Businessmirror november 29, 2015

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Jica: Develop transport infra now or suffer ₧6 billion in losses daily

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

ITH losses from traffic congestion in Manila set to spike up to a whopping P6 billion per day in the next decade-and-a-half, a ranking official from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) urged the Philippine government to quickly deploy measures to mitigate this catastrophe.

week ahead

ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW Local currency

n Previous week: The local currency traded during the week mostly at the 47 territory.

On Monday the peso hit 47.33 to a dollar, and appreciated slightly on Tuesday to hit 47.1 to a dollar. The peso crossed the 46 territory on Wednesday, hitting 46.97 to a dollar, only to depreciate again on Thursday at 47.12 to a dollar, after the announcement of the 6-percent GDP growth in the third quarter. The peso ended the week at 47.145 to a dollar, with an average trading value of 47.11 to a dollar and a total traded volume of about $3 billion.

n Week ahead: The peso is not seen to stray from its current trading path, as most of the data to be released have already been expected by markets. In particular, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to report the inflation data at the end of the week and the US is set to release its nonfarm payroll print.

Inflation

n October inflation: The PSA reported last month that inflation hit 0.4 percent in October, unchanged from the previous month’s inflation. It is the result of the significantly lower growth of consumer prices compared to the 4.3 percent posted in October last year.

This is the first time that inflation did not decrease since February this year. This is also the fourth consecutive month that inflation hit below 1 percent for the year. This brings the average inflation for the first 10 months of the year at 1.45 percent. The average inflation for January to October this year is below the government’s target range for the year of 2 percent to 4 percent. This means that for inflation to reach the government’s target for the year, it should shoot up to as high as 4.75 percent in the last two months of the year.

n November inflation: The growth of consumer prices in See “Outlook,” A2

One such measure, Jica Chief Representative to Manila Noriaki Niwa said, involves the construction of railway lines—facilities that have proven to have freed roads from unnecessary congestion, and improved the mobility of goods and services in other countries.

“Traffic congestion is a clear and immediate challenge that can affect a country’s economic competitiveness,” he said. “It’s timely for the Philippines to start its railway projects to ease traffic, and improve mobility of logistics and ordinary commuters.”

Niwa added that Manila could learn from the experiences of cities abroad, citing Tokyo’s extensive railway network as an example.

“The Philippines’s transit lines of trains extend to about 50 kilometers, compared with cities like Tokyo, which has a 300-km subway network. By helping develop Metro Manila’s mass-transit system, we can expand growth and develop surrounding cities,” he said.

Manila, when compared to neighboring cities, is experiencing a dearth in rail facilities. Despite See “Jica,” A2

Decline in exports drags down GDP growth–DBS

By Bianca Cuaresma

T

he Philippines could have topped the ceiling of the government’s target for this year, if net exports were taken out of the equation—a contrast to actual economic expansion in the first three quarters of the year, which barely brushes the bottom end of the target this year.

In his latest commentary on the Philippines, Singapore-based DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said his estimates project a stellar GDP growth for the country at 8 percent—if the drag in net exports was removed from the country.

Earlier this month the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country’s export sales totaled $4.405 billion in September this year, posting a 24.7-percent decline from the $5.846 billion in September last year.

The decline was seen in eight out of 10 top major commodities

Pope Francis honors Ugandan Christian martyrs, meets youth

for the month. These include chemicals, at -85.5 percent; other mineral products, -72.8 percent; other manufactures, -66.1 percent; metal components, -55.8 percent; articles of apparel and clothing accessories, -45.5 percent; coconut oil, -38.4 percent; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships, -2.7 percent; and electronic products, -2.1 percent.

Economists have earlier attributed the slump in the country’s export sales to the weak global demand, particularly in China and the United States.

The weakness in exports— which was also seen across other emerging markets in the world— is also being blamed for the weaker GDP growth of the country this year.

Just this week the PSA reported that GDP grew year-onyear by 6 percent in the third quarter of 2015. This is higher than the growth rates of 5.8 percent in the second quarter of 2015 and the 5.5 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

See “Decline,” A2

Pope Francis walks in procession as he arrives to celebrate Mass near the Catholic martyrs’ shrine of Namugongo, Kampala, Uganda, on Saturday. Francis is in Africa for a six-day visit that is taking him to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic. AP/Andrew Medichini

K

AMPALA, Uganda—Pope Francis paid respects to 19th-century Ugandan Christians who chose to be burned alive rather than renounce their faith, the latest group of martyrs from around the world honored by Francis in hopes of giving today’s faithful missionary role models.

Francis prayed on Saturday at shrines dedicated to the 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic martyrs who were killed between 1885 and 1887 on the orders of a local king eager to thwart the influence of Christianity in his central Ugandan kingdom. At Namugongo, where most of the martyrs were burned alive, he celebrated Mass in their honor to mark the 50th anniversary of the Catholics’ canonization.

Hundreds of thousands attended the Mass, including the president of neighboring South Sudan, with whom Francis met in private after his official welcome ceremony on Saturday with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

“They remind us of the importance that faith, moral rectitude and commitment to the common good have played, and continue to play, in the cultural, economic and political life

of this country,” Francis told Museveni and other Ugandan authorities and diplomats at a ceremony at the State House.

After the ceremony, Francis was welcomed at a secondary shrine to the martyrs by tens of thousands of shrieking faithful and a hip-gyrating traditional dancers, evidence of the enthusiasm that has greeted Francis on his first trip to Africa.

Continued on A2

ERC sets tough penalties vs overcharging electricity DUs

By Lenie Lectura

T

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it would not hesitate to penalize electricity-distribution utilities (DUs) that overbill their consumers.

ERC Chairman Jose Vicente B. Salazar has called on all DUs to “ensure

PESO exchange rates n US 47.0690

that their customers are fairly billed for electricity consumption based on accurate reading and computation of properly installed meters.”

“The ERC will hold accountable any power utility whose negligence results in clear disadvantage to customers. It is the right of every customer to have accurate meters that guarantee the correct registration of their electricity consumption,” the ERC official added.

The agency’s warning came after it recently ordered the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest DU, to refund a customer named William Chan in the amount of P1.8 million.

The amount includes the refunds, fines and interest.

Moreover, the ERC slapped Meralco with a P100,000 fine for “negligence in the conduct of its business in distributing electricity” to Chan.

Excessive billing

CHAN, who is in the tube-ice business, said that on November 16, 1998, he discovered that one of the electric meters installed outside his plant was missing. He noticed that his monthly energy consumption was consistently pegged at 165,240 kilowatt-hour (kWh) for three consecutive months, despite absence of a functional electric meter.

SALAZAR: “It is the right of every customer to have accurate meters that guarantee the correct registration of their electricity consumption.”

See “ERC,” A2

n japan 0.3839 n UK 71.0789 n HK 6.0733 n CHINA 7.3665 n singapore 33.4344 n australia 34.0266 n EU 49.9402 n SAUDI arabia 12.5434

Source: BSP (27 November 2015)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, November 29, 2015

Pope Francis honors Ugandan Christian martyrs, meets youth Continued from a1

During his two days in Uganda, Francis touched on some of the same themes he emphasized during the first leg of his trip in Kenya: corruption, poverty and giving young Christians hope and encouragement.

After the Mass on Saturday, Francis had a rally with young people, a visit to a charitable institution and met with local priests, seminarians and nuns.

In preparation for his visit, workers have been busy day and night fixing the narrow road leading to the shrine in Namugongo.

