Professional Documents
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METRO MANILA,
PHILIPPINES
S1/1-12
www.bworldonline.com
Debt ratio
better as of
Q3 last year
Debt, S1/3
GENERAL GOVERNMENT (GG)
debt as a percentage of the econo-
my improved as of the third quar-
ter of 2013 from a year earlier as
the state continued to manage its
liabilities.
The Finance department, in a
statement, placed the obligations
at P4.468 trillion as of September
2013, comprising 39.7% of gross
domestic product (GDP).
The GG-debt-to-GDP ratio is
an improvement from the 40.3%
recorded a year earlier as well as
the 40.6% recorded at the end of
2012.
General government debt con-
solidates the outstanding debt of
the national government (NG)
less those held by the Bond Sink-
ing Fund, local government units
(LGUs), Central Bank Board of
Liquidators (CB-BOL) and social
security institutions (SSIs).
It also excludes intra-sector
debt holdings, which comprise NG
debt held by SSIs and LGUs, and
LGU debt held by the Municipal
Development Fund Ofce.
February infation
lower than expected
INFLATION EASED to 4.1% in
February, the Philippine Statis-
tics Authority (PSA) reported on
Wednesday, giving monetary au-
thorities the leeway to keep policy
rates steady later this month.
The February headline number,
which was traced to lower price
hikes for alcoholic beverages, to-
bacco and transport, was down
from Januarys 4.2%. It was, how-
ever, signicantly faster than the
3.4% registered a year earlier.
The result fell within the Bang-
ko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) 3.8-
4.6% outlook for the month and
was lower than the 4.3% median
forecast in a BusinessWorld poll.
Core ination, which excludes
items such as food and energy with
volatile price movements, also
went down to 3.0% in February
from 3.2% in January.
Ination, S1/3
Halted
Police block farmers at the gates of the House of Representatives in Quezon City in this photo taken yesterday. The farmers
were protesting the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and proposed amendments to the Constitution.
By Judy Danibelle T. Chua Co
Senior Researcher
REUTERS
Philippines
under pressure over
high rice prices
Meralco says rates to go down
CUSTOMERS of Manila Electric
Co. (Meralco) can expect to pay
less for power this month, the dis-
tribution utility yesterday said,
given lower costs incurred from
suppliers.
We have good news for our
customers. They may see another
decrease in the generation charge
in their March bills [following a re-
duction last month], the company
said in a statement.
Februarys generation charge
was P5. 54 per kilowatt-hour
(kWh), down from the P5.67/kWh
imposed in January.
RICE PRICES in the Philippines
have risen for six straight weeks,
piling pressure on the government
to import more of the national
staple to stabilize markets and
curb infation already at two-year
highs.
While bumper harvests in other
countries have stoked a global
rice glut, prices in the Philippines
have climbed around 4% in the
last three months after super
typhoon Haiyan devastated key
growing regions and as the gov-
ernment clamps down on smug-
glers looking to avoid hefty taxes.
Increased purchases by the
Philippines, one of the worlds
largest rice buyers, would help
ease global oversupply, with
Vietnam and Thailand likely to bid
aggressively for any new deal from
their Southeast Asian neighbor.
National Food Authority (NFA)
spokesman Rex C. Estoperez
confrmed reports that Manila
has since late January doubled
the amount of rice being released
into markets from stockpiles most
days, looking to curb price gains.
Private traders are running out
of stocks, thats why we have re-
leased [more] rice into the market
from our warehouses, he said.
That has further drained
NFA stocks that had dwindled
to around 275,000 tons at the
start of the year equivalent to
eight days worth of consumption,
nearly half normal levels. Figures
for January are due to be released
next week.
The US Department of
Agriculture has already said it
expects Philippine imports to hit
1.4 million tons in 2014, which
would be the highest in four years.
The country has yet to confrm
any purchases beyond 500,000
tons it bought from Vietnam in a
government-to-government deal in
November. Vietnam, the worlds
second-biggest rice exporter after
India, is traditionally the Philip-
pines biggest supplier as it usu-
ally offers cheaper rice.
For Thailand, a deal to sell
rice to the Philippines would help
offoad some of its huge reserves
and raise much-needed money to
pay farmers that participated in a
controversial subsidy scheme.
The average retail price of well-
milled rice in the Philippines rose
a further 1.2% in February from
the previous month to P40.12
per kg, and was up 13.7% from a
year ago, data from the Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics showed on
Tuesday.
Mr. Estoperez said the NFA had
doubled the rice allocated each
day to government accredited
outlets to 2,500 kg per location.
Details on the number of accred-
Based on initial figures, the
cost of supply from our power
supply agreements, independent
power producers and from the
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market
have all gone down during the Feb-
ruary supply month, which will
impact on the March bill, Meralco
said.
The generation charge the
cost of power sold to a power dis-
tributor accounts for around
57% of total charges in Meralcos
electricity bill. The rest comprises
the distribution charge (17.6%),
transmission charge (9%), system
loss charge (5%), and taxes and
other charges (11.5%).
The rm said the March gener-
ation rate was still being nalized.
Meralco utility economics head Meralco, S1/3
By Claire-Ann C. Feliciano
Reporter
Larry S. Fernandez said the gure
could be announced by Monday.
There are no gures yet. There
are strong indications that genera-
tion charge will be lower than Feb-
ruarys, Mr. Fernandez reiterated
in a text message.
Meralco also urged customers
to prepare for the summer months
as electricity consumption histori-
cally goes up during the period.
According to our weather
bureau... we could start experi-
encing... hot weather starting
next month. Given this advisory,
we would like to encourage our
customers to practice energy ef-
ciency, the rm said.
Meralco suggested unplugging
appliances when not in use and
Rice, S1/3
SECTION 1
2 THE ECONOMY
4-5 OPINION
6 CORPORATE NEWS
7 PROPERTY
8 AGRIBUSINESS
9 WORLD
10-12 THE NATION
SECTION 2
1&3 BANKING & FINANCE
2 STOCK MARKET
4-5 WORLD SPORTS
6-7 ARTS & LEISURE
8 SPECIAL FEATURE
SECTION 3
1-2 FINANCIAL TIMES
3 WORLD BUSINESS
4 WORLD MARKETS
CONTENTS VOL. XXVII, ISSUE 154
WORLD REVIEW
GENEVA
Mercedes, Inniti to cooperate
Daimlers Mercedes and Nissans Inniti
plan to pool development of compact
cars to cut costs, expand the German
car makers North American production
and broaden the Inniti lineup, people
familiar with the matter said. S3/3
NEW YORK
Stocks rise on reduced tensions
US stocks rallied on Tuesday, with the
S&P 500 at a record high, as fears eased
of a confrontation between Russia and
Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir
Putin said there was no need to use military
force in the Crimea region for now. S3/4
5050
5120
5190
5260
5330
5400
4850
4960
5070
5180
5290
5400
STOCK MARKET
ASIAN MARKETS MARCH 5, 2014
JAPAN (NIKKEI 225) 14897.63 176.15 1.20
HONG KONG (HANG SENG) 22579.78 -77.85 -0.34
TAIWAN (WEIGHTED) 8632.93 78.39 0.92
THAILAND (SET INDEX) 1351.64 5.82 0.43
S.KOREA (KSE COMPOSITE) 1971.24 17.13 0.88
SINGAPORE (STRAITS TIMES) 3116.64 11.93 0.38
SYDNEY (ALL ORDINARIES) 5446.23 46.00 0.85
MALAYSIA (KLSE COMPOSITE) 1829.11 2.65 0.15
JAPAN (YEN) 102.390 101.810
HONG KONG (HK DOLLAR) 7.760 7.761
TAIWAN (NT DOLLAR) 30.265 30.291
THAILAND (BAHT) 32.290 32.460
S. KOREA (WON) 1070.300 1071.550
SINGAPORE (DOLLAR) 1.270 1.271
INDONESIA (RUPIAH) 11580 11590
MALAYSIA (RINGGIT) 3.270 3.276
WORLD MARKETS MARCH 4, 2014
WORLDCURRENCIES MARCH 5, 2014
ASIAN CURRENCIES MARCH 5, 2014
PESO DOLLAR RATE
DOW JONES 16395.880 227.85
NASDAQ 4351.972 74.671
S&P 500 1873.910 28.18
FTSE 100 6823.770 115.42
EURO STOXX50 2957.040 56.27
$/UK POUND 1.6685 1.6702
$/EURO 1.3722 1.3753
$/AUST DOLLAR 0.8959 0.8955
CANADA DOLLAR/US$ 1.1085 1.1084
SWISS FRANC/US$ 0.8878 0.8836
INDEX
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LOW: 6,399.67
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CTVS.
By Bettina Faye V. Roc
Senior Reporter
Lenten symbol
A devotee with a cross marked on her
forehead takes part in the commemo-
ration of Ash Wednesday outside a
Roman Catholic church in Paraaque,
Metro Manila in this photo taken yes-
terday. Ash Wednesday, which serves
as a reminder that as a man is dust,
so unto dust he shall return, marked
the beginning of the 40-day Lenten Sea-
son in the Roman Catholic calendar.
R
E
U
T
E
R
S
By Daryll Edisonn D. Saclag
Reporter
ASEAN-HK trade deal
studied
Malaysia, Philippines
agree to see biz
prospects
Two more
bidders for
Southwest
Terminal PPP
Committee set up for petroleum,
coal contract transparency
Public hearings
set for plastic materials,
steel products
Thursday, March 6, 2014 2/S1
The
Economy
THE PHILIPPINES is studying a
possible ASEAN free trade agree-
ment (FTA) with Hong Kong,
Trade Secretary Gregory L. Do-
mingo yesterday said.
Were conducting studies and
scoping, Mr. Domingo said on the
proposed FTA.
But, so far, the Philippines is
likely to benet from the proposed
trade pact as the balance is in the
countrys favor.
Data from the Trade depart-
ment Web site showed that Phil-
ippine exports to Hong Kong
reached $4.8 billion in 2012 while
imports amounted to $1.5 billion,
with electronics being the top
traded goods between the two.
An FTA will reduce the friction
in terms of procedures and regula-
tory measures thereby speeding
up the entry and exit of goods,
said Mr. Domingo.
IN ANTICIPATION of the next
Philippine Energy Contracting
Rounds (PECR), slated to take
place this year, the Energy depart-
ment has ordered the creation of a
committee to ensure a more trans-
parent and competitive system of
granting the rights to explore and
develop the countrys coal and pe-
troleum resources.
The department, in a circular
posted on its Web site, has out-
lined procedures to govern the
system of awarding petroleum
service contracts and coal operat-
ing contracts.
This circular shall apply to the
determination of the legal, techni-
cal, and nancial qualications of
applicants, the evaluation of their
applications, and the award of cor-
responding service and operating
contracts for petroleum and coal
resources, the document, dated
Feb. 24, stated.
The circular creates a Review
and Evaluation Committee (REC)
to consist of the undersecretary in
charge of the Energy Resource De-
velopment Bureau, his assistant,
and the directors of the ERDB, le-
gal services, and nancial services.
As part of its responsibilities, the
REC is tasked to identify the pro-
spective coal and petroleum areas
within the countrys territory.
In this regard, the REC shall
notify the local government units of
the ofered areas within their terri-
torial jurisdiction, prior to the inclu-
THE TARIFF Commission has set
a public hearing for petitions to
modify tarif lines for plastic mate-
rials and steel products, according
to a notice published in a newspa-
per yesterday.
The Tariff Commission will
conduct a public hearing on Mar.
20 at 9:00 a.m. regarding the pe-
titions on the tariff modification
of polylactic acid (PLA) film and
semi-finished products of iron
or non-alloy steel. Venue of the
hearing is at the Tariff Commis-
sion Conference Room, 5
th
floor,
Philippine Heart Center Building,
East Avenue, Quezon City, the
notice said.
Products that will be covered
by the hearing are other plates,
sheets, film, foil and strip, of
other polyesters with tarif code
3920.69.00 and semi-finished
products of iron or non-alloy
steel with tarif codes 7207.11.00,
7207.12.90, 7207.19.00, 7207.21.21,
7207. 20. 29, 7207. 20. 92, and
7207.20.99.
The petition to modify the tarif
line on PLA lm was led by plas-
tic maker First In Colours, Inc.
which imports the product from
Japan. The petition to modify the
tariff line on steel products was
not immediately provided, how-
ever. Daryll Edisonn D. Saclag
TAXWISE
OR OTHERWISE
Carlos R. Mateo
The right to due process in a tax assessment
THE BUREAU of Internal Reve-
nue (BIR) has the gargantuan task
of collecting P1.4 trillion in tax
revenue for 2014. Consequently,
various revenue issuances have
been circulated to enhance tax
compliance and intensify collec-
tion eforts. One such issuance is
Revenue Memorandum Circular
(RMC) No. 11-2014, clarifying cer-
tain issues arising from amend-
ments introduced by Revenue
Regulations No. 18-2013 on RR 12-
99 relative to the tax assessment
process. In ne-tuning policy in-
terpretations, the RMC raises sev-
eral points of interest.
Foremost, the RMC operation-
ally denes the term duly autho-
rized representative as referring
to Revenue Regional Directors,
Assistant Commissioner - Large
Taxpayers Service and Assistant
Commissioner - Enforcement
and Advocacy Service. Upon re-
ceipt of a preliminary assessment
notice (PAN) or Formal Letter of
Demand/Final Assessment Notice
(FLD/FAN) from the BIR, the tax-
payer must le a response or pro-
test letter with the duly authorized
representative who signed the
PAN or FAN. Filing with the wrong
ofce/person is fatal to the pursuit
as it will render such response or
protest as not led at all. Conse-
quently, the ndings become nal,
resulting in the issuance of a FAN
(for wrongly led response to the
PAN) or a non-appealable assess-
ment (for wrongly filed protest
letter to the FAN).
Although RR 18-2013 had elimi-
nated the need for the BIR to issue
a notice of informal conference
(NIC) as part of the assessment
process, taxpayers still have the
option of paying the deficiency
taxes and penalties prior to the
issuance of the PAN. In such cases,
voluntary payment stops the run-
ning of the 20% per annum pen-
alty interest. While this provides
momentary relief from escalating
tax liabilities, the option ofers no
guarantee that the ndings of the
Revenue District Office (RDO)
will be sustained by the reviewing
office (i.e., Regional Office, Legal
Service or equivalent office). In
other words, early settlement of
deciency taxes may not provide
any benefit if the initial findings
are set aside and a new assessment
is issued by the reviewing office
that is different from the earlier
recommendations by the RDO.
Further, the RMC states that a
nal demand letter for payment of
delinquent taxes may be considered
a decision on a disputed assess-
ment. Although such statement
finds basis in certain court deci-
sions, it would only seem fair to tax-
payers if the BIR will unequivocally
state that the final decision will
follow the specic form of a Final
Decision on Disputed Assessment
(FDDA) as provided in Section 3.1.5
of RR 18-2013. This would dispel
any confusion on whether a notice
is considered an FDDA or not.
Under the rules, once an FDDA is
issued by the BIR, the taxpayer has
only 30 days from receipt thereof to
le an appeal.
Under RR 18-2013, If the tax-
payer within 15 days from date of
receipt of PAN responds that he/it
disagrees with the ndings of de-
ciency tax or taxes, an FLD/FAN
shall be issued within 15 days from
ling/submission of the taxpayers
response, calling for payment of
the taxpayers deficiency tax li-
ability, inclusive of the applicable
penalties. While the non-obser-
vance of the 15-day period for the
issuance of the FAN shall not afect
its validity, the RMC provides that
the revenue ofcer who caused the
delay shall be subject to adminis-
trative sanctions.
The foregoing provision under
the RR denotes that any response
to the PAN will automatically be
denied and, thus, efectively negates
the pre-assessment notice stage.
This appears to violate the spirit of
the due process requirement under
Section 228 of the Tax Code, which
requires the BIR to rst notify the
taxpayer of the ndings and to re-
quire a response. If the taxpayer
fails to respond, the BIR shall issue
a FAN based on said ndings.
It is also worthy to state that,
in a number of cases, the courts
have held that the 15-day period
for the taxpayer to formally reply
to the PAN is mandatory, and the
non-observance thereof is con-
sidered a violation of due process.
Thus, the CTA has, on occasion,
ruled against the BIR and nullied
assessments where the FAN was
issued without waiting for the tax-
payers reply to the PAN or before
the lapse of the 15-day period.
Though the current assessment
process still gives taxpayers a 15-
day period to respond to the PAN,
the fact that any such response
will automatically be denied with
the issuance of the FAN another
15 days after, effectively makes
the taxpayers response a mere
formality. One could say that the
grant of the 15-day period is with-
out any real value and thus goes
against the spirit of the due pro-
cess requirement under our laws.
Fundamentally, No person shall
be deprived of life, liberty and prop-
erty without due process of law, nor
shall any person be denied the equal
protection of the laws. (Article III,
Section I of the Bill of Rights of the
Philippine Constitution).
The power of taxation must be
exercised with restraint since it
deprives a taxpayer of his proper-
ty. Thus, in Roxas vs. Court of Tax
Appeals, G.R. No. L-25043, dated
April 26, 1968, the Supreme Court
held: The power of taxation is
sometimes called also the power to
destroy. Therefore it should be ex-
ercised with caution to minimize
injury to the proprietary rights of
a taxpayer. It must be exercised
fairly, equally and uniformly, lest
the tax collector kill the hen that
lays the golden egg. And, in order
to maintain the general publics
trust and confidence in the Gov-
ernment, this power must be used
justly and not treacherously.
The constitutional right to
due process has primacy over the
power of taxation, such that In
balancing the scales between the
power of the State to tax and its
inherent right to prosecute per-
ceived transgressors of the law on
one side, and the constitutional
rights of a citizen to due process of
law and the equal protection of the
laws on the other, the scales must
tilt in favor of the individual, for a
citizens right is amply protected
by the Bill of Rights under the Con-
stitution. Thus, while taxes are
the lifeblood of the government,
the power to tax has its limits, in
spite of all its plenitude. (CIR vs.
Metro Star Superama, Inc.)
Based on the foregoing, it is sin-
cerely hoped that the BIR would
revisit the provision of RR 18-2013
(as reiterated in RMC 11-2014) and
consider the arguments raised by
the taxpayer in response to the
PAN, instead of issuing an outright
denial by the issuance of a FAN.
In creating consonance, there is
wisdom to reconciling conicting
interests. While citizens must pay
taxes without much hindrance,
the authority to tax must also be
wielded with utmost consider-
ation for the common good.
The author is a director at the tax
services department of Isla Lipana
& Co., the Philippine member rm
of the PwC network. Readers may
call (02) 845-2728 or e-mail the
author at carlos.mateo@ph.pwc.
com for questions or feedback. The
views or opinions presented in this
article are solely those of the author
and do not necessarily represent
those of Isla Lipana & Co. The rm
will not accept any liability arising
from the article.
BUSINESSMEN from Malaysia and
the Philippines have agreed to ex-
plore investment opportunities in
each others palm oil, rubber, infra-
structure, and tourism sectors, Trade
Secretary Gregory L. Domingo yester-
day said.
These interests were expressed
at business matching activities held
last week in Kuala Lumpur, which co-
incided with President Benigno S.C.
Aquino IIIs state visit there, the Trade
offcial noted.
In one of the business meet-
ings, Mr. Domingo said government
offcials met with representatives of
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), re-
sort operator Genting Malaysia Bhd,
and low-cost airline AirAsia Bhd.
TWO more rms are bidding for
the P2.5-billion Integrated Trans-
port System (ITS) Southwest
Terminal Project under the De-
partment of Transportation and
Communications (DoTC).
The DoTCs Special Bids and
Awards Committee on Tuesday
released General Bid Bulletin
No. 07-2014, which added State
Properties Corp. and Expedition
Properties Corp. to the nine com-
panies vying for the public-private
partnership (PPP) project.
The second of two rounds of
meetings was initially to take place
Mar. 17-19 but was extended for
the new entrants, which will both
be present on Mar. 20.
The bid bulletin also required
participants to submit any ques-
tions three calendar days before
their scheduled conference with
the DoTC.
Bid submission deadline and
opening of qualification docu-
ments have been set for May 15,
with scrutiny of the latter occur-
ring within ten days of submission.
Technical proposals will be
opened in June and evaluated
within 20 days of submission. Fi-
nancial proposals will also be
opened that month and evaluated
in 15 days.
The Notice of Award (NoA) will
be released within ve days from
the winners selection.
Upon receiving the NoA, the
winning bidder must prove com-
pliance before signing the Date of
Concession Agreement.
