BusinessMirror November 28, 2014

BusinessMirror

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

U.N. Media Award 2008

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Ebola vaccine seems safe in first-stage testing

W

The vaccine is designed to spur the immune system’s production of anti-Ebola antibodies, and people developed them within four weeks of getting the shots at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Half of the test group received a higherdose shot, and those people produced more antibodies, said the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Some people also developed a different set of virus-fighting immune cells, named T cells, the study found. That may be important in fending off Ebola, as prior research found that monkeys protected by the vaccine also had that combination response.

Stimulating both types of immune response is “a promising factor,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of

NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whose employees led the work.

The researchers reported no serious side effects. But two people who received the higher-dose vaccine briefly spiked fevers, one above 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius), which disappeared within a day.

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, the researchers said all 20 volunteers, who participated in the trials, which started some two months ago, produced the immune response.

The White House has congratulated the doctors on the success, saying the news “is another important milestone” in the effort to fight Ebola.

A VOLUNTEER receives a dose of experimental vaccine “cAd3-EBOZ Lau” from a nurse at the Lausanne University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, on November 4. Swissmedic approved the application for a trial with an experimental Ebola vaccine at the Lausanne University Hospital. It will be conducted on 120 volunteer participants. The trial continues the series that began in the US, the United Kingdom and Mali. The vaccine, based on a genetically modified chimpanzee adenovirus, will initially be administered to healthy volunteers, who will be deployed as medical staff in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. AP/KEYSTONE,JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

US President Barack Obama is expected to visit the institute next week to thank the researchers.

The US leader is also due to ask the Congress to approve allocation of additional budget funds in 2015 to this aim.

Earlier this month, Fauci told Congress this first-stage testing was promising enough that the US planned much larger studies in West Africa, starting in Liberia in early January, to try to prove whether the vaccine really works.

Scientists are racing to develop ways to prevent or treat the virus that has killed more than 5,600 people in West Africa, most of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Wednesday’s publication offered scientific details about the initial testing of the vaccine candidate furthest along, one being developed by NIH and GlaxoSmithKline. Additional safety studies are underway here and abroad. A different Canadian-made vaccine also has begun small safety studies.

Many questions remain as larger studies are being designed, including the best dose and how soon protection may begin, cautioned Dr. Daniel Bausch, a Tulane University Ebola specialist,

PNA/TASS

PROTESTERS march through downtown Saint Louis on Wednesday. Since a grand jury’s decision was announced on Monday night not to indict a white Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, protesters in cities throughout the country have rallied behind the refrain “hands up, don’t shoot,” and drawn attention to other police killings. AP/CHARLIE RIEDEL

ERGUSON, Missouri—A fierce war of words broke out on Wednesday over what happened on a summer day when white Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black man.

After a Saint Louis County grand jury decided not to indict him, Wilson ended his self-imposed silence and gave his side of the August 9 events.

Brown’s family promptly branded his version unbelievable and “crazy.”

Both sides spoke in separate, controlled television interviews that were broadcast as protests over the grand jury’s decision continued. Hundreds have been arrested in Ferguson and cities across the nation, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas.

After the decision sparked an outbreak of rioting, looting and arson fires in Ferguson on Monday night, demonstrations on Tuesday were far less fierce. On Wednesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon praised an increased National Guard presence for helping control the situation.

“The ramped-up presence and action of the Missouri National Guard has been helpful,” Nixon said in a statement. “I will continue to monitor the situation closely to determine whether additional resources are nec-

essary to protect public safety.”

In a television interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Wilson said he feared for his life when he shot Brown, 18. He said there was nothing he could have done differently and that he would have shot a white person in the same circumstances. Wilson also disputed witness accounts that Brown at one point put his hands in the air.

During the interview, which aired Wednesday on Good Morning America, Wilson said his wife, whom he married last month, was pregnant.

In appearances on NBC and CBS, Brown’s parents sharply disagreed with Wilson’s version of the confrontation.

“I don’t believe a word of it,” Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, said on CBS This Morning.

“I know my son far too well to— he would never do anything like that.

He would never provoke anyone to do anything to him and he wouldn’t do anything to anybody. I don’t believe a word of it,” she said.

Wilson told the grand jury that Brown had reached into the police car and grabbed the officer’s gun.

Wilson’s account “sounds crazy,” Michael Brown Sr. said on NBC’s Today show.

“For one, my son, he respected law enforcement,” Brown said. “Two, who,

in their right mind, would rush or charge at a police officer that has his gun drawn? It sounds crazy.”

Wilson said the younger Brown had a “crazy” look on his face and that he looked like “a demon” before Wilson shot him.

“When you have people of color being killed, they try to demonize and play on the stereotypes, and they try to put the police officer, who killed our children, on a pedestal,” Brown family lawyer Benjamin Crump said on NBC. “It’s just not right, and we have to fix this system.”

The Brown family has not ruled out filing a wrongful death suit. The federal government is conducting its own investigation of the incident.

On Monday night, police seemed to be caught off-guard by the size and vehemence of the protests. Fires damaged or destroyed 21 buildings, and 10 police cars were destroyed. Businesses were looted, protesters fired an estimated 150 gunshots and police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Hundreds of people on Wednesday afternoon demonstrated in front of Saint Louis City Hall, shouting “Shame, shame.” Some then entered the building and police carrying riot shields quickly responded.

As many as five people were arrested, officials said. Los Angeles Times/TNS

DEMONSTRATORS lay down in Public Square on Tuesday, in Cleveland, during a protest over the weekend police shooting of Tamir Rice. The 12-yearold was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer on Saturday after he reportedly pulled a replica gun at the city park. AP/TONY DEJAK

VIDEO: POLICE SHOT U.S. BOY AFTER ENCOUNTERING HIM

C

LEVELAND—The police officer, who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy carrying a pellet gun fired within one-and-ahalf to 2 seconds of pulling up in his cruiser, police said on Wednesday. During those few moments, he ordered the youngster three times to put up his hands, they said.

The city released a surveillance video that shows the shooting of Tamir Rice, who was carrying an airsoft gun that shoots non-lethal plastic pellets.

Much of the footage shows what appears to be a bored kid alone in a park on an unseasonably warm November afternoon.

Tamir is seen pacing, occasionally extending his right arm with what appears to be a gun in his hand, talking on a cell phone and sitting a picnic table with his head resting on his arms.

The gun wasn’t real, and lacked the bright orange tip that is usually put on such weapons to indicate they’re not real.

Tamir’s family said it has seen the video of his shooting.

“It is our belief that this situation could have been avoided and that Tamir should still be here

Corruption probe forces Spain minister to resign

M

ADRID—Spain’s health minister has resigned hours after a judge said she benefited financially from an alleged corruption scheme that ensnared her ex-husband.

Ana Mato said in a statement on Wednesday that she could not stay on because doing so could hurt the

administration of Prime Minister Rajoy, who is scheduled to give an important anti-corruption speech on Thursday.

Mato said she was not charged and faces only the possibility of fines “because of my family’s situation at the time the alleged events occurred.”

She may have to return £50,000 ($62,000) the judge says her family received for personal tourism and other expenses from the alleged Popular Party financing scheme that resulted in charges for 43 people.

Their ranks include three former party treasurers. AP

with us,” the family said in a statement released by lawyers. “The video shows one thing distinctly: the police officers reacted quickly.”

The Ohio shooting came as protesters across the US decried a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer who killed an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri.

The patrol officer who shot Tamir was identified on Wednesday as Timothy Loehmann, a 26-year-old rookie who began his career in Cleveland in March.

He previously spent five months in 2012 with a department in a Cleveland suburb, but four of those months were in that city’s police academy.

Loehmann’s partner that day was identified as Frank Garmback, 46. He has been with the department since 2008. Both are on paid administrative leave pending a decision by the prosecutor’s office on whether to pursue criminal charges.

What is striking about the video police showed on Wednesday is the speed at which the shooting occurred.

At one moment, Tamir is sit-

ting at a picnic table. He stands and a police car zooms into the frame from the right and stops near Tamir. The passenger door opens and Loehmann shoots Tamir before Garmback can get out the driver’s side door.

It’s unclear how far Tamir was from Loehmann when the officer shot him, but Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said on Wednesday it was less than 3 meters.

The low-resolution video shows Tamir reaching to his waistband and then bending over after being shot. His body is mostly obscured by the patrol car when he falls to the ground. Garmback can be seen walking around the car and kicking what is said to be the airsoft gun away from Tamir.

Tomba told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that an FBI agent who was working a bank robbery detail nearby arrived within a few minutes and administered first aid to Tamir.

Paramedics arrived three minutes later. The boy died on Sunday at a Cleveland hospital.

Tomba said the city released the video at the behest of Tamir’s family. AP

world

b3-2

christian bale gets biblical

Life

Be our protection

S

AINT Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, oh prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. May each one of us seek the help of our own guardian to protect us all the days of our lives. Amen.

PLANNER PRAYER BOOK, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Friday, November 28, 2014

D1

Christian Bale gets biblical

»

ON DOING MOSES

“I had to digest the whole ridiculousness of somebody asking me to play somebody as important as Moses. I did a little research and just felt like, ‘Yeah, you know what? I want to work with Rid (Ridley Scott, the director of Exodus: Gods and Kings), so let’s give this a shot,’” the Oscarwinning actor says.

T

HE idea of Christian Bale and Ridley Scott working together has been germinating for some time, not only with Christian and Ridley, but with some of Christian’s fellow actors: “Russell Crowe and Gary Oldman had told me he was one of their favorite directors. The two of them said, ‘You’ve got to meet with him. I’m telling you, you guys would get along well. You’d work together well,”’ Bale recalls. “Ridley and I later set up a meeting and decided, ‘Alright, when something comes up, let’s do something together.’ Then Rid came back and said to me, ‘Do you want to do Exodus as Moses?’”

Christian is a man who thrives on challenges. Once he’d recovered from the initial surprise of being asked to play Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings, he was thrilled to take it on. “I had to digest the whole ridiculousness of somebody asking me to play somebody as important as Moses, and consider that for a little while. I did a little research and just felt like, ‘Yeah, you know what? I want to work with Rid, so let’s give this a shot.’

“I always love things where the odds are against you, and obviously I know that there’s a lot of people who will be saying, ‘How dare he play this character?’”

There will also be plenty of others—including Scott, of course, and those two contemporaries, Crowe and Oldman, who have both worked with him—who know that it makes perfect sense.

Bale is a powerhouse—one of the very best actors of his generation with a remarkable CV stretching back to his breakout role, as a 13 year old, when he delivered a brilliant performance as an English boy detained in a Japanese POW camp for Steven Spielberg in Empire of the Sun. Since then, he has proved to be extraordinarily diverse—playing a music journalist in Velvet Goldmine, rock legend Bob Dylan in I’m Not There, a psychopathic banker in American Psycho, and an insomniac worker on the edge of insanity in The Machinist.

His three films as Batman/Bruce Wayne for director Christopher Nolan have defined contemporary cinema’s approach to the comic book genre. Bale won an Oscar for his portrayal of boxing trainer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, and received an Academy Award nomination for his role as con man Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle. Exodus: Gods and Kings represented a very different challenge. Filmed in 3D, Scott’s film will tell the extraordinary story of Moses. Abandoned by a desperate mother as a baby after the Egyptian ruler orders the murder of all boys born to slaves, he is found

in the bulrushes by the Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the royal household, where he grows up alongside Ramses (Joel Edgerton), the future monarch.

