THE BusinessMirror led the 2015 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards for agri-

cultural journalism, clinching five of the 14 contest categories.

For the second straight year, the search for the coun-try’s top journalists in the field of agriculture, environ-ment and agribusiness was conducted successfully by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. (PAJ) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

The 20 winners of the 2015 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards were feted in ceremonies on March 29 in Makati City, where they received cash prizes and tro-phies from PAJ President Roman Floresca, SMC Assis-tant Vice President for Media Affairs Mary Jane Oconer Llanes and former Agriculture Secretary William Dar, chair-man of the board of judges.

The BusinessMirror’s Agri-Commodities reporter Mary Grace Padin was adjudged the best agricultural journalist and agri beat reporter; Jona-than L. Mayuga, placed third in the environment journalist cat-egory; Mauricio Victa copped the best agri photojournalist award; and its Agri-Commodi-ties page, edited by Jennifer Ng, was chosen as the best agri sec-tion of a national newspaper.

Other major broadsheets Manila Times and Manila Bul-letin took home two awards each, while the Philippine Star placed in one category. James Konstantin Galvez of Manila Times placed second in the environment journalist category and third in the agri beat reporter contest.

Ellalyn B. de Vera of Ma-nila Bulletin was declared the environment journalist of the

year, while her colleagues Leo Laparan II and Jaimie Rose Aberia cowrote the best agri feature story, “Facets of Ph farming: Is it really aging?”

Czeriza Valencia-Vigilia of the Philippine Star placed second as the best agri beat reporter. The top 3 winners in the agricultural journalist, agri beat reporter and environment journalist categories took home a trophy and cash prizes. The winners in the other 11 categories also received cash prizes and a trophy. Below are the 2015 PAJ-SMC Binhi awardees: ■ Agricultural Journalist: (1) Mary Grace Padin, Busi-nessMirror; (2) Fermin Diaz, Livestock and Meat Business (LaMB) Magazine; (3) Abe Bele-na, Agrikultura, etc. Magazine; ■ Agr i Beat Reporter:

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PESO EXCHANGE RATES ■ US 46.3290 ■ JAPAN 0.4112 ■ UK 66.6628 ■ HK 5.9736 ■ CHINA 7.1204 ■ SINGAPORE 34.2265 ■ AUSTRALIA 35.3629 ■ EU 52.3193 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 12.3554 Source: BSP (30 March 2016 )

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph ■ Thursday, March 31, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 173 P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK

MEDIA PARTNER OF THE YEAR2015 ENVIRONMENTAL

LEADERSHIP AWARD

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INSIDE

‘YOU’LL NEVERFORGET THE FIRST BREATH YOU TAKE UNDERWATER’

HARD TO BEAT

RELATE TO CREATE

DTI eyes support strategiesfor 3 high-potential sectors

REELING:OSCAR

REGRETS AND ‘THE DANISH

GIRL’ D3

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Life � ursday, March 31, 2016BusinessMirrorEditor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

DEAR Lord, help us create a habit of happiness and laughter, instead of a habit of worry and sadness. Laughter lowers stress hormones.

It also boosts the immune system, protects the heart and other internal organs. A cheerful heart is a good medicine. A habit of happiness is the best disposition, especially if it is atuned with the will of God in our daily life. Amen.

A habit of happiness

YETTA L. CRUZ AND LOUIE M. LACSONWord&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

BY JT NISAY

IT’S not a verbatim quote but that’s the premise of a line that caught my eye in the information sheet of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors for first-time divers.

After all, aboard iscovery leet’s cruise-cum-dive trip on the MV Discovery Palawan, with my heart olted by excitement and or fear by the layers of first-time experiences lined up before me, including being part of a cruise and an opportunity to dive, remembering the precise wording of that sentence was the least of my concerns.

ou see, cruise ships don’t ust work the waters in the aribbean, the Mediterranean or the ahamas, as the experience is also available in these parts, where the country’s natural beauty can compete with the best of them.

ight now, we are the only purely cruise’ ship

CONTINUED ON D2

‘You’ll never forget the first breath you take underwater’

AN aerial view of Apo Reef PHOTOS BY INGGO ESCALANTE

MAN is a social being. Whether we are extroverts or introverts, the reality is we are predisposed to establish relationships. It is just a matter

of choice on how large we want our friendship microcosm to be.

I’m a person of relationships. I relate. I “friend”. And I form lasting friendships. I have failed in many a relationship, whether platonic or romantic. But in taking risks in relating, I have been blessed with deep bonds with people who are genuine and nonutilitarian. Because of this, I view social and emotional development for children as important as cognitive skills. I hope to periodically share my continuous journey on relationships, and how I try to develop my kids’ social and emotional skills.

My relationships in school were quite diverse.  I started in search for one best friend and being lucky enough to have found more than one great company. 

I started out to be more like “one of the boys,” because I was inclined to arm-wrestle them, although eventually, I learned what admiration meant. What was clear to me then was: “Friends Forever.” Friendship is being there for each other no matter what. And so I was there for my friends, whether it was for homework or some emotional issue. I would be scolded at home for being on the phone too much, or staying in school late to tutor my friends.

My mother warned me then that if my grades slipped in any quarter, I would be banned from using the phone. Luckily, I was able to maintain my grades. An even greater reward was that I built such deep friendships that, even if I don’t talk to them for years, we’d still be able to catch up so quickly today as if we were still in school.  

I had many kinds of relationships in school. I remember always wanting to have a brother. Because of this, I had more friends who were boys. I was lucky to have this guy friend who had been my classmate since nursery. He would help me carry my bags and in school projects. I would try to help him get closer to girls.  Our ritual was to eat at Wendy’s after that last day of our periodical exam. Even when he transferred for high school, we kept in touch and were even prom dates.  We entered the same course in college. Of course, when tragedy comes our way, or a melancholic day unfolds before us, we know we are just a phone call away. We actually saw each other just a few weeks ago. I share these stories with my kids to show them how friendships give comfort.

But I also always tell them that building friendships takes genuine effort and attitude. So how does social development start for kids?

Below is a grid of social-development milestones that you may observe from your child:

■ 0 to 3 months: Smiles at sound of parent’s voice; eyes move around as they follow you walking

■ 4 to 6 months: Smiles at other people; re-sponds to own name

■ 6 to 12 months: Fear of strangers; imitate people; follow simple requests

■ 12 to 18 months: Do things for attention; seeks reaction

■ 18 to 24 months: Learns to share; learns to take turns; imitate through role play

■ 3 years: Make-believe stage■ 4 years: Make friends more actively■ 5 years: Plays with friends■ 6 to 8 years: Starts forming opinions of positive

and negative feelings. The grid above is not meant to gauge your kids as more “socially skilled.” Instead, I always use it to get to know my child more.

From these milestones, I observed how my daughter started out being so afraid of strangers to now running for class office.

Through creating activities related to the milestones above, I realized that it was not about the fear of being with a lot of people; it was about trust and trying new things.

My son prefers to stay with one friend in school. He is a focused person who can play with his toys or

coloring materials for hours on his own. He was an extremely shy person up to age 5. So I researched on his “relaxed” state. I observed that he loved to sing while he was playing. I took a chance and enrolled him in voice class. That physical exercise actually became a social breakthrough. He started to talk more, and we reinforced this by encouraging him tell his stories during mealtimes. Now, he has overcome his shyness, and even wants to join contests and do solo performances in school.

These small steps are fundamental building blocks to a kid’s “social” future. Through these milestones, they develop a sense of identity, then slowly reach out to a bigger world.

I try hard to develop their confidence with much hugs and kisses of security, but I also constantly push them to unfamiliar social grounds.

Relating truly creates a resounding world that continuously opens us up to new experiences. But we need to prepare for the process. There are mixed experiences of abandonment, diversity, acceptance, dependability, deceit and genuine support. So the decision is critical and the heart must be open. I hope to prepare my kids to be bold enough to take the risk of relating, with both openness and self-identity. And, hopefully, see how relationships form great support systems, and provide a daily opportunity to experience gratitude.

■ For feedback or inquiries, e-mail mommyno limits@gmail.com.

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ParentlifeBusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.ph� ursday, March 31, 2016

MOMMYNO LIMITSMAYE YAO CO SAY

mommynolimits@gmail.com mommynolimits@gmail.com

IN a photo shoot for a magazine, my daughter actually asked me if she could get autographs from the international models, and she did get them. This was unimaginable a few years ago.

MY son in his first solo performance. He is lucky to have supportive teachers who believe in him.

Relate to create

‘BATMAN VS SUPERMAN’ TOY COLLECTIBLESINSPIRED by the much-anticipated face-off by two iconic superheroes onscreen, SM Cinema’s Snack Time is offering an exclusive Batman vs. Superman hexagon toy-collectible set to film enthusiasts.

Fans of The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel can now collect toys of their favorite characters from the Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie when they purchase a snack-merchandise combo meal at SM Cinema’s Snack Time counters nationwide.

Fans can collect a total of seven different figurines, ranging from different versions of the much-loved title heroes, to the showstopper Wonder Woman, and even of the brilliant villain Lex Luthor.

The collectible hexagon toys are on limited supply from the world’s biggest comics and collectible superstore

Comicave. SM Cinema’s Snack Time is the only brand in the Philippines carrying the hexagon collection from the international brand.

For fans who prefer a wearable keepsake, Snack Time also has a limited Batman vs. Superman digital touch watch. Durable, waterproof and lighting up when touched, the watch is a perfect accessory during playtime, or when bonding with family and friends.

GATEWAY Gallery offers its Artsy Summer Workshops for the months of April and May. Now on its second year, it offers two classes: Arts and Crafts, and Beginners’ Painting. The Arts and Crafts workshop will enhance the creativity and imagination of the kid with the use of three-dimensional objects of various materials.

Students can actually use the creative products, such as tote bag, tie-dye shirt and scrapbook. Beginners’ Painting, on the other hand, instills the discipline and skills of acrylic painting using different techniques.

The Arts and Crafts workshop is for children 6 years old and up, while the Beginners’ Painting workshop is for those 8 years old and up. Enjoy the fun workshops on April 9, 16, 23, 30 and May 7 from 2 to 5 pm at Gateway Gallery, Gateway Tower 2, Araneta Center, Quezon City. The workshop fee (for each class) is P4,000, inclusive of materials.

Teachers of the art classes have extensive experience in art education and are all members of the Philippine Art Educator’s Association. The teachers for Arts and Crafts are Jonah Mari Valenzuela, Baebee Reynoso and Rosel Valenzuela. Basic Painting, meanwhile, will be facilitated by Carmela Rivera. Registration is ongoing. To inquire or register, contact 0908-881-6406, 588-4000, local 8300, or gatewaygallery@aranetagroup.com.

Managed by the J. Amado Araneta Foundation, Gateway Gallery is a new museum of the Araneta Center that focuses on art and history of the Filipino people. At the moment, the long-term exhibit SiningSaysay: Philippine History in Art is on view, depicting the comprehensive history of our country through 30 large history paintings. A guided tour of this relevant exhibit is available upon request.

ARTSY SUMMER WORKSHOPSFOR KIDS

brand in the Philippines carrying the hexagon

MOVIEGOERS will receive a mystery mini hexagon toy for every Batman vs. Superman snack-merchandise popcorn combo meal or hot-dog combo meal available at SM Cinema’s Snack Time.

THE Batman vs. Supermandigital touch watch available in all Snack Time counters nationwide.

SportsBusinessMirror

C1 | THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016mirror_sports@yahoo.com.phsports@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun Lomibao | Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

HARDTO BEAT

B T R�e Associated Press

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida—Novak Djokovic rolled his eyes after a backhand found the net, shrugged after an early barrage of errors and even heard the crowd at times pulling for his opponent.

