BUSINESS OUTLOOK The scenic view of Antipolo City is seen here from the Ortigas Central Business District. The host of the tourist destination Hinulugang Taktak, Antipolo City is also known as a bustling site for residential property developments. NONIE REYES
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Tuesday, April 19, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 192
3-year blueprint pegs infra spending at ₧3T 2,442 T B C O
@caiordinario
HE government is targeting to spend as much as P3 trillion for infrastructure projects, from 2017 to 2019, in keeping with its goal of hiking public-infrastructure spending to at least 5 percent of GDP.
Estimated number of projects to be covered by the Three-Year Rolling Infrastructure Program Doc u ment s obt a i ned by t he Busi n e ssM i r ror showed t h at C A
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SOLITUDE IN THE CITY
The truth about election spending LIFE
The Millennials BusinessMirror
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
S O S Correspondent
LIENTS fly him in chartered plane and helicopters, taking to five-star hotels and other public places to document product launches, business meetings, conferences and other events that gather high-profile figures. Russell S. Garrote, 25, a professional cameraman, photographer and video/photo editor, has been brushing elbows with government and business executives, envoys, expats and other personalities that represent the country’s elite. His photos had seen prints in the national broadsheet where television and event host Johnny Litton pens a society column. The second of three children, Russell said whatever he earns he puts in his savings account. The earnings come from what his lenses capture: from birthday celebrations, debuts, soirees, weddings, among others. He has set foot in every hotel in the commercial and business districts of Makati, Ortigas and Cebu. In 2014 Russell flew over Cebu and Davao on board a helicopter, together with Mila Ong How, executive vice president of Universal Harvester Inc. (UHI), three International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) scientists, and a BusinessMirror correspondent from Bicol to document How’s meetings with local producers of Cavendish banana and cocoa. He also vividly recalls his first flight with How in a chartered plane the same year. He was to document a social engagement of How with
a group in Masbate. How and her entourage, however, arrived late at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) that day, missing their booked flight in a commercial plane. How got a chartered plane to fly them to Masbate, an island province south of Bicol. Russell was nervous yet excited on the flight. His association with How, whose company sponsors the annual search for The Outstanding Farmers of the Philippines (Tofarm), had led Russell to working for more clients, who are mostly How’s friends in business.
His father’s son
RUSSELL has been around on his own for about three years now, following his father’s untimely demise after a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 49. The death of his father, Francisco Garrote, gave birth to the intense inspiration of keeping his father’s passion for capturing momentous events of the human life, as well as its rich colors, profound meaning and the gracefulness in the day to day. His father drew out Russell’s interest in photography, as well as videography. Russell started as his father’s light-man at the age of 16. He recal led that time dig i-
THIS March 3 photo shows young photographer and videographer Russell S. Garrote in front of the lens at a hotel in Ortigas Center.
ta l-camera technolog y has yet to ar r ive. Videos were stil l in v ideo home system (V HS) formats and cameras were bulky. “I think my father saw I had an ‘eye’ for photography,” Garrote said, adding he also knew how to crop and the spacing between subjects. He later became his father’s backup cameraman. With the new technology and ideas today, Russell had upgraded and enriched the treasure trove of skills and ideas that his father had passed on to him. He likes to believe his mother is
happy for what he has become.
Costless art
“COMPETITION is [getting] tight among cameramen and photographers today,” Russell said. “You have to upgrade your technology every now and then to stay in the loop.” Clients tend to look for the most advanced cameras, he added. Despite having state-of-the-art cameras, some clients compensate quality service with a tight fist. “But whether a client is generous, I always come out with quality work,” Russell said. “I give the same
quality service regardless of the amount because it’s my passion and I value my work.” Russell also performs as percussionist and earns money with his on-call band at hotel lounges, cafés and special events. Most of their audience is 60 years of age and above. They perform music that entertains the seniors—love songs and hits that were popular during their younger years and an era that Russell only read about in books. He has been performing with his band for about six years now. Al-
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H E largest Philippine seller of luxury brands, such as Jimmy Choo shoes and Prada handbags, says investors and analysts should temper earnings expectations, with competition among retailers squeezing margins—even as consumer spending shows no signs of letting up. Intensifying competition for consumers will cap sales growth, SSI Group Inc. President Anthony Huang said in an interview. Profit estimates by analysts are “too rosy,” while revenue forecasts are “a little bit optimistic,” he said. Midrange and luxury brands are rushing into the Philippines, cashing in on some of Southeast Asia’s most bullish consumers. Cushman & Wakefield Inc. estimates that more than 190 such brands have entered the country since 2008. Filipinos are the second most confident consumers in the world, just behind Indians, Nielsen Holdings Plc. said in its latest Global Consumer Confidence Index report. “The market has turned extremely competitive,” Huang said from his office in Manila’s Makati district. “Over the past years, there’s a huge influx of brands. Consumer spending is growing, but that is also going to other things. Retail will still grow but it won’t be as fast as in the past.” Manila-based SSI posted its first
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Number of luxury brands that entered the Philippine market since 2008 profit decline in five years in 2015, amid rising competition and the need to match price discounts of rival brands, including Hennes & Mauritz AB’s H&M and Fast Retailing Co.’s Uniqlo clothing chain. Net income fell almost a fifth, even as sales posted a record. Last year’s profit margin shrank to 53.5 percent from 56.1 percent the previous year, Huang said. SSI’s adjusted net income may reach P1.11 billion ($24 million) this year and rise to P1.41 billion in 2017, while sales will increase from P19.4 billion to P21.7 billion over the period, according to the average of analysts’ projections compiled by Bloomberg. Since SSI’s November 2014 debut at P7.50, the stock has dropped 51 percent through Friday, compared with the 1.2-percent rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange index. The shares fell as much as 4.6 percent to P3.52 on Monday to the S “C,” A
The failure of the Telstra-San Miguel partnership reflects the terrible state of the Philippine telecoms market when it comes to contestability.”—S
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though an on-call musician earns no big money, for Russell the act of performing is itself a compensation. Russell is grateful to Vanjie Oliquino, a senior photographer who takes photos for Litton. “I owe her a lot,” he said, adding that Oliquino was instrumental in broadening his exposure and deepening his association with clients. Still single, but dating a neighbor in Makati, Russell finds the meaning and colors of his own life as he looks at the infinite expressions in human face and the beauty of nature through his lenses.
MILLENNIAL ENVIRONMENTALIST CREDITS GORE FOR ADVOCACY B R R S. R @brownindio
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T was Al Gore’s doing. Just ask Alexandra Beatriz Cancio, 24, a corporate-sustainability analyst in First Philippine Holdings (FPH) Corp. and a management graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University. Cancio said her turning point on becoming an environmentalist was when she watched US Vice President Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. In an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror, Cancio shares her thoughts and perception on how her comillennials view environmentalism, among others.
BusinessMirror (BM): Ateneo has this “man/woman for others” as its motto. As an Atenean, how does your Alma Mater’s motto jive with your environmental advocacy? Alexandra Beatriz Cancio (ABC): Being a woman for others is very apt for this journey that I’ve been on for over eight years since this advocacy constantly teaches me to look at the bigger picture and think beyond myself. I believe that this is one of the best philosophies I’ve learned and one of the difficult beliefs to manage, as well. Thriving as a college student in Ateneo inculcates this duty to serve others. Yet, at the same time, it also had me believe that I was an unstoppable force with the capacity to accomplish outstanding things. I find there is no shame in strongly believing in one’s capabilities, but the choice to be in service of others, regardless of which social issue you choose to help out in, can be demanding and admittedly discouraging—after all, you don’t always get the support you hope for. Getting into this line of work and maintaining this as a philosophy is, therefore, not a decision to be taken lightly.
However, I’ve found solace in the realization that, with the hope of creating big impacts, being in service of others means working with others who share the same philosophy. Service is not simply an individual act, but a collaborative one that has the amazing capacity to create significant change when working hand-in-hand with others. I believe this is a reality that reaches out to us more than ever as we work locally and globally to #ChangeClimateChange and fight for the survival of our planet. BM: What inspired you to be an environmentalist? ABC: My interest with environmentalism began with climate change. It was Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth that initially caught my attention on the global environmental crisis. Our high-school science teacher had us watch this documentary. I was completely floored because I did not realize, at the young age of 14, how bad the situation was and could potentially become. From there, I took small steps to educate myself on climate change to understand the impact of human activity on the world. While An Inconvenient Truth was my introduction to environmentalism, it was my exposure to African wildlife that led me toward conservation and kept me in this line of work. Before I started college, I was privileged to visit the Okavango Delta in Botswana, a place bountiful in wildlife and unique simply because it was more untouched than most places in the world. At the same time, I was bothered that the world already lost so many extraordinary ecosystems, and I could not fathom us losing any more of the few natural places we have left. As Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling
nite consciousness about social and environmental concerns. We criticize when companies misbehave. We express our admiration for people who work for the greater good. We cry out when people are mistreated or when the environment is abused. We are outwardly expressive about the matters of life that we value and there is genuine concern for the various social issues we encounter. Herein lies the challenge: to know how to help. Since millennials are exposed to so many controversies taking place around the world, it is not difficult to be paralyzed with shock. There are so many issues to internalize that we often don’t know where to begin and how to help out. The WWF NYC should be able to help address this challenge by providing millennials with information whilst creating venues for the youth to that will empower and encourage them to help build a sustainable country. BM: Moving forward, do you think environmentalism will have a big role in your career path? ABC: Environmentalism has been my guiding principle in the decisions I’ve made from high school up to this day. I have no doubt that this will continue to be my mission in life regardless of who I work with and what I do. Often times, people tend to separate the environment with their course, interest, or line of work. However, many of the choices we make, even something as simple as choosing what we eat or drink, impact our environment. In truth, we are highly dependent on nature, that to continue exploiting it will leave us as the most vulnerable species of all. With environmentalism as my main focus, I only hope to encourage this lifestyle in others.
THE MILLENNIALS for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” I felt that if I was called to do anything in this life, it was to help in a cause bigger than myself. It has then been my life commitment to help save and restore our environment. BM: How do you find your current job as a corporate sustainability analyst in FPH? ABC: Working in FPH as a corporate-sustainability analyst is
an enriching experience; there are always new things to learn and exciting initiatives to implement or participate in. The conglomerate itself is involved in a variety of industries—energy, property, manufacturing, construction and energy services—and this gives fantastic opportunities to extend the range of impact in sustainability. If there is one thing I’ve taken away from working in this conglomerate, it is
RECKLESS CHAMP
Sports BusinessMirror
CZECHS ON FIRE L UCERNE, Switzerland—Two-time defending champion the Czech Republic advanced to the Fed Cup final after edging Switzerland, 3-2, on Sunday, sealing victory in a decisive doubles rubber against Martina Hingis and unheralded Swiss star Viktorija Golubic. The Czechs will play their fifth final in six seasons away to France in November. They have won the other four. Switzerland appeared to have winning momentum after the 129th-ranked Golubic roused home fans in the Messe indoor arena with a second comeback victory in singles. Golubic won, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, against the 33rd-ranked Barbora Strycova to force a deciding rubber, then went straight back on court with top-ranked doubles player Hingis. The Swiss pair soon faded in losing, 6-2, 6-2, against Karolina Pliskova and Lucie Hradecka. “She was the one on fire,” Hingis said of her playing partner. “We were banking on that, that she can keep it up. She can take only positives from this weekend.” Earlier, the 18thranked
that every community, team, company and sector has the opportunity to contribute toward a more sustainable world. This is exactly what our team, the Corporate Sustainability Group, has been doing for the past two years. If anything, I consider myself very fortunate to work in FPH because the Lopezes have been practicing sustainability in its subsidiaries for a long time. We are able to accomplish more things with greater positive environment, social and economic impact because sustainability has been long valued in the conglomerate. Now it is a matter of finding more opportunities to create value with our stakeholders and extending the sustainability mind-set to our partners. BM: What are your expectations as one of the members of the World Wildlife Foundation National Youth Council (WWF NYC)? ABC: Being the only NYC member that is in the sweet spot between the students and the young professionals, I have a perspective that can help WWF reach out to a wider group of people. On a bigger perspective, I believe that the NYC will strongly impact the way WWF approaches its audiences, and it will be our responsibility to work closely with our fellow millennials so that we can create the most effective programs and campaigns important to our generation. If we want to the youth to inculcate sustainability in their lives, it is our first duty to first listen to their concerns. From there we can only build initiatives that establish behavior and lifestyle change. BM: What are the challenges in promoting environmentalism to your fellow millennials? ABC: Interacting with those in my generation has shown me that millennials have a defi-
Pliskova put the Czechs, 2-1, ahead beating No. 17 Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4, 6-2. “It was sensational the way they played,” Czech captain Petr Pala said of his team. “The spirit is there, everybody wants to win the cup.” Bacsinszky, the highest ranked player in the series, was well beaten in both her singles, winning only eight games. Switzerland was seeking to reach its first final since 1998, when a then-teenage Hingis was its top singles player. In Trelaze, France, Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic beat Kiki Bertens and Richel Hogenkamp, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, in a decisive doubles match on Sunday, as France rallied from 2-1 down against the Netherlands to win 3-2 and reach its first Fed Cup final in 11 years. The Dutch will have regrets after Bertens beat Mladenovic, 7-5, 6-4, in the opening reverse singles to improve her outstanding Fed Cup record to 15-1 in singles. Bertens had 10 aces and broke Mladenovic’s serve five times. Mladenovic briefly rallied from 5-2 down in the second set, but Bertens closed out victory on serve. “She was very solid, especially on her serve, and she was better than me today,” Mladenovic said. “I take my hat off to her. Throughout the match she served practically on the line all the time.” For the second reverse singles, Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis swapped Hogenkamp and replaced her with Arantxa Rus, who had initially been scheduled to play doubles alongside Cindy Burger. But Rus lost, 6-3, 6-4, to Garcia as France leveled at 2-2. Garcia, who lost to Bertens in the opening singles on Saturday, broke
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| TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana
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THE Czech team (above photo) celebrates its victory over Switzerland, and so do Caroline Garcia and partner Kristina Mladenovic after they sent France to the final after beating Kiki Bertens and Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands. AP
Rus twice in the first set. Rus started the second set strongly, breaking twice in succession to lead 3-0 but Garcia pulled back to 3-3 and broke again to level the match. Instead of Rus-Burger in doubles, Haarhuis selected Bertens—his form player—alongside the more rested Hogenkamp. It almost worked as the Dutch took the first set, breaking the French pair twice. The second set was tense, with the French pair saving the only break point they faced and taking the only one they got on the Dutchwomen’s serve. The Dutch pressured strongly in the deciding set of the tie but failed to convert six break-point chances, while the clinical Frenchwomen converted both of theirs. AP
RECKLESS CHAMP Rafael Nadal sees it as a sign that his famed fighting qualities are coming back, compared to last year, when he was more prey than predator on clay. B J P The Associated Press
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ONACO—Rafael Nadal is glad he won a ninth Monte Carlo Masters title the hard way, after defeating Frenchman Gael Monfils, 7-5, 5-7, 6-0, in an errorstrewn final on Sunday. Normally, having to face 47 break points in five matches to win a tournament on clay would be a big cause for concern for the nine-time French Open champion. But the Spaniard sees it as a sign that his famed fighting qualities are coming back, compared to last year, when he was more prey than predator on clay. “This week I was able to increase my level when things became tough, like I did before,” Nadal said. “That’s something I missed a lot.” In total, Nadal dropped serve 13 times this week, and more clinical opponents might have made him pay. The relief was evident for a profligate Nadal, as he overcame five breaks on his serve to win in Monte Carlo for the first time since the last of his eight straight titles in 2012.