The nine other participant com-
panies, in order of scheduled meet-
ings, are D.M. Wenceslao and As-
sociates, Inc.; the co-bidding Ayala
Land, Inc. and Ayala Corp.; Metro
Pacic Tollways Corp.; San Miguel
Corp.; Vicente T. Lao Construction;
Egis Projects SA; Robinsons Land
Corp.; Filinvest Land, Inc.; and
Megawide Construction Corp.
The ITS Southwest Terminal
Project will be built southwest of
Metro Manila near the Manila-
Cavite Expressway and will serve
Manila-bound commuters from
Cavite.
According to the PPP Center
Web site, previously awarded
contracts for PPPs as of Feb. 14,
2014 are the P2.01-billion Daang
Hari-SLEX Link Road Project,
P16.28-billion PPP for School
Infrastructure Project Phase I,
P15.52-billion NAIA Expressway
Project, P3.86-billion PSIP Phase
II, P5.69-billion Modernization of
the Philippine Orthopedic Center,
and the P1.72-billion Automatic
Fare Collection System. Anton
Joshua M. Santos
According to the Hong Kong
governments Web site, the FTA
is expected to cover elimination
of tariff and non-tariff barriers;
preferential rules of origin; lib-
eralization of trade in services;
liberalization, promotion and pro-
tection of investment; and dispute
settlement mechanism.
Hong Kong, according to the
ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) Web site, initially
proposed to join the ASEAN-Chi-
na FTA in 2011.
But, Mr. Domingo said the
10-member bloc counter-pro-
posed a separate trade pact with
Hong Kong last year.
At that time, Hong Kong was
requesting accession into ASEAN-
China FTA. But we thought it is
better to negotiate a separate one
since accession is more difcult,
the Trade ofcial said.
Since then, he said, ASEAN
member-states Brunei, Cam-
bodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Sin-
gapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
have started their own studies on
the proposed trade pact.
Aside from the FTA with China,
the bloc also has trade agreements
with Japan, Australia, New Zea-
land, South Korea, and India.
Mr. Domingo said ASEAN and
Hong Kong have not yet set a time-
table for the agreement.
The Trade official also said he
does not see the Manila hostage
crisis involving Hong Kong na-
tionals in 2010 as a roadblock.
For me, its business as usual,
he said.
ASEAN is Hong Kongs second
largest trading partner after China
for trade in goods. Daryll Edi-
sonn D. Saclag
We invited Maybank to look at
shariah banking in the Philippines.
They said they will look at it. For
AirAsia, they said they will study very
seriously a Kuala Lumpur-Davao link.
For Genting, we requested them to
make an all-Philippine-islands tour,
and they said they will consider it.
They also expressed interest in palm
oil plantation in Mindanao, said Mr.
Domingo.
Investor interest in the Philip-
pines is expected to increase
further once the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro be-
tween the government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front is signed
this year, he added.
The Trade chief also said that the
Philippines offered Malaysia assis-
tance in accrediting halal products.
Philippine exports to Malaysia
reached $1.017 billion in 2012 while
imports amounted to $2.503 billion.
sion to the PECR, the circular read.
The committee will also have
the obligation to examine, evaluate
and review the technical, nancial,
and legal capabilities of project ap-
plicants and, after which, recom-
mend to the Secretary the award
of contracts.
It is also the RECs responsibil-
ity to [r]esolve issues in relation
to the legal, technical and nancial
capabilities of applicants, includ-
ing motions for reconsideration.
The circular also detailed the
procedure for awarding petroleum
service contracts and coal operat-
ing contracts.
Since the REC will determine
the prospective areas, it should
also prepare the PECR documents
with description of available data.
Such data should include the
location map and technical de-
scription of areas being ofered and
schedule of activities for the PECR.
A pre-submission conference
for PECR applications should be
scheduled to discuss relevant rules
and entertain clarications from
prospective applicants.
Submission of applications
should be based on the existing
guidelines.
The evaluation should be based
on legal qualication using a pass or
fail criterion; work program (40%);
technical qualication (20%); and
nancial qualication (40%).
The highest ranked applicant
who meets the... requirements
shall be selected, the circular read.
The legal department and
ERDB should prepare the final
contract that will be awarded.
Applicants, within seven days
from the receipt of the award no-
tice, should pay necessary fees and
charges.
State-owned PNOC Exploration
Corp. (PNOC-EC) has been given a
reserved option to acquire a maxi-
mum of 10% interest in a contract
involving one or more Filipino
participants and 15% for a contract
with no Filipino participant.
All rights, privileges, benets,
costs, expenses, obligations and
liabilities of PNOC-EC shall be
in proportion to its participating
interest in the proposed service
contract, the circular noted.
Previous contractors with can-
celled to terminated contracts due
to outstanding work and nancial
obligations are no longer allowed
to join the PECR.
The circular will take efect f-
teen days following its publication
in two newspapers.
Under the PECR 4 which
took place last year the Energy
department ofered 38 coal and 15
petroleum blocks for exploration
and development.
The auction received 69 bids
for 28 coal contracts and 20 ofers
for 11 petroleum contracts, but the
department only awarded 11 coal
and four petroleum contracts.
Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano
TARIFF lines for steel products are up for possible modifcation.
Thursday, March 6, 2014 S1/3
Infation,
fromS1/ 1
Year-to-date ination averaged
4.2%, still within the BSPs 3-5%
target for 2014.
Central bank Governor Aman-
do M. Tetangco, Jr., in a text mes-
sage to reporters, said the latest re-
sults would help keep the average
inflation over the policy horizon
within the governments [3-5%]
target range.
Moving forward, Mr. Tetangco
said monetary authorities would
continue to monitor global de-
velopments, adding: We will also
be watchful of trends in domestic
liquidity and lending.
He noted that the policy-mak-
ing Monetary Board would make
adjustments to policy levers as
appropriate to ensure that liquid-
ity continues to be channeled to
productive sectors of the economy
and that ination expectation re-
main well-anchored.
During its first policy meet-
ing for the year last Feb. 6, the
Monetary Board kept the BSPs
overnight borrowing and lending
rates at record lows of 3.5% and
5.5%, respectively. The inflation
forecast for this year, however, was
trimmed to 4.3% from 4.5% while
that for 2015 was hiked to 3.3%
from 3.2%.
The BSP has kept its overnight
borrowing and lending rates at
3.5% and 5.5% since October 2012.
The rate on all special deposit ac-
count (SDA) maturities has been
steady at a uniform 2% since June
2013.
Economists were in agreement
that the central bank was likely to
keep key rates steady at its March
27 policy-setting meeting. Tight-
ening, they said, could start in the
second half of the year.
We expect both the policy
overnight rate and the special de-
posit accounts rate to stay steady
through the rst half, as the central
bank has enough space to main-
tain a wait-and-see approach until
its third policy rate meeting, said
Eugenia Fabon Victorino, ANZ
economist for the Asia-Pacic.
We forecast the tightening
cycle to commence by the second
half and expect the interest rate
to rise by at least 50 basis points
(bps) by yearend, she added.
Jef Ng, economist at Standard
Chartered Bank in Hong Kong,
agreed, adding that domestic price
pressures remain in food and en-
ergy.
We expect the central bank
to keep rates unchanged in the
rst half as ination remains man-
ageable. Nonetheless, we expect
a 25-bps hike in the third quarter
and another 25 bps in the fourth
quarter, as price pressures remain
in food and energy, especially with
recent uptrends in international
food and crude oil prices, he said.
Gundy Cahyadi, economist at
DBS Bank Ltd., meanwhile, said
inflation was coming in below
expectations given that some of
the cost-push factors werent as
strong.
We are re-looking at our ina-
tion forecast for the year and we
maintain our stance that the cen-
tral bank will continue to stay put
for now. But we still expect them
to raise rates by at least 50 bps by
yearend to prevent the economy
from overheating, he said.
The PSA, meanwhile, said in a
statement that the February ina-
tion reading was due to slower
annual movements registered in
the indices of alcoholic beverages
and tobacco and transport.
Prices of alcoholic beverages
and tobacco rose by 7.1% in Febru-
ary, easing from 17.6% in January,
while transport costs rose by 1.0%,
down from 1.2%.
Citi economist Jun Trinidad
noted temporary relief from up-
side inflation risk coming from
easing excise tax effects on ciga-
rettes and alcoholic beverages.
Prices of cigarettes and al-
coholic beverages rose by high
double digits last year after excise
taxes were adjusted in January
2013. Taxes will be adjusted again
in 2015.
The heavily weighted food and
non-alcoholic beverages index,
meanwhile, rose by 5.5%, un-
changed from the previous month.
The food alone index, however,
accelerated to 5.9% from 5.7%.
Prices of rice, milk, cheese, eggs,
oils and fats, fruits, sugar, jam,
honey, chocolate, and other food
products rose at a faster pace.
Higher increases were also
recorded in the indices of cloth-
ing and footwear; housing, water,
electricity, gas and other fuels;
furnishing, household equipment
and routine maintenance index;
and health. with a report from
A. R. R. Gregorio
ited outlets in the Philippines were
not immediately available.
He also noted that government
moves to crack down on smugglers
had pushed prices higher. Philip-
pines customs have been on a drive
to curb smuggling that has been rife
as some importers look to avoid a
whopping 40% duty on private ship-
ments of rice and to get around a
quota system.
Critics have long argued the tariff
should be reduced to encourage legal
imports, but President Benigno S.
C. Aquino IIIs government says it is
necessary to support local farmers.
Reuters
Rice,
fromS1/ 1
Debt,
fromS1/ 1
Before President Benigno
S. C. Aquino III took office, GG
debt to GDP was 44.3% in 2009.
By reducing government debt, we
are attempting to ensure the sus-
tainability of our recent economic
resurgence, Finance Secretary
Cesar V. Purisima was quoted as
saying in the statement.
The Aquino administration
continues working towards the
virtuous cycle of good govern-
ance through proactive liability
management. As a result of these
initiatives, we are creating fiscal
space in the budget to increase
investments in our people, our key
driver of economic growth, he
added.
The Finance department said
the annual decline was mainly due
to the national governments pur-
chase of more debt from domestic
sources at cheaper interest and
longer maturities.
Of the total NG debt as of the
third quarter, 66% came from do-
mestic sources and 34% from for-
eign creditors an improvement
from the 61:39 mix recorded in the
comparable 2012 period.
This was likewise reflected in
the overall GG debt mix, which in
the period was at 59:41 in favor of
domestic sources versus the 51%
domestic and 48% foreign mix re-
corded as of September 2012, the
department said.
A decline in Local Government
Unit debt to P70.7 billion, or 0.6%
of GDP, as compared to the Sep-
tember 2012 level of P71.3 billion,
or 0.7% of GDP, also contributed to
the decline in GG debt, it added.
Debt as a percentage of GDP
is a measure used by many debt
watchers to assess the creditwor-
thiness of sovereigns.
Meralco,
fromS1/ 1
setting a timer for air conditioners
before bedtime so that the units
would not have to run the entire
night.
In buying appliances, check
and compare the energy efcien-
cy factor (EEF) of the different
brands, it added, explaining that
a higher EEF means better energy
efciency.
The utilitys announcement of
possible lower March generation
charges comes in the wake of com-
plaints on a bill format that has
caused confusion.
The Energy Regulatory Com-
mission has asked Meralco to ex-
plain the format, which included
components such as the Balance
from Previous Billing, Total Cur-
rent Amount and Total Amount
Due.
The Balance From Previous
Billing covers unpaid amounts
relating to a planned rate hike that
is being reviewed by the Supreme
Court.
A P4.15/kWh increase sup-
posed to have been implemented
in tranches beginning last Decem-
ber has been ordered shelved by
the high court, which is hearing a
complaint led by party-list legis-
lators and consumer groups.
An additional P5.33/kWh rate
hike, also to be charged in stages,
is being sought by Meralco, which
says that this covers unpaid bal-
ances to power suppliers.
Meralco has said that it has no
intention to collect the deferred
amount, which it claimed was
included in the bill only for trans-
parency purposes.
In recognition of the feed-
back we got from our customers,
though, we will make it clearer
in their March bills as to which
amount they will only have to pay.
In addition, the deferred amount
will no longer be included in the
Total Amount Due, the company
said.
Meralco also said that only
7% of its 5.5 million customers
received bills with the deferred
amount itemized, adding that
those who paid in full would be
refunded.
Meralcos controlling stake-
holder, Beacon Electric Asset
Holdings, Inc., is partly owned
by Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. (PLDT). Hastings
Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT
Benecial Trust Fund subsidiary
MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a
majority stake in BusinessWorld.
BERKELEY
Reading through
the just-released
transcriptsoftheUS
Federal Reserves
Federal Open Mar-
ket Committee
(FOMC) meetings
in 2008, I found
myself asking the same overarching question: What accounted for the
FOMCs blinkeredmindset as crisis eruptedall aroundit?
To be sure, some understood the true nature of the situation. As Jon
Hilsenrathof the Wall Street Journal points out, WilliamDudley, thenthe
executive vice-president of the NewYork Feds Markets Group, presented
staf research that sought, politely and compellingly, to turn the princi-
pals attention to where it needed to be focused. And FOMC members
Janet Yellen, Donald Kohn, Eric Rosengren, and Frederic Mishkin, along
with the Board of Governors in Washington clearly got the message. But
the FOMCs other eight members, and the rest of the senior staf? Not so
much(albeit to greatly varying degrees).
As I readthe transcripts, I recalledthe long history dating backto1825,
and before, in which the uncontrolled failure of major banks triggered
panic, a ight to quality, the collapse of asset prices, and depression. But
thereintheFOMCs mid-September 2008report, manymembers express
self-congratulation for having found the strength to take the incompre-
hensible decisionnot to bail out LehmanBrothers.
I nd myself thinking back to the winter of 2008, when I stole and
used as much as possible an observation by the economist Larry Sum-
mers. Inthe aftermathof the housing bubbles collapse and extraordinary
losses in the derivatives market, Summers noted, banks would have to
diminishleverage. While it wouldnot matter muchtoany individual bank
whether it did so by reducing its loan portfolio or by raising its capital, it
matteredvery muchto the economy that the banks chose the second.
Eventoday, I cannot comprehendthen-NewYorkFedPresident Timo-
thy Geithners declarationinMarch2008that, it is very hardtomake the
judgment nowthat the nancial systemas a whole or the banking system
as awholeis undercapitalized. Geithners viewat thetimewas that there
is nothing more dangerous... than for people... to feed... concerns about...
the basic core strength of the nancial system. Of course, we now know
that indiference to suchconcerns turnedout to be far more dangerous.
Likewise, I look at history and see that it is core ination (which strips
out volatile food and energy prices), not headline ination, that matters
for predictingfutureination(evenfutureheadlineination). ThenI read
declarations like that by Dallas Federal Reserve President RichardFisher,
that dangerous inationary pressure was building during the summer of
2008, andI ndmyself at a loss.
Some of the 2008-era mindset (most of it?) most likely stemmed from
the fact that there are things that are very real and solid to monetary
economists. We cansee, touch, andfeel howa nancial-deleveraging cycle
depressesaggregatedemand. Weknowthat thisyearschangeinaninertial
price, suchas wages, tells us alot about next years wagechanges, whilethis
years change in a non-inertial price, such as oil, tells us next to nothing.
And we know how herd behavior by investors means that a single salient
bank failure canturna nancial mania intoa panic, andthena crash.
But others donot see, touch, andfeel thesethings. For non-economists,
they are simply shadows onthe walls of a cave.
That distinction was less relevant in the past. The Fed of old usually had
a charismatic, autocratic, professional central banker at its head: Benjamin
Strong, MarrinerEccles, WilliamMcChesneyMartin, Paul Volcker, andAlan
Greenspan. When it worked which was not always true the chair ruled
the FOMC with an iron hand and with the near-lockstep voting support of
the governors. The views of the other members with their varying back-
groundsinbanking, regulation, andelsewherewereof littleor noconcern.
But former Chairman Ben Bernankes FOMC was different. It was
collegial, respectful, andconsensus-oriented. As a result, there was a deep
disconnect between Bernankes policy views, which followed from his
analyses in the 1980s and 1990s of the Great Depression and Japans lost
decades, andtheFOMCs failurein2008tosensewhat was comingandto
guardagainst the major downside risks.
So I nd myself wondering: What if those who understood the nature
of the crisis and those who did not had been compelled to make their
cases toBernanke inprivate? If Bernanke had thensaid, This is what we
are going to do, rather than seeking consensus that is, if Bernankes
Fed had been like the old Fed would better monetary-policy decisions
have been made in 2008?
(The author, a former deputy assistant secretary of the US Treasury, is
Professor of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley and a
research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. www.
project-syndicate.org)
Thursday, March 6, 2014 4/S1 Thursday, March 6, 2014 S1/5 Opinion Opinion
Revisiting
the Feds crisis
Transportation mobility
and sustainability
Game play remains at heart
of changing lifestyles
THE VIEW
FROM TAFT
Brian C. Gozun
ASwe goonour dailygrind of mov-
ing fromour homes to our ofces,
the big T that is trafc has been
getting worse by the minute, by
the hour, by the day, and through
the years. The government,
through the Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority (MMDA)
and other departments, has been
working full-time and overtime
to alleviate this seemingly endless
agony of trafc. The newly coined
term carmageddon, combin-
ing car and Armageddon, is
truly appropriate for the death of
vehicular movement along EDSA
and other major thoroughfares in
the metro. If vehicles do come to a
complete halt, what would happen
to people like us who commute
hours per day using various modes
from cars that have never experi-
enced going beyond 10 kilometers
per hour to trains that have never
ever experienced under-capacity
in their lifetimes?
For commuters, traffic goes
beyond the huge parking lot that
EDSA has become. It is all about
the ability to move from our
homes to our destinations with
ease, comfort, security and, above
all, satisfaction. Our ability to do
our duties to our families, clients,
and friends as we move from one
place to another rests on inclusive
mobility, which is a holistic con-
cept that promotes the movement
from a car-centric paradigm to
more people- and environment-
friendly transportation modes.
Dr. Danielle Guillen, an expert
on transportation policy and plan-
ning from the Ateneo Institute of
Sustainability, espouses inclusive
mobility through the concept of
sustainable transportation, which
entails expansion of levels of ser-
vice, diversication of transporta-
tion modes, a balanced land-use
plan, more efcient use of energy
and low polluting technologies,
reduction of health and safety
risks, reduction of environmental
impact and integrating the con-
cept of social equity and citizen
transportation.
The definition of sustainable
transportation is similar to our
denitionof sustainability inbusi-
ness, which espouses balance not
only in our financials but also in
our relationships with our stake-
holders, community, country,
and Mother Earth. The start of
this so-called carmageddon has
made us more aware of the need
to understand the trade-ofs that
we make as commuters. Should
we take our cars and be part of
the thousands of cars idling along
roads that were once highways in
the not-so-distant past? Should
we take the LRT and MRT in the
wee hours of the morning evenif it
is not yet Simbang Gabi (midnight
mass) season? Should we walk or
even cycle to work even if it means
losing thousands of pesos on our
glutathioneinjections and whiten-
ing soaps, creams, and whatnots?
The risks that we take as we
move from the security of our
homes to the insecurity of our
streets entail the need for trans-
portationsolutions that gobeyond
the construction of roads, which
eventually leads to the increase in
vehicles. Laws, ordinances, rules,
and regulations that have been
tried and tested (and are still being
tweaked) by the MMDA and the
City of Manila will all go to waste
if we do not do our small yet im-
pactful share in alleviating trafc
congestion.
These are the things that ir-
ritate me the most. As a pedes-
trian, I pray my rosary every time
I cross our intersections because
pedestrians and drivers alike have
become terribly colorblind. A few
seconds of waiting will not hurt
as we wait for the trafc lights to
change color! Also, LRT and MRT
management can make the level of
service in our trains a little more
humane. Even sardines would
not want to squeeze themselves
into our sauna-like train carriages
packed with sweating passengers
who can barely breathe. And for
our vehicle-driving commuters,
it would be great if we could car-
pool with friends and family alike
and choose wisely when to use
our cars over cabs. Let us not text
while driving, and let us have hap-
py thoughts to avoid road rage.
Heavy trafc, sad to say, is now
the norm in our metropolis, but
let us all do our part in trying to
alleviate congestion through sus-
tainable transportation.
All aboard, please!
(The author is an associate
professor of the Decision Sciences
and Innovation Department of the
Ramon V. Del Rosario College of
Business of De La Salle University.
