By Jovee Marie dela Cruz

THE leadership of the House of Rep-resentatives on Monday announced that it will temporarily hold off the

investigation on the bloodbath in Ma-masapano, Maguindanao, that killed 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action Force commandos. Related story on B3. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the House will allow the government’s Board of Inquiry (BOI) to finish its investiga-tion first before the House conducts its own probe. “The results of which [BOI investigation]

lawmakers can use as basis for their discus-sions in their own possible inquiry later on,” he said. “Let them finish that because part of the work is in the field and so forth. Let them finish it, and when they have finished, we cannot preclude any body in Congress want-ing to look at it further,” Belmonte said. He added that the BOI, composed mainly of top police officers, are more aware of the situation on the ground. “I would like to leave that [immediate investigation] to the professionals, to the people who are actually investigating it. They are more aware of the situation on

the ground. It’s very easy to say do this, do that, but I want to leave that to them. We can make a discussion, a proper discus-sion on the basis of their own findings,” Belmonte said. The BOI is headed by Deputy Direc-tor General Leonardo Espina, National Police officer in charge; Director Ed-gardo Inking, Directorate for Integrated Police Operations Western Mindanao head; Director Benjamin Magalong, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief; and Chief Supt. Catalino Rodriguez, Directorate for Research and Development head.

In the preliminary data of the 2014 Employment Situ-ation report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the number of employed Filipinos increased to 37.3 million in 2014, from 36.3 million in 2013. However, the growth in the number of employed Filipinos was driven by part-time employment. Part-time employment rose sharply by 9.1 percent, or 1.1 million, while persons with full-time jobs declined by 227,000 in 2014. “Amid the expansion, the quality of employment remained a key challenge. Employment growth this

www.businessmirror.com.ph n TfridayNovember 18, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 40 P25.00 nationwide | 7 sections 32 pages | 7 days a weekn Tuesday, February 3, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 117

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirrorthree-time

rotary club of manila journalism awardee2006, 2010, 2012u.n. media award 2008

Peso exchange rates n us 44.0840 n jaPan 0.3756 n uK 66.4743 n hK 5.6870 n china 7.0523 n singaPore 32.5800 n australia 34.2480 n eu 49.7841 n saudi arabia 11.7323 Source: BSP (2 February 2015)

INSIDE

organize yourPantry with afive-steP maKeover

in tom we trust

obama ties foreignProfits tax to bigPublic-worKs sPending

Life Tuesday, February 3, 2015 D1BusinessMirrorEditor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

W E rejoice, Lord, that Pope Francis knows that we Filipinos love him. His presence in the country during his visit gave him the opportunity to

experience firsthand our love for him in thousands of ways, which he will treasure as long as his memory endures. Now it is time for us to think of the future, and to plan and build it on the solid foundation of the key word that he left with us—Love! This life-giving and demanding love will make all the difference for our country and each of us. Amen.

� e opportunityto experience

WORD OF LIFE, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSONWord&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Organize your pantrywith a five-step makeover

B A SSaint Louis Post-Dispatch

WE confront it everyday, morning and night, for one of our most basic needs—the search for food.

If your pantry is a mess, it can bookend your day in frustration.

Fortunately, it’s also one of the quickest organization projects that offers one of the biggest returns in improved efficiency and peace of mind. We turned to two professional organizers to makeover two different types of kitchen pantries.

The first one, a floor-to-ceiling cabinet with six pull-out shelves was my very own challenge. The second, a closet pantry combined with a mudroom, was a neighbor’s. It took about an hour to complete the cabinet pantry, and it took two organizers about two hours to make over the larger one. Each one, however, followed the same basic steps:

1. Assess your needs. Take note of what works about your pantry. Then, list the things that make you crazy about it.

Lisa Bianco, director of marketing for the National Association of Professional Organizers Saint Louis chapter and owner of Perfectly Organized in O’Fallon, Missouri, said she starts every project with a conversation with the client about how often the items in the pantry are used and by whom.

The stuff that gets used every day needs to stay near the middle. The things that children help themselves to should be within their reach. The less often an item is used, the higher or lower up it can live.

Gretchen Bender, owner of Creative Spaces Organizing in Saint Louis, said the first question she asks is: What is your goal?

“A lot of time people have the space, but they don’t know what to do with it. They just see a series of shelves.” The organizer starts envisioning what can be grouped together, taken out and added to improve the functionality.

2. Empty it out. The next step is to empty out the entire pantry. It sounds daunting, but it’s truly the only way to get a handle on everything that is hidden there. People will often discover they own multiples of the same product or have a backlog of expired foods.

“If you don’t see it, you won’t use it,” Bianco said.

We discovered several unopened bottles of vitamins and supplements that had been purchased with good intentions but lost in the recesses of the pantry.

3. Sort into categories. The next step is to group like items. Bianco brought a few storage containers in which she grouped all the protein bars, and fruit and nut

bars roaming around. She created a section for snacks, one for breakfast items, pasta and dinner, spices, grains/rice and an entire shelf for baking.

4. Toss the excess and expired. First, you purge, Bianco said. Get rid of things that are stale or expired. I threw out some year-old granola and half a package of stale shortbread cookies. (I don’t even like shortbread cookies.) We also tossed the Tupperware that was missing lids and consolidated things into empty jars that kept turning up.

Taking note of the redundancy in the pantry can help cut down future costs. “It can be a money saver,” Bender said. Think about the money wasted on food that gets thrown away, excess items and impulse buys. It can help with menu planning to keep a grocery list on the inside door of the pantry and make a note of things you needs before you shop for the week’s meals.

5. Put the puzzle back together. In the case of both the pantries our organizers worked on, they added a few storage baskets that grouped together certain items, such as teas, spices or lentils. In my pantry, Bianco added Lazy Susans for soup cans. She also added labels on each shelf as a reminder for everyone who uses the pantry.

Bianco moved the largest box of cereal to a middle shelf where our children could reach it more easily. She grouped it with the oatmeal and other breakfast foods. She also suggested tearing the loose box tops off of boxes to make the overall space appear cleaner.

For shelves that don’t pull out, it’s important to use the vertical space, so everything is within eye level. This may require buying a few tiered shelves, she said. She added two small containers, two medium ones and two Lazy Susans that cost very little.

In the closet pantry, they added a few more storage containers. In both cases, they played with a few different ways of putting the contents back together.

“It’s like putting together a puzzle,” Bianco said. Some pieces fit better in different configurations and it takes a little bit of trial and error.

A pantry project is a good start for those who want to become more organized, Bianco said. “It doesn’t take as long. It gets you motivated and lets you feel successful.”

In less than an afternoon and less than $50 in supplies, you can make enough tweaks in an area of the house you use every day to have a significant impact on the rest of your day. ■

BACK when feng shui was regarded as only for the Chinese in the country, it was the Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony which pioneered and popularized this age-old Chinese tradition and made it accessible “outside of Chinatown”.

Yin & Yang, which openedshop in 1998 with the late renownedfeng shui master and icon, Paul Lau Tak Lun, together with the mother-and-daughter team of Baby and PrincessLim Fernandez, has established itselfas the preferred and sought-afterchoice of discerning feng shui traditionalists, advocates, and enthusiasts in the country.

A one-stop curio shop which offers a broad range of feng shui-related goods and services, Yin & Yang features carefully curated items and one-of-a-kind Chinese antiques and collectibles,

authentic and natural crystals in raw and polished form, and other unique feng shui objects that are exclusively designed and handcrafted using only the finest, authentic and traditional materials.

The shop also offers consultations that cater to a wide range of needs—personal, residential and commercial, lot and house purchase, selection of auspicious dates, site development and floor plan consultations.

While adhering to the traditions of the feng shui practice, the shop has adapted to modern times to create a distinct Yin & Yang touch.

“Apart from feng shui, we have been collaborating for the Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival celebrations in the country, notably with Mandarin Oriental, Manila. This year, as we welcome the Year of the Wood Goat

on February 19, the Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony is delighted to lead the Chinese New Year festivities of two major global brands,” says feng shui expert Princess

Lim Fernandez.The Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony is

expected to be at the forefront of Chinese New Year events for Autohub, the

exclusive distributor of Mini Cooper, Rolls Royce, and Lotus, on the eve of February 18; and for New World Makati Hotel on February 19.

A 2015 Year of the Wood Goat Feng Shui Lucky Diary will also be launched by Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony, in time for the Chinese New Year. The specially designed diary will serve as a useful reference and guide to feng shui advocates and enthusiasts, as they endeavor in their daily undertakings throughout the year, be it personal, business, or social.

Now on its 17th year and with its new address at New World Makati Hotel, the shop, with feng shui expert Fernandez at the helm, will continue to educate and work with clients on the significance and benefits of a properly guided feng shui. It is at the lagoon area in lobby.

Bring in some more good ch’i

❶ LUCKY POUCH FOR THE WOOD GOAT YEAR Carrying this pouch throughout the year will help attract the “1-6-8”money luck for you.

❷ TRAY OF HARMONY Since the ruling star in the center this year is the “Conflict Star”, to help attract harmony and minimize conflict, it is best for all households to have one of this.

❸ DOOR GUARDS Since the “Robbery Star” of the year is quite aggressive, having a pair of these Door Guards by your door will help protect your home.

❹ AGAR WOOD This wood is reputed to be the most expensive wood in the world. There are many names for this resinous, fragrant heartwood produced by trees. The sweet, deep but balanced fragrance that it gives off soothes, calms, heals and rejuvenates the mind, body and spirit.

BABY and Princess Lim Fernandez

DAKOTA JOHNSON,

JAMIE DORNAN DIDN’T RUSH INTO ‘50 SHADES’... »D2

❶ ❷ ❸

❹

SportsSportsBusinessMirrorSportsC1 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

sports@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun Lomibao

B B WThe Associated Press

GLENDALE, Arizona—Ten years removed from his last Super Bowl win, Tom Brady wasn’t letting this one slip away. Sure, the brilliant Brady needed a huge play by an undrafted rookie to preserve New England’s

28-24 Super Bowl victory over Seattle on Sunday night. But Brady’s imprint was all over the Patriots’ sensational fourth-quarter rally for their fourth National Football League (NFL) championship of the Brady-Bill Belichick era. “You know, whatever it takes,” the record-setting Brady said after throwing for four touchdowns, including a 3-yarder to Julian Edelman with 2:02 remaining as New England rallied from a 10-point deficit. “Every team has a journey and a lot of people lost faith in us...but we held strong, we held together, and it’s a great feeling.” The Patriots (15-4) had to survive a last-ditch drive by the Seahawks (14-5), who got to the 1, helped by a spectacular juggling catch by Jermaine Kearse. Then Malcolm Butler stepped in front of Ricardo Lockette to pick off Russell Wilson’s pass and complete one of the wildest Super Bowl finishes. Brady leaped for joy on the Patriots sideline after Butler’s first career interception. “It wasn’t the way we drew it up,” said Brady, who won his third Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award. “It was a lot of mental toughness. Our team has had it all year. We never doubted each other, so that’s what it took.” Brady surpassed Joe Montana’s mark of 11 Super Bowl touchdown passes with a 4-yarder to Danny Amendola to bring the Patriots within three points. Seattle, seeking to become the first repeat NFL champion since New England a decade ago, was outplayed

for the first half, yet tied at 14. The Seahawks scored the only 10 points of the third period, but the NFL-leading defense couldn’t slow the brilliant Brady when it counted most. “He’s Tom Brady,” Edelman said. “He’s the greatest quarterback on the planet.” It didn’t matter how much air was in the balls, Brady was unstoppable when the pressure was strongest. While pushing aside the controversy over air pressure in the footballs stemming from the AFC title game, the Patriots moved the ball easily in the final 12 minutes. Seattle didn’t quit—it never does—and Kearse’s 33-yard catch with 1:06 remaining got it to the 5. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 4 yards, then backup cornerback Butler, who was victimized on Kearse’s reception, made the biggest play of his first NFL season with 20 seconds remaining. “I just had a vision that I was going to make a big play and it came true,” Butler said. “I’m just blessed. I can’t explain it right now. It’s crazy.” Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin was ejected in the final seconds for instigating a near-brawl, delaying the celebration for the Patriots. Soon they were mobbing one another on the same field where their 2007 unbeaten season was ruined in the Super Bowl by the Giants. They also fell to the Giants for the 2011 title. But thanks to superstar Brady and the obscure Butler, they are champions again. “Malcolm, what a play,” Brady said. “I mean, for a rookie to make a play like that in a Super Bowl and win us the game, it was unbelievable.” Brady has equaled Montana with

four Lombardi Trophies and three Super Bowl MVPs. He stands alone with 13 Super Bowl touchdown passes. He was 37 for 50 for 328 yards against the NFL’s top-ranked defense. He also was picked off twice; Brady was intercepted a total of two times in his previous five Super Bowls. Yet, he picked apart the Seahawks on fourth-quarter drives of 68 and 64 yards, solidifying his championship legacy. His heroics offset those of Chris Matthews, one of Seattle’s least-used players before the postseason. Matthews recovered the onside kick that helped the Seahawks beat Green Bay in overtime for the NFC crown, and had a breakout performance on Sunday. Having never caught a pass in the NFL, Matthews grabbed four for 109 yards and a touchdown. Lynch ran for 102 yards, but didn’t get the ball at the 1 on the decisive play—a decision the Seahawks will rue forever. “For it to come down to a play like that, I hate that we have to live with that,” Coach Pete Carroll said, “because we did everything right to win the football game.” The teams got down to football under the open retractable roof at University of Phoenix Stadium—the first venue to host an indoor and an outdoor Super Bowl—after dealing

with distractions far beyond the typical Super Bowl hype. The Patriots are still being

investigated for using those underinflated footballs at the

AFC championship game. It was a game of

spurts by both teams before a crowd of 70,288 that was clearly pro-Seattle.

