oil is as important to Isis as weapons, because it needs this to fund its operations. In some cases, I call it the driver of military operations for Isis,” said Ahmed Ali, an Iraq analyst and senior fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the American University of Iraq. It is not clear why coalition forces waited this long before going after IS oil infrastructure. US officials previously had said they avoided attacking fuel trucks out of concern for civilian casualties. In Sunday’s strikes, warplanes first dropped leaflets telling drivers to flee, reading, “Air strikes are coming. Oil trucks will be destroyed. Get away from your oil trucks immediately. Do not risk your life.” Combined with recent gains by Kurdish forces and their Arab allies that have cut off some of the main supply routes between IS strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the air strikes are likely to deal a painful blow to the group. Last week Kurdish forces captured the town of Sinjar in northwestern Iraq, severing of a highway serving as a supply route for IS fighters between the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and the militant’s selfproclaimed capital of Raqqa in Syria. An

Apec…

Continued from a1

development of the Asia Pacific,” the leaders said. Developing infrastructure, the leaders emphasized, is imperative for developing nations, such as the Philippines, which is currently constructing a new green city in Clark Field, Pampanga. “Our cities are potential centers of creativity and innovation, providing jobs and livelihoods for billions of people. We emphasize the importance of proper planning and adequate infrastructure for sustainable city development. We, therefore, welcome the work of our officials to discuss the challenges of rapid urbanization in Apec, including innovative ways of addressing waste management and waterrelated challenges,” the chief executives said. Ministers and secretaries were tasked by their chief executives to be more forward-looking in developing infrastructure projects, saying that Band-Aid solutions to infrastructure problems are not enough. Long-term planning and development, they said, are the key to effecting real inclusive growth. “We emphasize the importance of investment in quality infrastructure and connectivity to realize our vision for an AsiaPacific community. We welcome the initiatives set out by the Cebu Action Plan to maximize

PHL…

Iraqi oil refinery also has been taken from the militants, and Iraqi forces have encircled the western Iraqi city of Ramadi. It is too soon to tell to the impact of this week’s air strikes on IS operations. But there are signs the campaign is already causing prices to rise. Rami Abdurrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said prices of fuel shot up in some ISruled areas by around 80 percent, owing to truck drivers refusing to drive to IS oil facilities, fearing their vehicles will be hit. Oil prices have increased and availability decreased in and around the ISheld Iraqi city of Mosul, said Ben Lando, editor in chief of the Iraq Oil Report, a trade publication that tracks the Iraqi oil industry. He said that is an indicator that air strikes, as well as the cutting of supply routes, have made a difference. Many parts of Syria controlled by other rebels—even ones fighting the IS group— rely on IS for oil since they have few other sources. Even the Syrian government is said by Western diplomats and Syrian opposition member to buy oil from IS through middlemen, though Syrian officials deny it—and the main source of oil for government-held parts of the country is shipments from Damascus’s top ally Iran. A local rebel commander in Idlib said there is an indirect deal between IS and various rebel factions, under which IS supplies them with oil in return for fruits and vegetables, since IS-ruled regions largely rely on imports of produce. The commander spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive dealings with the factions’ enemy. Ahmad al-Ahmad, a Syrian opposition activist who resides in Aleppo, said prices began going up a few days in opposition areas. AP

the public-private partnership modality for infrastructure delivery, to tap long-term investments for infrastructure through capital-market development, and to continue efforts in inclusive infrastructure, in urban development and in regional connectivity,” they said. Manila’s key infrastructure thrust has been recognized as one of the best infrastructure programs in the region, no matter that it has only completed two projects amounting to roughly P4 billion in a span of five-and-ahalf years. It has awarded a total of 11 projects since the program was launched in 2010. The the project pipeline is composed of roughly 50 deals, with more than half being undertaken by the transportation department. PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao has admitted that the country has a “dearth in infrastructure,” especially in terms of transport facilities. Compared to its neighbors, Manila only has four train systems, all of which are far from one another, making line transfers a hassle for commuters. The capital is also hounded by a chronic road-bottleneck problem along major roads and highways, thereby slowing the exchange of goods and services that amount to roughly P2 bil-

Continued from a1

growth in the region for this year. This is due largely to robust investments, strong retail expansion and stable fiscal environment in the light of volatilities and uncertainties from larger economies. Now for the Philippines to be able to take advantage of it being a part of this economic bloc, it must do its part to make it easier for business and industries to transact and make business with the Philippines. “Although growth in Asia has slowed, the region nonetheless has a better outlook than most emerging markets. It is important for the Philippines to continue to pursue economic

integration with Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and broader Asia,” Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. economist Joseph Incalcaterra told the BusinessMirror. “Initiatives such as the AEC [Asean Economic Community] and RCEP [Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership] help, but the Philippines must also strive to be included in the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] as quickly as possible. Moreover, there is need for domestic structural reforms, such as increasing foreign-ownership limits in domestic industries, particularly for infrastructure-related sectors,” Incalcaterra added, noting that

lion in daily losses. Its main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, is, likewise, congested, with all its terminals teeming past through its rated capacity of 30 million passengers per year. With this taken into consideration, economic leaders have ordered their transport ministers to work hand-in-hand in developing a sustainable transportation sector in the region. “We commend efforts to develop safe, secure, resilient, efficient and sustainable transportation systems, and to promote innovations in the transportation sector, as we move toward achieving inclusive mobility and global supply-chain resilience. We instruct our officials to continue to enhance their work on connectivity of transportation networks,” the leaders said.

Outlook… Continued from a1

ever, will be muted due to the still-slow demand for the country’s exports. In its latest forecast, the Moody’s unit said the Philippine economy likely grew by 5.8 percent during the period. While this was an acceleration from a quarter earlier— when the economy expanded by 5.6 percent—and from growth averaging 5.3 percent in the first half, this failed to match the year-ago expansion averaging 6.1 percent. Bianca Cuaresma

growth will only be sustained at this level toward the medium term if the right domestic reforms are implemented. As for the near-term, Moody’s Investor Service economist Christian de Guzman told the BusinessMirror that the Philippines will reap most of the benefits from the region from the more liberalized banking sector, as well as from the significant stock of Filipino workers employed abroad. “Because of the structure of the economy—with its relatively limited reliance on commodity exports, favorable demographic trends and healthy external position, among other things—the Philippines is likely to weather the headwinds affecting emerging markets over the next couple of years,” de Guzman added.

NewsSunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 22, 2015 A3

PSALM eyes real-estate property sale to pay off Napocor debts

By Lenie Lectura

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) is eyeing the sale of some real-estate property starting next year to be able to pay off the remaining debts incurred by the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

Psalm is the agency mandated by Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001, to handle the sale of the remaining state-power assets and financial obligations of the Napocor. The government transferred Napocor’s assets and debts to Psalm in 2008. Psalm President Lourdes Alzona, in an interview, said proceeds from the privatization of the generation assets are not enough to pay off Napocor’s obligations. Thus, Psalm is evaluating other possible ways by which the government could reduce its obligations. One of which, she said, is the sale of real property. “As to plans for 2016, further to our main mandate to reduce Psalm financial obligations out of disposal of power assets, Psalm may have to focus on strategic plan for realestate management,” Alzona said

when asked of the state company’s plans and priorities for 2016. Alzona did not say what real estate-related assets are left to sell. She pointed out, though, that this, if successfully carried out, will improve Psalm’s financial position. “This is in a development phase that would include sale, transfer and management of lots, and other real properties. It will give substantial contribution in improving our capability to pay off Napocor debts,” Alzona said. As of September 2015, Alzona said in the same interview that Psalm’s obligations stood at P565 billion. Including interest that would still be due until the maturity of said obligations, PSALM’s total debt would amount to P674 billion, she added. Over the years, Alzona said Psalm was able to reduce liabilities by continuously implementing a liability-

management program. She said this would be continued until Psalm is able to pay off Napocor’s debts. The agency has 25 years from the enactment of the Epira to fulfill its mandate unless, otherwise, extended by law. At the end of its corporate life, all of its assets and liabilities will revert to the national government. Napocor President Gladys CruzSanta Maria said only 20 percent of government-owned power assets have yet to be privatized or roughly 1,600 megawatts (MW) of powergeneration capacity. These include the 32-MW Power Barge (PB) 104 in Davao City; the 727-MW Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydropower facility; the Agus hydropower plant; the Independent Power Producer Administrator (Ippa) contract for the Unified Leyte geothermal power plant; the 210MW Mindanao coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental; and the 140-MW Casecnan multipurpose hydroelectric power plant. Psalm will also rebid the decommissioned 850 -MW Sucat thermal power plant. The Napocor, meanwhile, maintains these assets while awaiting privatization, the responsibility of operating and maintaining these undisposed assets is managed by two functional groups in NapocorMindanao Generations for Agus and Pulangi, while the PB is under the Resource Management Services, Santa Maria said.