As a man, Moses has a vision from God and turns his back on his privileged life and leads his people, the Israelites, from enslavement. Scott’s film will feature groundbreaking special effects, to visualize some of the more fantastic elements of the story including the plagues visited upon Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. “It’s about two brothers—not by blood, but by bond—who grow up together, but become absolute enemies, and surprise each other. We kind of presented them as two atheists who understand the necessity for the Egyptian pantheon of gods in order to rule powerfully and effectively,” Bale says.

“Then suddenly you get one, Moses, who is exiled, who experiences this purification in the desert, who has a calling, and who returns, compelled by God, by a voice that is telling him what to do. “Then you get the other character, Ramses, who has always been skeptical, but now that he is actually the Pharaoh, he’s really starting to convince himself that it’s true—that he is a living god—and he’s enjoying that. “It’s an unstoppable force and an immovable object. You’ve got one guy who is compelled by the voice of God telling him to liberate, and the other one, who has come to believe he is a god, and that sets up a wonderful confrontation.”

Scott and screenwriter Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Moneyball), who wrote the script with Bill Collage and Adam Cooper, have remained true to the Biblical story of Moses while using the very latest tools available to a modern filmmaker to realize some of the more fantastical elements.

“I can’t predict what religious audiences will feel,” says Bale, “when there is a story that is so intensely personal. It’s beyond that thing of making a film based on a book. Even in those circumstances, you so often find people saying, ‘I just cannot get into the film because that’s not how I pictured it.’ “The book is their personal film and that’s what’s so wonderful about literature. When you’re watching someone’s adaptation of a book, suddenly you’re seeing someone else’s film, and you’re going, ‘That’s not my film.’ Now, when it comes to religious texts, where people absolutely live and die by these words, how on earth do you approach that? Exodus: Gods and Kings will feature epic battle scenes and Bale relished the physical challenge that it presented although he admits that a motorcycle accident in 2012 hammered his preparations. He was riding

a motorcycle when he had an accident and suffered several injuries. “Right before American Hustle I was racing on my motorcycle and had an accident. I’m not very agile with this [holds up left] arm.

“I had the accident after I first met with Rid. But after the accident, I couldn’t do anything with my arm so it was an interesting thing. Suddenly I had to fire a bow and arrow and my arm was shaking like crazy because the nerves hadn’t grown back properly.

“But everything came good by the time we started filming—my nerves had grown back. The body is just phenomenal. And, yes, there was horse-riding and I love doing that. I don’t do it in my life, but I’ve always enjoyed doing it for films. And the archery was good, too. I really enjoy those physical tasks, things that you get to acquire as a skill for films.”

been brought up. The indulgence, the entitlement would be ridiculous. The Bible tells you very little about his early life. We know obviously about the salvation, the basket, the river, and everything, but once he’s a young man, you really don’t have much. He kills an Egyptian soldier at one point, looks both ways, and realizes that he’s got to get out. There’s not much more, and so that was something we really had to interpret.

What makes his journey still interesting to us today?

One of the things that I think is really interesting is, if you see Moses’s journey, it absolutely reflects the journey of the Israelites, because you’ve got a man who survives death by royal decree, in the killing of the firstborns, who survives death by water, in the river, who then is purified in the desert, and comes to meet God on the mountaintop.

All of these things then are imitated by the Hebrews as a whole: they survive death by royal decree; they survive death by water, with the Red Sea; and they come to meet God upon the mountaintop. Whether you’re religious or not, it’s a fascinating story.

What was your reaction when Ridley offered to you the role of Moses in Exodus?

I asked, “What, like sandals and swords? Or are you talking about some abstract modern retelling of the story?” He said, “No—sandals, swords, everything.” I had to digest the whole ridiculousness of somebody asking me to play somebody as important as Moses, and consider that for a little while. I did a little research and just felt like, “Yeah, you know what? I want to work with Rid, so let’s give this a shot.” I always love things where the odds are against you, and obviously I know that there’s a lot of people who will be saying, “How dare he play this character?”

What do you think the reaction to this film will be?

There will most likely be diverse reactions. Some audiences will ask, “Why are you making this film?

Why is it important to me? Why should I give a damn about it?” On the other hand, you will have the religious audience, who will know everything and will, hopefully, be eager to see the film, which will be akin to, in my mind, when an actor does a Shakespearian play, and the first few rows are mouthing every line because they know it backward. Unfortunately, we can’t make this a six-hour long film, so you have to cut things, and that’s painful. There’s so much more that was shot that will never make it into the film.

What was it like finally working with Ridley?

Oh great. Ridley is real meat and potatoes. We shot this in 74 days, which is very quick for a film like this. I would find myself sometimes with like five, six, seven cameras all around, and I love that, because I love that when you take away the one eye, you become less aware of somebody eyeballing you.

When someone eyeballs you, you want to turn around and look at them the whole time, and ask, “What’s your problem?” When there are seven people eyeballing you, you can ignore them far more easily.

He moves quickly, and I love that. He has a real momentum to him. He knows what he wants. I would give him more fanatical takes, or I would give him more impassioned, radical takes, and then I would give him slightly softer, more human takes, and he will choose whichever ones he wishes in the editing room.

He directs in gestures more than anything.

It’s like with every director: once you understand the terrain, and you understand the communication, you get it.

In the hierarchy of Egypt, Moses was second only to Ramses.

He’s second only to a living god. That is how he’s

■ Opening on December 5 in cinemas from 20th Century Fox, Exodus: Gods and Kings will be released in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.

life

Economy expanding as it was in1950s on consumption boom

BusinessMirror

C1

| Friday, November 28, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Fiba SUSPENDS JaPaN

By Ed Odeven

A

The governing body of basketball suspended the Japan Basketball Association (JBA), a decision that will prevent the country’s national teams from taking part in the Olympics and other international competitions. Fiba said the suspension results from the JBA’s failure to merge the 22-team Basketball Japan League and the 13-team National Basketball League, which is in violation of its general statutes.

Japan Times

LTHOUGH nearly a month passed since Fiba’s October 31 deadline for the Japan Basketball Association (JBA) to present a merger plan for the bj-league and the NBL, among other demands, basketball’s world governing body delivered the expected news.

On Wednesday the JBA, one of Fiba’s 214 national federations, was suspended from all Fiba and Fiba Asia-related activities. The length of the ban has not been announced.

As a result, all Japan national teams are barred from playing in Fiba-sanctioned competitions, including the women’s national team, which captured its first Fiba Asia title in 43 years in 2013. This could have a profound negative impact on Olympic qualifying and preparation for it.

The Fiba executive committee met on Monday and Tuesday before finalizing its decision. “...The JBA has been and currently remains unable to deliver on Fiba’s requests to: restructure the JBA to ensure it is fully functional under Fiba’s general statutes; merge the existing two leagues into one that operates under the JBA and plays the game in accordance with [Fiba’s] official basketball rules across the country; [and] present a concrete sporting plan for the national teams [men and women] beyond 2020,” Fiba said in the news release.

The National Basketball League (NBL) plays under Fiba rules; the bj-league adheres to NBA rules. Fiba has viewed that as a point of contention.

Since an official visit to Tokyo in 2009, top Fiba officials, including Secretary-General Patrick Baumann, have repeatedly stated that the concurrent existence of the 22-team bj-league and 13-team NBL are a violation of Fiba rules, as each national federation is required to have a clear-cut top league under its control. The bj-league operates outside of JBA control.

Though bj-league Commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi and his NBL counterparts have held talks with the JBA in recent months, no merger

deal has been reached. And there’s been no evidence that the rival leagues are any closer to an agreement than they were at any time over the past five-plus years.

Yasuhiko Fukatsu resigned as JBA president on October 23, just a week before the Fiba deadline, stepping down at a time when an 11th-hour breakthrough appeared impossible, based on comments from key leaders in both leagues, including Kawachi, who has presided over the bj-league since its establishment for the 20052006 season as a breakaway circuit from the old Japan Basketball League (the NBL’s predecessor).

“Fiba regrets that the situation has reached such a point of no return,” Baumann said in a statement. “However, we are convinced that after so many years of warnings and struggle, and for the good of basketball in Japan, it is absolutely time to make important changes to the structures of the JBA and of the domestic competitions in order to fully comply with Fiba’s general statutes and also to embrace the opportunity that the 2020 Olympic Games will provide to basketball in Japan. We want a successful Tokyo 2020 basketball tournament with the participation of the Japanese men’s and women’s teams.”

Fiba revealed it plans to send an appointed representative to Japan to assist in setting up a task force to usher in changes cited above.

Said Baumann: “We believe that basketball has great potential to become one of the leading sports in Japan, especially in view of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. It is time to prepare for it without the ‘heavy luggage’ of past history and failed reforms, but instead with a strong vision toward the future for the benefit of all who love the game. We count on all basketball stakeholders to participate in the much-needed reform process that will be led by the task force.”

P

game to delay playing the United States.

Baumann said its investigation “cleared Australia of violating the internal regulations.”

Previously, Fiba said it “widely suspected” that Australia lost on purpose to Angola, 91-83, in a group match in Spain in September.

The loss meant Australia would avoid facing the eventual champion US until the semifinals. Instead, Slovenia finished above Australia in the group and lost in the quarterfinals to the US. Australia ended up losing to Turkey in the second round.

Fiba says it “can count on Basketball Australia to wholeheartedly endorse the principles of fair play and ethical behavior.”

Fiba says any future match manipulation can lead to “suspensions, substantial fines, reprimands or warnings.”

AuSTrALIA CLEArEd

FIBA has ruled that Australia did not deliberately lose a World Cup

COACH POP IN HOSPITAL

S

AN ANTONIO—Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich missed Wednesday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers after undergoing what the team is calling a minor medical procedure.

Popovich also is expected to miss Friday’s home game against Sacramento. Assistant Ettore Messina ran the team in Popovich’s absence.

“It’s not what you want, but the good thing is that obviously it’s nothing big or you would not see me here so relaxed,” Messina said.

The 65-year-old Popovich is in his 18th season as head coach of the Spurs.

Messina became the first European-born coach to run a National Basketball Association (NBA) team in the regular season. Referred by many as the “Coach Pop of Europe,” Messina is in his first season with the Spurs after a successful international career.

“Obviously, he’s an international basketball legend,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “I don’t really know that much more about him other than he’s highly, highly respected.”

Messina is a two-time Euroleague coach of the year and also has coached in Russia, Italy and Spain. He served as a coaching consultant for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011-2012.

“Everybody here tells me from Day One to feel very comfortable,” Messina said of San Antonio.

In recent seasons, his name was raised as a candidate to become the first European coach to become a head coach in the NBA. David Blatt beat him to it, coming over from Israel this year to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Blatt is American born.

Messina coached the Spurs in a 121-90 preseason loss to Phoenix on October 16 when Popovich opted to stay at home.

“I am terribly scared,” Messina said of his regular-season debut. “I am average scared. Not scared at all. You pick up the (one you want).

“I’m trying to think what Pop would have said to you. I haven’t thought about [being the first European-born coach in the NBA], honestly. You try to stay focused on what you have to do, that’s it. There is already enough to think about. The rest will stay for the record, for the good memory to tell my grandkids when I will be home in front of the fireplace, I will tell the story.”

Vogel jokingly said Messina should toss aside all of the coaching strategies Popovich has used in leading the Spurs to five NBA championships. AP

» SAN ANTONIO Coach Gregg Popovich undergoes medical procedure. AP

SPurS TAkE dOwN PACErS S

AN Antonio—Manu Ginobili had 28 points as the San Antonio Spurs won without Coach Gregg Popovich, rallying for a 106-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

Popovich missed the game after undergoing what the team is calling a minor medical procedure. Assistant Ettore Messina took over, becoming the first Europeanborn coach to run an National Basketball Association team in the regular season.