Jeremy Lane made the first big play to negate a nearly eight-minute drive by the

Patriots with a leaping interception at the goal line late in the

GLENDALE, Arizona—As a boy, years before he became a pretty good quarterback in his own right, Tom Brady idolized Joe Montana.

Now, at age 37, Brady owns just as many Super Bowl championships—and just as many Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards—as the Pro Football Hall of Famer. And no quarterback in history has more. Brady completed 37 of 50 passes for 328 yards with four touchdown passes, each to a different receiver, including an 8-for-8 bit of perfection on the drive that led to the go-ahead score with about two minutes left on Sunday night. That performance, and a victory-clinching interception by rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler, lifted the New England Patriots to a 28-24 comeback victory over the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl with a slow start and a “Whoa!” finish. This was not Brady at his best throughout. He threw two interceptions, including one deep in Seattle territory in the first quarter, and another in the third that led to points for the Seahawks. That’s part of why the Patriots trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter, before Brady got the comeback going. “It wasn’t the way we drew it up. Certainly, throwing a couple of picks didn’t help,” said Brady, who broke Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl record of 34 completions set last year. “It was a lot of mental toughness. Our team has had it all year. We

never doubted each other, so that’s what it took. That was a great football team we beat. I’m just so happy for our team.” Sitting in his family’s season-ticket seats at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park while growing up, Brady would wear a No. 16 jersey, just like Montana, and cheer for his favorite player’s team. Brady did a fairly good impression of Joe Cool against Seattle. He connected with Danny Amendola for a 4-yard touchdown with about eight minutes left. That gave Brady 12 TD passes in Super Bowls, breaking Montana’s mark. Then, with 2:02 to go, Brady hit Julian Edelman from 3 yards for TD toss No. 13 in Super Bowls—and, more important, the lead. Brady turned to New England’s sideline, pointed, then raised his right fist. Only after Butler grabbed Russell Wilson’s pass from the 1-yard line in the final half-minute could Brady really begin to celebrate, leaping up and down on the sideline and embracing Coach Bill Belichick. Now Brady, Montana and Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only starting quarterbacks to earn four Super Bowl rings. AP

SEATTLE—People in Seattle poised to celebrate a second straight Super Bowl win by the Seahawks were instead left stunned. “I’m sad,” said Rebe Wolverton, who was part of a crowd watching Sunday’s

game on large screen televisions outside a restaurant near Century Link Field. A late interception preserved New England’s 28-24 victory. “This hurts,” said Wolverton, who was wearing a Seahawks winter cap and holding a bag of Skittles, the favorite candy of the team’s running back, Marshawn Lynch. Moments before the turnover Seattleites were certain their team would score with a run from the 1-yard-line. The boisterous crowd in the Pioneer Square

neighborhood near where the Seahawks play home games was instead left shocked. In the city’s University District police officers kept watch on a crowd of dozens of

fans, some waving “12th Man” flags. In north Seattle 46-year-old George Bunting was mystified that Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll would make the “wrong decision” and decide to throw instead of having Lynch take the ball. “This is a major upset. He should’ve just used the man,” Bunting said, referring to Lynch.

Emily Simpson and Steven Baily were already for another celebration. “This is heartbreaking,” the 25-year-old Simpson said. “I didn’t hear any fire arms

or fireworks or anything. But it’s just a game.” Baily called the Seahawks play “just insane.”

“I was hoping they were going to just fall into the goal. That’s all that needed to happen,” Baily said, 23. AP

BRADY RALLIES PATRIOTS TO SUPER BOWL WIN OVER SEAHAWKS

IN TOM WE TRUST

SEATTLE Seahawks fans are stunned after watching their team losing to New England Patriots. AP

Soon they were mobbing one another on the same field where their 2007 unbeaten season was ruined in the Super Bowl by the Giants. They also fell to the Giants for the 2011 title. But thanks to superstar Brady and the obscure Butler, they are champions again. “Malcolm, what a play,” Brady said. “I mean, for a rookie to make a play like that in a Super Bowl and win us the game, it was unbelievable.” Brady has equaled Montana with

host an indoor and an outdoor Super Bowl—after dealing with distractions far beyond the typical Super

Bowl hype. The Patriots are still being investigated for using those

underinflated footballs at the AFC championship game.

It was a game of spurts by both teams

before a crowd of 70,288 that was clearly pro-Seattle.

Jeremy Lane made the first big play to negate a nearly eight-minute drive by the

Patriots with a leaping interception at the goal line late in the

never doubted each other, so that’s what it took. That was a great football team we beat. I’m just so happy for our team.” Sitting in his family’s season-ticket seats at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park while growing up, Brady would wear a No. 16 jersey, just like Montana, and cheer for his favorite player’s team. Brady did a fairly good impression of Joe Cool against Seattle. He connected with Danny Amendola for a 4-yard touchdown with about eight minutes left. That gave Brady 12 TD passes in Super Bowls, breaking Montana’s mark. Then, with 2:02 to go, Brady hit Julian Edelman from 3 yards for TD toss No. 13 in Super Bowls—and, more important, the lead. Brady turned to New England’s sideline, pointed, then raised his right fist. Only after Butler grabbed Russell Wilson’s pass from the 1-yard line in the final half-minute could Brady really begin to celebrate, leaping up and down on the sideline and embracing Coach Bill Belichick. Now Brady, Montana and Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only starting quarterbacks to earn four Super Bowl rings. AP

SEATTLE—People in Seattle poised to celebrate a second straight Super Bowl win by the Seahawks were instead left stunned. “I’m sad,” said Rebe Wolverton, who was part of a crowd watching Sunday’s

game on large screen televisions outside a restaurant near Century Link Field. A late interception preserved New England’s 28-24 victory. “This hurts,” said Wolverton, who was wearing a Seahawks winter cap and holding a bag of Skittles, the favorite candy of the team’s running back, Marshawn Lynch. Moments before the turnover Seattleites were certain their team would score with a run from the 1-yard-line. The boisterous crowd in the Pioneer Square

neighborhood near where the Seahawks play home games was instead left shocked. In the city’s University District police officers kept watch on a crowd of dozens of

fans, some waving “12th Man” flags. In north Seattle 46-year-old George Bunting was mystified that Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll would make the “wrong decision” and decide to throw instead of having Lynch take the ball. “This is a major upset. He should’ve just used the man,” Bunting said, referring to Lynch.

Emily Simpson and Steven Baily were already for another celebration. “This is heartbreaking,” the 25-year-old Simpson said. “I didn’t hear any fire arms

or fireworks or anything. But it’s just a game.” Baily called the Seahawks play “just insane.”

“I was hoping they were going to just fall into the goal. That’s all that needed to happen,” Baily said, 23. AP

SEATTLE Seahawks fans are stunned after watching their team losing to New England Patriots.

Sleepless in Seattle: Fansreeling after ‘heartbreaker’

first quarter. Lane made his first pro interception, but left with a wrist injury after being tackled by Julian Edelman. His replacement, Tharold Simon, got torched by Brady the rest of the way. Wilson didn’t get off a pass in the first quarter. When Brady completed his record 50th postseason TD throw, 11 yards to Brandon LaFell against Simon, it was 7-0. Seattle went to its bench to help tie it. Matthews’s first career catch, a reaching 44-yarder over Kyle Arrington and by far the longest first-half play for Seattle, led to Lynch’s bruising 3-yard TD run to make it 7-7. But Brady to Rob Gronkowski made it 14-7 and seemed to finish off a dominant first half for the Patriots. Except no one told the resilient Seahawks.

A dormant offense turned dangerous in a span of 29 seconds, covering 80 yards in five plays, including a late gamble. Lockette caught a 23-yard pass and Arrington was flagged for a facemask, putting Seattle at the 10 with :06 remaining. Carroll went for it and the new Seahawks star, Matthews, grabbed Wilson’s pass in the left corner of the end zone. It was the most lopsided halftime tie imaginable. Then Seattle stormed to a 24-14 lead in the third quarter on Steven Hauschka’s 27-yard field goal and Doug Baldwin’s 3-yard TD reception. New England was stumbling—until Brady once again stepped up. “I’ve been at it for 15 years and we’ve had a couple of tough losses in this game,” Brady said. “This one came down to the end, and this time, we made the plays.”

BRADY POCKETS3RD MVP AWARD

NEW England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady now matches his idol Joe Montana with three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player trophies. AP

NEW England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski raises the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League Super Bowl XLIX. AP

BELGIUM’S LIGHT FESTIVAL Visitors look at a light projection on a house during the light festival in Ghent, Belgium, on February 1. More than 40 light installations are on display during the festival, which takes place every three years. AP/VirginiA MAyo

WorldBusinessMirror

The

B3-1 | Tuesday, February 3, 2015 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

The foreign earnings tax would be part of a broader administration plan to overhaul corporate taxes by ending certain tax breaks and low-ering rates, a challenging task that Obama and Republican congressio-nal leaders insist they are poised to tackle this year.

The spending document for the 2016 fiscal year beginning October 1 also reflects goals Obama set out in his State of the Union speech, particularly higher taxes on wealthy Americans to shrink the growing gap between high-income and mid-dle-class citizens.

The question is what kind of ne-gotiated middle ground, if any, will emerge in a climate of the over-whelming partisan divide sepa-rating Obama and his Democrats

from Republicans, many of whom have made their goal to stop or re-verse virtually all of the president's domestic initiatives.

Obama, in an NBC interview before the Super Bowl, disputed a suggestion that he and Congress are so far apart that his budget pro-posals have no chance of winning approval.

“I think Republicans believe that we should be building our infra-structure,” Obama said. “The ques-tion is how do we pay for it? That’s a negotiation we should have.”

Obama’s new budget offers an array of spending programs and tax increases on the wealthy that Republican lawmakers have al-ready rejected.

The likely meeting ground is

the tax rate on US companies. The current 35 percent top tax rate for corporations in the US, the highest among major economies, serves as a disincentive and many US compa-nies with overseas holdings simply keep their foreign earnings abroad.

The question remains whether there will be sufficient flexibility in negotiations to keep Obama from vetoing the budget, a move that would force, yet again, last-minute emergency talks, a possible govern-ment shutdown or a so-called con-tinuing resolution that would fund the government at current levels.

Under Obama’s plan, the top cor-porate tax rate for company profits earned in the US would drop to 28 percent. While past foreign profits would be taxed immediately at the 14 percent rate, going forward new foreign profits would be taxed im-mediately at 19 percent, with com-panies getting a credit for foreign taxes paid.

Republicans are opposed virtual-ly across the board to anything that would increase taxes, such as clos-ing loopholes. They also are against taxing foreign profits and will like-ly block that avenue for funding Obama’s infrastructure plans.

The White House believes it has some leverage on taxing foreign earnings by linking the revenue to construction projects that could potentially benefit the home dis-tricts of every member of Congress.

The budget will call for the one-time 14 percent mandatory tax on the up to $2 trillion in estimated US corporate earnings that have accu-

mulated overseas. That would gen-erate about $238 billion, by White House calculations. The remaining $240 billion would come from the federal Highway Trust Fund, which is financed with a gasoline tax.

White House officials were not authorized to discuss the budget by name and described the proposal to the Associated Press on the condi-tion of anonymity.

Obama is releasing his budget as the federal deficit drops and his poll numbers inch higher. Although Republicans will march ahead on their own, they ultimately must come to terms with the Democratic president, who wields a veto.

Ahead loom big challenges. Obama is proposing to ease auto-matic cuts to the Pentagon and do-mestic agencies with a 7 percent increase in annual appropriations. He wants a $38-billion increase for the Pentagon that Republi-cans probably will want to match. But his demand for a nearly equal amount for domestic programs sets up a showdown with Republi-cans.