The shrine itself underwent major repairs that were carried out like a military project: Ugandan troops from the engineering brigade joined the contractor to do everything, from planting grass to laying pavers.

Francis has made a point on his foreign travels to honor local martyrs in hopes of inspiring a new generation of missionaries. When he was in South Korea, for example, he beatified 124 missionaries who helped bring the faith to the Korean Peninsula.

He has also spoken out frequently about today’s martyrs, the Christians in the Middle East and Africa who have been slaughtered

by Muslim militants.

The history of Uganda’s martyrs has helped shape the Catholic Church here, with huge numbers of pilgrims flocking to the Namugongo shrine, many of them Africans arriving from as far away as Congo and Tanzania. Most of the pilgrims walk long distances to the site to underscore their faith.

King Mwanga II of Buganda Kingdom ordered the martyrs killed during a period of political and religious turmoil, as he tried to assert his authority amid the growing influence of missionaries from Europe.

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Decline…

Continued from a1

Continued from a1

Despite the acceleration of growth, it is still lower than the government’s target of 7 percent to 8 percent on average for the year.

The DBS Bank economist also said domestic demand—the main driver of the Philippines’s growth story—remains robust and will do so up until 2016, where they see growth hitting an average of 6.1 percent. This is still below the government’s target for the year, at 7 percent to 8 percent.

Cahyadi also said they expect inflation to rise as the year ends, supporting the central bank’s stance to keep its current policy intact.

“There is yet to be any compelling reason for the BSP to trim its interest rates,” the economist said.

the fact that the Philippines holds the title to have the first elevated train system in Southeast Asia, it only has four operating railway systems to date.

Not to mention that these train systems are already congested—with the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 barging past its rated and crush capacities, forcing commuters to brave kilometric lines and jam-packed trains.

The government is now moving toward developing transport infrastructure around the country—even at a pace that industry observers tag as “slow.” On Friday the government signed a loan agreement with Japan for the construction of a 36-km commuter railway in Luzon.

Tokyo is one of Manila’s strongest development partners in the globe, with total official development assistance in loans and grants given to the Philippines second only to the World Bank.

The North-South Commuter Rail project involves the construction of a 36.7-km narrow-gauge elevated commuter railway from the City of Malolos, Bulacan, to Tutuban in Manila. It is seen to be completed by the third quarter of 2020.

The second phase of the facility, which will extend the commuter rail up to Matnog, Sorsogon, will be completed by the forth quarter of 2019. This will be auctioned off under the government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program.

Essentially, the whole project aims to revive the Bicol line of the Philippine National Railways, while improving its decades-old facilities that are far below the train systems of its peers.

The two-phase project is part of the P4.76-trillion Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its Surrounding Areas, otherwise known as the Dream Plan, which was formulated by Jica.

The Dream Plan lists the transport-infrastructure requirements of the Philippines, facilities that are expected to alleviate potential losses and gain from prospective savings.

If the transport road map would not be implemented through 2030, the Philippines stands to lose roughly P6 billion daily in traffic costs. Currently, it loses P2 billion a day in transport costs.

The Philippines is ramping up infrastructure spending for 2016 to 5 percent of the GDP, but for Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson, such an amount is not enough.

The current government has allotted P766.5 billion for public infrastructure in 2016, around 35 percent higher than this year’s allocation of P569.9 billion.

The Department of Public Works and Highways will enjoy the lion’s share of the figure, with P268.4 billion. The Department of Transportation and Communications, on the other hand, will have a budget of P10.2 billion for airports and seaports, and P15.7 billion for railways.

“If the next administration seizes the opportunity of increasing infrastructure investments, we should not only be at 5 percent of GDP. We should start ramping up to 7 percent to 10 percent of GDP, especially if the government goes to rail projects,” Singson said.

This would mean an annual spending target of about P1 trillion for infrastructure alone.

Infrastructure development under the Aquino administration—at least the massive ones— are being implemented under the PPP scheme. The current pipeline has around 55 projects, of which 11 have been awarded to the private sector.

To date, only two projects— the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway and the Automatic Fare Collection System—have been fully completed. Others are currently being constructed, while one is hurdling regulatory and political issues.

Outlook…

Continued from a1

Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Mass near the Catholic martyrs’ shrine of Namugongo, Kampala, Uganda, on Saturday. AP/Andrew Medichini

But the history of the martyrs also shows a personal grudge Mwanga held against them: After the martyrs converted to Christianity, they began rebuffing his sexual advances since Church teaching forbid homosexuality. That was part of the reason they were ordered killed, according to the history of the slaughter, African Holocaust by J.F. Faupel.

“It is absolutely true. It is a fact,” said Bishop Giuseppe Franzelli, a longtime Italian missionary in Uganda. “When they became Christians, they saw that this was not according to the Gospel, the teaching of Christ, and they said no.”

The little-known history might help explain why homosexuality remains so taboo today in Uganda, which is 47-percent Catholic and has criminalized homosexuality.

The Vatican has refused to say whether Francis will discuss gay rights while here. AP

ERC…

Continued from a1

Chan complained that Meralco had been billing him based solely on assumed reading. He said the charges imposed upon him, which were based on mere estimated energy consumption, were unacceptable.

The Meralco customer received the billing assessments amounting to P205,084.40 after the utility company had replaced the missing meter. He said he settled the amount “under protest” to avoid disconnection and interruption of his business.

“Based on the evidence presented, Chan was able to prove that Meralco billed him in excess of his electricity consumption for the disputed billing periods, and that Meralco threatened service disconnection,” the ERC said.

It added that the actions of Meralco proved that it acted with “evident malice and bad faith” in its dealings with its customer-complainant” during several billing periods in 1998.

For this, the ERC found Meralco liable for “excessively billing” Chan.

The ERC also maintained that Chan must not be made to pay for electricity which was not actually consumed. It added that Meralco is expected to ensure during monthly readings that its meters are properly installed.

It also pointed out that such meters must be shown to be operating under normal conditions, considering that Meralco has the technical skills and expertise for their installation.

The company remained mum when sought for comment.

Jica…

the country is set to have inched upward this month after following months of a declining trend this year, the central bank chief said.

The Bangko Sentral affirmed that the inflation rate in the country will snap its eight-month declining trend in November to inch upward and hit a rate of about 0.4 percent to 1.2 percent during the month.

“The BSP forecast suggests that inflation could have bottomed out in October to accelerate to a 0.4-percent to 1.2-percent range in November. Lower domestic oil prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene, as well as decline in rice prices, may continue to temper inflation impulses for the month,” the BSP chief said.

“However, the reported higher power rates, prices of selected vegetables in Metro Manila and liquefied petroleum gas may provide offsetting upside pressure,” he added. Despite the expected uptick, the central bank is still looking to miss its target for this year, which is set at 2 percent to 4 percent on average for 2015.

Bianca Cuaresma

NewsSunday

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 29, 2015 A3

Activists gear up for COP21, CCC: Local govts will hurdle requirements, access PSF demand climate justice

C

LIMATE activists are gearing up for the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), hoping to create a noise loud enough for their demand for climate justice to be heard by Malacañang and world leaders attending the Paris climate talk that will start on November 30.

The Philippines is raring to take part in the climate talks, and is armed with a conditional commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent, as indicated in its intended nationally determined contribution submission on October 30 to the UNFCCC .

However the country’s commitment is highly dependent on climate finance and other support it will get from 2020 to 2030 as part of its contribution to the global effort to fight climate change.