Ginobili resembled the high-flying, energetic star that played for Bologna in 2001 under Messina before joining the Spurs, helping San Antonio’s Big Three direct the team to victory without their fiery coach.

Tony Parker scored 21 points for San Antonio (10-4), and Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Elsewhere in the league on Wednesday, it was Brooklyn 99, Philadelphia 91; Golden State 111, Orlando 96; Portland 105, Charlotte 97; Cleveland 113, Washington 87; Dallas 109, New York 102, overtime; Toronto 126, Atlanta 115; LA Clippers 104, Detroit 98; Oklahoma City 97, Utah 82; Houston 102, Sacramento 89; Milwaukee 103, Minnesota 86; Phoenix 120, Denver 112; and Memphis 99, LA Lakers 93.

In Cleveland LeBron James scored 29 points and Kevin Love added 21 and Cleveland exacted a little revenge on Washington.

Five days after they were embarrassed in a 91-78 loss to Washington, the Cavs controlled this one from the start and got back to .500.

James led the way, also collecting 10 rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes. The four-time Most Valuable Player, who called his team “fragile” during a recent four-game losing streak, was energized from the start as he powered to the basket and imposed his will on the Wizards.

With Cleveland up by 19, James took a seat with 7:52

left, getting an early start on the Thanksgiving holiday.

Kyrie Irving added 18 points for the Cavs.

Rasual Butler scored 23 and Paul Pierce had 15 for the Wizards, who only got six points from leading scorer John Wall.

In Los Angeles Marc Gasol had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Mike Conley added 19 points and Memphis earned its seventh victory in eight games at the expense of the Lakers.

Zach Randolph scored 16 points for the Grizzlies, who improved to 13-2 and kept pace with Toronto atop the overall standings. But Western Conference-leading Memphis barely survived a strong effort from the 15th-place Lakers, who kept it close throughout a tense fourth quarter.

Coming off back-to-back 30-point games, Gasol scored 16 points in the second half, including 12 in the third quarter, while the Grizzlies moved ahead.

Kobe Bryant scored 22 points for the Lakers, who have lost seven of nine.

Stephen Curry, meanwhile, had 28 points, including six three-pointers as Golden State rolled to its seventh consecutive win.

Curry rested in the fourth quarter of Golden State’s third consecutive win over the Magic. The Warriors led by as many as 27 in the second half.

Seven Warriors scored in double figures. Harrison Barnes had 16 points.

Orlando, which has been bothered by a rash of recent injuries, lost its third straight game. Tobias Harris led the Magic with 16 points and 10 rebounds. AP

THE Spurs’ Manu, drives around Pacers »forward Solomon Hill. AP

sports

Continued on A2

D1

fiba suspends japan Sports

he government failed to deliver on its promise to increase public spending at the start of the second semester, causing the economy to lose the much-needed momentum to meet the government’s growth target this year.

Other factors, such as the contraction in the agriculture and financial intermediation sectors, also caused the Philippine economy to grow by only 5.3 percent in the third quarter, the slowest since the third quarter of 2011, when gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 3.2 percent.

The GDP figure in the July-to-September period is lower than the 6.4 percent recorded in the second quarter and the 7 percent posted a year ago Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the “chilling effect” created by the unfavorable decision of the Supreme Court on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and the recent issuances of disallowance by the Commission on Audit (COA) caused public spending to contract by 2.6 percent in the third quarter.

“We realize and we recognize the decision on the DAP

AUTHENTIC CUCINA ITALIANA AT THE MANILA HOTEL »D3

BusinessMirror

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

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

By Cai U. Ordinario

who wasn’t involved in the study.

Plus, monkey research suggests a booster shot will be needed for long-term protection.

“The road is still long and there are many challenges, but we are, nevertheless, one step closer to a solution,” he wrote in an accompanying editorial.

The Ebola virus disease (EVD), previously known as the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe illness in humans, often fatal, according to the World Health Organization. The virus is passed on to people from wild animals and can be transmitted from humans to humans. The average EVD case death rate is some 50 percent.

The first outbreaks of the virus occurred in remote Central African villages, near tropical rainforests.

However, major urban and rural areas have been involved in the most recent outbreak in western Africa.

Early supportive care, which includes rehydration and symptomatic treatment, improves the survival rate.

No licensed treatment has yet been proven to be able to neutralize the virus, but a number of blood, immunological and drug medications are under development. AP and

BROWN FAMILY DISPUTES OFFICER’S STORY

F

Tuesday, November Thursday, November18, 28,2014 2014Vol. Vol.1010No. No.4050

Growth disappoints in Q3 T

ebola vaccine seems safe ASHINGTON—An experimental Ebola vaccine appears safe and triggered signs of immune protection in the first 20 volunteers to test it, US researchers reported on Wednesday.

n

GOV’T UNDERSPENDING MAIN CULPRIT IN SLOWER-THAN-EXPECTED 5.3% G.D.P. EXPANSION

INSIDE

B3-2 Friday, November 28, 2014

A broader look at today’s business

c1

resident Aquino is lifting millions out of poverty and boosting the middle class, even as he struggles to increase government spending.

And companies, like Ayala Corp., are reaping the gains.

The nation’s oldest family-controlled company has more than tripled its capital spending in the past five years to expand its property, banking and infrastructure units and cash in on one of the fastest expansions in Asia. Businesses are counting on structural reforms, a young population and rising remittances to keep their revenue surging, while wrestling with port logjams and delayed project rollouts.

“There are shifts in consumption patterns as the Continued on A8

PESO exchange rates n US 44.9160

HERO’S WELCOME Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao waves at the crowd

during a hero’s welcome at the financial district of Makati on Thursday.

Pacquiao recently defeated Chris Algieri of the United States to retain his World Boxing Organization world welterweight title. AP/Aaron Favila

U.S. HOLIDAY HIRES SOAR AS RETAILERS PAY MORE

W

anda Tucker was hired on the spot for a parttime job with Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic chain earlier this month, after searching for a full-time position since April.

“I thought I was just going in for an interview,” said Tucker, 53, of Rex, Georgia, who’d finished five years of Army Reserves postings before entering the work force. “It has been a blessing to have some money coming into the household.”

Workers are facing the most favorable job market for seasonal work since the 18-month recession that started in December 2007, getting hired with fewer interviews and, in some cases, with higher pay.

About 821,000 workers will be hired for retail seasonal jobs this year, up 11 percent from a year ago and the highest since See “U.S. holiday,” A2

Avid 10-mo sales up 19% to 30,114 units

C

ompanies belonging to the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (Avid) recorded another strong sales performance in October, posting a combined 20-percent growth to 3,101 units.

This brought Avid’s 10-month tally to 30,114 units, up 19 percent.

Sales figures for Mini were not reflected in the October report of Avid.

“Sustained by its attractive monthly offerings, Avid maintained its strong sales pace, giving more encouragement for the group

to deliver products that go beyond the bounds of satisfaction,” Avid President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said.

The passenger car (PC) and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments contributed to the overall sales of Avid.

The PC segment expanded by 29 percent, with a total of 1,655 units sold in October. Year-to-date, the PC sales experienced a solid 20-perent growth to 15,705 units versus the 13,044 units sold in the same period last year. Growth in PC segment See “Avid,” A2

n japan 0.3816 n UK 70.9448 n HK 5.7930 n CHINA 7.3166 n singapore 34.6147 n australia 38.3308 n EU 56.1764 n SAUDI arabia 11.9702 Source: BSP (27 November 2014)

A2

News BusinessMirror

Friday, November 28, 2014

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Growth disappoints in Q3 Continued from A1

and also the COA’s interest in, drive in issuance of notices of disallowance, I think, is putting a chilling effect on the bureaucracy and that has [partly caused] the slow-down in the [economy],” Balisacan said in a press conference on Thursday. Balisacan said this “chilling effect” has also caused delays in various projects, including those targeted to be implemented in areas affected by Supertyphoon Yolanda.

However, Balisacan said the negative impact on the government’s spending is a result of the institutional changes that the Aquino administration is implementing in government.

“As we say, no pain, no gain,” Balisacan said. “That should be seen in the context of the medium-term to long-term. These benefit us in terms of sustainability of high-end growth.”

With this, Balisacan said government agencies will have to be adequately prepared to comply with new protocols.

He added that the government also needs to improve the

country’s resilience against disasters—through better preparedness, through adaptation, through adequate social protection and through having a faster response mechanism.

Local businessmen blamed the congestion in major ports in Metro Manila for lower national output in the July-to-September period.

“The lower GDP was significantly impacted by the port congestion and containers offloaded in outside ports such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Kaosiung in Taiwan. The low end of the GDP target can be met with continued port decongestion, no power brownouts, and reinforcing industry confidence,” Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. President Dan Lachica said.

Balisacan said, however, that he remains confident that the country will still be able to meet its aim of growing faster and attracting more foreign direct investments in the long term.

Despite the disappointing GDP figure in the third quarter, he said the country’s long-term trajectory of economic growth is on the uptrend.

Balisacan said that in the 1990s, the country’s average economic growth was around 3 percent while in the early 2000s until 2009, growth averaged 4.5 percent.

Starting 2010, the country’s average growth rate was at 6.3 percent.

This growth, Balisacan said, has been fueled by increased investments, growth in the manufacturing sector and the tourism sector. He said the National Economic and Development Authority which he also heads is now in the process of crafting a long-term plan for the Philippines to achieve first-world status.

Balisacan said the 30- to 40-year plan can help future governments in crafting their medium-term economic and investment blueprints in the future. Makati Business Club Executive Director Peter Angelo V. Perfecto, for his part, called on the government to put in place better transport infrastructure and to address port congestion.

“It may be too late to make a difference for the year-end rates but further delay in addressing ports congestion for example may extend

Oil prices. . . continued from a8

Markets in Sydney, said by phone on Thursday. “The Saudi actions over the past month quite clearly indicate to the market that Opec is unlikely to agree to production cuts, or if they do, the market will doubt the intent to deliver.”

Brent for January settlement declined as much as $1.47 to $76.28 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was $76.55 at

is close to that of the Saudis, he said after meeting Al-Naimi. Iran also held talks with Venezuela.

2 p.m. Sydney time. It slid 58 cents to $77.75 on Wednesday, the lowest close since September 9, 2010. The European benchmark crude traded at a $3.77 premium to WTI. Iran, Opec’s fifth-largest producer, won’t cut its output or ask Saudi Arabia to do so, according to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.

His country’s position on the market

Opec pumped 30.97 million barrels a day of oil in October, exceeding its collective target for a fifth straight month, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

US stockpiles

Crude inventories in the US, the

the downward trend [of GDP growth] into 2015,” Perfecto said.

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima noted that the 5.3-percent growth in the GDP for the third quarter has put the Philippine economy on a record 11 straight quarters of above 5-percent economic growth.

Purisima said the government would have to further increase investments on infrastructure and services like health, education and social services to boost economic growth.

This was not the first time the Aquino administration’s low spending has affected the country’s economic growth. In 2011 the government’s slow spending for construction projects, including public-private partnership projects, caused the Philippine economy to post a full-year growth of only 3.7 percent.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the country’s first-quarter growth in 2011 was at 4.6 percent; second quarter, 3.4 percent; third quarter, 3.2 percent; and fourth quarter, 3.7 percent. With Catherine Pillas and David Cagahastian

world’s biggest oil consumer, expanded by 1.95 million barrels to 383 million through November 21, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. That was the seventh gain in eight weeks. Supplies were projected to increase by 250,000 barrels, according to the median estimate in a separate Bloomberg survey of 10 analysts. Bloomberg News

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

TODAY’S WEATHER

NOVEMBER 28, 2014 | FRIDAY

NOV 29

SATURDAY

NOV 30 SUNDAY

METRO MANILA

24 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

TUGUEGARAO

23 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

Avid. . . continued from a1 was headed by Hyundai, Subaru and Chevrolet.