Another centerpiece of the presi-dent’s tax proposal is an increase in the capital gains rate on couples making more than $500,000 a year. The rate would climb from 23.8 percent to 28 percent. Obama wants to require estates to pay capital gains taxes on securities at the time they are inherited. He also is trying to impose a 0.07-percent fee on the roughly 100 US finan-cial companies with assets of more than $50 billion. AP

Obama ties foreign profits tax to big public-works spendingWASHINGTON—President

Barack Obama unveils a $4-trillion spending plan

on Monday, a budget that calls for huge spending on infrastructure funded by a one-time tax on profits US companies have amassed overseas. The business-friendly Republican-controlled Congress is all but certain to say no.

PARIS—France’s Socialist gov-ernment offered support on Sunday for Greece’s efforts to

renegotiate debt for its huge bailout plan, amid renewed fears about Eu-rope’s economic stability.

The backing was a victory for Greek Finance Minister Yanis Va-roufakis, striking a more concilia-tory tone as he seeks new conditions on debt from creditors who rescued Greece’s economy to save the shared euro currency. Worries have mount-ed that Greece’s new far left govern-ment might not pay back its debts.

Varoufakis is also visiting London and Rome—and in a sign that his government may be trying to avoid a collision course with key creditors, he said Sunday that he would visit Berlin and Frankfurt as well. The German government has been particularly angry at the new Greek government’s position and bluntly rejected sugges-tions that Greece should be forgiven part of its rescue loans.

Varoufakis insisted that Greece wants to pay the money back, but said he wants new terms and new ne-gotiating partners, arguing that it's not worth discussing with the tech-nocrats from the so-called “troika” of creditors who set the strict terms for Greece’s rescue.

France’s Socialist leadership, whose president has campaigned

against austerity, presented itself Sunday as a possible “link” between Greece and creditors.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin insisted his country wouldn’t support canceling the debt, but of-fered backing for a new timeframe or terms.

“France is more than prepared to support Greece,” Sapin said after meeting Varoufakis, saying Greece’s efforts to renegotiate were “legiti-mate.” Sapin urged a “new contract between Greece and its partners.”

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsip-ras and his new government have worried financial markets and Ger-man and other European officials by pushing to scrap painful budget cuts and rethinking the debt. Tsip-ras sought to calm worries Saturday after days of increasingly heated discussions, and he too is heading to European capitals for talks in the coming days.

Greek government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said Sunday’s meeting in Paris “proves that the positions of the Greek government are now finding fertile ground in Europe.”

Varoufakis announced that he has retained financial consultants Lazard as advisers to the Finance Ministry on public debt and fiscal management. AP

GrEEk Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis addresses reporters during a joint news conference with his French counterpart Michel Sapin at the Economy Ministry in Paris on February 1. Varoufakis, who had a tense meeting with Eurogroup leader Jeroen Dijsselbloem in Athens on Friday, has brought forward a trip to Paris, London and rome to meet his counterparts. AP/reMy de lA MAuViniere

France oFFers support For Greece amid bailout tensions

BANGKOK—Police in Thailand on Monday were investigating a pair of bombings outside a luxury shopping

mall in the heart of Bangkok, the first such violence reported in the capital since last year’s army coup.

One person was slightly injured in the blasts on Sunday night, and police said the small homemade bombs were designed to sow panic, not kill.

The explosions occurred about 8 p.m. between the upscale Siam Paragon shop-ping mall and a mass transit elevated train line, which was undamaged but briefly shut as a precaution.

Siam Paragon was titled the world's most photographed location on Instagram in 2013 and is a trendy meeting place in Bangkok that claims to have more than 100,000 Thai and foreign visitors a day.

Police initially said the explosions were caused by a malfunctioning transformer, but National Police Spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thawornsiri later said they were caused by devices that were probably not meant to hurt anyone. Service at the station was suspended for about an hour.

“The explosions were caused by two pipe bombs, but the flash powder that was used had low pressure. You can see that the dam-age was not much,” national police Spokes-man Lt. Gen. Prawut Thawornsiri told reporters on Monday. “It showed the perpetrators in-tended only to cause panic, threaten or stir up chaos.”

“We have not ruled out a possibility that it was politically motivated but we are pursu-ing all kinds of motives,” he said.

The explosive ordnance disposal team said the two bombs were controlled by

digital clocks and one of them was hidden behind a transformer, which sent out some plume of smokes near the busy sky train station, according to police Col. Kamthorn Auicharoen, who heads the unit. He said a Thai man was slightly injured in his left hand.

Kamthorn said police were looking for two male suspects seen on closed-circuit television camera footage and will likely issue arrest warrants for them in a few days.

The incident came at a time of slightly raised political temperatures in Thailand, as the country’s ruling junta has tightened its clampdown on critics of its rule. It came a little more than a week after the im-peachment of former Prime Minister Yin-gluck Shinawatra.

Thailand has been under martial law since the army seized power in a May 22 coup that toppled her elected government.

There has been little open opposition, and virtually no violent opposition, to the military regime that took over from an elect-ed civilian government after the coup d’etat. Martial law remains in effect under the dual administration of the junta and a military-appointed interim Cabinet, and any dissent is strongly discouraged.

Junta-leader-cum-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Monday that security measures will be tightened and asked the public to help prevent such an incident from happening again.

Thailand has a history of conspirato-rial politics, and political protests in the capital, especially aggressive street dem-onstrations, have become more common since a 2006 coup toppled Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, from the prime minister’s job. AP

1 hurt as small blasts rattle Bangkok mall shoppers

liFe d1

sporTs c1

world B3-1

By Cai U. Ordinario

The 6.1-percent eco-nomic expansion in 2014 also translated to

a better jobs picture, with an additional 1 million Filipinos gaining employment last year. The quality of employment in the Philippines, however, remained a problem.

Continued on A2

house to wait for results of board of inquiry probe

alibaba’s ma regainssPot as asia’s richestAlibAbA Group Holding ltd. Chairman Jack Ma

regained his spot as Asia’s richest person with a higher valuation for the company’s finance

affiliate ahead of a stock sale that also created a dozen new billionaires. Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co., which owns payments processor Alipay, is valued at about $50 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Ant Financial is weighing a private placement before going public in 2016, and details of the planned fund-raising aren’t finalized, the people said last week, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. The latest valuation for Ant Financial boosted Ma’s fortune by about $10 billion to $36.4 billion as of Friday in New York, according to the bloom-berg billionaires index, overtaking Amazon.com inc.’s Jeff bezos. The new billionaires from the big-ger valuation include the e-commerce giant’s CEO

‘Quality of jobs still a challenge’2014 growth only translated to 9.1% hiKe in Part-time jobs while full-time emPloyment droPPed

Continued on A8

u.s., allies to retaKeiraQi city from i.s.Al UDEiD AiR bASE, Qatar—Work-

ing from this sun-scorched desert base, US and allied commanders

are beginning perhaps the most perilous phase of their fight against the islamic State (iS) group: an attempt to recapture Mosul, iraq’s second-largest city, from the entrenched militant forces. Military officers here say air strikes over the past two weeks helped sever two crucial routes that the extremist mili-tants used to move fighters and supplies from the Syrian border to Mosul, their self-declared capital in iraq and most

significant battlefield prize. US commanders who help oversee the air war say the joint offensive with iraqi Kurdish ground forces pushed back the Sunni islamists’ defensive line west of Mosul, recapturing territory and re-moving a key obstacle, at least for now, as military planners consider tactics for retaking the city as early as this summer. American and allied advisers are train-ing and equipping iraqi security forces expected to lead any major ground as-sault. but options appear limited, given

Farmers shave their heads in front of camp crame in Quezon city on monday to sympathize with the 44 special action Force commandos slain in a recent encounter with the muslim rebels in maguindanao. KeViN De la Cruz

See “U.S.,” A8

iN this January 29 photo, a kurdish peshmerga fighter fires a weapon toward positions of the islamic state group who are 500 meters or half a mile away, overlooking the strategic town of sinjar, northern iraq. aP

react to these two unfortunate deaths is going to lead back to the issue of the foreign and security policy Abe is trying to promote.” In a video purporting to show Goto dead, a masked man said Abe’s decision to take part in “an unwinnable war” made Japan a target for the jihadist group. He threatened “carnage wherever your people are found” and warned of a “nightmare for Japan.” ‘Only way’SpeAkInG at the start of a meeting of ruling parties on Monday in Tokyo, Abe said Japan would not “cave in” to terrorists, and would increase humanitarian aid to the Middle east. “We take a firm stance on Japan’s responsibility to the international commu-nity in its fight against terrorism,” he said. “This is the only way to stand up to terrorism.” Since coming to office Abe has increased

military spending, removed a ban on defense ex-ports and reinterpreted the US-imposed pacifist constitution to let Japan defend other countries. He must now protect Japanese citizens from the unaccustomed threat of global terrorism, and may seek further powers for the country’s defense forces. “He will no doubt repeat his argument that greater military might will protect Japanese lives better,” said koichi nakano, a professor of politics at Sophia University in Tokyo. “He will try to take advantage of the situation” to push his changes, nakano added. The government is expected to pres-ent a package of more than 10 bills to parliament around April to enshrine the new interpretation of the constitution. Abe requires support from his pacifist coalition partner, komeito, to get the bills through the upper house, where his Liberal Demo-cratic party is just shy of a majority.

Parliament debateA poLL published by kyodo news after Yukawa’s

murder showed opposition to the bills had risen to about 21 percent, the same proportion who ap-prove of them. About half of the 814 respondents said time should be taken to debate the changes. The process in parliament may become more contentious following the hostage crisis. The Cabinet resolution on the constitution prompted demonstrations outside Abe’s official residence in July and a poll conducted by nippon TV from January 16 to 18 found almost 54 percent of re-spondents did not believe the changes would contribute to peace. IS said in a previous video its threats against Goto and Yukawa were prompted by Abe’s speech in Cairo last month, in which he pledged $200 mil-lion in humanitarian aid for countries confront-ing the group. nevertheless, kyodo’s January poll showed Abe’s support was down only slightly on the previous month to 52.8 percent, and more than 60 percent of respondents approved of his handling of the crisis. Bloomberg News

year was largely driven by the rise in part-time employment [9.1 percent] alongside the increase in the number of self-employed per-sons and unpaid family workers,” the PSA said. “As a result, the mean hours of work was down [-2.4 percent] from last year, which par-allels the slowdown in the country’s gross do-mestic product [GDP] in 2014,” the PSA added. The highest increase in part-time work was noted among farm, forestry and fishery sec-tor, where there was an addition of 339,000 part-time workers; service workers and shop and market sales workers, 185,000; and clerks, 165,000. Most of the increase in part-time work was observed in Region 4A, or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Que-zon), where there was an addition of 231,000 part-time workers. Other regions where the most increase in part-time work was observed were parts of the Yolanda Corridor namely, Region 6, or West-ern Visayas, and Region 7, or Central Visayas, where there was an increase of 147,000 and 114,000 part-time workers, respectively. Meanwhile, the country’s underemploy-ment rate stood at 18.4 percent in 2014. This was only a 0.6-percentage point decline from the 19 percent posted in 2013.  The PSA said the underemployed are those employed Filipinos who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present jobs, or to have additional jobs, or to have new jobs with longer working hours. “The decline was accompanied by reduction in the total number of underemployed persons by 42,000 to 6.9 million,” the PSA said.

Underemployment was highest in the agriculture sector, with an underemploy-ment rate of 25.3 percent, higher than the 20 percent posted in the industry sector and 14.1 percent posted in the services sector. The PSA noted that between 2013 and 2014, underemployment increased only in the industry sector with an addition of 68,000 underemployed Filipinos in the sector. Underemployment was at the highest rate in Region 5, or the Bicol region, with an 34.9 percent, followed by Region 10, or Northern Mindanao, 25.7 percent; and Caraga, 25.2 percent. The lowest underemployment rate was recorded in the National Capital Region, or Metro Manila, at 11.1 percent, followed by Region 2, or Cagayan Valley, 11.2 percent; and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Min-danao, 11.7 percent. “Between 2013 and 2014, underemploy-ment rate improved in 12 regions, most notably in Region 1 [-4.0 percentage points or ppt] and Region 4B [-3.0 ppt]. Underemployment rate worsened in Region 7 [+3.3 ppt] and Region 11 [+2.0 ppt],” the PSA said. “Little changes were observed in the rest of the regions.” The PSA said the figures cited in the re-port are preliminary and, unless indicated, represent the average of the four rounds of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) conducted in the months of January, April, July and October. The estimates for both periods under re-view exclude Region 8, or Eastern Visayas, for comparability. The January 2014 ex-cluded estimates for Region 8 because the LFS was not conducted in this region as a consequence of Supertyphoon Yolanda. For the subsequent rounds, the LFS was not con-ducted for Leyte province.