VARIED campaign posters by traditional politicians running for public office are displayed along the streets of Manila. The Commission on Elections has ruled it is illegal for candidates to post, display or exhibit any election campaign or propaganda material outside of authorized common poster areas, in public places or in private properties, without the consent of the owner. NONIE REYES
It also gave him a record-equaling 28th Masters title, bringing him alongside top-ranked Novak Djokovic. He sank to his knees after sealing victory with a brilliant forehand winner, tilting his head back, closing his eyes to savor his biggest tournament win since the French Open in June 2014 and his first at a Masters event since Madrid a few weeks before that. “It has been a very important week,” Nadal said. “The victory confirms that I am better.” Nadal is not going to get carried away. He has his sights set on a ninth title in Barcelona, having not won there since 2013, which is when he last reached the final. “We will see how things are in the next six months [but] I have to enjoy this moment,” Nadal said. “Tomorrow I will start to think about Barcelona.” This was his first title of the year, having won only three in 2015— when he was riddled with self-doubt. Last year Djokovic battered him in the French Open quarterfinals; Stan Wawrinka beat him in the Rome Masters quarterfinals in straight sets; Andy Murray routed him in the Madrid final, 6-3, 6-2; Djokovic won, 6-3, 6-3, in the Monte Carlo semifinals; and even erratic Italian Fabio Fognini beat him twice—in Rio and Barcelona. “Last year was a tough year,” the fifth-ranked Nadal said. “The nerves that I had, I was anxious in the matches.” It took him two hours and 46 minutes to finally see off Monfils, who had never won a set against Nadal on clay and had lost 11 of their 13 previous matches. “He increased his intensity and changed the way he was playing,” the 13th-seeded Monfils said, referring to the third set. “I simply couldn’t find an answer.” In a topsy-turvy encounter in which they conceded 34 break-point chances between them, Monfils dropped his serve eight times as Nadal clinched his 68th title in his 100th final, and his first since winning on clay at Hamburg last August. His previous final was in January— routed by Djokovic in Doha. In a contest between two 29-year-olds with differing career trajectories, Monfils was rank outsider.
Since they first played each other in the second round here 11 years ago, Nadal has won 14 Grand Slams and Monfils has never even won a Masters title. In their previous four contests on clay, Monfils had never taken more than three games off Nadal in a set. At times, it seemed Monfils could cause a big upset, hitting superb winners from incredible angles and with brutal strength. “Gael’s potential is so high because he has everything to play at the highest level,” Nadal said. “Good serve, movements are unbelievable, super quick.” But instead, it was a 19th defeat in 24 finals and a third in a Masters final, having lost twice in Paris. He will regret 51 unforced errors, considering Nadal made 36 and double-faulted four times. But Monfils double-faulted seven times. With six weeks to go until the French Open in Paris, Nadal will need to serve much better. He missed a chance to serve out the first set at 5-3 up, doublefaulting. After saving four sets points, Monfils double faulted to give Nadal the opener. Monfils broke Nadal to lead 2-1 in the second set and then rallied from 0-40 down to hold for 3-1. With great athleticism, Monfils hit an incredible leaping forehand down the line to force another chance on Nadal’s serve. After holding, Nadal broke Monfils to love in the next game to level at 3-3. But Monfils broke him again with a brilliant forehand winner down the line for 4-3, only for Nadal to break back. It was breathlessly entertaining for fans and frustrating for both players. By now, sweat was pouring off Nadal’s face; but Monfils was even more drained and he crumbled in a third set lasting 30 minutes.
SPORTS RAFAEL NADAL overcomes five breaks on his serve to win in »Monte Carlo for the first time since the last of his eight straight
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Second of three parts
OT many know about it, but that sleek and confident paid political advertisement—openly endorsing a senatorial, vice-presidential, or presidential hopeful on primetime television—is the finishing touch to what political operators call the “overt side” of an election propaganda strategy. Few candidates can afford the production and placement of these 30-second to 60-second paid ads that present a candidate as the “people’s choice” at the national
₧200M Amount an ad agency received as commission for one ad placement of a single presidential candidate during the 2010 elections
level, in a medium that captures as many as 55-percent viewership during prime-time hours (6 to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 8 to 11 p.m. on weekends). L i nd a (not her rea l n a me)
makes these observations, adding, however, that in today’s available technology, candidates with more resources can tweak these ads, depending on initial public reaction. A candidate or political party with humongous resources can come out with three or more TV ads for the duration of the election campaign season. It is Tuesday afternoon, in a restaurant in Quezon City, and this bronze goddess of a small but p ro du c t i v e me d i a - pl a c e me nt agency is in her elements. In her mid-30s, she is an old hand in the business of Philippine elections. C A
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@ lorenzmarasigan
HE telecommunications industry in the Philippines is rated generally impenetrable, which, according to an expert, is limiting competition that could spur improvements in the telcos’ services. Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos, an independent researcher on information and communications technology and telecommunications policies, said the botched mobile network joint venture between Telstra Corp. Ltd. and San Miguel Corp. clearly showed how hard it is for new players to pierce the telecom market in the Philippines. She described the process of
setting up a new core player as “difficult and frustrating,” given that the two incumbents are ready to “pull commercial and political strings” to stop the entry of a new competitor. “The failure of the Telstra-San Miguel partnership reflects the terrible state of the Philippine telecoms market when it comes to contestability,” she said in her latest commentary sent via e-mail. “That new players find it very difficult and costly to enter what is clearly a profitable market can only mean there are barriers that help maintain the status quo and benefit existing market players.” Telstra decided to pull out of the joint-venture negotiations with the Filipino conglomerate, S “T ,” A
titles in 2012. AP
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 46.1340
n JAPAN 0.4266 n UK 65.4411 n HK 5.9495 n CHINA 7.1222 n SINGAPORE 33.9470 n AUSTRALIA 35.3571 n EU 52.1268 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.3017
Source: BSP (19 April 2016 )
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The truth about election spending C A
“I started in 2007 and continued to be active in 2010, 2013, and now 2016. A total of four elections—all national level.”
Big placement agencies
LINDA adds, however, that when it comes to the top 3 candidates for president, at least, they tend to prefer big placement agencies or ad agencies with placement capability. “Itong mga pulitiko na ito, tuso na [These politicians have wised up]. The big three go to big agencies because they can give their clients special rates and more discounts. So, only a small percentage, about 30 percent, of the total number of election candidates at the national level go to small placement agencies,” she said.
She adds that there is a standard procedure for placing ads. “It’s easy to place political ads on television or radio, if you have the money. Still, it’s mostly a discretion of the network. When you submit an ad to a television network, for example, it is screened by the station’s ethics committee. And then you have to fill out all kinds of forms, like the Customer Maintenance Form, which is standard procedure for all placement agencies. And then there is the tax form, and you also have to fill out and sign the form that discloses where the funds for the ad you are placing came from.” Linda said that in the last elections, there was a limit to the total number of minutes in the television, radio and print ads a candidate can use for his or her campaign. This
is no longer true for the 2016 elections. “If you have the money, you just go ahead,” she said. Even with limitations in the number of ad minutes, some candidates in the 2010 elections still managed to hit the billionpeso mark in ad-placement expense. “The commission for an ad placement is 15 percent. That 2010 presidential candidate utilized only a single placement agency all throughout his campaign. So, at 15 percent, that ad agency easily grossed P200 million for that single candidate.” Linda observed, however, that only television and radio made a killing in the 2016 elections. “Halos walang [There are almost no] political ads for print.” Cost of a 60-second advertisement placed in a prime-time television pro-
gram can range from P204,974 for earlymorning shows to a high of P925,710.50 for ads placed in top teleserye dramas. The ad rate card in another TV station charges P500,000 for a 30-second spot. Payment is made before airing and the check is issued at once.
Advocacy ads
LINDA said a candidate with considerable resources can start placing TV advertisements even before the actual campaign period. “We call that ‘advocacy ads,’ where the would-be candidate talks about energy conservation or tree planting or a similar concern.” She added that some candidates did it on the last quarter of 2015. So the planning for this advocacy ads begins in July
and September. They then approach the ad agencies or placement agencies to come up with a media plan. “During the pre-election campaign, the candidate and his political team begins their pre-election campaign with advocacy ads. This is mainly because the Comelec has a ruling that bans early campaigning. So we call it advocacy. It still does not contain the announcement: vote for.” The Comelec rules that the campaign period for candidates begins from February 9, 2016 to May 7, 2016 for president, vice president, senator, and party-list groups participating in the party-list system. Those running for local elective positions have their campaign period beginning March 25, 2016, and ending on May 7, 2016. To be continued
3-year blueprint pegs infra spending at ₧3T
infrastructure spending under the ThreeYear Rolling Infrastructure Program (TRIP), which covers projects not included in the public-private partnership (PPP) pipeline, could reach as high as P1.07 trillion in 2019. The details of the TRIP were discussed and recommended for approval by the interagency Infrastructure Committee (Infracom) Technical Board on Monday. The Infracom advises the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board—chaired by the President—on infrastructure policies. “The TRIP is the government’s tool to strengthen the link between programming and budgeting. This will ensure that the right
types or the needed projects are included in the pipeline and accordingly funded,” the documents read. “[It is also a tool to] attain public infrastructure-spending targets. Estimates show that we need to invest an amount of at least 5.1 percent of GDP. The TRIP will help in driving and monitoring the attainment of this goal,” it added. To meet the target infrastructure spending of 5.1 percent of GDP, the allocation for public projects should at least reach P839.29 billion in 2017. Allocation in 2018 and 2019 should hit a minimum of P927.78 billion and P1 trillion, respectively. These infrastructure-spending estimates are based on the government’s assumptions that GDP will reach P16.46 trillion to
P16.84 trillion in 2017; P18.19 trillion to P18.81 trillion in 2018; and P20.09 trillion to P20.98 trillion in 2019. The TRIP will include all projects that cost P1 billion or more and are not being implemented under the PPP scheme. Documents showed that the plan could cover 2,442 projects and programs that will be funded through the General Appropriations Act. To maximize government resources, the pipeline list of TRIP projects will include Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects. Tier 1 will be composed of ongoing projects that need to have continuous funding in the next three years, while Tier 2 includes “new” projects. The composition of how much of the
TRIP will be allocated to Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects is still being discussed, but initial estimates placed the allocation for ongoing projects at 75 percent. Documents showed that actual infrastructure spending as a percentage of GDP was lower than what the government had programmed in the past two years. Programmed national spending for public projects was at P442.31 billion, or 3.5 percent of GDP, in 2014 and P595.77 billion, or 4.48 percent of GDP. Actual spending reached P346.24 billion, or 2.74 percent of GDP, in 2014 and P435.3 billion, or 3.28 percent of GDP, in 2015. “While programmed public spending on infrastructure has increased in the last
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five years, actual spending, on average, has been only at 2.5 percent of GDP. This shows that we still have a long way [to go] before we actually reach our targets,” the documents read. Last week the Infracom said it has approved the reinstitution of the TRIP in the national budget to meet the government’s investment targets for public infrastructure. Through the TRIP, the Neda said the government will be able to fill the gaps in the infrastructure sector, including pending projects from previous years—4,710 kilometers of national roads that need to be paved, construction of 366,014 units of socialized housing and irrigation for 1.2 million hectares of farmlands.
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MGB, MIRDC team up to study suitable technology for local iron
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The study hopes to guide policyand decision-makers in pursuing the establishment of downstream industries for iron and steel.”—MGB D L J
@jonlmayuga
HE Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is teaming up with the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to enhance the potential of the local iron and steel industry. MGB Director Leo Jasareno said a joint study by the MGB, through its Metallurgical Technology Division (MTD), and the MIRDC of the DOST will determine the best applicable technology in iron making to obtain the most out of iron resources found in the Philippines. The Philippines, until now, has no processing plant for iron and steel. Iron ores extracted by mining com-
panies—the magnetite sand or black sand—are all exported, with China as the single major buyer. “We have no processing plant here in the Philippines. What we have is a recycling plant,” Jasareno said. The study, he noted, hopes to guide policy- and decision-makers in pursuing the establishment of downstream industries for iron and steel.