The LCV category sales hit 1,446 units in October, growing by 10 percent against 1,310 units that were sold in the previous year. The segment also posted an impressive yearto-date sales tally of 14,409 units, up by 17 percent. Chevrolet remained as the main driver for the segment, with sales up by 101 percent.

“The economy’s key indicators remain supportive of industry growth as inflation rate slowed down, and it’s still within the government’s

target of 3 percent to 5 percent.

Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will likely maintain interest rate because of the lessening of inflationary pressure which gives more leg room for BSP to let demand-side factors to kick-in further,” Perez-Agudo said.

“Because of the price stability, optimism in the economy remains intact. Avid is confident that the industry will achieve a double-digit growth for the year on the back of competitive promotions of auto players, as well,” she added.

US holiday. . . continued from a1 records were started in 1990, estimates Michael Niemira, former director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers Inc. and now founder of economic forecasting firm The Retail Economist Llc. in Tucson, Arizona.

Big retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Kohl’s Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Amazon.com Inc. will hire 304,000 compared with 283,000 last year, he said.

The estimate doesn’t include United Parcel Service Inc. in Atlanta, which has said it will add as many as 95,000 temporary workers, and caterers, who are expecting an increase in holiday parties.

“I don’t want to say there is pressure on wages but there is an alignment of wages with demand,” said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist with the National Retail Federation in Washington, who is estimating as many as 800,000 workers will be added. “There is some tightening” in the job market.

the initial months of the recession, Labor Department figures show. Wages and salaries for retail workers rose 2.5 percent in the third quarter from the same period in 2013, the biggest increase in more than four years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Seasonal job seekers using the web site Snagajob.com are finding work in an average of 28 days this year compared with 45 days last year, company CEO Peter Harrison said. The Richmond, Virginiabased online-matching service focuses on part-time and hourly positions.

“There is a lot more activity by employers,” he said. “Clearly there is a very strong trend.”

More buying

The retail federation is projecting holiday sales to rise 4.1 percent this year, more than last year’s 3.1-percent gain, as rising employment, improved consumer confidence and lower gasoline prices lead to more buying. Sales in November and December can account for as much as 30 percent of a retailer’s annual revenue. Bloomberg News

Wage increase

The unemployment rate for the retail and wholesale trade sector fell to 5.1 percent in October, the lowest since early 2008 in

DEC 1

MONDAY

3-DAY EXTENDED FORECAST

NOV 29

SATURDAY

NOV 30 SUNDAY

DEC 1

MONDAY

23 – 31°C

METRO CEBU

23 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

25 – 32°C

23 – 31°C

TACLOBAN

24 – 31°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO

24 – 32°C

25 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

METRO DAVAO

24 – 31°C

25 – 32°C

24 – 33°C

24 – 32°C

25 – 33°C

25 – 33°C

TROPICAL DEPRESSION “QUEENIE”

Tropical Depression is a cyclone category with winds of 30 - 60 kph.

WAS LOCATED AT 90 KM SOUTHEAST OF CUYO, PALAWAN. (AS OF NOVEMBER 27, 5:00 PM)

LAOAG

LAOAG CITY 23 – 32°C

SBMA/CLARK 24 – 32°C TAGAYTAY CITY 22 – 30°C

METRO MANILA 23 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

BAGUIO

16 – 25°C

16 – 25°C

SBMA/ CLARK

24 – 33°C

24 – 33°C

TUGUEGARAO CITY 23 – 31°C BAGUIO CITY 15 – 24°C

23 – 32°C

TAGAYTAY

22 – 31°C

22 – 30°C

17 – 25°C

24 – 32°C

PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 31°C

ILOILO/ BACOLOD 24 – 31°C

TACLOBAN CITY 24 – 32°C

METRO CEBU 24 – 32°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY 24 – 31°C

PUERTO PRINCESA

24 – 31°C

24 – 31°C

SUNRISE

SUNSET

MOONSET

MOONRISE

6:03 AM

5:24 PM

10:59 PM

11:03 AM

22 – 30°C

LEGAZPI CITY 24 – 30°C

LEGAZPI

ZAMBOANGA

24– 30°C

NEW MOON

NOV 22

25 – 32°C

24 – 31°C

LOW TIDE MANILA HIGH TIDE SOUTH HARBOR

8:32 PM

24 – 32°C

HALF MOON

NOV 29

6:06 PM

9:27 AM

-0.14 METER

12:53 AM

1.06 METER

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

ILOILO/ BACOLOD CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 24 – 30°C METRO DAVAO 24 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 32°C

24 – 31°C

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

Rains with gusty winds Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers

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

www.panahon.tv

SABAH CELEBES SEA

@PanahonTV

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

DOJ indicts trader, 2 brokers in garbage importation

By Joel R. San Juan

T

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to file criminal charges against a trader and two customs brokers in connection with the importation of 49 container vans containing hazardous waste materials from Canada but was misdeclared as scrap-plastic materials for recycling.

In a 24-page resolution signed

by Prosecution Attorney Christine Fatima Estepa, the DOJ said Adelfa Eduardo, owner of Chronic Plastics based in Canumay, Valenzuela City, and her licensed customs brokers Leonora Flores and Sherjun Saldon should be held liable for alleged violation of Section 13 (d) of Republic Act 6969, otherwise known as an “Act to Control Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes.”

The DOJ also ordered their indictment for violation of Sections 3601 and 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP) for the allegedly unlawful importation of the materials.

Likewise, the three were recommended to be charged for violation of Artilce 172 in relation to Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code for allegedly submitting spurious documents covering the shipments.

“The importation made by Chronic of the declared ‘plastic scraps’...was made without acquiring a prior importation clearance from the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] at least 30 days preceding the actual importation,” the resolution said.

“The articles actually contained in the imported shipments are classified within the limiting condition/s in the importation of recyclable materials containing hazardous substances. They are considered as prohibited articles and are not allowed entry in the Philippines due to the hazards it may carry,” the DOJ added.

The DOJ held that Eduardo cannot refute the allegations by implicating other personalities and that she has no knowledge of the transactions entered into by Chronic considering that she is the registered owner of the company.

The DOJ added that Eduardo’s claim that her company was just used as consignee to receive the shipment by her fist cousion Pastora Wong and her busband Cary Kar Wai Kong and a certain Demtrio Makris would have to be further investigated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Based on the records of the BOC, Chronic Plastic is a 150-man operation in Valenzuela that is engaged in the sorting and selling of recyclable materials shipped from Canada.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the BOC against Chronic Plastic before the DOJ in February.

Based on its complaint, the container vans arrived in six batches from June to August 2013, at the Manila International Container Port and were subsequently seized by the customs police and agents of its Enforcement Group after a spot inspection revealed that these contained used mixed and unsorted or “heterogeneous” plastic materials, including household garbage and even used adult diapers, and not homogeneous or recyclable plastic scrap materials as declared by the importer.

The importers even declared a total value of P3.9 million for 19 of the containers.

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Friday, November 28, 2014

A3

Legislator pushes ROTC revival

A

By Recto Mercene

STALWART of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) is pushing for the revival of the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) as a means of inculcating in the youth patriotism and nationalism in the wake of renewed activities of the Chinese military in the contested Kalayaan Group of Islands.

NPC Rep. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian of Valenzuela City said making ROTC mandatory for all male students enrolled in colleges, universities and technical or vocational schools is in line with the constitutional provision that says: “the Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal,

military or civil service.”

House Bi l l 2338, f i led by Gatchalian, provides that the ROTC will form part of the curriculum of all college degree and vocational courses and to be a prerequisite for graduation. Students shall be required to take the ROTC for an academic period for two years.

The ROTC was beset by scandals in the past and there were reports that grades could be acquired by

simply paying up or making a deal with the commandant or tactical officers without undergoing actual training.

As a result of the scandals, calls for the ROTC program’s abolition owing to alleged corruption and hazing mounted.

Among those who called for the program’s abolition were leftist organizations, as well as members of the LGBT community.

The calls prompted then-Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. to file a bill abolishing the compulsory enrollment in ROTC owing to “the absence of external threats.”

“Now is the opportune time to reinstitutionalize the basic military and officer training for our tertiary students. By this legislation, we provide the appropriate training to ensure their readiness to respond to the call of service,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian’s statement came in the heels of the Department of Foreign Affairs’s (DFA) protest over China’s reported reclamation project on a disputed reef on the West Philippines Sea. Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said the DFA sent a note verbale to China on October 10 regarding its reported construc-

tion activities, including the building of an airstrip, on Fiery Cross or Kagitingan Reef.

T he Ph i l ip pi nes i nc ludes Kagitingan Reef within its territory as part of the Kalayaan Group of Islands. China, meanwhile, claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own, covering territories claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam and Taiwan.

The country has filed a case against China before a United Nations arbitration tribunal concerning the territorial row. In a recent report, the international defense publication Jane’s said satellite images taken in August and November show Chinese forces creating a land mass stretching 3,000 meters on the reef.

It is said to be China’s first military airstrip on the Spratlys, aimed at asserting its sovereignty. China’s Foreign Ministry has defended the project as enabling Chinese citizens working there to “better perform international obligations in terms of search, rescue and other public services,” the Associated Press reported.

Gatchalian said it is the duty of every citizen to safeguard the secu-

ICTSI expands yard capacity G

LOBAL port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has expanded the yard capacity at its flagship terminal in Tondo, Manila, with the recent completion of the first phase 4 of its multiyear development plan.

Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) has completed the development of 4 hectares of new yard space in Berth 7 of its port.

Intended to be an empty container depot, the area can store up to 4,300 containers in moderate wind conditions.

Adjacent to it is another 2 hectares, which will be completed by year-end. Upon completion, the entire area of Phase 1 will store 6,500 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The new yard is part of ICTSI’s $35-million (P1.6-billion) expansion project for the MICT aimed at immediately addressing growing volume of cargo at the Port of Manila.

The full development, estimated to be completed in 20 months, will add approximately 500,000 TEUs of yard capacity to the MICT. Complementary to the new yard is the development of an inland container depot in Laguna, about 21 hectares, for which $30 million (P1.4 billion) has been earmarked.

On order are six new rubber-tired gantries, which may be deployed at either the MICT or ICTSI’s Subic operations as the demand dictates. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Prosecutors seek dropping of charges vs 59 accused in Zamboanga City siege

T

HE Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Pasig City the dropping of rebellion charges against 59 of the 284 accused in last year’s Zamboanga siege that left 12 civilians dead and more than 75 others wounded.

In an interview, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the recommendation was an offshoot of the directive issued by the trial court for the prosecution to undertake a reinvestigation in light of its assessment that the alleged participation of some of the accused in the crime have not been sufficiently established.

“It’s the prosecution that was tasked by the court to conduct the reinvestigation and that was the result. It’s up to the court to approve or not the recommendation of the prosecution panel,” de Lima said.

She said the prosecution would welcome the dropping of the charges against the 59 accused since it believed that these individuals were merely misled by their leaders into participating in the seige.

She added what is important for the DOJ is the prosecution and conviction of the leaders and their commanders who issued the order to attack the Zamboanga City Hall.

The RTC in Pasig has asked the Armed Forces to comment on the DOJ’s recommendation.

It would be up to the trial court to decide whether to approve the recommendation of the DOJ or keep them as accused.

Aside from rebellion charges, the accused have also been charged with violation of Republic Act 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

Moro National Liberation Front Chairman Nur Misuari, Commanders Ustadz Habier Malik, Bas Arki and Assamin Hussin were among those charged but have remained at large.