None of it wound up mattering. Even when not at his sharpest, Djokovic is nearly impossible to beat. Looking for his fifth title on Key Biscayne in six years, the world’s top player reached the quarterfinals on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria. Djokovic will meet seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych—who grinded out a three-set win over 10th-seeded Richard Gasquet of France—in the Miami Open semifinals. “It was far from easy,” said Djokovic, who survived nine double-faults. “I struggled a lot.” Djokovic moved to 25-1 on the year, 27-1 in his past 28 matches on Key Biscayne. The Serbian star also moved a step closer to becoming the tournament’s first back-to-back-to-back winner since Andre Agassi in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He fended off 14 of the 15 break points he faced and hasn’t dropped a set, so far, in the tournament. “That’s a positive, in a way,” Djokovic said of his success on break points. “I try not to get myself in those positions too much.” Thiem was no pushover, and seemed the farthest thing from intimidated. He cranked his serve up to 141 miles per hour, recorded 11 of the match’s first 16 winners and twice got games on Djokovic’s serve to last 10 minutes before the world No. 1 would ultimately prevail. Perhaps, it shouldn’t have been surprising, since he and Djokovic came into the day leading the tour with 24 wins apiece this year. “With one of 15 break points, you cannot beat anyone, probably,” Thiem said. “For sure, not Djokovic.” Thiem nearly broke Djokovic to get to 5-4 in the first, before a review showed that the backhand that looked like a winner actually sailed a tad long. Djokovic hopped from his seat—he was already in changeover mode—and took advantage, winning to finish off the opening set. He double-faulted to give Thiem a break and knot the second set at 3-3, but broke right back and, eventually, closed out the win. “He’s still very young,” Djokovic said of Thiem, 22, the youngest player ranked in the top 20. “He’s been playing some of his best tennis the last couple of months. We’ll definitely see a lot of him in the future.” Berdych needed nearly two-and-a-half hours to win, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, with the temperature reaching the mid-80s and the humidity making it seem much warmer on the court. A slew of upsets knocked out most of the tournament’s top seeds, although Berdych hasn’t seen his side of the draw open up much with all that star power going home early. And now Djokovic awaits him. “I’m just going to try and focus on my game, try to play some good tennis, stick with the things that are working well, so far, for me and just try to go for it no matter who’s going to be the opponent,” Berdych said. Gilles Simon is also headed to the men’s quarterfinals, rolling past fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille, 6-0, 6-1. No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, No. 12 seed Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 15 David Goffin of Belgium, No. 16 Gael Monfils of France and No. 24 Nick Kyrgios of Australia also advanced to the quarters. Monfils needed three sets; Nishikori, Raonic, Goffin and Kyrgios moved on with straight-set victories. Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky, who has been the comeback queen on Key Biscayne, reached the women’s semifinals after another three-set marathon. The 19th-seeded Bacsinszky rallied to top fifth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. “It’s something amazing,” Bacsinszky said. “I’m really happy today.” Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet Bacsinszky in the semifinals. Kuznetsova, the No. 15 seed who ousted top-ranked Serena Williams in the fourth round, beat 30th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova in an all-Russian quarterfinal that ended at 12:38 a.m. to move into the women’s final four. Kuznetsova dropped the first set in a tiebreaker before taking the next two, 6-4, 6-3, the match lasting two hours and 44 minutes. It was the second straight win against a top-5 seed for Bacsinszky, both coming after she dropped the opening set and exceeding the two-hour mark. She ousted third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the round of 16, and needed 2:28 to beat Halep. With Halep out, the only top-10 seed left in the women’s draw is No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany. She plays Madison Keys of the US in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Looking for his fifth title on Key Biscayne in six years, the world’s top player Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria.Thiem of Austria.

B D F�e Associated Press

TIGER WOODS has never played the week before the Masters, and it’s hard to argue with the results. He has won it four times.

Then again, he was better than everyone else. Phil Mickelson is the opposite. He prefers to play the week before the Masters to get into a competitive spirit, and it has worked out pretty well for him, too. Along with his three green jackets, Lefty has six other finishes in the top 3. There is no magic formula for getting ready for Augusta National. Steve Timms was aware of that 10 years ago when the Shell Houston Open was offered the chance to move away from its late April date and take the week before the Masters. Timms is the tournament director. For him, the tradition unlike any other was getting asked by local media if Woods was coming to Houston. Move to the week before the Masters, and the answer would be pretty clear. And that’s what they did. “We had the date two weeks after the Masters, and we had some indifferent field qualities,” Timms said on

Tuesday, finding a gracious way of saying that fans needed the pairing sheet to figure out who was coming up the fairway. “It’s ‘no man’s land’ after Augusta. So whenever we were approached, we felt like that gave us a fighting chance to be a week before Augusta. Some guys like to play their way in. We were thinking specifically about Phil. “Tiger and Phil, those were the needle movers.” It’s worked out well. Generations change, and so do playing habits. Woods still doesn’t play the week before the Masters. Right now, he’s not playing at all. Mickelson, who won the Houston Open in 2011, is 45 and still going strong. He already has a trio of top 5s this year and remains wildly popular. But it’s no longer just about Mickelson. Also playing at the Golf Club of Houston this week is Jordan Spieth, no longer No. 1 in the world, but still recognized as the 22-year-old Texan who is the reigning Masters and US Open champion. The field also includes Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson. Playing the week before worked out well for Spieth in 2015. He lost in a three-man playoff at Houston, then went to Augusta National and was so dominant in his wire-to-wire win that he became the first player in more than 60 years to never let anyone closer than three shots after the opening round.

For the Houston Open, however, it was more than just a change in dates. Timms got together with agronomists and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour staff to try to create something unique, with Augusta National in mind. No one will ever confuse Golf Club of Houston with Augusta National (one serves brisket, the other pimiento cheese). But there were enough characteristics to make it an ideal place for those who wanted to compete. The banks and mounds around the greens were closely mown. The rough was shaved down. The fairways were mown from the green to the tee so that the grain is into the player, just like at Augusta. The greens are firm (weather permitting) and fast, estimated at 12 on the Stimpmeter. “Now it’s become our identity,” Timms said. “And we’ve had the good fortune of having a number of players that have played here and won the next week.” Angel Cabrera (2009), Mickelson (2010), Charl Schwartzel (2011) and Spieth (2015) all played Houston the week before slipping into a green jacket. Houston’s field used to be so weak that the winner received 22 world ranking points in 2006 when it was two weeks after the Masters. The first year after changing dates, the winner received 46 points.

And then came the biggest break of all. The Masters restored its tradition that PGA Tour winners (except opposite-field events) would get into the Masters starting in 2008. That gave Houston another layer of drama, with players, such as Johnson Wagner and Matt Jones, getting into Augusta at the last possible minute. Since then, the winner has received an average of 54.5 points. One year, the Shell Houston Open had a stronger field than any regular tour event on the Florida swing. Still, it’s a player’s choice. Jason Day was headed to Augusta National later this week to start preparing. So was Adam Scott. Both play a limited schedule, anyway. “My argument is, if you really wanted to practice for the Augusta setup, why don’t you just go to Augusta?” Schwartzel said. Those playing in the Shell Houston Open want that last chance to get into the Masters, or they’re already in and want to get sharp. “They want to practice their competitiveness,” Schwartzel said. “You’re not looking to find some sort of game. It’s too late to find a game now.”

» IT’S no longer about Tiger Woods (left)and Phil Mickelson.

NO MAGICFORMULAFORMULA

EVEN when not at his sharpest, Novak Djokovic is nearly

impossible to beat. AP

LIFE D1

SPORTS C1

PARENTLIFE D4

Consumer loans hit ₧997Bin Sept 2015–central bank

HEALTH&FITNESS

‘BUSINESSMIRROR’ DOMINATES 2015 PAJSMC BINHI AWARDS

HEALTH&FITNESS

EXCELLENCE IN AGRICULTURAL JOURNALISM The BUSINESSMIRROR won in five of the 14 contest categories in the 2015 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards. (From left) Agri-Commodities Editor Jennifer A. Ng (Agriculture Section of a National Newspaper of the Year), Agri-Commodities reporter Mary Grace Padin (first place, Agricultural Journalist of the Year and first place, Agri Beat Reporter of the Year), Environment reporter Jonathan L. Mayuga (third place, Environment Journalist of the Year), and photographer Mauricio E. Victa (Agri Photojournalist of the Year) proudly show off their trophies. Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. (PAJ) President Roman Floresca, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) Assistant Vice President for Media Affairs Mary Jane Oconer Llanes and former Agriculture Secretary William DAR, chairman of the board of judges, led the awarding ceremony held on March 29 in Makati City. ROY DOMINGO

PUBLISH ASIA President Aquino keynotes the opening ceremony of Publish Asia 2016 at the Manila Hotel. Created in 2000, Publish Asia is the undisputed annual meeting place for the Asian newspaper and news-publishing industry. More than 300 media executives from 30 countries gather in Manila until March 31 for master classes and conference sessions covering such topics as global media trends, innovations in mobile technology, investigative journalism in Asia and focus on audience development, among others. ALYSA SALEN

BusinessMirror

GEAR UP FOR THE ALLNEW, 4THGENERATION KIA SPORTAGE Columbian Autocar Corp. (CAC) President Ginia Domingo (left), together with CAC Vice President for Sales and Marketing Hernando Ganac Jr., presents the all-new, fourth-generation Kia Sportage at the launching ceremony in Sentro 1771, Capitol Commons, Pasig City. RONALD REY M. DELOS REYES

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THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is framing its support strategies for three

underperforming manufacturing sectors with high potentials to maximize growth.

70% Assistant Secretary for Industry Development Rafaelita M. Aldaba said studies are being made to determine the type of support needed by the electronics, shipbuilding and chemi-cals sectors to reach their respective growth potentials. 

“We need to have a comprehensive program that will identify constraints and answer questions why the three

Share of the electronics industry to total Philippine exports when it reached its peak performance in 2001

B B C

DEMAND for loans to finance the per-sonal needs of Filipinos continued to expand in the first three quar-

ters of 2015, latest data from the central bank showed.  The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported  on Wednesday  that consumer loans of universal, commercial and thrift banks stood at P997.2 billion at the end of September last year.

Philippine banks’ consumer

credit exposure of 16.9 percent of total loan portfolio remained lower than their Asean peers.”—BSP

S “C,” A

news@businessmirror.com.phBusinessMirror�ursday, March 31, 2016A2

BMReportsDTI eyes support strategies for 3 high potential sectors

‘BUSINESSMIRROR’ DOMINATES 2015 PAJSMC BINHI AWARDS(1) Mary Grace Padin, the Busi-nessMirror; (2) Czeriza Valencia-Vigilia, Philippine Star; (3) James Konstantin Galvez, Manila Times;

■ Environment Journalist: (1) Ellalyn B. de Vera, Manila Bulle-tin; (2) James Konstantin Galvez, Manila Times; (3)Jonathan L. Mayuga, the BusinessMirror;

■ Agri News Story: “Backyard grown pigs have hepa E virus” by Fermin Diaz, LaMB Magazine;

■ Agri Feature Story: “Facets of PH farming: Is it really aging?” by Leo Ortega Laparan II and Jaimie

Rose Aberia, Manila Bulletin; ■ Environment Story: “Topsoil: Going, going, gone?” by Henrylito D. Tacio, EDGE Davao;

■ Agri Broadcast Journal-ist: Louie Tabing, Sa Kabukiran, dzMM; ■ Agri Photo Journalist: Mauri-cio E. Victa, the BusinessMirror; ■ Agriculture Section of a Na-tional Newspaper: Agri-Commod-ities of the BusinessMirror, Section Editor-Jennifer Ng; ■ A g r icu ltura l Maga zine: Kaunlaran, published by Pangkat Kaunlaran;

■ Agricultural Newsletter: Phil-

Rice Magasin, published by the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute;

■ Agri R adio Program: Sa Kabukiran, dzMM;

■ Agri Television Program: AgriTayo Dito, ABS-CBN Davao; and

■ Agri Information & Media Campaign: Gusto Namin, Milyo-naryo Kayo!—DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute.

T he 2015 PA J-SMC Binhi Awards has attracted more than 100 contestants nationwide, said Noel Reyes, PAJ vice president for internal affairs, and Binhi Awards committee chairman.

Aside from Dar and Llanes, the

other members of the board of judges are: Leo A. Deocadiz, pub-lisher of The HongKong SUN; former Party-list Rep. Angelo B. Palmones of AGHAM, MBC-dzRH; and Sylvia Europa-Pinca, president of Europa Public Relations Inc. Organized in September 1976, the PAJ has been conducting the Binhi Awards since 1978, in partnership with SMC. and other sponsors, to recognize the efforts of print and broadcast journalists for their report-age on the major developments and issues in the country’s agriculture, fisheries, environment, food and agribusiness sectors.

sectors have failed to achieve their potentials. We’re still at the analysis stage for the three sectors,” Aldaba told reporters. 

The support package may not necessarily be in the form of a subsidy, as in the case of the auto industry through the Com-prehensive Automotive Resur-gence Strategy Program, but a better enabling environment in terms of legislation and other growth stimulating measures,she added.

The three sectors have been part of the Board of Investments’ Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) for years, but as their inclusion in the list is not jumpstarting de-velopment, broader interventions are needed. “We don’t need a piecemeal sup-port strategy. That’s one lesson we learned. We need to have a compre-hensive package of support strate-gies [for the sectors],” she added.