Although the author is from the
green school while Dr. Guillen is
fromthe blue school, both universi-
ties adhere to the principles that
Mother Earths cover must forever
be green and her skies and oceans
forever be blue. The green guy can
be reached at brian.gozun@dlsu.
edu.ph. The views expressed above
are the authors and do not neces-
sarily reect the ofcial position of
DLSU, its faculty, and its adminis-
trators.)
SANFRANCISCO For almost as
long as there have been comput-
ers, there have been people intent
in playing games with them.
Since young programmers at
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology came up with Space-
war! some 50 years ago, the world
of videogames has exploded into a
multibillion-dollar industry.
From the earliest days of
computer, these folks went after
computer graphics and went after
videogames, Gartner consumer
technologies research director
Brian Blau told AFP.
People enjoy games, and mar-
rying the concept of real-world
games with a computer and inter-
activity is really powerful.
Gartner predicts the world-
wide videogame market combin-
ing console, online, mobile, and
personal computer offerings will
expand from$101 billion this year
to $111 billion next year and top
$128 billion in 2017.
Whileplayonhigh-performance
desktop or laptop computers has
long captivated hardcore video-
game lovers, rival console makers
Microsoft, Sony, andNintendohave
successfully turned games into
standard family household enter-
tainment during the past 20 years,
with Xbox, PlayStation and Wii
hardware respectively.
CONSOLE KINGS
New-generation Xbox One and
PlayStation 4 consoles released
late last year are credited with
bringing new
life to a section
of the market
under pressure from the popular-
ity of smartphones and tablets.
But Nintendos latest console,
Wii U, has had trouble gaining
traction among players.
Console kings are also the big
names behind titles for play on
their hardware, but third-party
studios such as Activision Bliz-
zard, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft,
Disney Interactive, and Warner
Brothers are established titans in
game software.
While movie-like immersion
in play and broadening entertain-
ment menus to include streamed
films and television shows has
consoles proving their worth, mo-
bile games are on re.
There are more game apps
for smartphones or tablets than
any other type of mini-program
for mobile devices and it is the top
revenue-producing category, ac-
cording to Gartner.
APPS ON FIRE
Smartphones and tablets have
lured players from dedicated
handheld mo-
bile game de-
vices that, for a
time, were a hit with people who
wanted to play on the go.
Mobile game revenues can
come frompeople paying to down-
load apps or fromin-game trans-
actions in which players poney-up
to advance more quickly through
levels or buy abilities or digital
items.
Britain-based King Digital En-
tertainment, which is behind the
Candy Crush Saga game craze,
is set for a keenly anticipated
stock market debut. Other sizzling
mobile game rms include Rovio,
Wooga, and Supercell.
Even Zynga, which pioneered
online social games only to get
caught on its heels when players
turned tomobiledevices, is not out
for the count.
The San Francisco company is
intent on reviving a lineup that
includes Farmville and Words
With Friends along with a popu-
lar Zynga Poker title.
Mobile game revenue globally
is set to nearly double in the next
two years to $22 billion, according
to Gartner.
SPECTATOR SPORT
A new and ourishing eSport cat-
egory in which videogame play
is spectator sport complete with
commentators, sponsors and ads
has yet to be factored into the
global videogame revenue model.
Computer graphics represent
a new interaction paradigm, Blau
said. Todays high-detail graphics
and more immersive experiences
are almost science ction-like.
Innovations in game hardware
and software fromInternet-linked
eyewear to augmented reality pro-
grams are expected tofuel increas-
ing demand for play.
Too late
the ( justice) hero
STRATEGIC
PERSPECTIVE
Ren B. Azurin
IS SENATE President Franklin
Drilon already trying to create
some distance between himself
and his boss, President Aquino,
perhaps to re-insinuate himself
into the conversation on viable
presidential or vice-presidential
candidates for the 2016 elections?
When, last weekend, he publicly
assailed the Sandiganbayans
slow disposition of cases, he was
clearly contradicting party mate
Aquino who boasted recently, We
are moving closer to obtaining
true justice through the cases led
against those who have committed
crimes... (and) We are destroying
the last bastions of corruption.
Since observers had jeered the
Presidents boasts as patently ri-
diculous, it may be that Mr. Drilon
is now trying to curry favor with a
public openly frustrated at the tai
chi-like movement of justice in
this country.
Maybe Mr. Dri l on wants
to paint himself as the justice
champion. The hero who rides
into town and, with six-guns
blazing, brings back law and
order to the lawless frontier.
The long-sought answer to the
peoples prayers. If so, its not
a bad image to cultivate for an
aspiring president or vice-presi-
dent. The problem is persuading
people that the image is even
credible. And, as far as thats
concerned, one could reason-
ably argue that in some 28 years
in the public service as sena-
tor, Senate president (twice),
and Justice secretary (twice)
Mr. Drilon has had more than
enough chances to do the save-
the-people bit and implement
his Justice Agad ( justice at
once) vision. But, in fact, as a
long-time member of the Sen-
ate and several years as its
leader it is hard for him to
claim not to have at least sanc-
tioned assuming, charitably,
that he wasnt actually a part of
all the pork barrel scams and
influence peddling going on all
around him all these years.
Mr. Drilon is quoted as say-
ing, If we are to outrun graft and
corruption, it is imperative that
we resuscitate and recondition
our existing prosecutorial and
adjudicatory institutions against
this opponent. Sure. Of course.
But many reform advocates have
been saying the same thing for
years. And those in positions of
power to institute meaningful
improvements to our law en-
forcement and legal system like
Mr. Drilon have typically, over
the years, just played deaf, dumb,
and suspiciously blind.
If anything can illustrate viv-
idly the gaping holes in our justice
system, it is the pork barrel scam
investigations that the President
(strangely) imagines must dem-
onstrate his administrations com-
mitment to a campaign against
corruption and to a daang matu-
wid (straight path). Eight months
after it was rst exposed bya news-
paper (the Inquirer) note, not by
a law enforcement body or justice
ofcial there has been virtually
nothing happening in the subject
case other than press conferences
and televised hearings in the Sen-
ate that are no more than occa-
sions for posturing senators to lay
out for the public their intellectual
shortcomings.
Irritatingly, moreover, the cur-
rent Justice secretary, Atty. Leila
de Lima, maybe mirroring her
boss, boasts in media statements
of slam dunk evidence and yet
cannot explain why no one has
thus far been arrested, much less
COMMENTARY
J. Bradford DeLong
China, S1/ 5
China
fromS1/ 4
ANSHUN, China After a lifetime
of farming and mining in the hills
of southwest China, Zhang Zongfu
was thrust intosubsidized housing
closer to town, and into a monu-
mental urbanization drive aimed
at boosting growth.
Zhang likes his newly built digs,
which are efectively free, but city
life has been harder to settle into.
The 48-year-old villager lacks job
skills or prospects putting a ma-
jor wrinkle in Beijings blueprint
for prosperity.
Without work Im in trouble,
he said in his living room, over-
looking neat rows of freshly paint-
ed apartment blocks onthe edge of
Anshun in Guizhou, one of Chinas
poorest provinces.
The house is fine. But if you
have a house to live in and cant
feed yourself, whats the point?
he asked.
Zhangs situation illustrates
thedevelopmental dilemma facing
China as its rubberstamp parlia-
ment, the National Peoples Con-
gress, meets this week.
Economic growth and rising
prosperity are key to the Commu-
nist Partys claimto a right to rule,
and the legislators will put their
imprimatur on
reforms it has
promised.
By 2030, projections say a bil-
lion Chinese will live in cities
up 300 million from now, nearly
equal to the population of the
United States.
Beijing hopes that if the urban
inux earn and spend more it will
both reduce poverty faster and
help switch the economy to grow-
ing through consumption rather
than investment.
But if local governments simply
build the shells of cities with no
economy that former farmers can
participate in, they may simply be
digging a deeper investment hole
and creating neighborhoods full
of idle inhabitants.
This is certainly something
Ive seen in other places, where
you have people cut of from the
way theyve made their living their
entire life. Then theres nothing
really that they can do, said Tom
Miller, the Beijing-based author of
Chinas Urban Billion.
And if this
ha ppe ns on
a grand scale
across the country, then poten-
tially youre building up enormous
problems, hesaid. Thats thefear,
if you look 10 to 15 years ahead.
Guizhou is constructing 180
sites to resettle two million people
by 2020, surpassing even the 1.3
million relocated for the vast
Three Gorges Dam.
But while the first batches of
villagers have been taken to their
newwhite-trimhomes in Anshun,
it has not yet taken the country-
side out of the villagers.
Several said they missed the se-
curity of growing their own food.
Just in case, Zhang and his wife
who heaved a basket packed with
vegetables up four ights of stairs
to their apartment have filled
one of their three bedrooms with
giant sacks of rice.
NOWAYTOGOBACK
Under Xi Jinping the Communist
party has promised to speed up
changes to a hukou residency
systemwhich denies rural incom-
ers equal access to services such as
schooling and healthcare.
But specifics are still pending
and cities, especially large and
crowded ones, have resisted lifting
hukou restrictions and spending
more on migrants.
Experts call such reforms criti-
cal, as a social safety net would
encouragemigrants tospend more
and better education would im-
prove the prospects of the next
generation.
Relocated villagers in Anshun
complained that government of-
cials promised compensation and
jobs but, since the move in June
2013, have only provided a few
days training on smarter farming.
ANALYSIS
Chinas urban drive risks
digging economic hole
tried and convicted. Further, for
the last ve months, the Ofce of
the Ombudsman has been inves-
tigating the evidence but has yet
to le a case against those accused
in this massive plunder of the
peoples money.
My, my. The Filipino people
are well in their rights to throw
up their hands in sheer exaspera-
tion and ask, is this slow motion,
snail-paced, tai chi-like move-
ment at all appropriate for the
administration of justice in a
society? And, are the drawn-out,
protracted, purported investiga-
tions into the pork barrel scam
not actually an attempt to just
limit the damage and cover up the
involvement of key administra-
tion allies?
President Aquino is clearly
delusional if he thinks his govern-
ment has adequately demonstrat-
ed its stand with justice, honesty,
and accountability or that he is
shaping a better society for a
justice-deprived Filipino people.
Indeed, he has yet to answer sat-
isfactorily the question, what are
these so-called reforms you say
you have instituted?
Mr. Drilon is reported to have
lamented the fact that the San-
diganbayan takes an average of
seven years to decide a case, from
the ling of the information to the
promulgation of judgment, He
then is said to have added, rather
superuously, Such a drawn-out
process of litigation is injustice in
itself. The people donot need him
to tell themthat.
From a wider perspective,
though, Mr. Drilon is guilty of
selective targeting because the
glaring faults in our justice sys-
tem encompass more than just
the Sandiganbayan. According to
the Davide-era Action Program
for Judicial Reform, the crucial
issues that need to be addressed
if we are to have a justice sys-
tem that is fair, accessible and
efficient, independent and self-
governed are: i) case congestion
and delay, ii) budget deficiencies,
iii) the politicized system of ju-
dicial appointments, iv) the lack
of judicial autonomy, v) human
resource inadequacies, vi) dys-
functional administrative struc-
ture and operating systems, vii)
insufficient public information
and collaboration with society,
viii) perceived corruption in the
judiciary, and ix) limited access
to justice by the poor. To that, one
has to add other elements neces-
sary to bring about reform in our
system for bringing lawbreakers
to justice. These would include
programs and equipment invest-
ments to enhance law enforce-
ment capabilities (for the preven-
tion and solution of crimes) and
to improve correction facilities
(for the punishment and reha-
bilitation of criminals). Action is
such areas is directly within the
sole power of the President and,
four years into Mr. Aquinos ad-
ministration, nothing significant
has been done in this connection.
Buying the police Glock pistols
does not qualify as institutional
reform.
Indisputably, since Mr. Aquino
has not taken meaningful action
to introduce reforms in the areas
that he has repeatedly stressed
are the focus of his administration
corruption and lack of justice
then he can no longer qualify as
the peoples hero and savior. Thus,
perhaps, the attempt by Aquino
ally (and once-rabid Arroyo sup-
porter) Drilon to begin to portray
himself nowinthat role. It is prob-
ably much too late.
Several ridiculed the idea, say-
ing they had left their land and
sold their farming equipment.
Theres no way to go back and
farm, said 60-year-old Nuo Min-
gsheng. Its too far away, the land
has not been cultivated, the farm-
ing tools are gone, the houses have
been dug up.
Right now Im living off the
farming tools and other things I
sold from my old home, and Im
not sure what Ill do after that,
he said.
For urbanisation to work local
authorities will have to adapt to
reality, said University of Wash-
ington professor KamWing Chan.
With some exceptions, he
said, Local bureaucrats are very
bureaucratic, they just follow
the plan without seriously con-
sidering the local situation.
But the trend of urbanisation
is inexorable, especially among
young people, said Jonathan
Woetzel, a Shanghai-based direc-
tor at consultancy McKinsey and
Company and co-chair of the Ur-
ban China Initiative.
Even without a job guarantee
or hukou reform, he pointed out,
it hasnt stopped anybody from
migrating so far.
As productivity increases you
expect to see better standards of
living, he said.
Yet back in Anshun, Guo Taifu, a
43-year-oldformerminer, wondered
howhewouldsupport his threechil-
dren. Ofcials had ofered work at a
construction site but villagers con-
sideredthepaytoolow, hesaid.
Imworried, period.
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By Carol Huang AFP
FEATURE
TORKHAM GATE, Afghanistan
Trundling across the Afghan-
Pakistani border in a handcart,
Shayma dismisses militant
threats and conspiracy theories
about polio vaccinators while her
four children receive drops that
could nally eradicate the crip-
pling disease.
About 1.3 million oral vacci-
nations are administered every
year to children at the Torkham
Gate crossing, the focal point of
an intense global campaign to
eradicate polio by 2018.
But Afghanistan and Pakistan
two of the three remaining en-
demic polionations faceatough
task due to ghting on either side
of the border, Taliban opposition
to vaccinations and rumors that
the drops could cause impotency.
Families hurrying through
the Torkham mountain pass are
diverted down a channel where
health workers deftly deliver two
liquid drops into the mouths of all
children aged under ve.
We want the vaccinations so
that my children dont become
disabled, Shayma told AFP from
behind an all-enveloping blue
burqa as she headed home from
Peshawar in Pakistan to the Af-
ghan city of Jalalabad.
It is not true that the vacci-
nation is bad. I dont agree with
this, she said. I believe it stops
polio.
Pakistan is a major concern for
anti-polio experts with 93 cases
last year, up from 58 in 2012.
Vaccinators have been shot
dead, bombed or taken hostage in
Peshawar, Karachi and elsewhere,
and some anti-polio programs
have been suspended.
Twelve people were killed and
11 injured when three roadside
bombs targeting a polio vaccina-
tion team in Pakistans restive
northwest exploded Saturday.
The Pakistan Taliban oppose
immunisation, saying it is a cover
for US spying, and some people be-
lieve it is also a plot to poison Mus-
limchildrenandcause infertility.
Polios last stand on the Afghan-Pakistan border
By Ben Sheppard AFP
By Glenn Chapman AFP
While Afghanistan has had
notable success in tackling polio,
with 80 cases in 2011 and just 14
in 2013, eradication may be a long
way of due to the constant ood
of people back and forth across
the porous border.
SOME FAMILIES REFUSE
VACCINE
It does pose a big challenge in
trying to ensure each and every
child is vaccinated every sin-
gle time, UNICEF spokesman
Kshitij Joshi said.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are
the same epidemiological block
and it is important that children
on either side of the border are
vaccinated to ensure absolute pro-
tection.
Vacci nat ed chi l dren are
marked on the thumb with a pen
that lasts one month, but catch-
ing every child is nearly impos-
sible in the crush of people on
the colonial-era
frontier, which
is not officially
recognised by Afghanistan.
The vaccine is voluntary and
is rejected by some families. One
elderly man shouted at health
workers and refused to allow his
child to receive drops.
Sometimes we find a person
like this, but the majority of
people know that it is good, said
vaccination supervisor Asifullah
who, like many Afghans, only uses
one name.
In Jalalabad city, on the main
road to Kabul, UNICEF also tar-
gets migrant communities who
move regularly between the two
count r i es i n
search of work.
One father
living in a makeshift tent said he
had been told that the drops had
a bad efect and would make his
children naughty.
After a discussion, UNICEF fe-
male coordinator Rana persuaded
him to allow his family to receive
the vaccine.
Female volunteers are crucial
to the anti-polio campaign as they
areabletoenter privatehomes, but
they cant access more dangerous
areas inthe Afghanborder region.
It is difcult for women to go
to several districts, said Rana.
We are not allowed as the secu-
rity is not good.
Taliban militants in southern
Afghanistan generally support
vaccination a result, says UNI-
CEF, of years of work ensuring
that the program is seen as strict-
ly neutral.
But in Pakistan and some
parts of eastern Afghanistan, the
Taliban have stopped vaccinators
reaching children in key polio
enclaves.
The Taliban in Kunar and
Nangarhar provinces oppose
the vaccinations, so we have
20,000 children there who have
been unvaccinated for several
months, Faizullah Kakar, the
Afghan presidents polio special-
ist, told AFP.
These places are near Kabul,
so we are very nervous that if it
gets to the capital it could spread
quickly.
The risk was highlighted last
month when Kabul recorded its
rst polio case since 2001 after a
three-year-old girl was diagnosed,
probably due to her father carry-
ing the disease from Pakistan.
TACKLING TALIBAN
PROPAGANDA
The problem is rstly the Tali-
ban, but it is also refugees in Ku-
nar who are somehow convinced
that vaccinations are not good for
their children and they also tell
local Afghans not to vaccinate,
said Kakar.
We stopped three FM radio
stations from constantly broad-
casting propaganda against the
polio campaign.
And we try to halt books circu-
lating that pick bits of science and
claim that vaccines are from pig
products or cause infertility.
The Taliban use how Osama
bin Laden was found (in part
through a fake vaccination pro-
gram), so they say it is about spy-
ing.
Worldwide, polio is now re-
stricted to two endemic areas
the Afghan-Pakistan border and
northern Nigeria.
But unless vaccination at key
points such as Torkham Gate
succeeds in stamping polio out
completely, the risk of outbreaks
in other countries will always re-
main.
For Kakar, there is one main
obstacle to ridding the world of
a highly contagious disease that
easily preventable but impossible
to cure.
If we have peace here, we
would hope to end polio very
soon, he said. Without peace, it
is a lot more uncertain.
AN Afghan man pushes a cart transporting his family as they cross over the border from Pakistan at the main Torkham border in Nagarhar Province on Feb. 23. More than 1.3
million vaccinations are administered every year to children crossing at Torkham Gate, a focal point of the global campaign to eradicate polio by 2018.
AFP
FEATURE
RURAL residents doing their washing near the city of Anshun, Guizhou Province, China
on Feb. 20. Chinas leaders have pledged to better integrate the rural migrants pouring
into cities but who are often kept on the margins and denied government assistance.
AFP
Thursday, March 6, 2014 6/S1 Corporate News
Separate brands maintained
By Claire-Ann M. C. Feliciano
Reporter
No sense seen in merging Maxs, Pancake House menus
JONATHAN L. CELLONA
MAXs Group President Robert F. Trota (right), concurrent president and chief executive offcer of Pancake House, Inc., and Jim T.
Fuentebella, Maxs Group branding director and a director of Pancake House, pose after their press conference yesterday at The
Peninsula Manila hotel in Makati City.
MAXs Group of Companies is
rming up strategies on growing
the newly acquired restaurant
chain of Pancake House, Inc.,
building on synergies between
them even as it keeps existing
brands separate, company ofcials
said in a brieng yesterday at The
Peninsula Manila in Makati City.
Maxs Group President Robert
F. Trota, who also now sits as presi-
dent and chief executive officer
(CEO) of listed Pancake House,
said synergies are being explored
to leverage Maxs and Pancake
House brands.
Both brands are positioned
for growth. Right now we are in
the process of rming up numbers
in terms of growth strategy, Mr.
Trota said when asked on expan-
sion plans.
PLANS
Mr. Trota said Maxs Group will
continue opening 10-15 stores
composed of Maxs Restaurant,
Krispy Kreme and Jamba Juice
every year.
At the same time, the group
which has a network of 13 Maxs
Restaurants overseas plans to
open six more stores in the Middle
East in the next two years, the same
official said. We do plan to open
six more stores in the Middle East
in the next year or two, he said,
adding this would add to its three
existing branches in that region.
For North America, where the
company has 10 stores, Mr. Trota
said: We are continuously looking
for opportunities in North Ameri-
ca. This is all part of the expansion
plan.
