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FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 2, 2014 • VOL.4 NO.26
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By Miguel Raymundo
PNoy is now at odds with Meralco on the issue of high electricity rates—a subject that has tested the political will of a Philippine president and his friendship with the owners of the power company in the past. Now, with his presidency at stake, his only choice could be to cancel the Meralco franchise. Page 2
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DA RELEASES P1B FOR FARMERS LOANS 9 2/21/14 10:21 PM
COVER STORY
CANCEL MERALCO O By Miguel Raymundo
NE of the main reasons Filipinos are very poor is due to the very high cost of electricity. Poverty in the Philippines can easily be traced, but very few have enough guts to go against the billions of pesos of lobby cash by the power generators and distributors. If the country’s political leaders want to eradicate poverty, it should first cancel the franchise of Meralco. The country should turn around from privatization—what appeared a good idea at first—and return to nationalizing power generation and distribution. And the administration of Benigno Aquino III must move fast before it finds itself swamped by an angry mob and kicked out of Malacanang.
mine Meralco’s violation of the public interest, according to the terms and conditions stipulated in its franchise. It failed to uphold the public interest and the common good, the bottom line objective of the legislative franchise it was granted to distribute power.” Bello accused Meralco of lying about its participation in the P4.15per-kilowatt-hour rate increase. The huge increase stemmed from the surge in electricity prices sold at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and shutdowns of its suppli-
upped its rates by a staggering 36 percent. The public was not happy about it, but Marcos could not complain— not because of his friendship with the Lopezes but because he had devaluated the peso three months earlier by imposing a “floating rate” which subsequently caused the cost of dollars to increase by 50 percent. Faced with growing public discontent, Marcos had no choice but to severe his alliance with the Lopez brothers. But Meralco did not take all these
ers that coincided with the Malampaya gas pipeline’s monthlong maintenance shutdown from Nov. 11 to Dec. 10 last year. Soon lawmakers started calling for the revocation of the Meralco franchise after the country experienced its highest-ever power rate hike.
accusations lying down. The Lopezes fi red back by hiring their battery of lawyers and consultants to show proof that they were earning within the legal limits and that they owed the government nothing in taxes. Meralco board chairman, Emilio Abello, was ready with all the answers. The Meralco executive pointed out: “if Marcos can steamroller a giant industry, with no government loans or guarantees, such as Meralco, what can stop him from acting similarly in the case of other industries, especially those beholden to the government, whose owners may displease him?” Malacañang shifted gears by getting labor leaders and consumer groups to their side. The purpose was to show that it is the public itself, not just Malacañang, which is fighting Meralco. Finally in September of 1972, Marcos declared Martial Law and abolished Congress and this resulted in the cancellation of the Meralco franchise and government taking over the light and power facility. PNoy could be running out of options as it is. His political career and his Presidency is at stake. Doing a Marcos could do his administration and this country good.
independent Power Producers The move to privatize utilities was conceived on the belief that it would be good for the people. After the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos and the scrapping of all his nuclear program, the power supply problem turned from bad to worse, prompting this move to allow private capital to solve a national problem. Private entities through the Independent Power Producers (IPP) scheme were allowed to purchase power barges and hook themselves to the grid. The power situation did improve for sometime and the power industry’s old facilities were shut down or turned into a mall as in the case of the former power station at Rockwell. Now, it looks like privatization became a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fi re. Under the watch of PNoy we have found ourselves burning from an economy that has made the rich even richer and the poor much, much poorer. In some cases privatization is good and works wonders for everybody. In most cases, it does not do good and becomes a tool for corruption and abuse. The Meralco privatization is a case in point. EPiRA The privatization program was covered by the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) of 2001 where the electric power industry became a regulated industry of private sectorowned electricity suppliers and IPPs. The retail distribution franchise is held by Meralco which buys contracted power from the IPPs. The franchise is regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and electric power
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rates charged by the franchise are reviewed and approved by the ERC. But instead of regulating the electricity costs, EPIRA became Meralco’s ticket to big profits. In a public inquiry, an opposition lawmaker noted that Meralco lavished its shareholders with PhP40 billion worth of cash dividends from 2009 to 2013 after profits soared by 507 percent from P2.8 billion in 2008 to P17.016 billion in 2012. Market analysts even expected Meralco’s profits to further jump 25 percent to P21.189 billion in 2013 from the previous year. Things came to a boil in December when Meralco effected a P4.15 per kwh increase in rates. Only the intervention of the Supreme Court saved the public from further misery. Compliance Last week, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello fi led House Resolution No. 821 urging the House committees on legislative franchises and energy to determine Meralco’s compliance with its legislative franchise to distribute electricity in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal, and certain cities and municipalities in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga. In a statement, Bello said: “It is incumbent upon Congress to deter-
OpinYon
Test of Political Will PNoy is now at odds with Meralco on the issue of high electricity rates— a subject that has tested the political will of a Philippine president and his friendship with the owners of the power company in the past. The year was 1971 and the man in Malacañang was Ferdinand E. Marcos, close friend and ally of the Lopez brothers—Eugenio Sr. and Fernando—who were then president and vice president of Meralco, respectively. History of Abuse Acquiring the company in 1962, Meralco immediately increased its rates a year later. In 1965, shortly before year Marcos assumed the Presidency, the company upped its rates by a whopping 23 percent. Then, in May 1970--as political unrest was coming to a boil—Meralco again
WE TAKE A STAND
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Politics Target List By ElCid Benedicto
THE recent confluence of events involving some senators are unmistakably pointing to one direction, to clear the way for the so-called “anointed ones” of the administration in the next round of elections two years from now. The scenario may not be quite noticeable for some but talks about the goingson behind the numerous controversies in the political front are enough to generate such an impression. The latest news item concerning grant of supposed additional pork barrel funds to four senators, sourced from the so-called impounding mechanism for government savings – Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) – to divert the public’s attention on the revelations of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, the alleged dealings of other colleagues with Ruby Tuason. Tuason, the former presidential social secretary turned “bagman” of Janet Lim Napoles, according to Estrada, allegedly bagged projects funded by pork barrel funds of some other senators in the past. Estrada would not name names, merely saying that the persons Tuason supposedly dealt with in the past were former and incumbent senators. Whether Estrada’s tact was an attempt to drag into the picture other supposedly erring colleagues, the issue was immediately doused with cold water with the allegations of his and three other senators’ receipt of purported additional pork barrel funds at the height of the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. Allegedly, he along with Senators Vi-
cente Sotto III, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Ramon Revilla Jr. received a total of P370 million sometime March 2012, months ahead of their colleagues who begun to receive DAP funds only in August of the same year. The issue, actually, is no longer new as this came out already sometime last year just as when the Napoles’ alleged grand scheme of siphoning off lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was slowly unfolding before the public. A week ago, Opinyon was tipped-off by a source on the matter of a new set of senators getting embroiled in a controversy of their own following that of Estrada, Revilla and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile over alleged Napoles’ pork scam. An administration insider intimated the information three weeks ago and the impression given was that this is part of a supposed cleansing process of the institution, the Senate. But a closer look at what’s happening would lead one to take notice of the fact that the personalities now hogging the headlines are known members of the political opposition. Revilla and Marcos may be aligned with the administration bloc in the Senate but they are definitely not what may be called Palace sympathizers. Sotto, who is with the minority bloc comprised mainly by opposition senators, had been consistently rallying against some of the administration’s pet measures. Among the senators mentioned, Enrile and Sotto may not be considered a “threat” to the administration in 2016, the two having no pronouncements or
News from Where You Stand
known political ambitions to seek higher posts two years from now. As to why they’re being included in the alleged target list, is yet to be known. Revilla and Marcos were once reported to be eyeing a potential teamup while Estrada is said to be being groomed, prior to the PDAF scam, as running mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay who this early is already eyeing the presidency. For a while, some Palace drumbeaters reportedly “rejoiced” upon hearing talks of the “rift” between Binay and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, stemming from a development project of a public market in Manila. From what was gathered from sources, Palace political strategists projected an eventual “falling-out” between the two opposition stalwarts, thereby dividing their ranks and supporters as well. But as fate would have it, the two reportedly mended fences at the surprise dinner-party the Estradas hosted for Enrile on the eve of the latter’s 90th birthday, Feb. 13 at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati City. Incidentally, Binay is reportedly not spared from the plans of Palace strategists as allegedly, the revival of a graft case filed against his wife in the Sandiganbayan signaled the start of another scheme, sources said. There are no concrete plans at this point in time as to who really would be President Aquino’s “anointed” successor although the name of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Manuel Roxas II cannot be far behind, owing mainly to his being the president of their party, the Liberal Party (LP).