The electronics industry ac-counted for 51 percent of the coun-try’s total export revenues of $4.18 billion in January. 

However, according to the elec-tronics road map submitted by the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. to the DTI, the share of electronics to total exports has improved only in the past two years. Even then, the figure is a far cry from its perfor-mance in the early 2000s. Electronics’ contribution to total exports reached its peak in 2001, attaining a 70-percent share. This, however, dwindled to 34 percent in mid-2013. 

“Electronics has been declining, so we have to study closely how can we arrest this decline because even abroad, semiconductors are going down. At this point, we may be able

to identify strategies to help the sector cope with global challenges,” Aldaba said.  The industry is also facing the challenge of attracting higher-value-added activities. Over the years, the country’s electron-ics and semiconductor industry was concentrated in assembly and testing, making industry players vulnerable to f luctua-tions in global demand. 

Shipbui lding, for its part, promises great potential as ma-jor players , like Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Inc. and Hanjin Heavy Industries, are already in the Phil-ippines. Likewise, there is high de-mand for new ships for refleeting. Aldaba cited chemicals as a bright spot, as its contribution to manufacturing has been on the rise in recent years.  In January manu-facturing production value rose 26.5 percent, reversing a 1-percent contraction the sector registered in the same month last year. The recent growth was driven by the triple-digit growth of chemical products, particularly for the drugs and medicine subsector. “We noted the sector’s prom-ising performance. It has been contributing to the growth of manufacturing, and there are new investments coming in. So, the question is, how can we sustain this growth? We have a lot of opportuni-ties to harness,” Aldaba said. In 2013 the Samahan sa Pilipi-nas ng mga  Industriyang Kimika (SPIK) submitted its road map to DTI as part of the agency’s Industry Roadmapping Initiative.

 Among the proposals of SPIK is the establishment of a chemi-cal industry cluster zone where locators can avail themselves of incentives like those being enjoyed by exporters in the Philippine Eco-nomic Zone Authority.

ON the heels of the ongoing Senate Blue-Ribbon Committee investigation on the alleged

$81-million money-laundering fiasco involving officers of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV reiterated his call addressed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to look into the allegations that a PSE director is also being used to launder money.

Trillanes wants PSE director probed for money laundering

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, for-mer Makati City Mayor Jejomar Er-win Binay Jr., University of Makati President Tomas Lopez and certain private individuals, including offi-cials of STI Holdings Inc. (STI), led by STI Chairman and PSE Director Eusebio “Yosi” Tanco, STI President Monico Jacob, Annabelle Borromeo and Dr. Jack Arroyo Jr., a nephew of Sen. Joker Arroyo, violated the laws being administered by said institutions. The subject public and private respondents were charged last Sep-tember 2015 by lawyer Renato L. Bondal before the Office of the Om-budsman with the crime of plun-der, malversation of public funds, graft and corruption and violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act for allegedly diverting public funds intended for the Uni-versity of Makati in the aggregate amount of P547,420,499 to Philip-pine Healthcare Educators Inc., a private company allegedly owned by the aforesaid public and private individuals.

So far, only Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Hena-res has gone on record to say that they are going to act on Trillanes’s letter and pursue a formal investi-gation. “I am willing to give AMLC the benefit of the doubt, consider-ing that their work requires utmost confidentiality. However, the PSE and the SEC seem to be deafeningly silent on this important matter, which directly involves PSE Direc-tor Yosi Tanco,” Trillanes said. “If I am not satisfied with the ac-tion of the SEC and the PSE in this regard, I will not hesitate to call for a Senate inquiry so this matter can be closely examined and investi-gated fully for us to be able to enact remedial legislation to protect the interest of the investing public,” Trillanes added.

Trillanes is the principal propo-nent of the yearlong investigation into the Makati City Hall Parking Building II and related scandals, which have hounded Binay and his family these past two years.

Bianca Cuaresma

Tril lanes recently wrote to AMLC, SEC, PSE and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), to request them to investigate and determine

if the respondents in the so-called “University of Makati-College of Nursing Scam,” particularly, erst-while Makati City Mayor and now

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This represents a 4-percent rise from the P959.2 billion to-tal consumer loans registered a quarter earlier.  “This sustains the quarter-on-quarter growth in consumer loans that started in 2008,” the BSP said.

Compared to the volume of consumer loans in end-September 2014, the third quarter 2015 figure is 17.36 percent higher than the P849.6 billion seen in 2014. Consumer loans are the type of loans extended to individual cli-ents of banks for personal use, such as car purchases, home mortgage payments, among others.

The central bank said consumer lending during the second quarter, similar to the previous year, was largely lifted by an increase in resi-dential real-estate loans and auto loans during the period.

Consumer loans accounted for 16.9 percent of the total lending portfolio of universal, commercial and thrift banks in the country during the period. “The BSP monitors the level and quality of consumer and other bank loans to ensure banks’ adherence to high-credit standards. This is in line with the BSP’s supervisory efforts to promote sound credit risk management and financial stabil-ity,” the central bank said. Residential real-estate loans still have the largest share of consumer loans across components, which hit P42,095 billion as of end-Septem-ber 2015.

This is followed by auto loans at P272.8 billion and credit-card re-ceivables at P167.57 billion. Salary loans, meanwhile, hit P97.21 billion during the period. Other consumer loans, which are not classified, hit P27.87 billion.

Consumer. . . C A

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BMReports

Instead of making an appoint-ment in advance and sitting in a waiting room, patients could beam out a request to a group of health providers via a web site or mobile app. The first doctor to respond gets the visit, which is then conducted on a smartphone or computer.

That service, called Ask Me, is available today from Boston-based American Well, one of several tele-medicine companies that enable physicians to treat patients remote-ly through video conferencing.

“When we think about consum-ers in 2016, what don’t we do on-line?” said Dr. Peter Antall, chief medical officer of American Well. “We watch movies. We buy airplane tickets. We buy books. The Uber-ization of heath care—accessing practitioners in an Uber-like man-ner—it sounds crazy. But it’s actu-ally happening.”

Antall spoke about the chang-ing landscape of consumer health

Are consumers ready for telemedicine?SAN DIEGO—Is health care

going the way of Uber? Though it may sound far-fetched,

seeing a doctor could move in that direction if telemedicine gains more acceptance, according to health- technology experts.

care during the 21st annual Frost & Sullivan Medical Technologies conference in March in San Diego. The event highlighted technology trends that could reshape medi-cine in coming years. Topics ranged from the promise of telemedicine to medical technology companies tap-ping common mobile devices/apps for certain medical procedures. Telemedicine has grabbed head-lines recently as American Well, Te-ladoc, MDLive, Doctor on Demand and other companies have built technology platforms to enable on-line doctor visits. These services typically charge about $50 per consultation. The most common ailments for American Well’s online patients include sinus infections, sore throats, flu, bronchi-tis and urinary tract infections. “We averaged a wait time over the last three years of three minutes to see a doctor,” Antall said. “There aren’t many places in America where you

can see a doctor in three minutes.”A web of reimbursement rules

and hodgepodge regulations con-tinues to present hurdles for tele-medicine, however.

Medicare, the nation’s largest insurer, does not pay for telemedi-cine services for the roughly 80 percent of beneficiaries who live in urban areas, said Gary Capistrant, chief policy officer for the Ameri-can Telemedicine Association. Lawmakers have limited reim-bursement for telemedicine in part because of concerns that it will in-crease costs by encouraging seniors to use more services.

Payments from private insurers varies state by state, Capistrant said. Though 29 states mandate that insurance companies cover telehealth visits just as they do in-person appointments, regula-tions are inconsistent nationwide. In addition, doctors and hospi-tals in some states haven’t put the technology in place to deliver tele-medicine to their patients, Cap-istrant said. Some surveys have shown a lack of patient trust in a virtual diagnosis compared with an in-person visit. “Utilization is very much a patchwork quilt,” Capistrant said. “The reimbursement and cover-age is the biggest single barrier to the use of telehealth. We fig-ure about 15 million people have used some sort of telehealth in the past year or so, but the data is not very good.”

Changes in reimbursement poli-

cies could spark wider adoption of telemedicine. For example, Medicare will begin reimbursing health providers for hip and knee replacements under a bundled-payment scheme starting in April. Doctors will get one flat payment to cover everything from pre-op evaluation to post-surgery physical therapy. Today, providers are paid for each procedure.

“That is a wonderful change that al lows for a tremendous amount of innovation,” said Dr. Joseph Smith, chief executive of the San Diego telemedicine company Ref lexion Health. “We are leaving this model of every-thing having its own Medicare code and its own line-item reim-bursement to bundling up. That represents a watershed oppor-tunity for innovators to come in and add value.”

Reflexion Health, which was spun out of the West Health In-stitute in 2012, makes the fed-erally approved Vera platform for remote physical therapy. It taps Microsoft’s Kinect motion- tracking technology to coach hip and knee replacement patients through rehab sessions at home. Physical therapists electronically monitor how patients are doing.

“We are at a point where we have the challenge of unsustain-able health care and an aging de-mographic that is amplifying the issue,” Smith said. “We need ways to give people better access to health care on their own terms.”

Technology companies are bet-ting on health care as a key growth market. San Diego-based Qual-comm is working with drug giant Novartis on a connected inhaler. The company’s wireless technology also is powering a fitness tracker for insurance giant UnitedHealth-care, which gives certain plan mem-bers credits of up to $1,460 a year against their deductible for being active. Philips Healthcare, which makes ultrasound equipment, is tapping into ubiquitous smart-phones and tablets to lower upfront

equipment costs for hospitals.Instead of buying a stand-alone

ultrasound machine for several thousand dollars, hospitals can get a $199 monthly subscription to Philips’s Lumify. It provides an ul-trasound transducer that connects to most Android mobile devices via the micro USB port.

Lumify uses a free app to dis-play ultrasound images on these off-the-shelf smartphones and tablets. The app exports images to the hospital’s electronic medi-cal records system.

Technology companies are betting on health care as a key

growth market. San Diego-based Qualcomm is working with drug giant Novartis on a connected inhaler. The company’s wireless technology also is powering a fitness tracker for insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, which gives certain plan members credits of up to $1,460 a year against their deductible for being active. Philips Healthcare, which makes ultrasound equipment, is tapping into ubiquitous smartphones and tablets to lower upfront equipment costs for hospitals.”—S

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Asean needs infrastructure to integrate

MALAYSIA’S energy exports are tumbling, its prime minister is battling corrup-

tion allegations and corporate prof-its are weakening. With all that, the Southeast Asian nation is also home to the world’s most resilient bull market for stocks.

Malaysia bull run enduresdespite corruption issues

www.businessmirror.com.ph�ursday, March 31, 2016 • Editor: a . de eon

Asean• Editor: a . de eon

AseanAsean• Editor: a . de eon

Asean BusinessMirrorBusinessMirror

Asean-EU PerspectiveHENRY J. SCHUMACHER

DRAWN by the lure of some of Asia’s best shopping and buoyed by a resurgent

rupiah, 20-something Indonesian Dewi Lestari was ready to spend when she set foot in Singapore for the first time this month.

“The exchange rate is pretty good and Singapore’s a shopping paradise,” said Lestari, an administrative assis-tant at a car workshop, as she arrived at the ferry terminal after flying to Batam from her home in Jakarta. “That’s the only reason I’m here.”

The rupiah has surged 9.6 percent against the US dollar over the past six months, second only to Malaysia’s ringgit among emerging markets, as slowing inflation and a nascent commodity-price recovery lured money to the nation’s assets. HSBC Holdings Plc. raised its year-end fore-cast for the rupiah by 7.4 percent this month, saying the worst is over for Southeast Asian currencies as rela-tively high yields and a more dovish Federal Reserve ensure demand for the region’s assets.

“The rupiah has done really well this year and it makes things look

FOR Asean, regional economic integration cannot stop at policy measures. Integration cannot end at cutting tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, reducing obstacles to investment and easing

restrictions on trade in services. Economic integration must also mean binding Asean’s members through infrastructure in energy, transport and communications.

Integrating a regional infrastructure is one of Asean’s toughest goals, because the region is geographically diverse and its economies are at different levels of development. For example, several of its members, such as Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia, form a landmass. This geographic characteristic means that infrastructure links among them—connecting roads, rail, communication and power lines across national boundaries—could be relatively easy to set up. However, it is not the case when some of these boundaries are mountain ranges and rivers. Other Asean members, including the Philippines, are separated by deep sea, making linkages between them expensive. Despite these difficulties, Asean has made the development of infra-structure linkages one of its primary goals.