As a rule of thumb, 1 MW is worth $2 million. This would mean that the government expects to raise about $3.2 billion from the sale of the remaining assets if at all the sale would push through. The target privatization for CBK is in 2016, but the Psalm board has yet to include this on the agenda of its meetings. Kalayaan of the CBK complex acts both as regulating and contingency reserves. This means that CBK is vital to the power sector. It can be recalled that it was because of CBK that Luzon was able to avert a power crisis in the summer of 2015. Hence, if privatized, the government no longer has control over the asset. Likewise, Alzona said the auction for the 210 MW Mindanao coal-fired power plant has been deferred taking into consideration the power-supply outlook because of the El Niño and the target commissioning of new power capacities in 2016. Given these scenarios, Psalm has yet to finalize its privatization plans for the remaining Napocor assets. In 2014 privatization proceeds from the sale of state-owned power assets reached P20.8 billion. Of the amount, P19.66 billion came from the sale of the 218-MW Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant in Bulacan and the remaining from the 153.1-MW Naga Power Plant in Cebu City. Latest available data from Psalm showed that proceeds from the sale of state-owned power assets reached

$19.878 billion as of March this year. Of the amount, actual collection amounted to $9.577 billion during the period with the remaining balance of $10.30 billion to be collected. In a report, Psalm said it has yet to collect bulk of the privatization proceeds from the Ippa amounting to $7.744 billion. The remaining $2.557 billion has yet to be collected from the transmission business privatization. Psalm said that, as of the period, the entire proceeds from the privatization of the power-generating assets amounting to $3.534 billion has been collected. Similarly, proceeds from the sale of the decommissioned plant, amounting to $0.004 billion, has also been collected. “Of the $8.797-billion privatization proceeds utilized, $8.689 billion, or 98.77 percent, was used for the liquidation of financial obligations. The difference between the total amount collected and total utilization in the amount of $0.78 billion is placed in temporary investments while awaiting utilization,” Psalm said. Broken down, Psalm utilized $1.298 billion of the privatization proceeds for debt repayment, $4.979 billion for regular debt service, $2.412 billion for build-operatetransfer lease obligations; $0.107 billion for privatization related expenses; and $0.001 billion for operations expenses of the National Transmission Corp.

Marcos bats for maritime schools, seamen

EN. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday expressed dismay over the government’s failure to support maritime schools and Filipino seamen. Marcos expressed his disappointment in a speech he delivered at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (Maap) in Mariveles, Bataan, even as he lauded the faculty and staff of the academy for its effort to provide the best maritime education to its students. “It was very disappointing to know, to listen to the fact that there seems to be a lacking of recognition by the government in the important part that you all play, not just for our economy, but for our country and our presence abroad,” he said. Marcos observed that the maritime training industry in the country has no sufficient training ships needed to better equip Filipino seamen while they are still in schools. “We do not have enough training ships. We need to adopt a policy that is more supportive of all your efforts,” Marcos said.

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, November 22, 2015 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

editorial

Hosting the Apec forum: Was it worth it?

OW that the last of the dignitaries has gone, we can take stock of the costs and benefits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit that we had hosted. We hosted the summit because it was our turn to do it, not that we volunteered or were pushed to do it. Our first turn was in 1996; the next one will be some 20 years hence. In assessing the pros and cons of our leadership in this particular Apec conference, one of the things we should know is that benefits come later while costs come “now.” Apec is a forum for the forging of commitments among the participating economies to do this or that in the foreseeable future. The costs, or some of them, can be felt immediately. Just ask the people who had to walk vast distances to their place of work because transportation during the forum had been disrupted. In their final communiqué, the 21 participating economies committed themselves to the combat of terrorism, the lifting of barriers to trade and investment, the protection of the environment, the relief and reconstruction of people and communities affected by natural calamities, among other concerns. The gains from these commitments will be realized only when the participating economies actually carry out their commitments. For instance, gains will be felt only when, say, exports have expanded by as much as anticipated in the conference, or when, say, micro, small and medium enterprises have linked up with larger business enterprises abroad and have grown bigger as a result, or when employment has become so prevalent that all or nearly all workers, including the poor, have found adequate-paying jobs. The cost side can be felt almost immediately. This side consists of the outputs—commodities and services—not produced because of the disturbances caused by the forum. These include output foregone because of the business holidays, the reorganization of transportation including air transport, the suspension of classes, and the general slowdown of work in the city occasioned by the Apec conference. On the P10 billion said to have been spent by the government in hosting the international activity: This is not a loss to the economy but a gain to it. The money was disbursed as wages and salaries to people who were mobilized to make the forum happen, as payments for office paraphernalia, for the board and lodging of the dignitaries, for security, etcetera. As far as the economy is concerned, this is consumption expenditure with its multiplier effects. Remember how P-Noy was raked over the coals because of “underspending” and how this underspending caused a slowdown in the growth of the country’s gross domestic product? This is not saying that the P10 billion was necessarily well-spent. Perhaps, more people would have been employed, more equipment purchased, etcetera, if decisions had been made in less harried circumstances. Was hosting the Apec conference worth it? We will have to wait for the next few years to tell us whether the answer is in the affirmative or the negative.

It wasn’t inclusive, but extractive, and lost economic opportunities P

Database

By Cecilio T. Arillo

Gospel

Sunday, November 22, 2015

RESIDENT Aquino has glowingly remarked at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ dialogue with the Apec Business Advisory Council that Asia-Pacific member-economies must innovate and work closely together to boost trade and investments and promote inclusive growth in the region. Innovate and promote inclusive growth in the region? From a contrarian view, this was not the case in our country from the time the Seventh Apec summit’s preparation started as early as last year with a P10-billion budget. Rather, the preparation was more extractive and consequently, it caused more economic miseries and lost opportunities to many Filipinos. Let me explain: The budget for the pompous and extravagant preparation was extracted from the taxpayers’ money, plain and simple, with no quantifiable return or gain of investment for the country’s taxpayers. What is quantifiable are the lost economic opportunities for overly restricting the movements of people and commerce in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The airline industry alone lost $2 billion in revenues following the cancellations of over 2,000 flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) for the Apec summit from November 16 to 20. Local airline companies alone canceled some 1,800 domestic and international flights following the temporary closure of the runways at Naia to give way to the arrivals and departures of leaders and guests of the Apec summit. Losses from the shipping industry and those from the land-transportation sector have not yet been factored in. Some observers feared that opportunity losses would be high after naval and maritime authorities blockaded the Manila Bay for security reason and thus prevented incoming and outgoing cargo and passenger ships from moving from the quarantined area. On land, traffic gridlocks were everywhere, disrupting public-transport operations, including train lines, as a result of sudden road closures and military and police checkpoints. Food chains, from production to the markets, malls and groceries suffered incalculable delays in various points of

the metropolis, causing economic dislocation here and there. Wage earners, street-dwellers, beggars and ambulant vendors, whose daily subsistence heavily depended on marginal incomes from the traveling public and were supposed to be beneficiaries, among other people, of the government’s much-hyped inclusive growth, turned out to be victims themselves. In today’s exchange rate of P47 to a US dollar, this is a whopping P94 billion, 9.4 times bigger than the P10-billion budget of the Aquino government for Apec. Adjusted to inflation, President Aquino’s budget for the Seventh Apec summit is 11 times bigger than the P500 million spent by President Fidel V. Ramos’s government for the successful hosting of the Fourth Apec summit in 1996 in Subic. In 1996 the dollar to peso exchange rate was P26.22. This year, the exchange rate is P47.22, or an 80-percent increase in dollar value. Considering the difference in dollar to peso value from 1996 up to the present, the P500-million ($19-million) budget that was spent in the Fourth Apec summit is now equivalent to P900 million in today’s money. The P10 billion spent by the current administration for the Seventh Apec summit, compared to the expenditure by President Ramos’s administration, is 11 times bigger and more extravagant at 211 million in US dollars. The 1996 Apec had more concrete achievements. Its leaders adopted the Manila Action Plan for Apec (Mapa) as catalyst toward turning the 1995 Osaka (Japan) blueprint in the Third Apec summit that outlined Apec’s three fundamental objectives of activities into a reality: trade and investment liberalization; business facilitation; and economictechnical cooperation. Mapa includes individual and collective action plans and progress reports on joint activities of all Apec economies to achieve objectives as common resolve outlined in the Second Apec summit in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994. Mapa was based on six themes: greater market access in goods; enhanced market access in services; an open-investment regime; reduced business costs; an open and efficient infrastructure sector; and strengthened economic and technical cooperation. In addition, Mapa also fostered