In the Philippines 10,000 activists, representing climate change-vulnerable communities, religious groups, youth, workers, anticoal and renewable-energy campaigners, march to the streets to join the Global Climate March, demanding for a strong, fair and ambitious global climate agreement.

The Global Climate March consists of 60 other major marches, plus more than 2,300 events, in over 150 countries.

In the Philippines communities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao have started holding a week of actions for climate justice on November 23, mobilizing 20,000 people to issue the resounding call for climate justice.

In Quezon City alone, six marches carrying climate-related themes—Energy Transformation; Right to Food, Land and Water; Justice and Reparations for Affected Peoples; Protect Our Common Home (after Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si); Jobs and Just Transition; and Youth—were staged in major roads and converged at the the Quezon Memorial Circle.

The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In November 2013 Typhoon Yolanda left a path of death and destruction in Central Philippines, killing over 6,000 people. The typhoon severely affected 171 towns and cities, most of which are still reeling from its devastating impact.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

T

HE Climate Change Commission (CCC) is confident that local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, will be able to submit the requirements and meet the criteria for financing of various adaptation projects under the P1-billion People’s Survival Fund (PSF).

Assistant Secretary Joyceline Goco said she also expects all 13 project proposals, which were returned by the CCC, will be resubmitted by the project proponents, and will be fully compliant of the guidelines set by the PSF Board.

The project proposals were found to be insufficient in form and substance, and were returned with accompanying notes listing down the documents that the local governments need to produce and submit, along with the proposals.

Goco said local governments are expected to submit the documents that will support urgency and necessity of adaptation projects sought for funding by the proponents.

“All they have to do is use our template and submit the complete set of documents we ask them to submit,” she said.

Goco said that, while it will take time for local governments to complete the necessary documents for submission, the guidelines set by the PSF Board are not tough, and only aim to ensure that the funding will not go to waste or will be used in adaptation projects that matter most to communities that are vulnerable to climate change.

Renato Redentor Constantino, a civilsociety representative to the PSF Board,

More capacity

The International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) recently inaugurated Yard 7 of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), as well as commissioned four new rubber-tired gantries.

A part of MICT’s P5-billion expansion project, Yard 7 adds substantial capacity to the terminal that now can accommodate 2.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), from 2.5 million TEUs. Photo shows ICTSI and government officials during the ribbon-cutting ceremonies marking the start of operations of Yard 7. From left, Juan Sta. Ana, Philippine Ports Authority general manager; Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras; Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president; Manila Vice Mayor Francisco Domagoso; and Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI senior vice president and head of Asia-Pacific region and MICT.

also rejected the idea of reviewing the guidelines for now to make the fund more accessible to local governments. “No basis yet to say the rules are too tough,” he said.

Constantino said the proposals that were returned by the

CCC were sent by local governments before the guidelines were released, explaining why they were not even delivered in the right format, and that the local governments were not aware of all the requirements yet. Jonathan L. Mayuga

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, November 29, 2015 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

editorial

Get rid of square pegs in round holes

A

T least, they are not trying to hide it. On the contrary, they are letting it all hang out for the whole world to see, their total ignorance and incompetence. We are referring to aviation and airport officials—members of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap)—who, instead of proposing or implementing remedial measures for the air and ground congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), are blaming the domestic and foreign airlines for the mess.

To the House Transportation Committee looking into snafus at the Naia, the Caap representatives said they had told airline companies that Naia could only handle a maximum of 40 arriving and departing flights per hour.

“I don’t know why airlines insist on arriving or departing at the same time,” Marlene Singson, supervising air-traffic controller of Caap, is quoted as saying.

Something everybody, except Caap officials, knows: The airlines are, in fact, acting in our best interest, trying to bring in more foreigners to our country, more tourists to contribute to the growth of our economy. Just ask the Department of Tourism, whose goal is to increase tourist arrivals this year to something like 4 million.

The problem of congestion at Naia is not new. In fact, House Committee members said that they had been hearing of flight-scheduling problems at Naia since three years ago. The trouble is that, beyond words, nothing has been done to deal with it.

The proper solution to the air and ground congestion at Naia is to build new, larger and more modern airports in appropriate places in the country, but this will take time. Meanwhile, it makes sense to enlarge and modernize Naia or open other existing Philippine airports, like, say Clark International Airport in Pampanga or Mactan International Airport in Cebu, to international travel.

Neither Clark nor Mactan may be in perfect operating condition for accommodating international travel at this time, but work must now start to bring them up to international standards. With respect to Clark, it is reassuring that lawmakers have given transport and airport authorities a January deadline for the submission of a master plan for the conversion of the airport into a substitute main gateway for the country. Along this line, the recent P94-billion loan extended by Japan to the Philippines to finance a Malolos, Bulacan-Tutuban, Metro Manila, rail line (the same rail line that an aborted China loan was to finance some 10 years ago, remember?) should help solve the transport problem affecting the Clark-Manila link. As to the Mactan airport, whose current modernization and expansion was held up for a long time by bidding issues, without compromising any engineering and aesthetic consideration, let’s finish work on this airport as soon as possible.

In the meanwhile, what does all this tell us about the present officials of Caap? The present officials of Caap are square pegs in round holes. They should be taken out of there as soon as possible.

America’s anti-industrialization policy for the PHL–Dodds Report Part 2

I Database

By Cecilio T. Arillo

Gospel

Sunday, November 29, 2015

T was the late Filipino industrialist Salvador Araneta who uncovered the existence of the Dodds Report and denounced it in his book America’s Double-Cross of the Philippines.

In his book, Araneta explained the failure of the country to industrialize, thus: “The indifferent economic development of the country...was due to America’s policy toward Japan and the Philippines. This policy was the result of the Dodds Report, which Truman accepted and which had as its objective to make Japan the industrial workshop of Asia and the Philippines a mere supplier of raw materials.”

Araneta bitterly continued: “We do not argue against the wisdom of providing Japan with the means to rehabilitate herself and allowed to become an industrial country once again, although this was contrary to the prior recommendation of a postwar planning committee headed by Secretary [Henry] Morgenthau [Jr.], a recommendation which was in line with the prevailing sentiment at the end of the war. But certainly, we can argue against a policy that would make Japan the exclusive industrialized country in the Far East, for such a policy was most detrimental to the Philippines. Indeed, the United States could not justify a policy that provided all kinds of stumbling blocks, to the industrialization of her ally [the Philippines] in the war against Japan.

As a result of this policy, industrialization in the Philippines suffered severe setbacks.”

The Dodds Report explains the continuing obsession to this day of US foreign policy to keep the Philippines a free and open market for imports, because a liberal import policy—another name for free trade—ensures that this country will never be able to industrialize and take the same protectionist, nationalistic developmental strategy, that enabled once poorer neighbors like Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand, to transform into the newly industrialized countries that they are today. The late nationalist Claro M. Recto described the geopolitical plan embodied in the Dodds Report as “America’s anti-industrialization policy for the Philippines.”

A

Conclusive proof of what Recto described as America’s anti-industrialization policy for the Philippines came when Ferdinand E. Marcos formally launched an industrialization program in the late 1970s based on 11 heavy industries led by the steel, petrochemical and engineering industries. The announcement of that plan swiftly followed a protest by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the pro-American technocrats in the Marcos Cabinet, led by no less than Prime Minister Cesar Virata.

After four years of struggle with the IMF, the World Bank and his own technocrats over his industrialization plan, Marcos, in the end, partly gave up the project, but not until after he had expressly denounced a conspiracy between his own technocrats and the IMF-World Bank to keep the Philippines under the yoke of the industrial powers.