To expand the much-needed infrastructure development, Asean countries must assess the magnitude of national infrastructure financ-ing needs and financing gaps within key sectors, such as transport, energy, telecommunication, water and sanitation. The Philippines, for example, tries to use public-private partnership (PPP) models to get the private sector involved in infrastructure development; while the progress to get PPPs in infrastructure going, there is still hope that a number of projects will be launched before this administration bows out on June 30 this year.

Many Asean countries are experiencing a crisis in water develop-ment and management. Asean needs to establish a collective regional response to the crisis that would include more effective ways of sharing water resources, among other things. In the Philippines more efforts have to be undertaken to get the message across that water is a finite resource and that water conservation and water treatment are essential.

Asean initiatives on energy interconnection date back to the Asean Cooperation Project on Interconnection, which started in 1982. This was aimed at linking the power systems of neighboring Asean coun-tries. In 1986 Asean member-countries signed the Agreement on Asean Energy Cooperation, calling for cooperation in the efficient development and use of all forms of energy, whether commercial and noncommercial, renewable or nonrenewable. In the Philippines it is time to expand the national grid to Mindanao to eventually allow the link to Indonesia and Malaysia.

As Asean promotes regional infrastructure development, it is im-portant for it to ensure that the region follows a green path. Asean countries have a critical responsibility in this area because the region is contributing ever more carbon-dioxide emissions. In the Philippines the private sector is asking government to come up with a long-term vision on the energy mix, raising the share of renewables to the detri-ment of coal plants (plenty coal plants are still on the drawing board or under construction),  and developing a natural gas strategy on local resources and imported LNG.

Indonesians ride resurgent rupiah straight to Singapore malls

Overseas funds are piling in at the fastest pace in Southeast Asia. Kuala Lumpur’s benchmark equity gauge has more than doubled from its 2008 lows without succumbing to a 20-percent drop. Tan Ming Han says he knows its secret: the lowest volatil-ity among the region’s markets. It’s an environment where a growing army of investors are willing to miss out on the highest highs, if that means they also avoid the biggest crashes.

“Sometimes, too much excite-ment can cause a panic attack— especially with volatile markets,” said Tan, senior investment man-ager at Amundi Malaysia. “Boring is sometimes beautiful.”

Sentiment remains stubbornly buoyant in Malaysia, home to some of the region’s highest dividends, as the country’s $166-billion pension fund underpins demand for equities with share purchases. Even after the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index climbed 12 percent from a three-year low last August, it trades near the cheapest relative to global equities in almost a decade.

All that is boosting the appeal of the market for offshore investors, said Tan,  who manages the KAF Vision Fund that has beaten 95 per-cent of peers over the past three years with a 21-percent return.

The stock gauge climbed 0.2 per-cent at the midday break, poised for its biggest monthly gain in more than three years. The measure is set to form a golden cross for the first time in a year, seen as a bullish sign when its 50-day moving average climbed above the 200-day line. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised Malaysia to neu-tral, citing it as a “preferred defensive market” and the least volatile among emerging equities, strategist Mixo Das wrote in a report on Wednesday.

THE problem of piracy and illegal fishing can be con-trolled if Indonesia and the

Philippines carry out joint mari-time patrolling.

“Joint maritime patrols by In-donesia and the Philippines can combat piracy and illegal fishing,” Defense Minister Ryamizard Rya-cudu said here on Tuesday.

“However, the idea has yet to materialize,” the minister said.

He said several countries have already established joint maritime patrols, and cited the example of Japan and China, which carry out joint patrolling with the US and Malaysia, respectively.

Such joint patrols will help secure Indonesian waters along the border and ensure proper monitoring.

Earlier, the Indonesian Mili-tary expressed its readiness to help the Philippines in tackling pirates, like those who hijacked an Indonesian vessel and its crew.

“If the Philippines asks for Indonesian assistance, we are ready to help them out,” Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said here.

The minister remarked that a military patrol boat had been

prepared in anticipation of such accidents. However, he noted, the military cannot carry out any op-erations in the Philippines with-out the permission of the authori-ties there.

He said the hijacking of the Indonesian vessel was different from the sea piracy rampant in Somalia.

The minister coordinated with the Defense Minister of the Phil-ippines regarding the piracy issue.

“Indonesia continues to moni-tor the hostage situation,” the minister remarked.

According to reports in the national media, the Indonesian Embassy in Manila has confirmed that an Indonesian vessel has been hijacked in the Philippines and 10 Indonesian crewmen were being held hostage.

Embassy Spokesman Basriana could not confirm whether the militants of Abu Sayyaf, a group of Islamic extremists, were in-volved in the incident.

The embassy is still coordinat-ing with the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao and with other relevant authorities in the Philip-pines to gather more information about the situation. PNA

ourselves in line with the structural story of Asean.”

The Malaysian gauge’s 100-day historical volatility is at a seven-month low at 11, versus 15 for the MSCI All Country World In-dex and 17 for the MSCI South East Asia Index, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Global market turbulence last year almost ended Malaysia’s bull run as prospects for higher US interest rates sent equities plunging. The bench-mark Malaysian index fell as much as 18 percent, while a gauge of Southeast Asian stocks dropped more than 28 percent. The MSCI All Country World Index entered a bear market in Feb-ruary. While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is still in a bull market, which run started in March 2009, four months after Malaysia’s.

“Malaysia’s bull-market run is primarily driven by institutional support, especially government-linked funds,” Tan said. From 2008 till now, the Employees Provident Fund has seen strong inflows, with assets growing by a compounded annual growth rate of almost 10 percent, he said. 

In February domestic institu-tional funds accounted for almost half of the total market value of Malaysian stocks traded, compared with 29 percent for foreign funds, according to data compiled by the stock exchange. 

The investments are coming de-spite a political crisis. Prime Minister Najib Razak has weathered months of attacks over the $681 million that appeared in his private-bank accounts before the 2013 general election.  Troubled government in-vestment company 1Malaysia De-velopment Bhd. (1MDB), whose ad-visory board Najib chairs, is being investigated at home and overseas for alleged financial irregularities and money laundering. 

Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali concluded in Janu-ary that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. Najib and 1MDB have consistently denied any wrongdo-ing.  On Sunday opposition politi-cians and leading critics of Najib unveiled a fresh campaign aimed at ousting him.

 Weakening growthSOME investors are concerned that rising costs and slowing economic growth will weigh on company earn-ings. Inflation in January acceler-ated to the fastest pace since 2014, while crude exports have fallen for 12 straight months. A slump in oil has curbed government revenues and prompted Najib to trim the growth forecast for 2016. Analysts have lowered the 12-month project-ed earnings growth estimate for the KLCI by about 9 percent since May 2014. Bloomberg News

PHL, Indonesia joint patrolcan help overcome piracy

$1.1BForeign funds poured into Malaysian equities this year

Foreign funds have poured about 4.4 billion ringgit ($1.1 billion) into Malaysian equities in 2016, topping South Korea and Southeast Asian markets, according to MIDF Ama-nah Investment Bank Bhd., citing stock-exchange data. Inflows for this month are at the highest level since April 2013, according to the report. The move comes after last year’s big-gest outflow since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Money is returning amid a back-drop of rebounding equities across Southeast Asia, as accelerating eco-nomic growth and calmer curren-cies attract investors seeking refuge from the volatility rocking markets in China and Japan this year. Phil-ippine shares entered a bull market this month. Indonesia’s benchmark index is up 16 percent from last year’s lows, while Thailand equi-ties have jumped 14 percent from a January low.

“In terms of price to book, Ma-laysia definitely looks attractive, especially relative to its peers,” said Singapore-based RHB Asset Man-agement Chief Investment Officer Lee Kai Yang, who helps oversee S$2 billion ($1.5 billion) of assets, includ-ing the RHB AseanFund, which has returned 5.5 percent annually in the past five years. “We have positioned

cheaper elsewhere for Indonesians,” said Nizam Idris, head of foreign-exchange and fixed-income strategy at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in Singapore. “The currency will find support from decent yields and bottoming commodity prices.”

Macquarie, the second-most accurate forecaster for emerging-market Asian currencies in the latest Bloomberg rankings, strengthened its end-June projection for the ru-piah to 12,600 a dollar this month, implying a 6.1-percent gain from its trading level of 13,370 as of 8:27 a.m. in Jakarta on Wednesday. The window could be closing for Indone-sian shoppers though, with the me-dian estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg showing a drop to 13,950 by the end of the year.

Current-account riskWHILE the rising rupiah is good for Indonesian holiday makers, it in-flates the cost of the nation’s exports and makes imports more afford-able, disrupting efforts to rein in the current-account deficit. Bank Indo-nesia Governor Agus Martowardojo

said last week the central bank doesn’t want the currency to become too strong, and a resurgent rupiah will also make it tougher for President Joko Widodo to achieve his goal of doubling tourist arrivals by 2020.

“They need to sound upbeat about the currency because they do want investors to be confident about the economy, but they don’t want to overdo it because they don’t want the currency to be overvalued,” said Joey Chew, an Asian currency strategist at HSBC in Hong Kong, who raised her forecast to 13,500 a dollar from 14,500. “It’s a fine balance. We are at a stage where there is no need for them to be too worried from a com-petitiveness point of view.”

Indonesian arrivals in Singapore rose 5.4 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest increase since July 2014, according to figures from the Singapore Tourism board. That came after a 9.7-percent drop in 2015, the largest decline since 2008. Some 248,943 Indonesians went to the city-state in January. China and Australia were the only other coun-tries that came close with 228,100

and 116,539 arrivals, respectively.Indonesian economic growth

quickened to 5.04 percent last quar-ter, the fastest in a year, driven by increased public spending on infra-structure. A Bloomberg gauge of raw-material prices has rallied 8.8 percent from a 17-year low in Janu-ary, while the Jakarta Composite Index has risen 13 percent  in six months in the best performance in Asia. The rupiah gained 4.5 percent against the Singapore dollar  in six months, the second-best developing-nation performance.

At the Paragon Mall on Singa-pore’s premier Orchard Road shop-ping strip, Andy Susanto, who runs a manufacturing and trading company in Jakarta, said the strengthening rupiah and improving economy are encouraging Indonesians like him-self to shop in the city-state, where items were cheaper because of im-port taxes on luxury goods at home. A medium-sized Capucines handbag was selling for S$6,550 ($4,825) at a Louis Vuitton store in Singapore on Tuesday, around 20-percent cheaper than in Jakarta. Bloomberg News

NEW THAI CHARTER Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Commission Meechai Ruchupan holds the draft of the new constitution during a news conference at the Parlia-ment in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday. The proposed constitution, unveiled on Tuesday, will be put to a referendum in August, followed by elections that junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has promised for 2017. AP

HAVA N A — D a y s a f -ter President Barack Obama’s historic visit,

the leaders of Cuba’s Communist Party are under highly unusual public criticism from their own ranks for imposing new levels of secrecy on the future of social and economic reforms.

After months of simmering discontent, complaints among party members have become so heated that its official newspa-per, Granma, addressed them in a lengthy front-page article on Monday, saying the public dis-satisfaction is “a sign of the de-mocracy and public participation that are intrinsic characteristics of the socialism that we’re con-structing.” The article did little to calm many party members, some of whom are calling for a Communist Party congress next month to be postponed to allow public debate about the govern-ment’s plans to continue market-oriented reforms for Cuba’s cen-trally controlled economy.

“The base of the party is angry, and rightly so,” party member and noted intel lec-tual Esteban Morales wrote in a blog post published before Obama’s v isit. “ We’ve gone backward in terms of democ-racy in the party, because we’ve forgotten about the base, those who are fighting and confront-ing our problems on a daily basis.” Across the countr y, Cuba’s ruling party is facing stiff challenges as it tries to govern an increasingly cynical and disenchanted population.

Struggling to feed their fami-lies with state salaries around $25 a month, many ordinary Cubans see their government as infuriatingly inefficient and unresponsive to the needs of average people. The open anger among prominent party mem-bers in the middle of sweep-ing socioeconomic reforms and

normalization with the United States hints at a deeper crisis of credibility for the party that has controlled virtually every aspect of public life in Cuba for more than a half century. The article in Granma appeared less than a week after Obama won an enthu-siastic response from many ordi-nary Cubans by calling for both an end to Cold War hostility and for more political and economic freedom on the island. The un-signed article shared the front page with Fidel Castro’s sharply worded response to Obama, in which the 89-year-old father of Cuba’s socialist system said, “My modest suggestion is that he re-flect and doesn’t try to develop theories about Cuban politics.”