The rebellion charges were filed after Misuari and his followers launched an attack in an effort to hoist the MNLF flag in front of the Zamboanga City Hall to signify their

“Declaration of Independence” from and for the purpose of removing themselves from the allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines, de Lima said.

On the other hand, criminal charges were filed against Misuari group for taking around 300 noncombatant civilians as hostages while engaged in armed combat with government forces, which resulted in the death of 12 civilians; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population; using civilian hostages as human shields to thwart any offensive actions of government troops; and attacking/burning of around 9,732 houses and buildings, and causing damage in an estimated amount of more than P200 million.

Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon has been appointed as head of the prosecution panel with Regional Prosecutor Peter Medalle, Assistant State Prosecutors Aristotle Reyes and Niven Canlapan and Prosection Attorney Cesar Angelo Chavez III as members. Joel San Juan

rity of the state and the sovereignty of our country, especially in the light of the creeping occupation of the Kagitingan Reef by China’s Peoples Liberation Army.

“Laws are replete with policies on service to countrymen, and these callings must now be instilled in our consciousness to be active in our civic duty, to prepare ourselves in case of a projected or actual need, including a possible war over the Kalayaan Group of Islands,” said Gatchalian, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

In pushing for HB 2338, Gatchalian noted that prior to its being an optional requirement of the National Service Training Program, ROTC graduates constitute about 75 percent of the Armed Forces officers corps and was the breeding ground for many prominent alumni who became commanders of the major services and even chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces.

The Rotc program will bolster confidence in our military preparedness and capability while, at the same time, provides our country with the support of our student-cadet reservists and potential commissioned officers,” Gatchalian also said.

Economy

A4 Friday, November 28, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

SC ruling on DAP slowed Q3 growth–Abad

B

By Estrella Torres

udget Secretary Florencio B. Abad is blaming the Supreme Court decision that declared the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional to the economic slowdown in the third quarter at 5.3 percent that led to the reduction of government spending in infrastructure projects.

Abad said, however, that the administration is now counting on the special purpose funds, considered by critics as lump-sum allocations or pork barrel, to be the main source of public spending for infrastructure.

“We are addressing these issues by reviewing the quarterly lapse period for NCAs (national cash allotments), with the possibility of shifting this to a monthly basis.

Likewise, we estimate that disbursements for the fourth quarter will accelerate by 6.7 percent with the release of appropriations from the special purpose funds, as well as other items that need the submission of special budget requests and documentary requirements,” Abad said in a news statement issued on Thursday.

He said these include the Basic Educational Facilities under the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund, and the Department of Agriculture’s farm-to-market road projects.

He added that the “even and steady pace of our economic expansion already defies some very formidable difficulties, including the devastating effects of Yolanda and other recent disasters in the country, as well as the continuing instability and volatility in the international market.”

Abad said the Department of Budget and Management will step up government spending after pub-

lic expenditures contracted by 2.6 percent in the third quarter. “It must be mentioned that uncertainties in the wake of the High Court’s decision on the DAP played a crucial role in this development, as the ruling may have sent a chilling effect across the bureaucracy’s expenditure practices. At the same time, some budget reforms we’ve put in place—exactly those designed to make the budget more transparent, accountable and open—increased the requirements that agencies and departments had to comply with before their funds could be released,” he said.

“However, we’ve also made careful note of the progress we need to make in public construction in the fourth quarter, given the 6.2-percent slowdown in the sector from July to September this year. Procurement issues have certainly affected the pace of public construction activities in the last quarter, apart from the additional requirements imposed by the implementation of the 2014 General Appropriations Act,” Abad said.

Abad said despite the strong global commitment to assist the Philippine government, the Aquino administration cannot implement the stimulus for the massive Yolanda rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.

He said that since 2011, the government grappled with some very serious spending contractions, including those in public construction, where shortfalls as low as -62.5

percent were recorded.

“We believe, too, that these challenges are plainly instructive; we must consider these alongside our broader successes as we implement the budget with greater purpose and efficiency in the last quarter.

The national budget, after all, must always be in the service of the Filipino people. We will not lose sight of that.”

Rosy Palace outlook in Q4

Malacañang struck a confident note on Thursday, even as the country’s gross domestic product grew by only 5.3 percent in the third quarter, posting a 1.7-percent drop from the 7-percent growth recorded during the same period last year, with Palace officials counting on a rosy economic outlook for the rest of 2014.

“Empirically, the Philippine economy is still the fastest-growing in the region,” Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said in a news briefing.

He told reporters that the Office of the President affirms the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) “continuing positive outlook in the succeeding quarters and onward to 2015.”

Coloma pointed out that “privatesector performance is expected to remain robust. Government spending is likely to improve and the impact of the post-Yolanda reconstruction efforts will gain further traction.”

This, after he acknowledged a

Neda report that the Philippine economy, as measured by GDP, grew by 5.3 percent in the third quarter of 2014, adding that this showed a 1.7-percent decrease from the 7percent growth recorded during the same period last year and 1.1 percent lower than the 6.4 percent registered in the second quarter of 2014.

“According to Secretary Balisacan, the third-quarter economic performance shows a mixed picture of the private sector treading a more stable upward trajectory, government adjusting to new spending protocols, and the lingering negative impact of Typhoon Yolanda and other calamities,” Coloma added.

Reminded that the Neda chief had also voiced concern over the adverse effects of the Manila portcongestion problem on the economy, Coloma said Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras is convening a “summit” of port area stakeholders to quickly address the problem in anticipation of the usually heavy volume of imported goods arriving during the Christmas season.

“Among others, there are constraints that the government has had to deal with and it is timely that this afternoon, Secretary Almendras will convene the summit, at which the proposals of the stakeholders to ease the problem of port congestion will be addressed, as we continue to find responsive solutions so that these constraints will be overcome,” Coloma said.

House eyes Cha-cha passage by next month

T

Glass technology In anticipation of the surging demand for glass products on the back of sustained construction growth in the country and the

creation of new investments come the new Asean Economic Community next year, government and private organizers launched Glasstech Asia 2014 early this week, which featured a wide array of glass products for green architecture as well as sustainable housing and building materials, at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. Photo shows (from left) Ricky Ang of the Philippine Chain Glass Enterprise Inc.; Renato Ermita, president, Flat Glass Alliance and Aluminum Industry Inc.; Edward Liu, group managing director, Conference and Exhibition Management Services; lawyer Ann Claire Cabochan, director in charge of the Bureau of Philippine Standard of the Department of Trade and Industry, as they view the business booths during the opening of the three-day event. ROY DOMINGO

Solon: Higher tax-ceiling cap on workers’ 13th month, bonuses possible after bicam

A

House leader vowed to appeal on Thursday for the implementation of the proposed higher tax-exempt ceiling on workers’ 13th month pay and bonuses this year, a day after the Senate approved its version of the bill.

Liberal Party (LP) Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina City, chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, said that he will push for the implementation of the tax ceiling this December in the upcoming bicameral conference of Congress on the bill.

“We will propose, too, that we make it effective 2014. In hindsight we’ve realized at the HOR [House of Representatives], where the bill was created and crafted originally, why should we delay the enjoyment of the benefit when we’ve come to determine that it’s very much needed already today,” Quimbo said.

On Wednesday the Senate voted 14-0 to pass on third and final reading the bill seeking to increase the tax-exemption cap for 13th-month pay and other

benefits up to P82,000, while the House version proposes a lower ceiling amount of P70,000 from the current P30,000.

The original bill pegged the ceiling for tax-exempt bonuses at P75,000, but it was raised to P82,000 upon the proposal of Sen. Ralph Recto during plenary deliberations in the Senate.

“The Senate version specifically states it will be effective next year. We will appeal to them to make it effective this year. That’s what we propose to take up at bicam. This will be timely, as most Christmas bonuses will be given this coming month. We’d like the ordinary worker to already enjoy this much-needed benefit now rather than later,” he said.

House Majority Leader and LP Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II of Mandaluyong City, in an interview, said the lower chamber will likely adopt the Senate version of the bill increasing to P82,000 the ceiling for tax exemption on bonuses.

He said the lower chamber has no

problem with adopting the P82,000 ceiling as stated in the Senate version.

“We have no problem with the Senate version. But we have to study it carefully.

No problem to set a Senate version, which sets a higher ceiling,” Gonzales said.

Under House Bill 4970, the authors seek to increase the tax-exemption cap for 13th-month pay and other bonuses to P70,000 from the present P30,000 by amending the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended.

The bill seeks to exclude 13th-month pay and other Christmas bonus from the computation of the gross income for the purposes of income taxation.

The measure also seeks to increase the amount of tax-exempt bonuses for all employees in both the private and public sectors.

It also mandates the finance department and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to increase the threshold every three years based on the consumer price index and inflation. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

he House of Representatives on Thursday said it is planning to pass on second reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 1, or the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, before year-end.

House Majority Leader and Liberal Party Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II of Mandaluyong City, in an interview, said that members of the lower chamber may decide to pass RBH 1 before the Congress takes its Christmas break.

“Yes, we may vote on the passage of economic Cha-cha [Charter change, before our break],” Gonzales told reporters.

Congress will take a one-month break from December 20, 2014 to January 18, 2015.

According to the majority leader, the lower chamber is the main proponent of the measure and that senators would still wait for the House version once it passed the third reading before the upper house tackles it.

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

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

Under Article XII of the Constitution, foreign investors are prohibited to own more than 40 percent of real properties and businesses, while they are totally restricted to exploit natural resources and own any company in the media industry.

The amendments to the Charter will be approved through separate votings by both chambers, with a three-fourths vote required of them.

Earlier, Belmonte said that the House of Representatives will convince the public to support his proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

According to the recent survey by Pulse Asia, around three out of five Filipinos do not want the 1987 Constitution amended at this time, though nearly half of them are open to having it amended sometime in the future.

The survey, which was conducted from September 8 to 15, also showed 62 percent of Filipinos do not want the Charter amended to allow a second term for President Aquino, whose Palace term expires in June 2016.

“For 62 percent of Filipinos, there is no need to amend the 1987 Constitution at the present time—with 32 percent opposed to Charter change at any other time and 30 percent being open to Charter change at some future time,” it said.

Other priorities

Meanwhile, Gonzales also said that the lower chamber will also prioritize in its last three-week session the passage of the joint resolution granting President Aquino emergency powers, the 2015 proposed national budget and the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act. “We are also planning to approve the 2015 budget through bicameral conference and to adopt the Joint Resolution 21 [emergency powers]. And we are also targeting to approve the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act,” he said.

Gonzales said that also included in their priorities are the passage of the proposed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and Anti-Smuggling and the bill providing two additional Sandiganbayan divisions.

briefs

S. COTABATO EXECS TO ERC: FAST-TRACK APPROVAL OF SOLAR-PLANT PROJECT South Cotabato officials appealed anew to the national government to hasten the approval of the application for commercial operations of the 6.25-megawatt (MW) foreignbacked solar power plant in Surallah town.

South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes said on Thursday that the local government is already “frustrated” with the continuing delay in the issuance by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) of the project approval, which is targeted to operate by next year.

“We’re hoping that the ERC will fast-track its approval as we really wanted this project to push through,” she said.

The governor recently met with officials and prospective investors of NV Vogt Philippines Solar Energy One, which is currently developing a solar power plant in Barangay Centrala in Surallah town.

Citing public demand, the provincial government had sent an official letter of appeal to the ERC to hasten the approval processes related to the project.

The appeal was signed by Fuentes, Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez of the Second District of South Cotabato and other local officials and stakeholders.

Fuentes said she personally followed up the case recently with officials of the ERC but was made to wait until the end of the month for their response.