SUNRISE SUNSET

FULL MOON6:24 AM 5:56 PM

MOONRISEMOONSET

5:33 AM 5:25 PM

TODAY’S WEATHERMETROMANILA

LAOAG

BAGUIO

SBMA/CLARK

TAGAYTAY

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TACLOBAN

3-DAYEXTENDEDFORECAST

3-DAYEXTENDEDFORECAST

CELEBES SEA

LEGAZPI CITY24 – 28°C

TACLOBAN CITY23 – 27°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

METRO DAVAO24 – 30°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY24 – 31°C

PHILI

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 29°C METRO CEBU

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

Weekday hourly updates: 6:00 AM on Balitaan, 7:00 AM & 8:00 AM on Good Morning Boss!, 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM

on News@1, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 6:00 PM on News@6

www.panahon.tv

@PanahonTV

FEBRUARY 3, 2015 | TUESDAY

HIGH TIDEMANILA

SOUTH HARBOR

LOW TIDE

5:27 AM-0.13 METER

TUGUEGARAO CITY 19 – 28°C

LAOAG CITY 19 – 30°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 18 – 27°C

SBMA/CLARK 21 – 29°C

20 – 30°C 20 – 31°C 20 – 31°C

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Partly cloudy to at times cloudy withrain showers and/or thunderstorms

HALF MOON

12:48 PMJAN 27

7:09 PMFEB 4

BAGUIO CITY11 – 19°C

24 – 30°C

9:51 PM1.03 METER

FEB 4WEDNESDAY

FEB 5THURSDAY

FEB 6FRIDAY

Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms

21 – 31°C

Light rains

FEB 4WEDNESDAY

FEB 5THURSDAY

FEB 6FRIDAY

Partly cloudy to at times cloudywith rainshowers

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING LUZON.

TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE AREA (LPA)AFFECTING EASTERN VISAYAS AND CARAGA

REGION.(AS OF FEBRUARY 2, 5:00 PM)

METRO MANILA19 – 30°C

Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”. It affects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by

widespread cloudiness with rain showers.

Trough of Low Pressure Area is an elongated region of LPA. It can bring in cloudy conditions and precipitation or

bring in cold air mass.

BusinessMirror news@businessmirror.com.ph Tuesday, February 3, 2015A2

NewsContinued from A8

Continued from A1

Syria since August. Combined with attacks by Iraqi government forces, kurdish fighters and Sunni Arab tribesmen who oppose the Islamist group, the campaign has stopped the militants from seizing much new territory and pushed them back in several areas. In the past week , kurdish f ighters backed by hundreds of coalition air strikes broke a four-month Islamist State siege on kobani, a Syrian town on the border with Turkey. In Iraq pro-government Shiite militias claimed they had taken “complete control” of Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, after seven months of fighting the Sunni extremists. But Islamic State has not been dislodged from any of the cities that it captured during its offensive last year. Mosul fell quickly in June when convoys of heavily armed IS fighters stormed out of neighboring Syria and overran much of western and northern Iraq. Declaring an Islamic caliph-

ate, the insurgents used the city to launch at-tacks that pushed nearly 250 miles south to the edge of Baghdad before government forces and Shiite militias rallied to stop them. Many residents of Mosul, who faced discrimination from the Shiite-dominated central government and military, initially welcomed the Sunni invaders. The militants seized US-supplied arms and munitions and hundreds of armored vehicles from fleeing government troops. In the deadliest single battle after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, US Marines fought for six weeks in late 2004 to oust entrenched Sunni insurgents from Fallouja, a city less than a third the size of Mosul. The battle was heaviest urban combat for the US military since Vietnam. More than 90 Americans were killed and nearly 600 were wounded. Fallouja fell to IS fighters early last year. A battle in Mosul could be tougher. kurdish officials say the militants already

have reinforced their fighters, blocked roads and blown up a key bridge on the city’s western edge to augment their defenses. They also have forged alliances with former Iraqi military officers and local Sunni officials who supported autocrat Saddam Hussein be-fore he was toppled in the 2003 invasion. “We’ve received information that they are creating fortifications, digging trenches around the city,” said Jabar Yawar, spokes-man for the kurdish armed forces in Irbil, capital of the semi-autonomous kurdish region in Iraq. “Also in every area they con-trol, it is their custom to put bombs and booby traps.” An attacking force would need supporters or informants in the city for intelligence on the insurgents’ positions and defenses. Although many Mosul residents complain of harsh edicts enforced by the extremists and shortages of basic commodities, the discontent does not appear close to a popular revolt. MCT

‘Quality of jobs still a challenge’

Abe confronts wider Islamic State threat

US. . . Continued from A8

news@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, February 3, 2015 A3BusinessMirrorThe Nation

C3E claimed that information gathered on the origins of Smart-matic would show troubling details that would cast doubts on the com-pany’s transactions.

“ The way Smartmatic was formed in Venezuela is too worri-some to ignore as it would have an impact, if it had not already made an impact, on Philippine elections,” C3E co-convenor Melchor Magda-mo said in a statement.

Based on its own reserch, C3E

claimed that Smartmatic’s experi-ence in elections started in June 2003, when the Venezuelan govern-ment under then-President Hugo Chavez bought a 28-percent stake in a company called Bitza R&D Soft-ware CA.

Bitza was owned by Venezuelan businessmen Antonio Mugica and Alfredo Anzola, and was part of a consortium that included Smart-matic, Bizta, SBC and another company that had been contracted

Election watchdog raises alarm on ownership of Comelec supplier

By Joel R. San Juan

ELECTION watchdog Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E) has raised the

alarm over alleged anomalies in the ownership structure of technology provider Smartmatic, which, it said, has been ignored since the company bagged the automated election system (AES) contract for elections in the Philippines in 2010.

By Rene Acosta

ASOLDIER was killed and four others were wounded in a firefight with the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sulu on Sunday, the military said.

A bandit encampment was captured dur-ing pursuit operations.

Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, spokesman for the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Com-mand, said soldiers engaged about 50 Abu Sayyaf bandits under subcommanders Hatib Aseri and Basarun Asaruk at Bud Pula, Barangay Bungkaong, Patikul.

During the firefight, which occurred at around 4 p.m., one soldier was killed while four others were wounded. Muyuela did not identify the casualties.

Muyeula said the group of Aseri and Asaruk was behind the recent ambush of elements of the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion on January 30.

She said the group is operating in barangays Latih, Danag and Bungkaong, all in Patikul.

On Monday pursuing troops encountered another bandit group at Barangay Langhub, Pa-tikul, and captured an Abu Sayyaf encampment.

Ens. Chester Ian Ramos, public affairs officer of the Armed Forces Joint Task Force Zambasulta (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi), said the encampment has 42 structures and can accommodate at least 100 people.

The soldiers who entered the camp unearthed empty shells of 57mm recoilless rifle ammunition, an M-60 machine gun, an M-203 grenade launch-er, and assorted firearms and other equipment.

The camp also yielded a solar panel, wa-ter containers, three solar headlights, sandals and slippers.

Soldier killed in clash with bandits

by the Venezuelan government to automate elections.

In early 2004 SBC got a $121-mil-lion contract of which $91 million went to Smartmatic and Bizta, both owned by Mugica and Anzola.

This contract was the first for Smartmatic, according to C3E.

C3E noted that since then, Smart-matic had been getting Venezuelan government contracts, worth at least $131 million, all without public bid-ding as the deals were virtually hand-ed to Smartmatic by the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez.

Later on, C3E said, Mugica and Anzola expanded its operations out-side of Venezuela.

C3E added that in 2005, Smart-matic bought a US company called Se-quoia Voting Sytems for $16 million.

However, in 2006, an investi-gation of the deal and links be-tween Smartmatic and the Chavez government was launched by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an investigating body of the US gov-ernment, as a result of an electoral fiasco in Chicago that involved both Smartmatic and the company it bought, Sequoia.

C3E said instead of submitting it-self to the investigation, Smartmatic

sold Sequoia, effectively blocking an investigation by the CFIUS into its ownership structure. The group added that on May 28, 2004, the Miami Herald, a ma-jor newspaper in Miami, Florida, reported finding connections be-tween the earlier partner company of Smartmatic, Bizta Corp., and the Venezuelan government.

The report said the Venezuelan government had investments in Bizta, which was then a ballot soft-ware company.

“These are just a few of the de-tails that we have uncovered about Smartmatic’s ownership struc-ture,” Magdamo said.

“We are studying more details that would reveal the shady charac-ter of the company that we entrusted with our elections in 2010 and again in 2013 and which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is again un-questioningly entrusting with the 2016 elections,” he added.

“What is scary is the possibility that Smartmatic had already ma-nipulated elections results in 2010 and 2013 and no one is raising a howl over the possibility that it would be given another chance to manipulate elections in 2016,” Magdamo said.

“What is scary is the possibility

that Smartmatic had already ma-nipulated elections results in 2010 and 2013 and no one is raising a howl over the possibility that it would be given another chance to manipulate elections in 2016,” Magdamo said.

Meanwhile, petitions seeking to exclude Smartmatic from par-ticipating in any bidding process for contracts relating to the 2016 elections are beginning to mount at the Supreme Court.

On Monday another petition against Smartmatic was filed be-fore the SC by Auxilliary Bishop of Manila Broderick Pabillo, former Elections Commissioner Augusto Lagman and several other registered voters and taxpayers.

In their 44-page petition, Pabillo and his co-petitioners asked the Court to annul Comelec Resolution 9922 for having been issued with grave abuse of discretion.

The said resolution awarded to Smartmatic the contract for the diagnosis and minor repair ser-vices for 80,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan machines to be used in the 2016 elections.

The petitioners also asked the Court to issue a writ of prohibition to stop the Comelec from directly contracting with Smartmatic.

By Lenie Lectura

THE Manila Electric Co. (Mer-alco) continues to encourage potential Interruptible Load

Program (ILP) participants to sign up with the utility firm amid the lapse of an earlier deadline. Under House Joint Resolution 21, the last day of registration for the ILP was on January 31. “We will defer to the legislature on any new date that maybe set in the final Joint Resolution. Still, we encourage all interested cus-tomers to sign up as soon as possible to allow for enough time for prepara-tions ahead of the summer season,” Meralco Utility Economics Head Larry Fernandez said in a text message. As of January 8 Meralco has signed up a Committed Interrupt-ible Load of 209.72 megawatts (MW) from ILP participants and is eyeing a potential 54.72 MW more. There were 45 ILP participants with 163 services, Fernandez added. The five largest participants are SM Prime Holdings Inc. (57.96 MW); Robinsons Land Corp. (23.15 MW); Waltermart Malls (14.30 MW); Ay-ala Land Inc. (9 MW); and Rustans Supercenters Inc. (8.66 MW). Meralco awaits more ILP partici-pants. “We will continue to invite as many participants as we can. We have also been working with Peza [Philip-pine Economic Zone Authority] to enable locators in the Cavite public economic zone to join the program,” Fernandez added. ILP works by call-ing on business customers with loads of at least 1 MW to run their own generator sets, if needed, instead of drawing power from the grid.

BusinessMirror news@businessmirror.com.ph A4

Economybriefs

phl stocks retreat from record highsLocaL share prices retreated anew as investors pocketed their gains after last week’s record highs, with losses in the United States and European markets overnight also affecting sentiment.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 59.20 points to 7,630.71 on Monday from Friday’s 7,689.91 close.

”Market leads weren’t encouraging,” said Jun calaycay, analyst at accord capital Equities corp.

calaycay said US stocks melted anew with the Dow Jones Industrial average dropping 250-points and the S&P500 declining 26 points.

He said the European equities market was also in red after the new Greek leadership indicated it would not honor the previous regime’s agreements with the troika and instead sought to negotiate a new one.

all counters were in negative territory, led by financials that declined 1.28 percent.

Volume turnover reached 2.75 billion shares valued at P10.48 billion.

Decliners won advancers, 111 to 76, while 36 issues unchanged.

The day’s most active stocks were led by Universal Robina corp., Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., Philippine Long Distance Telephone co., Metropolitan Bank & Trust co. and alliance Global Group Inc. PNA

business leader bats for embedded power source in negros occidentalBacoLoD cITY—Negros occidental needs a stable power supply from an embedded power source like the diesel-fueled power plant of Energreen Power Development and Management Inc. in Bago city, a local business leader said. “We, in the business sector are looking for power reliability and stability when we put our investment in a certain place,” said Frank carbon, president of Metro Bacolod chamber of commerce and Industry, on Monday. carbon said, “When we say reliability it means that the power requirements can be supplied by distribution utilities like central Negros Electric cooperative with a reserve.” carbon said that during summer, power supply demand increases by about 10 percent to 15 percent and along with the expansion of investments in the city, demand is also expected to increase in the near future.