Many Cubans are skeptical of free-market capitalism, wary of American power and cannot en-vision a society without the free health care and education put in place by the 1959 revolution. Par-ty member Francisco Rodriguez, a gay activist and journalist for a state newspaper, said Obama’s nationally televised speech in Old Havana, his news confer-ence with 84-year-old President Raul Castro and a presidential forum with Cuban entrepreneurs represented a sort of “capitalist evangelizing” that many party members dislike.

Rodriguez told the Associated Press that Obama’s well-received addresses to the Cuban people had nonetheless increased pres-sure on the 700,000-member Communist Party to forge a more unified and credible vision of the future. “Obama’s visit requires us, going forward, to work on de-bating and defending our social consensus about the revolution,” Rodriguez said.

While Cuba’s non-elected lead-ers maintain tight control of the party and the broader system, the last party congress in 2011 was preceded by months of vigorous

debate at party meetings about detailed documents laying out re-forms that have shrunk the state bureaucracy and allowed a half million Cubans to start work in the private sector. In the run-up to the party congress scheduled to begin on April 16, no documents have been made public, no debate has taken place and many of the party’s best-known members re-main in the dark about the next phase of Cuba’s reforms.

Granma said 1,000 high-rank-ing party members have been reviewing key documents. “My dissatisfaction is rooted in the lack of discussion of the central documents, secret to this day, as much among the organizations of the party base as the rest of the population,” Rodriguez wrote in an open letter on Sunday to Raul Castro, who is also the top Com-munist Party leader.

Under Castro’s guidance, the 2011 party congress helped loos-en state control of Cuban’s eco-nomic options and some personal freedoms, moving the country toward more self-employment, greater freedom to travel and greater ability to sell personal cars and real estate. The Granma article argued that the months of debate before the approval of those reforms made a new round of public discussion unnecessary.

It also acknowledged that only 21 percent of the reforms had been completed as planned.

The April 16 to 19 party con-gress “will allow us to define with greater precision the path that we must follow in order for our nation, sovereign and truly inde-pendent since Januart 1, 1959, to construct a prosperous and sustainable socialism,” the ar-ticle said. Rodriguez, who works closely with Castro’s daughter Mariela, the director of the na-tional Center for Sexual Educa-tion, said the Granma piece was unsatisfactory. AP

The WorldBusinessMirrornews@businessmirror.com.ph �ursday, March 31, 2016 A7

UN probers urge overhaul of president’s office

A sharply critical report by the task force said the General Assem-bly president’s office operates in an environment of “significant loopholes and blind spots,” with a lack of financial oversight, “insuf-ficient transparency and account-ability measures,” and no code of

ethics. It paints a picture of an operation with no continuity that changes every year with the arrival of a new president of the 193-mem-ber world body at the start of their one-year term. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ordered a review af-ter the arrest last October of John

Ashe, who served as assembly president from September 2013 to September 2014. US prosecu-tors allege he accepted bribes from a Chinese real-estate mogul and other businesspeople who have also been arrested to pave the way for lucrative investments. Ashe, a former foreign minister of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbados, has pleaded not guilty.

The task force said the allega-tions against Ashe have “tarnished the image and reputation” of the United Nations and urged the Gen-eral Assembly to undertake major reforms of the president’s office.

It made 18 recommendations including calling on the world body to adopt a code of conduct for presidents, requiring disclo-sure of all funds received by the president’s office from all sources, ensuring that private individuals and businesses that want to make

contributions are screened, and establishing a new post to provide continuity between presidents.

The task force also suggested the appointment of an oversight body to review the handling of f inancial and staffing issues.

At the heart of the problem is the fact that the president of the General Assembly is not a UN employee and the UN only funds about f ive positions in the president’s office.

Its operating budget has re-mained static since 1998, except for adjustments for inflation, and now stands at $326,000.

This means all additional fi-nancial and staff needs of the president have been met by vol-untary contributions of money, personnel, airplanes for travel and other in-kind services from various donors, including govern-ments, UN bodies, foundations

and non-governmental organi-zations, the task force said. Ban said in a letter transmitting the report to the current assembly president that he agrees with the task force’s conclusions and recom-mendations. He has also ordered an audit, which is due shortly. The current assembly president, Mo-gens Lykketoft of Denmark, has already instituted some reforms. He said in a statement that an as-sembly committee would discuss the report on April 7.

While the post of General As-sembly president had been consid-ered mainly ceremonial, the task force said it has expanded and changed over the past 10 years to being “highly substantive.” But it said “there has been no corre-sponding change in the support and backstopping arrangements for the office and the provisions of the UN regular budget resources.”

The lack of transparency and the absence of a system of checks and balances, which exist elsewhere in the UN, “impacts on the nature and level of accountability of the president and the office and pres-ents a risk to the organization,” the task force said.

Because there are no reporting requirements, it said, the General Assembly doesn’t know “the total magnitude of financial resources” used by the president—nor the size of his staff.

It said the allegations against Ashe offer the opportunity for UN member-states “to strength-en the transparency, account-ability and effectiveness” of the president’s office so that it oper-ates “beyond reproach.”

“The task force believes that this is an opportunity that the organization cannot afford to miss,” the report said. AP

Highly unusual dissent erupts inside Cuban Communist Party

UNITED NATIONS—A UN task force recommended a major overhaul of the General

Assembly president’s office on Tuesday, following the embarrassing arrest of an ex-president accused by US authorities of turning the post into a “platform for profit” by accepting over $1 million in bribes.

The WorldBusinessMirror news@businessmirror.com.ph�ursday, March 31, 2016A8

2 policemen killed, 4 injuredin Venezuela street protest

The officers, aged 21 and 25, were killed by a bus hijacked and later abandoned by protesters in Tachira state, according to the Tachira police. Four other offi-cers were seriously injured when masked protesters drove the hi-jacked bus through a police line, according to posts from the Tachira police Twitter account. Earlier this month the government doubled

bus fares. At least 31 people were arrested during the protest, ac-cording to Tachira Secretary of Public Security Ramon Cabeza.

Gov. Jose Vielma Mora decried the killings on his Twitter account.

“We reject any act that threat-ens stability and the lives of citi-zens. Violence brings bad conse-quences,” he wrote. “Honor and glory to the brave men and women

of the police force, who risk their lives to protect the people.”

Informal street protests have become more common in recent months, according to the Venezue-lan Observatory of Social Conflict, as Venezuelans struggle with rag-ing inflation, worsening shortages of basics like medicine and water, and proliferating food lines.

The country has seen an aver-age of 17 small-scale protests a day so far this year, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, with a majority seeking to bring attention to the lack of basic services and food.

An antigovernment protest at one of the city’s largest univer-sities continued into the after-noon, apparently unrelated to the protest that turned deadly in the morning. The city is known for its frequent student demonstrations.

Protests i n Sa n C r istoba l against the country’s socialist administration two years ago helped spark a nationwide street protest movement. The town’s mayor was imprisoned for his involvement. AP

UNITED NATIONS—Secu-rity threats from violent extremists and criminal

groups in Mali are still “alarming” and the government must deploy more troops to the volatile north and step up efforts to reform its military and police, according to a new United Nations (UN) report.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the report to the UN Secu-rity Council obtained on Tuesday by the Associated Press that, in spite of improved relations among signatories to last June’s peace agreement, north and central Mali “remain under the threat of crimi-nal, violent extremist and terrorist groups, which take advantage of the limited presence of Malian law enforcement institutions.”

Mali ’s northern half fel l to Islamic extremists fol lowing a military coup in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove t he m i l i t a nt s out of m ajor towns, but north and central Mali remain insecure. Over the past year jihadis have mounted a growing wave of violent attacks against foreigners and UN peace-keepers who are trying to help stabilize the country.

During the three-month pe-riod between mid-December and mid-March, the report said “hos-tile acts” targeting the UN peace-keeping mission, called Minusma, resulted in the deaths of seven peacekeepers, one civilian staffer and one civilian contractor. That compares with two peacekeepers, one civilian staffer and two civilian contractors killed during the previ-ous three-month period.

A l - Q a e d a i n t he I s l a m ic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the November attack on the

Radisson Blu hotel in Mali ’s capi-tal, Bamako, the attack on a café near a hotel popular with foreign-ers in Burkina Faso’s capital, and the assault on a beach in Ivory Coast earlier this month. It said the Mali and Ivory Coast attacks were carried out with al-Mourab-itoun, an Islamic extremist group in Mali, which joined al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch in 2015.

An extremist attack on the Euro-pean Union military training mis-sion’s headquarters in Bamako just over a week ago was not included in the report. The secretary-gen-eral said “extremist and terror-ist groups” remain determined to undermine Mali’s peace process, increasingly targeting its national and international supporters.

He cited evidence of increasing cooperation among militant groups across the Sahel, pointing to the re-cent attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and abductions of foreigners in Mali and Burkina Faso also claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

He said the abductions also sig-naled a potential increase in the targeting of foreigners in a band of territory extending to Niger, as well. The report said the nearly 10,700-strong UN military force in Mali still needs a combat con-voy battalion, a force protection company, 134 armored person-nel carriers, an attack helicopter unit and military helicopters with night-flight capabilities.

He added that 11 contingents in the UN force lack required UN equipment. But, he said, ultimate-ly the successful stabilization of Mali depends on the government’s stepped up efforts to confront the insecurity and extremists. AP

WASHINGTON—House Democratic leader Nan-cy Pelosi says a Republi-

can plan to create an oversight board for Puerto Rico would exert “undue and undemocratic control” over the US territory, echoing complaints from the island’s leaders as they struggle with $70 billion in debt. House Republicans released draft legislation on Tuesday that would create a five-person board designed to audit the territory’s government and create new fiscal plans and bud-get measures—steps they say are necessary for Puerto Rico to get its economy back on track. The board would have the authority to enact the plan if the territory’s governor and legislature fail to do so.

In a statement on Tuesday, Pelosi, a Democrat, said the board would be too powerful. “The sweeping pow-ers of the oversight board proposed in Republicans’ current discussion draft are far from what Democrats can support,” she said.

Puerto Rico has been mired in economic stagnation for nearly a decade. The territory’s financial problems grew worse as a result of setbacks in the wider US economy, and government spending in Puerto Rico continued unchecked as bor-rowing covered increasing deficits. Garcia has said the island is headed for a humanitarian crisis.

Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, and New York Democratic Reps. Nydia Velázquez and José Serrano also said they believe the control board would undermine Puerto Rico’s laws. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan stood by the draft pro-posal, calling it “thoughtful, com-prehensive legislation that gives the US territory the tools it needs to deal with its systemic fiscal and budgeting problems—without a taxpayer bailout.”

Outside conservative groups have reserved judgment on the plan and Ryan may need the support of Democrats to get the plan through

the House. Republican Natural Re-sources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop said his panel is still working on the bill and will listen to concerns before the committee introduces a final version in April.

The draft bill would not give Puerto Rico the broad bankruptcy authority it has asked for, but would allow the oversight board to decide whether debt restructuring is neces-sary. If the board decides it is needed in some areas and certain conditions are met, it could facilitate court-su-pervised debt restructuring.

Puerto Rico, along with the Obama administration and many Democrats in Congress, has pushed for a restructuring framework for the island’s debt, saying it would not cost US taxpayers. But some Democrats have been wary of an oversight or control board assert-ing too much authority over the territory’s government.

Pelosi said Democrats and Re-publicans have been working to-gether on the issue and she hopes to work with Ryan and Bishop “to address the significant problems” of the draft legislation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the Treasury Department said the draft needs improvements, without saying exactly what those should be. “Puerto Rico urgently needs the ability to comprehen-sively restructure its financial li-abilities paired with independent oversight that respects the Com-monwealth ’s self-governance,” Spokesman Daniel Watson said.

Bishop is also facing pressure from the right on the issue. Con-servative advocacy group Heritage Action said earlier this month that it is wary of a control board that al-lows debt restructuring.

“While a control board could have a positive effect on Puerto Rico’s in-ternal fiscal mess, it may not have the tools necessary to truly unleash needed economic growth on the is-land,” the group said in anticipation of the draft bill. AP

H EALTH insurers gained a sicker, more expensive patient population after

the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded coverage in 2014, ac-cording to an early look at medi-cal claims from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents the most common brand of insurance.

Newer customers had higher rates of diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, among other conditions, the associa-tion said in a report released on Wednesday. They also visited the emergency room much more frequently than people who had private, individual coverage be-fore the law expanded.