“It’s quite difficult to attract this kind of big-ticket investment to our area and now that it’s here, we’re made to wait before it could take off and operate,” she said.

The governor said they “wish the national government would understand that it is more difficult to attract investors if we lack alternatives to answer the power crisis.”

NV Vogt’s ground-mounted and grid-connected solar power plant is being projected as the country’s biggest solar power plant once fully completed.

The company has proposed to construct a 12.5-MW solar power plant in the area through phased development.

NV Vogt earlier announced that the Armstrong Asset Management has committed to provide $29 million, or P1.3 billion at current exchange rates, to fund the construction of the first phase involving a 6.5-MW solar power plant. PNA

bill provides urgent relief, protection bill for children The House Committee on the Welfare of Children has reported out for floor deliberation a bill providing emergency relief and protection for children during disasters, calamities and other emergency situations.

Rep. Aurora Enerio Cerilles of the Second District of Zamboanga del Sur and chairman of the House body said the bill will set the standards to guide humanitarians and obligates government agencies to perform priority action to protect the rights of children.

“Children are among the worst affected and most vulnerable because of the country’s geographical location and geology, with an average of 20 typhoons yearly, including numerous earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and similar disasters,” Cerilles said.

Citing the study of Save the Children Philippines, Rep. Susan A. Yap of the Second District of Tarlac and author of House Bill 5062, said more than 10,000 children affected by Supertyphoon Yolanda are still living in difficult situations in evacuation centers suffering the uncertainty of their education, welfare and health. PNA

Opinion BusinessMirror

A6 Friday, November 28, 2014

Editor: Alvin I. Dacanay

editorial

The future belongs to the provinces

T

HERE’s no doubt the Philippines is an archipelago that boasts of incredible diversity in a lot of things.

To begin with, the Philippines has 81 provinces, from Abra in the Cordillera Administrative Region to Zamboanga Sibugay in the Zamboanga Peninsula. In terms of size, the country ranks 64th in the world, behind nations like Japan and Thailand. In terms of population, we are No. 12. Luzon has a population larger than Canada’s. If you travel from northern Luzon to Batangas province in the island’s south, you would hear several major languages being spoken and meet people with a heritage and history that’s different from yours.

But the future of the Philippines belongs to those 81 provinces, not to the National Capital Region (NCR). The seat of the national government and a sizable portion of the country’s population may be in the greater Metro Manila area, but if the country is to advance, then the focus of economic growth must shift away from the capital.

The problem, though, is that the emphasis of policy is not on the provinces. The transportation problems of Metro Manila hog the headlines of the major daily newspapers, but the same cannot be said of the transportation problems of the country’s other metropolitan areas, such as Metro Cebu and Metro Davao. These “local problems” should also be of national concern.

While the media cover a senator standing in line and riding an overcrowded Metro Rail Transit 3 coach, it would seem that no senator publicly braved the eight-hour drive to Baler, Aurora province. Granted that Baler is considered a “second-class municipality” and only has a population of less than 50,000, there are 10 times as many municipalities as there are cities.

While the legislature is worried about the slow Internet speed in the country, some provinces are concerned about the “speed” of tourism-sector growth. In Metro Manila government policy is looking to ensure that there are enough qualified people to work in the businessprocess outsourcing industry. In Negros island people are concerned that the number of costeffective, low-skilled sugar-cane cutters is diminishing.

The government must set its priorities based on allocating resources in a way that’s best for the country as a whole. However, it cannot simply ignore the problems in the provinces and dismiss them as mere “local concerns”.

One of the reasons for the repeated calls to shift to a federal system of government is to give a greater voice to provincial matters on the national level. While all our senators may be from a particular province, they do not represent it.

When you look at the economic growth of the Philippines over the last decade, a great part of that was a direct result of what is happening outside the NCR. We can no longer treat the provinces as an afterthought. They must be put at the top of the list of priorities.

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

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Jun B. Vallecera

News Editor City & Assignments Editor Special Projects Editor

Dionisio L. Pelayo Vittorio V. Vitug Max V. de Leon

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

Research Bureau Head Creative Director Chief Photographer Editorial Consultant Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP-Corporate Affairs VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Circulation Manager

Dennis D. Estopace Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Romeo M. del Castillo Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Frederick M. Alegre Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III, 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

regional offices n DXQR - 93dot5 HOME RADIO CAGAYAN DE ORO STATION MANAGER: JENNIFER B. YTING E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecdo@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Archbishop Hayes corner Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro City CONTACT NOs.: (088) 227-2104/ 857-9350/ 0922-811-3997 n DYQC - 106dot7 HOME RADIO CEBU STATION MANAGER: JULIUS A. MANAHAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homecebu@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Fortune Life Building, Jones Avenue, Cebu City CONTACT NOs.: (032) 253-2973/ 234-4252/ 416-1067/ 0922-811-3994 n DWQT - 89dot3 HOME RADIO DAGUPAN STATION MANAGER: RAMIR C. DE GUZMAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiodagupan@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Orchids Hotel Building, Rizal Street, Dagupan City

CONTACT NOs.: (075) 522-8209/ 515-4663/ 0922-811-4001 n DXQM – 98dot7 HOME RADIO DAVAO STATION MANAGER: RYAN C. RODRIGUEZ E-MAIL ADDRESS: home98dot7@gmail.com ADDRESS: 4D 3rd Floor, ATU Plaza, Duterte Street, Davao City CONTACT NOs.: (082) 222-2337/ 221-7537/ 0922-811-3996 n DXQS - 98dot3 HOME RADIO GENERAL SANTOS STATION MANAGER: AILYM C. MATANGUIHAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: homegensan@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Dimalanta Building, Pioneer Avenue, General Santos City CONTACT NOs.: (083) 301-2769/ 553-6137/ 0922-811-3998 n DYQN - 89dot5 HOME RADIO ILOILO STATION MANAGER: MARIPAZ U. SONG E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeiloilo@yahoo.com ADDRESS: 3rd Floor, Eternal Plans Building,

Ortiz Street, Iloilo City CONTACT NOs.: (033) 337-2698/ 508-8102/ 0922-811-3995 n DWQA - 92dot3 HOME RADIO LEGAZPI STATION MANAGER: CLETO PIO D. ABOGADO E-MAIL ADDRESS: homeradiolegazpi@ yahoo.com ADDRESS: 4th Floor, Fortune Building, Rizal St., Brgy. Pigcale, Legazpi City CONTACT NOs.: (052) 480-4858/ 820-6880/ 0922-811-3992 n DWQJ - 95dot1 HOME RADIO NAGA STATION MANAGER: JUSTO MANUEL P. VILLANTE JR. EMAIL ADDRESS: homenaga@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Eternal Garden Compound, Balatas Road, Naga City CONTACT NOs.: (054) 473-3818/ 811-2951/ 0922-811-3993

Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–San Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila

‘Epalage’ James Jimenez

spox

I

HAVE an intense dislike for the word epal. It sounds unconscionably vulgar, even obscene. Unfortunately, it has also become a necessary addition to the lexicon of Philippine politics.

For those of you lucky enough to have avoided any contact with this word (incidentally, that luck seems to have run out), epal is a corruption of the word papel, as used in the expression pumapapel.

While papel is Filipino for paper, it is properly used in this expression to signify the concept of “role”, referring to the part played by a person or thing in a given situation.

Pumapapel, therefore, translates to “assuming a role”, albeit with a pronounced negative connotation. In other words, “assuming a role one has no business assuming.” Insert that sentiment into the context of Philippine politics, and you have an expression that originally referred to the practice of politicians unjustifiably claiming personal credit for public works funded by the government.

Imagine driving down a street and being confronted by a huge tarpaulin prominently featuring a politician’s face that’s juxtaposed with the project name. The implica-

tion, of course, is that it’s the politician’s project. For this, the locals are expected to express their gratitude by way of votes come election day.

That’s nonsense, of course, since all government projects are funded with taxpayers’ money and not by the credit-grabbing politico.

Not surprisingly, it was the pithy Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago who almost single-handedly made epal a household word when she filed a bill against this practice and called it the Anti-Epal Bill. The monicker stuck and soon, that execrable word became as ubiquitous as, well, the politicos’ tarps to which it referred.

And, by God, those eyesores are literally everywhere.

Epal isn’t a novel phenomenon, by any stretch of the imagination.

Posturing politicians have been

using silkscreen-printing techniques since forever. The popularization of large-format printing, however, was to preening politicos what the Gutenberg printing press was to the written word. With tarps suddenly so inexpensive relative to their all-weather durability and ability to display high-fidelity printed pictures, politicians were gifted with the means to cover all available surfaces with their names, “accomplishments” and, most of all, faces.

Predictably, they overdid it, and, now, whenever people see tarps with faces, the first word that comes to mind is epal.

And since ours is a living language, epal has evolved to the point that it is now also used to describe that scourge of politics: premature campaigning. Unfortunately, premature campaigning has virtually been decriminalized, thanks to a Supreme Court ruling that, in effect, says premature campaigning can only be committed by a candidate (which makes sense) at the start of the campaign period (wait, what?). This means that all the acts previously considered hallmarks of premature campaigning cannot be held against the politicians who commit them now, since no one has filed a certificate of candidacy and it isn’t even the campaign period yet; a declaration of intent to run for office in 2016 is not tantamount to filing

Even bond investors don’t like a bully William Pesek

BLOOMBERG VIEW

D

AN FUSS, 81, has made a career out of profiting from debt crises. In the 1980s he loaded up on distressed Latin American assets that others wouldn’t touch. A decade later, to the consternation of peers, he bet on Malaysian and South Korean bonds. As Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was crashing in the late 2000s, Fuss was nibbling on shaky United States corporate debt.

But even this battle-tested maverick won’t dip a toe into North Asia.

The reason: geopolitical risks that seem to rise by the day. “I keep waiting for peace to break out—I mean, between China and its neighbors,” Fuss told me in Tokyo this week. “I don’t think,” he added, “that somebody is going to start sending troops ashore. That would be foolish. But foolish things do happen.”

Fuss’s worries should worry Chinese President Xi Jinping. He has embarked on a charm offensive in recent weeks. Earlier his month he hosted US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Beijing, along with other AsiaPacific region leaders. There, he made nice with his Japanese nemesis be-

fore heading to Canberra, where he told the Australian parliament that China was committed to building friendly Asian relations. Xi’s government is even part of negotiations for a three-way summit with Seoul and Tokyo, a step that would warm Washington’s heart.

Yet, at the very same time, Beijing is in the headlines for reclaiming land, possibly to build a military airstrip, near a disputed island chain in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). China claims roughly 90 percent of the sea, parts of which are contested by Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Such unilateral construction projects are raising tensions in some of the globe’s busiest

shipping lanes—and pose a growing risk factor for markets. Beijing’s hard line on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong is further denting its soft power.

To make matters worse, China’s economic fundamentals are simultaneously weakening. The slow pace of efforts to rein in the shadow-banking system and curb the dominance of state-owned enterprises is raising doubts about China’s reform agenda, while slowing global growth is challenging its export-oriented economy.

Investors who might have overlooked regional tensions during boom times are being pickier now.

Xi’s desire for more retail and institutional investment from abroad prompted him to greenlight the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock exchange link that opened last week.

International capital is vital to enlivening China’s lethargic markets and giving Beijing the means to dispose of rising debt.

As I wrote last week, securitization activity in China is booming this year as regulators seek ways to remove potentially risky debt from bank and corporate balance sheets.

Here’s where Fuss and his ilk come in.

The involvement of Fuss’s $25-billion Loomis Sayles Bond Fund in Chinese capital markets would provide fresh money, deepen liquidity, provide

a certificate of candidacy.