The anti-industrialization policy has been implemented all these years through IMF conditionalities, and it isn’t hard to understand that for the past 60 years, this country has been under the continuous economic supervision of the IMF. There is no country in the world that can claim to be under the supervision of the IMF for even a fraction of that time.

And it isn’t coincidence either that this country is the only one in the region that isn’t making any headway toward industrialization.

When the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore originally founded the Asean in the early 1960s, not one of them was a Newly Industrialized Country (NIC). Today only the Philippines remains outside of the NIC-hood status.

The four other cofounders of the Asean are now acknowledged NICs. “We are today a hungry people in a land so fertile that one can drop a seed anywhere and see it sprout into something he can eat. And we are hungry because we are a nation frozen by design in the pre-industrial age, preserved as a raw material economy,” nationalist economist Alejandro Lichauco said.

In a book, titled Export-Oriented Industrialization in Developing Countries, economists Pitou van Dijck, Harmen Verbruggen and Hans Linnemann discuss in detail the economic case of the Philippines based on a timeline of events.

ND there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the Earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Now, when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your

They wrote: “From 1950 onward, import substitution has been the principal policy to promote industrialization in the Philippines. Initially, this strategy relied on a strict regime of controls on imports to relieve the pressure on the balance of payments (BOP). The import regime was aimed at a sharp import reduction of socalled nonessential products, identified as nondurable consumer goods. Hence, the high average annual-growth rate of manufacturing production of 12.1 percent from 1950 to 1955 was mainly realized by the domestic production of substitution for consumer goods.

“By the late 1950s, the domestic market started to impose serious limitations on further expansion. As a result, the manufacturing growth rate slowed down to 7.7 percent per annum from 1955 to 1960. In addition to the sluggish manufacturing growth, once again, the Philippines was faced with severe BOP problems in the late 1960s.

“Faced with this predicament, the government devised policies to intensify industrial efforts and actively promote exports. The Industrial Incentives Act of 1967 provided incentives mainly in the form of tax privileges for industrial investments, aimed at boosting export production. The Act also extended other extra fiscal benefits, such as tax and dutyfree importation of materials, with the purpose of reducing the cost of inputs and increasing competitiveness for exports.

As a consequence of the export promotion program, the level of protection for the domestic market was relatively high.”

The authors further observed: “The shift to a more export-oriented strategy of industrialization in the early 1970s marked again the beginning of a decade of better growth performance. During the 1970s, the manufacturing sector showed again a stronger performance with an average annual growth rate of production of 7 percent. The pattern of effective protection in 1974 favored manufacturing over agriculture and mining. Until the early 1980s, the industrialization and trade strategy remained essentially intact.”

To be continued To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio. arillo@gmail.com

redemption is drawing near.

But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole Earth.

But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. —Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, November 29, 2015 A5

What happens F Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

ROM Baste Chua News Service comes this remarkable development: Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to come back to the Philippines, a wish he expressed before leaving Manila after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Let’s hope he wants to come back as a guest, not as an overlord. But Noy’s playing hardball with China has clearly paid off more than all the legal mumbo jumbo about sovereignty, islets and reefs that the French found first but abandoned as worthless.

The only American concern is freedom of navigation. It has declared it will never take sides in territorial disputes. So China can go on reclaiming and weaponizing the reefs so long as it doesn’t treat the surrounding water as China’s. And China will not—until the reefs are reclaimed, weaponized, and good and ready to blow any vessel out of the water that challenges its newfound sovereignty.

Reefs are unsinkable battleships.

I’ve said it before: The Philippines has nothing navigable to speak of.

We will never have a merchant marine again nor need we worry about an interruption maritime trade so long as China allows it—and if it doesn’t, there’s nothin’ nobody can do about it.

The Chinese have no problem with freedom of navigation. They treat the entire South China Sea as their home and, polite as they are, they say—like Mexicans say mi casa es su casa—mare nostrum but feel at home in the Chinese southern sea.

Last time a US warship cruised within 12 nautical miles of “the ancient island” that China just raised out of the water, a Chinese warship escorted the US warship, chit-chatted with the American crew, and expressed a sad good-bye and the wish to see them again when they had to part as they approached the territorial waters of Vietnam. In short, the US was a guest of China all that time.

Noy playing hardball worked, as I said. Instead of us going to China for bilateral talks, China will come to us possibly with a couple of MRTs maintained by China and not by a talyer in Paniqui, Tarlac.

And finally, Noynoy told his bosses that he will not let them keep more of their hard-earned money by lowering taxes. He will keep taking the lion’s share of our incomes. Why? Because, he said, he doesn’t want to be blamed by—listen to this—the beneficiaries of lower taxes when his successor raises them again.

I am trying to wrap my head around this statement, but the idea is too big. Noynoy’s concern begs the question whether his successor will ever succeed in increasing the taxes he lowered. That would be political suicide for his successor and the next Congress. In fact, the people will praise Noynoy for giving them even temporary relief—like GasEx— from fiscal flatulence.

Taxes are never the govern-

ment’s money; it is the people’s money taken and held in trust, as need requires. This is why when the US Supreme Court warned that the power to tax is the power to destroy, it wasn’t by that formula defining an unlimited taxing power, but issuing a grave warning that governments must tax carefully and hesitantly lest it destroy property without due process of law. Tax no more than is needed for the national defense and the most urgent public needs.

Noy’s parsimony has shown we can have progressive government without throwing money around, especially at big businessmen through private-public partnerships which is the polite name for hold-ups—like when businessmen talk about “inclusive” that it only means they want to fleece everyone, no exception.

Still, I can understand why Noy says no to tax relief. When I advised GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) to lower and repeal a lot of taxes, es-

pecially the expanded value-added tax, which I sponsored so as to raise the revenues to protect our financial system from the ravages of the American-induced global financial crisis of 2008 to 2010. The crisis has passed, I told GMA, so repeal it; the government doesn’t need the money anymore. By decreasing taxes and doing away with a lot of them, I explained, the next government will be too busy scrambling for funds to harass her.

She said my suggestion was brilliant, but unbefitting a president.

She said she would not scorch the earth on her way out even if she’s hounded by enemies.

Well, she’s been detained without probable cause of a criminal offense and has been awaiting death by Filipino medical malpractice in a military hospital that used to function as a torture chamber, according to Ninoy Aquino in his Testament from a Prison Cell. That’s what happens when you don’t listen to me.

Abandoning coal is only a start for UK B

RITAIN, the country whose great coal-burning factories started the industrial revolution, now plans to retire nearly all its coal plants. The closures, part of an energy policy “course correction” announced last week, lay down an important marker ahead of the upcoming climate talks in Paris.

The United Kingdom’s remaining coal-fired power stations will be restricted from 2023 and shut by 2025. Any coal-powered plants that are able to install carbon capture and storage, or CCS, before 2025 would get a reprieve, but so far, the technology has been more promising in

theory than in practice.

The policy confirms the move away from coal, which now accounts for only 20.5 percent of electricity production in the UK, down from over 28 percent a year ago. While coal will remain a necessity for developing countries for a long time, there is no reason developed nations can’t wean themselves off it.

The question is what replaces it.

UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has made clear that she wants gas and nuclear to do the heavy lifting, with continued support for off-shore wind, but she has left unclear how she sees the post-coal world shaping

up. The government has withdrawn support from on-shore wind and solar, which, it says, are now more competitive and no longer in need of the extra help. (The government also prefers less intermittent sources— wind and sun being unreliable in the UK.) Rudd said she would like to see renewables bear some of the cost of intermittency—the cost of balancing out gaps in supply—but has not explained how that burden-sharing would work. With coal soon out of the picture, it’s not obvious how Britain would make up the difference.