We are also looking at other
Asian countries, but we havent set
our foot there. We are maximizing
our resources by growing where
we already are, he added.
Maxs Group has over 150 stores
here and abroad. Founders of
homegrown Maxs Restaurant also
introduced international brands
Krispy Kreme and Jamba Juice in
the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Pancake House
Group has 105 outlets of its ag-
ship Pancake House brand. It also
has close to 300 outlets of other
brands: Dencios, Kabisera ng
Dencios, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzlin
Pepper Steak, Le Coeur De France,
The Chicken Rice Shop, Maple and
Yellow Cab.
Now that were working with
the Pancake House Group, we are
looking at how we are going to
grow the Pancake House and Yel-
low Cab [brands], Mr. Trota said.
He said the company will con-
duct strategic planning with key
individuals of Pancake House
Group to draw up an expansion
strategy and set targets.
Were going to be there to grow
the business. Its something were
working with the diferent CEOs
of the brands, Mr. Trota added.
Maxs Group last Feb. 25 com-
pleted its acquisition of an 89.95%
interest in Pancake House and
promptly assumed leadership of
the listed rm.
The acquisition involved pur-
chase of 193,183,967 privately held
shares of Pancake House from
former principal shareholders and
a tender ofer for 39,967,233 pub-
licly held shares.
Asked on plans to infuse Maxs
Groups assets into Pancake House
leading to a backdoor listing of
the former Mr. Trota replied:
It was more of a strategic acquisi-
tion.
Whether it was listed or not,
we would still buy it.
The ofcial also said there are
no plans for now to consolidate the
two restaurant networks into one
holding rm.
Well keep the two groups sep-
arate and run them as they are,
Mr. Trota stressed.
There are advantages in keep-
ing them separate. We can still
create synergies among the two,
he added.
We almost have similar cost
structures: cost of sales, labor,
and expenses. We will try to lever-
age on that so we can bring down
costs, he explained.
Shared services like IT (infor-
mation technology) can be imple-
mented. We have our separate HR
(human resource) directors so
they could collaborate and come
up with best practices that can
benet both groups.
Jim T. Fuentebella, Maxs
Group branding director and a
director of Pancake House, said
made more sense to keep the iden-
tity of each brand intact.
People go to these brands. It
doesnt make business sense for
us to merge all recipes together.
Thats the core of the businesses
and that is what will make them
strong, Mr. Fuentebella ex-
plained.
I think the idea is understand-
ing each brand really well and
adapting to changes but never
forgetting what makes each of the
brands so special.
Pancake House recorded a net
income of P116.11 million as of
September last year, up by 53.02%
from P75.88 million in the same
nine months in 2012. Revenues
grew 8% to P2.7 billion from P2.5
billion, while cost of sales rose
5.82% to P2.18 billion from P2.06
billion. Its shares ended at P23.25
apiece yesterday, down P8.75 or
27.35% from P32 each on Tuesday.
By Daryll Edisonn D. Saclag
Reporter
EMPERADOR Distillers Inc.,
the liquor arm of Alliance Global
Group, has inked an agreement
with United Kingdom-based
multinational alcoholic beverage
maker Diageo to bring the latters
brands here, the Andrew L. Tan-
led rm yesterday said in a state-
ment attached to a disclosure.
Emperador Distillers, Inc., the
largest distilled spirits company
in the Philippines, and Diageo, the
worlds leading premium drinks
business, have signed an agree-
ment to bring world-iconic brands
to the Philippines, read the dis-
closure.
The partnership signals op-
portunities for growth in the al-
coholic drinks sector driven by
the Philippines thriving economy
and a rapidly growing middle class
that is expected to almost double
by 2020.
No other details of the agree-
ment were provided nor were of-
ficials immediately available for
comment.
Diageo, according to its Web
site, produces Johnnie Walker,
Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Bu-
chanans and Bushmills whiskies;
Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One
vodkas; as well as Baileys, Captain
Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Emperador, in May 2012,
bought the manufacturing facility
of the Philippine unit of Diageo
in Laguna to increase production
and enhance competitiveness.
Emperador is the company be-
hind its namesake brandy, Gener-
oso Brandy and The BaR avored
vodka.
Its lineup also includes Em-
perador Deluxe Spanish Edition
brandy, which it produces in Spain
and which it introduced in the
Philippines in March last year, as
well as E&J Gallo wines which it
imports from California. It also
distributes potato snack products
under the Pik-Nik brand.
Its net income grew by nearly a
fth to P5.8 billion last year from
P5 billion in 2012 as revenues
surged 25.6% to P29.6 billion from
P23.6 billion.
Its sales volume, however,
climbed just 7% due to the impact
of higher excise tax implemented
last year.
[But] with a sales volume of 33
million cases, Emperador main-
tains its position as the worlds
largest selling brandy brand in
2013, aside from being the larg-
est liquor company in the Philip-
pines, the company had claimed
in a disclosure last month.
To further boost sales, Empera-
dor said it will be spending some P4
billion this year to expand produc-
tion capacity in the Philippines.
Moreover, the company said it
has invested P5.8 billion, so far, in
vineyards, distilleries and bodegas
in Spain.
Grupo Emperador Spain S.A.,
a subsidiary of Emperador, last
month agreed to invest P3.7 billion
for a 50% interest in Bodega Las
Copas S.L., a company owned by
Gonzales Byass S.A. Emperador
had described Bodega Las Copas
as a fully integrated brandy pro-
duction company that owns and
operates a vineyard near Toledo,
a distillery in Tomelloso, Ciudad
Real province, and brandy produc-
tion premises in Jerez.
Grupo Emperador, in October
last year, acquired a 49-hectare
(ha) of vineyard land in the prov-
ince of Madrid, Spain, bringing the
total area of its vineyards in that
country to nearly 1,000 ha.
Emperador is a subsidiary of
Alliance Global, which is into food
and beverage business, real estate,
hotel and gaming, and quick ser-
vice restaurants.
Its shares added 16 centavos or
1.38% to end P11.74 apiece yester-
day from P11.58 each on Tuesday.
Emperador teams up
with producer
of Johnnie Walker
ABS-CBN Corp. has borrowed
P1.65 billion to renance debt, the
Lopez-owned broadcaster said in a
brief disclosure yesterday.
ABS-CBN Corp. obtained a
four-year term loan of P1.65 bil-
lion from Security Bank Corp. on
Feb. 28. The loans interest rate is
4.25% per annum, the disclosure
read, adding that the company had
secured last Jan. 30 approval of its
board of directors for the debt.
It said debt proceeds will be
used to renance its P1.65-billion
loan with Security Bank, and that
the latest transaction was ar-
ranged by SB Capital Investment
Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary
of Security Bank.
Yesterdays disclosure also put
ABS-CBNs total outstanding debt
at P20.364 billion.
The broadcaster has also been
raising funds to nance its growth
initiatives.
Last Jan. 28, it raised an initial
P6 billion from the sale of seven-
year retail corporate bonds with
annual interest rate of 5.335%.
The sale was the first tranche of
up to P10 billion in such debt the
Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion approved for ABS-CBN the
preceding week.
The rm stated in a SEC ling
on Jan. 21 that earnings from the
bond sale would be used to grow
its core businesses, diversify rev-
enues sources and widen its distri-
bution network, adding that bal-
ance (of the planned bond sale)
shall be issued within one year.
The broadcaster reported in
November last year that its net
income rose 22% to P1.891 billion
as of September from P1.555 bil-
lion in the same nine months in
2012, as consolidated revenues
grew 16% to P25.227 billion from
P21.791 billion.
ABS-CBN shares gained P1.00
or 3.45% to end P30 apiece yes-
terday from P29 each on Monday.
AJMS
Lopez broadcaster
borrows P1.65 billion
PHINMA Corp. swung to prot
last year on the back of most of its
units performance, the company
said in a statement attached to a
disclosure yesterday.
Specifically, it ended last year
with a consolidated net income
of P261.7 million, compared to a
loss of P91.6 million in 2012. Net
income attributable to controlling
shareholders amounted to P224
million in 2013.
Revenues increased by 6% an-
nually to P4.8 billion.
Revenues of Union Galvasteel
Corp. climbed 9% to P3.171 billion
from P2.911 billion, leading to a
48% annual improvement in net
income to P103.8 million.
A 16% hike in enrollment to
31,114 students drove Phinma
Education Networks (PEN) net
income to rise by more than half
to P160.8 million from P103.9 mil-
lion. In early 2013, PEN expanded
Cagayan de Oro College, Inc.s
Basic Education Department and
established a new Araullo Univer-
sity campus in Cabanatuan, the
statement explained.
It also said equitized income
of Trans-Asia Oil and Energy
Development Corp. rose 22% to
P150.2 million from P123.5 mil-
lion.
Phinma Property Holdings
Corp., which is into affordable
housing, grew revenue 18% to
P1.042 billion but ended the year
with a modest P15.5-million net
income.
Finally, competitive intelli-
gence consultancies Fuld & Co.
and Fuld Philippines grew com-
bined revenues by 10% to P519.8
million from P471.3 million, but
ended 2013 with a P35-million
combined net loss mainly due
to one-of expenses to launch re-
search business in Asia.
PROFIT of listed Atlas Consoli-
dated Mining and Development
Corp. fell last year under the
weight of foreign exchange losses
and lower world metal prices, the
rm said in a statement attached
to its disclosure yesterday.
Net income dropped 45% to
P1.896 billion from P3.434 billion
even as core net income edged up
4% to P2.616 billion from P2.526
billion, according to unaudited
nancial and operating highlights
contained in the statement.
The lower net income, the
miner explained, was due mainly
to recognition of an unrealized
foreign exchange loss of P1.02 bil-
lion on US dollar-denominated
debts versus the P593-million
gain the previous year.
The groups debt obligations
are mostly US dollar-denominated
to match US dollar revenues, the
company explained in its state-
ment.
This establishes a natural
hedge against foreign exchange
uctuations. Thus, when US dollar
debts are settled using US dollar
cash reserves of the group, there
is no realizable foreign exchange
efect.
Core net income, however,
which strips out foreign exchange
and market-to-market adjust-
ments, rose 4% to P2.62 billion.
Without the efect of the un-
realized foreign exchange loss,
net income would have reached
P2.92 billion in 2013 and P2.84
billion in 2012, translating to a 3%
increase year on year, the state-
ment read.
Lower metal prices, Atlas Min-
ing said, resulted in a 7% decline
in revenues to P14.451 billion from
P15.540 billion.
This fall was tempered by an
8% drop in operating cash cost to
P9.046 billion from P9.798 billion.
The company noted that real-
ized price of copper dropped 9%
annually to an average of $3.30
per pound while realized price of
gold decreased 17% year on year to
$1,385 per ounce.
The company said its wholly
owned Carmen Copper Corp. saw
a 2% increase in total production
to 91.51 million pounds of copper
metal concentrate from 89.92 mil-
lion pounds.
The subsidiary also raised aver-
age daily milling capacity by 4% to
43,010 tons per day (tpd) with
a record peak milling capacity of
50,000 tpd reached in July last
year.
Volume of shipments of cop-
per mental concentrate, however,
slipped 1% to 90.56 million pounds
from 91.41 million pounds, Atlas
Mining also said.
On the other hand, volume of
gold metal in concentrate soared
51% to 19,555 ounces from 12,930
ounces.
Our strategy to optimize pro-
duction and reduce cost is paying
of as we are able to grow our core
income in 2013 despite weaker
metal prices, the statement
quoted Atlas Mining Executive
Vice-President Adrian S. Ramos
as saying.
The company said it embarked
on a P5.4-billion expansion pro-
gram last year to increase Carmen
Coppers 40,000-tpd capacity by
50% to 60,000 tpd. Initial com-
missioning of the project, as an-
nounced last month, yielded posi-
tive results.
We are very excited as we near
the completion of our expansion
project. With higher production
capacity, we will achieve econo-
mies of scale that will position us
to be even more competitive in the
future, Mr. Ramos said.
Last month, Atlas Mining
announced that the expanded
processing plant was expected to
be fully operational within this
month.
Carmen Copper which first
bared plans to upgrade its milling
facility within its complex in Cebu
in 2012 engages in metallic min-
ing and mineral exploration.
It operates copper mines in
Toledo City in Cebu which pri-
marily produce copper metal
concentrate, gold and silver for
export.
Shares of its parent gained 20
centavos or 1.27% to P15.98 apiece
yesterday. Claire-Ann Marie
C. Feliciano
FIVE MORE hydropower plants
with combined capacity 82.85
megawatts (MW) will proceed to
construction stage after the En-
ergy department declared these
projects commercially feasible.
Data posted on the depart-
ments Web site showed that new
certicates conrming commerci-
ality of the projects were awarded
in the last two months.
Specifically, the Energy de-
partment gave the green light for
construction of two projects in
Benguet: Cordillera Hydro Elec-
tric Power Corp.s 60-MW plant on
a site straddling the municipalities
of Kapangan and Kibungan; as well
as Hedcor, Inc.s 3.8-MW plant in
Tuba town.
QuadRiver Energy Corp. se-
cured similar certificates for its
11-MW Tinoc 2 and 8-MW Tinoc 3
projects located in the town of Ti-
noc in Ifugao province. QuadRiver
last year received a similar certi-
cate for its 4.1-MW Tinoc 1 plant.
A 50-kilowatt project of Phil-
Carbon, Inc. in Zamboanga City
was also certified by the Energy
department.
The new projects add to the
25 hydropower projects with
combined capacity of 225.55 MW
that were allowed to proceed to
construction stage last year.
The department is still evaluat-
ing declarations of commerciality
of 23 more hydropower projects.
Mario C. Marasigan, the En-
ergy departments director for
Renewable Energy Management
Bureau, said last year that de-
velopers who receive certicates
confirming declaration of com-
merciality can proceed with
construction of their renewable
energy projects.
The conrmation also signies
that these projects are intended to
be applied under the FIT (feed-in
tarif) once they nish construc-
tion and start their commercial
operations.
Under FIT, renewable energy
developers will dispatch the ca-
pacity of their projects to the grid
at a fixed rate for a period of 20
years. The Energy Regulatory
Commission approved, in July last
year, FIT rates for run-of-river
hydro (P5.90 per kilowatt-hour);
bi omass (P6. 63/kWh); wi nd
(P8.53/kWh); and solar (P9.68/
kWh). The rates are based on the
assigned installation ceilings per
technology, which total 750 MW.
Run-of-river hydro and biomass
projects had been allocated 250
MW each; wind power got 200
MW; and solar power, 50 MW.
Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano
Forex losses, lower prices weigh on miners bottom line
More hydro plants to be built
Subsidiaries
buoy Phinmas
2013 profit
Thursday, March 6, 2014 S1/7 Property&Infrastructure
Project Concreting of various Colony Roads
Requirements 1. General requirements
2. DPWH contractors registration documents
Proponent DPWH, Cagayan Second District Engineering Office,
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan
Estimated Cost P9.65 million
Project Duration 75 calendar days
Important Dates 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents is from February 25 to
March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
2. Pre-Bid Conference is on March 6, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
3. Receipt of Bids is on March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
4. Opening of Bids is on March 18, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
Important Notes 1. Only registered contractors at Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH) can participate.
2. The BAC will issue hard copies of Bid Documents to
eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee
of TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000.00).
3. Unregistered contractors may submit their LOIs and their
application for registration to the DPWH POCW Central
Offce before the deadline for the receipt of LOIs.
4. The DPWH Central BAC-TWG will first process the
contractors applications for registration and issue the
Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC) before
processing their LOIs.
5. The DPWH, Cagayan Second District Engineering Offce,
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan reserves the right to accept
or reject any bids, annul the bidding process anytime
before Contract award, without incurring any liability to
the affected bidders.
Project Concreting of Sitio Dugo Road
Requirements 1. General requirements
2. DPWH contractors registration documents
Proponent DPWH, Cagayan Second District Engineering Office,
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan
Estimated Cost P7.72 million
Project Duration 75 calendar days
Important Dates 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents is from February 25 to
March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
2. Pre-Bid Conference is on March 6, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
3. Receipt of Bids is on March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
4. Opening of Bids is on March 18, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
Important Notes 1. Only registered contractors at Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH) can participate.
2. The BAC will issue hard copies of Bid Documents to
eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee
of TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000.00).
3. Unregistered contractors may submit their LOIs and their
application for registration to the DPWH POCW Central
Offce before the deadline for the receipt of LOIs.
4. The DPWH Central BAC-TWG will first process the
contractors applications for registration and issue the
Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC) before
processing their LOIs.
5. The DPWH, Cagayan Second District Engineering Offce,
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan reserves the right to accept
or reject any bids, annul the bidding process anytime
before Contract award, without incurring any liability to
the affected bidders.
Project Construction/Concreting of various Roads, Alubug,
Cagayan
Requirements 1. General requirements
2. DPWH contractors registration documents
Proponent DPWH, Cagayan Second District Engineering Office,
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan
Estimated Cost P9.00 million
Project Duration 75 calendar days
Important Dates 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents is from February 25 to
March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
2. Pre-Bid Conference is on March 6, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
3. Receipt of Bids is on March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
4. Opening of Bids is on March 18, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
Important Notes 1. Only registered contractors at Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH) can participate.
2. The BAC will issue hard copies of Bid Documents to
eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee
of TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000.00).
3. Unregistered contractors may submit their LOIs and their
application for registration to the DPWH POCW Central
Offce before the deadline for the receipt of LOIs.
4. The DPWH Central BAC-TWG will first process the
contractors applications for registration and issue the
Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC) before
processing their LOIs.
5. The DPWH, Cagayan Second District Engineering Offce,
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan reserves the right to accept
or reject any bids, annul the bidding process anytime
before Contract award, without incurring any liability to
the affected bidders.
BIDDING SCHEDULE
LISTED real estate developer
Century Properties Group, Inc.
has completed and turned over the
third tower at Azure Urban Resort
Residences, its six-hectare beach-
inspired condominium project in
Paraaque City, the company said
in a statement last Tuesday.
Azures central amenity space
Paris Beach Club and the first
phase of Azure Beach have also
been completed and will ofcially
open in the middle this month, the
company added.
The first two towers of Azure
Rio and Santorini which were
completed last year have a total of
1,700 units.
The third Azure tower, St. Tro-
pez, will turn over close to 600
units within the month.
Completion of Azures first
three of nine buildings represents
36% of total units planned for the
entire beach-themed project.
As of the third quarter of 2013,
Azure had pre-sold 98% or over
4,000 of its launched units.
The entire project was launched
in 2010.
Azures strength lies in its de-
livery of a permanent residence
within a beach resort environ-
ment. Filipinos all over the world
fully embraced the concept,
because to us, life by the beach
provides a relaxing and reward-
ing experience. We are proud to
say that the Azure residents will
fully experience this unique de-
velopment concept very soon,
the statement quoted Century
Properties Chief Operating Ofcer
John Victor R. Antonio as saying.
All towers at Azure are named
after popular beach destinations.
Apart from Rio and Santorini,
the other towers are St. Tropez,
Positano, Miami, Maldives, Maui,
Boracay, and Bahamas.
The Paris Beach Club, one of
the centerpieces of Azure, was
designed to specifications of in-
ternational celebrity Paris Hilton.
The three-level beach club was
completed recently, with cleaning
and testing of the facilities cur-
rently in nal stages.
Ms. Hilton is scheduled to visit
on March 10 to inaugurate the
beach club.
The rst phase of Azure Beach
has also been completed and is un-
dergoing nal testing. This facility
features ne beach sand, simulat-
ed ocean waves, waterfalls and an
infinity pool that overflows into
two private beach coves located at
opposite ends of the project.
In the same statement, Century
Properties tagged Azure Urban
Resort Residences as one of its
fast-selling residential develop-
ments, among other projects such
as Acqua Private Residences in
Mandaluyong City, the Residences
at Commonwealth in Quezon City,
as well as Trump Tower and the
newly launched Century Spire at
Century City in Makati City.
The company announced last
Jan. 28 that it generated P24.6
billion in reservation sales last
year, representing 15% growth
from 2012 and the highest level
of reservation sales in its 28-year
history.
Its net income grew 12.32%
to P1.586 billion as of September
last year from P1.412 billion in the
same nine months in 2012. In the
same comparative periods, rev-
enues rose 11.91% to P8.083 billion
from P7.223 billion, while costs
and expenses climbed 8.06% to
P5.781 billion from P5.350 billion.
Since it was founded in 1986,
Century Properties has been en-
gaged in real estate development
through subsidiaries Century City
Development Corp.; Century Lim-
itless Corp.; Century Communi-
ties Corp.; and Century Properties
Management, Inc..