Economic Growth and Poverty
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RUSH cabinet meeting seems to have been called to fi nd out why poverty and unemployment have not been affected by the economic growth that has been touted in the hills by this administration. I found it somewhat unusual that the cabinet was the one called. I suggest that perhaps the NEDA should have been called instead. The NEDA, being the principal economic planning body, should have been made to explain what reforms are needed to make the economy inclusive and not extractive. Part of the problem is that the Palace has borrowed that word, “inclusive” to describe this economy based on GNP growth alone. It speaks of the lack of economic understanding of PNoy and the cabinet, and if not so, then the cabinet secretaries are too wimpy to tell the President the truth about what is going on. There is nothing inclusive about the economy. In fact it is as extractive as our own political system. In fact, the problem is that policy changes that have to be made so that the base of people might benefit from any economic growth other than through the “trickle” down effect which has been shown to be grossly inadequate, no one really wants to look at. If our economic system were inclusive, why is the middle class
shrinking and not growing from a domestic economic activity standpoint. Our new middle class are the dependents of the OFW, no thanks to PNoy or any of his economic managers. In fact, it is also a weakness because of the terrible dysfunctions that arise in the separated families, but that is not anything that our political leaders are even willing to look at. All they see is the tremendous amount of dollars remitted by Filipinos sacrificing by working overseas for lack of opportunity here. 50 years of managing the economy like hell to the glory of our political and economic managers because we have become more disciplined in terms of our overseas borrowing while totally profl igate in our spending by the government attended by so much graft and corruption was at the expense of improving employment opportunities and decreasing the poverty level in our country are false accolades. I do realize that monetary authorities cannot do it alone and the cooperation and sound policies of the administration working in harmony with monetary policy is essential. But I do have a serious quarrel with prevailing monetary policies that nobody wants to look at and have made monetary managers complicit with worsening poverty and unemployment in this nation over so many years.
RAY OF HOPE Ramon Orosa The low interest regime, where banks have lowered the interest they pay to the public for their savings, the extractive policies of banks on maintaining a savings account with them is a real disincentive to save and causes them real losses. When anyone saves and is paid 1/10 of one % per annum, while inflation is at the rate of about 3% is to rob the public. More, it is to create a monopolistic trend in banking where the spread between lending and savings rates is so wide. It almost smacks of collusion between the BAP and the BSP to make the banks so incredibly profitable at the expense of the public. Monetary reforms are needed because there is no longer any group capable of some degree of intermediation on fund rates and thus allows Peter to rob Paul in such a terrible way. And, Peter is so much richer than Paul, who struggles daily for survival and has little political leverage or someone to really champion their cause.
Why, when rates are so low are the rates on credit card loans still at 3.5% per month? And boy, if on one installment one is somewhat delayed, the penalty charges and other incidentals, not to speak of the harassment that usually follows, harrowing. The policy to make the banks so much richer, and this is borne out by the reports on their earnings over the last several years, is fine if they earned more because they were smarter and better public service oriented banks. It is simply because they have just become greedier. It is a tribute to the economic and political clout of the bank owners and their utter penchant for more and more profits at the expense of Juan de la Cruz and all the other savers in this country. Why put your money in a bank when they pay virtually nothing on your deposits and hit you with so many service charges, even if your account is dormant for a time. If one saves Ps. 1,000 for one year and gets paid 1/10 of one percent per annum, at the end of the year that money is worth less by 3.4% if the inflation rate is 3.5% for the year. That is not to count the withholding tax on the interest which reduces the earnings on the amount deposited even more. Why are the monetary authorities so unconcerned about this situation that cries out for mediation if not intervention? And the trouble is that the ad-
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ministration is so unconcerned but probably because they do not understand what is going on in the fi rst place. Can the administration wake up and begin to think with some foresight and competence? I have talked to several well known economists and they agree about this grand larceny that is happening, but why the indifference? Well it probably just goes to show that not too many people truly care about the poverty in this nation and do not see the faces and the individuals behind the dirt that likely covers them. I really don’t blame the generalized criticism by Pope Francis of the trickle down effects of economic growth, and until economic planners are truly willing to create policies that give due account to the need to drastically alter some of the prevailing policies and overhaul their thinking about economic models and planning for true growth that is inclusive, 2016 will come and go with little tangible results, well maybe a few more roads and bridges. And one must not believe all the propaganda that come one’s way. This is the real reason behind the opposition to fundamental reforms in this land. The one’s in power are simply playing musical chairs and perhaps Erap is right, “weather-weather lang yan”. What shall we say, for the ones in the right place now, “Happy days are here again?”
FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 2, 2014
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OPINION
From the Chairman
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Doing a Marcos OPINYON columnist Herman Tiu-Laurel gives good advise in his piece ‘Pinoys Should Study History’. And as far as dealing with Meralco is concerned, it would be best for Pnoy to do the same: to look back and study history. Meralco and government has crossed swords in the past over the issue of high electricity rates—an issue that has tested the will of the President and his friendship with the owners of the iconic light and power firm. The year was 1971 and the resident in Malacañang was Ferdinand E. Marcos—arch enemy of PNoy’s late father Ninoy. At the helm of Meralco were Lopez brothers and Marcos allies Eugenio Sr. and Fernando— the firm’s president and vice president, respectively. Acquiring the company in 1962 from its American owners the Lopezes would immediately begin increasing its charges. In 1965, shortly before Marcos became president, Meralco upped its rates by 23 percent. All fine by FM until the 70s rolled in the country went into an economic tailspin. Floating the peso and causing a 50 percent increase in the cost of dollars, Meralco applied and was granted a whopping 36 percent in increase. Even as public outrage simmered, Marcos could not complain as his devaluation of the peso, meant an increase in the cost of generating electricity with Meralco’s facilities dependent on imported oil and coal. But soon, Marcos and the Lopezes headed for a political divorce and a full-scale war ignited. At first, the skirmishes were limited in media until Marcos’ political supremacy was eventually threatened by public discontent over rising utility costs, widespread unemployment and poverty. Marcos and the government machinery went to work and tried to cut Meralco down to size. Marcos blamed the economic downturn on Meralco and threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Lopezes. With the declaration of martial law and the abolition of Congress, Marcos gave the Lopezes the boot and seized control of Meralco. Marcos was judged by history as an iron-fisted dictator and, in many ways, he was. But in a time of crisis such as this, his unilateral act of seizing control of Meralco could be the solution to Pnoy’s present predicament. Doing a Marcos could probably do this country good.
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FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 2, 2014
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The mass action ended with a march to Malacañang by over a thousand victims of Yolanda. Thousands were reported to have been bused from Leyte and comfortably quartered in Metro Manila. The march to Malacañang was the give away to the real agenda of Peoples Surge and that was politics. The Roxas vs. Romualdez war rages and people speculate this Peoples Surge was chapter two. If suspicion is true then that the Romualdez family funded the march to Malacañang to insult the President and to further embarrass Roxas, this one backfi red. Only fools and die-hard anti- Aquino forces believed the victims came to Manila on their own spending about P5,000.00 each just to spite the President. P5k is the estimated cost by one person to come to Manila from Tacloban by bus and stay here for several days. Some were even reported to have taken the plane. The political family who funded these victims’ march must have spent no less than five millions just to embarrass Pres. Aquino and Roxas. The family should have rather spent this to make life of these marchers better in their towns. The family must have overestimated its trust rating and underestimated the intelligence of the people. They were wrong and the presidential hopeful in that family was said to have been little mad at whoever thought of this game. Although he calmed down after learning that the peoples surge was necessary to cover the deficiencies and neglect by the local government the family controls. The march was supposed to be a double win for the funder: “kill” Roxas and keep the public attention away from the local government. Lucky for Roxas, this enemy of his got the wrong PR experts and campaign gurus.
Pinoys Should Study History
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Y youngest sons (twins) tell me that Netizens here (mostly youth) are becoming predominantly anti-China. Sometimes idle talk like “Trillanes sold out some islands of the Philippines”, are twitted. Trillanes’ courageously back-channeling in 2012 which saved the Philippines’ banana exports and thousands of Filipino jobs. It is now 2014 and Filipino Netizens perceptions are still getting more distorted with increasing disinformation from warmongers while China insists on “peaceful development”. But reality is getting more dangerous as Japan’s government officials heat up the rhetoric, like allowing U.S. nuclear weapons into Japan, denying WWII atrocities like Nanjing or “comfort women”, and militarizing its “Peace Constitution”. Philippine media reports and opinions, and Netizens, are turning reality on its head on which the real bully is in Asia, presenting China as the bully when Japan was the culprit for WWII, and the U.S. has been the one throwing its weight around in the region since 1945. General Curtis LeMay planner of the strategic bombing of N. Korea said, “After destroying North Korea’s 78 cities and thou-
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WAS DILG Secretary Mar Roxas the target in the latest demolition trick against the Aquino administration, this time using victims of Yolanda to march to Malacañang and insult Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III? If he was, he has every reason to be glad for the demolition trick backfi red and the mobilization estimated to cost about millions of pesos only succeeded to create more doubt on the sincerity of the local government of Tacloban City to rebuild the lives of Yolanda victims. Roxas, from the start of rescue efforts after Yolanda was at the receiving end of the blame game. Instead of taking brownie points from the public for risking life and leaving the comfort of his Manila offices, he ended up being one of the most hated persons as if he created Super Typhoon Yolanda that wasted over ten thousand lives and devastated millions of families. He was in Tacloban when Yolanda hit land in Leyte. The Roxas hate campaign hit its highest in the “You are a Romualdez and the President is an Aquino” video trick. This one almost politically buried Mar Roxas, leading people to believe he does not stand a chance of winning in the 2016 elections. Politics in the Philippines being like entertainment, the shelf life of a controversy like that video clip could be counted in days. Time then was Roxas best ally to that political demolition job. Of course time and the Filipino’s short attention span worked in Roxas favor. But Roxas’ political enemies were not about ready to give in, given their success in the video clip trick. Running short of video clips to stir hatred on Roxas, his enemies mobilized victims of Yolanda to whip up what was sold in media as Peoples Surge, organizing mass action to demand for a dialogue with government.
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PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE Mentong Laurel sands of her villages,...Over a period of three years or so we killed off – what – twenty percent of the population.” (.... actually 30%) Later, it was 4-million Vietnamese civilian deaths and 2 million Agent Orange victims ... Although the figure today is greater than 3 million Agent Orange victims, including children of the second and third generations.” (Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, U.S.) In the Philippine economy the U.S. is leading merciless financial and economic extraction – dictating the hemorrhagic debt and EVAT taxes, electricity privatization, blockading affordable Chinese goods like the MRT coaches, trains, ad nausea. The public needs accurate information too on real U.S. intent, as James Cogan’s (Global Research) piece illustrates: “’US Analysts Debate Plans for War Against China’.... Seth Cropsey of the Hudson Institute,... critic of AirSea Battle (U.S. war doctrine) , told a US Senate subcommittee ...: ‘With China, our objective ought to be to prevent the rise of an Asian hegemon, a power that would destroy the current US alliance system in Asia, ... The alternative being advocated,... is...by Thomas X. Hammes, titled ‘Offshore Control’... “Hammes, a former marine colonel,...published several articles... promoting his ‘Offshore Control’ plan.... in 2012 that the US repudiate direct attacks on targets located on the Chinese mainland... preparing for an eco-
nomic blockade of China, which is included within AirSea Battle.... that the US military instead ‘cripple China’s export trade’.... involve sinking or intercepting and turning back vessels—in other words, what in peacetime would be piracy on a mass scale. He noted that ‘80 percent of China’s imported oil transits the Straits of Malacca. If Malacca, Lombok, Sunda, and the routes north and south of Australia were controlled, these shipments could be cut off,’ causing a massive energy crisis.” The Chinese response is summed up in China’s National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Fu Ying at the Munich Security Conference, Feb. 1, “Now is the era of peace and development… the ‘Chinese dream’ can’t be realized without a good external environment... the ‘Chinese dream’ will add to peace and prosperity of .... the world.” The Philippines would benefit from this but instead fear and loathing of the Chinese rise as a “threat” is raised. A “threat” to what? The Philippines’ gold, minerals and treasures have been sucked dry by the U.S. and its allies over the past hundred years? That is what the U.S. and the West do not want to lose. China is aware of the possible eventual “economic blockade” hence, it is investing in commercial ports in Pakistan (Gwadar), Sri Lanka (Hambantota and Colombo), Bangladesh (Chittagong) and Burma (Sittwe and Kyaukpyu). There is also a proposed project to open up the isthmus of Thailand like the Panama Canal to be known as the Kra Canal. All these are aimed at obviating the passage of Chinese goods around the Straits of Malacca and avoid any choke-off of trade to and from China. Only the U.S. and West’s strategic interests are threatened by this but the South Asia and Asia trade will flourish because of those ports.