He said Energreen, which will operate an 18.9-megawatt plant through its project company central Negros Power Reliability Inc., will supply peak and reserve loads to ceneco.

carbon said that the company's total project cost in the province was about P900 million and they had already brought in an initial investment of P750 million, including five generator sets, at their plant site in Barangay calumangan, Bago city. PNA

pampanga capitol recruitment fair records 469 applicantscITY oF SaN FERNaNDo—a total of 469 capampangans attended and submitted applications for various positions at the recently concluded Special Recruitment activity conducted by the provincial government through its Public Employment Services office.

The provincial capitol, headed by Gov. Lilia G. Pineda, partnered for the first time with PhilStar International Services corp. which was in urgent need of more than 700 skilled workers to be deployed to Guam.

“We are very satisfied with the activity’s turnout. our partners from PhilStar were also pleased to have met with enthusiastic applicants,” Luningning Vergara, provincial public employment services officer, said.

Lourdes ocampo, PhilStar vice president for operations, also led a preemployment orientation for the applicants. ocampo briefed the aspirants on the prevailing salary rates in Guam and what to expect when working abroad. PNA

By Lenie Lectura

TWO oil firms have expressed interest to supply Ilijan power plant with diesel fuel,

according to the Power Sector As-sets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) on Monday. “There are two interested bid-ders. These are Chevron and Phoe-nix,” PSALM President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said in a text message. PSALM held on January 30 a pre-bid conference after it recently started soliciting bids for the sup-ply and delivery of 60 million liters of industrial diesel oil (IDO) for the Ilijan power plant. Ledesma said that the winning bid-der is required to “deliver a minimum of 4 million liters, and that they will deliver a minimum of 30 million liters three days after Malampaya shutdown within 15 days.” The state firm has set aside an approved budget for contract of P1,664,911,472 for the fuel procurement. “The IDO procurement project shall ensure the operation of Ilijan this year, especially with the antici-pated tightening of power supply in the summer,” the PSALM chief said. Bid submission deadline is on February 16. Chevron Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum paid 75,000 each to procure bidding documents. Last week the Department of Energy (DOE) said one unit of the power plant will run on liquid fuel. The second unit will proceed with its 30-day scheduled maintenance work. The Ilijan power plant in Ba-tangas is composed of two units, with a generating capacity of 600 megawatts (MW) each. It is one of the natural-gas power plants fueled by the Malampaya gas facility. Ilijan Block B is scheduled for a 30-day maintenance work to coin-cide with the Malampaya gas facility from March 15 to April 15. Block A can still be utilized in the absence of natural gas because the power plant is designed to run on both liquid fuel, which is either diesel or biodiesel (B2), and natural gas. “Running Ilijan on liquid fuel will ensure the much-needed additional energy. PSALM is prepared for that,” Ledesma assured. There is an anticipated power shortage this summer. Based on latest projection, the DOE said Luzon would need 782 MW, of which 135 MW are needed to meet the required regulat-ing reserve, and 647 MW to meet the required contingency reserve. Aside from Ilijan, the Malampaya gas field in offshore also supplies natural gas to two more natural gas power plants in Luzon—the 1,000-MW Santa Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo power plants, both owned by the Lopez group.

By Catherine N. Pillas

MAnUFACTURERS have raised by P10 the price of cement for every

40-kilo bag. Three cement firms, Cemex Corp, Lafarge Cement Corp. and Eagle Cement have advised distributors of the price hikes which took effect on Monday. Before the hike, Cemex Corp.’s brand Rizal cement’s distributor price was at P198 per bag, Lafarge Cement Corp. for its Republic brand was at P197 per bag and Eagle Cement for its Eagle brand was at P193 per bag. Eduardo Sahagun, CEO of Holcim Cement, said they will not increase prices but said that construction activity is heavy during the summer, and that prices fluctuate depending on the season. The trade office has requested

manufacturers to lower prices in view of plummeting fuel prices since last year.

Trade Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said they have yet to receive notification of a price hike, as manufacturers are required to inform the trade office of any increase.

He said that its latest price monitoring report showed that retail prices of cement have gone down.

The national Price Coordinating Council is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss issues on commodity price and supply.

The robust activity in the construction sector this summer season is expected to trigger a spike in the demand, and consequently, in the price of cement.

AT least 30 farmers will receive compen-sation for the adverse impact of mining operations in the towns of of Candelaria

and Santa Cruz in Zambales. Director Leo L. Jasareno of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said Benguet Corp. Nickel Mines Inc., Eramen Minerals Inc. and LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. have decided to settle the P3,210,739 claim for the damages caused by their operation in the two towns. Jasareno said the amount does not yet include

fines for damage to fish ponds affected by the mining operations. It will be recalled that the Contingent Liabil-ity and Rehabilitation Fund Steering Committee (CLRFSC), also led by Jasareno as chairman, signed a resolution approving the farmers’ claims for compensation in December last year. The claims were approved based on the report of the Regional Investigation and Assess-ment Team created by the MGB Regional Office III after conducting an assessment of the impact

of the mining operations in the area. Affected are farms in barangays Tubo-Tubo North, Tubo-Tubo South and Lomboy. Jasareno said the computation of the amount for damages was based on the impact areas and river systems drain-ing the contract areas of the said mining companies. The three companies will share the burden of paying the amount as approved agreed by all parties considering the weight of the con-tributory factors that caused damage to the farm lots. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said that “last year’s under-spending issue will be addressed by the increase in our infrastructure investments, which is equivalent to 4 percent of our projected GDP [gross domestic product] for this year. Ultimately, we’re targeting an infrastructure spending level of 5 percent by 2016.” In the 2015 national budget, the Department of Public Works and

Highways received the second-larg-est allocation and the highest year-on-year increase at P303.2 billion, or an increase of 37.9 percent from P219.9 billion last year. Of this total, P185.8 billion will be allotted for the completion of all national roads by 2016 and all bridges along national roads by 2015. There are also the major public-private partnership projects sup-ported by the national government

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

in the offing, like the Tarlac-Pan-gasinan-La Union Toll Expressway, the Daang Hari-Southern Luzon Expressway Link Project, the north Luzon-Slex Link Connector, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, the La-guna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project and the ninoy Aquino Inter-national Airport Expressway Project. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation and Communica-tions has a budget of P59.5 billion—higher by 21.9 percent in 2015 as compared to last year’s budget of P48.8 billion—from which to fund their own infrastructure programs. These include P10.6 billion for the improvement of the country’s railway systems (including the re-habilitation and extension of the Light Railway Transit Lines 1 and 2, and the subsidy for Metro Rail-way Transit Line 3, and P15.4 bil-lion allotted for various airport

and seaport projects. The Department of Agriculture (DA) has a budget of P89.1 billion for 2015—higher by 11.5 percent compared to their 2014 budget of P80 billion—to address a number of agricultural infrastructure pro-grams. With this funding, the DA will be able to construct a number of irrigation projects, farm-to-market roads, and fishery infra-structure projects like fish land-ings and fish ports. Abad said, “Drafting a national budget that will support our coun-try’s inclusive development means [that] we must not only sustain the rapid growth of our economy but also improve the quality of life for our people. We can do this by creating employment and livelihood oppor-tunities, and by revitalizing employ-ment-generating industries and con-necting towns to growth centers.” PNA

Govt infra programs to jump-start2015 public spending, Abad saysTHE early enactment of the 2015

General Appropriations Act is set to power this year’s public

spending, courtesy of the national government’s massive infrastructure programs lined up for the year.

Phoenix, Chevron interested to bid for Ilijan diesel-fuel supply contract

Meralco still welcoming late registrants for ILP

trader from mindanao A Muslim entrepreneur arranges assorted colorful slippers being sold for P150 a pair at a public market in San Andres, Manila. ROY DOMINGO

Zambales farmers to get compensation for mining impact

Summer construction season raises cement price by P10/bag

A worker sets aside bags of cement for later use at a construction site in Makati City. Three cement manufacturers have announced a P30 increase effective on Tuesday per bag on the price of the construction commodity. NONIE REYES

briefsshell, phoenix to rollback

diesel pump pricesPiliPinas shell Petroleum Corp. and Phoenix Petroleum will rollback their diesel pump prices by 30 centavos on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. for shell and at 6 a.m. for Phoenix.

On the other hand, both companies noted no change in gasoline and kerosene prices.

Phoenix said the decrease was due to the appreciation of the peso in the foreign exchange.

The energy department’s oil monitor recorded on January 27 showed diesel prices in Metro Manila were around P24 to 29.04 per liter, having a common price of P26.20 per liter. PNA

govt eyes to tap google earth in mid-decade surveyDaVaO CiTY—The Philippine statistics authority (Psa) would use the Google Earth mapping to make estimates of populations in areas that pose statistical problems for enumerators in the past, a statistical officer in the Davao region said. Google Earth, a free application in the Google sets of computer and internet softwares, would be used to peek into a certain locality to estimate the number of houses and enable statisticians and survey enumerators to extrapolate the actual population of the place, said Randolph Gales, provincial statistical officer of the Psa. He said the application has become an internationally accepted tool in population surveys and in the case of the Philippines, it was tapped to make estimates of population, or correct “statistically improbable data” in the critical and interior villages of the autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (aRRM). “Google Earth enables us to count the houses and residential structures, and allows us to make estimates of the possible population count of the place,” he said. “For instance, in the aRMM, we may estimate the population from the number of houses counted from the Google Earth and multiply them with the average number of members of a household in the aRMM, which is about eight,” Gales said. The aRMM population survey in 2010 delayed the release of the national and regional population data following questionable count in some areas, he added. “There were areas that posted 8-percent growth, which is statistically improbable,” Gales said. He would not comment though on what was the intention of local officials but the government suspected that enumerators were also involved. The Psa is conducting the mid-decade population survey this year, Gales said, and would continue to focus also on housing, like the total floor area and ownership. Housing is a poverty indicator, Gales pointed out. He said the population may also allow the government to make an initial look at the migration trend, although “it needs a separate survey to determine the migration pattern in the Philippines.” Manuel T. Cayon

70 nueva vizcaya sitios listed in 2015 electrification programBaYOMBOnG, nueva Vizcaya —The national Electrification administration (nEa) has approved at least 70 sitios (subvillages) in this province for its electrification program this year.

Rep. Carlos Padilla of nueva Vizcaya said these sitios are located in the remote barangays of the province. “These sitios will now be the target of the nEa’s electrification program with the corresponding funds allotted for these projects,” Padilla said.

The electrification program, he added will be implemented by the nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative.

Padilla said the electrification program will continue to be implemented in the province until all subvillages will be fully energized. PNA

news@businessmirror.com.ph Tuesday, February 3, 2015 A5BusinessMirrorEconomy

Pa l ace Spokesm a n E dw i n Lacierda pointed out that the stock market had even reported “another record high last week amid all the differences we are experiencing.” Lacierda admitted that the death of SAF commandos in a protracted firefight with the forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) may have had an emotional effect but “nothing nega-

tive in the business sector.” “Certainly, this [Mamasapano massacre of SAF commandos] has an effect on the state of bereavement and mourning for our Fallen 44,” he said, “but we have not seen any in-dication otherwise on the business market—anything negative in the business sector.” “ S o f a r, t here h ave b e en no indications that this [mas-sacre] has [hurt the economy]. Certainly this has an effect on

the state of our bereavement and mourning for our Fallen 44...” Lacierda added.

He pointed out that according to Trading Economics, the Philip-pine Stock Market even registered 7689.90 index points in January 2015, noting this was an “all-time high since 1986.”

The country is mourning the death of 44 members of the police’s elite group in what the government said was due to a “misencounter” with members of MILF and BIFF on January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

The SAF members were on a mis-sion to serve the arrest warrants of two suspected terrorists—Filipino bomb maker Abdulbasit Usman and Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, report-edly a leader of the terrorist group Jema’ah Islamiyah.

President Aquino has declared January 30 as a Day of Mourning for the fallen heroes.

Despite all the ruckus on the inci-dent, the trading at the local bourse,

among others, remains strong.Investors have been trooping

to the Philippines’s stock mar-ket following the announcement by the European Central Bank of its €60-billion monthly stimulus program from March 2015 to Sep-tember 2016.

Analysts have been projecting higher capital inflows to the Philip-pines as a result of some negative de-velopments in advanced economies, except in the US as investors look for higher yields.

Relatively, the Philippine peso has been generally strong against the dollar buoyed by the capital flows, as well as investors’ pref-erence on emerging markets like the country.