Researchers caution against drawing broad conclusions about the newly insured based on what amounts to a limited look at a still-evolving health-care mar-ket. But the numbers show how gaining coverage is only part of a long journey toward the ACA’s other key goals of improving health and slowing cost growth.

“The coverage is the first step,” said Linda Blumberg, a health in-surance expert at Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization.

“Figuring out how to help these folks use medical care in the most effective ways is a real challenge.”

The association compiled its report from dozens of insurers that sell Blue-branded coverage in 46 states and Washington, D.C. It compared claims from newer customers with two popu-lations: people who bought cov-erage before the law expanded and those who have insurance through an employer. Medical costs for new customers were, on average, 19 percent higher in 2014 and 22 percent higher in 2015 than for customers with employer-based coverage.

Health insurers expected their initial wave of patients from the ACA expansion to generate high-er-than-normal claims because some of the uninsured had not used the health-care system for years and were waiting for cover-age to help pay for needed care.

Companies a lso have strug-gled init ia l ly to add younger consumers who don’t consume as much health care, and they have been hurt by expensive patients who sign up outside regular enrol lment windows. Basic economics a lso may be

behind the higher health-care use, since the law lowered care costs by expanding coverage. “If you lower the price of anything, people are going to use it more,” said Blumberg, the Urban Insti-tute expert who did not work on the Blue Cross Blue Shield report.

She added that it is too early to draw firm conclusions about trends in use, and the association’s report doesn’t include insurers that don’t sell Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

That includes prominent ex-change participants like the na-tion’s largest insurer, UnitedHealth Group Inc., Aetna Inc. and Molina Healthcare Inc.

Even so, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Senior Vice President Alissa Fox said their findings un-derscore a need for better care management. That means mak-ing sure newly insured diabetes patients get regular blood sug-ar checks, or those with other chronic diseases keep taking their medicine.

It also involves basic steps like connecting patients with a pri-mary care doctor and teaching them about preventive care like f lu shots that can ward off more expensive treatments. AP

I SLAMABAD—Pakistani police were readying on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of radi-

cal Islamists rallying outside the parliament building in Islamabad if they failed to disperse peace-fully, officials said. Earlier, Inte-rior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan warned the demonstrators late Tuesday that the govern-ment would use force if they did not halt their sit-in, under way since Sunday.

Thousands of riot police and paramilitary troops have been de-ployed around the site, police of-ficial Nauman Alvi said. Khan, the minister, said nearly 7,000 secu-rity forces were awaiting a govern-ment order to move in. “We don’t want any violence, but we can’t tolerate it anymore,” Khan said.

More than 10,000 Islamists from Pakistan’s Sunni Tehreek group descended on Islamabad on Sunday to denounce last month’s hanging of officer Mumtaz Qadri for the 2011 murder of secular Gov. Salman Taseer who had cam-paigned against Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws. AP

Pakistani police readying to disperse Islamists’ rally

Costs, challenges of Affordable CareAct’s newly insured detailed in report

UN calls threat from violentextremists in Mali ‘alarming’

Democrats reject Republican plan for PR control board

31The number of people arrested during a protest in the western Venezuelan town of San Cristobal, according to Tachira Secretary of Public Security Ramon Cabeza

in Venezuela street protest

31SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela—People demonstrating against a bus-fare hike killed two police officers on

Tuesday in the restive western Venezuelan town of San Cristobal as informal protests sweep the troubled country.

TWO women take part in an opposition protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 12. A protest on Tuesday has led to deaths of two policemen and injured four in the western Venezuelan town of San Cristobal, a public security o�cial said. AP

The WorldBusinessMirrornews@businessmirror.com.ph �ursday, March 31, 2016 A9

BRUSSELS—Belgium’s justice minister pleaded on Tuesday for critics of Belgium’s intelligence

failures to focus on the hunt for those behind last week’s Brussels attacks and November’s massacre in Paris.

Tense commuters, politicians:No more ‘normal’ in Brussels

Investigators say they are still looking for at least one suspect in the attacks seven days ago, when suicide bombers killed 32 people at Brussels’s airport and in a subway station near the European Union headquarters. Three suicide bomb-ers also blew themselves up.

The Health Ministry and vic-tims identification officials said 90 people remain in hospital, a third of them suffering from severe burns. In a joint news conference, they said the 32 dead include 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners, while 44 of the wounded are foreigners from 20 nations.

Belgium has faced rising in-ternational cr iticism over its evident inability to identify and monitor Islamic State activists living in the Belgian capital who have been deemed responsible both for the March 22 bombings in Brussels and the November 13 attacks on Paris nightspots that left 130 dead. Several of those who kil led themselves during the attacks or were subsequently

arrested were Belgian nationals of North African background. “Now is not the time to fight one another. As far as I know, the enemy is in Syria,” Justice Min-ister Koen Geens said, referring to the primary power base of the Islamic State extremist group

that claimed responsibility for both attacks.

But authorities in Belgium and the neighboring Netherlands faced fresh questions on Tuesday about how much they knew in advance of the March 22 bombings.

Turkey already has revealed it deported one of the suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, to the Netherlands in mid-2015 after catching him near the Syr-ian border and identifying him to Dutch authorities as a suspected IS militant. Dutch Justice Min-ister Ard van der Steur said on Tuesday that his country’s secu-rity services received a note from the FBI on March 16 detailing what he called the “radical and terrorist background” of the El Bakraoui brothers. One, Ibrahim, blew himself up alongside an ac-complice at the airport, while the other brother, Khalid, detonated a bomb inside a train leaving the Maelbeek subway station.

The timing of the note and why it was sent to the Dutch remained unclear. Belgian authorities said on Tuesday they were not informed of its existence and had no idea where the El Bakroaui brothers were before the Brussels bombings.

Belgium has voiced determina-tion to toughen its security pow-ers. On Tuesday a parliamentary committee approved antiterror proposals to give police round-the-clock powers for house searches, to improve the Belgian data base

on extremists, and to increase phone-tapping powers. The full parliament has yet to consider these measures. Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur, who faces criticism for his own actions before and after the suicide bombings, said Belgian authorities must learn painful les-sons and improve their ability to combat Islamic militancy.

“Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Other-wise these attacks would not have happened,” Mayeur said. Brussels, he suggested, would never feel the same. “There’s no such thing as ‘nor-mal’ anymore,” he said during a visit to Paris. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins “a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction.”

Brussels’s airport has yet to re-open since the attacks but has been testing a temporary check-in system for use in coming days. The subway system is mostly running again, though under heavy guard.

The Maelbeek station, hit by a suicide bomber in the morning rush hour, remains closed. Passen-gers said they presumed the March 22 attacks would not be the last on Brussels. “I think this is not over,” said Franz Alderweireldt, an 82-year-old taking a train at a subway station next to Maelbeek. “When terrorists plan an attack, they will do it no matter what,” Alderweireldt said, “even if there are dozens or hundreds of soldiers or police on the street.” AP

SALT LAKE CITY—Two Mor-mon missionaries wounded in a bombing attack at the

Brussels airport have returned to Utah to receive treatment in their home state. Mason Wells, 19, and Joseph Empey, 20, were in fair condition at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, said church and hospital officials on Tuesday.

Two other missionaries injured in the blast, Richard Norby, 66, of Utah and Fanny Clain, 20, of France, remain in Brussels.

Wells, Empey and Norby won’t be able to finish their missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but Clain, 20, is expected to resume her service in the US, church officials said. She was less seriously hurt.

The Utahns were at the airport on March 22 to accompany Clain, who was set to fly to the United States for a missionary assignment in Cleveland. Clain had passed through security to a different part of the airport at the time of the explosion. Wells suffered burns and severed his Achilles tendon. He also was close to the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing but wasn’t hurt. Wells said last week from a Belgian hospital that he felt lucky to be alive after the blast lifted him off his feet. AP

2 Mormon missionaries hurtin Brussels attack return to Utah

T AIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwan’s outgoing p re s i d e nt a n d h i s s u cce s s o r o n Wednesday emphasized the need

for a smooth transition of power amid a slowdown on the island’s high-tech economy and uncertainty over sensitive relations with China. President Ma Ying-jeou began his meeting with Tsai Ing-wen by calling her January election victory along with that of her Democratic Progressive Party, a “new milestone” for Taiwanese democracy.

“Chairwoman Tsai is about to become first female president since the establishment of the Republic of China,” Ma said. He used Taiwan’s official name predating the government’s relocation to the island in 1949 as the Communist Party swept to victory in the Chinese civil war. The victory of the independence-leaning Democrats over Ma’s China-friendly Nationalist Party has introduced new uncer taint y over whether Beijing will agree to continue expanding contacts.

Tsai, who takes office on May 20, has declined to meet Beijing’s demand that she explicitly endorse its claim that Taiwan and mainland China are part of a single Chinese nation. She has stated that reviving economic growth and improving social welfare will be the main focuses of her administration, placing relatively little emphasis on relations with Beijing.

In Beijing, the spokesman for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office, An Fengshan, said ties would suffer if Tsai didn’t endorse the principle recognizing the mainland and China that Beijing terms the “‘92 consensus.”

“The ‘92 consensus is the precedent and political foundation stone,” An told reporters.

Without mentioning specific issues, Ma said Taiwan “faces many challenges from within and without,” which call for cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties.

Tsai thanked Ma for his work as president and for agreeing to the meeting , which she said came a time of concern over the transition.

“I think the hopes of the people are very clear, that is regardless of the attacks and competition during the election campaign, we can all now ensure that this process of transferring power can be smooth,” she said.

Whi le neither d i rec t ly ment ioned relations with China, Ma said he appreciated the Taiwanese people giving him the opportunity over the past eight years to work toward “a free, just and prosperous Taiwan, a peaceful Taiwan Strait and friendly international environment.”

Beijing claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary. AP

Taiwan’s outgoing leader, successoremphasize need for smooth transition

90The Health Ministry and victims identification officials said this is the number of people who remain in hospital, after terrorists attacked the Brussels’s airport and a subway station near the European Union headquarters seven days ago

China proposes new Web rulesthat could enhance censorship BEIJING—China’s government is proposing new regulations governing where businesses register their Web addresses, a move that could strengthen its ability—and legal standing—to censor the Internet. Under new draft regulations released this week by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, any firm that provides services to Chinese Internet users must register its domain, or Web address, with the authorities. Although analysts believe the government’s primary motivation is to reel Chinese Internet firms closer under Beijing’s watch rather than add restrictions on foreign businesses, the new rule could pose hurdles for anyone in the world seeking to access the Chinese network. Beijing has recently pushed for what it calls “Internet sovereignty” to run its Internet as it wishes. AP

Police probe if windplayed role in fatal fall TEANECK, New Jersey—Police are investigating whether powerful wind gusts played a role in the death of a man who fell off the roof of a seven-story office building in New Jersey. Police said Clifford LeMay, the building manager at the office complex, was found on the ground on Tuesday morning. Authorities said the 57-year-old had gone up to the roof to check for damage from the strong winds overnight. But it’s still not clear if he was blown off the roof. The police said the death appears to be an accident and no foul play is suspected. The National Weather Service recorded a peak wind gust in the area of 50 kilometers per hour around the time of the accident. AP

DC-area hospital chain gettingback online after cyberattack WASHINGTON—A large chain of Washington-area hospitals says it’s made “significant progress” toward restoring its computer systems after a cyberattack and it has “no evidence” that patient information was stolen or compromised. The FBI is investigating the malware attack on Medstar Health Inc. that forced the hospital chain to use paper systems and prevented patients from booking appointments. MedStar said in a statement that it hoped to restore the majority of its computer systems on Tuesday. The company said its network of 10 hospitals and thousands of affiliated physicians remains open, “with a few unique exceptions.” AP

Chinese company to give DickCook Studios $500M for movies BEIJING—A private film company in eastern China has agreed to invest at least $500 million in the studio of former Walt Disney boss Dick Cook to make movies to be distributed worldwide, the companies announced. The deal is the latest tie-up between Hollywood and Chinese companies as China offers overseas producers more investment opportunities and both look to increase their presence in each other’s film industries. Los Angeles-based Dick Cook Studios and Film Carnival, a film producer and distributor located in Zhejiang province, announced the deal in a statement on Tuesday. Film Carnival will finance 100 percent of the movies developed, produced, distributed and marketed by Dick Cook Studios. AP

Boeing job cuts in Washingtonstate could hit 10%—report SEATTLE—The Boeing Co. is reportedly taking steps to eliminate 10-percent of its work force in Washington state. The Seattle Times reports that the aerospace giant has already taken steps to eliminate 4,000 jobs by June and is aiming for about a 10 percent overall cut—which would mean about 8,000 positions in Washington. On Tuesday the company told the Times the initial jobs eliminated include “hundreds of executives and managers” and that the 4,000 figure will be achieved through normal attrition and a voluntary buyout package for about 1,600 employees. AP

briefs

LARNACA, Cyprus—A Cyprus court on Wednesday ordered the detention for eight days

of an Egyptian man who admitted to hijacking a domestic EgyptAir flight and diverting it to the east Mediterranean island-nation by threatening to blow it up with a fake explosives belt.