Its shares gained two centa-
vos or 1.32% to close P1.53 apiece
yesterday from P1.51 each last
Tuesday.
New tower completed
for condo project
Also for pet owners
Ortigas & Co. last Feb. 15 opened a fenced dog park at Circulo Verde, called Hachi Park. Named after Hachiko, the loyal
Akita that lived in the 1920s to early 1930s and waited daily at Shibuya station in Japan for his owner even nine years after
the latters death, the 365-square-meter park enables dog owners to unleash their pets for play. The park, whose entrance is
shown here in an undated photo which Ortigas e-mailed to media on Feb. 27, has stations equipped with rubbish bins and
water vessels, as well as benches people can use as they watch their dogs play. The park is open 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Circulo
Verde itself is a 10-hectare residential project in Bagumbayan, Quezon City that is set to have a total of 15 towers. The proj-
ect features 70% open space with jogging and biking lanes, areas for lounging, and now, Hachi Park.
Middle class buoy HK property tycoons amid risks
HONG KONG When things
get choppy at the top of the prop-
erty ladder, it pays to have your
feet planted on the middle rungs,
which makes developers Cheung
Kong (Holdings) and Sun Hung
Kai Properties the best bets to
weather the storm brewing in
Hong Kong.
These powerful property devel-
opers are targeting middle-class,
rst-time buyers who are exempt
from the impact of government
cooling measures at a time when
secondary home transactions are
hovering at a 17-year low.
This represents a large poten-
tial market for developers launch-
ing new projects, so long as they
price units affordably and draw
rst-time buyers from the second-
ary to the primary market, said
Raymond Liu, a property analyst
at brokerage Macquarie.
First-time buyers comprised
70% of the market last year, up
from 53% in 2011, Mr. Liu said.
With 45% of its salable units
this year aimed at mass-market
buyers, the highest among its
peers, Macquarie has identified
Sun Hung Kai as a potential win-
ner in this market, although suc-
cess will come at the expense of
prot margins.
It ranked Henderson Land De-
velopment Company Limited sec-
ond with 37% of its new launches
considered afordable, or below
the HK$6 million (US$773,600)
mark for a unit.
With 44% of the large-scale
housing estates, a market that
has seen a stronger take-up than
many single-block developments,
Cheung Kong was singled out by
Barclays as another developer best
placed to win in this market.
End-users, particularly first-
time buyers, continued to under-
pin the demand for small to me-
dium-sized units, Sun Hung Kai
said in a ling to the Hong Kong
stock exchange on Friday after it
reported a 7.5% drop in underlying
prot for its scal rst half, its low-
est since the rst half of 2010.
The company also said it will
increase its production for small
to medium-sized units over the
medium term.
On the ip side, Sino Land Co.
Ltd. and Kerry Properties Ltd.,
which have 87% and 82%, respec-
tively, of their salable units in the
mid-end and luxury sectors, are
the most exposed among peers to
buyers directly afected by govern-
ment property curbs, according to
data from Macquarie.
MARGINS SQUEEZED
Prices for Hong Kong real estate
have soared nearly 120% since
2008 despite government eforts
to cool the market and the citys
property tycoons have taken a hit
as buyers drive tougher bargains
in one of the worlds most expen-
sive real estate markets.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong Fi-
nance Secretary John Tsang said
the government would not loosen
the property cooling measures
that have forced developers to
impose steep discounts to meet
sales targets, weighing on profit
margins.
With new home supply fore-
cast to hit an eight-year high in
2014, competition to lure buyers
will intensify, which could trigger
even steeper discounts and further
pressure margins.
Sun Hung Kai recently ofered
a longer payment period of up to
540 days for first-time buyers, a
so-called move in first and pay
later tactic that analysts said was
rare.
The measure is designed to give
people who want to upgrade more
time to sell their old homes, with-
out having to pay higher stamp
duties imposed in February last
year on their new ones, analysts
say.
Hong Kongs middle class is
waiting for developers to offer
price cuts and more exible pay-
ment options, said Wong Leung
Sing, research director at Centa-
line Property Agency.
Sun Hung Kai is doing quite
well, so other developers such
as Cheung Kong and New World
Development Co. Ltd. may follow
similar sales tactics for their up-
coming large-scale projects, said
Mr. Wong.
GOOD TIMES OVER
Sales have shown signs of a pickup
thanks to mass-market demand
and various incentives, although
with a 10% price drop forecast for
this year and a surge in construc-
tion costs, some industry watchers
said the good times may be over
for the citys developers.
UBS estimates profit margins
for Hong Kongs six major devel-
Gaisano retail arm plans 100 stores by 2017
CEBU CITY Metro Retail Group,
retail arm of Gaisano-owned Vic-
sal Development Corp., recently
opened the rst of 10 stores it
plans to build this year to reach its
goal of expanding the Metro chain
to 100 stores by 2017.
Eduardo C. Ponce, president
and chief operating officer of
Metro Retail Group, said on the
sidelines of the launch last Feb. 27
that the companys main thrust is
to build or acquire and redevelop
retail units in department store,
supermarket or hypermarket for-
mats instead of a shopping mall.
To date, we have about 42
retail outlets nationwide and we
plan to more than double that to
100 by 2017, he told journalists
here after the opening of Super
Metro Colon hypermarket, the
third Metro store, along historic
Colon Street in downtown Cebu
City.
We are optimistic and aggres-
sive about expanding into modern
retail.
Two more stores located in
Carmen town in northern Cebu
and in Carcar City in the southern
part of the province will open
next.
A Metro store is also being built
in Calamba City, Laguna.
ACQUISITIONS EYED
On top of the 10 stores planned to
be built this year, Mr. Ponce said
acquisitions are also in the pipe-
line.
He did not elaborate beyond
saying his company was in talks
with operators of some regional
malls and smaller stores.
We cannot reach our target of
100 stores by 2017 if we are just
going to build. There are acquisi-
tions in the pipeline and we will
just rebrand them, he said in a
separate interview.
The existing 42 retail outlets
under Metro include at least six
outlets under the Tita Gwapa
Supertinda brand of community
grocery stores that were acquired.
Mr. Ponce also said the com-
pany will continue to forge part-
nerships with property giants like
Ayala Land, Megaworld Corp. and
Filinvest Land, Inc.
The group also plans to set foot
on Mindanao, even as the immedi-
ate focus is to expand the chain in
the Visayas and Luzon.
Frank Gaisano, chairman of
Metro Retail and managing direc-
tor of Vicsal, said the group has
been invited to set up stores in
Mindanao.
Were on the lookout for op-
portunities there especially in
Davao because Mindanao is a
huge retail market, Mr. Ponce
explained.
On the sidelines of the same
event, Mr. Gaisano told journalists
that the opening of Super Metro
Colon is part of the revitalization
program of the Colon Merchants
Association. Colon, touted as the
oldest street in the country, used
to be the central business district
of Cebu.
We are working with the Colon
Merchants Association and the
Office of the Mayor to revitalize
Colon. Our vision is to turn Colon
into the Ginza of the Philippines,
he said.
Asked for his outlook on the
province, Mr. Gaisano noted that
Cebu is the toughest retail market
in the country.
All the other retail outlets are
represented in Cebu. In fact, so
many of the retail outlets have ei-
ther originated from Cebu or are
migrating here. Bankers are telling
us that if you can survive Cebu, you
can survive anywhere, he added.
Mr. Ponce said the competitive
edge of the downtown market con-
sists of ofering great value deals.
You dont want to compete in
prices, he stressed.
What you want to compete in
is value. The more afordable you
can make a valuable product, the
better experience your customers
will have, he explained. John
Paolo G. Bago
opers will fall from 36% in 2012 to
20% in 2015 and 14% in 2016.
The construction cost is high-
er than the land price in todays
property market, Cheung Kong
Chairman Li Ka-shing said at an
earnings briefing on Friday last
week.
If the situation continues a
shortage of labor and many pub-
lic infrastructure projects, plus
competition for labor from Macau
the construction costs will keep
on rising.
The company posted a better-
than-expected 10% rise in 2013
net profit as asset disposal gains
and a stronger contribution from
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. offset
weak at sales.
The price difference between
new launches and secondhand
homes an indicator of devel-
opers protability dropped to
its lowest since 2005 at 0.2% in
the last quarter of 2013, according
to real estate company Midland
Realty.
Sun Hung Kai this month of-
fered a 35% discount on a project
and made it 10% below secondary
homes in the same district, while
Cheung Kong cut prices for a new
launch by 28%.
Construction costs are up
and theyre not going to fall, said
Ricky Poon, executive director
of residential sales at real estate
services firm Colliers Interna-
tional.
Unless they purchase land
in the coming year for 20% less,
prot margins will drop. Thats for
sure. Reuters
Zamboanga eyes
bigger cassava yield
DTI grants bamboo nursery equipment
Thursday, March 6, 2014 8/S1 Agribusiness
ZAMBOANGA CITY Farm-
ers and regional officials of the
Department of Agriculture (DA)
in Zamboanga Peninsula have
drafted a road map to increase
cassava production, farmers
profits, and the areas planted
with the crop.
We dont have a problem with
the (expansion area), as long as the
variety of cassava planted is high-
yielding, said Candido B. Damo,
DAs regional cassava project
leader. It is just a matter of proper
farming and good technology, Mr.
Damo told about 40 participants
in the 7
th
Regional Cassava Stake-
holders Workshop and Meeting
here late last week.
Cassava production in Zam-
boanga Peninsula increased by
about 74% to 52,310 metric tons
(MT) in 2013 from 30,053 MT in
2012, data from the local office of
the Bureau of Agricultural Statis-
tics showed.
Ahmad A. Nahul, regional cas-
sava point person and part of the
DAs cassava promotion program,
said the robust output last year
took place despite the fact that
the cassava area in the region de-
creased 7%.
Quality planting materials is
the key to a successful produc-
tion program, Mr. Nahul said,
explaining the signicant increase
in harvest.
Noel delos Santos, San Miguel
Corp. (SMC) western Mindanao
coordinator, told workshop par-
ticipants that there will always
be a market for the cassava they
would produce.
Do not hesitate to plant cassava
because [SMC] needs you, he said.
Local supply has never reached a
quarter of our companys demand.
Mr. delos Santos said the com-
pany is committed to partnering
with farmers in Mindanao, speci-
cally those involved in alternative
crops such as cassava and sweet
potatoes.
SMC, he also said, requires at
least 20 hectares for the cassava
assembler partnership scheme,
under which the company pro-
vides growers with technical and
nancial assistance.
Cassava, Mr. delos Santos said,
is used as a main ingredient for
animal feeds under the B-Meg
brand.
According to Mr. Nahul, SMC
is the only company buying cas-
sava in Zamboanga Peninsula.
The crop is bought from farmers
at P9.50 per kilogram (kg) in the
form of dried chip and P2.50/kg
for fresh tuber at farm gate.
Karel B. Mellanes
THE DEPARTMENT of Trade
and Industry (DTI), under its
shared service facilities (SSF)
program, turned over equipment
and machinery to the Philippine
Bamboo Foundation, Inc. (PBFI)
for its various projects in Negros
Oriental, the agency yesterday
said in a statement.
With the common service
facility, workers in the bamboo
industry can now access equip-
ment and mechanized tools to
increase their production capac-
ity [and] efciency and serve new
markets through more products
and services, read the statement.
The value of the equipment
provided was not immediately
provided, though.
The output from PBFIs pro-
jects is said to replace houses and
buildings in Central Visayas dam-
aged by natural disasters last year.
The Phil ippine Bamboo
Foundation, Inc. will collaborate
with government and interna-
tional organizations to cater to
the present need of producing
alternative green structures for
the calamity-stricken areas in
Bohol, Cebu, Leyte and Samar
provinces, read the statement.
Typhoon Yolanda (inter-
national name: Haiyan) hit the
central Philippines last Nov. 8,
leaving over 6,200 people dead
and an estimated P36.69 billion
in damage to farms and infra-
structure.
A month earlier, the island of
Bohol was struck by a 7.2-mag-
nitude earthquake, killing more
than 200 people and destroying
key infrastructure and cultural
sites.
PBFI is a nongovernment or-
ganization that hosts the biggest
bamboo nursery for all of Visayas
and Mindanao, with at least 40
bamboo species grown in the nurs-
ery site in Dauin, Negros Oriental.
SSFs are intended for the com-
mon use of community-based
cooperatives. They are part of the
DTIs industry clustering program
for micro, small, and medium en-
terprises to improve production
processes in terms of quality, pro-
ductivity and efciency.
The government has allotted
P700 million for SSF establish-
ment this year. The Bicol region
has been allocated P35 million
for its SSF program this year.
Daryll Edisonn D. Saclag
Ethiopias teff grain set
to be worlds next super-food
DEBRE ZEYT Under a searing mid-
day sun, a herd of cattle circles atop
a pile of golden teff, thrashing the
wheat-like grain, a method that has
been practiced by Ethiopian farmers
for centuries.
The crop, mostly grown in the
Horn of Africa, is a key part of the
countrys heritage and a crucial food
staple but is also gaining increased
interest abroad among health afcio-
nados seeking a nutritious, gluten-
free alternative to wheat.
Ethiopians are proud of the crop
because it is almost our identity,
said Solomon Chanyalew, director of
the Debre Zeyt Agricultural Research
Center, a teff research hub.
But these days, teff is getting
global attention, he said.
Relatively unknown outside of
Ethiopia for now the cereal is
predicted to replace quinoa as the
latest global super-food.
But a ban on exports to control
price hikes at home has left farmers
tied to local consumers, limiting
their contribution to growing markets
abroad.
The poppy-seed-sized grain is
renowned for its nutritional qualities.
Mineral-rich and high in protein, teff
is also a slow-releasing food, ideal
for diabetics, and sought after by
people with a gluten intolerance or
Celiac disease.
Teff is not only gluten-free, which
is an increasingly important aspect of
foods that is being sought out, but its
also incredibly nutritious. Many people
consider teff to be a super-food, said
Khalid Bomba, CEO of Ethiopias Agri-
cultural Transformation Agency.
In Ethiopia, teff is used to make
injera, a spongy fermented pancake
topped with meat or vegetable
stew and consumed with an almost
religious devotion, often three times
a day.
In the West, however, where it is
touted by celebrity chefs and health-
conscious Hollywood stars, the grain
is most commonly ground into four
and used to make biscuits, breads,
pastas and even teff juice.
It is also a resilient crop; it can
grow between sea level and 3,000
meters and is both drought- and
food-resistant, ideal for Ethiopias dry
highlands.
But, despite its versatility,
Ethiopias 6.5 million teff farmers
struggle to meet local demand let
alone growing demand from abroad
with limited access to seed
varieties, fertilizers and modern ma-
chinery that would allow for higher
yields.
Teff also suffers from a lack of
research since it is considered an
orphan crop, unlike global crops
like rice, wheat and maize, which are
widely studied and well-funded.
People dont want to work on
teff; basically, its not paying, said
Kebebew Assefa, one of only two full-
time teff researchers in Ethiopia.
RISK OF PRICE HIKE
Regardless, productivity has climbed
to bridge the supply gap, with the
introduction of 19 new teff varieties
and improved farming techniques.
In the last four years, yields have
increased from 1.2 to 1.5 million
metric tons (MT) per hectare, which
Mr. Khalid said bodes well.
The production increases are
what gives us the confdence that
Ethiopia will be able to compete at a
global level when it comes to tapping
into the increasing demand from
consumers in Europe, in London, or
New York or Brisbane, he said.
An estimated 2 million MT per
hectare is required to reach export
potential.
For now, the ban on exports re-
mains in place to avoid the pitfalls of
quinoa in Bolivia, where most people
could not afford the staple crop after
the surge in global popularity.
The price of teff $72 (52
euros) per quintal is already too
expensive for the majority of Ethiopi-
ans who earn less than two dollars
per day.
But farmers are eager to export
their teff, well aware of the higher
prices they can fetch.
I want to sell it abroad because
its going to have a good market, and I
will earn good money, and it will bring
good motivation for my work, said
Tirunesh Merete, 60, who has been
growing teff for nearly four decades.
Neighboring farmer Amha Abra-
ham said he is keen to make more
money but recognizes that local
markets need to be fed frst.
If we export teff to other
countries, then we can get a lot of
money, but we must provide frst for
our countrys consumption, he said,
standing near a giant pile of golden
teff stalks, used for roofng and as
cattle feed.
Until the export ban is lifted,
Ethiopian farmers remain excluded
from a growing international industry,
with teff products appearing on
shelves in health food stores across
North America and Europe.
Everybody has started talking
about gluten-free, said Rob Roffel,
CEO of the Dutch company Consenza,
which produces gluten-free foods
from teff grown in the Netherlands.
The demand for gluten-free foods
mainly was for Celiacs... but what
we see now more and more is other
target groups interested in teff four,
he said, adding that his business has
grown 30% annually since 2006.
In the meantime, Khalid said he
has high hopes for teff.
If you look at whats happened
with quinoa, its a $150-million mar-
ket in fve years, and teff is actually
much more nutritious and much more
resilient than quinoa, he said.
So, we think theres a much
bigger market opportunity for teff.
AFP
AFP
Feathered foragers
A rice farmer plows a feld just outside Metro Manila on March 4 as insect-eating birds fy around him, looking for any prey he may have stirred up. Though rice is a staple
food, rice farmers have been left behind by the countrys economic resurgency, which has largely benefted other groups like overseas workers, the retail industry and work-
ers in the booming business process outsourcing sector.
A FARMER winnows dried teff to separate seeds from stalks in Bishoftu town, Oramia,
Ethiopia, in this Feb. 20 photo.
AFP
China bans Polish pork
amid African swine fever scare
WARSAW China has banned
pork imports from Poland, a lead-
ing EU exporter of the meat, after
Warsaw conrmed its rst two
cases of African swine fever among
wild boars.
China is home to half of the
globes pigs, and the United Na-
tions Food and Agriculture Orga-
nization (FAO) has warned of vast
losses should the swine fever take
hold there.
The Chinese measure comes af-
ter Russia slapped its own ban on
pork imports from the 28-member
European Union after the disease
appeared in Lithuania, a move
Brussels criticized as dispropor-
tionate.
China has informed the Eu-
ropean Commission of a ban on
Polish pork imports, Polands ag-
riculture ministry spokeswoman
Malgorzata Ksiazyk told AFP last
week, without specifying when the
ban took efect.
The minister, Stanislaw Ka-
lemba, met Chinas ambassador
to Warsaw Xu Jian near the end of
February to explain the measures
Warsaw was taking to prevent the
spread of the swine fever (ASF) on
its territory, she added.
ASF is harmless to humans but
lethal to pigs and has no known
cure, posing a grave threat to com-
mercial pig farms. The disease has
not been detected in Polish pigs,
only wild boars.
State veterinarians confirmed
ASF in Poland last week follow-
ing tests on the carcasses of wild
boar found near the village of
Szudzialowo, just under a kilo-
meter from the border with Be-
larus.
The disease has spread through-
out the Balkans, the Caucasus and
Russia since 2007, and is endemic
to areas of Africa, according to the
FAO.
China is the largest importer
of Polish pork, having absorbed
52,000 metric tons in 2013 worth
68 million ($92 million).
A leading pork player in the
European Union, Poland exported
912 million worth of the meat
last year.
A bufer zone has been created
along parts of Polands eastern
border with Belarus, Lithuania and
Ukraine as part of Warsaws eforts
to contain the spread of ASF.
Ofcials have ordered farmers
to fence in their land, lay down
disinfectant mats, and test and
monitor shipments of live pigs out
of the zone. AFP
Alaska mine could
be blocked for salmon
WASHINGTON US environ-
mental authorities made a rare
move Friday to block a massive
copper and gold mine in Alaska
before it even gets under way, in a
bid to protect wild salmon.
The Pebble Mine project has
the potential to be one of the
biggest open-pit copper mines,
but once built, it could threaten
the exceptionally rich salmon
fishery in the Bristol Bay area,
the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) explained in a
statement.
Extensive scientific study
has given us ample reason to be-
lieve that the Pebble Mine would
likely have significant and ir-
reversible negative impacts on
the Bristol Bay watershed and
its abundant salmon fisheries,
said EPA Administrator Gina
McCarthy.
The EPA action could lead to
an unprecedented federal ban on a
mining project before the compa-
ny behind it even puts in a permit
request.
This process is not something
the agency does very often, but
Bristol Bay is an extraordinary and
unique resource, Ms. McCarthy
said, calling it the worlds most
productive salmon shery.