Having said that, however, let’s agree that epal isn’t just a terrible word, it is also a deplorable practice—one that should be made actually punishable again.

By allowing the politically ambitious to promote themselves ahead of the official campaign period, the cost of getting elected is driven up significantly. Having one tarp made might not be too expensive, but when you have hundreds of them printed in various sizes, the expenditures add up. And it’s not just tarps. It’s customized pens, bags and T-shirts. None of those things are cheap and, certainly, none of them are free. Somehow, somewhere, someone shelled out money for the production of these trifles and it doesn’t take three guesses to figure out how those expenses might be recouped. More than that, the proliferation of “epalage” inevitably generates massive name recall.

This further unbalances the playing field, tilting it in favor of those with deep war chests.

And finally, on top of all the other reasons for disliking it, such as legitimate concerns about public safety when tarps are strung across roads or obstruct traffic signs, let’s face it: epal is just plain jologs.

James Jimenez is the spokesman of the Commission on Elections.

greater price discovery and set the stage for a more diverse stable of investment products. But Fuss isn’t biting, and he’s not alone. Beijing’s territorial ambitions are drowning out the growth story. “I don’t have that kind of risk tolerance,” Fuss said. “I think there’s too much uncertainty.”

To turn sentiment around, Xi needs to establish a clear pattern of improving relationships in Asia.

That means acceding to requests for a regional framework to settle territorial disputes. China should stop bullying the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which barely has the courage to mention differing claims in its communiqués.

It should halt reclamation projects that irk neighbors. Finally, Xi should take the lead in bringing China, Japan and South Korea closer together rather than waiting for Japan to offer concessions.

Asia’s potential is obvious enough.

For Loomis Sayles, Fuss says, China alone could “come to be the single largest country exposure outside of the US” in the next 10 years. He’s been particularly tempted by some recent high-yield corporate bond issues in Asia’s biggest economy. But he and others need to see genuine warming trends first. “If Abe and Xi became golfing buddies,” Fuss said, “I would really change my mind.”

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

The rule of law and economic development

Friday, November 28, 2014

A7

When it should be gray November in one’s soul Tito Genova Valiente

Dr. Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr.

EAGLE WATCH

T

HE Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearings on the allegedly corrupt practices of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay are interesting not only for their political implications, but also for their economic impact, particularly on Philippine agriculture. One of the allegations tackled during the hearings concerns the existence of a 350-hectare estate in Rosario town, Batangas province that is tagged “Hacienda Binay” by former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado of Makati City, a former ally and now foe of the Vice President.

According to reports, the property was initially owned by Agrifortuna Inc., a company founded by Binay and a number of his associates. This was later sold to Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp. and its owner, Antonio Tiu. However, Tiu seems hard-pressed to come up with the necessary and official documents to prove his ownership of the land, producing only an unnotarized and unregistered one-page memorandum of agreement between him and a previous owner. Because of this, the senators in the subcommittee think that Tiu cannot be considered the owner of that land.

While the veracity of the allegations still needs to be established, the failure to determine the real owners of the land itself indicates how weak our institutions and the rule of law are. Given that there are existing laws and legal procedures governing land ownership, this inability to establish property rights has three implications. First, the people themselves will not feel secure in the possession of their property or properties, because the basic laws, such as on agrarian reform, can be conveniently set aside. Second, the faith of contracts is not protected by law, as even the flimsiest of documents can be considered acceptable by those in power.

And third, the authority of the state is apparently not respected in enforcing the proper systems over land ownership.

In an apparent attempt to skirt away from large taxes and other obligations, land titles were reportedly given to many people close to Binay (like Mercado) without their knowledge. Overall, the failure of the rule of law only benefits the powerful, and perpetuates their continued dominance. If the aim of the law is to promote justice and equity, then the absence of the rule of law results in social injustice.

The irony is that, in these hearings, Tiu and his lawyers pass off this lack of any formal agreement and procedure as normal practice in agriculture, rather than the exception. If so, then this explains all that is wrong in Philippine agriculture. The growth in Philippine agricultural production has been quite dismal over the years. In the nine months to September this year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), production slowed to 0.3 percent year-on-year to P565.4 billion (at

constant prices). This was worse than the 1.1-percent growth recorded in the same period of 2013.

While past and present administrations often blame weather and other disasters for the poor performance of agriculture, the main culprit seems to be the utter disobedience of the rule of law by powerful groups. Unless one is part of the corruption, it is inconceivable for any person to innovate and consider long-term investments in such shady arrangements. Without legal support, there is simply no assurance of returns from such ventures. Thus, in the case of the hacienda, through some undisclosed capital infusion, instead of producing crops that can benefit the majority, what we have are expansive mansions, kitschy Kew gardens, air-conditioned piggeries, ostentatious flower plots and rare bird sanctuaries—all signs of a deluded sense of grandeur.

It was once held that the best way for the country to grow is to “get its policies” on, for instance, budgets, inflation and exchange rates. However, the continued occurrence of financial crises, such as the 1997 Asian crisis, has shaken the confidence of economists that the right set of policies can be, in fact, implemented correctly. Most of the economic policies had, in fact, failed because of the institutional context, especially the weak rule of law. If the rules of justice can be messed up, no amount of sophisticated macroeconomic policy will produce the desired results.

To paraphrase Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations, no economic undertaking can flourish long in a state that does not enjoy a regular administration of justice, and in which there is not a certain degree of confidence in the justice of the government. Certainly, the investigations of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee should continue. We need to know the people behind these properties. More important, we need to create stronger measures to enforce the rule of law.

Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr., PhD, is the director of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, and a senior fellow of Eagle Watch, the school’s macroeconomic research and forecasting unit.

No Wilson indictment, yet no vindication for Ferguson police

T

HERE’S understandable disappointment in many quarters over the decision by a Missouri grand jury not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of an unarmed young black man, Michael Brown. After hearing testimony from 60 witnesses—some of whom apparently offered conflicting accounts— the grand jury concluded there was not enough evidence to warrant Wilson’s prosecution.

But just because Wilson will not face a trial does not mean that the Ferguson Police Department has been vindicated or that no consequences will result from this episode. The department’s nearly all-white force and its adoption of militarystyle equipment and tactics are reminiscent of a long-discredited Los Angeles Police Department, which learned the hard lessons of that combination in the early 1990s, when the city confronted its most notorious instance of police abuse: the beating of Rodney G. King. The provocations of the Ferguson police continued in the aftermath of Brown’s death—the department overreacted to early protests and rolled out its heavy armor; authorities withheld Wilson’s name, then released it after further protests. All of which only reinforced the doubts about the department’s competence

and relationship to its community.

Some of those infuriated by the decision not to indict have expressed their hope that the United States Justice Department, after reviewing the case, will bring charges against Wilson.

They are right to demand such a review, which is under way. Saint Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch—whose father was a police officer killed in the line of duty by a black man—has hardly distinguished himself in this case, and many regard him as unduly deferential to the police. While federal review is called for, however, the conflicting evidence suggests that a civil-rights prosecution of Wilson is highly unlikely and quite possibly unjustified. A broader federal probe into the patterns and practices of the Ferguson Police Department is far more likely to produce constructive change.

In the end, the events in Ferguson are resonant not because they do or do not add up to a crime.

Rather, they have stirred such anger because they remind the nation that the lessons so brutally inflicted on Los Angeles decades ago continue to require learning. The federal government can and should force Ferguson to learn them.

Los Angeles Times/TNS

annotations

N

OVEMBER: the month before December, that most special month. We count the days more closely when December comes. Christmas is December. December is our winter month, as we in nonwintry countries would like to call it. Memories of a previous generation, of a time when our ecology was healthy and the climate was not threatened by any warming, except those brought about by what seemed then to be our eternal summer, had October and November as special months.

For those who lived in the province in the 1960s, or even farther back, October saw the growth of tall grasses that have feather-like blooms at their tips. My grandmother would tell us then that the wind was coming as she pointed to us from the huge window of our living room the mascot of the cold days and nights. Those white things were waiting to be blown away.

Something happened to this earth on its way to experiencing climate change. The cold days disappeared. If the day gets chilly, that means the dip in the temperature is caused by storms.

The gray days, as captured in a month, for example, are produced by a sun that threatens to collapse. Or haven’t you heard of the six days of darkness in December?

The American poet Anne Sexton once said: “I know that I have died before—once in November.” It is unfair to justify this statement by saying, well, Sexton did commit suicide. But November is, indeed, an anomalous month—it is not yet there, at the end of the year; it is at the doorway to December’s wreaths and power trees with trimmings.

We all die in November. T he celebration of the dead on this side of the world happens in November.

Many other things happen in November. There are these “awareness” days that call attention to diseases and afflictions. Ponder on this list: Lung Awareness Month, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, Epilepsy Awareness Month and National Pulmonary Awareness

Month, just to mention a few.

November also celebrates concerns, advocacies and developments in society.

November is Novel Writing Awareness Month. The country, through the Manila Critics Circle and the National Book Development Board, recently bestowed prizes on writers not only of fiction, but also of poetry, essays, social-science textbooks and coffee-table books.

November is also the month to be aware of the sweet potato. I can only assume that, in other places, in temperate zones, sweet potatoes are harvested sometime this month, which is midautumn. In our case, we do not have to declare any month for us to be aware of sweet potatoes. Poverty has made us acutely aware of their significance: they are extenders, not of food, but of life. They are also boringly present in any home that does not experience surplus and a variety of diets. What we can, perhaps, espouse is a month when we cannot be made aware of sweet potatoes—and bitter poverty.

Despite being an old month, the fact that November is the second to the last month that date a year is quite updated.

If we are to believe the postings on the Internet, the month has been honored by bloggers as National Blogposting Month. Why? Ask the bloggers.

November is also Transgender Awareness Month. This is ironic, because it is in November when we started forgetting about the killing of a transgender woman. In place of the plea for justice, we are pleading our government to work on solving Metro

Manila’s traffic and to decongest our ports. We are greatly aware that inside those containers are products that we pathetically equate with the celebration of Christmas. Ham, cheese, cold cuts and other commodities may be absent from our Christmas table this year. We are aware of this and are now anxious about it.

I like to say that November is the last month when we can imagine fall, or autumn. This season, which is always associated with leaves of green and gold, is important to me. That old warhorse of a song, “Autumn Leaves”, was my parents’ theme song. It was the song that brought them together and had kept them together through the years.

My father and mother had not seen any autumn leaf when they decided, years and years ago, that that song would bind

Victims under the West Philippine Sea Adam Minter

BLOOMBERG VIEW

F

IERY Cross Reef, a tiny coral dot in the 1.4 million square miles of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), wouldn’t seem the most obvious or ecologically sound location for a nearly 2-mile-long airstrip. But based on satellite images released last week by Jane’s Defense Weekly, that’s exactly what China seems to be getting ready to build atop it.

Such a construction project is, unfortunately, not unusual in the West Philippine Sea, where nations seeking to enforce their territorial claims have not always spent much time worrying about the environmentally and economically valuable reefs under the waves. How valuable? A 2011 report to the United Nations General Assembly on coral reefs noted that seafaring Asian nations count between 100,000 and “more than” 1 million coral-reef fishers among them.

One might think that governments, pressed by those fishermen, would be striving to preserve fragile reef systems.

But just the opposite has happened.

According to a 2013 study by Australian and Chinese scientists, the West Philippine Sea’s atolls and archipelagos have seen their coral cover decline to 20 percent from averages of 60 percent or more just 10 to 15 years ago.