Analysts have been saying that the Philippine economy remains among the top destinations of for-eign investments because of the proven strength of the country’s fundamentals like the external pay-ments position, sound banking sys-tem and improvement in its fiscal management. With PNA

Mamasapano massacre no effect on investor confidence–Palace

By Butch Fernandez

Malacañang maintained on Monday that the massacre of 44 members of the

national Police Special action Force (SaF) by Moro rebels in Mindanao last week did not affect investors’ confidence in the country.

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Loca-tor companies in this free port are supporting a move by the

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to break the cycle of cor-ruption by institutionalizing ethi-cal business practices through the Integrity Pledge program. SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said that last Friday more than 150 ex-ecutives from various investor-firms here signed the Integrity Pledge, which seeks to eliminate bribery and other forms of corruption in order to foster a more conducive investment climate. The signatories included big-ticket investors like Philip Morris Philip-pines Manufacturing Inc., which oper-ates its regional leaf warehouse here, Ayala Malls’ Harbor Point, as well as government offices like the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Subic. Garcia said that Collector Arnulfo Marcos of the BOC at the Port of Subic was the first signatory to submit his accomplished and signed form during the mass-signing ceremony held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention

Center on Friday. “This marks another significant milestone for the SBMA in its fight against corruption,” Garcia said in statement on Monday. “Good gover-nance means good business, and we have seen the fruits of good gover-nance,” he added. The SBMA official also pointed out that aside from being a good corporate citizen, companies that sign this pledge will get certain perks given to clean and ethical companies. The SBMA’s Integrity Program has been institutionalized in the Subic Bay Freeport starting last year with the creation of a Code of Conduct for all employees and officials of SBMA. The program was endorsed by the SBMA board of directors through a board resolution in March 2014. With this, the Subic agency imple-mented various measures to ensure transparency and implemented strict guidelines on receiving and giving of gifts, contributions, sponsorships and other tokens from or to all sectors. All these, Garcia explained, were designed to impress upon everybody that the SBMA is serious in breaking the cycle of corruption. Following the institutionalization of

the program, the SBMA now required stakeholders like Subic Bay Freeport locators, neighboring local government units that receive revenue shares from the SBMA, and suppliers to sign the In-tegrity Pledge before the agency makes

any transaction with them. The Integrity Pledge, which was in-troduced in the country by the Makati Business Club and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philip-pines , is a document signed by heads

of companies and agencies to express commitment to ethical business prac-tices and to support a national cam-paign against graft and corruption. Garcia said the pledge is regarded as an effective tool aimed at prevent-ing corruption in public contracting, as it enables companies to abstain from bribing by providing assurances that their competitors will, likewise, refrain from bribery. The pledge stipulates rights and obligations of the signatories to the effect that neither side will pay, of-fer, demand, or accept bribes, collude with competitors to obtain contract, or engage in such abuses while executing any contract. “At the same time, Garcia said, the pledge enables government agencies like the SBMA to reduce the high cost and dis-torting impact of corruption on private procurement, privatization or business licensing, and issuance of permits. According to Dr. Edilberto de Jesus of the Asian Institute of Management, of the hundreds of companies nation-wide that applied and were assessed by the Integrity Initiative Office, only 33 had passed and only 12 were given Integrity Pledge certifications.

150+ Subic Freeport investors, locators join SBMA integrity program

Derrick Manuel, manager of Harbor Point ayala Mall, submits a signed integrity Pledge to Subic Bay Metropolitan authority chairman roberto Garcia during the mass-signing ceremony for Subic Bay Freeport locators. also in photo are SBMa Deputy administrator for Business Joy alvarado, Subic Bay Freeport chamber of commerce President rose Baldeo, and Dr. edilberto de Jesus of the asian institute of Management. Photo courtesy of sBMA

By Rene Acosta

THE military wanted Japan to chip in to its ongoing modernization by provid-

ing to the country assets and equipment that could be used in areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster response and mari-time-domain awareness. Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin admitted on Monday that he provided his Japanese coun-terpart a “military wish list” that could help the country stand up to the challenge of responding to ca-lamities and natural disaster and increased patrol of its territorial waters. However, the defense chief re-fused to disclose these types of assets, other than “everything that could address our maritime security.” Earlier, the Navy wanted Japan to provide them with brand-new patrol boats, which it could be used in pa-trolling and securing the country’s territorial waters, especially in the West Philippine Sea where Chinese military and paramilitary vessels are a regular sight. Gazmin was in Tokyo last week for the Japan-Philippines Defense Ministerial Meeting wherein he met with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani. Japan is currently locked in a territorial dispute with China over a portion of the East China Sea, while the Philippines is battling off an aggressive China over its terri-tory in the West Philippine Sea. During their meeting, Gazmin and Nakatani agreed that any dis-pute should be settled peacefully and without the use of force or coercion, in accordance with basic principles of international law. They also reaffirmed the impor-tance of the freedom of navigation and overflight in the high seas as they briefed each other on the situations in the East and South China Sea. Gazmin welcomed Japan’s ef-forts in actively contributing to the peace and stability, not only in the region but around the world, in partnership with the international community. Gazmin and Nakatani high-lighted the progress of bilateral cooperation and exchanges be-tween the two countries through the high-level exchanges, vice ministerial dialogue and Japan Self Defense Force’s contribution to the relief operations during Su-pertyphoon Yolanda.

PHL submits maritime defense ‘wish list’ to Japan

bulacan vegetable fest Sen. cynthia a. Villar happily looks at the different kinds of vegetables produced in San ildefonso, Bulacan, during its celebration of the Fifth Gulay Festival. in her speech, the senator, who chairs the Senate agriculture and Food committee, pushes for the innovative concept of farm tourism, considered a responsible approach in tourism and agriculture. She stresses that farm tourism, or the business of attracting visitors and travelers to farm areas for educational and recreational purposes, have been helping numerous families and communities all over the Philippines.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

OpinionBusinessMirrorA6

Philippines: Southeast Asia’s strong man

editorial

WE admit that we did stretch things a little with the title of today’s editorial. The orig-inal from Bloomberg actually was “Move Over Thailand, the Philippines is Southeast

Asia’s Strong Man.”

The Bloomberg article is a comparison of the Philippines with Thailand and they believe we come out on top. Since both foreign and local commentators have compared our two countries closely during the last two decades, it is nice to finally see the Philippines in the winner’s circle.

The article looked at five factors that support the assessment that the Phil-ippines is Southeast Asia’s strongest economy both now and potentially in the future. We will not take the opportunity to criticize our rival Thailand as the Bloomberg article did but will only mention those variables about the Philip-pines that Bloomberg highlighted.

Regarding our gross domestic product growth, the Philippines has been expanding steadily since 2006 even with some ups and downs. In 2006, the economic growth rate of the two countries was almost identical.

The Philippines has never had a good reputation for its manufacturing business. But quietly and without much notice, we are actually making some good strides in producing value added goods. Here again, our manufacturing sector has a mostly consistent growth trend going back to 2002. Eventually if you keep growing, even slowly, it begins to have a positive economic effect.

Merchandise exports have also been in an uptrend. In this category too, we have never excited anyone with the amount of our exported goods. But since 2009, the trend has been positive and growing stronger. Bloomberg notes that in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, the Philippines has been steadily climbing over the last decade.

Both government and consumer consumption has moved our economy along. Rising wages and more jobs are fueling consumer growth and a good fiscal condition is helping the government spend more over time.

Positive analysis of the Philippines usually mentions our demographic sweet spot. From Bloomberg: “About 31 percent of the Philippine population was 10-24 years old last year, compared with 20 percent in Thailand”. While hav-ing a young population always seemed to be an economic burden, in the last decade that group is now part of the workforce. “Thailand is seeing the most rapid reduction in the ranks of its working-age population in Southeast Asia.”

The conclusion about our newly found ‘Strong man’ status is that “With a greater focus on manufacturing, a young population and a president commit-ted to stable growth, the Philippines is pulling ahead”.

Now, we need to keep the trend going and capitalize on our advantages even more. Watch out Asean; the Philippines is on the move higher.

THE Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which was signed in October 2012, brought hopes

that peace would now reign in Mindanao, and, in turn, would accelerate economic development in the resource-rich island.

THE past month and a half has been a roller-coaster ride for the Philippines and a period that will be noted and talked about for years to come.

Beyond the Mamasapano tragedy

PSE: January 2015

THE EnTrEprEnEurManny B. Villar

In line with the agreement, the government submitted to Congress in September last year the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which would abolish the Autonomous Re-gion in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and establish the new Bangsamoro political identity in its place. Both houses of Congress have been con-ducting public hearings on the BBL, which the government hopes to enact by March this year.

Sadly, the process has been stalled because of a horrible tragedy. About 392 officers and members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) launched an operation inMamasapano, Ma-

guindanao last January 26 to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Commander Marwan, and Abu Sayyaf leader Ab-dul Bassit Usman.

Marwan, one of the most wanted JI leaders operating in Southeast Asia, was believed to be involved in several bombing and terror attacks in Mindanao. Usman, a foreign-trained bomb maker, is believed to have links with JI and al-Qaeda. Marwan was reportedly killed during the opera-tion, while Usman escaped arrest.

However, the PNP-SAF team of commandos clashed with members of the MILF and the Bangsamoro Is-lamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). The

BIFF is composed of MILF members who disagreed with the peace agree-ment.

Public outcry, with many people denouncing the incident as a mas-sacre and some even calling for an “all-out war,” prompted the Senate and the House of Representatives to suspend the hearings on the BBL.

The death of 44 PNP-SAF troop-ers brought forth a lot of questions that at the minimum require that we pause. For instance, it would be in-teresting to find out what the young MILF members think about the BBL and the future of Mindanao. They will take over when the old genera-tion, with which the government has been negotiating for peace, is gone. Will they uphold the peace agreement and the BBL?

For the Filipinos in general, and for the families of the slain police troopers, we ask: what price do we pay for peace?

I’m not calling for a total halt to the government peace efforts. However, because of what happened in Mamasapano, we should, at the minimum, take a moment to pause. It would be an insult to the men who gave up their lives to enforce the law if we act as if nothing happened.

For one, we should assess the peo-ple’s sentiment regarding the peace agreement and the BBL, especially after the tragedy. There should be a wider assessment of the peace nego-tiations particularly because of the constitutional issues that are coming up. Such assessment should consider the views of constitutional experts and other groups.

In the light of the Mamasapano incident, the people deserve clear proof of the sincerity of the MILF in dealing with the government. Oth-erwise, the peace agreement and the BBL will just be useless documents, and we are giving up so much for nothing.

The death of the 44 PNP-SAF troopers should serve as a lesson and constant reminder that Min-danao will continue to be a region of conflict rather than of peace and prosperity until all sides sincerely commit to peace.

Let me take this opportunity to express deep condolences with the families of the PNP-SAF who died in Mamasapano. They are heroes.

For comments, e-mail mbv.sec-

retariat@gmail.com  or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

We ended 2014 with perhaps the most holiday filled two weeks in his-tory of the country. The first week of January kicked off with over 5 million people participating in the Procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila, bringing section of the city to a virtual standstill.

Meanwhile, preparations were in full swing for the arrival of Pope Francis causing both excited antici-pation and traffic jams. On January 15th, the Papal visit began, and while this was a momentous event, no one could anticipate what the next few days would bring.

The official greeting at Malaca-ñang gave people some insight into the personality of Pope Francis, watching him almost eagerly inter-acting with the employees of the pal-ace and invited dignitaries in a some-what unexpected intimate fashion.

His trip to the Tacloban area to visit with typhoon victims was cut short because of an approaching ty-

phoon. The irony was unmistakable. Further, the homilies he delivered both at the Tacloban Mass and at the University of Santo Tomas were both nearly completely off-script from his prepared remarks. He instead spoke extemporaneously with words and an attitude that directly touched millions of Filipinos who were glued to their television sets.

While still basking in the glow of the Papal visit and ready to get back to business as usual, the last week of January saw the deaths of 44 mem-bers of the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police.

And as January moved into Feb-ruary, the government released the fourth quarter and year end gross do-mestic product growth that stunned most of the experts coming in well above expectations for the quarter and above some estimates for the full year.

January 2015 was a month for the history books.

While all of this was happening, the Philippine stock market was booming higher. From the last pre-holiday day of stock market trad-ing—December 19th—through January 30th, the Philippine Com-posite Index (PSEi) gained 565 points or 7.9 percent.

The 6.35 percent PSEi increase in the calendar month of January is not unusual. Price increases of this magnitude were similar in Febru-ary 2014 as well as during January, February, and October of 2013 and January 2012. The largest most re-cent one-month gain occurred in September 2010 when the PSEi rose 15 percent. However, do not enter-tain the idea that the increase in the price of local stocks was because of all that cheaply borrowed foreign money. The net foreign selling for the month of January 2015 on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was P23.6B.