ILATE entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed You over to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this

developing human capital, safe and efficient capital markets, strengthening economic infrastructure, harnessing technologies of the future, promoting environmentally sustainable growth, and encouraging the growth of smalland medium-sized enterprises. Again by comparison, Malaysia spent only $6.8 million, or roughly P319.6 million, in 1998 for the sixth Apec summit in Kuala Lumpur. It was during this summit that Russia, Vietnam and Peru were admitted as Apec members. That summit opened up trade worth some $1.5 trillion in nine sectors under the fast-track Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization program. The sectors were environmental goods and services, fish/fish products, forest products, medical equipment and instruments, a telecommunications mutual recognition agreement, energy, toys, gems, jewelry and chemicals. The summit in Kuala Lumpur was just as simple as the previous ones, although international spotlight had shifted to the high-profile trial of Malaysia’s sacked Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, having started on November 2. Anwar, had pleaded not guilty to sex and corruption charges. Some leaders of Apec member-nations had expressed concern over civil unrest and human-rights abuses following the detention of Anwar as tension and security preparation gripped the city. Yet, Malaysia, by far a country more economically advanced than the Philippines, spent 28 times less than the latter. Retrospectively, the Seventh Apec summit should not have gone awry had the elite planners put their heads in their proper perspectives, including the importation (was it tax-free?) of brandnew luxury cars, SUVs and vans which are now being sold secondhand and at discounted prices. The only redeemable action, if ever it comes at all, is for the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit to conduct a joint investigation on people who messed up the P10-billion expenditure of the taxpayers’ money, including those who strangely required contractors involved in the extravagant Apec summit event to sign nondisclosure documents for security reason. Isn’t this to hide perfidies? To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio. arillo@gmail.com

world; if My kingship were of this world, My servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but My kingship is not from the world.” Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears My Voice.”—John 18:33-37

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, November 22, 2015 A5

Why we host stuff S Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

INCE Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) has nothing to show for itself except the small expense of attending it and the big expense and the aggravation of hosting it, what did we get out of Apec? For one, as I’ve said, there is the invaluable lesson that we can clean up our act and the airport as well without building a new one. Who can improve on Locsin’s architecture? For another, that we can, if we must, move essential personnel and supplies wherever they are needed by special lanes, say in the event of a major catastrophe; e.g., “The Big One” that will shake our city to pieces or a cyclone that sweeps it clear into the bay or a terrorist attack that flattens a shopping mall, along with a quarter of a million shoppers and idlers, simply by parking a container van of explosives as far away as the parking lot. (This was the fear of US Homeland Security when it pleaded with GMA’s government to please, please x-ray container vans because if one chock full o’ C-4, there will be

no need to plant the explosives in the basement, but just park the van alongside the mall and the explosion will flatten it like a house of cards. And, finally, showing the world that we are not a begging cup with our hands still out after Yolanda—a cause that has become sooooo baduy. Aside from these, hosting Apec may have nothing more to show for itself. Unlike the World Bank-International Monetary Fund, with disposable funds to go with its bad advice, Apec can’t afford permanent staff, let alone bureaucrats and offices that will pay for rental space. It is like Diner en Blanc, to which I am invited in Hong Kong, where you wear all white and bring your own table, chairs and flowers in a tiny vase with a single stem of rose, to a location revealed only at the last minute. At best, Apec is like that, random collection of people suddenly invited to yet another conference, where a great deal of little, if any practical, value is talked about incessantly by people of passing importance and laboriously reported by a media

that manfully covers everything that wasn’t worth the trouble. To the extent even of interviewing a small- or medium-sized enterprise owned by a woman who doesn’t pay her contract workers and suppliers. Sure, we got to see foreigners wear the native costume, which looked terrific on the Mexican president, but he’d look good in poncho, too. Paul Cabral’s work was outstandingly showcased by Justin Trudeau. No other native after Marcos has looked good in a barong and Apec was no exception. And yet, despite the agony of the traffic since Monday, it is good to have hosted Apec as opposed to not hosting it at all. The people’s ordeals were horrible, like the six-hour walks by kitchen staff of my friend’s Santouka Hokkaido Ramen from Calabarzon to Mall of Asia, only to be turned back because MOA was locked down. So please, please forgive me for pointing out the silver lining in the coffin upholstery. The P10 billion spent in hosting Apec was not wasted, as it could have

Unlike the World Bank-International Monetary Fund, with disposable funds to go with its bad advice, Apec can’t afford permanent staff, let alone bureaucrats and offices that will pay for rental space. It is like Diner en Blanc, to which I am invited in Hong Kong, where you wear all white and bring your own table, chairs and flowers in a tiny vase with a single stem of rose, to a location revealed only at the last minute. been on something that wouldn’t have worked, while much of it was stolen. This one worked, even if only for show—and that there was something already. We host Apec-like events because we can. Sure, a lot of you rotted in traffic. I holed up in a house somewhere. There are things that are done because the doing of it is the point. If we did not host Apec, what

would we have done with the week just past? Pretty much what we did the week before: Get stuck in traffic. We were forewarned, after all, that all the main roads would be closed and advised to take alternate routes yet to be built by the next government if Grace wins. The only thing that would be inexcusable is if the pay of the people who got to work late or not at all was deducted, and they won’t be paid for the days when work was called off. That would be fraud. Oh, one thing more: We learned that if they want to, telcos can give us infinitely faster Wi-Fi at no added cost. Now that, right there, is something to hang on to—and from which we can hang the telcos. Apec, said another silly platitude, was about connectivity, but the telcos will have none of that if they can help it. And they can because they are compelling the National Transportation Commission to abort the entry of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Telstar (the biggest service provider in the world) by forcing SMC to sell off its idle frequencies.

Preventing terrorism through markets M

Bloomberg View

By Stephen L. Carter

AYBE it’s time to bring back the Pentagon’s terror prediction market. Remember that much-maligned experiment? Toward the end of Bill Clinton’s administration and into the early days of George W. Bush’s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) began studying the feasibility of establishing an electronic market where participants would risk money on geopolitical trends, mostly in and around the Middle East. Given the success of prediction markets in other realms, intelligence analysts were interested in whether such a market might prove a useful tool in their work. The program was called the Policy Analysis Market (PAM), and it was a very good idea. Prediction markets work by allowing investors to trade securities that are priced to reflect other investors’ beliefs about the likelihood that a particular event will occur. If you are holding the security and the event occurs, then you “win.” They are generally regarded as useful tools for aggregating information that is decentralized. Electoral prediction markets, according to their supporters, are more accurate than political polling. If the markets are as good as claimed, one theory on why they work so well is that people incorporate less their own preferences than their knowledge of how friends and

neighbors plan to vote. And with money at stake, they “bet” with their heads rather than their hearts. The Pentagon wondered quite reasonably whether such an approach would help predict the course of major world events. As originally designed (it never got out of the test phase), PAM would have covered eight countries, for each of which traders would price such parameters as US financial involvement and political stability. They would also price such matters as military casualties, US GDP and total casualties from terrorism. Combinations of these factors would essentially allow prediction of how a particular US policy change would affect a given country. As Darpa explained at the time, “The rapid reaction of markets to knowledge held by only a few participants may provide an early warning system to avoid surprise.” Would the idea have worked? The only way to find out would have been to give it a try. Which the government didn’t. In July 2003 the project was unceremoniously dumped. The main problem was the “terror market” meme. Darpa made what was perhaps a tactical error. A report to Congress on what was then styled “FutureMAP” (for “Futures Markets Applied to Prediction”) took as its example the prediction of a bioweapons attack on Israel. At once the parade of horribles began. Critics, from