Turn to page 11
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Opinion
The Viewpoints and outlook of the well-informed
Error
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T is quite obvious that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (SBRC) --- in connection with the ongoing investigation of Ruby Tuason’s sworn statements implicating senators on the Janet Lim Napoles-related pork scam --- has been used for purposes other than to conduct hearings “in aid of legislation”. Instead, its hearings have become occasions for errors to be committed...sometimes “in aid of legislators”. I did write last week it was high time that we fuzzy-headed simple folk demanded a just and speedy resolution of the pork charges against the senators, consistent with their right to due process and a presumption of their innocence. Unfortunately, the SBRC has been moving at a snail’s pace and for reasons alien to its raison d’ être --- alas, in a manner symptomatic of what has become of our once-respected upper chamber, if the larger picture is considered!
Sen. Teofisto Guingona lll
Caught right now under the eye of the pork storm is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who, over a week ago, challenged the Senate Ethics Committee to discipline his colleague, Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona lll, for unparliamentary behavior when the latter, in describing Tuason’s testimony against the former, said that the same was a “buzzer-beating winning three-point shot”
which, for Jinggoy, amounted to an unwarranted “prejudgment” by TG of the fi nal outcome of the SBRC investigation. Well, it was not correct for Jinggoy to claim he was “prejudged” by the SBRC Chair since TG was not presiding over a trial. TG was presiding over an investigation in aid of legislation. The error that TG committed, whether intended or not, was fanning the flames of an already growing public opinion against Jinggoy. Wasn’t that unbecoming of the Chair?! TG’s error, even assuming his remark was unintentional, was as unexpected as it was monumental. A friend of mine, TG Is not only a lawmaker and a lawyer. He is the SBRC Chairman himself! In a tit-for-tat mood, Jinggoy cannot be blamed for calling the assault an “offensive foul” which, under basketball’s rules, could merit ejection from the game. Be that as it may, TG ought to have issued an apology to Jinggoy in particular, and the senate in general, then altogether resigned the SBRC Chairmanship. Doing this would’ve restored his good standing as a Senator of the Republic. It bothers me no end that such a blunder was committed by TG, of all people! Well, in my reckoning, one or two things could’ve triggered his booboo: bias and/or “pogi points”. TG might’ve been biased against Jinggoy and/or biased for the witness, Ruby Tuason. This goes without saying that TG might have been also moti-
directly and personally gave him kickbacks from his own PDAF allocations --- will send him to jail unless he refutes the same with convincing evidence.
MUSINGS Ronald Roy vated to earn “pogi points” from the gallery, sensing that Jinggoy had already lost favor with the public, in the face of what has been generally accepted as “damning evidence” so far presented against him. No, I don’t think TG made the controversial remark at the height of playful exuberance, and even if he did, his mischief would’ve been as unwarranted. Oh, I wouldn’t be overconfident if I were Jinggoy who has downplayed corroborated sworn testimonies against him as “empty allegations”. Under the Rules and pertinent jurisprudence, the POSITIVE ASSERTION by Ruby --- that she
Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV
Sen. Sonny Trillanes’ welldocumented visceral dislike for former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (JPE) subtly reared its ugly head throughout his aggressive questioning of Tuason. His tact was perhaps a mild error, but no, I did not see as “badgering” Sonny’s interrogation of Ruby, whose evidence she brought against JPE he viewed as virtually nil, compared to that which was incriminatory to Jinggoy. A Philippine Military Academy cum laude graduate, the former naval officer is best remembered for his valorous “insubordination” against his commander-in- chief, the then spurious president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He spent a few years in jail for his fully-armed defiant stunts resisting arrest, but was later rewarded by the
P-Noy deserves our fullest commendation for pleading for global support to resist China’s bullying tactics in territorial disputes over the West China Sea, even as he lambasted China’s leaders.
electorate with a senate seat. Last week, he was back in his element, his devil-may-care truculence flashing in his eyes and quivering in his voice, as he labored to squeeze out from Ruby damning evidence against his 90-year-old arch nemesis. In the end, he deemed Ruby’s evidence as “generally acceptable”. It now remains to be seen if the legal luminary, the nonagenarian respondent, will even bother to fully use his defensive arsenal, given what appears to be a weak case against him. No Gigi, no guilty verdict. What?! She’s coming home to clear her name?!
Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino lll
No, no error, diplomatic or otherwise, was committed by Pres. Noynoy when he described China’s leaders as “Hitlerian”, in reference to Adolf Hitler’s insidious 1938 acquisition of Czech land after the West failed to give Czechoslovakia ample protection despite the beleaguered country’s feverish entreaties for succor. P-Noy deserves our fullest commendation for pleading for global support to resist China’s bullying tactics in territorial disputes over the West China Sea, even as he lambasted China’s leaders. Under the circumstances, being rude and cheeky was His Excellency’s most proper mien! Congratulations, Sir! (http://musingsbyroy.wordpress. com | 09186449517 | @ronald8roy | #musingsbyroy )
CSD: Peaceful Asia?
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OR Peter Lee in his article ‘Japan hawks ruffle dovish feathers’ - for some key stakeholders, there’s more money in tensions than in peace. That’s certainly the case for the defense industry and the national security apparatus, regardless of what civilian providers of goods and services might think. For people and organizations that work for the war side of the street, “Peaceful Asia” is boring and unprofitable. Sounds familiar in the world of those sustaining their military industrial complexes or simply wanted to divert from other issues confronting domestic problems. I am referring to China and the United States but it seems Japan has its own agenda for creating a war scenario, too. Beijing’s two-front military confrontations in the offi ng both in East China Sea with Japan and in the South China Sea with the Philippines (and other claimants) have recently created tensions. And with the forthcoming visit of US President Barack Obama in the region particularly in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines, stirred up another round of speculations. Although several pundits believe that in the end it is possible that the confl ict will spark between China and Japan that might lead to another global
war, dragging with them regional partners in the process. Remember that basically the issues on the territorial disputes have something to do with historical rights of the countries involved. As much as each nation wanted peaceful resolution on the problem, tensions from provocation, propaganda and counter-propaganda had made it more difficult to achieve such peace in the region. From establishing an air defense zone to visit to ‘forbidden’ shrine, and a lot of rhetoric and saber rattling, this continuous provocations might lead to mutually assured destruction if not handled with cooler heads. One such recent act by Japan is something to watch out especially by China. As the Diet kicked off an ordinary session on Friday (January 24), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in his policy speech that he will tackle the issue of the exercise of the right to collective self-defense on the basis of a report to be issued by a panel of experts, which is a private advisory body for him. For the fi rst time in his current tenure, he mentioned the issue in a Diet speech. Although he did not use a direct expression, his intention is clear: to change the government’s long-standing constitutional interpretation. Under the war-renouncing Article 9 of their Constitution, Japan cannot exercise the right to collective self-defense.