The government wants new gasfired plants, but only one large one

is currently being built, and investors haven’t exactly flooded in. Britain would need up to four times its current off-shore wind capacity by 2030 to fill the gap. And many of the country’s nuclear reactors are being retired with the first of a new generation of plants coming online only in 2025.

So some critics worry the government has closed off too many options too soon, saying Britain could face energy shortages and rising prices.

Moreover, they say, the UK will be more dependent on imported coal power (a good share of it from Russia), lose skilled jobs and have a less

reliable electricity supply.

These arguments tend to downplay both the risks from climate change and the progress made fighting it. That said, critics are correct that the UK’s climate policy has gone through a number of confusing changes over the years; investors need more certainty than that.

That’s why the best climate policies rely on a carbon tax. Critics may not like that, either. But it’s the simplest, fairest and most sensible way to encourage the right investment in secure, affordable and environmentally friendly energy sources.

Bloomberg editorial

‘Paris is not the end of a climate change process, but a beginning’

By Marianela Jarroud InterPress Service

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ANTIAGO—Chilean President Michelle Bachelet says the climate summit in Paris “is not the end of a process but a beginning,” and that it will produce “an agreement that, although insufficient with respect to the original goal, shows that people believe it is better to move ahead than to stand still.”

In this exclusive interview with IPS, held shortly before Bachelet headed to the capital of France, the president reflected on the global impacts of climate change and stressed several times that the accords reached at the summit “must be binding,” as well as universal.

On Monday Bachelet will take part in the inauguration of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will run through December 11. At the summit, the 196 countries that are parties to the treaty are to agree on a new climate accord aimed at curbing global warming.

The president also said the Paris summit will have a different kind of symbolism in the wake of the terrorist attacks that claimed 130 lives: “It sends out an extremely clear signal that we will not allow ourselves to be intimidated,” she said.

Latin America is a region where the countries face similar impacts from climate change.

But it is negotiating with a fragmented voice. Has the region missed a chance for a leadership role and for a better defense of its joint interests?

Sometimes, it is very difficult to achieve a unified position, because even though there are situations that are similar, decisions must be taken that governments are not always able to adopt, or because they find themselves in very different circumstances.

We belong to the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (Ailac) in the negotiations on climate change, along with Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. All of these countries did manage to work together, and we have a similar outlook on the question of climate change.

The countries in this region are not the ones that generate the most emissions at a global level. And above and beyond the differences we may have, the important thing is that we will all make significant efforts to reduce emissions and boost clean energies and other mechanisms and initiatives.

Will the COP21 manage to approve a new universal climate treaty?

COP21 is not the end, but a beginning of a process where the countries will turn in their national commitments (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions [INDCS]). After that will come the mechanisms to assess the implementation of these contributions, and from time to time, propose other targets, which would be more ambitious in some cases.

This will be the first climate-change summit, after the Copenhagen conference (in 2009) where no accord was reached even though the Kyoto Protocol was coming to an end, where we will be able to reach some level of agreement.

It might not be the optimal level; apparently, the contributions so far publicly submitted by the states parties would not achieve the objective of keeping global warming down to 2 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, it is a major advance, when you look at what has happened in the past.

That said, what Chile maintains is that the contributions should be binding, and we are going to back that position which is clearly not supported by everyone.

So you include yourself among those who believe Paris will mark a positive turning point in the fight against climate change?

Chile carried out a much-praised citizen input process for the design of its INDCS, to be included in the new treaty. But media and business sectors were not pleased with some of the voluntary targets that were set. Will this hinder implementation?

Not everyone always agrees, we’ve seen that in different processes. I hope that awareness grows, and that is a task that we also have, as government.

Climate change is a reality, not an invention, which will have disastrous consequences for everyone, but also for the economy.

For us it is indispensable, on one hand, to reduce emissions by 30 percent, by 2030. There are some who believe our commitment falls short, but it is what we can commit to today, understanding the economic situation that the country and the world find themselves in. It is a serious, responsible commitment. And obviously, if the economic situation improves, we will set more ambitious goals later.

Chile has an adaptation plan that

includes, among other things, the reforestation of more than 100,000 hectares of native forest and an energy efficiency program.

Yes, in the sense that a concrete, definitive agreement will be reached.

But it is, I insist, the start of a path.

Later other, more ambitious, measures will have to be adopted, to further reduce global temperatures.

Willthetreatycurrentlybeingdebatedincludethe financing that the Global South and Latin America in particular will need in order to help prevent the planetfromreachingasituationthatisirreversible for human life?

I have a hope that the Green Climate Fund will grow and give more countries access to technology and resources. In this region we will always have the contradiction that we are considered middle-income countries, and, thus, we are not given priority when it comes to funding, while, at the same time, our economies are often unable to foot greater costs. And on the other hand, we are the smallest emitters (of greenhouse gases).

This is why in Chile we have set two targets, one without external support and the other with external financing, to reduce emissions by 45 percent. But there is also a possibility of financing through cooperation programmes for the introduction and transfer of new technologies to our countries, which will allow us to live up to the commitments.

As the first executive director of United NationsWomen(2010-2013),youhelpedestablishtheidea that women must be taken into account in climate negotiations and actions, because they bear the impacts on a day-to-day basis and are decisive

in adapting to and mitigating global warming.

What is the central role that women should have in the new treaty?

There are a number of day-to-day decisions made by women, which have an influence. For example, energy efficiency is essential when it comes to reducing emissions, and it is often a domestic issue, in questions such as turning off lights, for example.

But in many parts of the world, women are also the ones hauling water or cooking with firewood, especially in the most vulnerable areas.

So the importance of women ranges from these aspects to their contribution as citizens committed to the fight against climate change, with the conviction that a green, inclusive and sustainable economy is possible, and to the political role of women at the parliamentary and municipal level, where they are working hard for the adoption of measures and to ensure a livable planet.

As president, and as a Chilean, what worries you most about the current climate situation? What would you see as the highest priority?

There are many things that worry me about climate change, ranging from severe drought and flooding to islands that could disappear under water—in other words, how natural events linked to climate change affect the lives of people.

I’m also concerned about two things that are essential for people: clean drinking water and food, two elements that can be profoundly affected by climate change. We have seen that there are areas of the country where people depend on rationed water from tanker trucks.

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, November 29, 2015

NGCP rejects Lanao landowner’s demand

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By Lenie Lectura

HE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) refused to pay a landowner’s asking price in exchange for access to the latter’s property.

“We have been coordinating with Mr. Balao Pundag for more than 16 months now to settle the issue, so that the NGCP may have access to his property and clear the trees posing a threat to our lines. Around 1,500 trees planted along NGCP’s

ROW [right of way] are within his property. These trees continue to threaten our Agus 2-Kibawe 138-kV [kiloVolt] line,” the NGCP said.

Pundag is the landowner who refused the NGCP entry to his property.

The NGCP, meanwhile, is a privately

owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid.

The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s powertransmission network, is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led by Henry Sy Jr.; Calaca High Power Corp. led

by Robert Coyiuto Jr., and the State Grid Corp. of China as technical partner.

The NGCP legally holds the ROW in the areas near and around the transmission towers and posts. The assets, however, are still government-owned.

Despite months of negotiating with Pundag, the grid operator remains unsuccessful in its attempt to resolve ROW issues that prevent transmission line clearing operations and maintenance.