The large-scale reclamation of reefs for military purposes is just the start of the damage. What happens after can, oftentimes, be much worse. “If 1,000 soldiers are stationed at any one time in a place, they typically cut down vegetation and cause runoff, generate sewage,” says Terry Hughes, a marine biologist and director of the Queensland-based

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

Draining into the sea, runoff is deadly for coral: In coastal China, where cities also tend to discharge effluent into the ocean, 80 percent of all corals have died off. In 1980 the amount of coral cover near a large Taiwanese military outpost in the disputed Kalayaan (Spratly) Group of Islands was 60 percent to 70 percent. By 2007 it had declined to 17 percent, according to the 2013 study, which Hughes led.

That sort of damage is likely to grow more common: In October Taiwan’s top intelligence official revealed that China has seven ongoing West Philippine Sea construction projects. When complete, they’ll join at least 20 additional reclamations owned by four other West Philippine Sea claimants.

Even worse than the direct damage from construction projects is the political deadlock caused by various territorial disputes. The biggest threat to coral is the large-scale use of cyanide and explosives by the region’s fishermen. As Hughes’s 2013 study pointed out, at just one atoll, the number of fishing boats using cyanide and dynamite to kill fish increased nearly eightfold between 1996 and 2001. By

their love and life together. We often teased them about this. But like any couple of their generation, they were not self-conscious about their choice. I am certain that there are other couples out there who also have a claim to the song.

My father passed on years ago; my mother, I think, has stopped claiming the song about autumn leaves that drift by the window. There is no window in her life that opens to trees with leaves falling. The windows of her room are always kept shut. She is deathly afraid of thieves.

She listens to the radio and watches the television, and her fears are confirmed daily. I believe, though, that she hums the song to herself, and I know that she misses my father as the days grow long.

All in the month of November.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

2001, “virtually everything harvestable [e.g., fish, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms] had been stripped from the atoll.”

Rogue fishermen are the immediate culprits, but a lack of governance and oversight allows them to continue their depredations. While that’s no secret to any of the six West Philippine Sea claimants, they’re unlikely to agree on where or how to protect corals if they can’t agree on boundaries first. Instead, individual countries have tried to impose fishing limits unilaterally, which no one else follows. “When it comes time for governance, everyone puts their hand up, and that means no one,” Hughes says.

Nonetheless, Hughes remains optimistic, if only because corals can regenerate when protected and given time. (Decades are needed.) He suggests that, in the absence of a broader agreement on regulating the West Philippine Sea, scientists from the region might begin the discussion on how to protect reefs. Translating any recommendation into action won’t be easy. But it’s probably the best option for ensuring that soldiers and tourists won’t be the only living creatures left to enjoy the seas.

Hagel’s replacement needs strong voice and clout

I

T wasn’t about Chuck Hagel, except that he was the one who took the fall. The buck, in this case, stops at the desk in the Oval Office, where mistakes, misdirections and miscalculations made it impossible for the defense secretary to do his job well.

We don’t know for sure if his resignation was the mutual decision he and President Barack Obama said it was, or if he actually was fired.

But it really doesn’t matter: Hagel wasn’t the right man for the job—not now, anyway, and, perhaps, he never was.

The former Republican senator was brought

in to oversee American forces’ pullout from Iraq and Afghanistan, and to preside over a shrinkage of those forces to what could have been pre-World War II levels.

Along the way, Hagel had to contend with the president’s reluctance to commit American forces to new conflicts, even after countries like Syria stepped confidently over Obama’s chemical-weapon red line. Obama was undeterred in his swords-to-plowshares resolve, even in the face of Russia’s seizure of Crimea and of increasingly brazen terrorist activities across the Middle East and Africa.

Instead of playing an assertive role in the American response to those issues, Hagel hung back and gave the spotlight to Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to Secretary of State John Kerry. In part, though, that’s because Hagel never was a part of Obama’s inner circle, where most policy decisions are made.

Hagel was Obama’s third defense secretary.

His replacement will be the fourth—the most to serve any president since Truman. The first two, Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, complained about White House micromanagement

and political meddling with Pentagon decisions. It’s likely that Hagel worked under the same conditions. The next defense chief needs more authority and a more coherent defense strategy. Our return to Iraq makes it clear that this is not the time to be dismantling our military, but rather time to keep it strong and ready.

Our world is becoming steadily more dangerous and our armed forces are needed.

Given the challenges we’re facing, we need a strong, smart secretary of defense and a president who will listen. The Fayetteville

Observer, N.C./TNS

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Friday, November 28, 2014

No need to tweak monetary policy setting for now–BSP

T

By Bianca Cuaresma

he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) does not see the need to adjust its monetary-policy stance in the next Monetary Board meeting in December, even with the country’s lower-than-expected growth in the third quarter.

In a statement sent to reporters following the release of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter of the year, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. put on yet another hawkish tone, saying the current

policy condition is enough to support further economic activity in the country toward the end of the year.

Tetangco also expressed hopes that the government will resolve its issues on the disbursement of

TETANGCO: “There is room for BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] to pause and keep its current stance of monetary policy.”

expenditures—the major factor being pointed out by analysts as the reason behind the slow growth in the third quarter of the year.

“While GDP surprised on the downside, we expect GDP would continue to be buoyed by private consumption as the national government clears up spending bottlenecks,” Tetangco said.

“With the inflation outlook generally manageable over the policy horizon, the BSP’s current policy

stance should be able to help keep economic activity supported.”

Similarly, in a statement sent by the governor on expectation of lower inflation in November, Tetangco also said that “there is room for the BSP to pause and keep its current stance of monetary policy.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority announced on Thursday that the Philippine economy faltered to a slower growth from July to September this year, to hit 5.3 percent during the period.

This is slower than the 6.4 percent seen in the previous quarter.

“The Philippines posted a disappointing 5.3-percent third-quarter GDP growth, as the usual drivers of the economy were unable to counterbalance the ineptitude of the national-government spending,” Bank of the Philippine Islands associate economist Nicholas

Antonio Mapa said.

“Government spending, or the lack of it, has been the disappointment of the year, as many had predicted massive construction of [Supertyphoon] Yolanda-devastated areas, as well as a pickup in infrastructure upgrades to increase productivity. Overall, government spending was a drag on growth, with -0.3 percentage points to the GDP print,” he added.

Mapa further said the contribution of “net exports” on the expendituresideofGDPisviewedas“artificial”, as the Manila port congestion continues to hound the flow of imports.

With the current average of the country’s GDP in the first nine months of the year at about 5.8 percent, the country must hit a growth rate of 8.7 percent in the last three months to hit the government’s target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent.

OIL PRICES CONTINUE to DROP AS OPEC MEETS TO UNIFY POSITION

B

rent and West Texas Intermediate extended declines from the lowest price in more than four years amid speculation that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will refrain from cutting output when ministers meet in Vienna on Thursday.

Brent futures slid as much as 1.9 percent in London, dropping for a fourth day. Falling prices will stabilize on their own and Persian Gulf group members have reached a consensus on production, according to Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi. The Opec will take a “unified position,” he said on Wednesday, without elaborating on what will be decided. The group will do whatever it takes to balance the market, said the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Crude has collapsed into a bear market amid the highest US output in three decades and signs of slowing global demand growth. A Bloomberg News survey showed 20 analysts were evenly divided on whether Opec will reduce supply to support prices. The 12-member group, which pumps about 40 percent of the world’s oil, has an official quota of 30 million barrels a day.

“Opec is the main event,” Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMCSee “Oil prices,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Church asks Manila, Leyte hotels to keep rates in check

T

he Catholic Church and the national government on Thursday urged all hotel owners in the country to be considerate in increasing their room rates with two months to go before Pope Francis’s visit next year.

Reacting to the reports that the regular rates of hotels in Manila and Leyte have been doubled, including the cost of food, Fr. Jaime Marquez, member of the National Organizing Committee for Pope Francis’s visit, said they will ask for the government’s help for it to appeal to these establishments.

“Let us appeal to all of the business sector to consider all these things. [But] there are many people who are accommodating. If you have friends from abroad and they have difficulty booking a hotel room, accommodate them,” he said in a weekly news conference.

According to news reports, hotels and inns in Manila and Leyte, particularly in Palo and Tacloban, are almost fully booked on the dates the pope will be in the country.

Superty phoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) slammed Eastern Visayas and parts of Western and Central Visayas on November 8, 2013, killing 6,300 people, displacing a population of 4.1 million and damaging 1.1 million homes.

Lawyer Jess Yu, undersecretary for legislative, policy and legal affairs of the Presidential Communications Operation Office, said the Palace will ask the Department of Tourism (DOT) to act on the reports.

“We will coordinate with the DOT regarding that matter; we don’t want the rates to rise. That’s a [cause] for concern,” he said.

The pope will stay in the country from January 15 to 19 to visit Yolanda survivors in Leyte, particularly in Palo and Tacloban, and to interact with Filipino youth and families.

Based on the itinerary released to the media, Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka, the first leg of his Asian trip, around 5 p.m. on January 15, and will go on a motorcade to his residence in Manila.

Economy expanding as it was in 1950s on consumption boom Continued from A1

middle class expands, which provide a lot of opportunities for the group,” Ayala chief financial officer Delfin Gonzalez said in an interview in Manila this week, pointing to growing demand for homes, cars and loans. “We’re going full-steam ahead.”

Rising consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, increases the chance that the growth momentum can be sustained even if investment slows. Gross domestic product (GDP) will rise about 6 percent every year at least through 2019, the International Monetary Fund predicts, the longest such stretch since the 1950s post-war boom, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on official figures.

The economy expanded 5.3 percent in the three months through September from a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, slower than all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey, and the weakest pace since 2011. The GDP grew 0.4 percent from the previous quarter.

Right places

“Although the data is clearly disappointing, the Philippines is still among the fastest-growing economies in emerging Asia,” Daniel Martin, an analyst at Capital Economics Ltd. in Singapore, said in a note. “Government spending is unlikely to continue pulling down

growth, given that public finances are healthy. Meanwhile, falling inflation and buoyant remittances will support consumer spending.”

Government spending declined 2.6 percent last quarter from a year earlier, while household consumption rose 5.2 percent and services gained 5.4 percent. Industrial output climbed 7.6 percent.

Barclays Plc. on Thursday cut its forecast for GDP growth this year to 6 percent from 6.5 percent, while maintaining its estimate for next year at 6.5 percent.

Growth of 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter is “very doable,” even as the government struggles with spending bottlenecks, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said at a media briefing on Thursday.

More than a third of the country’s population is below the age of 15 years, according to United States Census Bureau data, among the youngest in the Asia-Pacific region. Private consumption grew more than 5 percent in each of the 13 quarters through September, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Doubling revenue

Remittances, which made up about 10 percent of the economy last year, rose to a record $23 billion in 2013. The central bank forecasts funds from overseas will rise 5.5 percent this year and 5 percent

in 2015.

All this bodes well for Ayala, a 180-year-old company that was founded as a distillery by the Spanish nephew of the Archbishop of Manila. Its businesses today include the nation’s top property developer, the No. 2 bank by market value and the second-biggest telecommunications firm.

“A young population and a rapidly growing economy are benefiting companies like Ayala,” said April Lee-Tan, head of research at COL Financial Group Inc. in Manila, which rates the company a buy. “Ayala’s businesses are all in the right places; areas where consumer growth is strong, like real estate, banking.”

Ayala shares have risen about 33 percent this year, compared with a 24-percent gain for the benchmark stock index.

Best shape

Since taking office in 2010, President Aquino has tackled corruption, won investment-grade ratings and boosted business confidence. The presidential election is held in May 2016, and Aquino isn’t allowed to run again.

Private consumption has typically remained strong in the run-up to the vote, even as direct and portfolio investors have been cautious, HSBC Holdings Plc. said in a report this month, based on data going back to the 1980s. Bloomberg News