Bulacan govt wins bid to stop miner from transporting extracted minerals B J R. S J
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HE Court of Appeals (CA) has granted a petition by the Bulacan provincial government seeking to prevent a mining company from transporting extracted minerals to its customers. In a 14-page decision penned by Associate Justice Renato Francisco, the CA’s Fourteenth Division reversed and set aside the writ of preliminary injunction the Regional Trial Court of Malolos City issued on January 19, 2010, enjoining the provincial government, including its police forces, from seizing the delivery trucks of Rosemoor Mining Development Corp. and their cargo of marbles. The trial court also stopped the provincial government from prohibiting the trucks of Rosemoor from passing through any checkpoint, particularly in Sibul, San Miguel, Bulacan, to any allowed point of destination. In reversing the lower court’s ruling, the appellate court held that Rosemoor is not entitled to the writ of injunction considering that its mining permit has been suspended by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). “Taken into consideration the fact that the MPSA [Mineral Production Sharing Agreement] is suspended, its legality, as well as the right emanating from it, is clouded. As such, private respondent is not entitled to injunctive reliefs considering that injunction is not proper where the applicant’s right is doubtful or disputed,” the CA explained. Likewise, the CA agreed with the Bulacan provincial government that the mining firm cannot claim the right to transport extracted minerals through its Ore Transport Permits (OTPs). It noted that it is clear in Rosemoor’s OTPs that they only have a validity date of 30 days from issuance. “Being expired, it is undisputed that no right emanates from the subject OTPs. Further, it is erroneous for private respondent to contend that OTPs that
are yet to be issued are covered by the instant complaint. It must be noted that injunction is not designed to protect contingent or future rights,” the CA added. The CA gave no credence to Rosemoor’s claim that it stands to suffer irreparable injury if it is not allowed to transport its extracted minerals. “Clearly, losing stable market for its products, inability to do business and pay the salaries of its employees, as alleged by private respondent, are injuries capable of pecuniary estimation and can be easily subject to mathematical computation,” the CA noted. The CA also ruled as “highly speculative” Rosemoor’s allegation of potential lawsuits because of its failure to transport its extracted minerals. Rosemoor is a domestic corporation that has been allowed by the DENR to extract minerals in the mining area situated in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan, and to transport its finished products from the mining site for delivery to its various customers. However, Rosemoor claimed that despite the MPSA and OTPs issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the Bulacan provincial government, through its police forces, prevented its vehicles from transporting its mineral products in various occasions in 2009 by setting up a blockade in Barangay Sibul in San Miguel and Barangay Akle in San Ildefonso. This prompted Rosemoor to file a complaint with application for a writ of injunction against officials of the Bulacan provincial government, headed by Gov. Joselito Mendoza. On January 19, 2010, the trial court granted Rosemoor’s plea for a writ of injunction. In seeking the reversal of the order, the Bulacan provincial government argued before the CA that Rosemoor is not entitled for the relief since its OTPs were no longer valid and effective. Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Apolinario Bruselas Jr. and Danton Bueser.
PHILIPPINE black sand are mostly exported to China.
The study aims to determine the most advanced technological solutions to obtain the most out of the iron resources, Jasareno said. This will also help boost local iron production for the iron and steel industry in the future. The result of the study, he said, will help the government respond to queries from potential investors
on the economics of local iron production. “That way, the government will be able to tell investors the viability of their investment,” he said. According to the DENR’s MTD, bench scale pyro-metallurgical testing of local iron ores will be sourced out to select foreign metallurgical testing facilities.
It said there are no local laboratories that can do such testing in the Philippines. MIRDC and MGB will also visit existing commercial direct reduction plants in New Zealand, the United States, Japan and Malaysia in line with the study. While the MIRDC will serve as the lead agency, the MGB will be responsible in supplying information about the country’s magnetite sand reserves and other relevant data. It will also assist in the acquisition of magnetite sand conduct beneficiation test works to produce adequate amount of concentrate (60-percent Fe up) needed for bench scale direct reduction test purposes and take
part in the bench scale test result evaluation. The MIRDC and MGB had earlier conducted a study that led to the conclusion that direct reduction technology could be pursued to process local iron ores instead of indirect reduction technology by a Blast Furnace. Both studies are in line with Section 8 of Executive Order 79, which promotes the creation of valueadding activities and development of downstream industries. The joint activity aims to maximize mining productivity and benefits, and to make our local mining industry globally competitive, the MTD said.
DOT throws fiesta for arriving cruise ships B M. S F. A @Pulitika2010
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HE Department of Tourism (DOT) over the weekend threw a fiesta for two international cruise ships, which arrived at the Manila South Harbor, bringing more than a thousand foreign tourists to the Philippines. The cruise ships MV Seabourn Soujourn and MV Prestige CruisesInsignia made their respective port calls on April 16 and 17, and the passengers, including Filipino officers and crew members, were treated to the rousing reception as part of the Meet-and-Assist Program of the DOT-National Capital Region (NCR) office. While in Manila, the passengers went to familiar sites, such as Intramuros, and toured nearby destinations like Tagaytay and Corregidor, before proceeding to their next port calls. The trips were arranged by Travel People Ltd. Inc. At the welcome reception of MV Prestige Cruises-Insignia held early Sunday morning, DOT-NCR Director Christer Gaudiano said: “The MV Prestige Cruises-Insignia is the 15th international cruise vessel to arrive in the Manila South Harbor this first quarter, in addition to the MV Seabourn Soujourn that docked at the same port recently. Outside Manila, there have been other cruise arrivals recorded in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Boracay and Kalanggaman.” He added: “With the continued increase in international cruiseship arrivals in Manila, we are now pouring in much of our efforts in extending our Meet-and-Assist Program to the Port of Manila. This time, we brought in performers from different parts of our country; and samples of our local handicrafts, particularly those made in Parañaque, Marikina and Manila, in partnership with their respective local government units, as our way of helping them showcase their livelihood products to the international market.” Gaudiano said the Meet-and-Assist Program covers airports, as well. The DOT-NCR chief said over 70 ship calls are projected to arrive this year in the Port of Manila alone. The DOT-NCR Office has already received requests for meet and assists from Baron Travel for the arrival of
two Royal Caribbean cruise ships that will make several port calls in Manila beginning in May. The Legend of the Seas, carrying approximately 2,200 passengers, will be docking in Manila five times from May to October this year. And the Celebrity Millennium, carrying over 2,500 passengers, will drop anchor at the port of Manila by year-end. Pacific Venus, a Japanese cruise ship, has also sent word of their scheduled arrival in of Manila port later this year, with more than 500 senior citizens and their family members onboard. First-time visitor to Manila, Chris Achton of Adelaide, South Australia, expressed enthusiasm about the fiesta-like reception at the Manila South Harbor. “This is absolutely fantastic, and by far the best welcome I have ever had in any port in the world I have been. Absolutely wonderful! Wonderful people; great welcome,” he said. Achton arrived with his wife to meet an old friend based in Manila. A former resident of Clark, Pampanga, Jeanie Elder of Long Beach, California, was “just so glad to be back.” She said it was painful to leave Clark, a place she already called home, when Mount Pinatubo erupted. “I love the Filipino people. My son was born in Pampanga, and
70
Projected number of cruise ships that will make port calls in Manila this year
my husband was posted there in 1955. Today, I return with expectations to see growth, to see new things since we left in 1991. I have seen a lot of photos of Manila, and I would love to see how Clark looks like but maybe on our next visit. This is, nevertheless, a wonderful excursion I look forward to. And I will be loving every minute of my stay here.” Elder said she would be touring Intramuros and other interesting points in Manila. For his part, Albert Kudrow, a tourist from Los Angeles, said: “This is absolutely the greatest experience in my entire life,” referring to his return visit to Manila. “I’m liking the music and dancing. Awesome! I will probably retire here, that is how
great the Philippines is.” The DOT has pegged cruise tourism as one of the key components of the agency’s National Tourism Development Plan. Capitalizing on the country’s rich coastal resources, the agency’s cruise tourism program has delivered significant gains and success with the visit of several major cruise ships. In an earlier interview, Tourism Undersecretary for Market Development Benito Bengzon Jr. said: “We have always maintained that the Philippines has very strong potential in cruise tourism, considering we are an archipelago. We can be a cruise destination and not only a port of call as what we are now seeing.” A turnaround cruise ship carrying 2,000 passengers, he noted, will be able to generate tourism receipts of some $1.2 million (P55.44 million). “What we want is for cruise passengers from long-haul destinations to fly into Manila, board the ship here, sail in Southeast Asian waters and fly out in another destinations if it’s an open jaw itinerary,” he added. The DOT said there were 70,000 cruise passengers who arrived in 2015, posting a 16-percent rise, from 60,183 passengers in 2014. Last year’s cruise passengers were on ships, which made 52 port calls, up from 44 port calls in 2014.
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AseanTuesday
Thailand set to host global tourism meet
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HAILAND will become the first country in the Asean region to host the world’s biggest tourism summit. The 2017 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit will be held in Bangkok on April 26 and 27 next year. The most influential travel and tourism event of the year will welcome hundreds of leaders from public organizations and private companies to discuss tourism issues and share opinions. Asia, China, South Korea and Japan have previously hosted the summit. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be a key sponsor of the event. It has asked for 100 million baht from the government to support the summit. Asean will be a key theme, Sugree Sithivanich said. It will be a good opportunity to promote Thai tourism indirectly and directly among executives and high-profile operators. Sugree Sithivanich, the TAT deputy governor for marketing communications, said the key theme of the summit will be Asean tourism, aviation trends and the influence of low-cost airlines. Around 600 visitors are expected to attend the summit, comprising 300 members of the WTTC and 300
21%
Tourism industry’s share in Thailand’s GDP in 2015
executives from Asian companies and ministries. The TAT plans to organize trips for guests to visit luxury tourism sites, such as boutique hotels, especially in Bangkok. David Scowsill, president and chief executive of WTTC, said travel and tourism was one of the most important generators of jobs and wealth in the world, contributing more than $7.2 trillion to the world economy and supporting 284 million jobs—one in 11 jobs on the planet. Thailand has an extremely wellestablished travel and tourism economy. Despite challenges, the sector grew by a stunning 18.4 percent in 2015, contributing nearly 21 percent to the country’s GDP ($81.6 billion or 2.8 trillion baht) and supporting 5.9 million jobs, which was 15.4 percent of total employment, according to the WTTC. MCT
BusinessMirror
Malaysia central bank warned govt in 2014 of 1MDB risks
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ALAYSIA’S central bank warned the government as early as 2014 of risks to the financial system from debt-ridden state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB), Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.
Bank Negara Malaysia issued two memorandums to the finance ministry, the sole shareholder of 1MDB, flagging the dangers of the fund’s mounting debt, Zeti said in an interview in Washington on Saturday. She didn’t say how the ministry responded. “Of course, this was on our radar screens,” Zeti said of 1MDB, whose debt ballooned to 50 billion ringgit ($12.8 billion) as of January. “We were monitoring in terms of the level of their indebtedness, and whether they had any systemic implications on the banking sector.” The comments indicate a level of concern at the central bank for years over the fund, whose advisory board is chaired by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Bank Negara Malaysia has tried and failed to have criminal charges brought against 1MDB for allegedly making inaccurate disclosures on overseas investments. Zeti, whose 16-year tenure as governor ends in two weeks, has been publicly critical of 1MDB’s actions, risking bringing her into conflict with Najib.
Financial woes
IN this April 13 photo, local and foreign revelers douse each other with water during the Songkran “water” festival in a popular tourist area of Bangkok. AP
Editor: Max V. de Leon • Tuesday, April 19, 2016 A5
THE country’s second finance minister and the secretary-general at the ministry couldn’t be reached on their mobile phones on Sunday for comment. 1MDB has been the subject of investigations by local agencies like the central bank, as well as countries such as Switzerland and Singapore, amid allegations of financial irregularities. It has consistently denied
any wrongdoing. Financial troubles at the company, which included almost defaulting on a loan, led it last year to announce plans to sell assets and pare debt. The probes come amid a separate political scandal over a $681-million donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family that appeared in Najib’s bank accounts before the general election in 2013. 1MDB’s woes plus questions over the money in Najib’s account have created the biggest threat to the premier since he came to power in 2009, though he has retained the support of the bulk of senior officials in the ruling coalition. Najib has denied any wrongdoing over the donation and the attorney general has cleared him of any graft. A parliamentary committee, in its investigation report of 1MDB released this month, identified at least $4.2 billion of unauthorized or unverified transactions and recommended former CEO Shahrol Halmi and other managers be investigated.
Questionable transactions
TRANSCRIPTS from the parliamentary hearing also highlighted Najib’s involvement in decisions on questionable transactions that bypassed the board of directors and finance ministry. Officials from the finance ministry told the Public Accounts Committee they were never consulted on the fund’s investment decisions or finances. The company said this month it had repaid all short-term debt and
AZIZ
bank debt, leaving it with 2.3 billion ringgit in the bank. Bank Negara said last October its probe of 1MDB found inaccurate disclosures by the fund when it sought approvals for investments abroad. The attorney general concluded there was no wrongdoing and dismissed the central bank’s recommendation for criminal proceedings against 1MDB.