NGCP’s valuation of the trees, based on the local government of Lanao del Sur’s own Schedule of Market Value, amounts to P77,750. Pundag, however, demands P478,650 as payment for the trees, six times NGCP’s valuation.

“The landowner’s demanded payment is exorbitant. We will only pay the fair amount based on standard valuation,” the NGCP said in a statement.

Guagua honors Golangco

Businessman-civic leader Fernando Diaz and officials of Guagua, Pampanga, headed by Mayor Dante Torres, and Vice Mayor Anthony Twaño with former Sen. Richard J. Gordon and Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab lead the unveiling of the William Golangco Junction Marker in the town. Diaz, who is seeking a Senate seat with an “inclusive growth”agenda, lauded the Guagua officials and residents for “honoring a great son whose accomplishments in architecture and hardwork have been an inspiration to the Filipino youth, engineers and builders.

Golangco was one of the country’s famous architects who had designed and built numerous buildings, landmarks in Metro Manila and other cities. This marker is a fitting tribute of a grateful people to an accomplished cabalen who brought honor to Pampangueños and all Filipinos.”

Ashley Manabat

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Jobs available for Las Piñas IT graduates

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AS Piñas City Mayor Vergel Aguilar said the 1,195 graduates of the Dr. Filemon C. Aguilar Information Technology Training Institute (DFCAITTI) may soon find employment here or abroad, particularly in the business-process outsourcing (BPO) sector, design consultancies and animation.

Aguilar said the DFCAITTI has produced 738 graduates in Computer Programming and Hardware Servicing, and 457 graduates in Visual Graphic Design and 2-dimensional animation for the school year 2014-2015.

He said opportunities for the graduates include work in a range of industries to work in e-learning and design consultancies and animation like assistant graphic designer, freelance designer, graphic designer and illustrator. Animators primarily

use computers to create illustrations, animations and other graphics.

The program prepares the students to become competent and proficient in computer hardware and software technologies to provide technical support and services to various IT industries.

Las Piñas City offers free one-year courses on IT benefiting at least 60 percent of the city’s 4,000 public high-school students. The IT school is one of the priority projects of the local government to encourage the youth to avail themselves the free education and provide livelihood opportunities to residents.

“Education and training skills are the best gift I can give to the next generation. The youths of Las Piñas City deserve the best free education we can provide,” Aguilar said.

Jimeno joins Smartmatic

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ELEVISION host​and former Corona Spokesmann​ Karen Jimeno recently joined Smartmatic as voter-education campaign head.

With eight years of teaching experience under her belt, Jimeno will be responsible for the voter education campaign jointly undertaken by Smartmatic and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“We are here to enlighten voters on how the automated elections work, and to increase transparency for the voting process,” Jimeno said.

She added that Smartmatic is also assisting the Comelec in developing a

website for the 2016 elections.

“The web site, which the Comelec aims to launch in December, will be loaded with voters education information—news, step-by-step instructions on how to use the vote counting machines, social-media feeds, a database of all candidates, and even an online application for media accreditation,” Jimeno said.

In addition, she said, Smartmatic will be supporting the Comelec’s voter education road shows. She added that Smartmatic and the Comelec are working hard to encourage the electorate to “go out and vote, secure in the knowledge that their votes will be counted correctly.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Science

BusinessMirror

Sunday

Sunday, November 29, 2015 A7

‘Paris talks should tackle historic emissions, make real change’

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EW DELHI, India—On a late Friday afternoon as choking smog descended on the Indian Capital, François Richier, the French ambassador to India, took some hard questions from scores of journalists about the upcoming climate-change talks in Paris this month.

The journalists were discussing the run-up to global climate change 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) which starts on November 30 in Paris.

One of the reoccurring sentiments was that this meeting is a done deal and that little, if anything, would be accomplished. That what would come out of the almost two weeks of discussions, including among state leaders, would be a minimalistic deal that will keep everyone happy. The skeptics among the group even went as far as to say that the Americans were herding world opinion so that Paris 2015 would be President Barack Obama’s legacy.

“We are not supporting anybody,” Richier said, reacting to the accusations.

He said France had taken it upon itself to get all these nations, 191 of them, to agree on a single document. Richier admitted that it was a daunting task.

“Reaching a universal agreement is quite a challenge, we are not sure we will succeed.”

But experts based in Asia caution that the Paris deal could end up lopsided in favor of developed nations.

“Actually, when you are negotiating climate change, you are negotiating economic growth, what you will see in Paris is freezing inequity,” Sunita Narain, the head of the New Delhibased environmental research and advocacy body, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), told Inter Press Service (IPS). What she and many others warn is that while countries agree on self-regulated emission cuts and no binding agreements on results or financial commitments, poorer nations and developing nations, like India and even China, would find their growth potential curbed if ever such a binding regime were to be set up in the future.

Historical base

Another concern among those like Narain is that the burden of emission lacks any historical base. All negotiations are done on current emission levels, but experts say that long-life gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2), can remain in the atmosphere for as long as 150 years and historical emissions should be considered when evaluating national emission levels.

At 2012 emission levels, China leads the list of CO2 emitters at 29 percent, the European Union (EU) second at 27 percent, the US third at 16 percent and India at 6 percent. But as Chandra Bhushan, CSE deputy director, argued, if the time span is stretched to reflect the longevity of the gas, the picture changes. Of all CO2 emissions since 1850-2011, the US accounts for 21.2 percent, EU 18 percent, China 10 percent and India 2.2 percent.

Bushan said climate negotiations are essentially, “about economy, not ecology. It is about dividing the carbon budget—how much the world can emit to stay below 2 degrees Celsius.”

His boss put it much more bluntly:

“We are not saying that Asia and Africa should get the right to pollute. We are saying that Asia and Africa should get the right to develop.”

They fear that because of the controversial nature of these issues, they are unlikely to be included in any agreement reached in Paris.

“There is not a hope in hell that mention of carbon budget will survive in the [Paris] agreement,”Lavanya Rajamani, research professor at New Delhi’s Centre for Policy Research (CPR), said, referring to the 55-page draft that is currently in circulation.

Outside the main deal

Ambassador Richier conceded that any deal involving financial commitments would have to be dealt with outside the main agreement, primarily because such a commitment would need US Congress ratification. Rajamani also said the chances of the Paris agreement being pegged to results were minimal. “It is very unlikely we will have commitments.”

Narain, too, expressed similar foreboding sentiments. She feels that issues like accumulated emissions, carbon budget and strict emission cuts are unlikely to be discussed in Paris. “It is inconvenient [to a lot of the developed countries].”

Hopes not too high

Rajamani observed that given what is in store in Paris, the Global South should not get its hopes too high and should keep to realistic goals. One is to lay emphasis on the post Paris review process.

Just before the Paris meeting gets under way, the Asian capitals are abuzz that the French are reaching deals with individual countries to make sure they can get a decent Paris deal.

One such visit was in Beijing in late October and, reportedly, the French had reached a deal with the Chinese for a five-year review of self-set targets.

There was no confirmation of any such deal, and the French ambassador here was equivocal in defending his fellow diplomats’visits arguing they were needed to keep the Paris negotiations on track. But both Rajamani and Narain said the agreement between China and France was for a review that looked at aggregated figures for regions and not individual countries. “We need to strengthen the global stock take far more,”Rajamani said.

Letdown

Former negotiators, however, said that global deals will always look like a letdown since they involved compromises across the board.