My personal involvement in the PSE started before there was a PSE. Back then, we had the Makati and Ma-nila Stock Exchanges. Many things have changed through the years but some things have stayed the same.

We still have two redundant trad-ing floors and by the time the PSE unifies the floors in one building, online trading has made the trading floor obsolete. The London Stock Ex-change has not had a genuine trad-ing floor since 1986. All the trading is done electronically.

Some things do not change.The PSE trades in anticipation

of the future as do most other stock markets. That is why prices do not react the way people expect them to as news is released. When everything seems stable in the ‘outside’ world and stock prices are going lower, then it is time to worry.

In 2013, the local stock market was up over 1,000 points and 20 per-cent in the first five months. Then it began going down and eventually lost all the gains for the year. But many bad things happened in 2013. Look at the list: Typhoon Maring/Trami, the Priority Development As-sistance Fund scam, the Zamboanga City siege, the Bohol earthquake and finally Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

Except, the first of those events happened in August when the market had already lost nearly 1,000 points.

Now in 2015 the market has started with a big boom to the upside and the forecasts for the year keep going higher almost daily. The last I saw was for PSEi 9,350. Sounds good to me. But stock market investing is like raising a child. Every day is a new adventure.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunon-markets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-mar-ket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

OuTSIDE THE BOXJohn Mangun

HOM

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Will water consumers benefit?

LAST December the interim Appeals Panel of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) upheld the rate-adjustment proposal made by Maynilad Water Services Inc.

in October 2103. The ICC ruling paves the way for the alternative rebasing adjustment of Maynilad that will result in a 9.8-percent increase in the 2013 basic water charge of P31.28/cubic meter (cu m), inclusive of the P1 currency exchange rate adjustment (Cera), which the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has now incorporated into the basic charge. Maynilad’s mother companies are Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and DMCI Holdings.

ABOUT TOWNErnesto M. Hilario

According to Maynilad president-CEO Victorico Vargas, the ICC deci-sion “confirms that the concession agreement works and restores in-vestor confidence in public-private partnership program of the govern-ment...This also ensures the contin-ued implementation of  Maynilad’s capital expenditure projects that are intended to benefit further our customers.”

Maynilad chief finance officer Randolph Estrellado revealed that the Appeals Panel’s approval of Maynilad’s alternative rebasing ad-justment translates to a 9.8 percent increase in the 2013 average base rate of P31.28 per cubic meter, or P3.06 per cu. m.

For most customers using an aver-age of 20 cu. m., the new rate means an adjustment of P1.68 per cu. m.

“It is already lower than the origi-nal application because we submit-ted an alternative business plan for arbitration, as allowed under the rules,” Estrellado said. “We already took into consideration the [MWSS] Regulatory Office’s reduction in

capital expenditures and disallowed expenses.”

And despite the two-year delay in the adjusted rates, Estrellado said Maynilad is willing to stagger collection of the increase over the remaining three years of the five-year rebasing period that started in 2013, or roughly a one-peso rise per year from now till 2018.

Estrellado explained that Mayni-lad is proposing a collection by in-stallment “to mitigate the impact to our customers.”

“Of the P3.06/cu.m. increase we have now, about P2 accounts for the recovery of income tax,” Estrellado said. “We still have roughly P60 bil-lion that we need to recover and that doesn’t include future investments.”

Other than the income tax recov-ery, he said the rate increase would cover unfinished projects such as sewerage coverage expansions and improvement of water pressure in households from the current 7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 16 psi.

For Maynilad, the ICC decision would benefit Metro Manila con-

sumers, most especially ordinary Filipinos who had to cope with scarce and expensive potable water during the pre-privatization years. It says that the arbitrary rate cut ordered by the MWSS would have under-mined Maynilad’s cash-intensive, long-term modernization program to supply potable water to as many households as possible in its West Zone concession.

Despite the almost two-year delay in the adoption of the new rebasing rate (which was supposed to take ef-fect in 2013), Maynilad has offered to collect the higher charge over the three-year period between now and 2017 for the benefit of its roughly 9 million customers.

A fair rate adjustment is reason-able because it is part of the conces-sion deal in which Maynilad had agreed to invest heavily to modernize the system, in view of the govern-ment’s lack of cash to improve the system and MWSS’ $1-billion debt.

The new rebasing rate would allow Maynilad to go full steam ahead with its modernization program, which includes sewerage coverage expan-sions and improvement of water pressure in households. It will also restore investor confidence in the Philippine economy and in President Aquino’s pet project Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

A study made in December 1996 by the Philippine Institute for Devel-opment Studies (PIDS) observed that the government’s water pricing policy back then undervalued water because “it does not reflect its full economic cost, that is, the direct supply cost of production and distribution, the op-portunity cost of water and its cost of externalities. Historically, this has led to a wasteful usage of water by final consumers and of raw water by water utility firms as evidenced by high non-revenue water (NRW);

by intersectoral misallocation of raw water in favor of less valuable uses; worsening of water pollution problems; and failure to anticipate the necessary investments for water supply expansion in a timely man-ner.” With the privatization of MWSS, the PIDS researchers concluded that “Metro Manila’s water tariff structure is now the lowest among major cities in the Asean as well as among water districts within the country.”

In a paper, former dean Raul Fa-bella of the University of the Philip-pines School of Economics considers the turnover of MWSS operations to the two concessionaires “a singu-larly successful structural reform in the annals of Philippine politi-cal economy.” He argued thus: “The privatization of MWSS was clearly a triumph of the principle of com-parative competence—the private sector proved more competent at the delivery of water and sewerage services than the state. How it was clinched is a parable for those seek-ing to whittle down the compass of incompetence and inefficiency in a weak-governance environment. Where the state is weak and therefore easily hijacked, it is much better to cede territory to the market.”

The same sentiment is articulated by Dr. Rene Azurin, a management professor and member of the 2005 Consultative Commission (ConCom) that studied proposed amendments to the 1987 Charter. He said: “Letting private firms operate monopolies—like electricity transmission grids, water distribution networks, and railway transportation systems—is common for governments these days, principally because a private firm can be more efficient than a bureaucratic government in operat-ing anything.”

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.

Edgardo J. Angara

By Najla ShawaChicago Tribune/TNS

IN the Gaza Strip, the main daily activity of every family is to try to secure and maximize the use of energy. Even the lives of “privileged” families—those whose houses weren’t damaged

or destroyed in the recent war and who have some money to pay inflated prices and middlemen—are affected.

Children suffer and die in Gaza. Who notices?

THE International Monetary Fund recently reported that for the first time, India’s economic growth will outpace that of China’s in 2016, echoing what Bloomberg, Businessweek and

Goldman Sachs said months before.

By Jacques Trouvilliez | InterPress Service

BONN—The first global treaty dealing with biodiversity was the Ramsar Convention–predating the Rio processes by 20 years.

Democratic countries uniting?

The future of wetlands, the future of waterbirds–an intercontinental connection

Ramsar aims to conserve wet-lands, the usefulness of which has been undervalued–even the emi-nent French naturalist of the 18th century, the Comte de Buffon, advo-cated their destruction–and which have suffered large losses in recent decades.

Far from being wastelands, wet-lands provide invaluable services, replenishing aquifers that supply drinking water and filtering out harmful pollutants. By maintaining a healthy environment, wetlands help ensure human well-being.

While the Ramsar Convention has had to deal with a broader spectrum of wetland issues over

the years, it should be remembered that its full title includes “especially as waterfowl habitat,” and in the African-Eurasian Migratory Water-bird Agreement (Aewa), Ramsar has a strong ally with a clear focus on waterbird conservation in the African-Eurasian Flyway.

The areas designated as Ramsar Sites form an important part of the network of breeding, feeding and stopover grounds that are in-dispensable to the survival of the 255 bird populations of listed un-der Aewa.

Ramsar Sites are vital “hubs” in the network of habitats that con-stitute the African-Eurasian fly-

Power is cut up to 18 hours per day. When there is electricity, we rush to recharge all our batteries, heat water, operate the water filters, check the fuel level in the electrical generator, check the fuel level in the car and so on. Most lack these basics. When the power is out, we need to find other ways to stay warm, to cook, to work, to live.

My husband and I have been waiting for several weeks to refill our cooking-gas cylinders. Given the insecurity of life in Gaza, we’d like to have some reserves, but dis-tributors aren’t able to respond to the demand. Israel limits the quantity of cooking gas that enters the Gaza Strip, and it’s simply not enough. We have to get on a list and wait for our turn. Even before the recent, historic winter storm hit, we couldn’t find any to refill more than one cylinder for cooking. It took effort and con-nections to get another one refilled so that we could keep our newborn daughter warm during the storm.

As parents and as human beings, our hearts ache for the Palestinian children who have minimum shelter and are hardly ever warm and dry. Five months after the cease-fire that ended Israel’s 50-day assault, there are still 100,000 people sheltering at designated UN schools or making do in their ruined homes.

During the war, we thought things couldn’t get worse. Now we realize they can. Thousands of families suffered from cold caused by Huda, a storm that brought historic low temperatures. In a region known for its moderate climate, the bad weather hit while thousands were displaced in the Gaza Strip, Syria and elsewhere.

On the second day of the storm, we heard the terrible news. Two-month-old Rahaf Abu Assi from Khan You-nis had been in the warmest room of the family’s war-damaged home. Her mother came to check on her while the family sat in a part of the house that hardly had a roof. The baby started to turn blue and showed trouble breath-ing. The family rushed Rahaf to the hospital, but it was too late. The cold had blocked her bronchial tubes. At least three more infants died of cold that week. Adel Al Lahham, 1 month old, had been living in a makeshift, tin-sheet-covered home in Khan Younis. Salma Al-Massri, 3 months old, had been living in a school used as a shelter in Beit Hanoun. The last tiny victim was 18 months old. Fadi Qudeih was in temporary caravan housing provided as humanitarian assistance, but it wasn’t warm enough to sustain his life.

Israel would surely blame Hamas

for these deaths. Here in Gaza, howev-er, we blame Israel and, increasingly, governments around the world that have successfully achieved their own independence and then disregarded those still struggling for freedom.

The Gaza Strip has 1.8 million people locked into one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Israel controls the economy, natural resources and communications. It also prohibits the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza from traveling, permitting only a small number to enter. Egypt controls the other side of the Gaza Strip, also imposing re-strictions due to political tensions with Hamas.

Largely a refugee population ex-pelled from homes and private prop-erty in what is now Israel, people here have endured three Israeli aggres-sions in six short years. In 2008 to 2009, 1,391 Palestinians were killed and 5,300 were injured. In 2012, Is-raeli attacks resulted in the death of 167 Palestinians. The latest assault in the summer of 2014 wrought the most damage to essential infra-structure, schools and hospitals. At least 2,139 Palestinians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured. More than 500 children were killed.

The greatest damage was to our sense of hope.

The word “reconstruction” has earned a bad reputation since the International Conference on Recon-struction in Cairo back in October. For us, “reconstruction” is like a broken promise. The UN-brokered agreement has not changed or eased any bit of Israel’s strangulating siege on the Gaza Strip. Some people even accuse the UN of managing this siege rather than challenging it.

At least during the war, the in-ternational community was paying attention. Now, even though we’re a “protected” population under in-ternational humanitarian law, the Gaza Strip seems to be forgotten, and the senseless deaths of our ba-bies scarcely register with the inter-national community.

way along which millions of birds migrate in the course of the annual cycle. They include habitats as di-verse as the Wadden Sea in Europe and the Banc d’Arguin in Maurita-nia, both also designated as Unesco World Heritage Sites and important staging posts for birds migrating between Arctic breeding grounds and wintering sites deep in Africa.

Despite being often far apart geographically and different mor-phologically, these sites are inex-tricably linked by the birds that frequent them.

The definition of “wetland” ex-tends to fish ponds, rice paddies, saltpans and some shallow marine waters, so Ramsar has sites of sig-nificance to other species covered by the Convention of Migratory Species, under which Aewa was concluded.

Examples are the Franciscana dolphin (the only dolphin species

to inhabit wetlands) found in the estuary of the River Plate and along the coast of South America; and the European eel–a recent addition to the CMS listings–which spends most of its life in rivers but spawns and then dies in the Sargasso Sea.

But it is waterbirds that have the strongest links to wetlands and the future of many species is in doubt as a result of the continuing reduction in area of these most productive of habitats. Of great concern is the fate of the mudflats of the Yellow Sea which are under increasing pressure from human developments because tied to them is the fate of a number of threatened shorebirds.