The Pentagon wondered quite reasonably whether such an approach would help predict the course of major world events. As originally designed (it never got out of the test phase), PAM would have covered eight countries, for each of which traders would price such parameters as US financial involvement and political stability. They would also price such matters as military casualties, US GDP and total casualties from terrorism. Capitol Hill downward, trumpeted their moral repugnance at the notion that investors might profit from acts of terror. Some went so far as to suggest that terrorists might use the markets to speculate, betting on targets accorded low value in the markets, then striking those targets to get a big payout. The public-relations battle was over before it started. An embarrassed Defense Department killed the project without ever giving it a try. PAM, one of several efforts beneath the FutureMAP umbrella, died along with it. But the criticisms were overblown. No investor, whether terrorist or innocent, would have made a killing by guessing right. The economist Robin Hanson, who was involved in

PAM’s development, later pointed out that the returns paid to winners would have been only “a few tens of dollars.” Moreover, Hanson noted, there is empirical reason to doubt that speculators can move prices very much on prediction markets. It’s easy to understand the repugnance at the idea that investors might “profit” from the activities of terrorists. But the profits, if any, would have been tiny, and predicting terror attacks wasn’t what the project was intended to do. At best it would have indicated what traders thought would happen in different parts of the world given some triggering event such as an oil price shock or a US military intervention. PAM would have been a tool for analysts, nothing more—that is, a tool that they would lay alongside existing intelligence sources, and consider or disregard depending in large part on its track record. Since the collapse of the official effort, private vendors have moved into the void. Barack Obama’s administration has also tiptoed, gently and hesitatingly, in the same direction. Current efforts aim mostly at predicting long-term geopolitical trends, and are publicly described that way. No one dares claim to be trying to guess where the next manmade horror will occur. Some say that warning will eventually be provided via complex algorithms. Forecasting the future

with any accuracy has so far proved beyond the reach of the data miners—otherwise we’d all be rich (or poor). Among those who study terrorist attacks, so far the software showing the most progress is aimed not at figuring out where the bad guy will strike next, but at determining which terror group is responsible for a given attack. In other words, our available tools are good at telling us who committed yesterday’s atrocity, not who will commit tomorrow’s. Figuring out where and when a particular foe is likely to strike next has so far proved as big a challenge for the mathematicians as it has for the intelligence analysts. Would an active prediction market help? We won’t know unless we try. At the very minimum, we should accept that we made a mistake by abandoning FutureMAP and PAM. And someday soon an entrepreneur—or a government agency—is bound to propose a prediction market that will include among its tradeable securities the likelihood of a terror attack in a particular place. When that happens, we should swallow our understandable revulsion and, with proper safeguards, let the project go forward. Yes, it’s repugnant that an investor might profit from an atrocity. But the tradeoff might be an ability to keep more people safe. And on that vitally important project, we need all the help we can get.

Vegan holiday gives reason to be thankful By Craig Shapiro

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals/TNS Forum

F it’s okay to be happy about who won’t be there this year when the clan gets together for Thanksgiving, then I’m happy. Really happy. We’ll once again dig into a festive, flavorful dinner with all the fixin’s, and no one’s going to push away from the table hungry. But for the first time, turkey won’t be on our menu. After masquerading as a vegetarian for some time—my rickety resolve always dissolved at this time of year—I recently went all in and committed to going vegan. Thanksgiving, in my book, tops the holiday list. It’s about family, grace and, especially, compassion. So why celebrate it by tearing into the flesh of another being?

Did you know that turkeys will sit for hours to have their feathers stroked? Or that they’re gentle by nature but will also protect their friends? They’re intelligent, too, and, like our cats and dogs, are playful individuals with unique personalities. Wild turkeys, which live for about 10 years, can fly 55 miles per hour and like to roost in oak and pine trees. Most of the 45 million turkeys that will be slaughtered for Thanksgiving this year get to enjoy none of these simple pleasures. They are hatched in incubators, not by their mothers, and at a few weeks old, are crammed by the thousands into filthy, windowless sheds. To prevent them from hurting each other in these stressful conditions, parts of their beaks and toes are cut off, without the use of any painkillers. They’re bred to gain a

lot of weight very rapidly so much that many experience organ failure and heart attacks. They can’t fly, and many can’t even walk because their legs can’t support all that unnatural weight. When they’re three to five months old, turkeys raised for their flesh are violently stuffed into crates and trucked to slaughterhouses, where they are shackled upsidedown, have their throats cut and are dunked into tanks of scalding-hot water—often while still conscious. I’m certain I’ll enjoy Thanksgiving more without having any of that cruelty on my conscience. And I’ll feel good, too, knowing that my choice is the greener one. A sweeping United Nations study singled out animal agriculture as being largely responsible for 19 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, 38 percent of land use and 70

Wild turkeys, which live for about 10 years, can fly 55 miles per hour and like to roost in oak and pine trees. Most of the 45 million turkeys that will be slaughtered for Thanksgiving this year get to enjoy none of these simple pleasures. They are hatched in incubators, not by their mothers, and at a few weeks old, are crammed by the thousands into filthy, windowless sheds. percent of freshwater consumption. The tons of waste produced by factory farms have contaminated groundwater, lakes and rivers. And here’s the (vegan) icing on the cake: My family will tuck into Thanksgiving dinner without worrying about the health

issues, among them heart disease and cancer, that have been linked to eating meat, eggs and dairy products. Vegan foods are cholesterolfree, usually low in saturated fats and high in fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and cancer-fighting phytochemicals. I’ve only been vegan for a few months, but the early returns look good. My blood pressure is 112/58, lower than the 120/80 favored by the National Institutes of Health. My cholesterol is down, too. Pretty soon, I’ll need to buy new pants. Good-bye, size 36. Hello, size 34! I’ve even been sleeping better. While I can’t say with scientific certainty that going vegan is the reason, I do know there’s a rock-solid connection between a clear conscience and the choice I’ve made—that no animal will ever again suffer to fill my plate. I couldn’t be more thankful.

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, November 22, 2015

No letup in drive vs bandits, criminals

By Rene Acosta

HE joint security operations undertaken by the National Police and the Armed Forces for the just concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit have provided the template for the partnership of security forces in running after lawless groups around the country.

Military and police officials said the security cooperation will continue with the operations now focusing against members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other lawless groups that are operating in Mindanao. “Expect the security operations to continue in Mindanao, particularly against the Abu Sayyaf Group,” the Armed Forces Public Affairs Office Chief Col. Noel Detoyato said on Saturday. “We have seen the effects of this cooperation during the summit,” he added. Security forces bagged criminals in Central and Northern

Luzon during the Apec summit, while leaders and members of the ASG and other lawless groups were arrested or neutralized in various parts of Mindanao, including in Mag uindanao and North Cotabato.

Marcos seeks offensive vs bandits

SEN. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., meanwhile, challenged military and police leaders to launch an allout aggressive offensive against the Abu Sayyaf bandits who beheaded a Malaysian hostage. “This is a slap on the face of our authorities, since the execution

was timed when Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was here to attend the Apec summit that we hosted,” Marcos said. “Condemnation of this dastardly act won’t be enough. The only way we can recover from this black-eye is for our military and police to bring these criminals to justice the soonest possible time,” he added. Reports said the ASG killed Bernard Then Te Fen in Indanan, Sulu, after his family failed to pay the ransom the militants demanded for his release. Earlier this month the ASG released another kidnapped Malaysian, Thien Nyuk Fun, after ransom was reportedly paid. The ASG kidnapped the two Malaysians in May in Sabah and brought them boat across the sea border to Sulu. Najib has asked the Philippine authorities to punish the kidnappers as he also condemned in the strongest terms the murder of his countrymen, which he said “shocked and sickened” him and fellow Malaysians.