Police prosecutor Andreas Lam-brianou said the suspect, whom Cypriot and Egyptian authorities had earlier identified as 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa, faces charges including hijacking, illegal posses-sion of explosives, kidnapping and threats to commit violence.

Judge Maria Loizou said she found the police’s request for the maximum eight-day detention necessary because of fears that the suspect might flee and the fact that he admitted to the hijacking

in a voluntary statement to police.Tuesday’s dramatic hijacking

ended peacefully when the police arrested the suspect after all 72 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A320 aircraft were released. The police said apart from the eight-member crew and 56 pas-sengers of various nationalities, a further eight EgyptAir crew were aboard the aircraft as passengers.

Lambrianou said the suspect told the police after his arrest: “What’s someone supposed to do when he hasn’t seen his wife and children in 24 years and the Egyp-tian government won’t let him?”

A handcuffed Mustafa flashed the “V’’ for victory sign with his hand out of a police vehicle as he was driven away from the Larnaca court house after the hearing.

Cypriot officials had described

Mustafa as “psychologically un-stable” following a bizarre set of demands he made to police nego-tiators, including what Lambri-anou said was a letter he wanted delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife in which he demanded the re-lease of 63 dissident women im-prisoned in Egypt. Lambrianou said that 15 minutes into f light MS181 from the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo, the suspect demanded that the air-craft be diverted to airports in either Greece, Turkey or Cyprus. The aircraft eventually landed in Larnaca after the pilots warned of low fuel, and despite an initial refusal from Cypriot authorities on the landing request.

The police prosecutor said wit-nesses saw the suspect wearing a white belt around his waist laden

with cylindrical objects stuffed in pockets. Wire protruding from the cylinders led to what appeared to be a “push-button” detonator the suspect held in his hand.

The suspect had threatened to detonate the belt if police attempt-ed to “neutralize” him, Lambri-anou said, but he eventually gave up after the crew and passengers were released. Lambrianou said no explosives were found in the belt, except for a container filled with an unidentified liquid. The police also found an unidentified liquid in the suspect’s bag, as well as numer-ous documents written in Arabic.

The prosecutor said Cypriot au-thorities will ask the help of Inter-pol to determine how the suspect managed to pass the fake explo-sives belt through airport security in Egypt. AP

Cyprus court orders Egyptian hijack suspect held for 8 days

COMMUTERS take the metro as they return to work after the Easter holidays in Brussels, on March, 29. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union’s capital can never go back to “normal” again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital’s neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks. AP

�ursday, March 31, 2016 •Editor: Angel R. Calso

OpinionBusinessMirrorA10

First-ever PHL vicepresidential debate

editorial

WHEN Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Es-cudero, Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Rep. Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo

and Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV face the television cameras on April 10, their ultimate goal is to convince viewers that the one holding the mike is the right choice for the second-highest office in the government. They will try to bolster their respective positions by pointing out why the other vice-presidential hopefuls are the wrong choices for the office.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first-ever vice-presidential debate in the Philippines. Hosted by CNN Philippines, the BusinessMirror and Rappler, the dialectic tussle will unfold at the University of Santo Tomas, and will be aired on free TV Channel 9. As spelled out by Commission on Elections (Com-elec) Chairman Andres D. Bautista, the debate will help voters make informed choices by giving them an idea where the candidates stand on important issues.

Bautista said the candidates are free to attend or not. But those who will beg off will miss out on a great opportunity to speak to the Filipino people. The Comelec, though, has a plan on how to treat no-show candidates: They will have a seat in the debate. If they do not show up, then the seat with their name will be maintained throughout the debate—vacant, but with their name visible.

Some quarters say the vice-presidential debate does not have the same luster as the presidential debates, because the position being contested is of-ten derisively described as “spare tire.” While it is true that the Constitution established the vice presidency as a critically important, but virtually power-less, office, it is equally true that an elected vice president is just a heartbeat away from the presidency. He or she will take over if something happens to the president. That’s what makes this debate important.

The vice-presidential hopefuls must inform voters about their respective positions on major issues they will face once elected to office. For example, how will they solve problems like graft and corruption, criminality, poverty, unemployment, drug addiction, high prices of goods and services, low salary, traffic gridlock and even geopolitical issues, such as China’s aggression in contested territories.

The vice-presidential hopefuls must take this debate seriously, because Filipino voters are an intelligent lot. They can smell a competent politician in a landfill. Idealistic in their notions of leadership, they value qualities such as sincerity, helpfulness and compassion. If they are drawn to the festive atmo-sphere of Philippine elections, they take the vote seriously. While they accept negative perceptions on national elections as one that is prone to cheating and manipulation, they also see the process as legitimate and consider their participation as an opportunity to bring about change.

It pays well for the candidates to sharpen their communication skills and cre-atively present their platforms within the free airtime they have. Sad but true: Millions of Filipino voters take their cue on the suitability of candidates mainly from what they see on TV—still the most powerful medium in this country.

HOM

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OUTSIDE THE BOXJohn Mangun

B P D | Bloomberg View

ONE bit of conventional 2016 campaign wisdom is that Ber-nie Sanders has pushed Hillary Clinton far to the left. It seems so obvious that even the socialists are celebrating.

YOU have to admit, we live in strange times. Although that thought has probably been expressed throughout human his-tory, based on my six decades on this planet, these are at least

“stranger times.”

Clinton’s tack to the center? It’s just talk

A 300-year political cycle?

Like a lot of conventional wis-dom, it’s partly true. Clinton’s words on taxes, trade, minimum wages, immigration and Wall Street do sound a lot like those of the social-ist Sanders. But look past the stump speeches, and something more sig-nificant becomes clear: Clinton’s rhetoric may have changed, but her policy positions haven’t. That means her anticipated pivot toward the center for the general election is also likely to be more oratorical than substantive.

So far, Clinton has pulled off a neat trick. She has gone toe-to-toe with Sanders by calling for higher taxes on the rich, more generous health-care subsidies and criminal-justice reforms. She positions herself to his left on gun control, equal pay for women and immigration.

Even his most steadfast support-ers are convinced. “Thanks to Bernie Sanders,” says Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal grassroots  group, “Hillary Clinton was made a better candidate.” He cites her support for debt-free col-lege, more generous Social Security (SS) benefits and jailing Wall Street bankers who break the law as exam-ples of how she moved in Sanders’s direction and “remolded the Demo-cratic Party.”

But an analysis of her speeches,

debates and white papers shows that she’s been a careful tactician. On is-sue after issue, she has left an escape hatch and declined to say things that might cause voter whiplash later. Once she clinches the nomination, Clinton may not need to tack back to the center much at all.

One example is the minimum wage. When Sanders called for a nationwide $15 minimum, she re-sponded by backing a higher wage, too. But hers was for $12, citing econ-omists  who say a $15 floor could invite more  automation  and  job losses in depressed and rural areas.

Her escape clause? Unlike Sand-ers, she would let the states decide. She allows that a higher minimum wage might work in more expensive cities and states—and they are free to enact one if they choose.

She similarly responded to Sand-ers’s call for free college, one of his trademark issues, by touting a new tuition-subsidy plan of her own. It’s less costly and more com-plicated than Sanders’s, involving free community-college tuition for lower-income students and debt-free public college programs for others. Her plan is less generous and means-tested so that the well-off—including Donald Trump’s kids, she likes to say—wouldn’t get the tax-payer subsidy.

She’s sharpened her anti-Wall-

A man hijacked an EgyptAir flight a couple of days ago. While an air-plane hijacking is not unusual, you would think after the bombing of the Russian airplane flying out of Egypt last October, Egyptian authorities would have extra-cautious security. The man boarded the plane wearing a “bomb vest” that turned out to be a fake. But no one knew that at the time. However, his reason for taking over the plane and flying to Cyprus was not political; he just wanted to see his ex-wife.

Though that is pretty bizarre, one of the hijacker’s captives convinced

the hijacker to pose for a picture to-gether, which has gone viral.

This is a political year, with presi-dential elections not only in the Philippines but also in the US. How-ever, Brazil’s government is falling apart with the standing president ready to be impeached for corrup-tion, even as the country will host the Olympics in August. The United Kingdom will vote in June to leave the European Union—the most im-portant politico-economic merger in history—after 43 years. There have been over 500 terrorist attacks al-ready this year, killing approximately

Street rhetoric, claiming to be tougher than Sanders when it comes to banking regulation. Yet, in the fall, her positions aren’t likely to get in the way when she taps financiers’ wallets to compete against, say, a self-financed Donald Trump.

Unlike Sanders, she doesn’t call for breaking up big banks, a position that might demand modification in a general-election campaign. Instead, she  proposes  to close loopholes in the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-reform law and bring lightly regu-lated groups, including high-speed traders and private-equity firms, under closer supervision. And de-spite Sanders’s constant criticism of her well-paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, she has never vowed to refuse Wall Street’s money.

Clinton has flipped from a sup-porter of trade liberalization when her husband Bill Clinton was presi-dent to a quasi-antitrade position. She has said, for example, that she can’t support the Trans-Pacific Part-nership in its present form, even after helping to negotiate it as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state. Yet, she’s never said she couldn’t eventually favor it, leaving wiggle room when Congress hammers out the details, possibly in a lame-duck session after the election.  

Both Democratic candidates speak passionately about reducing inequality. But they have vastly dif-ferent approaches. Sanders favors huge, across-the-board tax hikes on the wealthy. Clinton matches his rhetoric, but her tax hikes are more selective. For higher-income taxpayers, she would raise taxes on

the sale of stocks, bonds and other investments held for less than two years; limit the value of income-tax deductions; and impose a 4-percent income-tax surcharge on those earning above $5 million.

Wealthy Republicans won’t like her tax agenda, but it won’t bother many independents and moderate Democrats, many of whom view the Sanders tax increases as radical and unfeasible. To attract these voters in the fall, Clinton plans to unveil a middle-class tax cut in the coming months. Sanders would expand SS benefits broadly and make annual cost-of-living adjustments more generous. To pay for that, he would raise the $118,500 payroll-tax cap.

The problem is that SS already needs shoring up and, by adding to its costs, Sanders would make it harder to close the funding gap. Clin-ton, though, manages to match his rhetoric by promising a small benefit enhancement  for the elderly poor, and to consider subjecting more in-vestment income to the payroll tax (it’s taxed at 3.8 percent now).

And on down the list of issues. When Sanders proposes $1 trillion for infrastructure spending over five years, Clinton answers with a similar, yet more feasible, $275-bil-lion five-year effort. When Sanders says he would replace Obamacare with an expensive Medicare-for-all single-payer plan, Clinton defends Obamacare—yet, calls for more gen-erous subsidies. In each case, she can proclaim to primary voters that she’s addressing a nagging problem but to general-election voters that she’s not busting the federal budget.    

5,300, with nearly 7,000 injured. In response to the recent bombings in Belgium, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “I strongly con-demn today’s deplorable terrorist at-tacks in Brussels.” However, prior to the attack, he had posted on Twitter, “If you kill your enemies, they win.” Presumably, if Trudeau’s enemies kill him, then he is a winner.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said after the recent bombings in Belgium, Pakistan and Turkey that “spreading love can help combat ISIS attacks.” Of course, Zuckerberg’s house is protected by 16 heavily armed bodyguards apparently to “spread love.”

There is a pattern of political turning points, through whatever means, of about 300 years. These change the world. Going back to 1707, we find the creation of Great Brit-ain and the UK through the parlia-mentary Acts of Union. In 1400 the House of Medici became powerful in Florence, Italy, and gave rise to the great mercantile and modern banking systems of Europe and the world. The War of the Spanish

Succession, at the same time, ended France’s dominance of Europe, al-lowing other governments to flour-ish. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 ended the Anglo-Saxon rule of the British Isles and gave rise to the French from Normandy, and kept the Scandinavian people as only a minor power thereafter.

The Battle of Tours in 732 ended the advance of Islam into Western Europe and established a balance of power between Western Europe, Islam and the Byzantine Empire. Some 300 years earlier, Emperor of Rome Constantine the Great legal-ized Christianity and unified all the major Christian doctrines at the First Council of Nicaea.