Repatriating funds
ZETI said last month the central bank is pursuing “appropriate administrative enforcement action,” as the company didn’t show proof why it couldn’t meet an order to bring $1.8 billion in funds related to multiple deals back to Malaysia. “The administrative action has been submitted to the attorney general,” she said in the interview on Saturday. “We are waiting for a decision.” The conclusion by the central bank about two years ago was Malaysia’s banking system could have absorbed a default by 1MDB, Zeti said. The fund’s borrowings were with “many banks” and while lenders would have been affected, it wouldn’t have been enough to cause severe stress, she said. While Zeti has previously said the 1MDB and Saudi donation scandals hurt confidence in the country, she
adopted a more conciliatory tone on Saturday. “Right now, I believe that Malaysia needs to be able to move on and put that behind us,” she said. 1MDB’s rationalization “and the intent for it to be eventually scaled back and even possibly unwound would give Malaysia the opportunity to move on.” Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund said its obligations of financial support to 1MDB have ended after the debt-ridden Malaysia state investment fund and its shareholder failed to pay it more than $1 billion. 1MDB and Malaysia’s finance ministry “are in default” on the terms of a binding term sheet with International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) and its unit Aabar Investments PJS, the Abu Dhabi fund said in a stock exchange filing. To date, IPIC has met all its obligations, it said. “1MDB and MOF [Ministry of Finance] continue to be bound by their respective obligations under the terms of the Binding Term Sheet,” IPIC said on Monday. That includes indemnifying IPIC and Aabar for any claims against it over guarantees IPIC gave for bonds issued by 1MDB, it said. 1MDB didn’t immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment. Finance ministry officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Bloomberg News
Defender of Cambodia’s dwindling forests wins $175,000 Goldman Prize
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HE latest crackdown on illegal logging in Cambodia is “just a game” and big timber traders are winning, says Ouch Leng (ook leng), a former government official who has spent two decades helping poor villagers fight poaching of precious tropical forests. Leng’s tenacious and perilous crusade to stop illegal logging and stop land concessions from forcing Cambodians out of their homes has won him a Goldman Environmental Prize, which honors grassroots environmental activism. The award follows recent announcements that Cambodian authorities plan to expand protected areas of the Southeast Asian country’s forests by about a third. Longruling Prime Minister Hun Sen, whom many consider a backer of the biggest logging group, Try Pheap, recently said he had authorized rocket attacks on illegal loggers. But Leng and other critics said reports of raids and other highprofile shows of force against illegal loggers belie the lack of arrests or prosecutions of those cutting and trading in illegal timber. Asked if the crackdown is for real, he said, “It’s just a game.” “Nobody was arrested. The media was set up,” Leng said during an interview. “The Ministry of the Environment doesn’t care. They never go inside the jungle to patrol or arrest illegal loggers.” Much of the timber trade is protected by military units that profit from deals with the loggers, and the stakes of fighting can be deadly. At least five deaths in Cambodia have
The Ministry of the Environment doesn’t care. They never go inside the jungle to patrol or arrest illegal loggers.” —L
been linked to illegal logging since 2007, including that of Leng’s fellow environmentalist Chut Wutthy, who was fatally shot in 2012 while showing journalists a logging camp in the southwest’s Koh Kong province. It’s a risk shared with other environmental crusaders defying powerful companies and government backers around the world. Honduran indigenous leader and environmentalist Berta Caceres, a winner of a 2015 Goldman Prize, was killed by assailants who broke into her home last month. She had received death threats from police, soldiers and local landowners for her efforts to block construction of a dam. Leng said he accepts the risks as part of his mission. “I don’t expect the government to allow me to live long,” he said. Leng wins $175,000 for this year’s Goldman Prize, as do five other winners: n Zuzana Caputova, a lawyer
who led a campaign to shut down a toxic-waste dump in Slovakia. n Maxima Acuna, a Peruvian farmer fighting major mining companies’ efforts to take her land for a gold and copper mine. n Destiny Watford, a Baltimore, Maryland, student who helped prevent construction of a trash incinerator in her area. n Edward Loure, a Tanzanian communal land-rights leader. n Luis Jorge Rivera Herrera, who campaigned to create a nature reserve in Puerto Rico to protect endangered leatherback sea turtles. Leng travels into the forest armed only with a camera and a GPS locator, tracking illegal loggers. At times, he works undercover by cooking for loggers, hauling cargo on docks or posing as a tourist. Showing determination early on, Leng excelled in his studies in mostly rural Takeo province. When his village chief denied him a permit to travel to Phnom Penh to take university exams, he says he hid on a sugar-cane train to get to the city. After studying law, he was assigned to the Foreign Ministry, and later to the Ministry of Planning. Drawn into politics, he moved to a nongovernmental organization and began investigating illegal logging. Marcus Hardtke, a German environmentalist who lives in Cambodia, said the prize is well-deserved. “Ouch Leng is one of a handful of people fighting to stop forest destruction in Cambodia,” Hardtke said. “It is up to activists, like Leng, and affected local communities to make a stand against the short-sighted,
IN this February 3 photo, Cambodian environmentalist Ouch Leng speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. AP
greed-driven policies of the Phnom Penh elite. They are doing just that, often at great personal risk.” Lately, Leng’s attention has focused on a conflict between local villagers and a Chinese company that is developing a massive resort on a choice swath of coastland near the Thai border in Koh Kong province. Residents complain they were forced off their land and lost their main livelihood of fishing when they were relocated inland after the government granted a 99-year land lease to China’s Tianjin Union Development Group Co., which has built a golf resort and plans a yacht club, casino, villas and other luxury facilities. “Before, those people could earn $2,500 a year, or about $100 a night fishing. Now they cannot fish
because the Chinese company grabbed everything. They have nothing to eat,” Leng said. The United Nations said landrights conflicts have become Cambodia’s No. 1 human-rights issue. Land concessions have forced villagers to make way for plantations and other projects. Meant to promote development, such arrangements often have left communities worse off, critics say. They’ve also accelerated the loss of precious, diverse forests of increasingly rare tropical timber, as loggers push ever deeper into protected areas and also clear-cut land of less valuable wood that is sometimes sold as fuel for factories. Cambodia remained heavily forested until relatively recently, thanks in part to lingering battles
with Khmer Rouge guerrillas and massive use of land mines during the Vietnam War. As the economy opened in the early 1990s, investment from China poured in. Forest cover dropped to 48 percent in 2014, from 57 percent in 2010, and 73 percent in 1990, a loss of nearly 3 million hectares of tropical forest. Rosewood, known as hongmu in Chinese, is especially prized, and loggers can get $5,000 for a cubic meter of the brightly hued timber. Leng, who chairs the Cambodia Human Rights Task Forces organization, said the Goldman Prize money will help support forest patrols and community-level efforts to combat illegal logging. Like many in Cambodia, he views the government’s record with skepticism. “The poverty-reduction policy of the government seems to be just to kill the poor people,” Leng added. “Their ‘master plan’ to improve living standards is set up very well and looks very beautiful. To provide jobs with fair competition and construction of schools, roads, bridges.... To provide land for the people and conserve their houses,” he said. But he added that such talk is generally not put into practice by private companies or the government. Still, Leng believes he is making headway in convincing the public to resist the loss of their livelihoods and homes. “Many political parties, government officials, students and monks are involved in forest issues,” Leng said. “The revolution will come from the land and from the forest.” AP
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The World BusinessMirror
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
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Ecuador races to find quake survivors; 238 killed
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AN antigovernment demonstrator holding a statue of Our Lady of Aparecida celebrates after the lower house of Congress voted to impeach Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sunday. AP/JOEDSON ALVES
Brazil’s Rousseff impeached
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RASILIA, Brazil—For the second time in under a quarter century, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies voted to open impeachment proceedings against a democratically elected leader, dealing a devastating blow to President Dilma Rousseff, whose left-leaning Workers’ Party came to power 13 years ago on the promise of improving the lot of the poor.
The 367-137 vote late on Sunday, in favor of impeachment, was well over the 342 votes needed for the proceedings to move ahead to the Senate, where a majority vote will determine whether Rousseff is put on trial and suspended while Vice President Michel Temer temporarily takes over. The exact date of the Senate vote is not known, but it’s widely expected by the middle of next month. The vote in the lower house sparked elation among many Brazilians, who hold Rousseff re s p o n s i bl e for e v e r y t h i n g , from the devastating recession to chronic high ta xes and poor public ser v ices. At the same time, a broad swath of the population was deeply upset by the results, which many decried as antidemocratic and worrisome. “I’m happy because I think Dilma had to go, but I’m also both sad that it came to this and also really worried that the next president could be even worse,” said Patricia Santos, a 52-year-old smallbusiness owner who was among an estimated nearly 60,000 pro- and anti-impeachment demonstrators outside Congress. “I quiver to think what awaits us next.” While Rousseff herself didn’t react to the results, her party’s leader in the lower house, Jose Guimaraes, acknowledged the battle had been lost but insisted the war was just beginning. “The putchists won in the Chamber of
367-137 The votes in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, in favor of impeaching President Dilma Rousseff
Deputies. We can turn it over in the Senate,” he said. “We’re going to continue to fight because we don’t back down and we aren’t going to let ourselves be beat by this momentary loss.” Solicitor General Jose Eduardo Cardozo said after the vote that Rousseff would not resign and that she would address the situation on Monday. He also hinted an appeal could be filed with the Supreme Federal Tribunal, Brazil’s highest court. Su nd ay ’s vote c a me about 24 years after the lower house opened impeachment proceedings in 1992 against Fernando Collor de Mello, Brazil ’s first democratically elected president after more than two decades of military rule. Collor faced corruption allegations and ended up resigning before the conclusion of his impeachment trial in the Senate. Rousseff has been accused of violating fiscal laws by using sleightof-hand accounting to maintain government spending. Noting she hasn’t been accused of any crime,
she insists the impeachment is a “coup” and has pledged never to resign. Rousseff ’s foes maintain the budget maneuvers were a bid to shore up popular support as Brazil plunged into the worst recession in decades. Rousseff said previous presidents used the same accounting maneuvers w ithout repercussions and insists the allegations are little more than a f limsy excuse by Brazil’s traditional ruling elite to snatch power back from the Worker’s Party, which has governed since 2003. Luc i a no D i a s, a Bra si l i abased political consultant, said ultimately Rousseff “made the same mistakes that former President Fernando Collor made.” “She took too many resources from the private sector, she was arrogant with Congress for a long time and her economic policies were just wrong,” he said. Rousseff, a one-time guerrilla fighter who was tortured under the military dictatorship, was hand-picked by charismatic former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to succeed him—becoming Brazil’s first woman president. But seven years of galloping economic growth under Silva began to flag after she took office in 2011, and she narrowly won reelection in 2014 after widespread nationwide protests a year earlier. Her popu l a r it y rat ing has plunged in step with the tanking economy, and opinion polls suggest a majority of Brazilians support her ouster, though many appear to have reservations about those in line to replace her. Temer, the vice president, has been implicated in the investigation into a mammoth corruption scheme centered on the state-run Petrobras oil company. He could conceivably also face impeachment proceedings because he signed off on the some of the same fiscal maneuvers as Rousseff. The second in line to replace Rousseff, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Eduardo Cunha, has been charged with taking $5 million in bribes in the Petrobras scheme.