Troops arrest bandit

ON Friday policemen and soldiers arrested Mhadie Umangkat Sahirin, alias Madie, an ASG member and reported leader of

the so called Auxiliary Threat Group (ATG) at around 11:40 a.m. at Barangay Tubungan, Zamboanga City. Detoyato said Madie was arrested on the strength of warrant of arrest that was issued by a court in Basilan for charges of murder and frustrated murder, which arose from the killing of civilians and soldiers on February 14, 2013, at Barangay Upper Cabengbeng, Sumisip, Basilan. “He is a leader of lawless elements based at Sapah Bulak, Sumisip, Basilan, with the strength of more or less 20 followers,” Detoyato said. “Prior to his designation as ATG leader, he was a former member of ASG under Furuji Indama alias Abu Dujana. At present, he is affiliated with the ASG under Furuji Indama, and lawless element under Abas Alam. He has also participated in the ambush of government forces on Basilan Circumferential Road using homemade bombs,” he added. “In addition, Madie is responsible for a series of carjacking, bombings and burning of gover nment constr uction equipment in the province,” Detoyato added.

Marcos to DFA, OWWA:

Rush help to families of Pinoy workers killed in Saudi accident

EN. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday prodded the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) to ensure swift assistance to the families of the Filipino workers who were killed in an accident in Saudi Arabia. Initial reports said at least 11 Filipino workers were killed in Al-Asha, a province in Eastern Saudi Arabia, when a delivery truck rammed the coaster they were riding in on the way to their barracks. “The DFA should immediately accomplish all the requirements, so the remains of those who were killed can be repatriated as soon as possible. Likewise, the Owwa should ensure the speedy release of all assistance for the family of the deceased Filipino workers and for those who were injured,” Marcos said. “It is in this time of distress of the families of the fatalities when they need most to feel the government really cares for them,” according to Marcos. “It grieves us that they met this tragic fate while striving for a better future for their families back home. The last thing we want to hear now are complaints the government is

ANI sustains recovery momentum Mining companies cited for safe,

GRINURTURE Inc. (ANI) continued its momentum for recovery with a P22.6million operating profit in the third quarter of the year, up from P14.5 million during the same period last year and the second consecutive quarter this year. This, after Ani Founder Antonio Tiu took back control of the company. Net income booked was P9 million, compared to net loss of P3.5 million recorded in the same period last year. However, revenue was slightly down compared to last year’s same period, owing to the closure of nonperforming units both overseas and in the Philippines. The decrease in export prices of banana also hurt the company’s gross revenue. Administrative expenses went down to P147.6 million, from a high of P244 million in 2014, owing to the management’s continuous costcutting measures. Current liabilities were also trimmed by half-a-billion pesos, resulting in lower interest expense and better current asset to ratio. Ani started in 1997 as postharvest manufacturer-trader, and is

now the country’s top exporter of mango, banana, pineapple and pioneer of coconut-water processing. It is also a joint-venture partner of China’s biggest agricultural company Bei Da Huang in its rice business. Its retail fruit-juice chain Big Chill in Manila and Hong Kong, China, is now growing fast through franchising. The existing management team is focusing on core business in Asia. Tiu, who took over the helm of the company in late May, credited this remarkable showing to strong fundamentals that Ani has been experiencing, despite efforts to drag the company to a political controversy involving the family of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay. “We are upbeat, and we remain out of the political limelight, and for that we continue to grow. There is a very positive turnout. It is clear that the fundamentals are strong and no matter how we are besmirched, ANI will prevail,” Tiu said. ANI is a listed fruit and vegetable company whose two key officials resigned in May. Tiu took over as president and CEO, while Kenneth S. Tan was named CFO.

MONICA SELDA CASTRO, 92, of Buenavista, Marinduque, joined our Creator on November 17, 2015. She is the mother of Dante S. Castro, group circulation manager of the BusinessMirror. Her husband, Filemon Pastrana Castro, died in 1995. She is survived by seven children, namely, Azucena & Teofilo Arcamo(+); Adele & Councilor Tony Pinaroc; Francisco & Lydia Castro; Clemen & Mario Molina; Nancy & Mayor Jing Madrigal; Dante & Josephine Castro; and Filemon Jr. & Doris Castro; grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Memorial vigil is held in her home in Poblacion, Buenavista, Marinduque. A funeral Mass will be held at the Iglesia Filipina Independiente church in Buenavista. Interment is on November 24, 2015, at the New Buenavista Cemetery.

environment-friendly operations

OME of the country leading companies in mining were cited for their environmentfriendly and safe operations during the 62nd Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference (ANMSEC) organized by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) held in Baguio City on Friday night. The Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA) Selection Committee (SC) on November 5 declared five companies as awardees for PMIEA, three companies for PMIEA SC Platinum Achievement Award and 6 companies for PMIEA SC Titanium Achievement Award. Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc. and Mount Labo Exploration & Development Cor p.Galeo Equipment Corp. bagged the PMIEA and Platinum awards, respectively for the Mineral Exploration category. SR Metals Inc. OceanaGold (Phils) Inc. and Rio Tuba, bagged the PMIEA award for Surface Mining Operation, while Coral Bay Nickel Corp. and Apo Cement Corp. bagged the PMIEA and Platinum awards under the Mineral Processing category. Apo Cement Corp. was conferred the platinum award under the Mineral Processing category, while Holcim Philippines Inc.’s La Union plant bagged the same

award under the Quarrying Operation category. Holcim Philippines Inc.—Davao Plant bagged the Titaniuum award for Quarrying Operation. Lafarge Republic Aggregates, Inc., Eagle Cement Corp. and Lafarge Republic Inc.-Bulacan Plant were also conferred the Titanium award under the Quarrying Operation category. For surface mining, Titanium awards were given to Minimax Mineral Exploration Corp./Agata Minng Ventures Inc. and Cagianao Mining Corp. under the Surface Mining Operation category. The PMIEA recognizes outstanding levels of dedication, initiative and innovation in the pursuit of entities involved in various aspects of mineral utilization. The scope of the environmental management includes among others, programs/projects/activities being implemented for the environmental protection and enhancement of mining areas, development of the host and neighboring communities, land use improvement, exploration and mining site rehabilitation and final decommissioning. Several companies were also cited for Best Mining Forest, or MFP. The MFP was established by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through Administrative Order 22, Series of 1989. It has its own

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criteria and rating system for the selection of the winners for the Best Mining Forest contest, which was categorized into exploration, nonmetallic, metallic and mineral processing. The winner for this year’s contest are the Aglubang Mining Corp.-Alagag Mining Corp. (Mindoro Nickel Project) bagging top spot for the Exploration category, followed by Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc. (Silangan Project) and Mount Labo Exploration and Development Corp.-Galeo Equipment Corp. (Mabilo Project), which bagged the first runner-up and second runner-up slots, respectively. For the nonmetallic category, Holcim’s Lugait Plant topped Northern Cement Corp. and Cement Plant and Holcim La Union and Davao plants. Under the metallic category, Taganito Mining Corp. (Taganito Nickel Project) bested Carmen Copper Corp. (Toledo Copper Mine Project), Carrascal Nickel Corp. (Carrascal Nickel Project and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. (Nickel Laterite Project). In t he minera l processing plant category, coral bay nickel corporation (hydrometallurgical processing plant, lines 1 and 2 project won the award, followed by Apo Cement Corp.’s cement manufacturing process.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

MARCOS: “It is in this time of distress of the families of the fatalities when they need most to feel the government really cares for them.”

not doing enough to help them,” Marcos said. Marcos added: “The family of a deceased Owwa member is entitled to receive P220, 000 in total financial assistance if an accident is the cause of death. Also per Owwa [regulations], survivors of a deceased member are also entitled to educational assistance amounting to P5,000 for elementary; P 8,000 for high school and P10,000 for college per school year; while a livelihood assistance amounting to P15,000 is also given to the surviving spouse.” Marcos said the government should adopt an aggressive job-generation program so Filipinos will no longer have to leave the country just to find a job to support the needs of their families.

St. Luke’s Global City adopts automated medicine dispensing

T. LUKE’S Global City has introduced a new innovation in the prompt delivery of medication to patients at its emergency room (ER). The pilot installation of two units of Omnicell automated medicine-dispensing cabinets at the adult and pediatric wards of the ER is a first in the country, where dispensing and delivery of medicines are made more timely, resulting in more immediate and efficient patient service. “With the Omnicell cabinets, we are able to eliminate our turnaround time in delivering supplies, thereby improving operational efficiency. At the same time, because of the safety features of the units, our users are able to retrieve the right supplies, thereby improving patient safety, as well,” said Ricardo Joaquin V. Sison, St. Luke’s vice president and supply chain management head. The automated medicine dispensing cabinets are regularly stocked with the most common ER supplies through the hospital pharmacy. To access these supplies, ER nurses must key in security codes, enter their requested items, and retrieve them from the specific shelf that contains the item, thereby assuring accurate dispensing of required medications. This also cuts travel time to the pharmacy and other dispensing units for retrieval of supplies.