WHISTLE BLOWER Erick San Juan If the Abe government achieves its goal, it will pave the way for Japan to engage in military operations abroad with other countries, especially the United States. Such a change would completely alter postwar Japan’s basic posture of “defense-only defense,” which is designed to ensure it will not repeat the mistake of walking the path to war as it did in the last century — with tragic results for both the region and Japan. The “defense-only defense” posture helped Japan regain the international community’s trust in the postwar period. Japan’s embracing of the right to collective self-defense would cause friction with neighboring countries and perceived to destabilize the regional security environment. It is deplorable that Abe is trying to discard this stance, which has allowed the nation to prosper, on the strength of a report of a private advisory body. The Diet should stop Abe’s effort, which is tantamount to revising the Constitution without follow-
ing the standard procedure for doing so. (Source japantimes. co.jp editorial - Abe’s dangerous path, 1/27/2014) For a long time, the United States has been keen to enable certain joint US/Japanese operations under the current pacifist constitution, with the Japanese side moving beyond its traditional “only defend Japan” restrictions to provide benign, non-aggressive services such as minesweeping, reconnaissance and ballistic missile defense, especially for new regional security missions only tangentially related to the defense of Japan. Scenarios for increased Japanese participation in joint activities, while still within the bounds of the current constitution, have been painstakingly parsed by American and Japanese strategists. Collective Self Defense would add another facet to this kind of operation. A joint flotilla could be sailing around outside Japanese waters, protecting sea lanes and what not, with the Japanese vessels sweeping mines, launching helicopters and surveillance planes, etc, in full pacifist constitution mode. Then, if things get ugly - for instance, if a US vessel and equipment of an unnamed Asian power get into a scrape - then it’s show time! And the Japanese ships are free to blast away to protect the US ship, protect themselves, launch pre-emptive strikes - the list of kinetic operations possible under the
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label of collective self-defense is probably quite extensive. With this sort of scenario in mind, perhaps US planners might believe that “collective self defense” kills two birds with one stone. First, it will allow Japanese forces to be more easily and effectively integrated into new US regional missions beyond genuinely defensive ones. Second, it will keep Japanese forces in a “defensive” posture, so the United States and countries around the region don’t have to worry about the Japanese military going off on independent military adventures. In other words, the “collective self defense” will give the US the best of both worlds: Japan pulls its military weight in the alliance, but Japan’s military ambitions remain under the thumb of the pacifist constitution. (US blind to barbs in Japan defense plan by Peter Lee, 2/13/14) But not for long, for Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “using the right to collective self-defense can be tolerated by reinterpreting the Constitution without amending it.” The scenario-building that the abovementioned developments in Abe’s military policy will not create the needed peaceful resolution to disputes but actually setting the stage for the next war. And the drummer beating the war drums is obviously will not back off.
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Environment POWER TRIP
Legarda Stresses Legislators’ Role in Climate Change Action
How Meralco and the Aquino government make climate change worse
By Erick A. Fabian We are paying Meralco to destroy the environment. Meralco is pursuing to resume the delayed construction of the controversial Subic coal power plant despite protests from concerned citizens, environmental groups, and local residents in the Subic, Zambales area. In the latter half of 2014, the power distribution giant is eyeing another coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon Province. Four coal power plants are being planned for Mindanao to make up for the insufficiency of hydroelectric plants during the dry season. A lot of us who spend a large part of our salaries paying our electricity bills are already reeling from the unnecessary charges. Those mostly stem from Meralco’s inability to fix power loss and significantly penalize ‘jumpers’ who steal electricity with short lengths of wire. Having the world you live in polluted by the same is more than just salt to the wound. It is only a matter of time when Meralco’s Powergen-run coalfired plants are operational from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. You do the math, and it’s easy to see that the Philippines will end up being one of the sources of carbon emissions in Asia. What the Aquino administration and certain foreign investors call progress will turn out to be detrimental to future generations of Filipinos who will have to pay for the effects of climate change made worse by the coal-fired power plants all over the country. President Aquino supports the building of more coal power plants and has defended Meralco’s projects in his SONA speech last July 22, 2013. Just like the corporate energy lobbyists who provide him the perks for his every
nod to their wishes, he simplistically depicts groups who are anticoal as noisy rabble-rousers with agendas, which blinds him from the fact that he is being played around by fossil fuel lobbyists both local and foreign, oblivious of the potential harm of their own agenda due to business interests. He even goes further to use an ad hominem aphorism, mixed with a condescending plea to mock protest groups, by saying, “I wonder if those who are critical of the plants we want put up will be as noisy when they are busy fanning themselves during brownouts. All I am really saying is this: Let us help each other find a solution.” He is assuming that everyone who is anti-coal is a hypocrite who also uses regular electricity, despite the fact that there are advocacy groups who assist communities who want to build their own solar or wind power source to reduce their dependence on Meralco. There is a growing movement of grassroots initiatives that help people use solar and wind power to save a significant amount of electricity. Aquino was obviously mimicking propaganda provided by fossil fuel apologists when he said, “The plant in Redondo, Zambales is a good example. A TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) was issued against the plant because of the argument that renewable energy is better. Did they happen to mention that renewable energy is also more expensive – from the cost of building the plants to the eventual price of energy? Did they mention that it cannot provide the base load – the capacity required to make sure brownouts do not occur? If you put up a wind-powered plant, what do you do when there is no wind? If you put up a solar plant, what do you when the sky
is cloudy?”Obviously the President has not heard of battery storage and hybrid renewable energy systems such as biomasswind fuel cells, among so many recent advancements in low-cost renewable energy systems being developed in countries such as Australia and Spain. This line of talk shows how ignorant the speech is of so many facts. Renewable energy is more expensive now because the government provides more subsidies for coal and has a bias for coal contractors. One look at the Department of Energy site and one will see that attractive incentives are given to coal industry contractors, such as exemption from all taxes (except income tax), exemption from payment of tariff duties and compensating tax on importation of machinery/equipment/spare parts/materials required for the coal operations, allow entry of alien technical personnel, the right of ingress to and egress from the COC area, and recovery of operating expenses. According to former senator and current advisory board chairman of US-based Climate Institute Heherson Alvarez, the Philippines has more than enough alternative sources of energy. The country is the second largest user of geothermal power, and has access to abundant and powerful water energy. Despite availability of said resources, coal-fired power plants make up more than 36 percent of carbon emissions in the country. The veteran politician emphasized those facts during the recent 14th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi, India. There is a common fallacy about coal and petroleum-based energy being the cheapest source of energy, and that misconception is an alarming hindrance to developing technologies that
will use renewable energy sources. Mr. Alvarez further added that lawmakers and lobbyists have this simplistic idea that coal and other carbon-based fuels are the easiest means to achieve energy growth and development. One among so many reasons why coal is heavily subsidized by the government over alternative energy sources is because there are business interests that want to keep it that way, at the expense of the environment, and in effect, at the expense of a local community’s health. Contractors claim that they have advanced technology to make ‘clean coal’. The truth is, said technology can only lessen the amount of emissions and toxic waste. It is no different from ingesting slow poison. Coal produces toxic elements as byproducts: uranium, thorium and potassium 40. Pulitzer Prize-nominated science journalist Mara Hvistendahl of Scientific American writes, “The waste produced by coal plants is actually more radioactive than that generated by their nuclear counterparts.” Meralco and the government’s insistence on having coal plants all over the country to solve our power crisis may provide shortterm solutions. Note that these are solutions for those people who are only interested in their ROI and not the fate of the country’s millions. We all know the problem with quick-fix solutions: it bites us back in the long run. At the cost of putting communities at risk, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, and wasting billions of pesos that could have been invested in renewable energy solutions, we may have zero blackouts, but generations who will suffer the effects of climate change made worse by decisions that lack long-term vision and compassion.