Cunha was the driving force behind the impeachment proceedings—an irony that was not lost on the government camp. “My God, what hypocrisy. It’s not Dilma who should leave the [presidential] palace. You, Eduardo Cunha, should not be in that seat,” lawmaker Moema Gramacho of the Workers’ Party said as she proclaimed her “No” vote. Asked whether he was happy with the results, Cunha said, “All of this is very sad, very serious.” “The president lost the ability to govern a while ago. She fell to the bottom of the well,” Cunha said, adding, “Now Brazil has to get out of the well.” A circuslike atmosphere reigned on the floor of the house during the six-hour vote. Lawmakers sporting Brazilian flag capes and red sashes jostled, jeered, cheered, chanted and snapped endless selfies as they picked their way through the packed crowd to the microphone to proclaim their votes. Impeachment supporters invoked God, family and Brazil to justify their votes, often saying impeachment would help put an end to endemic corruption in the country. “I want tomorrow to be a new day for this country, a new day of hope,” Odelmo Leao of the Progressive Party said. “God bless. My vote is yes.” Rousseff’s supporters said it was a blow for the poor—an estimated 30 million of whom were lifted out of destitution, thanks in part to the Workers’ Party’s popular wealth redistribution programs. “This is a coup against the poor, a coup against social programs,” said Workers’ Party legislator Patrus Ananias. Robert Silva, who was collecting empty cans at the pro-impeachment rally in front of Congress, said he didn’t think anything that happened within its halls would improve his lot much. “With Dilma, my life is like this,” he said, gesturing to his shopping cart filled with crumpled aluminum cans. “I just hope with whoever’s next it won’t get worse.” AP
UITO, Ecuador—At first, it seemed normal, like the dozens of earthquakes that strike every year in Guayaquil, a coastal city on the seismically active zone, known as the Ring of Fire. “But then things started to fall, the doors slammed and windows broke. The tremor never seemed to stop, and we started hearing screams,” said Caroll Cedeno, 33, who lives in a fourth-floor apartment in the city of 3 million, Ecuador’s largest. “We ran out of the apartment and all our neighbors were already outside.” Cedeno’s apar tment building withstood the 7.8-magnitude quake, which struck just before 7 p.m. on Saturday. But others in cities on Ecuador’s Pacific coast weren’t as lucky. The quake destroyed hundreds of buildings, killed at least 238 people and injured more than 1,500. On Sunday, as emergency officials assessed the damage and rescue teams raced against time, television images showed pancaked apartment buildings, crumbled roads and the bodies of victims left on sidewalks. After walls of a prison in the town of Portoviejo collapsed, 100 prisoners escaped, authorities told news media. Cedeno and her daughter slept outside under a tent in a park on Saturday night, fearful that the tremors would continue. “My daughter didn’t sleep at all,” she said in a telephone interview. “We felt many aftershocks and were afraid that our building would collapse.” Although Guayaquil sustained significant damage, the hardesthit cities were along the coast farther north. In Pedernales, population 48,000, local media reported that 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. A majority of the deaths from the quake were reported to have occurred there, although officials had not released specific locations of deaths by Sunday afternoon. “Pedernales is devastated,” Mayor Gabriel Alcivar said to a TV reporter. “Every building of two stories or more has been destroyed. There are survivors still under the rubble.” In Manta, the country’s second-largest port city after Guayaquil, the airport control tower collapsed. In Chone a hospital floor collapsed. A hospital in the coastal city of Caraquez reported that it ran out of room and medical supplies for the injured. In Guayaquil the quake caused several deaths and the collapse or ruin of apartment buildings and bridges. Chaos reigned in much of the city, as communications and traffic came to a near standstill. Ecuadorean officials were still assessing the damage, but repairs are expected to cost in the billions
of dollars. Government officials said 10 coastal roads had been closed, with resulting congestion made more acute by relatives from the interior of Ecuador clogging highways to try to reach loved ones. The government announced early on Sunday that it was sending 10,000 soldiers to the zone to assist in rescue and security operations. Scattered instances of looting were reported. Vice President Jorge Glas arrived in Manta to direct rescue efforts, and President Rafael Correa cut short a trip to the Vatican and was expected to arrive in Manta late Sunday. Before leaving Rome, Correa declared a state of emergency in six states. Glas said untold numbers of Ecuadoreans were still trapped in collapsed buildings. “We haven’t been able to use heavy equipment because it could have tragic consequences for the injured” buried in the rubble, he said. “We’re here first to attend to the injured and then will come reconstruction.” “Comrades, I urge unity, strength and prayer,” Glas said. The quake had its most devastating effects in a 100-mile stretch of coastline that runs north from Pedernales to Esmeraldas. The area is popular with foreign tourists and surfers, as well as being a weekend getaway for Ecuadoreans from Quito and other cities in the interior. The quake, the most powerful to strike Ecuador since the late 1970s, was also felt in the capital, Quito, and in the southern city of Cuenca, home to many US retirees, but officials reported only minor damage there. “I thought the world was coming to an end. But luckily God continues to still love us,” said Portoviejo resident Luis Alcivar, no relation to the Pedernales mayor. But a Pedernales resident, Vanessa Santos, was more frantic, saying to reporters that several family members had died in their house, which collapsed during the quake. “My sisters, my brotherin-law, my nephews—all are buried and no one is doing anything about it,” she said. Neighboring countries, including Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, pledged to send emergency supplies and personnel to Ecuador to assist in the recovery efforts. T he ear t hqua ke came just hours a f ter a 7.0 -mag nit ude quake killed at least 41 people in Japan, which is on the western rim of the Ring of Fire. The Pacific coastal region of South and Central America is highly active seismically and has suffered devastating quakes in recent years. In addition to a 2010 quake and tsunami in Chile, which killed 550, Peru’s central coast suffered a quake in 2007 that killed 519. Los Angeles Times/TNS
Anti-EU British conservatives insist they’re not after PM’s head
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ONDON—embers of David Cameron’s Conser vative Par t y who are campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union (EU) insisted that the prime minister wouldn’t have to resign if they won, after one of his party’s most senior figures said he’d have to quit. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke said on BBC that “the prime minister wouldn’t last 30 seconds if he lost the referendum.” In response, Cameron’s political opponents rushed to his defense on Sunday. David Davis, whom Cameron defeated in the race for the Tory leadership in 2005, said the prime minister—who wants Britain to remain in the EU—could remain in office if he appointed someone else to lead the negotiations for leaving. Chris Grayling, one of the Cabinet members who split with his leader and support leaving the EU, went further. “I actively want David Cameron to stay, not only because he is a very good prime minister but because he has got the relationships we need around Europe
to build a negotiating process,” Grayling said on BBC. “It would be disastrous in my view for the Leave cause if we vote to leave and then we get distracted by a leadership contest.” While Cameron told Parliament last week that he wouldn’t quit if he lost the June 23 referendum, it would be hard to see how a prime minister could remain in the post after being defeated in a national vote on the central issue facing his country. For those in the Conservative Party pushing for a “leave” vote, the question of Cameron’s future is an opportunity to demonstrate to him their loyalty on other matters, something that may be important if he wins and decides to reorganize his government. In the first week of campaigning for the referendum, the government will deploy all its resources to argue against a vote to quit. First, the Treasury is to publish its assessment of the risks of leaving. Then, at the end of the week, President Barack Obama is to visit London and warn against a “leave” vote. Bloomberg News/TNS
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Disruptions from twin quakes in southern Japan hit economy
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OKYO—The twin earthquakes that have paralyzed parts of southern Japan are having ripple effects far beyond the disaster zone, with automakers and other manufacturers suspending output in other areas due to disruptions in its parts supplies.
Toyota Motor Corp. says it has stopped production at a factory in Kyushu, where the quakes struck late Thursday and early Saturday, killing at least 42 people and leaving nearly 1,100 people injured. The shutdown will progress to other plants in Japan. Output will resume depending on the availability of parts. Honda Motor
Corp. said production at its factory in Kumamoto, the largest city seriously affected by the quakes, would be suspended until Friday. “Subsequent production plans will be determined according to facility restorations and component supply,” the company said in a statement. The powerful earthquakes have caused electricity
outages and disruptions to water supplies. Roads and airports in the region were affected, with some damaged areas in hardto-reach mountain areas cut off by landslides that blocked roads and bridges. Supply-chain disruptions will hurt output by various manufacturers, including Toyota, which is cutting its output in Japan by 50,000 in April, according to the financial newspaper Nikkei, or about 8 percent of total production. Tourism will also take a big hit. “The impact to near-term economic activity looks inevitable, while the comprehensive picture is difficult to gauge now, particularly due to the continued aftershocks,” Masamichi Adachi of JP Morgan said in a commentary. Overall, the risk to the outlook for growth is “to the downside,” he said.
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Toyota manufacturing plants could be affected by quakerelated disruptions. Some of the worst-affected areas are deep in the mountains sur round ing Mount A so, Japan’s largest active volcano, an area renowned for dairy farming. But one of the hardest-hit cities was Mashiki, a center for semiconductor fabrication and other manufacturing. Though much of Toyota’s manufacturing
is centered in central Japan’s A ichi Prefecture, the company has suppliers scattered across Japan and worldwide. Up to 15 plants could be affected by the quake-related disruptions, according to a statement the company released on Sunday. Japanese share prices fell on Monday, though there were multiple reasons for gloom. Apart from the potential impact of the quakes, an effort by major producers to shore up oil prices by freezing output fell apart over the weekend and the Japanese yen surged, in another potential blow to manufacturers who benefit when the yen weakens. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 3.1 percent to 16,307.11. Toyota’s shares lost 1.3 percent, Nissan Motor Co., which also has suspended output at a plant in Kyushu, lost 3.7 percent and Sony Corp. shed 3.5 percent. AP
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
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S. Korea faces global econ slowdown, president says
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RESIDENT Park Geun Hye warned on Monday that a global slowdown and further provocations from North Korea could undermine signs of economic improvement. Speaking to her aides for the first time since the parliamentary election last week, Park said South Korea is still facing economic difficulties even though there has been signals that the economy was improving. In the wake of her ruling party’s defeat in the election, Park said she would work closely with lawmakers to push through structural reforms and economic-revitalization efforts needed to cope with the prospects of a slowdown. Finance Minister Yoo Il Ho said on Monday policy that efforts on reforms needs to be made in consistent manner, as concerns are already rising that election results may hamper such efforts, including those from Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Park’s assessment comes as Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju Yeol told reporters last month that economic growth for 2016 is likely to fall below the initial 3-percent forecast but that there were positive signs, such as a pick up in confidence. In her talk with her aides on Monday, Park also warned that North Korea looked to be preparing for another nuclear test in violation of a United Nation’s ban. South Korean military should firmly maintain a strong readiness for punishment against any North Korean provocation, Park said. Bloomberg News
More aid for Japan quake zone asked; 42 dead, 10 missing
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INAMIASO, Japan— The US military prepared to join relief efforts on Monday in disasterstricken areas of southern Japan, as authorities struggled to feed and care for tens of thousands of people who sought shelter after two powerful earthquakes that killed at least 42 people. Ten people remained missing, and rescuers were redoubling search efforts on the sout her n isl and of Ky ushu, where many areas were cut off by landslides and road and bridge damage. Forecasts for heavy rains, which would make land and collapsed buildings even more unstable, added to the urgency of the searches. Toyota Motor Corp. said it would shut down most of its vehicle production in Japan over the course of this week because of parts shortages stemming from the earthquakes. Nissan Motor Co. also halted production at some facilities. With 180,000 people seeking shelter, some evacuees said food distribution was a meager two rice balls for dinner. “ We a re doing ou r best,” Pr ime Minister Sh in zo A be told l aw m a kers when c h a llenged by the opposition over t he gover n ment ’s h a nd l i ng of t he rel ief ef for t. “ We a re s t r i v i n g to i mpro v e l i v i n g
conditions for the people who have sought ref uge.” “Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we will be working toward a full recovery,” Abe said. Gradually some roads were being reopened, and older men in security guard uniforms were helping to direct traffic in the drizzly weather. US Forces said troops were prepar ing to prov ide aer ia l support for Japan’s relief efforts. The US has major Air Force, Navy and Marine bases in Japan, and stations about 50,000 troops in the country. Many whose homes were not seriously damaged sought shelter, as the area was rocked by more than 500 aftershocks from two big quakes that struck late on Thursday night and in the early hours of Saturday. “Without water and electricity, we can’t do anything. Without the TV on, we can’t even get information about disaster relief operations,” said Megumi Kudo, 51, standing in a line for water outside a community center in Aso city. “We can’t take a bath, not even a shower.” Kudo came with his wife and a 12-year-old daughter, carrying several empty gallon-size plastic containers to get water, while his 80-year-old mother waited at home. “It’s better to be prepared than sorry, as we learned the hard way,” he said. AP
No quorum in referendum on Italy’s oil concessions
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ASO Bridge is seen collapsed by a powerful earthquake in Minamiaso village, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. Two nights of increasingly terrifying earthquakes flattened houses and triggered major landslides in southern Japan. KOJI HARADA/KYODO NEWS VIA AP
ILAN—Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says the jobs of oil workers have been preserved by the failure of a referendum that aimed to curtail the duration of existing drilling concessions in territorial waters. The referendum on Sunday was headed to defeat after failing to reach a quorum of 50 percent plus one. Renzi had made clear before the vote of his intention to abstain, weakening the measure. After polls closed, Renzi said “the government doesn’t see itself as the winner.” The winners, he said, were the workers “who tomorrow will return to their place of work...aware of having a future and not just a past.”
The battle began when Renzi’s government last December extended all existing 30-year concessions within about 19 kilometers of the shore, until their resources were exhausted, while, at the same time, banning all future exploration and drilling in territorial waters. Voters were asked if they wanted to revoke the extension. Nine regional governments opposed the extension, expressing concern about safety and the environment, and advocating a more articulated renewable-energy policy. Experts say the referendum was unlikely to have any longer term impact on energy investments in Italy, as the oil companies were counting only on the initial 30-year term. AP
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Israeli army discovers, destroys tunnel from Gaza into Israel
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ERUSALEM—The Israeli military said on Monday it has discovered and destroyed a tunnel burrowing from Gaza into Israel— the first tunnel to be discovered since Israel’s 2014 war with the militant Hamas movement that runs the coastal strip. Israeli troops detected the tunnel’s exit, still underground, several days ago, according to military Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, who added he believes the tunnel was built after the summer war. It extended about 100 meters from Gaza into Israel and was lined with cement and outfitted with electricity, ventilation and rail tracks to cart away dirt from digging, Lerner said.
It was not clear when exactly the tunnel was destroyed. In 2014 Israel destroyed more than 30 tunnels Hamas had dug under the border. More than 2,200 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them civilians, were killed in the 50-day summer war. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and seven civilians were killed. Hamas vowed to rebuild the tunnel network. This year 14 people died in Gaza while digging tunnels aimed at attacking Israelis or at hiding weapons and rocket launch sites. Israelis living near the Gaza Strip have reported hearing digging sounds under their homes in recent months. AP
Depp’s wife avoids jail in ‘war on terrier’ case CIVILIANS displaced by heavy fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants line up outside a tent set up by Doctors Without Borders, to provide medical aid in Makhmour, east of Mosul, Iraq, on March 28. AP/ALICE MARTINS
Carter in Iraq for talks to beef up fight vs IS B AGHDAD—Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Baghdad on Monday to talk to Iraqi leaders about beefing up Iraqi forces working to retake the northern city of Mosul, a critical goal in the effort to defeat the Islamic State (IS) group.