Bristol Bay produces half the
wild sockeye salmon in the world,
an average of 37.5 million sh per
year, in part because of the excep-
tional water quality in the streams
and wetlands there.
Plans call for the mine to be
built near the headwaters of two
rivers whose fisheries produce
about $480 million of sh and em-
ploy some 14,000 people.
In order to move forward, the
mines promoters would need to
show that their activities wouldnt
threaten the ecosystem.
The EPA move is a victory for
environmental activists, sheries
and indigenous groups who had
been fighting the mining project
for the past three years.
But, Republican leaders in
Al aska, i ncl udi ng Governor
Sean Parnell and Senator Lisa
Murkowski disapproved, with
Ms. Murkowski warning that the
EPA action could set a terrible
precedent.
Promoters of the Pebble proj-
ect say the region holds one of the
worlds largest and richest mineral
gold and copper deposits, which
could produce 36 million metric
tons (MT) of copper and more
than 3,000 MT of gold within the
next 30 years. AFP
Thursday, March 6, 2014 S1/9
The
World
BEIJING/HONG KONG Chi-
na announced its biggest rise in
military spending in three years
yesterday, a strong signal from
President Xi Jinping that Beijing
is not about to back away from its
growing assertiveness in Asia, es-
pecially in disputed waters.
The government said it would
increase the defense budget by
12.2% this year to 808.23 billion
yuan ($131.57 billion), as China
seeks to develop more high-tech
weapons and to beef up coastal and
air defenses.
The increase follows a nearly
unbroken run of double-digit hikes
in the Chinese defense budget,
second only to the United States in
size, for the past two decades.
This is worrying news for
Chinas neighbors, particularly for
Japan, said Rory Medcalf, a re-
gional security analyst at the inde-
pendent Lowy Institute in Sydney.
Those who thought Mr. Xi
might prefer to concentrate on do-
mestic development over military
expansion in a slowing economy
had underestimated the Chinese
determination to shape its strate-
gic environment, he added.
The 2014 defense budget is the
first for Mr. Xi, the princeling
son of a late Communist Party
elder, and the increase in spend-
ing appears to reect his desire to
build what he calls a strong, reju-
venated China. Mr. Xi also recently
urged Chinas military leadership
to work faster to get the countrys
sole aircraft carrier combat-ready.
The spending jump is the big-
gest since a 12.7% rise in 2011.
Within hours of the announce-
ment, officials in Japan and Tai-
wan expressed disquiet over the
absence of any details on how Bei-
jing will spend the money con-
cerns long echoed in Washington
with Chinas defense budgets.
China and Japan, a key US ally
in the region, are increasingly
locking horns over uninhabited
rocky islands each claims in the
East China Sea.
Beijing also claims 90% of the
3.5 million sq km South China Sea,
which is believed to be rich in oil
and gas. The Philippines, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan
claim parts of those waters.
Speaking at the opening of
Chinas annual session of parlia-
ment, Premier Li Keqiang said the
government would strengthen
research on national defense and
the development of new- and
high-technology weapons and
equipment and enhance border,
coastal and air defenses.
We will comprehensively en-
hance the revolutionary nature
of the Chinese armed forces, fur-
ther modernize them and upgrade
their performance, and continue
to raise their deterrence and com-
bat capabilities in the informa-
tion age, Mr. Li told the largely
rubber-stamp National Peoples
Congress.
He gave no details.
Chinas military spending has
allowed Beijing to create a modern
force that is projecting power not
only across the disputed waters of
the East and South China Seas, but
further into the western Pacific
and Indian Oceans.
Much military spending likely
takes place outside the budget,
however, and many experts es-
timate real outlays are closer to
$200 billion. The US Defense De-
partments base budget for fiscal
2014 is $526.8 billion.
The budget spike comes as Asia
reacts nervously to a string of re-
cent moves by China to assert its
sovereignty in disputed territory,
expand its military reach and chal-
lenge the traditional dominance of
US forces in the region.
Chinese fighters and surveil-
lance planes now routinely patrol
a controversial new air defense
identification zone that covers
disputed Japanese-administered
islands in the East China Sea.
Meanwhile, Beijings aircraft car-
rier went on its rst exercises in
the South China Sea late last year.
At a time when Washington has
stepped up its military presence
in the region as part of a strate-
gic pivot toward Asia, China is
building new submarines, surface
ships and anti-ship ballistic mis-
siles, and has tested emerging
technology aimed at destroying
missiles in midair.
Nevertheless, experts say it
could be decades before Chinas
military is a match for Americas
armed forces.
Japans chief cabinet secretary,
Yoshihide Suga, said Chinas lack
of clarity in its defense policy and
spending was a global concern.
While noting the substantial
spending increase was needed to
modernize Chinas military, Da-
vid Lo, a spokesman for Taiwans
Defense Ministry, said much re-
mained hidden.
The transparency of Chinas
defense budget has always been
questionable, as it is widely seen
there are a massive amount of
military items hidden, he said.
In Washington, David Helvey,
US deputy assistant secretary of
defense for East Asia, told a US
Senate committee hearing on
Tuesday that the Pentagon was
seeking to build healthy ties
with Chinas military, but said Bei-
jing needed to be more open about
its armed forces buildup.
The United States last month
said it was concerned that Chinas
maritime claims in the South
China Sea were an effort to gain
creeping control of oceans in the
Asia-Pacic region.
We remain concerned about
a lack of transparency regarding
Chinas growing military and its
increasingly assertive behavior in
the maritime domain, Mr. Helvey
said.
China has repeatedly said that
the world has nothing to fear from
its military spending, which it says
is needed for legitimate defensive
purposes and to modernize out-
dated equipment.
Fu Ying, a spokeswoman for
the parliamentary session, reiter-
ated that policy on Tuesday, saying
China was seeking peace through
strength. China would respond
effectively to provocations, she
added. Reuters
China ramps up military spending
MOSCOW President Vladimir
Putin delivered a robust defense
of Russias actions in Crimea and
said on Tuesday that he would
use force in Ukraine only as a last
resort, easing market fears that
East-West tension over the former
Soviet republic could lead to war.
But tension remained high on
the ground. Russian forces fired
warning shots in a confrontation
with Ukrainian servicemen at an
air base, and Russian navy ships
were reported to have blockaded
the strait separating the Ukrainian
Black Sea peninsula from Russia.
At his first news conference
since the crisis began, Mr. Putin
said Russia reserved the right to
use all options to protect compa-
triots who were living in terror
in Ukraine but that force was not
needed for now.
His comments, coupled with
the end of Russian war games near
Ukraines borders, lifted Russian
bonds and stock markets around
the world after a panic sell-of on
Monday.
Mr. Putin denied the Rus-
sian armed forces were directly
engaged in the bloodless seizure
of Crimea, saying the uniformed
troops without national insignia
were local self-defense forces.
As for bringing in forces, for
now there is no such need, but
such a possibility exists, he said.
What could serve as a reason to
use military force? It would natu-
rally be the last resort. Absolutely
the last.
Western sanctions under con-
sideration against Russia would
be counter-productive, he said. A
senior US ofcial said Washington
was ready to impose them in days
rather than weeks. The Russian
Foreign Ministry warned that
Moscow would retaliate.
In Washington, US President
Barack Obama acknowledged that
Russia had legitimate interests in
Ukraine but said that did not give
Mr. Putin the right to intervene
militarily.
President Putin seems to have
a diferent set of lawyers making
a diferent set of interpretations,
Mr. Obama said. But I dont think
thats fooling anybody.
A senior administration ofcial
said Mr. Obama spoke to German
Chancellor Angela Merkel on
Tuesday and discussed a potential
resolution to the crisis.
The ofcial said Mr. Obama, in
his phone call with Mr. Putin last
Saturday, had discussed what of-
ficials called an off-ramp to the
crisis in which Russia would pull
its forces in Crimea back to their
bases and allow international
monitors to ensure that the rights
of ethnic Russians are protected.
The US president will not at-
tend a G8 summit scheduled for
Sochi, Russia, in June unless there
is a Russian reversal in the Ukraine
crisis, the ofcial added.
Mr. Putin and Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping spoke by telephone
late on Tuesday. The Kremlin said
the two leaders held close views
on Ukraine, while the Chinese
Foreign Ministry said Mr. Xi had
told Mr. Putin he believed Russia
can push for a political settlement.
China and Russia have close
ties and see eye-to-eye on many
international diplomatic issues.
Both have veto powers on the
United Nations Security Council.
Canadian Prime Minister Ste-
phen Harper said on Tuesday after
speaking to Mr. Obama over the
weekend that the Group of Seven
leading industrialized nations
were considering meeting in the
near future, a move that would
pointedly exclude Russia. The G7
became the G8 in 1998 when Rus-
sia was formally included.
US Secretary of State John Ker-
ry, on his rst visit to Kiev since
the overthrow of Russian-backed
President Victor Yanukovich, ac-
cused Moscow of seeking a pretext
to invade more of the country.
Mr. Kerry laid owers in Inde-
pendence Square at a memorial to
pro-Western protesters killed by
police last month, describing the
experience as moving, distressing
and inspiring. He met Ukraines
interim leaders and announced a
$1-billion economic package and
technical assistance for the new
government.
Mr. Putin said there had been
an unconstitutional coup in
Ukraine, and Mr. Yanukovich, who
ed to Russia last week, was still
the legitimate leader. No Ukrai-
nian government elected under
such terror as we see now would
be legitimate, he said.
Mr. Kerry said the United
States was not seeking a confron-
tation and would prefer to see
the situation managed through
international institutions such as
the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE.
Ukrainian Prime Minister
Arseny Yatseniuk told reporters
in Kiev that the Ukrainian and
Russian governments had begun
consultations on the crisis at the
level of ministers.
The Feb. 22 ousting of Mr. Ya-
nukovich after months of street
protests in Kiev and Russias sei-
zure of Crimea have prompted the
most serious confrontation be-
tween Moscow and the West since
the end of the Cold War.
Western governments have
been alarmed at the possibil-
ity that Russia may also move into
eastern and southern Ukraine,
home to many Russian speakers,
which Mr. Putin did not rule out.
There can be only one assess-
ment of what happened in Kiev,
in Ukraine in general. This was an
anti-constitutional coup and the
armed seizure of power, he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Putin
ordered troops involved in a mili-
tary exercise in western Russia,
close to the border with Ukraine,
back to their bases. He said armed
men who had seized buildings and
other facilities in Crimea were lo-
cal groups.
Despite Mr. Putins more con-
ciliatory comments, NATO said
Russia had shown few signs of de-
escalating matters, as members of
the military alliance held emer-
gency talks on the crisis. Reuters
Putin: Military force
would be last resort
WASHINGTON The Pentagon
unveiled a $496-billion base bud-
get on Tuesday that looks beyond
Afghanistan to future US security
challenges after a dozen years of
war, cutting the military to aford
more training and new weapons as
it adapts to an era of tighter spend-
ing.
The budget set the Obama ad-
ministration on a collision course
with Congress by trying to elimi-
nate popular older weapons sys-
tems and curb military compensa-
tion while seeking $26.4 billion in
additional defense spending to be
paid for by closing tax loopholes
and cutting mandatory spending.
The spending plan means the
Pentagons base budget for the
2015 scal year essentially would
remain at for a third consecutive
year as the department responds
to directions to cut nearly $1 tril-
lion in spending over a decade.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
said the budget supports and
is informed by our updated de-
fense strategy as outlined in the
Quadrennial Defense Review, an
examination of strategy and pri-
orities that was released alongside
the budget.
The two documents drew an
immediate negative reaction on
Capitol Hill. Representative Buck
McKeon, the Republican chair-
man of the House Armed Services
Committee, expressed dismay at
the shrinking security spending
and flatly rejected the strategy
review, vowing to make the Penta-
gon rewrite it.
The White House said the Pen-
tagons funding levels would en-
able the military to protect US in-
terests and execute the countrys
updated defense strategy, albeit
with somewhat increased levels
of risk.
The risks would grow signi-
cantly if higher budget cuts go
into force in 2016 and beyond as
planned, it said.
The Pentagons five-year bud-
get plan ignores the spending caps
set by Congress for the 2016 to
2019 scal years, seeking $115 bil-
lion more than the limits set in the
2011 Budget Control Act.
Analysts said the true level of
defense spending would not be
known for several months until
the Pentagon releases its war-
funding request for 2015.
The department increasingly
has relied on that segment of the
budget for funding operations and
modernization related to the Af-
ghanistan conict because it is not
subject to congressional budget
caps.
The budget calls for the Army
to shrink to between 440,000 and
450,000 soldiers, down from a
war-time high of 570,000, a reduc-
tion of 40,000 to 50,000 compared
to last years proposal.
It would eliminate the entire
fleet of popular A-10 Warthog
tank-killer aircraft, as well as the
venerable U-2 reconnaissance
planes. The budget also cancels
several other key weapons pro-
grams.
The Armys new ground com-
bat vehicle would be eliminated,
saving $3.4 billion over the next
ve years, and the Army commu-
nications network being built by
General Dynamics Corp. would be
scaled back, saving another $3.4
billion.
The budget also scraps plans
to build two additional Lockheed
Martin Corp. Advanced Extremely
High Frequency satellites, for $2.1
billion in savings, and defers two
Global Positioning System III sat-
ellites to be built by Lockheed.
The Pentagon would use some
of the savings to invest in new re-
search, development and procure-
ment. The budget includes $153.9
billion for weapons, including $40
billion for aircraft, $22 billion for
ships and $8.2 billion for missile
defense. Reuters
Pentagon looks beyond Afghanistan
WASHINGTON Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
warned the United States and oth-
er world powers on Tuesday not
to allow Iran to retain the ability
to enrich uranium, and urged Pal-
estinians to recognize Israel as a
Jewish state if they wanted peace.
Addressing the pro-Israel
lobby AIPAC just a day after
White House talks, Mr. Netanyahu
avoided any explicit criticism of
President Barack Obama but un-
derscored main diferences over
US-led nuclear diplomacy.
With Mr. Netanyahu facing
pressure to meet looming dead-
lines for salvaging a US-brokered
Middle East peace effort, he in-
sisted he was prepared to make
historic peace with the Palestin-
ians but offered no concessions.
Mr. Obama pressed him in private
on Monday to help bridge difer-
ences in the next several weeks,
a US ofcial said.
Mr. Netanyahu reiterated his
firm opposition to the possibil-
ity that a nal deal to curb Irans
disputed nuclear program would
allow it to keep some technologies
with bomb-making potential.
All of these must be dismantled,
he said, adding that pressure on
Tehran should be increased. That
is the reverse of a modest easing
of sanctions Iran received under
an interim accord with the US and
ve other powers in November.
In a pledge that signaled both
willingness to strike Irans nuclear
sites as a last resort and refusal
to yield on core peace terms with
the Palestinians, Mr. Netanyahu
told a cheering audience: I will
do whatever I must to defend the
Jewish state of Israel.
But the hawkish Israeli leader,
who has been accused of trying
to scuttle the Iran negotiations,
stopped short of issuing any direct
threat against the Islamic Repub-
lic, Israels arch foe. Reuters
Netanyahu
reiterates
warnings
NEW DELHI Indias mammoth
parliamentary election will start
on April 7, authorities announced
yesterday, kicking of a race that
will pit charismatic Hindu nation-
alist leader Narendra Modi against
the unpopular Nehru-Gandhi
familys ruling Congress party.
Chief Election Commissioner
V.S. Sampath said 814 million
people would be eligible to vote,
a number larger than the popula-
tion of Europe. Results are due to
be announced on May 16.
Voting will be held in nine
stages, staggered until May 12 to
allow security forces to focus their
strength during an exercise that,
for decades after independence
from Britain in 1947, has often
been marred by violence and bal-
lot rigging.
Running on his strong econom-
ic track record as chief minister of
the state of Gujarat, Mr. Modi has
emerged in opinion polls as the
favorite, reecting popular anger
over corruption and a sense that
the center-left Congress govern-
ment frittered away opportunities
for rapid growth after coming to
power in 2004.
With half of Indias popula-
tion under 25, a record number
of first-time voters is expected
to participate in the election and
many appear open to Mr. Modis
promises of job creation and ef-
cient government.
However, Indias fragmented
political landscape and rst-past-
the-post system for parliamentary
seats makes results notoriously
hard to predict, and that means a
victory is by no means assured for
Mr. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.
Leading the campaign for the
Congress party is Rahul Gandhi,
the latest in line in the Nehru-
Gandhi dynasty that has given
India three prime ministers and
its most powerful contemporary
politician, his mother, Sonia Gan-
dhi. Reuters
India elections to start April 7
Isolated
Surja Devi Saud, 20, who practices chaupadi, sits outside her house in Achham District, western Nepal, in this Feb. 16,
2014 photo. Chaupadi is a tradition observed in parts of Nepal, which cuts women off from the rest of society when they are
menstruating. Women who practice traditional chaupadi have to sleep in sheds or outbuildings while they are having their
period, often with little protection from the elements. They are not allowed to enter houses or temples, use normal public
water sources, take part in festivals or touch others during their menstruation, according to a United Nations feld bulletin.
Chaupadi was banned by Nepals Supreme Court in 2005, but it is still common in the countrys far and midwestern regions.
REUTERS
Thursday, March 6, 2014 10/S1
The
Nation
JONATHAN L. CELLONA
Pointed
Labor groups hold a dance protest in front of the Supreme Court building in Manila to ask for a temporary restraining order on Social Security Systems (SSS) premium
hikes. The groups also sought for the help of the high court to stop the increase in the premiums of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), saying that higher
premiums at this time would be a double whammy for workers.
THE DEPARTMENT of Budget
and Management (DBM) has re-
leased P9.52 billion for the hiring
of over 30,000 teachers for schools
nationwide.
In a statement yesterday, the
agency said the allotment was
made to the Department of Edu-
cation (DepEd) and will fund the
creation of 31,335 elementary and
secondary teaching positions for
school year 2014-2015 as part of the
governments education reforms.
The release was charged against
the Miscellaneous Personnel Ben-
efits Fund under this years na-
tional budget.
The release gives DepEd the
go signal for jump-starting the hir-
ing process immediately, with all
positions ideally lled out by April
1, 2014, in time for the beginning of
classes, said the DBM.
Budget Secretary Florencio B.
Abad said the hiring of more teach-
ers is essential to the governments
goal of improving the teacher-to-
student ratio in our countrys edu-
cation system.
For a long time, Philippine
public schools were crippled by
a shortage of teachers who can
amply guide our schoolchildren
in their academic pursuits, Mr.
Abad noted.
The P9.52-billion release will
give DepEd enough funding leg-
room to close the 33,194 teacher
gap in public schools by 2015, he
said.
Its not just a matter of enhanc-
ing our public education system,
but also of giving our students the
chance to learn from qualied in-
structors who can equip them with
skills that will be useful beyond
the classroom, he added.
DBM releases
P9.52 billion
for teachers
WHISTLE-BLOWERS Dennis L.
Cunanan and Benhur K. Luy are
both set to appear today before the
Senate blue ribbon committee for
the ongoing investigation on the
alleged P10-billion Priority Devel-
opment Assistance Fund (PDAF)
scam.
Senate committee chairman
Senator Teosto D. Guingona III
told reporters yesterday that the
two witnesses will be accompa-
nied by Justice Secretary Leila M.
de Lima. Mr. Guingona said that
Mr. Luy will play an important
role in conrming the testimony
that will be made by Mr. Cunanan.
Mr. Cunanan was the former
director-general of Technology
Resource Center (TRC) who al-
legedly helped in the questionable
transactions using the PDAF of
lawmakers.
Meanwhile, pork barrel scam
witness Ruby Tuason has left for
Hong Kong to plan how she would
nance the P40 million she com-
mitted to return to the govern-
ment, her lawyer said yesterday.
In a text message, lawyer Den-
nis P. Manalo said: She left to at-
tend to personal matters foremost
of which is to finance her com-
mitment to return P40 million to
the government. She coordinated
with the DoJ WPP (Department
of Justice Witness Protection Pro-
gram) for her travel. There is no
hold departure against her so she
does not need permission.
He added part of Ms. Tuasons
itinerary includes Los Angeles,
also to attend to personal mat-
ters.
Immigration Spokesperson
Maria Angelica Pedro, in a sepa-
rate text message, said Ms. Tuason
left the country on March 2 and is
scheduled to return on April 5.
Sought for comment, an infuri-
ated Justice Secretary refused to
conrm that Ms. Tuason has left
the country.
Im asking [Immigration]
Commissioner [Siegfred B.] Mison
to require that spokesperson to
explain why she made such an
announcement. I cannot be con-
firming that, Ms. de Lima told
reporters in a chance interview.