“Everyone is looking for that little bit of legroom, even that is what India has done, that is the way these things work,” said S B Agnihotri, former secretary to the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable.

The French Ambassador pleaded with the journalists, researchers and activists to give his government the benefit of the doubt, pledging that the concerns of the Global South will be addressed. “Any treaty must address development concerns.”

Whether that is the case, will be known in less than a month. IPS

Proponents of a stronger, fair and just global climate agreement in the run-up to the COP21 hold up banners that read, “Now is the time.” In the photo are Anna Abad, Greenpeace Philippines climate justice campaigner; Lidy Nacpil, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development and the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice coordinator; Gerry Arances, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice national coordinator; Louise Alcalde, Aksyon Klima advocacy officer; Joel Palma, World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines president and CEO, and a member if his staff. Issa Quirante

Coalition calls for stronger climate agreement in Paris

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By Issa Quirante | Special to the BusinessMirror

he Philippines, a tropical archipelago, is visited by at least 20 storms yearly and is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In recent years it has been experiencing significant climatechange impacts, such as extremeweather events and super typhoons.

In line with this, a coalition of social movements, faith-based communities and other civilsociety organizations across the Philippines came together recently to call for a stronger, fair and just global climate agreement ahead of the 21 st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), whic h w i l l be held in Pa r is, France, starting on November 30.

The group also held activities, called a Week of Action for Climate Justice Pilipinas, in different cities and towns across the country.

“This week of action for climate justice is being held as our contribution to a worldwide effort to deliver our message to all governments in the world, which will be convening in Paris, France, from November 30 until December 12, to hammer out a new international climate

agreement. This agreement holds much significance for Filipinos,” Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development and the Globa l Campaign to Demand Climate Change, said.

The initiative, Nacpil added, is a major contribution to our people’s struggle to ensure that climate change is addressed by all governments in a manner that it requires, which is drastic, radical, fair and equitable action across the world.

The group held activities for a week of action from November 23 to 30, across the country, which were part of mobilizations across the world.

Activities include a 20,000-strong “March for Climate Justice Pilipinas” on November 28 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, the highlight of the week; a caravan across Luzon coal hot spots, from Semirara Island in Antique to Que-

zon and Batangas, going to Manila, from November 26 to 28; a November 29 march, led by the Archdiocese of Manila, to Rajah Sulayman Park, followed by an ecumenical service and Mass; and a November 30 Bonifacio Day mobilization by labor groups, which will include a call for climate justice.

Organizations that participated in the March for Climate Justice Pilipinas include the Ecological Justice Interfaith Movement, Greenpeace Philippines, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, among others.

Various actions were also held in Tacloban, Iligan, Metro Cebu in the Visayas, and in Davao, General Santos, Malaybalay, Ozamiz, Pagadian and Tangub in Mindanao.

The group, through the March for Climate Justice Pilipinas, demanded from the Philippines and all governments participating in the international climate talks to: n Address the urgency of the climate crisis with decisive, just, fair and ambitious actions nationally and globally; n Pursue transformation of energy systems—no to dirty and harmful energy, shift to clean and renewable energy for people and communities; n Protect peoples’ right to food, water and the commons; n Guarantee the rights of all people and communities; deliver justice and address the impacts of climate change, including those particular to women and indigenous communities;

n Ensure a just transition for workers and communities; n Deliver climate finance needed to empower people to deal with climate impacts, loss and damage, and make the transition to sustainable development pathways; n Reject false solutions; and n Set global targets for mitigation actions to keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, ensure equitable and fair sharing of mitigation actions among countries and within countries, and deliver urgent short-term actions.

According to the COP21 web site, the international political response to climate change began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the “Rio Convention” included the adoption of the UNFCCC. This convention set out a framework for action aimed at stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to avoid “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”

The main objective of the annual Conference of Parties is to review the convention’s implementation.

COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C. The Philippines pledged to reduce its emissions by 70 percent in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution submission to the UNFCCC, but this pledge is dependent on international climate finance and other support.

Agham commends inventor of salt lamp

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he Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mamamayan (Agham) commended Aisa Mijeno for her invention of a lamp powered by saline solution.

Mijeno, a computer engineer and an environment advocate, is a faculty member of the Engineering Department of De La Salle UniversityLipa. She was featured in the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 2015 conference in Manila, with US President Barrack Obama lauding her technology. As an active member of Greenpeace Philippines, Mijeno said her invention provides a lighting option that is cost effective, more safe, more sustainable and environment-friendly.

The lamp costs P100 and can operate for eight hours straight.

Agham Party-list President Angelo B. Palmones said Mijeno’s invention addresses climate change concerns and the lack of electricity in some far-flung communities in the country. “The invention is not only simple and affordable, but it has a great impact to the

Aisa Mijeno shows her saline solutionpowered lamp. Greenpeace photo

environment and the lives of community people.

Mijeno’s work is a good example of technology application solving ever yday problems,” Palmones said.

Palmones was a member of the House of Representatives in 2010-2013, as the representative of the science and technology sector under Agham Party-list, which has joined the 2016 elections.

Agham is pushing for the development of

science and technology and the application of research and development outputs in various economic sectors of the country Agham priorities for 2016 include: 1) Space Program for faster Internet and Wi-Fi connectivity, and better aerial survey of the environment, weather and for national security; 2) Support for science-based small and medium enterprises; 3) Development of the bamboo industry, which is an important resource for the protection of the environment, and for industry and livelihood development; 4) Food-security bills that will support the attainment of rice sufficiency for the country; 5) Sustainable forest management and biodiversity for protection of the environment and the development of community-based forest enterprises; and 6) Climate-change adaptation and mitigation, and disaster-preparedness programs, like the Rescue Olympics and the continuation of the offering of the B.S. Meteorology course.

Nuclear conference set in Dec Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo speaks at the news conference on Friday at a hotel in Quezon City announcing the Third Philippine Nuclear Congress to be held from December 7 to 9 at a hotel in Manila.

The nuclear conference will assess the state of nuclear science and technology and its contributions to national development.

It will focus on the theme “Meeting Challenges through Nuclear Science and Technology for Sustainable Growth.” NONOY LACZA

Sports BusinessMirror

FERRER SAVES THE DAY K

By Joel Orellana

EVIN Ferrer’s torrid shooting display in the third period kept University of Santo Tomas’s (UST) season alive.

Ferrer unloaded 24 of his 29 points in the third canto in a sizzling performance to lift the Growling Tigers to a 62-56 win over Far Eastern University (FEU) in Game Two and tied their best-of-three championship series of Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippine (UAAP) men’s basketball on Saturday at the jampacked Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-5 forward outscored the whole FEU team in the third period but his teammates also did a decent job of sustaining the energy as the Tamaraws threatened to steal the game, taking a 54-50 lead with five minutes left but UST ended the game with a 12-2 assault to send the series to a knockout Game Three on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“I’m thankful to my teammates for giving me the confidence. They look for me and I thanked them for giving me their trust,” said Ferrer, who hit his first nine attempts in the third period. Ferrer also had 10 rebounds in 30 solid minutes. Karim Abdul added 11 points, while Ed Daquioag, who was named the league’s Most Improved Player earlier, bounced back from a four-point performance in Game One and netted 10 markers although he shot 3-of-13 from the field.

“In Game One, we did not enjoy the game.

I told the players just to enjoy the game at the same time play defense,” Growling Tigers Head Coach Bong de la Cruz. “We followed our game plan in Game One but we did not enjoy the game. We did not also have a mental toughness

in that game after taking the lead.”