A senior US official said as the US moves to help the Iraqis, it would also likely mean that, at least, a “small number” of additional American forces would go to the warzone. Carter has said the US is considering a number of options, including more air strikes, cyber attacks and American troops on the ground. Late last month, US Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that he and Carter believe US forces in Iraq will increase in the coming weeks. Any final decision would be worked out with the Iraqi government and require President Barack Obama’s approval. Some of those decisions could become clearer in the coming days and weeks. Obama will be in Saudi Arabia later this week to meet with Gulf leaders and
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Predicted Iraq’s budget deficit this year talk about the fight against IS. Carter has said the US wants Persian Gulf nations to help Iraq rebuild its cities once IS militants are defeated. The IS group has established a key stronghold in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and retaking it from the militants is the key end game, according to the US official. But US military and defense officials also have made clear that winning back Mosul will be challenging, because the insurgents are dug in and have likely
peppered the landscape w ith roadside bombs and other traps for any advancing military. During his visit to Baghdad, Carter is set to meet with Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the top US military commander for the IS fight, as well as a number of Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi. He also is expected to speak by phone with the president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani. The senior defense official told reporters traveling with Carter that, while Iraqi leaders have been reluctant to have a large number of US troops in Iraq, they also need certain capabilities that only more American or coalition forces can provide. Iraqi leaders, said the official, will back the addition of more US troops if they directly coincide with specific capabilities that Iraq forces needs to fight IS and take back Mosul. As an example, the US helped the Iraqis with temporary bridges in order for troops to cross the river and move into Ramadi late last year and retake it from the IS militants. The official was not authorized to talk publicly about the ongoing discussions so spoke on condition of anonymity. Politically, neither Iraqi nor US
officials are looking to greatly expand the number of American troop in Iraq. This is Carter’s third trip to Iraq since becoming defense secretary early last year. Last December officials were trying to carefully negotiate new US assistance with Iraqi leaders, who often have a different idea of how to wage war. At that time, the Iraqis turned down a US offer to provide Apache helicopters. But the aircraft are back on the table during this visit and could be more helpful in the Mosul fight. US leaders have also made it clear that ongoing political disarray and economic problems must be dealt with in order for Iraq to move forward. This week the country has been struggling with a political crisis, as efforts to oust the speaker of parliament failed. Al-Abadi’s efforts to get a new Cabinet in place met resistance, and influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a deadline on Saturday, giving parliament 72 hours to vote in a newCabinet. At the same time, the costs of the war against IS, along with the plunge in the price of oil—which accounts for 95 percent of Iraq’s revenues—have caused an economic crisis, adding fresh urgency to calls for reform. Iraqi officials predict a budget deficit of more than $30 billion this year. AP
Rebel shelling kills 10 children in Aleppo
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EIRUT—Ten children have been killed by rebel shelling on Syria’s largest city this weekend, as the UN warned of “desperate” conditions inside a war-ravaged Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. The violence underscores the fragility of the cease-fire in Syria, which has unraveled in the north despite ongoing peace negotiations. Rebel shelling killed 16 people in Aleppo—including six adults, and three young siblings—a monitoring group said on Sunday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes
killed another six people in the opposition-held parts of the city’s old quarters. Syria’s state news agency, Sana, said at least five of the 16 dead in the government-held areas were killed by rebel snipers and said a further 10 were injured. Syria’s warring factions have returned to violence in recent weeks, spoiling a period of relative calm brought about by a partial cease-fire that went into effect in late February. The UN warned that humanitarian conditions are desperate inside a Palestinian refugee camp
home to about 10,000 civilians in the capital, Damascus. The UN Palestinian refugee agency, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said violent battles between extremists have left residents of the Yarmouk camp without food or water for more than a week. “Civilians in Yarmouk are facing starvation and dehydration alongside the heightened risks of serious injury and death from the ar med conf lict,” UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness said. The camp, a built-up neighborhood once home to an estimated
150,000 people, has been ravaged by fighting between the IS group and al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, while gover n ment forces reg u l a rly shell it from outside. A i r s t r i k e s ne a r J i s r a l Shughour in opposition-held Idlib province killed three civilians, the Observatory reported. Progovernment forces intensified their shelling and bombing on an opposition-held pocket north of Homs, the country’s third-largest city, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network. AP
JOHNNY DEPP (center) and wife Amber Heard (left) arrive at the Southport Magistrates Court on the Gold Coast, Australia, on Monday. DAVE HUNT/AAP IMAGE VIA AP
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Y D N E Y— A c t o r Jo h n n y Depp’s wife Amber Heard pleaded guilty on Monday to providing a false immigration document amid allegations she smuggled the couple’s dogs to Australia, but managed to avoid jail time over what was dubbed the “war on terrier” debacle. P r o s e c ut o r s d r o p p e d t w o more serious charges that Heard illegally imported the Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, into the country last year, when Depp was filming the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. A conviction on the illegal importation counts could have sent the actress to prison for up to 10 years. The false documents charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a fine of more than A$10,000 ($7,650), but Magistrate Bernadette Callaghan sentenced Heard instead to a onemonth goo-behavior bond. The condition means she will have to pay a A$1,000 fine if she commits any offenses in Australia over the next month. Depp and Heard said little to the waiting throng of reporters and fans outside the Southport Magistrates Court on Queensland state’s Gold Coast, but did submit a videotaped apology to the court that was played during Monday’s hearing. “When you disrespect Australian law,” a grim-looking Depp says in the video, “they will tell you fir mly.” T he drama over the dogs began last May, when Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce accused Depp of smuggling the tiny terriers aboard his private jet when he returned to Australia to resume filming the Pirates movie. Australia has strict quarantine regulations to prevent diseases, such as rabies, from spreading to its shores. Bringing pets into the country involves applying for a permit and quarantine on arrival of at least 10 days. “If we start letting movie stars—even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice—to come into our nation [with pets], then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody?” Joyce said at the time. “It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.” Depp and Heard were given 72
hours to send Pistol and Boo back to the US, with officials warning that the dogs would, otherwise, be euthanized. The pooches boarded a flight home just hours before the deadline ran out. The comments by Joyce, who is now the deputy prime minister of Australia, elevated what might, otherwise, have been a local spat into a global delight for comedians and broadcasters. One newspaper ran a doggie death countdown ticker on its web site that marked the hours remaining before the dogs had to flee the country, and comedian John Oliver dedicated a more than six-minute segment to lampooning the ordeal. Depp himself poked fun at the drama during a news conference in Venice last year where he was asked if he planned to take the dogs for a gondola ride. “No,” he replied. “I killed my dogs and ate them, under direct orders from some kind of, I don’t know, sweaty, big-gutted man from Australia.” Joyce posted a link to the couple’s apology video on his Facebook page, and later told reporters he doubted it was something the pair would have “willingly wanted to do.” Still, he gave them credit for acknowledging they had made a mistake. “I am happy that Ms. Heard has admitted that she was wrong and as such, that clearly shows that our position in pursuit of this was correct,” Joyce told journalists. “Every nation has something that they’re red hot about, and we’re red hot about our biosecurity requirements in this nation.” When asked why Depp wasn’t charged, as well, the prosecutor’s office said that there had been a “lack of admissible evidence” against anyone except Heard. Heard’s lawyer, Jeremy Kirk, told the court on Monday that his client never meant to lie on her incoming passenger card by failing to declare she had animals with her. In truth, Kirk said, she was simply jetlagged and assumed her assistants had sorted out the paperwork. “She has made a tired, terrible mistake,” Kirk said. Prosecutor Peter Callaghan said ignorance and fatigue were no excuse. “The laws apply to everyone,” he said. AP
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‘North is preparing for 5th nuclear test’ S
EOUL, South Korea—South Korea’s president said on Monday there are signs that North Korea is preparing for a fifth nuclear bomb test amid reports of increased activity at the country’s main nuclear test site. In a regular meeting with her top adviser, President Park Geun-hye said North Korea could carry out such a test to try to bolster morale as the country deals with tough international sanctions imposed after it conducted a fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year. Park didn’t elaborate on what signs pointed to another nuclear test, but ordered the military to be ready to deal with any provocation by Pyongyang, according to media pool reports on the first part of the meeting posted on the web site of her office. Speculation about a fifth nuclear test increased last month when the North’s state media cited leader Kim Jong Un as ordering a test of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying warheads. Kim’s order came amid rising animosity with South Korea and the United States over their annual military drills that North Korea describes as an invasion rehearsal. The drills are set to run until next week. Analysts say an atomic test could happen before North Korea holds a landmark ruling Workers’ Party congress in early May so that Kim can burnish his image as a powerful leader at home and further cement his grip on power. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Monday that South Korean and US authorities detected
two to three times more vehicle and personnel activities than normal this month at the North’s northeast Punggye-ri nuclear test site—where all previous four bomb tests took place. A US web site that monitors sensitive sites in North Korea said on Friday that it saw further signs from satellite imagery that the North was looking to produce more plutonium for nuclear weapons at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex, north of Pyongyang. Earlier last week, the web site 38 North said recent satellite imagery of the Punggyeri area showed little evidence that Pyongyang was planning a nuclear test, though it added that the country may be able to carry out a test on short notice. Foreign experts said that a fifth test could put North Korean scientists and engineers a step closer toward a goal of manufacturing a warhead small enough to place on a long-range missile, which could reach the US mainland. South Korean defense officials say North Korea currently does not have a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile, although it has made strides in its weapons development programs in recent years. On Friday a North Korean missile launch meant to celebrate the birthday of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder and Kim Jong Un’s late grandfather, ended in failure, according to US officials. South Korean media reports said the failed missile was a new, powerful mid-range missile that could theoretically place US military bases in Asia within reach. AP
Air France resumes flights to Iran after eight years of suspension
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EHRAN, Iran—Air France resumed flights to Iran on Sunday after last year’s landmark deal to curb Iranian nuclear activities, as part of larger French and European efforts to rebuild trade ties long frozen by sanctions. The direct flight from Paris to Tehran was the first since 2008. French Transport Minister Alain Vidalies and a business leaders’ delegation were on board flight AF 378 that took off from Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport after noon. Air France CEO Frederic Gagey was optimistic the line would prove profitable. “It’s a touristic destination which I believe is going to become very popular, very attractive,” he said. Air France is also counting on Paris to become a hub for American and other tourists headed to Tehran. A sg h a r Fa k h r ie h K a sh a n , Iran’s deputy transport minister, welcomed the resumption of the flight. “The current situation has fortunately given the opportunity to both countries to restore their relations to their normal former state. It interestingly seems that the Islamic Republic’s aviation sector has been dominated by France and French industries,” he said. The resumption of flights will restore a longstanding aviation link between the two countries. The airline operated flights to Tehran from 1946 until October 2008, when they were suspended amid United Nations and European Union sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The plans have sparked debate within the airline, with some female crewmembers objecting to having to cover their hair while in Iran, in line with Iranian law. Air France said earlier this month it would allow female pilots and cabin crew to opt out of assigned Tehran flights if they object to covering
their hair. “Tolerance and respect for the cultures and customs in the countries served by the airline are part of the fundamental values of Air France and its staff,” it said. French relations with Iran are nothing if not complex. Iran is indebted to France for hosting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the man who fathered the Islamic revolution from his rental home outside Paris, toppling the Pahlavi dynasty and upsetting the world order. The street where the French Embassy in Tehran sits is now named rue Neauphle-le-Château, the French town where Khomeini lived and sent messages to his countrymen before returning home to become the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader. But France was also the last holdout in the nuclear negotiations that led to the lifting of economic sanctions and will give Tehran a windfall in cash. French president François Hollande welcomed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Paris in January, hailing the visit as “a new chapter of our relationship.” The two countries signed some 20 deals during the visit, including one valued at $25 billion for Iran Air to buy 118 aircraft from Airbus. For Iranians, some of whom complain that the nuclear deal has not yet produced visible benefits, the resumption of European flights from Tehran’s Imam Khomenei International Airport is one tangible change. Oil-rich Iran is hoping to diversify its economy and boost growth by increasing the number of western tourists and investors visiting the country. Air France will fly to Iran three times a week. German carrier Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines also run several flights a week connecting Iran and Europe. British Airways plans to resume operations to Iran starting this summer. AP
PRESIDENT Barack Obama (right) with (from left) Avril Haines, deputy national security adviser; Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and National Security Adviser Susan Rice walk to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 13 as they return from a meeting with the president’s National Security Council and speaking at the Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. AP/CAROLYN KASTER
Obama’s 1st farewell tour starts with damage control
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ASHINGTON—President Barack Obama sets out this week on his first in a series of international farewell tours, a sometimes wistful tradition for presidents in legacy mode. But in a reminder of this president’s uneven ties to allies, Obama’s first stop will involve more damage control than nostalgia, more friction than fondness. When Obama lands in Riyadh on Wednesday for a Persian Gulf summit, he’ll be met by leaders roiled by his recent public complaints about global “free riders” and harboring deep distrust of his dealings with Iran and his posture in Syria. Before heading on to what will likely be valedictory visits to Great Britain and Germany, the White House will be tasked with providing some measure of reassurance to a set of allies that remain critical of US counterterrorism goals—even as they increasingly look to his successor. “I think the trip is to reassure Arab allies that the United States is there for the long run and not cutting and running,” said David Ottaway, a Middle East expert at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. Obama has appeared to be more in the mood for frank talk than handholding. In an interview published in the Atlantic magazine this month, the president broadly blasted allies who don’t pull their weight and too often look to the US to provide security. Even more eyebrow-raising in Riyadh, the president argued that
80 Number of detainees who will be left at Guantánamo
the Saudis and Iran “need to find an effective way to share the neighborhood and institute some sort of cold peace”—an insult to the Saudis who view Tehran as a bitter, destabilizing foe. Obama’s first meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last year at Camp David was focused on addressing these worries as the US tried to build support for its nuclear deal with Iran. His recent comments ensure that reassuring them about Iran will remain a major piece of the fol low up meeting this week with the group, which includes Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Oman.
In talks leading to the summit, officials from the United States and Persian Gulf states have discussed ways the US can back up that reassurance, including help with new counterterrorism, military, missile defense and cybersecurity capabilities. Secretary of State John Kerry, who will join Obama on the trip, has floated a possible partnership between the GCC and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) and pledged $139 million in humanitarian aid for Yemen, where the Saudis are embroiled in a proxy war in with Iran. “We’re not at all going to take our eye off the ball when it comes to the threats posed by Iran,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said. But he said the president’s comments reflect the firm belief that “ultimately there’s not a military resolution to the challenges in the region.” The Saudis have long pushed, with no success, for more aggressive US military action to counter Iran in Syria and Iraq, a position that sets up tense talks between Saudi King Salman and Obama over shaky prospects for negotiations about the political future in Syria. The US and the Saudis are divided over what to do if the talks fall apart. Saudi Arabia and several Gulf States maintain President Bashar al-Assad must go, under military threat, if necessary, while the US backs a transition plan that would allow Assad to remain in power for months. Saudi Arabia is cooperating with efforts to trim the population of prisoners being held at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Pentagon announced on Saturday that nine Guantánamo detainees had been transferred to Saudi Arabia, cutting the number of detainees there to 80.