Greenpeace calls for sustainable seafood production, consumption

NVIRONMENTAL group Greenpeace is pitching calls for sustainable seafood production and consumption, and is appealing to consumers to help create the demand for fish and fish-products that are caught using environment-friendly and sustainable methods. In a statement, Greenpeace said there is an increasing awareness on food production and consumption among Filipinos and “it is high time to give sustainable seafood a chance.” Several hotels and restaurants, according to Greenpeace, have in fact vowed to support the campaign for sustainable seafood by slightly modifying their seafood menu, ensuring a supply for those with distinct taste and concern for the environment.

Some of Metro Manila’s top hotels and restaurants, along with environmental groups and fisheries non-governmental organizations, will come together to declare their commitment for sustainable seafood during a press conference in Manila on Tuesday. “Some hotels and restaurants have already affirmed their support by serving only sustainably caught fish and seafood,” Nadine Jacinto of Greenpeace Southeast Asia said. The declaration from hotels and restaurants and other stakeholders is a vital step in a multistakeholder approach to sustainable fishing, and transparency and traceability in the food supply chains.

“What we want is to create a bigger demand for fish and seafood caught in an environment-friendly and sustainable manner, so that the supply will also follow,” Jacinto said. According to Greenpeace Southeast Asia, the country’s marine environment has long been plagued by a host of problems, including overfishing due to unsustainable fishing practices. Greenpeace is also campaigning against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, particularly tuna. The Philippines, through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, is pushing to keep its record clean when it comes to IUU fishing.

It recently declared a moratorium on catching round scad or galunggong in Northern Palawan to replenish one the country’s most important fishing grounds with the fish species to attract more tuna, its way of supporting the global call for sustainable tuna fishing. There is an ongoing global campaign to stop overfishing tuna by large fishing corporations that do not distinguish commercially viable tuna from the juvenile ones and those that are about to breed. The European Union has restricted its importation of tuna to help prevent IUU fishing by buying only from countries that complies with sustainable and environment-friendly fishing method. Jonathan L. Mayuga

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Science

BusinessMirror

October was hottest month in history as Earth sets 8th heat record this year

ASHINGTON—Even in a record-breaking hot year for Earth, October stood out as absurdly warm. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that last month globally was 14.98˚C. That’s the hottest October on record by a third of a degree over the old mark, “an incredible amount” for weather records, said NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden. October’s temperature was the most abovenormal month in history. It was 0.98˚C above the 20th-century average. “A complete blowout,” said Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. “This year is going to be an all-time record-breaker.” This was the eighth month this year when a heat record was set, with only January and April not setting records. That’s a record number of broken records in any year. Records go back to 1880. Blunden and other scientists blame a potent and strengthening El Niño on top of accelerating man-made global warming. “This is just a new normal,” Blunden said. “I don’t know what really else to call it.”

Nearly every team that measures temperatures found that October 2015 was a record, including National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, University of California at Berkeley and University of Alabama at Huntsville, which measures the upper air using satellites, Blunden said. Record heat was found in Australia, southern Asia, parts of western North America, much of central and southern Africa, most of Central America and northern South America, according to NOAA. It’s also the hottest January through October for Earth on record, along with the hottest consecutive 12 months on record. Given that the El Niño continues to strengthen and how much warmer 2015 is than previous years, Blunden said “it is virtually just impossible that we will not break the record” for the hottest year. That record was set in 2014. Since the year 2000, global monthly heat records have been broken 32 times, yet the last time a monthly cold record was set was in 1916. AP

Sunday

Sunday, November 22, 2015 A7

Record El Niño brought more rain to LA 16 (inches of rainfall in downtown Los Angeles) 12

1997-'98

2014-'15

Average

Strongest El Niño on record

3.25” 0.83”

4 0

July Aug. Sept. Oct.

Nov. Dec. Jan.

Source: NOAA, Climate Prediction Center Graphic: Los Angeles Times,Tribune News Service

2015 El Niño could be the most powerful on record, scientists say

L T

he Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) spearheads the National Biotechnology Week (NBW) 2015 that will be held from November 23 to 28 at SM Dasmariñas, Cavite. NBW 2015, with the theme “Bioteknolohiya: Kaagapay ng Mamamayan sa Pambansang Kaunlaran,” will feature an exhibit and fora that will be open to the public. It has the slogan “Angat Tayo sa Bioteknolohiya!” NBW is an annual celebration that kicked off in 2005 and was institutionalized in 2007, by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1414. The event serves as a venue for government agencies, academic communities, and private institutions to create awareness about the role of biotechnology in food production and security. In the past year biotechnology has helped about 415,000 small, resource-poor Filipino farmers and families by planting biotech corn. About 813,000 hectares of biotech corn has been grown in the country as of 2014, a 5-percent increase from

2013, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). Moreover, the Philippines is proving to be a vital biotech corn grower, ranking 12th worldwide. The biotech fora will involve DOST-PCAARRD, the Southeast Regional Center for Agriculture for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) Biotechnology Information Center and the ISAAA; National Academy of Science and Technology; Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños; the Department of Health, National Research Council of the Philippines and the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development; the Department of Agriculture (DA); Philippine Council for Health Research and the Development and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute; the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the Department of Agriculture Biotech Project Implementation Unit, and the Philippine Science High School System.

Rose Anne K. Mananghaya/S&T Media Service

Feb. March April May June

Source: NOAA, Climate Prediction Center Graphic: Los Angeles Times, Tribune News service

OS ANGELES—A key location of the Pacific Ocean is now hotter than recorded in at least 25 years, surpassing the temperatures during the record 1997 El Niño.

DOST-PCAARRD leads National Biotechnology Week 2015

13.68”

Some scientists say the readings show that this year’s El Niño could be among the most powerful on record—and even topple the 1997 El Niño from its pedestal. “This thing is still growing and it’s definitely warmer than it was in 1997,” said Bill Patzert, climatologist with National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. As far as the temperature readings go, “it’s now bypassed the previous champ of the modern satellite era—the 1997 El Niño has just been toppled by 2015.” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at Stanford University, called the temperature reading significant. It is the highest such weekly temperature above the average in 25 years of modern record keeping in this key region of the Pacific Ocean west of Peru. “This is a very impressive number,” Swain said, adding that data suggest that this El Niño is still warming up. “It does look like it’s possible that there’s still additional warming” to come. “We’re definitely in the top tier of El Niño events,” Swain said. Temperatures in this key area

of the Pacific Ocean rose to 5.4˚F above average for the week of November 11. That exceeds the highest comparable reading for the most powerful El Niño on record, when temperatures rose 5˚F above the average the week of Thanksgiving in 1997. The 5.4˚F recording above the average temperature is the highest such number since 1990 in this area of the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Weather Service. El Niño is a weather phenomenon involving a section of the Pacific Ocean west of Peru that warms up, causing alterations in the atmosphere that can cause dramatic changes in weather patterns globally. For t he Un ited St ates, E l Niño can shift the winter track of storms that normally keeps the jungles of southern Mexico and Central America wet, and moves them over California and the southern United States. The northern United States, like the Midwest and Northeast, ty pically see milder winters during El Niño. The National Weather Ser v ice’s C l i m ate P red ic t ion Center has already forecast a higher chance of a wet winter for

almost all of California and the southern United States. But the center’s deputy director, Mike Halpert, cautioned against reading too much into the recordbreaking weekly temperature data. El Niño has so far been underperforming in other respects involving changes in the atmosphere important to the winter climate forecast for California, he said. One example: tropical rainfall has not extended from the International Date Line and eastward, approaching South America, as it did by this time in 1997. “In 1997 that pattern has largely established itself,” Halpert said, but that pattern so far is “significantly weaker” than it was back then. Still, Halpert said, “it’s not too late for things to develop.” Patzert, the Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory climatologist, said the increase in ocean temperatures west of Peru was a result of a dramatic weakening of the normal east-to-west trade winds in the Pacific Ocean that were observed in October around the International Date Line. That allowed the warm, tropical ocean waters in the western Pacific Ocean to surge to the Americas, leading to this increase in ocean temperatures observed last week. The 1997 El Niño has been considered the strongest such event since the 1950s. The modern era of El Niño tracking came after the 1982-1983 event, which came as a surprise and is considered the second strongest on record. The 1997 El Niño was considered so strong and that scientists have