And Ferrer showed what’s mental toughness was all about as UST, facing elimination, drew strength from his sizzling performance in the third quarter to shit the momentum to the Espana-based team.

After a poor first half, Ferrer had 24 of UST’s 26 points in the first seven minutes of the game, spiked by six three three-pointers as the Growling Tigers turned a 21-30 halftime deficit into a 47-37 advantage.

The Tamaraws, who drew the first blood in the series with a 75-64 win, cut the lead to 41-47 entering the fourth period and unleashed a 13-3 run capped y Raymar Jose’s three straight field goal to take a 54-50 lead with 5:50 remaining. But UST kept its compsure as de la Cruz turned to Daquioag and Abdul in unloading an 8-0 rampage for a 58-54 lead with 30.5 ticks left. Kent Lao drew a huge offensive foul from FEU’s Roger Pogoy in the next play, leading to two more free throws from Abdul and the Growling Tigers forced a no-tomorrow contest on Wednesday.

Mark Belo led the Tamaraws with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Pogoy added 12. Mike Tolomia, the other part of FEU’s Big Three had a horrific shooting game, missing all of his 15 attempts from the floor. Tolomia finished with seven points, all at the 15-foot line.

FEU also won Game One of last season’s finals but dropped the next two to eventual champion National University.

“We thought we have a chance to win the game but we did not shoot well,” said Tamaraws Head Coach Nash Racela, whose wards shot 16-of-59 in the game including a 4-of-23 stint from beyond the arc.

A8 | S

unday, November 29, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

LADY EAGLES REACH FINALS

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TENEO de Manila continued to defy the tremendous odds as it bundled out second-ranked De La Salle, 62-50, in the process to advance in the finals for the first time in eight years on Saturday in Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Hazelle Yam spearheaded the Lady Eagles’ stirring 24-12 run in the final quarter, scoring seven of her game-high 15 points in that period. Jolina Go added 13 points, while Danica Jose had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Ateneo will face defending champion

National University in the championship round starting on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Lady Eagles won their fifth straight game while facing elimination, and are ready to slug it out against the thrice-tobeat Lady Bulldogs, who are unbeaten in 30 games since last season.

“Ever since we have our backs against the wall, sabi lang namin, we have to play with compassion,” said Ateneo Coach Erika Dy, who is seeking to steer her troops to its first title since 2007, with Cassy Tioseco leading the way.

Camille Claro and Ara Abaca shot 13 points apiece for the Lady Archers.

Enforcers ground Bolts, end woes

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Santo Tomas’s Kevin Ferrer (right) beats Roger Pogoy of Far Eastern University for the loose ball. NONIE REYES

A Revilla came to the rescue for Mahindra, blocking Jimmy Alapag’s elbow trey at the buzzer as the Enforcers escaped with a thrilling 86-83 win over Meralco to snap a four-game losing streak in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Revilla’s defensive stop denied the Bolts of sending the game in overtime and sent Meralco to a league-worst 1-7 win-loss mark.

With Rabeh Al Hussaini fouling out in the 2:02 minutes left in the game, the Enforcers capitalized on his absence as Revilla scored on a crucial floater over three defenders with 1:42 left in the game to build an 82-76.

The Enforcers were still holding an 8660 lead then Alapag knocked down a triple

to pull them within three, 83-86 with 8.9 seconds remaining.

The Bolts had another chance to steal the game after rookie Chris Newsome forced a turnover from an inbound play of Meralco Head Coach Norman Black called a timeout.

But Revilla was there to avoid the collapse as he deflected the three-point attempt of Alapag and gave his team the much-needed victory and tied Star in the team standings with 2-6 mark apiece.

“We live and die with our defense today,” Mahindra Assistant Coach Chito Victolero said. “We prepared very hard and I told my players it’s about mental toughness. And I’m happy the boys responded to the challenge.”

Aldrech Ramos led the Enforcers with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Yee added 24. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Alyssa Valdez (2) of PLDT Home Ultera scores against Abigail Maraño (4) and Cristina Salak (7) of Army. NONOY LACZA

FAST HITTERS TAKE GAME ONE P

LDT Home Ultera blew three match points in the decider, but battled back from one point down in a wild finish to snatch a 16-25, 20-25, 26-24, 29-27, 18-16 victory over Army on Sunday and move within a win from capturing the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Reinforced Conference crown at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Ultra Fast Hitters slowed down a bit after grabbing a 14-11 lead in the fifth frame, committing a net violation and getting blocked twice while yielding two attack points with only a point to show off Honey Tubino’s service error that saw the Lady Troopers, who blew a 2-1 set lead and 21-16 cushion in the fourth, grab a 16-15 edge.

But the Ultra Fast Hitters proved steadier in a nerve-wracking finish, forcing a tie on an Army net violation and regaining the lead on the last of a slew of Sue Roces’s running attacks before clinching the thrilling two-hour, seven-minute victory on Army’s Joanne Bunag’s faulty hit that went wide.

That gave Home Ultera a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series for the crown in the season-ending conference of the league, sponsored by Shakey’s, with the Open Conference champions hoping to wrap it all up in Game Two next Sunday.

Home Ultera Coach Roger Gorayeb went to his local aces with their imports still trying

to blend well with their brand of play and Gretchel Soltones, Alyssa Valdez, Aiza Pontillas, Roces, Charo Soriano, setter Rubie de Leon and libero Lizlee Ann Pantone responded to rally past the Lady Troopers.

Gorayeb kept Valdez, suiting up for the first time this conference, out of the game in the first set but the Open and Collegiate Conference Most Valuable Player (MVP) still went on to topscore with 25 hits, including 22 attack points, while Soltones wound up with 12 markers and Pontillas had 11 hits.

“She’s an integral part of this team and she showed it in this game,” Gorayeb said of Valdez. Imports Victoria Hurtt scored eight points while Sareea Freeman had five markers, both in three sets, although Gorayeb tapped the latter in the latter part of the fifth frame.

“We still have a hard time adjusting with our imports and vice versa,” Gorayeb said. “But the good thing was the locals stepped us.”

It was a sorry setback for Army, which looked ready to turn what was expected to be a fiercely fought duel between the two fancied teams in the league presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by Mikasa and Accel by pouncing on Home Ultera’s listless start to sweep the first two sets in emphatic fashions.

It was also Army’s first setback this conference after a sweep of the elims and the elims, including a 25-23, 23-25, 25-11, 19-25,

15-13 victory over Home Ultera on October 25.

Former MVP Jovelyn Gonzaga fired 19 hits, while Tubino and Abigail Maraño scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Lady Troopers.

Despite losing the third frame in a close finish, Army, runner-up to absentee Cagayan Valley here last year, still moved threateningly close to wrapping up the match when it surged to a 21-16 lead in the fourth.

But Soltones took charge for Home Ultera, coming through with a wide array of shots that chipped away Army’s lead, then Valdez found her rhythm and range to join the fray, setting the stage for a wild, wooly finish.

A Valdez hit forced a 24-all count and the two teams battled it out to three more deadlocks, the last on Maraño’s one-handed return after a long, edgy rally that had the fans screaming. But a miscommunication in setting up a play cost Army a point and Soltones forced the decider on an off-the-block spike against Tina Salak.

Sustaining its momentum, Home Ultera took 10 of the first 15 points in the fifth set, but Army refused to give up, racking up three straight of its own then after the Ultra Fast Hitters, with Roces, Pontillas and Soriano scoring, stormed to a 14-11 lead, the Lady Troopers struck back, only to crack in gripping endgame pressure.