DENR recognizes 10 industries for environmental performance The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has given its Official Seal of Approval to 10 industries for showing exemplary performance in protecting the environment. The Seal was handed out during the fifth Philippine Environment Partnership Program (PEPP) awarding ceremonies held Thursday at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in Quezon City. Seven of the recipients belonged to the power sector. DENR Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio Jr. congratulated the participating industries who “made a mark in their environmental
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performance not so much as a corporate social responsibility program, but as an integral part of their operations.” Now on its fifth year of recognizing industries that have gone beyond environmental compliance, Ignacio said that the PEPP process has shown that “more and more companies have embraced the principle that to thrive in the global and national arena, it is necessary to face environmental challenges, which is not only good for the environment, but also makes a lot of business sense.” The ten industry award-
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ees under the PEPP’s “Track 1 Category” were the following: Aboitiz Power Hedcor Sibulan, Inc. in Davao del Sur; Aboitiz Power Hedcor, Inc. in Benguet; Aboitiz Power Hedcor, Inc. – Talomo Grid in Davao City; Aboitiz Power Renewables, Inc. – Makiling-Banahaw (MakBan) Geothermal Power Plant in Laguna; Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils., Inc. in Ilagan, Isabela. Dole Philippines, Inc. main plant in Polomolok, South Cotabato; Green Core Geothermal, Inc. in Tongonan, Leyte; Energy Development Corporation - Mt. Apo Geothermal Project
in Kidapawan, North Cotabato; Kepco-Ilijan Power Corporation in Batangas; and Petron Tacloban Depot in Leyte. Industries awarded with the Seal enjoy relaxed submission requirements of reports, longer validity of permits, and simplified requirements in securing an Environmental Compliance Certificate or ECC for expansion projects. The Seal is valid for one year. The PEPP also provides assistance to other establishments particularly small and medium enterprises or SMEs in cleaning up their production processes to prevent pollution.
SENATOR Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, today stressed on the role of lawmakers in seeking solutions to the challenges brought about by the warming climate. Legarda made the statement as the Senate and the House of Representatives, together with the British Embassy in Manila and the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE International) Philippines Chapter, welcome Sir David King, the UK Special Representative for Climate Change, in a forum, “The Politics of Climate Change and its 21st Century Challenges.” “As lawmakers, we have the duty to craft policies towards sustainable development, environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction and management. The Philippine Congress has successfully passed two laws considered by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction as among the world’s best laws on disaster resilience--the Philippine Climate Change Act and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act,” said Legarda. “However, our task as legislators does not end with the passage of laws. We must embark on a mission to elevate the role of lawmakers in the fight towards resilience primarily by enhancing Congress’ oversight functions and promoting regular executive-legislative consultation and dialogue,” she added. Legarda recalled that in 2008, as part of her commitment to the 2008 Manila Call for Action, she filed a Senate Resolution recommending the creation of a standing committee on climate change. “The call did not fall on deaf ears because in December 2008, the Senate Committee on Climate Change was created to ensure the implementation of laws as well as the sustainability of initiatives for DRR and CCA in the Philippines. But we still have a great task ahead of us,” she said. “We must continue to promote a change of mindset, especially in members of government institutions, to be more concerned and committed to helping the national government address the threats of environmental degradation and the warming climate,” Legarda concluded.
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Agriculture Oversupply Worries Chicken Farmers POULTRY farmers have requested government help to reduce retail prices in order to address current over-supply in the market. A group of poultry growers is asking the Department of Trade and Industry to lower the suggested retail price in anticipation of an oversupply of chicken. Jose Inciong, president of the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA), said the group expects a chicken glut “unless there are interventions put in place by players and other stakeholders.” Inciong said current farm-gate prices average PhP82 pesos per kilogram of live weight, up from a 2013 low of PhPP45 per kilo. With
an oversupply expected this quarter, those prices could fluctuate between PhP60 to PhP85 per kilo. “Prices will remain volatile because of oversupply,” he said. Chicken retails for from PhP120PhP135 in most public markets. Mr Inciong said the usual mark-up on farm-gate price is PHP30 unless other middlemen are involved. “The problem is, even if farm-gate prices are low, this is not felt by consumers. Right now, we are trying to coordinate with the DTI and the [Department of Agriculture] to adjust the suggested retail prices when farmgate prices are low so that the excess supply can be absorbed,” he said. The normal annual frozen inven-
tory for chicken is usually placed at 5,000 tons but supply reached 20,000 tons in October 2013, a record high for the industry. Last November, Typhoon Yolanda caused billions in damage in the central Philippines. The Department of Agriculture estimated damage to the poultry industry on Bantayan island in Cebu at PhP421 million. Bantayan is a major supplier of poultry and eggs to the Visayas. “Prices fall because there are speculative breeders who anticipated a large demand because it was the Christmas season. Most new players have this mindset, so farm-gate prices have been depressed,” said Inciong.
DA Releases P1B for Farmers, Fishers Loan Program P14-M Cocoa Production to Spur Income of Zambo Farmers THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Kennemer Foods International Inc. (KFI) embark on PhP14million cacao production to provide the farmers in Zamboanga del Sur access to global markets for cocoa and arm them with new technology to boost their income and develop sustainable agribusiness enterprise. Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO) Arturo N. Soria said the business venture will initially cover 200 hectares of lands in Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur for a period of 10 years to assist the private sector to have a steady supply of cacao beans. “The lands to be used are managed by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), who are members of Midsalip Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MIFAMCO), the proponent cooperative in the said project,” he added. “The KFI will market all the harvested cocoa beans they purchased from the ARBs, who will be provided, by the same organization, with technology as well as high quality planting materials, farm inputs, trainings and technical consultancy,” Soria said. Soria added that the KFI will fund MIFAMCO to extend cocoa production loan to potential producers for the purchase of cocoa seedlings. KFI is an international organization, producer and marketer of food and agricultural products. The company specializes in growing and trading high quality fermented cacao beans. It is committed to rural development as their products encompass complete agricultural valuechain from planting materials, training and agri-technology. Beneficiaries Development Coordination Division Chief Josephine Sisican said this endeavor will capacitate the involved stakeholders, especially the ARBs’ economic activities. “The DAR will continue to provide agricultural facilities in the area to empower the farmer beneficiaries and oversee the implementation of the project,” she added. MIFAMCO Chairman Andres Rondrique said he is positive that this partnership would launch the growth of Cacao Industry in Region IX starting in Midsalip.