been impressed that this El Niño could top that event. Patzert likened it to the shocking defeat of the previously unbeaten Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Ronda Rousey last weekend by Holly Holm. Or, he added, like the dethroning of a grand champion in sumo wrestling. This El Niño “just flipped the 1997-1998 El Niño out of the ring,” Patzert said. El Niño is already being blamed for drought and wildfires in Indonesia, and the United Nations is warning about millions at risk from hunger in eastern and southern Africa and Central America from drought. El Niño is believed to have played a role in the storms this spring that caused floods and ended droughts in Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma. It’s also a factor in the fewer number of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, while there has been more of them in the eastern Pacific. The unusually active hurricane season has already had impacts on California. Remnants of a summertime hurricane caused so much rain to pour down in Riverside County that an Interstate 10 bridge collapsed. It dumped so much hail near Lake Tahoe that snowplows were called to clear Interstate 80. Last month an eastern Pacific hurricane, Patricia, became the strongest such cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere before it slammed into Mexico. “It’s not as if we’re waiting for El Niño to actually manifest itself— it has in many ways already,” Patzert said. “There is no doubt: It’s coming.” Los Angeles Times/TNS

PHL government, private and UN leaders tackle disaster issues

hilippine gover nment agencies, the private sector and a United Nations office gathered recently to tackle issues on disaster-risk reduction. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) joined SM Prime Holdings Inc. and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) for the Top Leaders Forum 2015 in Pasay City recently. The forum was a yearly event that gathers top-level leaders from both the public and private sectors to discuss issues on disaster-risk reduction in order to implement tangible projects and initiatives that will result in reducing industry losses brought about by natural hazards. At the forum, the UNISDR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies in the Philippines was launched as a vehicle to provide opportunity for private organizations and the business sector to become members in addressing the problems brought about by the

changing weather patterns. Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo presented the different programs of the DOST in generating risk information and risk assessment in line with the agreements reached during the formulation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in March. “As our country is committed to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the DOST has implemented a number of disasterrisk reduction programs like the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, or Project NOAH, and we integrated our LiDAR maps with our improved weather information to generate simulation models and come up with earlywarning systems for flood, storm surge and landslides,” Montejo said. It was projected that by 2030, there will be trillions of dollars in business investments across all sectors, including those in hazard-prone areas, and so the need

Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo (center) and Hans T. Sy (right), president of SM Prime Holdings Inc., at the recent Top Leaders’ Forum. S&T Media Service

to assess and reduce risk becomes imperative for the private sector and disaster preparedness is no longer a choice but a must. Montejo said, “Science should be put to work to save lives as

this is what President Aquino stressed in the after math of Typhoon Sendong, and Project NOAH has since then provided us with a f lood early-warning system with a six-hour lead time

using advance software technology, flood modeling and simulation and real-time data gathering from more than 1,500 sensors all over the country, all these developed by our own Filipino scientists and engineers.” Project NOAH is the flagship program of the DOST that provides a digital platform as repository of weather and hazard information that includes rainfall amount, typhoon track, water level monitoring system, flood, landslide and storm surge hazard maps. These hazard maps were produced using the light detection and ranging technology, or LiDAR, under the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation component of Project NOAH. Montejo said that aside from disaster preparedness, the DOST strategy also proved effective in coming up with more reliable, site-specific risk information for better landuse planning.

Also, by harnessing science and technology, Montejo said the DOST was able to identify safe and hazard areas using LiDAR technology and it was proven effective as the settlement areas identified were safe two years later, when Typhoon Agaton hit the same areas and caused massive flooding. “The science-based approach served as basis in establishing the bedrock of the government’s ‘building back better’ program,” Montejo added. During the recent Typhoon Lando, which flooded low-lying areas in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga, Project NOAH hazard maps identified 15 municipalities, flooding 357 square kilometers that will possibly affect 600,000 people. With this information, local government units and other stakeholders can prepare early and provide supplies and evacuation centers to lessen the impact of flooding. S&T Media Service

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, November 22, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TAMS MAKE FINALS

By Joel Orellana ALL Mac Belo as Mr. Final Four. For the second straight season, the Far Easter University (FEU) star forward delivered the shot that broke the hearts of its rival in the semifinals, this time Ateneo de Manila. Belo followed up Mike Tolomia’s miss on a drive, beating the buzzer by some four-tenths of a second to lift FEU to a thrilling 76-74 victory over the Blue Eagles on Saturday in Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Belo’s game winner was similar to his buzzer-beating three-pointer in last season’s Final Four that eliminated De La Salle. “I was lucky to be open and got the shot,” said Belo, who was mobbed by his teammates at center court and left the Ateneo gallery in shock. “We are very happy that we’re back in the finals,” he added. Belo’s heroic, however, would not have been possible if not for Roger Pogoy’s game-long brilliance. Pogoy had the answer when Ateneo, led by Kiefer Ravena and Adrian Wong, staged a mighty comeback in the fourth period. “Very, very tough win,” said Tamaraws Head Coach Nash Racela, who drew 16 points from Pogoy. “We did a good job challenging their shots but they were making it.” The win shoved the Morayta-based school to the finals against the winner of University of Santo Tomas-National University semifinal duel. Belo added 15 markers, none bigger than his game-winning putback after Wong missed a lay-up in Ateneo’s final possession. Tolomia also chipped in 13 markers, but shot just four-of-12. But Racela credit Tolomia for attracting the Blue Eagles defense. “Mike kept on giving the ball to his teammates.

ATENEO GALS ADVANCE

TENEO defeated University of the East (UE), 65-62, on Saturday to advance in the stepladder semifinals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 women’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Lady Eagles will face twice-to-beat De La Salle Lady Archers in the second stepladder game on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The winner will battle defending champion National University, which holds a thrice-tobeat advantage for sweeping the eliminations that extended its unbeaten to 30 games since last season. Danica Jose, daughter of former pro Bobby Jose, who is playing her final season for the Lady Eagles, finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Hazelle Yam also shot 17 points, 13 in the first half. Ruthlaine Tacula paced UE with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Love Joy Sto. Domingo chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds.

It was really a team effort,” Racela said. It was a disappointing ending to Ravena’s collegiate career as the back-to-back Most Valuable Player failed to bring his team to the finals. “I’m happy to be part of this journey. Not really disappointed. Of course, we fell short but I’m proud to have them as my teammates,” Ravena said. “We had a chance to win it. But everything happens for a reason.” Ravena had 25 points, while Wong was the biggest revelation for the Blue Eagles, hitting 17 points—but his potential game-winner was challenged by Pogoy that led to Belo’s golden basket. “We are excited to be back in the finals. This is my last year and we have another shot to win it,” said Pogoy, also the hero in their 71-68 win against the Green Archers on Wednesday. FEU controlled most of game, but Ateneo kept on coming back and Ravena’s threepointer gave the Blue Eagles a 74-71 lead with 2:20 remaining. Pogoy knotted the count with his own trey, 74-all, 67 ticks left, and had a key steal on Ravena in the next play. But the Tamaraws failed to convert as Wong collared the loose ball and sprinted to the basket. But Pogoy was there to alter Wong’s drive. Von Pessumal chipped in 15 points, also in his final game for Ateneo, which will also bidding good-bye to Head Coach Bo Perasol. FAR Eastern University’s Roger Pogoy is met by a double team by Ateneo’s Aaron Black (8) and Chibueze Ikeh (21). NONOY LACZA

NBA RESULTS Charlotte 113, Philadelphia 88 Boston 120, Brooklyn 95 Detroit 96, Minnesota 86 Boston 106, Atlanta 93 New Orleans 104, San Antonio 90 Memphis 96, Houston 84 New York 93, Oklahoma City 90 Dallas 102, Utah 93 Phoenix 114, Denver 107 Portland 102, LA Clippers 91 Golden State 106, Chicago 94 Toronto 102, LA Lakers 91