That is a WPP matter, covered
by confidentiality provision, but
any such announcement by that
spokesperson is not authorized,
and therefore I asked [Mr.] Mison
to ask her to explain.
Ruby Tuason, the alleged
liaison between lawmakers and
supposed mastermind Janet
Lim-Napoles, was provisionally
accepted to Witness Protection
Program (WPP) after subscrib-
ing to an afdavit directly linking
Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and
Jose Jinggoy E. Estrada in the
pork barrel scam.
Ms. Tuasons affidavit stated
that she directly gave the 40%
commission of Mr. Estrada, bol-
stering the statements of pork
barrel scam whistle-blowers that
lawmakers received the kickbacks
through their agents or represen-
tatives. MLVA and MFEF
THE HOUSE of Representatives on Tuesday
ratied the proposed act that will establish
the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)
as the single agency tasked to enforce interna-
tional standards on the countrys seafarers.
House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr.,
in a statement, said the Senate has also ratied
the bill and is now set for transmittal to Presi-
dent Benigno S. C. Aquino III for signature.
Mr. Belmonte welcomed the ratication of
the bill, as he underscored the importance of
passing the said piece of legislation.
It is signicant that it is the rst major bill
that we have passed in this session. The Philip-
pines provides the most number of seafarers
in the whole world, and their future is endan-
gered because there are changes necessary in
their training, accreditation and skills here,
he said.
Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona,
co-author of the house version of the bill, said
with the ratication, the measure will eventu-
ally make our seafarers the seafarers of choice
and be recognized as global maritime profes-
sionals.
Last month, both chambers of Congress
unanimously passed on third and nal reading
their respective versions of the bill House
Bill 3766 and Senate Bill 2043 that will make
MARINA the single maritime authority.
This as the country hopes to avoid the
blacklisting of tens of thousands of Philippine
seafarers by the European Union (EU) for
unsatisfactory compliance with the Interna-
tional Convention on Standards of Training,
Certication and Watchkeeping for Seafarers
(STCW Convention).
Last April, the European Maritime Safety
Agency (EMSA), which reviews the maritime
training of non-EU countries that supply the
union with seafarers, audited the Philippines,
and found deciencies in compliance with the
countrys obligations under the 2010 Manila
Amendments of the STCW Convention, par-
ticularly regarding the quality of education of
Filipino seafarers. EMSA conducted another
assessment last October and has yet to release
the results of the audit.
Mr. Madrona, in the same statement said
that should Filipino seafarers be blacklisted
from European vessels, the country tends to
lose $4.8 billion income.
For his part, Party-list Rep. Jesulito A.
Manalo (ANGKLA), who had filed the house
version of the bill, said world trade amounts to
$18.5 trillion of which, 90% is in shipping run
by 1.4 million seafarers, that 30% are Filipinos.
Mr. Belmonte pointed out that the bill, if
properly implemented, will address concerns
relating to Filipino seafarers.
That is why it is a real contribution to the
future of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos
who also contribute to our country, the House
Speaker said.
Under the bill, MARINA will assume the
powers and functions regarding the issuance,
validation, verication, correction, revocation
or cancellation of certicates of competency,
endorsement, proficiency and documentary
evidence required of all seafarers.
These functions are currently exercised
by the Professional Regulation Commission,
Commission on Higher Education (CHEd),
Technical Education and Skills Develop-
ment Authority, National Telecommunica-
tions Commission, and Department of Health
(DoH).
MARINA will also head CHEds Technical
Panel on Maritime Education that, in turn,
will formulate, review and recommend to the
CHEd commission en banc all policies, stan-
dards, and guidelines for maritime education,
including curricula, facilities and educational
guidelines.
The maritime authority will also work with
the DoH to ensure that seafarers medical t-
ness complies with international conventions
or treaties and existing laws.
The Health department is tasked to accredit
medical facilities and practitioners that are
qualied in accordance with the STCW Con-
vention standards.
The bill will supersede Executive Order 75,
issued by Mr. Aquino in 2012 to similarly ap-
point MARINA as the sole oversight authority
over seafarers compliance.
Following the ratification of the bill, Mr.
Belmonte expressed optimism for the future of
the Filipino seafarers.
Lets not forget that we were there before
them, Mr. Belmonte said, referring to other
international seafarers.
For 250 years that the Spanish galleon
trade crossed the Pacific, they had Filipino
crew members, he added.
Mr. Madrona earlier expected the enact-
ment of the bill last month. Imee Charlee
C. Delavin
By Bettina Faye V. Roc
Senior Reporter
Of the 31,335 positions to be
created through this fund release,
13,738 new teachers will be hired
at the elementary level (Grades 1
to 6), while 17,597 personnel will
be designated at the secondary
level (Grades 7 and 8, and years III
and IV).
Region IV-A will hire the most
number of teachers with 4,809
positions, followed by Region III
with 3,754, and Region VII with
3,425 future hires, said the depart-
ment.
Education continues to be
the governments best bet in em-
powering the poor and opening
up opportunities for their future
employment, Mr. Abad noted.
Along with the implementa-
tion of the extended Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
this year, the administrations
work of addressing our public edu-
cation gaps remains key in our bid
for swift, sustainable, and inclu-
sive growth, where Filipinos can
truly benefit from the countrys
economic gains, the Budget chief
added.
GSIS PREMIUMS
Last month, the Budget depart-
ment has released the needed
money for the payment of the
governments share of insurance
premium contributions for DepEd
personnel.
In a statement, the budget
agency said it has rolled out P2.91
billion chargeable against the
Miscellaneous Personnel Benets
Fund under this years P2.265-
trillion national budget.
The release will fund the na-
tional governments share for the
payment of unremitted Govern-
ment Service Insurance System
(GSIS) premiums for DepEd em-
ployees, specically for the period
covering July 1, 1997 to Dec. 31,
2010.
Cunanan, Luy set to appear in Senate probe today
House of Representatives ratifes bill
creating single maritime agency
Thursday, March 6, 2014 S1/11
By Imee Charlee C. Delavin
The
Nation
T
Philippines
World
Legend: S-Sunny; PS-Partly sunny; PC-Partly cloudy; CD-Cloudy; MC-Mostly cloudy; MS-Mostly
sunny; SH-Shower; R-Rain; SN-Snow; FG-Fog; FL-Flurries; T-Thunderstorm; W-Windy; HO-Hot
Note:Temperatures in Centigrade.
Source of Basic Data: Local - PAGASA; Global - Accuweather.com
DAILY WEATHER
Beijing Seoul
Bangkok
Hanoi
Hong Kong
Taipei
Manila
Kuala
Lumpur
Singapore
Jakarta
6 March 2014
Asia
SYNOPSIS: A northeast monsoon will affect Luzon
and Visayas.
FORECAST: Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and
Visayas will have fair weather aside from isolated light
rains. Mindanao will be partly cloudy to cloudy with
isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.
City Lo Hi Sky
Bangkok 25 33 S
Beijing -3 8 S
Hanoi 19 24 R
Hong Kong 16 18 R
Jakarta 24 31 T
Kuala Lumpur 23 33 PC
Seoul -4 6 S
Singapore 23 32 CD
Taipei 16 20 SH
Tokyo 1 9 PC
Philippines Lo Hi Sky
Metro Manila 22 31 PC
Baguio 13 22 PC
Tagaytay 20 29 PC
Clark Zone 23 32 PC
Metro Cebu 23 31 PC
Metro Davao 23 33 PC
High Tide (0.56 m) 1:36 a.m. Low Tide (0.27 m) 6:51 a.m.
Sunrise 6:10 a.m. Sunset 6:04 p.m.
City Lo Hi Sky
Amsterdam 5 11 PC
Brisbane 20 28 SH
Chicago -11 -3 SN
Frankfurt 2 13 S
Honolulu 19 26 S
Johannesburg 14 21 T
Lisbon 10 19 S
London 6 12 PC
Los Angeles 14 22 PC
Madrid 6 18 S
Melbourne 13 22 S
City Lo Hi Sky
Montreal -21 -9 SN
Moscow -5 0 CD
New York -7 3 PC
Paris 3 12 S
Riyadh 20 31 S
Rome 4 16 PC
San Francisco 11 17 PC
Sydney 20 26 T
Vancouver 7 11 R
Washington -5 4 PC
Zurich 0 9 PC
Tokyo
PAT ROQUE/GREENPEACE
Boon or health threat?
Von Hernandez (left), Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director, trooped to the Supreme Court to fle a petition to uphold the Writ of Kalikasan on the feld trials of
the genetically modifed organism (GMO) Bt Talong (eggplant). Mr. Hernandez fled their consolidated legal arguments to counter the petition by pro-GMO groups who are
seeking to overturn the Writ of Kalikasan granted in May 2012.
Soft drink tax to generate P10.5-B revenues
THE JAPAN International Co-
operation Agency (JICA) con-
cluded an Anti-Crime Capability
Enhancement Program with the
Philippine National Police (PNP).
We are confident that the
PNP will continue and develop
the legacy of the PNP-JICA Pro-
gram and extend it nationwide
towards genuine public service
to the Filipinos, said JICA Chief
Representative in the Philippines
Takahiro Sasaki in a press state-
ment yesterday.
Among the components of the
Anti-Crime Capability Enhance-
ment Program was the Automated
Fingerprint Identication System
(AFIS) to fortify the PNPs crime
identication database.
The AFIS is a database system
that helps identify possible match-
es of ngerprints collected during
investigations. It has helped the
ngerprint examiners in the PNP
to establish matches and identify
possible crime suspects.
In a series of AFIS-related as-
sistance in the said JICA program,
AFIS operators and fingerprint
examiners have been trained to
operate and manage the system;
field investigators have been
taught in scientic approaches to
investigating crimes; and regu-
lar trainings and performance
monitoring activities have been
conducted.
JICA also assisted PNP in
crafting a mechanism on fire-
arm identication to track down
firearm-related cases. PNP also
acquired Integrated Ballistics
Identication System. JICA said
the number of ngerprints gath-
ered and submitted from eld of
investigations has steadily in-
creased.
Furthermore, AFIS matches
have gradually increased, thereby
further contributing to the solu-
tion of crimes.
PNP is expected to launch an
action plan that cites the steps the
agency is going to take to continue
what has been started in the said
JICA program.
Japanese Ambassador Toshi-
nao Urabe, Mr. Sasaki, Depart-
ment of the Interior and Local
Government Secretary Manuel A.
Roxas II, and PNP Chief Alan L.M.
Purisima will join the programs
closing ceremonies today at Camp
Crame in Quezon City. Maria
Laura V. Angeles
BUDGET SECRETARY Floren-
cio B. Abad yesterday said he sees
nothing wrong with lawmakers
endorsing projects to diferent
government agencies for funding,
saying it is all an inevitable part of
patronage politics.
Theres nothing wrong if legis-
lators recommend projects. Thats
part of their job, Mr. Abad told
reporters on the sidelines of the
Joint Congressional Committee
on Public Expenditures yesterday.
The Priority Development As-
sistance Fund (PDAF) commonly
known as congressional pork bar-
rel, was removed from the 2014
budget after the Supreme Court
(SC) declared it unconstitutional.
Earlier, PDAF releases were
halted with the high courts issu-
ance of a temporary restraining
order (TRO) on the remaining
unreleased PDAF allocation of
lawmakers for 2013 following
revelations that billions of pesos
in pork barrel funds had been fun-
neled to bogus nongovernment
organizations.
The scheme was purportedly
orchestrated by businesswoman
Janet Lim-Napoles in collusion
with government officials and
lawmakers who received hefty
kickbacks.
Despite the abolition of the
PDAF in this years budget, law-
makers are allowed to lobby with
the government agencies to fund
their pet projects and beneciaries.
Mr. Abad def ended sai d
practice, saying it was the job of
lawmakers to take care of their
constituents needs, especially of
those who were the former bene-
ciaries of their PDAF.
They are policy makers and
they take care of their constitu-
ents. Its part of their work, he
said.
The implementing agencies
will issue guidelines, but every-
body can make recommendations,
including legislators. Theres
nothing wrong with making rec-
ommendations, thats their job,
otherwise, their constituents will
get mad at them, Mr. Abad added.
Asked if this would not mean
the perpetuation of political pa-
tronage, the Budget chief said:
There has always been political
patronage. You know why, because
people will always go to their rep-
resentative. When they wake up
in the morning... people line up.
Can you eliminate that? Thats
something you cannot eliminate.
Until we are able to address sub-
stantially the problem of poverty,
people will always find a way to
go to their mayor, governor, con-
gressman, Mr. Abad said.
With this, he reiterated that
recommending projects to the
implementing agencies does not
circumvent the SC ruling on the
pork barrel that prohibits law-
makers from intervening in the
post-enactment of the budget.
I think what the Supreme
Court wants to avoid is (that)
you treat the PDAF as your own
money. But if you are recommend-
ing to an agency that, Please give
attention to this because he needs
medical assistance, whats wrong
with that? Please attend to this
scholar because if he cant con-
tinue, he will drop out. Is there
anything wrong with that? he
explained.
Mr. Abad noted that it is now up
to the agencies which proposals or
recommendations of lawmakers
would be granted.
Asked how the agencies would
guarantee that all lawmakers pro-
posing projects would be treated
fairly, Mr. Abad said: Youll have
to ask the implementing agen-
cies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Abad also
disputed reports on the alleged
existence of the so-called hidden
pork saying the amount allocated
for the PDAF has been distributed
to government agencies.
This, as he denied allegations
that Malacaang is behind the dis-
tribution of the hidden pork to
lawmakers who will vote in favor
of amending the economic pro-
visions 1987 Constitution. We
have no knowledge of that. What
happened was pork was realigned
to six agencies. After that, we have
nothing to do with that, he said.
Earlier, Congress realigned the
lawmakers PDAF allocation for
2014 to line agencies increasing
the initial budget for the Public
Works, Social Welfare, Education,
Health, and Labor departments
originally proposed by Malaca-
ang.
Following the SC ruling declar-
ing the PDAF unconstitutional
and ending the practice of mem-
bers of the legislature to nominate
pet projects through lump sum
allocations, Congress removed the
PDAF of lawmakers in the 2014
national budget signed by Presi-
dent Benigno S. C. Aquino III Dec.
20 last year.
Last Tuesday, Party-list Rep.
Antonio L. Tinio (ACT Teachers)
claimed Malacaang is using hid-
den PDAF to hasten the Charter
change process.
Mr. Tinio alleged that Mr.
Aquino and his allies will rely on
the hidden pork amend the 1987
Philippine Constitution, and re-
vealed the formal and informal
practices used by legislators to
access it, including a form, he
claims is circulating among House
members, which serves as listing
of beneciaries identied by law-
makers.
The committee approval of
the Charter change resolution
after only a few meetings is not
surprising, no doubt, Malacaang
has been using its wide arsenal
of congressional and presidential
pork to grease the approval de-
spite heavy substantive and pro-
cedural objections to it, he said in
a statement.
Mr. Tinio claimed P20.8 bil-
lion worth of House pork was
included into the 2014 budgets of
six line agencies, and another P1.8
billion in Senate pork.
In sustaining the Congressio-
nal pork barrel through hidden or
informal, Malacaang is violating
the law and deceiving the public.
They can only persist because of
the conscious and wilful partici-
pation of the President and his
Cabinet, he noted.
For his part, House Speaker
Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., in a
chance interview with reporters
yesterday, also denied Mr. Tinios
allegations noting that the issue is
just being resurrected. Of course
not. None. I denied [that] form so
many, many times [before], he
said. Imee Charlee C. Delavin
THE DEPARTMENT of Finance
(DoF) on Tuesday said the govern-
ment could generate about P10.5-
billion additional revenues by
imposing a 10% ad valorem tax on
soft drinks and other carbonated
beverages.
About P10.5-billion revenues
can be generated from higher
tax on soft drinks and other non-
alcoholic, carbonated drinks,
Stella B. Montejo, head of the DoF
Fiscal Policy and Planning Ofce
told the House committee on ways
and means during the hearing on
House Bill (HB) 3365 or the pro-
posed An Act Imposing a 10% Ad
Valorem Tax on Soft drinks and
Carbonated Drinks.
Citing studies showing that
the increased price would lead to
reduced consumption, Ms. Mon-
tejo noted that raising the prices
of soft drinks and carbonated bev-
Bill seeking 10% ad valorem levy on carbonated beverages welcomed
erages as a result of imposing
additional tax will consequently
reduce consumption.
The National Tax Research
Center (NTRC) through its offi-
cer-in-charge, Deputy Executive
Director Teresita L. Solomon,
projected an additional revenue
of P7.7 billion for the government
cofers.
BETTER HEALTH
While the Finance department
cited the nancial gains of impos-
ing additional tax on soft drinks
and other carbonated drinks, the
Department of Health (DoH) on
the same hearing cited the pos-
sible health benets of the move,
which the department said would
possibly decrease cases of dia-
betes once consumption of said
sweet products will be reduced.
He a l t h Unde r s e c r et a r y
Nemesio Gaco said the reduced
consumption will ensure better
health for Filipinos, as he noted
that soft drinks caloric content is
too high causing various ailments
such as diabetes.
Mr. Gaco said about 44 Filipi-
nos die of diabetes everyday, and
medical experts said this could be
attributed to excessive consump-
tion of soft drinks.
Meanwhile, lawyer Adel A. Ta-
mano, vice-president for public
affairs and communications of
Coca-Cola Philippines, Inc., and
who also represented the Bever-
age Industry Association of the
Philippines at the hearing, said
the tax would impact adversely
not only on soft drinks makers
but more importantly, retailers,
who he called are the pillars of
the industry. There are many
ways to provide employment and
income, not only through taxes,
Mr. Tamano said.
RICE BLAMED
He noted that it is not fair to de-
monize a specic beverage as
being the sole cause of diabetes
among Filipinos.
In the Philippines, in terms of
percentage, where do most Fili-
pinos get their calories? Its not
from soft drinks. It accounts for
less than 10% of the caloric intake.
Its from rice. If the issue here is
caloric intake, dont look at soft
drinks, he said.
HB 3365 was filed on Nov. 18
last year by Nueva Ecija Rep. Es-
trellita B. Suansing (1
st
district). It
was referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means last Nov. 25 for
consideration.
The proposed bill seeks to in-
sert a new section. which will be
designated as Section 150-A Chap-
ter IV, Title VI of the National
Internal Revenue Code.
The new section will read: Soft
drinks and Carbonated Drinks.
There shall be levied, assessed
and collected a ten percent (10%)
ad valorem tax on soft drinks and
carbonated drinks sold in bottle
and other tight container. The
amount to be collected under this
Act shall be designated as the Re-
habilitation Fund for victims of
calamities to be allotted for the
rehabilitation program such as
livelihood development, mass
housing, road construction and
other infrastructure projects on
places affected by sever and de-
structive natural calamities, the
bill read.
In filing HB 3365, Ms. Su-
ansing said the country needs
necessary funds and revenues for
the rehabilitation of areas heavily
damaged by the destructive ca-
lamities that hit the country last
year including typhoon Yolanda
(international name: Haiyan)
which killed at least 6,201 and
caused infrastructure and farm
damage pegged at some P39.82
billion.
Aside from rehabilitation
fund, another purpose of the bill
is to curb the consumption of soft
drinks and carbonated drinks.
There have been studies which
have shown that consumption of
soft drinks and other carbonated
drinks increase the risk of devel-
oping health problems, she added
in the explanatory note of the bill.
Ms. Suansing noted that taxa-
tion of non-alcoholic beverage is
not a new concept.
Other countries like the USA,
France, Netherlands and Finland
have realized the need to impose
taxes on soft drinks and carbon-
ated drinks, she said.
At present, Ms. Suansing said
the soft drink industry is being
subject to value-added tax (VAT),
income tax, withholding tax, lo-
cal and real property taxes, and
customs duties. On the other
hand, avored and colored syrups
used in the manufacturing of soft
drinks are not subject to excise
tax, and only to the 12% VAT and
customs duties if these are im-
ported, she added.
Abad defends project endorsements by legislators
PNP anti-crime
capabilities boosted
Thursday, March 6, 2014 12/S1
The
Nation
Bangsamoro plan gets funds
WB allots $540,000 for Mindanaos development
THE WORLD BANK (WB) has
earmarked $540,000 (about
P24.1 million) for the creation of
a Bangsamoro Development Plan
(BDP) aimed at ensuring inclusive
growth in Mindanao, the multilat-
eral lending agency said in a press
statement.
The WB said the BDP will
provide a short- and medium-
term development strategy for
Bangsamoro areas in the region.