THE Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has designed a “flexible credit facility” that will provide agricultural loans to more or less 40,000 marginalized farmers and fishers from the poorest provinces around the country. Dubbed as Agriculture and Fisheries Financing Program (AFFP), the scheme was launched at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City last February 14. During the event, DA and ACPC turned-over to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and People’s Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC) PhP550 million and PhP450 million, respectively. The LBP will lend directly to farmer and fisherfolk borrowers, while PCFC will lend to its accredited borrower organizations, to be accessed by farmers and fishers. DA Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Antonio Fleta said that the
amount will be used exclusively for the establishment of a lending facility which will be made available to small farmers and fisherfolk who are presently unable to access credit due to stringent requirements and payment terms. For her part, ACPC Executive Director Jovita Corpuz said the program aims to enhance “financial inclusion” of the rural poor—particularly those who belong to the agriculture sector—as a means to bring about more inclusive growth. She added that AFFP does not only provide credit for whole agricultural supply chain and other livelihood activities, it is also supported with capacity building, technical assistance, credit guarantee, marketing, and monitoring and evaluation in coordination with other concerned government agencies and institutions. Beneficiaries are underprivileged farmers and fishers registered under the
ALCALA in Batanes
Agriculture Secretary Alcala gestures as he talks to local leaders and other agriculture officials regarding possible expansion of rice areas in the island-municipality of Itbayat, Batanes, construction site of a PhP71-million rainfed reservoir and irrigation dam project. The Secretary instructed the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to fast-track the completion of the project, which forms part of his commitment to make the province—the country’s northernmost and composed of 10 islands and islets—food self-sufficient. Also in photo (LR): Vice Mayor Sabas De Sagun (in jacket), DA-Batanes Experiment Station head Celso Bellones; NIA 2 Regional Manager Antonio Lara (in striped shirt), RFU 2 Dir. Lucresio Alviar; and RFU 2 Regional Technical Director Orlando Lorenzana.
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Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) of the Department of Budget Management and are not agrarian reform beneficiaries. They can borrow any amount not more than P300,000 depending on their needs. The mode of payment may be quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, based on cash flow of their project. A monthly interest of 1.25% or annual rate of 15% is set. The loan term will be based on the crop production or project cycle of the borrower, but will not exceed five years which is the span of the program. Under the AFFP guidelines, borrowers are also required to enroll applicable or eligible agri-fishery projects for coverage under the appropriate insurance facility of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). As an exclusive arrangement under this program, the government’s crop insurance premium will already include the farmer’s share as well.
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FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 2, 2014
9 2/21/14 10:21 PM
OPINION Youngest Filipino Billionaire From page 12
“I asked myself, ‘Will I end up working in this store, merely giving change for animal feed?’ I decided to professionalize it. I worked 24/7.” Calata was determined to prove that upgrading with technology was the way to go. Although recording the inventory was tedious, it guaranteed accuracy. The company became a corporation in 1999 and Calata took over the highest post in the company in 2003 after proving that he deserved the post. The successful entrepreneur, owing it to his background in fi nancial management, decided to increase the distribution of goods to Central Luzon and Pangasinan.
Youngest CEO
Four years after he took the post, the company’s revenues easily rose to P806 million, a billion in 2007 and reached P1.6 billion in 2008. He was pronounced the country’s youngest CEO in 2009, after the company reached P1.8 billion revenues. The company, which as incorporated as Calata Corp., went into high-efficiency poultry farming, private airplane leasing, and trucking.. “While it may not be the most alluring of sectors for businessmen, I believe agriculture holds great potential to boost the Philippine economy,” Calata said in a People Asia interview.
Highest Point
In November 2012 Calata Corp. signed a contract with Siembra Directa Corp., an affi liate of a big Argentine fi rm. The deal, worth PhP1.6 billion, is considered one the biggest deals in the local agriculture sector. Calata said its exclusive supply agreement with Siembra Directa Corp. will cover 20 years of seeds supplies, agrochemicals, fertilizers and other farm inputs as part of the company’s aim to become the “top distributor of farm inputs in the Philippines.” As part of the agreement, Calata and his Argentine partners put their mechanical planters and fumigators to work in Echague, Isabela, to demonstrate how the machinery can significantly improve productivity. In May 23 last year, Calata became the youngest businessman ever to list his company through an initial public offering at the Philippine Stock Exchange. He also became the youngest chairman of a PSE-listed entry. The launch of Calata Corp. in the stock exchange is the highest point in his career so far. The company scored P2.7 billion worth of revenues last year. It took some organization, calculated risks and luck for him to amass such a fortune. Instinctively, he adopted the principles embraced by billionaires: Save money, live frugally, keep the nose on the grindstone, create long-term plans, and make the best use of your resources. “Outside of Manila, such as Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, everybody thrives on agriculture,” Calata explained. “We see only the roads and the stores but behind those are rice fields, piggeries and poultry farms. What I sell is the input for what people eat. For them to eat rice, fertilizer for the soil is needed; while the rice is growing, it needs agrochemicals. I also supply the seeds. In all, the life of rice is supplied by Calata. We also provide what pigs and chickens eat.”
China Partnership
The most recent development for Calata Corp. was its partnership with the New Hope Group (NHG) of China to introduce a new animal-feed line under its company-owned brand Golden Bean. The fi rm disclosed in October that the board of directors gave the green light to bring Golden Bean feeds to all its dealers nationwide. Calata—who tied the knot with girlfriend Marnely Salvador last January—expects Golden Bean Feeds will soon become the leading feed brand in the country’s P150-billion feed industry. NHG claims to be China’s leader in agribusiness, with annual sales of around $8.8 billion. The Chinese fi rm is one of the largest feed producers in China with an annual production capacity of 26.6 million tons. Asked about his future plans, Calata said: “My plans include expansion and innovation. I intend to improve technology in farming to aid the farmers. Bibilhin ko ang mga ani nila and we’ll take care of the rest. We will improve our mills and provide dryers for them. With technology we can help them improve their lives as well.”