Rain or Shine broke loose from a 16-all deadlock with a 9-0 run, six from rising star Jericho Cruz. The Elasto Painters never looked back after that. They scored 33 points in the third quarter to stay in full control, 80-61, entering the final period. Cruz led all scorers with 23 points, including 14 in the third quarter when the Elite cut the lead to 68-59 with eight minutes remaining in the period. New acquisition Jewel Ponferrada tallied 15 points, while Beau Belga and JR Quinahan chipped in 12 and 11 points for Rain or Shine, respectively . Rookie Art de la Cruz had a breakout game of 15 points. John Paul Erram was the only other Elite who scored in double figures with 14 points. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Baguio Country Club bets ahead in Fil-Am

AGUIO Country Club (BCC) sizzled at its home course and at Camp John Hay (CJH) for an opening-round 87 points for a twopoint lead in Seniors Fil-A action of the 66th Fil-Am Golf Invitational Golf Tournament on Saturday. BCC churned in 87 points behind Ed Dirige, retired police general Samuel Diciano, contractor Mars Garcia and Bong de Guzman. They lead Project Tea Lazarus and Camp Aguinaldo, which scored 85 points each. Over at John Hay, BCC also paced the Seniors Am-A division with 93 points, an 11-point lead over Residences at Brent and Baguio City Seniors, while EK Amigo scored 79 points for a one shot lead in the regular Fil G class at the BCC course. LNP assembled 77 points to pace the

IR Force went to its big guns as it turned off Cignal HD TV, 25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, on Saturday to inch closer to emerging as the first champion of the the Spikers’ Turf Season 1-Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan City. A tight rotation headed by the crisp-spiking Jeffry Malabanan, who had a team-best 17 hits, was all the Raiders needed in fending off a spirited challenge by the HD Spikers and gaining a 1-0 lead in their short but meaningly best-of-three title duel. Rodolfo Labrador, Reyson Fuentes, Ruben Inaudito and Edwin Tolentino joined the hitting parade by combining for 41 points, which, if added to Malabanan’s production, was practically Air Force’s

total hits. Aside from the setter and libero Raffy Mosuela, Air Force Coach Rhovyl Verayo fielded only two other players—Mike Abria and Pitrus de Ocampo—in essaying the masterful triumph. “These same players have been carrying us the whole conference, so we might, as well rode with them until the last,” said Verayo in Filipino. The Raiders go for the jugular on Wednesday at 3 p.m. A deciding Game Three, if necessary, is set on December 5. “That’s our next goal, to go for it in the next game,” Verayo said. While the Raiders went to its compact lineup, the HD Spikers dag deep from their bench that was

spearheaded by Edmar Bonono and Lorenzo Capate Jr., who fired a combined 30 points. But it was not enough to overcome the Air Force juggernaut. Earlier, PLDT Home Ultera overcame a fiesty Navy and carved out a 25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19 victory to move on the verge of clinching third place. Mark Gil Alfafara led the way with 20 hits, including 17 on kills while Kheeno Franco, Henry James Peca-A and Jayson Ramos contributed 17, 12 and 10, respectively, in helping the Ultrafast Spikers gain a 1-0 edge in their best-of-three series. Razzel Palisoc and Nur Amin Madsairi paced the Sailors with 16 and 12 points.

V-LEAGUE MATCHES UP Philips Gold bags

Elasto Painters blast Elite AIN or Shine hardly showed the effects of a weeklong lull and stormed past Blackwater, 103-81, in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City. The victory, their fourth in five games, did not only allow the Elasto Painters to bounce back from a 111-113 Friday the 13th loss to GlobalPort, but also pushed them into a share of the lead with defending champion San Miguel Beer and Alaska. Blackwater fell deeper into a 1-4 hole in the standings. “I guess we were really excited to get back to playing again after our heartbreak loss,” Guiao said. “But we did not take this team for granted, and we were not complacent in this game.” “That’s why the energy level was high, especially in the second half,” he said.

RAIDERS DRAW FIRST BLOOD IN SPIKERS TURF

Fil-Am division, Team Integral made 72 points to tow the Am G class. Team San Miguel, meanwhile, debuts on Sunday, hoping to give defending champion Pugo Adventure, 2013 champion Megafiber, former three-time champion CV Camp John Hay a run for their money in the FilChampionship class.

HUNG CHIEN-YAO sizzles with an eagle-spiked 69.

LDT Home Ultera and Army face unfancied squads, hoping to arrange a highly anticipated showdown for the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Reinforced Conference crown at The Arena in San Juan City on Sunday. The Lady Troopers swept all five games of the elimination round, while the Ultra Fast Hitters were second with a 4-1 record, giving the two fancied teams the twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four of the season-ending conference sponsored by Shakey’s. First to take a crack at the finals is Home Ultera, which faces University of the Philippines (UP) at 12:45 p.m., oozing with confidence following the acquisition of talented imports Victoria Hurtt and Serea Freeman. The US National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I standouts made a pair of impressive debuts last week that saw Home Ultera down Kia Forte in four to clinch the semis bonus in the tournament, presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by Mikasa and Accel. Army, its star-studded crew bracing for a faceoff with the souped up Home Ultera side, collides with Navy at 3 p.m. Both matches will be shown live on GMA News TV Channel 11, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

TAIWAN’S HUNG LEADS BY 1 SHOT T

AIWANESE Hung Chien-yao sizzled at the finish to cool down Jbe Kruger’s eagle-spiked 69, and card a four-under 68 for a one-stroke lead heading to what looks to be a wild, wooly final round of the $1 million Resorts World Manila Masters at the Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Cavite, on Saturday. The duo actually battled shot-for-shot and putt-forputt through another windy day at the Masters, after erstwhile joint leader Lee Chieh-po reeled back with early bogeys. But Hung came out of a bogey-birdie-bogey ride from No. 11 with back-to-back birdies from No. 14 then buried a clutch birdie on the par-3 17th to storm ahead with a pair of 34s and a 14-under 202. That was one shot ahead of Kruger, who tied Hung with an eagle on the par-5 15th, but settled for pars the rest of the way for a 35-34 and a 203. Lee fought back strong from an opening three-bogey mishap with birdies on Nos. 4, 5 and 7, and negated another bogey on the 10th with birdies on Nos. 12, 15 and 16. But he stumbled with a bogey on the par-5 18th, a birdie hole for most, and finished with a 71 and a 204. That kept their spots in Sunday’s championship flight and their sights on the top $135,000 purse as Filipino bets Rufino Bayron and Miguel Tabuena cracked under pressure and bowed out of the title race with so-so outputs in the pivotal round of the country’s richest golf championship hosted by the Manila Southwoods for the third straight year.

third in Superliga

By Lance Agcaoili

MUS, Cavite—Philips Gold’s imports made sure they would be remembered by Filipino fans by leading the Lady Slammers past Cignal HD, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-17, in the battle for third place in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday at the Imus Sports Complex in Imus, Cavite. Olgard, a 6-foot-5 middle blocker from University of Southern California, made 21 of her 25 points in smashes, and Todorovic had an all-around game of 19 kills and three blocks for 23 points for the Lady Slammers, who matched their third-place finish in the All-Filipino Conference in May. Todorovic, a libero for the 2011 US National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, also had 23 excellent receptions, on top of eight digs. And despite failing to make the finals, Philips Gold Head Coach Francis Vicente was satisfied with the third place finish, saying his team makes a marked improvement every conference. “It’s okay,” Vicente said. “Being third place this conference is a different thing since this one is a different standard and different level of competition. Ariel Usher had 20 points on 19 attacks. Amanda Anderson chipped in 17 markers on 13 attacks, two service aces, and two blocks for the HD Spikers, who failed to sustain their strong start in the classification match of the interclub tournament, presented by Asics and backed by Milo with Senoh, Mikasa and Mueller as technical partners and TV5 as official broadcaster. It could be the first and last tour of duty for the charming Todorovic in the Philippines. She will be seeing action in Puerto Rico in January, before going back to the United States to finish his Masters degree in Sports Management at the California State University in Long Beach by the time the PSL Grand Prix rolls out next year. But the two imports will still enjoy the country. They fly home on December 8. Petron, meanwhile, starts defense of its crown against Foton in a best-of-three series starting on Thursday.