Specically, the BDP will iden-
tify investments and programs
to promote inclusive growth,
stability, and help create jobs in
the Bangsamoro from 2014 until
2020, the WB said.
Bangsamoro will be the new en-
tity that will replace the Autono-
mous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) based on the Framework
Agreement between the Philip-
pine government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Dr. Saffrullah M. Dipatuan,
chairman of the BDA Board of
Directors, was quoted in the
statement as saying that the plan
would play a crucial rule in the
establishment and success of the
Bangsamoro.
Through extensive consulta-
tions, the BDP will set the strategic
direction for the new Bangsamoro
government by identifying poten-
tial areas for investment, private
sector promotion and cooperation
with other regions in the country,
Mr. Dipatuan said.
The BDPs planning process is
funded from the Mindanao Trust
Fund (MTF) administered by the
WB. The MTF, which started in
2006, is a $28-million multi-
ILOILO CITY The prime suspect in
the murder of an Ati tribe leader in
Boracay last year was arrested Mon-
day evening in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
Daniel Celestino, a native of
barangay Manoc-Manoc in Boracay
Island, is the alleged gunman of Dex-
ter Condez, 26, community organizer
and spokesperson of the Boracay Ati
Tribal Organization (BATO).
Initial reports from the Police
Regional Offce-Western Visayas
said police intelligence operatives
arrested Mr. Celestino in Laguna at
10:40 p.m. on Monday.
Mr. Celestino is facing murder
charges before the Regional Trial
Court in Aklan province.
Mr. Condez was gunned down in
the evening of Feb. 22, 2013 while
on his way home to their community
in Manoc-Manoc village.
Several witnesses tagged Mr.
Celestino, who used to work as a
security guard of Crown Regency
Boracay Resorts, as the gunman.
The murder case is believed to
be an offshoot of the land dispute
between the Ati tribe and several pri-
vate individuals who are claiming the
2.1 hectares awarded to the natives
in 2011 as their ancestral domain.
Last week, police offcers and Army
soldiers were deployed when the land
grant was formally awarded to the
tribe. Francis Allan L. Angelo
ZAMBOANGA CITY A vice-
mayor of a town in Basilan prov-
ince was abducted in a local
shopping mall here on Tuesday
afternoon.
Police Inspector Ariel T. Hu-
esca, spokesperson of the regional
police ofce, said Arsina Q. Nanoh,
vice-mayor of the Hadji Mutamad
town was abducted by unidenti-
ed men past 2 p.m. on Tuesday at
Mindpro City Mall.
Elements of the city police im-
mediately conducted hot pursuit
and rescue operations for possible
interception of the suspects and
rescue of the victim, Mr. Huesca
said.
Mindpro, where the victim was
taken, is located at the heart of the
city, and just a few meters away
from the Zamboanga City Cathe-
dral and the Ateneo de Zamboanga
University.
This city has been experiencing
a problem on abduction of civil-
ians for years now. Last month,
suspected members of the Abu
Sayyaf Group took a young busi-
nesswoman, Sabrina Ikbala Voon,
in Mercedes, a far-ung village of
the city.
Many suspects in criminal
activities here are members of
lawless groups based in the island-
provinces of Basilan and Sulu,
police sources said.
Mr. Huesca said the city police
ofce is now conducting an inves-
tigation to determine the identi-
ties of the suspects.
Zamboanga City Mayor Ma.
Isabelle Climaco- Salazar on
Wednesday issued an urgent call
for all the barangays to activate
their respective civilian volunteer
organizations and strengthen the
security patrol in their areas.
A reinforced barangay defense
system is very crucial in the drive
against lawlessness, she said.
Albert F. Arcilla
By Mikhail Franz E. Flores
Reporter
donor facility that supports eco-
nomic and social recovery and
promotes inclusive and effective
governance in conflict-affected
areas of Mindanao.
The MTF program serves as
a mechanism for international
development partner to pool re-
sources and coordinate support
for peace and development.
The trust fund draws on recent
contributions from the European
Union and the Australian Depart-
ment of Foreign Afairs and Trade.
The other development part-
ners supporting the MTF are the
following: the New Zealand Min-
istry of Foreign Afairs and Trade;
the Foreign Afairs, Trade and De-
velopment Canada; the Swedish
International Development Co-
operation Agency; and the United
States Agency for International
Development.
The BDP, which will reect the
goals of the Bangsamoro people,
the indigenous peoples, and other
sectors in Mindanao, will help
strengthen the Bangsamoro re-
gion to become the anchor and
the sanctuary of our aspirations
of shared prosperity and shared
security, Presidential Adviser
on the Peace Process Teresita Q.
Deles said in a statement.
WB Country Director Motoo
Konishi said the crafting of the
BDP will help strengthen the
confidence in the ongoing peace
process.
This planning process demon-
strates how the government and
the MILF with the support of
development partners, civil so-
ciety groups, private sector and
other stakeholders are work-
ing together to deliver a tangible
dividend to communities from the
peace process, Mr. Konishi said in
the same statement.
Meanwhile, an economist from
the WB said the countrys econo-
my needs to generate about 14.6
million jobs in the next four years
if the government wants to ensure
inclusive growth.
JOBS NEEDED
During the regional dialogue held
at the University of South East-
ern Philippines in Davao City on
Tuesday, WB senior economist
Karl Kendrick Tiu Chua said:
Only half of the 500,000 college
graduates every year can be ab-
sorbed in business process out-
sourcing (BPO), manufacturing,
real estate and nance while the
other half has the option to nd
work abroad.
While a sustained 7% gross do-
mestic product growth per year
and the removal of constraints in
fast-growing sectors like the BPO
industry can provide more work-
ers with good jobs, Mr. Chua said
12.4 million Filipinos will still be
unemployed or underemployed.
Mr. Chua blamed the long
history of policy distortions that
slowed down the agriculture and
manufacturing sectors in the last
six decades for the lack of better
jobs for Filipinos, despite the
countrys continued growth.
He said this has resulted in the
inability of the agriculture sector,
and the labor-intensive manufac-
turing industry to take of.
Among the policies he cited as
the reason for the unavailability of
jobs are the monopolies and lack
of competition, complex regula-
tions, insecure property rights,
and lack of investments.
Monopolies charge high price
for low quality, so you see airlines
with high cost but poor services
that cancel flights regularly, he
said.
In agriculture, he said these in-
clude protectionist policies such
as that of rice self-sufficiency,
large subsidies for inputs and
distortions in institutions that
prevent broad and secure access
to land by small landholders.
There is a high degree of
landlessness which has not been
brought down by decades of agri-
cultural reform, Mr. Chua said.
He said high prices of food and
agriculture inputs have in turn
contributed to high statutory min-
imum wages and high production
cost in downstream agribusiness,
manufacturing and services which
raised the cost of living, reduced
employment and dampened real
income.
A business leader in Davao
City agreed with the economists
comments. The economy is in-
deed growing but the question is:
where are the jobs?, said Antonio
T. dela Cruz, president of Davao
City Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Inc.
Mr. dela Cruz cited the problem
of education and job mismatch
that hounds 46,000 graduates of
Davao City alone every year.
He said even the Davao cham-
ber members are guilty of accept-
ing applicants who are overquali-
ed.
However, a survey conducted
by local schools show that local
industries put a premium now on
workers who can easily accept in-
structions and perform better.
The question is whether busi-
nesses are ready to hire non-de-
gree holders, he added.
The challenge for Davao is how
to bring in investments that can
be translated into job-generating
opportunities, Mr. dela Cruz said.
with Carmencita A. Carillo in
Davao City
Vice-mayor abducted
in Zamboanga City
Suspect in Ati leader
murder arrested
Phil Aussie Bahrain Canadian HKong Japan Saudi Spore Swiss UK US EMU
one unit of currency peso dollar dinar dollar dollar yen rial dollar franc pound dollar euro
Philippines 1.0000 0.0250 0.0084 0.0248 0.1732 2.2810 0.0837 0.0283 0.0198 0.0134 0.0223 0.0162
Australia 40.0277 1.0000 0.3367 0.9907 6.9313 91.3041 3.3496 1.1332 0.7925 0.5358 0.8932 0.6502
Bahrain 118.8790 2.9699 1.0000 2.9423 20.5855 271.1656 9.9480 3.3654 2.3537 1.5912 2.6527 1.9309
Canada 40.4030 1.0094 0.3399 1.0000 6.9963 92.1601 3.3810 1.1438 0.7999 0.5408 0.9016 0.6562
Hong Kong 5.7749 0.1443 0.0486 0.1429 1.0000 13.1727 0.4833 0.1635 0.1143 0.0773 0.1289 0.0938
Japan 0.4384 0.0110 0.0037 0.0109 0.0759 1.0000 0.0367 0.0124 0.0087 0.0059 0.0098 0.0071
Saudi Arabia 11.9500 0.2985 0.1005 0.2958 2.0693 27.2582 1.0000 0.3383 0.2366 0.1599 0.2667 0.1941
Singapore 35.3235 0.8825 0.2971 0.8743 6.1167 80.5737 2.9559 1.0000 0.6994 0.4728 0.7882 0.5737
Switzerland 50.5072 1.2618 0.4249 1.2501 8.7460 115.2080 4.2265 1.4298 1.0000 0.6760 1.1270 0.8204
United Kingdom 74.7111 1.8665 0.6285 1.8491 12.9372 170.4177 6.2520 2.1151 1.4792 1.0000 1.6671 1.2135
United States 44.8150 1.1196 0.3770 1.1092 7.7603 102.2240 3.7502 1.2687 0.8873 0.5998 1.0000 0.7279
EMU 61.5668 1.5381 0.5179 1.5238 10.6611 140.4352 5.1520 1.7429 1.2190 0.8241 1.3738 1.0000
PESO CROSS RATES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
source: BSP
MONEY QUOTATIONS
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014
EXCHANGE RATES
NEW YORK-one US$ expressed in respective
unit of foreign currency
EMU 1.3736/38
United Kingdom 1.6668/71
Canada 1.1092/97
Switzerland 0.8873/76
Japan 102.23/26
India 61.89/92
Mexico 13.2790/40
Denmark 5.4323/33
Norway 6.0118/58
Sweden 6.4444/74
Singapore 1.2687/97
Australia 0.8947/57
New Zealand 0.8388/95
Hong Kong 7.7609/15
S. Africa 10.7580/80
Hungary 225.86/86
Israel 3.4828/28
Iceland 112.61/61
Czech Koruna 19.902/932
LONDON - one pound sterling expressed in
respective unit of foreign currency at 1637 GMT
US 1.6664 1.6668
Swiss France 1.4774 1.4789
Japan 170.2400 170.42
Norway 10.0084 10.0266
EURO 1.2129 1.2133
Canada 1.8455 1.8477
Denmark 9.0504 9.0567
Sweden 10.7334 10.7581
JAPAN-in per unit of foreign currency
UK 0.5868 0.5871
Switzerland 0.8674 0.8679
SINGAPORE-in S$ per unit of foreign currency
US 1.2699 1.2709
UK 2.1160 2.1181
Australia 1.1390 1.1404
Per 100
Hong Kong 0.1637 0.1637
Japan 1.2421 1.2434
BANK NOTES (Hong Kong)-in HK$ per unit of
foreign currency; TT-telegraphic transfer
Australia 6.8110 6.9060
Canada 7.8510 7.9380
India 1.7500 2.0500
Japan 7.1100 7.2060
Korea 0.8180 0.8880
Philippines 0.1750 0.1900
Brunei 5.3350 5.4410
China 1.0510 1.0620
Denmark 1.4850 1.5550
Norway 1.3770 1.4470
Sweden 1.1800 1.2510
EUR 11.4850 11.5880
Singapore 5.3350 5.4410
Switzerland 6.9970 7.0970
Taiwan 23.3000 25.3000
Thailand 22.5000 24.5000
UK 15.8890 -16.1900
USA 7.7240 7.7940
Japan T/C 7.1040 7.1690
UK T/C 15.8850 -16.0730
USA T/C 7.7340 7.7860
New Zealand 5.8660 5.9660
South Africa 0.9660 1.1660
MONEY RATES
Prime rate-charged by large
comml banks to their best corp. borrowers;
Broker Loan Rate-charged to broker on stock
exchange collaterals; Federal Funds-reserves
traded among comml banks for overnight use
Prime rate 3.2500
Discount 0.7500
Broker Loan Rate 2.0000
Federal Funds Rate 0.25
EURODOLLAR DEP (New York)
One month 0.1100 0.1900
Two months 0.1500 0.2300
Three months 0.1600 0.2600
Four months 0.1800 0.2800
Five months 0.2000 0.4000
Six months 0.2100 0.4100
Nine months 0.2600 0.3600
One year 0.3500 0.5500
MONEY RATES (London)
Euro$ Depo
One month 0.1400 0.2400
Three months 0.2400 0.3700
Six months 0.3000 0.4300
One year 0.4900 0.6300
Forwards & Deposits (Singapore)
One month 0.1788 0.3663
Two months 0.2500 0.3700
Three months 0.2225 0.4100
Six months 0.2791 0.4666
Nine months 0.3700 0.5000
One year 0.4072 0.5947
LIBOR RATE -London Interbank Offered
Rates charged in US$ for Eurodollar loans
Rates fxed at 11:00 a.m. London time
One Month 0.1565
Two Months 0.1965
Three months 0.2354
Six months 0.3315
One year 0.552
* * * GOLD BULLION * * *
WORLD BULLION-in US$ per troy
ounce, rupees/10 gms, won/gram
Ldn morning fx 1339.50
Ldn aftrn fx 1334.75
London close 1336.50 1337.45
New York 1340.20 1340.70
Zurich 1,340.20 1,340.70
Bombay 24 carat 0.00 0.00
Karachi 24 carat 0.00 0.00
Dubai 24 carat 0.00 0.00
US Gold Prices ($/Troy ounce)
Engelhard gold (bullion) 1336.92
Engelhard gold (fabricated) 1437.19
Handy & Harman (base price) 1334.75
Handy & Harman (fabricated) 1441.53
Krugerrand 1297.56 1300.56
source: REUTERS
BSP REFERENCE RATES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
source: BSP
Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent
of foreign of US$1 of foreign of RPP in of foreign of EURO
currency in in foreign currency in foreign currency in in foreign
Currency US Dollar currency RP peso currency EURO currency
Convertible currencies with BSP
US dollar 1.000000 1.000000 44.8150 0.022314 0.727908 1.373800
Japanese yen 0.009782 102.228583 0.4384 2.281022 0.007120 140.449438
UK pound 1.667100 0.599844 74.7111 0.013385 1.213495 0.824066
Hongkong dollar 0.128861 7.760300 5.7749 0.173163 0.093799 10.661094
Swiss franc 1.127015 0.887300 50.5072 0.019799 0.820363 1.218973
Canada dollar 0.901551 1.109200 40.4030 0.024751 0.656246 1.523819
Singapore dollar 0.788208 1.268701 35.3235 0.028310 0.573743 1.742941
Australia dollar 0.893176 1.119600 40.0277 0.024983 0.650150 1.538107
Bahrain dinar * 2.652661 0.376980 118.8790 0.008412 1.930893 0.517895
Kuwait dinar N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Saudi Arabia rial 0.266652 3.750206 11.9500 0.083682 0.194098 5.152037
Brunei dollar 0.785114 1.273700 35.1849 0.028421 0.571491 1.749809
Indonesia rupiah 0.000086 11627.906977 0.0039 256.410256 0.000063 15873.015873
Thailand baht 0.030845 32.420165 1.3823 0.723432 0.022452 44.539462
U. A. E. Dirham 0.272257 3.673000 12.2012 0.081959 0.198178 5.045969
E.M.U. euro 1.373800 0.727908 61.5668 0.016243 1.000000 1.000000
South Korea won 0.000934 1070.663812 0.0419 23.866348 0.000680 1470.588235
China yuan ** 0.162787 6.142997 7.2953 0.137075 0.118494 8.439246
Others (Not Convertible with BSP)
Argentina peso 0.126839 7.884010 5.6843 0.175923 0.092327 10.831068
Brazil real 0.427241 2.340599 19.1468 0.052228 0.310992 3.215517
Denmark kroner 0.184084 5.432303 8.2497 0.121217 0.133996 7.462909
India rupee 0.016159 61.885018 0.7242 1.380834 0.011762 85.019554
Malaysia ringgit 0.305157 3.277002 13.6756 0.073123 0.222126 4.501949
Mexico new peso 0.075307 13.278978 3.3749 0.296305 0.054817 18.242516
New Zealand dollar 0.8371 1.194600 37.5146 0.026656 0.609332 1.641141
Norway kroner 0.16634 6.011783 7.4545 0.134147 0.121080 8.259002
Pakistan rupee 0.009547 104.744946 0.4278 2.337541 0.006949 143.905598
South African rand 0.092345 10.828957 4.1384 0.241639 0.067219 14.876746
Sweden kroner 0.155173 6.444420 6.9541 0.143800 0.112952 8.853318
Syria pound 0.006947 143.947027 0.3113 3.212335 0.005057 197.745699
Taiwan dollar 0.033024 30.281008 1.4800 0.675676 0.024038 41.600799
Venezuela bolivar 0.159129 6.284210 7.1314 0.140225 0.115831 8.633267
SDR Rate = $1.54618 SDR GOLD Buying: $1,336.50 SILVER Buying: $21.20
* Various banks in Bahrain as quoted in Reuters Screen
** Asian Time Closing Rate as of March 4, 2014
Percent per annum
FOREIGN Interest Rates
FOREX RATE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014
Current: P44.759
Volume: $758.50 M
Previous: P44.815
PDS weighted
average rate
Source: BSP
T-BILL 91-DAY
MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014
January 10, 2011 March 3, 2014
Average yield Current: 1.000
Previous: 0.693 (Jan. 6, 2013)
Daily Volume
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014
INTERBANK RATES
Demand Rate HIGH: 2 3/32% LOW: 2% AVE.: 2 1/32%
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
High Low
LENDING RATES
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014
MARKET WATCH
UNIVERSAL BANKS
LOCAL BANKS
Banco de Oro Unibank 6.0000 3.0000
Bank of the Philippine Islands 6.0000 3.5000
China Banking Corporation 8.0000 4.2500
Development Bank of the Philis. 6.6500 4.5000
East West Bank 6.5000 5.7500
Land Bank of the Phils. 6.5000 3.5000
MetroBank and Trust Co. 8.0000 6.0000
Philippine National Bank 8.4000 8.4000
Philippine Trust Co. 6.5000 4.5000
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. 7.7500 5.7500
Security Bank Corporation 8.4000 6.4000
Union Bank of the Philippines 8.5000 6.5000
United Coconut Planters Bank 7.0000 5.0000
AVERAGE 7.2462 5.1577
BRANCHES OF FOREIGN BANKS
ANZ Bank 5.0000 3.4000
Deutsche Bank 6.2500 3.2000
Hongkong & Shanghai Bank 6.2500 2.9000
ING Bank 4.4000 2.4000
Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. 6.0000 1.2500
Standard Chartered Bank 9.0000 3.0000
AVERAGE 6.1500 2.6917
COMMERCIAL BANKS
LOCAL BANKS:
Asia United Bank 7.0000 6.0000
Bank of Commerce 6.4375 3.9375
BDO Private Bank 6.4580 4.4580
Phil. Bank of Communications 7.0000 5.0000
Philippine Veterans Bank 7.5000 5.5000
Robinsons Bank Corp. 8.0000 5.2500
AVERAGE 7.0659 5.0243
BRANCHES OF FOREIGN BANKS
Bangkok Bank 8.4000 4.4400
Bank of America 5.6930 3.6930
Bank of China 6.0000 2.2500
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi 5.2500 3.5000
Citibank, N.A. 7.0400 2.8000
JPMorgan Chase Bank 3.9084 3.9084
Korea Exchange Bank 8.0000 4.5000
Mega Intl. Comml. Bank Co. Ltd. 8.2500 4.0000
AVERAGE 6.5677 3.6364
SUBSIDIARIES OF FOREIGN BANKS
Chinatrust Bank 5.4330 4.4330
Maybank 7.0000 6.0000
AVERAGE 6.2165 5.2165
GENERAL AVERAGE 6.8134 4.3677
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Jan 07 Feb 04 Mar 04
LIBOR (US$)
90-days 0.2421 0.2365 0.2354
180 0.3447 0.3330 0.3315
SIBOR (SG$)
90-days 0.4036 0.4050 0.4021
180 0.4819 0.4819 0.4814
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
P13.758 B
5.6
ctvs