Pinoys Should Study History From page 4
The West takes a threatening view, as Ashley Townshend in Yaleglobal OnLine wrote, “ Viewed alongside the large-scale naval modernization program being undertaken by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) many worry that these ostensibly trade-oriented ports will one day be upgraded into permanent naval bases.” But why should China do as they fear if others do not attempt to sabotage China and the region’s economic prosperity? The fact is, the West and the U.S. continues to discuss plots to choke off China as cited above. And why would the U.S. and the West start a war? From “All Wars Are Bankers’ Wars” by Michael Rivero: “The United States fought the American Revolution primarily over King George III’s Currency
Act, which forced the colonists to conduct their business only using printed bank notes borrowed from the Bank of England.... World War One started between AustriaHungary and Serbia, but quickly shifted to focus on Germany,.... seen as an economic threat to Great Britain,...When the Weimar Republic collapsed economically, it opened the door for (the State) ... to issue their own state currency not borrowed from private central bankers. Freed from having to pay interest.... Germany blossomed and quickly began to rebuild its industry...”
(Tune to 1098AM, DWAD, Tues. To Fri. “Sulo ng Pilipino” program; watch GNN Sat. 8pm and Sun. 8am over Destiny Cable ch. 8 or SkyCable ch. 213, or www. gnntv-asia.com
Democratic Capitalism
C
OMMUNISM has one big advantage over capitalism and that is the fact that communism is both a political and an economic ideology, but capitalism on the other hand only has the economic component, and it is hardly even an ideology in the strict sense of the word. It could be said that democracy is the political ideology behind capitalism but that could be stretching it too far, because these two are not welded together in the sense that communism welds together its political and economic aspects. If I sound like I do not know what I am talking about, that is probably because nobody seems to have written on this subject before, at least locally. It seems that everyone has taken for granted that capitalism and democracy have really nothing to do with each other, except for the fact that both of them are on one side of the fence, opposite the other side where communism is. Of course, everyone already knows that democracy breeds capitalism, or I should say that democracy provides the environment for capitalism to prosper. However, I should also say that big capital runs counter to the principles of democracy, because it does not provide access for small investors to participate in their money making opportunities. Perhaps it could be argued that small investors could invest in publicly listed corporations, but more often than not, the stock offerings of these corporations are beyond the reach of small investors. No matter how much detached democracy is to capitalism, being just strange bedfellows, there is still a chance that these two elements could be fused together, in much the same way that the political and economic components of communism are fused together. No, I am not talking about socialism that would nationalize some industries. I am talking instead about democratic capitalism, a hybrid approach that could possibly emerge out of the cooperative movement. I have looked everywhere as many times as I could, and I could not fi nd any other movement that could possibly give the chance for small investors to invest in big business, other than
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SCIENCE WORKS Ike Señeres the cooperative movement. Yes, it is possible for cooperatives to engage in big business, and as proof of that, the combined assets of all coops could possibly even surpass the combined assets of some big conglomerates. And to add to that, all coops are wide open for investment by any small investors, unlike many big corporations that are closed to most outsiders. Even if the contributions of coop members are relatively smaller compared to the required investments in the big corporations, these are still big monies when pooled together, and it is still capitalism, albeit in a much more open form. By comparison however, the coops have more than just financial capital, because they have social capital that the big corporations do not have. Both the coops and the big corporations could claim to have human capital, but the coops have the edge in this regard, because they have more sense of belonging among their members. Some might say that the coop movement has many problems, and that includes poor management, corruption and too much politics. I would agree with that, and I would even add that the movement is sick with social cancer. The fact is, the movement is merely a microcosm if our bigger society that is also sick with a much more severe social cancer. Having said that however, I would also say on the other hand that the movement is not hopeless in the same way that our country is not hopeless, and both could be cured, just like the many cancer survivors. At the risk of being accused of too much generalization, I would still say that the lack of law enforcement is the cause of the social cancer of the movement, and that also seems to be the cause of the social cancer of our country. To be more specific, I am referring to the law that re-
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quires coops to hire only professional managers, the same law that requires them to invest in the continuing education of their directors, managers and members. It seems that these training funds are not being spent as they are supposed to be spent. Instead of hiring professional managers, many of the coops are hiring their own relatives and friends instead, and that is why many of these coops are poorly run, and are losing money as a matter of fact. In some cases, the training funds may be used for the benefit of these non-professional managers, but it is like throwing good money after bad, and just like trying to squeeze blood out of turnips. The only cure to this problem is to enforce the law by hiring professional managers only, and conversely, by banning the hiring of relatives and friends. There are about two hundred State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) all over the country, and they could all be tapped to conduct professional management training for the entire cooperative movement. The academic content for these training programs are already available, and so are the means of the online delivery of these courses. My idea however, is to combine the online and the onsite means of delivery, perhaps with a 50/50 combination. Aside from business management in general, the training should include courses in marketing management, with a focus on product development, packaging, labeling, branding, advertising, promotions and electronic commerce. The latter is most important nowadays, because the potential of global e-commerce is very much bigger than local retail sales. On the technology side, there is no shortage of software for business to business (B2B) e-commerce and business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce, among others. There is also no shortage of affordable computing and retailing solutions, including Point of Sale (POS) machines that could be acquired on a per use basis (fee based only). The bottom line is the willingness of the coops to grow. *** For feedback, email iseneres@ yahoo.com or text+639083159262
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Millionaires Club
SECTIONS POLITICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 AGRICULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 FOREIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P1 LIFESTYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P4
JOSEPH H. CALATA
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Youngest Filipino Billionaire
OSEPH H. Calata, CEO of Calata Corp.—one of the Philippines’ biggest corporations—made history by becoming the youngest Filipino billionaire at the age of 31. Already accomplished businessman at such a young age, it is quite unimaginable that a corporation producing millions of pesos in revenues annually started out as a small family business distributing feeds and fertilizers in Plaridel town Bulacan. Born and raised in Bulacan, Calata was always driven by high aspirations. He went to a Catholic boy’s school in Bulacan. At De La Salle University (DLSU), he took up B.S. Math but shifted to Management of Financial Institutions.
Born to do Business
A born entrepreneur, Calata joined a networking operation that sold multivitamins and other food supplements while in college. He recruited people and put them through a seminar to help him sell the supplements. In five months, he made PhP400,000 in sales commissions. “I taught them everything about the products and threw in service opportunity strategies, and actively encouraged them,” he recalled. But getting to the top was not easy for Calata who worked his way up the family business—then named J. Melvin’s— where he served as a clerk back in 2001. J. Melvin’s, a poultry feed store in Plaridel, Bulacan, had been incorporated under the name Planters Choice Agro Products which was established by his parents Eusebio and Isabel in 1978. The store was named after Joseph and his older brother Melvin. His father was an agricultural trader; his mother, a working student before she married. Although J. Melvin’s had branches in Malolos, its main market were the farmers in Plaridel. ‘The business was run Binondo-style. Mom was cashier and purchaser. She would deposit the money in the bank. Ultimately, you couldn’t expand with that system,’ Calata said in a 2011 newspaper interview.
My plans include expansion and innovation. I intend to improve technology in farming to aid the farmers. Bibilhin ko ang mga ani nila and we’ll take care of the rest.
Upgrading
Calata envisioned their backyard business as a professional corporation. He bought an accounting software that took him a year to master and tailor-fit to the store. “It was defi nitely trial-and-error but I wanted to prove that it could be done with patience and determination,” he said. Turn to page 11
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FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 2, 2014
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