The US is coming to the summit with some requests. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said the president will push Gulf States to contribute economic aid to the effort to rebuild regions of Iraq devastated by the war against the Islamic State extremists. Obama has recently said his biggest mistake was not focusing on reconstruction after the military intervention in Libya, leav ing the countr y in r uins and a breeding ground for radicals. The W hite House has said Obama hopes the US—and more pointedly, its allies—learn from that error. That’s a message Obama is likely to carry on with him to Europe, where he is likely to get a warmer reception. The president remains popular in the UK and Germany and on his final visits, where he will have lunch with Queen Elizabeth and hobnob with business leaders at a German industrial fair, he’s likely to try to tread on that political capital. The W hite House has said Obama will make the case for why Britain should stay in the European Union, potentially providing a boost to a struggling Prime Minister David Cameron. In Germany the president is expected to reinforce Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policies on refugees and trade, two areas where the chancellor has faced intense pressure. Obama is expected to provide reassurances there, too, although of a different brand. wEu ro p e a n le ade r s h ave watched anxiously as Republican front-runner Donald Trump talks about pulling out of Nato, retrenching from alliances and barring Muslims from the US Obama has said he’s regularly asked about Trump’s “wackier” ideas when he talks to foreign leaders. AP
A10 Tuesday, April 19, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso
Opinion BusinessMirror
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The Balikatan 2016: Something changed
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OU may not realize it, but the annual joint exercise of the Philippine military and the United States counterpart has been done for each of the last 32 years. Interestingly, Australia joined in 2014.
There are several purposes of the Balikatan, including—according the Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs group—to provide a “venue for joint and combined training between the two military forces.” There are always several outreach programs to build projects for local communities. Certainly, there is a geopolitical aspect, as well as some “saber rattling” to send a message to domestic insurgents. This year China, of course, was in the focus. The government tends to promote this as a way to increase and enhance relations with the United States, a way to learn new combat techniques, and probably a way to show the US where the Philippines is lacking specific equipment. However, it might be informative to read comments from the “other” side of the exercise. The American newspaper Stars and Stripes was first published in 1861 by members of the Union Army. The modern version began in World War 1 as a way to keep members of the US military updated with information that they would be interested in. It is independent from both the US government and the US Department of Defense. In a Stars and Stripes article published on April 12, 2016, author Wyatt Olson wrote the following: “On paper, Balikatan might be called an exercise, but the Marine general leading the training prefers to think of it more as a mission rehearsal.” That is interesting. What might be the “mission” that a joint team of Filipino and American military be involved in? “We’re doing things with the Filipinos that we’ve never done before,” said Maj. Gen. Richard Simcock, who has been involved in eight Balikatan exercises. “We’re doing a lot of new things this year based on the evolving needs of the region.” Olson writes, “Real-life military interaction between the US and Philippines generally involves relief efforts after natural disasters. Previous drills involved a large force converging on one point, but this year, the drills focused on so called distributed ops, with small operations far-flung across the archipelago.” Capt. Dennis Dunbar, commander of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, said, “One platoon is doing bilateral training in Cebu. Another platoon is involved in a joint rapid reaction force. We had a lot of elements in a lot of different places in the Philippines.” We can appreciate the need for the joint military exercise focusing on realworld scenarios and training for new situations. But with the US now having a permanent contingent of its troops in the Philippines, the government needs to inform the people exactly why and how US soldiers will deploy with and “help” the Philippine military in its domestic anti-insurgent operations. The question that needs to be answered by the government is what are the specific limitations on the US military with its rules of engagement while assisting the Philippine military.
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Looking beyond the Bangladesh cyber theft Manny B. Villar
THE ENTREPRENEUR First of a series
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HE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last week arrested two Australians and one Ghanaian for paying their hotel bills and purchases using Filipinos’ credit cards that they allegedly hacked. This piece of news did not attract much attention, probably because it involves just a little more than P100,000. Another article, which involved an estimated £20 million (about $28.3 million) also did not attract much local attention despite the amount involved, probably because it happened elsewhere. In a report in October 2015, the online Express said cybercriminals stole the money from British bank accounts using sophisticated computer virus. The suspected Eastern European hackers allegedly used the virus to gather online bank details, which were then used to steal money from individuals and businesses around the world.
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that the perpetrators might never be identified. As of this writing, part of the money has been returned, and lawenforcement agencies, as well as the Senate, are conducting parallel investigations to unravel the crime. I will not dwell on the theft itself, but rather on its current implications, as well as from a forward-looking perspective. For all the numerous benefits that the digital age has brought us, for individuals, household, businesses and governments, it also provided unscrupulous individuals and groups new tools to perpetrate crime. Thieves with computer skills no longer have to break into houses or bank vaults to steal money. Aside from the arrest of those three for-
Stock markets: Make or break time John Mangun
OUTSIDE THE BOX
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I mention these reports to highlight the fact that cybercrime has been going on around the world for some time. Here in the Philippines, cybercrime finally got the attention not only of local authorities (and the public) but also of other countries when news about the theft of $81 million from the government of Bangladesh came out. The money stolen from the Federal Reserve of New York’s account of Bangladesh’s central bank went through a local bank, then through a remittance center, then to two casinos and a junket operator, before disappearing. But, as reported by Reuters, the money trail had gone cold in the Philippines and
In a report in October 2015, the online Express said cyber criminals stole the money from British bank accounts using sophisticated computer virus. The suspected Eastern European hackers allegedly used the virus to gather online bank details, which were then used to steal money from individuals and businesses around the world.
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HE global stock markets, in general, and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), in particular, are standing at a crossroads. It is make or break time for a large move.
As I have said before, predicting future stock-market direction is a fools’ game. It really does reduce stockmarket investing to a casino game. You walk up to the roulette wheel and “predict” that “Red” is going to come up next. No one in his or her right mind runs a business that way. If you own a women’s clothing store, you do not stock merchandise based on your predictions. You may think that based on trends the color of the season will be red and you may buy more red-colored dresses. But a wise purchasing manager may buy 40 percent red, and also 30 percent each of blue and green. Further, a business is also about creating scenarios that will determine
future action as they come true or not. If in the first month red dresses are not 40 percent of the sales and blue is 40 percent, then the color of the dresses for your second order should change to reflect current conditions. Business management and stockmarket forecasting that determines investment decisions should come down to “If A, then B” and “If C, then D” scenarios. That way, you are prepared and have a plan for whatever happens. Further, it takes the emotions out of your decision-making. If you are convinced that your forecast is going to be correct—and why else would you make a particular prediction—you will have a difficult time changing your course if you are
Business management and stock market forecasting that determines investment decisions should come down to “If A, then B” and “If C, then D” scenarios. That way, you are prepared and have a plan for whatever happens. Further, it takes the emotions out of your decision-making.
proven to be wrong. Over this past weekend, I wrote at length in the “PSE Strategy Guide” what the various scenarios are for the Philippine stock market in the short, medium and longer term. Therefore, it becomes a matter of seeing which scenario will play out and “If A, then do this; if B, do that.” The key to the deal is not predicting the future but being as prepared as possible for whichever future happens to materialize. The Philippine stock market has been trading in a narrow range—7,200 to 7,400—for the past month after charging higher from 6,200 in January. This range trading is either a top before a fall or a bottom
eigners that I mentioned earlier, local media have been reporting numerous incidents of theft using stolen details from bank accounts and credit cards of unknowing people. In many of these incidents, the perpetrators have been apprehended. On the Bangladesh case, however, the ongoing investigations have not identified the prime suspects, or the people who actually broke into the Bangladesh accounts with the Federal Reserve, which is probably one of the most secure financial institutions in the world. That it was committed with such impunity, daring and swiftness, defeating the safeguards put in place by the international banking community, should send shivers down the spine of everyone. Cybercrime is becoming a worldwide scourge, and will become bigger in the future, helped, ironically, by advances in technology. The Bangladesh case also raises many questions, such as our own preparedness in preventing and dealing with this type of crime. Sadly, the fact that the Philippines has been used as a conduit for the stolen money does not speak well for the security system in our financial institutions. To be continued For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@ gmail.com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.
before a significant increase in value. The price movement on the PSE is not much different than on the other exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which is up 12 percent from its January low. The PSE is up over 15 percent since its low. Is the bull market back or is this a trap? Either way, a big move is coming. Since January 2014, the NYSE has been trading in a relatively narrow range. Since August 2014, the PSE also has been trading in a relatively narrow range. Despite the ups and downs, both stock markets are basically trading at the same point as they were in 2014. That cannot last much longer. The list of the justifications for a move either up and down is not important. The only question that matters is: Are you ready for a 15percent move in either direction? You had better be. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.
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Bongbong bandwagon reels ’em in Ernesto M. Hilario
ABOUT TOWN
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OU would think that with the 1986 People Power revolt that overthrew the Marcos regime in 1986 and sent the members of the family fleeing into exile in Hawaii, there’s no way that Filipinos would welcome the return of any of the Marcoses to politics. But the immediate Marcos family has indeed returned to Philippine politics in a big way. Not long after coming home from Hawaii after the demise of Ferdinand, Imelda even ran for president in 1992, and now represents Leyte in Congress. Eldest daughter Imee also went to Congress and is now the governor of Ilocos Norte. Bongbong Marcos Jr. also worked as Ilocos Norte governor, congressman, senator and now aspires to become the next vice president. If he wins, he is widely believed to eventually use the Office of the Vice President as the platform to take a crack at the presidency in 2022. I had thought all along that Bongbong’s constituency would be the Marcos loyalists, people who had benefited from the 20year occupancy of Malacañang by the family. It turns out that Bongbong’s vice-presidential run is supported by, among many others, the Filipino youth born after Edsa People Power.
corpus in 1971 and the declaration of martial law in September 1972. This, Belgica said, led him to reconsider his involvement in the underground movement and to become a bornagain Christian while in prison. Belgica now says he has left behind all the bitterness and rancor he felt while in prison and works full-time as a Baptist bishop. He, like Abalos, believes that it is “time to move forward and not dwell on the past” and believes that Bongbong Marcos, as far as he is concerned, can help change Philippine society for the better. Ka Efren Villaseñor was active in the peasant movement from the 1970s onward. He was in the forefront of the opposition to the coconut levy imposed by the Marcos administration in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But while he wants the coco-levy funds, now amounting to more than P200 billion (from an initial amount of less than P3 billion), to be returned to the coconut farmers and part of it used to develop the ailing coconut industry, he thinks Bongbong should not be
It turns out that Bongbong’s vice-presidential run is supported by, among many others, the Filipino youth born after Edsa People Power. What’s surprising—perhaps even shocking—to those who manned the barricades at Edsa and even before that, is that Marcos Jr.’s candidacy has gained traction even among those who stoutly opposed Marcos Sr., especially after the declaration of martial law in 1972. What’s surprising—perhaps, even shocking—to those who manned the barricades at Edsa and even before that, is that Marcos Jr.’s candidacy has gained traction even among those who stoutly opposed Marcos Sr., especially after the declaration of martial law in 1972. In the latest edition of our Saturday Forum@Annabel’s, which I cohost with Party-List Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz of Abakada (he is on leave from the forum because of a Commission on Elections ruling against candidates using their media platforms during the campaign period), we had four staunch critics of martial law more than 30 years ago who came out to declare their full support for Bongbong’s vice-presidential bid. First to speak was Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos, who said he was with other members of his family at Edsa during the People Power revolt in February 1986. But having had Bongbong as seatmate in Congress and after getting to know him better, Abalos said, he is convinced that the only son of the late president is highly qualified to hold the second highest elective position. The rapidly declining ranks of “baby boomers” here must certainly be familiar with the name of Butch Belgica, who gained notoriety in the mid to late 1960s, if I’m not mistaken, for several brushes with the law that hit the headlines then. Belgica was arrested and prosecuted for the crime of murder, and he spent a total of 12 years—four of them in solitary confinement— in the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. While he was in Muntinlupa, Belgica narrated, he was recruited as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines by Danny Cordero, a political prisoner, who admitted throwing the grenades during the Liberal Party rally in 1971 that led to the suspension of the writ of habeas
dragged into the issue at this point, and should be allowed to run as vice president of the country because he has proven himself in public office as lawmaker and local executive. Labor leader Eleuterio “Ka Terry” Tuazon says he was imprisoned thrice during the Marcos regime for trade union activities. But like Villaseñor and other mass leaders in the 1970s, Ka Terry now believes that “we must now move forward” so that the nation can pursue much-needed reforms, including the protection of labor rights and welfare and an end to labor-only contractualization. There were two other staunch opponents of martial law who were supposed to join the forum but failed to make it due to other commitments. They, too, have joined the Bongbong bandwagon. One is former Quezon City Mayor Brigido “Jun” Simon, who figured prominently in the political arena during the Cory Aquino administration. Another unlikely Bongbong supporter is retired Brigadier General Victor Corpus, whose last official job was chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). For those born in the 1980s or 1990s, Corpus’s name may not ring a bell. But his claim to fame, at least for the activists of the 1970s, was having led the spectacular raid on the armory of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio in December 1970 and defecting to the New People’s Army (NPA). Corpus was arrested in 1975 and spent years in prison before being granted amnesty after Edsa 1. He was reinstated in the military (he was a lieutenant when he joined the NPA) and rose from the ranks to become a general. It would have been very intriguing to hear his story and what made him change his mind and express support for the candidacy of Marcos Jr. But that could still be the subject of a future column. E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 A11
Rising temperatures and sea levels Edgardo J. Angara
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HE past few weeks have seen how the world’s climate is changing and getting hotter at an increasingly faster pace. Here at home, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration recently recorded a heat index of 51 degree celsius in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. This measurement—the discomfort perceived from the temperature and humidity of the air—is within “dangerous levels” (410C to 540C) where heat exhaustion and heat strokes are imminent with sustained exposure. The country is, of course, in the midst of El Niño, which has since driven local governments to declare states of calamity and the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) to warn of a looming global food crisis. But a more tragic development is the recent clash between riot police and farmers in Kidapawan, North Cotabato, where some lives were lost and more than a hundred were injured.