Lake Natron in the United Repub-lic of Tanzania is the only regular breeding site of over two million Lesser flamingoes. Applications have been made to exploit the area’s deposits of soda ash leading to fears that irrevocable damage would be

done to the site resulting in the spe-cies’ extinction.

The habitats of Andean flamin-goes–the Puna and Andean Flamin-goes–are facing similar problems as illegal mining activities have eroded the nesting sites and con-taminated the water, exacerbating other threats such as egg collection.

Fragile wetland ecosystems also fall victim to man-made accidents–the explosion of the Deepwater Hori-zon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and the Sandoz chemical works fire in Basel, Switzerland in 1986 being just two examples of countless inci-dents, both leading to the death of thousands of birds and fish.

Wetlands are vital for birds–and especially waterbirds–but it is also the case that the birds are vital to the wetlands, playing a major role in maintaining nature’s balance.

Government representatives will gather in Paris later this year in the

latest effort to seek agreement on the steps necessary to arrest the causes of climate change. Wildlife is already feeling the effects and one of the best ways to ensure that animals can adapt is to ensure that there are enough robust sites provid-ing the habitat and food sources at the right time and in the right place.

The theme chosen by the Ramsar Convention for this year’s campaign is Wetlands for Our Future and there is a particular emphasis being placed on the role of young people. While wetlands are of course vital for hu-mans, they are no less important for the survival of wildlife and to a great extent also depend on the birds that live in them.

It is the role of Aewa to provide a forum where the countries of Eu-rope, West Asia and Africa can work together to maintain the network of sites making up the African-Eurasian flyway.

India’s projected rise will owe as much to China’s economic slowdown as it will to favorable demograph-ics with the United Nations saying that the sub-continent will become the world’s most populous country by 2028. Like the Philippines to-day, India boasts a relatively young workforce that may spell immense demographic dividends.

Such optimism over India also arises from the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is well-poised to implement significant

reforms given the landslide victory of his Bharatiya Janata Party last May 2014.

And it appears with his ascent to leadership, India may break from its Cold War-era foreign policy of non-alignment and become a more active global player.

Last year, Modi ended a 5-day tour of Japan with commitments from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to regularize joint maritime and military exercises throughout the Indian Ocean and to facilitate

the transfer of Japanese civil nuclear technology to India.

In a Tokyo Declaration for India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, both prime ministers “affirmed their shared commitment to maritime security, freedom of nav-igation and overflight, civil aviation safety, unimpeded lawful commerce and peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law”—noting that their respective countries are among Asia’s oldest democracies.

More recently, Prime Minister Modi received US President Barack Obama who told a large delegation of Indian youth that “America can be India’s best partner” and emphasized that “the world will be a safer and a more just place when our two democracies—the world’s largest democracy and the world’s oldest democracy—stand together.”

By the end of Obama’s state visit to India, both leaders had signed the dramatic US-India Joint Strategic Vi-

sion for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region where they affirmed “the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring free-dom of navigation and over flight through the region, especially in the South China Sea.”

They called on all parties “to avoid the threat or use of force and pursue resolution of territorial and mari-time disputes through all peaceful means, in accordance with univer-sally recognized principles of inter-national law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

India reaching out to fellow de-mocracies makes for a safer world, as democratic countries do not go to war against each other. A more active India could also help cast a much wider safety and security net for Asia-Pacific countries who ap-pear helpless and beholden to their economically powerful but politically belligerent neighbor.

E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.

As parents and as human beings, our hearts ache for the Palestinian children who have minimum shelter and are hardly ever warm and dry. Five months after the cease-fire that ended Israel’s 50-day assault, there are still 100,000 people sheltering at designated UN schools or making do in their ruined homes.

the woeful state of Iraq’s army, White House resistance to any plan likely to cause heavy civilian casualties, and at least some support in the Sunni-domi-nated city for the occupying force. Although President Barack Obama has repeatedly vowed not to reintroduce US ground troops in Iraq, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress in November that he would consider deploying a limited number of US Special Forces to help direct air strikes and assist the Iraqi army in an assault on Mosul. Retaking the city, home to about 1.4 million people, almost certainly would require urban combat against a tena-cious foe. “Fighting inside a city like that will definitely not be easy, going street by street, house to house,” said Ferhang Asandi, a Kurdish military officer. IS militants are “trying to put all their ef-fort and their fight in anticipation of

the battle because they know that, if Mosul is done, it means the end” of a ma-jor source of prestige and recruitment. The stakes are equally high for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi’s fragile government in Baghdad, which has struggled to rebuild its army since entire divisions collapsed before the insurgent onslaught last year. Another military defeat at Mosul would under-mine government authority and shift the momentum back to IS. “There is no way to create any form of unified or stable Iraq as long as Mo-sul is in hostile hands,” said Anthony Cordesman, a senior military analyst at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Lesser victories are only a prelude to retaking Mosul.” Warplanes from the US-led coa- lition have dropped more than 6,000 bombs on IS positions in Iraq and

Statistics Authority (PSA). The PSA is the country’s main statisti-cal agency. It combined the National Statis-tics Office, National Statistical Coordination Board, Bureau of Agriculture Statistics and the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics into one agency. “The first part of it was the reorganization that’s done by combining all the statistical agencies, so we can avoid these conflict-of-in-terest issues in the generation of statistics. The second phase of this exercise is to review the changes in the methodologies in the national income accounts,” Balisacan said. The PSA’s current head is national statisti-cian Lisa Grace Bersales. She was appointed by President Aquino in April 2014 as the country’s first PSA national statistician.

By Cai U. Ordinario

The National economic and Develop-ment Authority (Neda) disclosed that the Philippine Statistical System

(PSS) may already be outdated, particularly in the design of its surveys and the para-meters the government uses in coming up with official data.

A8

2ndFront PageBusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.phTuesday, February 3, 2015

See “U.S.,” A2

Alibaba’s Ma regains spot as Asia’s richest

PHL statistical system may already be outdated–Neda

ABE CONFRONTS WIDER ISLAMIC STATE THREAT

MERALCO, PARTNERS WANT NEW 455-MW PLANT IN QUEZON READY BY 2018

ISLAMIC State’s (IS) warning to Japan after beheading two of its citizens met with tough words

from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is moving to bolster his country’s ability to defend itself. As Japanese people took to social media to mourn the murder of jour-nalist Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, Abe spoke on Sunday of his anger, saying in a statement, “I am infuri-ated by these inhumane and despi-cable acts of terrorism,” adding, “I will never forgive these terrorists.” Japan would work with other countries to make terrorists atone for their crimes while protecting its people, he said. Abe faces a delicate task as he seeks to ease Japan into a larger role in global security, in a policy known as “proactive pacifism.” With IS warn-ing Japan is a target, he will need to avoid a backlash domestically from the killings in a society that has long cherished its pacifism. “Abe has to be conscious of domestic political challenges,” said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra. “There seems to be some doubt in the public mind about supporting a more engaged role,” he said. “How the Japanese

By Lenie Lectura 

ATOP official of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Mon-day said the proponents of the

455-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon, want the construction to be fast tracked to provide much-needed electricity in the summer of 2018. “We are hoping that we can move in an accelerated pace because it’s needed. We are trying to have it in place, hopefully, in time for summer 2018,” Meralco President Oscar S. Reyes said. New Growth BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Electricity Generat-ing Public Co. Ltd. (Egco) of Thai-land, which is 25-percent owned by Electric Generating Authority of Thailand, and Meralco PowerGen (MGen), the power-generating firm of Meralco, formed San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) for the 455-MW coal-fired power-plant project in Mauban, Quezon. MGen will own 51 percent of the power facility, including rights to as-sign up to 2 percent to an approved as-signee, while New Growth BV holds the remaining 49 percent. Construction has yet to start because SBPL is still finalizing a contract with

its chosen engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The power plant will be adjacent to the existing 460-MW coal-fired power plant of Quezon Power  Philippines Ltd., which is mostly controlled by Egco.  Reyes did not say when the con-struction will start, but stressed that the country is “ better off with com-fortable level of supply.” SBPL earlier signed a power sup-ply agreement with Meralco for the sale and purchase of the plant’s en-tire output. The term of the PSA is 20 years from the commercial operation date. The effectiveness of PSA, however, will be subject to review and approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission. The power project is envisioned to be the first supercritical highly fuel efficient, reliable and environment-friendly pulverized coal-fired power plant in the country. This is to meet the growing needs of residential, commercial and industrial customers in Meralco’s franchise area and the Luzon grid. Meralco, meanwhile, is the country’s largest power-distribution utility firm assigned to provide  electricity in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and in some parts of Batangas, Laguna, Que-zon and Pampanga.

BALISACAN: “The parameters we’re using

in calculating statistics of interest might be already

too outdated. And so the World Bank is helping us,

especially in the provision of technical expertise to

improve the statistical system. We hope to

complete that within the next two years.”

Neda Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said this is the reason the PSS is currently under-going a review, which will be completed in two years. “The parameters we’re using in calculating statistics of interest might be already too out-dated. And so the World Bank is helping us, especially in the provision of technical exper-tise, to improve the statistical system. We hope to complete that within the next two years,” Balisacan said. Balisacan explained that the designs of some of the surveys used to complete data, such as the National Income Accounts (NIA), which includes

gross domestic product (GDP) data, or the Labor Force Survey, which focuses on employment data, may already be outdated. He said the design of the survey was not updated to include recent events, such as the rise of the business-process outsourcing indus-try, or the decline in the share of the agriculture sector in GDP. “We want to address the issues raised about data and one of this is the issue in the computa-tion of the NIA,” Balisacan added. Balisacan said the review of the PSS is only the second phase of the improvement of the statistical system. The first part of this pro-cess was the reorganization of the Philippine

Support the families of the slain Special Action Force officers. Cash and check donations may be depo-sited to Citystate Savings Bank Account No. 001-11-000038-9 and BDo Savings Account No. 90173473. Anonymous donations are welcome.

SAF44 FUND DRIVEJApANeSe prime Minister Shinzo Abe (second from right) talks during a ministerial meeting at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Sunday, after the release of an online video that purportedly shows an Islamic State group militant beheading Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. Japan condemned with outrage and horror on Sunday the video posted on militant web sites late Saturday, Middle east time. Dtefense Minister Gen Nakatani (right) and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga (second from left) also attended the meeting. AP

Jonathan Lu and Chief People Officer Lucy Peng. “The entire e-payments market has just started,” said Li Yujie, an ana-lyst at RHB Research Institute Sdn. in Hong Kong. “In the future, Alipay will capture a lot of this market. When it goes public, it will produce many new billionaires.” Lu and Peng, both co-founders of Alibaba, each have a fortune valued at about $1.8 billion, based on their stakes in Ant Financial, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shao Xiaofeng, who joined Alibaba in 2005 and has been its chief risk of-ficer in the past two-and-a-half- years, has a fortune of about $1.2 billion, according to the index.

‘Formidable room’“IT’S got formidable room for growth,” said Cyrus Mewawalla, managing di-rector of London-based CM Research Ltd. “As Alibaba expands in global markets, so could Alipay. If technol-ogy companies do well, then their owners become billionaires.” Bob Christie, Alibaba’s spokesman, de-clined to comment on the new valu-ation and billionaires. Other Alibaba cofounders and senior executives also emerge as stakeholders of Ant Financial. CEO Daniel Zhang and the other eight shareholders each have a net worth of more than $1 billion, ac-cording to the index. Zhang and CEO Lu are among the Alibaba executives who are on the board, along with Ma and Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, who has a $5.8-billion fortune.

The other senior executives include President Jianhang Jin, Trudy Dai, Al-ibaba’s chief customer officer, Jian Wang, chief technology officer, and his deputy Peng Jiang. Other billion-aire shareholders are Eddie Wu, Zeng Ming, Tiger Wang and Judy Tong.

‘Not happy’THE $50-billion valuation for Ant Fi-nancial is about twice the minimum threshold required for the company’s IPO, according to Alibaba’s prospectus. Ma has controlled Ant Financial, includ-ing the Alipay payments business, since spinning off the finance operations into a new company in 2011, citing foreign ownership restrictions. Ma was ranked China’s wealthiest on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in August, based on the earlier valuation

for Ant Financial. He briefly overtook Hong Kong property tycoon Li Ka-shing for the top spot in Asia in December. “I was really not happy in the past three months when people say Jack Ma is the richest person of China,” Ma said in an interview with Charlie Rose last month. “When you have $1 billion, that’s not your money—that’s the trust society gives.” Ant Financial hasn’t hired invest-ment banks, one of the people said. The company is planning an A-share sale in China while not ruling out a dual listing, another person familiar said. Alipay, which is similar to PayPal, has more than 800 million registered users. Its mobile application has 190 million active users and handles 45 million transactions a day, the company said in October. Bloomberg News

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