Maybe this cycle stuff is all non-sense. But these cited events changed a long-standing global trend, altered the subsequent course of the world and still shape events today.

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

�ursday, March 31, 2016

OpinionA11BusinessMirroropinion@businessmirror.com.ph

B J B | Bloomberg View

OVER the last 30 years, every national party convention has been a fully scripted, multiday advertisement for the presi-dential ticket, which was determined weeks or even months

before the delegates gathered.

GOD’S mercy endures forever: The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. Thanks be to God (Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24). Risen from the dead, Jesus

brings peace to His terrified disciples, and empowers them in the Holy Spirit to forgive sins in others (John 20:19-31).

What an open convention could cost Republicans

To spread mercycamp proclaiming God’s deliverance of His people. God’s saving act hap-pened now to an individual, but the people have witnessed it and marvel at it. The one rejected by enemies is now exalted by God: “A precious cornerstone, a sure foundation—so that ‘whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame’” (Isaiah 28:16). Actually, every generation can identify their own time as the day of salvation, “the day the Lord has made,” and rejoice in it, because God’s mercy is forever.

Sins you forgive are forgivenTHE first day of the week was the day of the resurrection of Jesus. Time is now differently assessed: what is significant is no longer the week’s conclusion with the Sabbath, but its beginning focusing on what is to unfold still. Earlier in the day, while still dark, the disciples found the tomb of Jesus empty. Now later in the day, gathered for “fear of the Jews,” they suddenly have Jesus in their midst, the locked doors nonetheless. Jesus was once more with them bringing peace. It is the fulfillment of His promise: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you...not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John  14:27). The Risen Jesus is now the abiding presence that provides peace and calms the heart amid the chaos of

the world, the supreme manifesta-tion of divine love.

The victory of the Risen Lord was complete: The Holy Spirit was bestowed on the disciples. Grounded in the peace that perfect love brings and sharing in divine mercy, the dis-ciples now received the power of mis-sion, the same way the Father com-missioned Jesus. Life received must be life shared. The forgiveness of sin is the path to the unity with God; sin is what separates humankind from God. Jesus has taken away the sin of the world, and replaced alienation with communion. Needed is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit and power of the Risen Lord, shared with us and with whom we are commissioned, so that we can overcome sin through God’s mercy, and develop unity and peace in the world.

Alálaong bagá, what the psalm-ist experienced as God’s love and saving help, for which he thanks the Lord whose mercy is forever, the dis-ciples of Jesus themselves were priv-ileged to have similarly witnessed in Him and have been called to pass on and proclaim to the world. The mercy of God that endures forever has conquered sin and death.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Antimoney laundering and bank secrecy: The nuances

THE heated discussions during the Senate Blue Ribbon Com-mittee hearing regarding the $81 million that was allegedly stolen from the Bangladesh Bank and the movements of such

amounts into our financial system raised a lot of questions about the integrity and stability of our banking institutions and all the network of relationships that go with it.

DECISION TIMEAriel Nepomuceno

His mercy endures foreverPSALM 118, as a song of thanksgiv-ing, fits well the mood of the Easter season. It begins with the call to praise God for His mercy (hesed), His steadfast love for those in covenant with Him. The various groups mak-ing up the congregation at worship are invited to repeat the refrain: “His mercy endures forever.” The “house of Israel” refers to the chosen people; the “house of Aaron” designates the priestly caste; and “God-fearers” are the proselytes who have begun to believe, too, in the Lord. Truly, “the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:17), on those who treasure Him and would not risk losing Him. The second stanza goes personal with the psalmist’s own experience

of God’s mercy. He was oppressed and suffering, but God helped and saved him. In an individual note of gratitude, the psalmist borrowed from Israel’s own hymn of victory: “The Lord is my strength and my courage, and He has been my savior” (Exodus 15:2), recalling the joy in the

ALÁLAONG BAGÁMsgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

WHEN a company is faced with problems on financing its working capital requirements, a speedy, conve-nient and less cumbersome way of acquiring funds is

through intercompany advances. Because the companies are af-filiated with each other, less requirements and technicalities are considered in the approval and grant of the funds, which are usu-ally referred to as intercompany advances. These intercompany advances are most frequently evidenced by instructional letters, cash and journal vouchers.

DST on intercompany advances between affiliates

Not only were the inadequacies of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLC) raised but other tough issues, such as the inflow of monetary pro-ceeds of crime, the black market for foreign-exchange transactions, un-regulated activities of money chang-ers, and the lack of tight controls and compliance audits in our banks.

While the central bank, banking executives, the business communi-ty and even legislators lament the seeming lack of strong prosecution powers of the AMLC and the non-inclusion of certain business or market activities that are favorite targets of criminal rings involved in terrorism, drugs, prostitution and the like within the law’s am-bit, there is now a growing demand for a comprehensive review of the bank-secrecy law, or Republic Act (RA) 1405. The latter is considered to be a huge obstacle for the exercise of prosecutorial and enforcement functions of the AMLC and other legal/regulatory bodies that have jurisdiction over money crimes and related undertakings.

Mandate of the lawBASICALLY, RA 1405 stipulates that all deposits of whatever nature in banks or similar institutions in the Philippines and investments in gov-ernment bonds are absolutely con-fidential in nature. In fact, any per-son or government official, bureau or office that examines, inquires or looks into a bank deposit or govern-ment bond, and any bank official or employee who makes an illegal disclosure concerning bank de-posits are liable under aforemen-tioned law.

However, other special laws and a plethora of jurisprudence enumerate some interesting exceptions. Worth mentioning are the following: Upon written permission or consent in writing by the depositor; in cases of impeachment of high government officials for culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust; when the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation;

enforcement of particular sections of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Prac-tices Act; a special or general exami-nation of a bank in relation to a bank fraud or commission of a serious ir-regularity; in examinations made by an independent auditor hired by the bank to conduct its regular audit; and violation of the AMLC, among others. Unfortunately, there are many legal conditions and processes involved for one to avail himself or herself of these exceptions.

Collateral intention of the lawRELEVANT law also provides that the main purpose of bank-deposit secrecy is to encourage people to deposit their money in banking in-stitutions and to discourage private hoarding, so that the same may be properly utilized by banks in authorized loans to assist in the eco-nomic development of the country. The Supreme Court even went to the extent of declaring that the confiden-tiality of bank deposits remains to be a basic state policy in the Philippines, and a right which belongs to the le-gally recognized zones of privacy.

Further improve complianceCRITICS of this law opine that RA 1405 is one of the strictest in the world, and that it is about time to overhaul the same if only to pave the way for the prosecution and eventual punishment of criminal elements, grafters, corrupt government offi-cials and other similar individuals or groups who have chosen to hide behind the skirt of this confidential-ity regime to hide the fruits of their crimes and misdeeds. The debates are becoming healthy and rigorous in the midst of a growing concern about the reputation of our financial system in the international community.

However, the challenge is how to strike that reasonably good balance between protection of the ordinary depositor and curtailment of the evil oftentimes produced by that same mantle of protection if not regulated, monitored or managed carefully.

For comments and suggestions, send to ariel-nepo.businessmirror@gmail.com.

In 2011 the Supreme Court (SC), in GR Nos. 163653 & 167689, had the opportunity to apply the provision imposing documentary-stamp taxes (DST) on debt instruments, as it re-lates to instructional letters, as well as journal and cash vouchers evidencing advances to affiliates. In said case, it was held that instructional letters, as well as journal and cash vouchers qualified, as loan agreement upon which DST may be imposed.

In a recent case before the Court of Tax Appeals, a taxpayer was assessed

for deficiency DST based on the net increase in the amount of advances to/from affiliates. In protesting the assessment, the taxpayer claimed that in order for these documents to be considered as debt instrument, they must not only represent a bor-rowing and lending transaction but must also be originally issued by the debtor in favor of the creditor as proof of the creditor’s right to claim against the debtor.

The taxpayer claimed that since the cash and disbursement and

journal vouchers are not signed or issued by the affiliates, they cannot be considered as debt instrument, subject to DST. Finally, the taxpayer insists that it cannot issue a debt in-strument to its head office because being a branch office, it does not have a separate legal entity from its head office.

In resolving the case, the Court ruled that the earlier cited SC case, where it was ruled that instructional letters and cash vouchers are loan agreements subject to DST, applies. It was further stressed that cash- disbursement vouchers and journal vouchers are, in fact, instruments representing borrowing and lending

transactions. Last, it was held that for purposes of imposing the DST, the general rule that a foreign cor-poration is the same juridical entity as its branch office in the Philippines cannot apply. The cash advances and intercompany trade payables and receivables between them, which were booked under “due to/from ac-counts,” are well within the purview of “debt instruments” subject to DST.

While providing advances to and from related companies is a convenient way of obtaining funds to finance business requirements, taxpayers should be aware that these are subject to DST. The impo-sition of DST arises whether loan documents are executed to cover the transactions.

The author is a junior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a member- firm of World Tax Services (WTS).

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice. If you have any com-ments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at ayesha.matanog@bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001, local 170.

This time could be different, at least for the Republicans, who could have a real fight on their hands if neither  Donald Trump  nor Ted Cruz has 1,237 bound and loyal delegates before the convention begins in Cleveland on July 18. In that case, there will be an “open” or “contested” convention, in which the delegates will have to select the nominee—perhaps, after extended fights over the rules, the platform and even which delegates were le-gitimately elected in some states.

Ed Kilgore, who knows the nuts and bolts of the infomercial-style na-tional party conventions of the past, has a terrific piece detailing the me-chanics of an actual deliberative, decision-making party convention.

Or, to put it another way: Imag-ine hours of second-tier Republican politicians speaking unvetted on national television about whatever they want. What could go wrong?

Potentially ugly gaffes aside, however, a central problem with a contested convention is the oppor-tunity cost—the squandering of the chance to unite voters. As John Sides wrote back in 2012, conventions tend to bring public opinion in line with the “fundamentals” of the election —that is steer sentiment about such things as the state of the economy and the president’s popularity.

That usually works by delivering enough information to take voters to positions they were going to adopt anyway.

Remember, even in a year with competitive nomination fights in both parties, and in which Donald Trump has received far more atten-tion than any normal candidate, lots of voters haven’t engaged with the election yet. For example, a lit-tle more than 900,000 votes were cast in the  Arizona primaries  on March 22, far fewer than the 2.3

million cast in the 2012 general election in that state. Those rela-tively inattentive voters typically have weaker ties to their party or may be independent. 

As a result, such voters are less likely to be swayed by purely parti-san cues (“Vote Clinton because she’s a Democrat”). However, they may be

very open to less explicitly partisan approaches—a Democrat (even if she calls herself an independent) may be receptive to rhetoric about diversity, openness and equality. A Republican (even if he calls himself an independent) may respond to rhetoric about free enterprise and tough foreign policy.

So when a party convention deliv-ers several days of information about the nominee, many of the least atten-tive voters tune in enough to identify the candidate with the qualities they like. In short, the typical convention achieves one campaign effect that political scientists have found really does matter in presidential elections:

matching moderately (or less) atten-tive voters with candidates.

Even a messy Republican conven-tion with no clear winner until the end could deliver that effect. Ulti-mately, conventions always present the nominee as a winner—and that will be the case at the end of an ex-tremely contentious process, too.

Still, it’s also possible that the convention effect will be diluted if the signal is muted—say, if instead of delivering several days of praise for the nominee, the gathering showcases several days of infight-ing and intrigue.  In that event, we simply don’t know whether the unifying effect would be delayed to some other point in the election cycle. Perhaps, voters would decide to back Donald Trump (or Ted Cruz, or whoever wins a deadlocked con-vention) by watching TV ads, the debates in October, or some other way. But it’s also possible that they never find a match, which could lead some potential Republican voters to either sit out the election or even vote for the Democrat.

That is another reason for Repub-lican party actors to be desperate to resolve the nomination fight during the preconvention period.

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESSAtty. Ayesha Hania B. Guiling-Matanog

It was held that for purposes of imposing the DST, the general rule that a foreign corporation is the same juridical entity as its branch office in the Philippines cannot apply. The cash advances and intercompany trade payables and receivables between them, which were booked under “due to/from accounts,” are well within the purview of “debt instruments” subject to DST.

Jesus was once more with them bringing peace.  It is the fulfillment of His promise: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you...not as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:27). The Risen Jesus is now the abiding presence that provides peace and calms the heart amid the chaos of the world, the supreme manifestation of divine love.