The signs of a hotter planet can be observed elsewhere. Greenland is experiencing a much earlier icemelting season as temperatures rose to a relatively high 170C last week. Researchers from the Danish Meteorological Institute found that 12 percent of Greenland’s ice sheet was already melting in April, instead of June—the traditional start of that country’s summer. The melting of the polar ice caps
is a regular phenomenon, with most of the water refreezing by wintertime. But as a 2014 Nature Geoscience study pointed out, the ice caps have been receding in recent decades, resulting in rising sea levels that lead to profound changes across the world. National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists determined that even the Earth’s axis is affected by the global redistribution of water with the geographic North Pole veering toward London instead of Canada at a rate almost twice as fast than previously observed. The study did not connect the change to man-made activities. And as the Earth really wobbles on its axis, the shifting of the North Pole is generally considered a harmless phenomenon. However, the scientific community sounded the alarm last month when researchers from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Pennsylvania State University found that the UN’s current projections on sea level rise grossly underestimated how fast Antarctic glaciers would thaw. Where old
projections saw sea levels rising 3 feet by 2100, the new study says it may actually be double—at around 5 or 6 feet. The Philippines should be gravely concerned, considering that a University of the Philippines Los Baños study calculated that 171 coastal towns under 10 provinces would go under water if sea levels rose by a meter or roughly 3 feet. What more if it was double? And while 13.6 million Filipinos in 2014 lived in coastal communities, our seas have also risen at a rate five times faster than the global average. That means the children born today could very well see their country submerged within their lifetimes. We were among the countries that actively advocated for the recently signed Paris Declaration. But of all the candidates campaigning today, who among them elaborated on their plans to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, combat climate change and mitigate its adverse impacts on Filipinos? E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.
Binay eclipses rivals again in latest Philcoman Research Institute’s platform-based survey Cecilio T. Arillo
DATABASE
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ICE President Jejomar C. Binay, who represented the masses and the middle class of Philippine society, again led with 31 percent on the second platform-based presidential survey conducted by the Philcoman Research Institute Inc. (PCMRII) between March 31 and April 15.
Remarkably trailing behind him is Davao Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte with 25 percent, while former Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, Sen. Grace Poe and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago took the third, fourth and fifth slots with 19 percent, 16 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Dr. Ernie Gonzales, a Fellow of the London School of Economics & Political Science and PCMRII director for Research, said their field researchers had asked 1,200 respondents at random whom they would vote for president if elections were held on schedule on four important issues: social (poverty and criminality); political (parliamentary or presidential); economics (nationalist economics, export-oriented, regulated, etc.); and national security (Bangsamoro basic law, Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army and other threats). Differing from the usual popularity survey conducted by other research organizations, the PCMRII survey is a nationalist, policy-oriented research study, where respondents are asked
who of the candidates they think have concrete plans for the country based on the four interrelated important issues. The previous survey results that were released during the last week of March had Binay on top of the list with 27 percent; behind him was Poe, with 21 percent; Santiago, 18 percent; Roxas, 16 percent; Duterte, 15 percent; and 3 percent of the 1,200 participants were undecided. Two percent out of the respondents still remained undecided. The sampling errors for national percentages is 3 percent, plus or minus; six for regionals and for Metropolitan Manila. Each percentage point is equivalent to 440,000 votes, assuming 44 million of the 54 millions registered voters cast their ballot on May 9. Of the presidential candidates, Binay is the only one with clearly-defined platforms on the issues asked of the respondents by PMCRII researchers, who found that the graft and corruption issue has not affected the standing of the Vice President. Most respondents believed there is a need to draw a strategic plan to eradicate
the menace, and presidential candidates Duterte, Poe and Roxas, beyond merely talking loudly about the subjects, according to some researchers, have not really offered a concrete plan to stifle the problem. Senator Poe’s rating went down as most respondents marked her as prooligarch and pro-status quo with no antipoverty, socioeconomic and nationalsecurity platforms. Duterte increased his standing because of his strong anticrime advocacy. Santiago’s rating continued to slide as many respondents believed she is seriously ill.
Bongbong remains at the top of the vice presidential race
SEN. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., now with 33 percent, upped his rating by two from his previous 31 percent, with Sen. Chiz Escudero trailing behind at 26 percent, Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan at 15 percent; Rep. Leni Robredo at 13 percent; Sen. Alan Cayetano at 9 percent; and Sen. Trillanes’s 4 percent. Bongbong offers clearly defined solutions than his rivals on the problems of graft and plunder, the Mindanao problem, the worsening crime situation and lack of foreign affairs direction. Like in the previous survey, Bongbong is not much affected by martial law and human-rights issues repeatedly dished out by leftists and elitist members of Philippine society. Founded in 1954 as Philcoman and later revitalized, PCMRII is a nationwide non-governmental federation of professional and technological societies, management development institutions, academe, business enterprises and professional managers dedicated to the development of management and improvement of management practices in
all aspects of Philippine society.
Significant rating changes in the senatorial race
PREVIOUSLY unrated senatoriables have joined Sen. Vicente Sotto in the magic seven after they explained their antipoverty, anticrime and proeconomic nationalist platforms. Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte is now in No. 2, followed by Sen. Ralph Recto, former Sen. Richard Gordon, Rep. Manny Pacquiao of Sarangani, Harvard-trained socioeconomist Susan “Toots” Ople and Senate President Frank Drilon, in that order. Sotto III still led the survey, now with 56 percent; remarkably followed by Romualdez, 52 percent; Recto, 50 percent; Gordon, 48 percent; Pacquiao, 46 percent; Ople, 44 percent; Drilon, 42 percent; former Sen. Ping Lacson, 40 percent; former Sen. Francis Pangilinan, 41 percent; Sen. Teofisto Guingona, 39 percent; Sen. Migz Zubiri, 38 percent; former Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva, 37 percent; Sen. Serge Osmeña III, 35 percent; former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, 31 percent; and Rep. Neri Colmenares, 29 percent. Osmeña’s rating significantly went down as respondents recalled his role in the framing of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Republic Act 9136) that continuously caused electricity rates to go up, instead of going down as promised. Sotto did not vote for the passage of the law. The PCMRII will release its final result of the survey a week before the May 9 election.
To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@gmail. com.
G-20 delivers empty warning on global economy B M A. E-E Bloomberg View
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HE communique issued by the Group of 20 (G-20) finance ministers and central bankers at the conclusion of talks in Washington, D.C., this weekend had a somewhat unreal, and worryingly ironic, tone. Noting that global growth “remains modest and uneven,” the G-20 warned the large advanced economies against continuing their prolonged, excessive reliance on unconventional monetary policy to power growth. Yet the communique, which was issued in the names of the specialized policy-makers most closely involved in perpetuating this highly unbalanced policy mix, contained few new policy initiatives. As a result, the outlook is for more of the same, which means disappointing growth and financial risks that could affect the well-being of billions of people around the world. The G-20 meeting was held as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released yet another downward revision of its outlook for global growth. Making the updated assessment even more
sobering was the institution’s warning about the unusual range of risks, including the possible disorderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, along with other political risks to financial volatility as well as the particular challenges facing commodity exporters experiencing huge hits to their earnings. The IMF’s correct appraisal was accompanied by the reiteration both of the measures that it says are needed (a more comprehensive policy approach) and those that must be avoided (particularly, beggar-thy-neighbor currency devaluations). There also was broadening awareness that the longer the current configuration persists, the more it will erode the potential for future growth and prosperity. Timing is important: The prolonged over-reliance on monetary policy is delivering fewer benefits even as its unintended consequences become more pronounced and the threat of collateral damage increases. Nonetheless, no notable attempt was made to agree on how to translate wise words into durable and effective actions (such as a global infrastructure initiative
combining both national measures with multilateral ones, all financed by the unusually low interest rates prevailing in the advanced economies). This is particularly unfortunate given the consensus that has developed around the IMF’s call for a better mix of monetary, fiscal and structural reform measures—to which I would add the need to address pockets of excessive indebtedness and enhance global policy coordination, including through a further strengthening of the credibility and operational flexibility of the IMF itself. The sad irony is that despite the unusually high degree of consensus on the outlook for the global economy and the policy implications, the G-20 again fell short of committing to a collective and verifiable set of actions that could spur measures at the national level. This is particularly disappointing for two reasons: First, the G-20 has shown its ability—though too infrequently, alas—to act; and when it has, the results were potent. Indeed, if it weren’t for the coordinated policy approach adopted by the G-20 at its meeting in London in April 2009, the world could have fallen
into a devastating multiyear depression. Second, with companies sitting on so much cash or devoting it exclusively to financial engineering, the unleashing of global growth does not need a “big bang” in terms of policies. A small bang would probably prove sufficient to unleash faster global recovery, with the private sector doing much of the heavy lifting by using its strong balance sheets to expand current and future output. The resulting upside would be turbocharged by firmand sector-specific innovations that could deliver economy-wide benefits. The economic officials from around the world who attended the meetings can take comfort in the greater collective understanding both of the risks facing the global economy and of the better set of policies needed to address those challenges. What they don’t have, however, is enough of a durable win-win action plan to serve as a catalyst for reluctant politicians at home. Sadly, the required policy response may only come with a further worsening of an already mediocre outlook for growth, as well as deteriorating prospects for genuine financial stability.
2nd Front Page BusinessMirror
A12 Tuesday, April 19, 2016
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Would Edca ‘power’ drive away China from West Philippine Sea?
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@reneacostaBM
VER the weekend, a candid US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter revealed that joint USPhilippine patrols in the South China Sea (SCS) have started as early as last month, supposedly to jump-start the pivot of American Forces in the country, under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca). On the other hand, a coy Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has termed the joint naval activity in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as a passing exercise, a training that would ensure communications between two Navy allies in peace or war times. However, four days after Carter and Gazmin made their pronouncements, and even weeks into the joint patrols in the Philippineclaimed islets that China has considered as part of its sovereign territory, Chinese military and paramilitary ships are still being sighted in the Scarborough Shoal. The same types of vessels are
also seen, some even on stationary movements, within and around the Ayungin Shoal, gawking at the squad of Filipino soldiers aboard the partly sunken and rust-ridden BRP Sierra Madre, whose task was to ensure the shoal would not fall completely into China’s hands. The continued presence of Chinese ships at the Scarborough Shoal, off Zambales, and at the Ayungin Shoal, located at the tip of the oil-rich Reed Bank near Palawan, two of the country’s claimed territories in WPS, maybe providing us a future glimpse on the outcome of the Edca for the country. “If the unmoved presence of
VISITING U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter (center) chats with US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg (right), as he arrives for the closing ceremony of the 11-day joint US-Philippines military exercise, dubbed “Balikatan 2016” (Shoulder-To-Shoulder 2016), on Friday at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. Second from right is Foreign Secretary Jose Almendras; others are unidentified. AP
Chinese ships in the shoals would be used as a yardstick for Edca’s success at this early stage, then you can begin to ask questions,” a senior military official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to publicly discuss the issue said on Monday. “But it is early to tell. We are barely beginning to unravel things, the things that may be in store for
us out of the Edca vis-á-vis the Chinese problem,” he added. The military official, however, said that the defense agreement with the US should be weighed in its totality, and not only against the territorial dispute with Beijing, even as he admitted that the dispute was the principal consideration behind the agreement. Another senior military official
said it remains a question whether the Edca would drive away China from the SCS, given that Beijing has already established its foothold there through the reefs that it has reclaimed and turned into military bases. It is a given, however, that the upcoming months would turn the SCS into an intense “military playground,” both on sea and air, where China and the US would unfurl their military might, as confirmed by Carter last week. “A contingent of US aircraft and their crews and pilots that participated in Balikatan will remain behind at Clark Airbase. We’ll do this, in fact, on a regular basis. The initial contingent, five A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, three H60G Pave Hawk helicopters and one MC-130H Combat Talon aircraft,” Carter said. “And 200 airmen, including pilots, will continue joint training,
If the unmoved presence of Chinese ships in the shoals would be used as a yardstick for Edca’s success at this early stage, then you can begin to ask questions.”
Competition. . . C A
lowest intraday level in a week.
‘Fast fashion’
A REBOUND in SSI’s profit this year is “difficult” to predict and will depend on the intensity of competition, said Huang, who declined to give specific forecasts. He said gross profit margin will slide to about 50 percent to 51 percent this year, as its so-called fast fashion brands, such as Old Navy and Zara, grow faster than high-end labels. SSI will maintain its margin at that level through 2018 by managing costs, Huang added. The company, also known as Stores
Telco industry. . . with its chief executive citing high risks, despite a large market of generally unsatisfied consumers. Still, San Miguel President Ramon S. Ang declared the stillborn telecom company should soon see light. He remains on the lookout for possible partnerships with other foreign telcos. “Despite being liberalized and some areas deregulated in the 1990s, anticompetitive practices abound in the telecoms sector,” Mirandilla-Santos said. “The policy and regulatory environment also remains unclear and unpredictable, especially for a valueadded service, like broadband, where a 20-year-old law on basic telecoms service is being used as basis.” This pertained to Public Telecommunications Act of 1995, a law that National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Deputy Commissioner Edgardo V. Cabarios said should be updated in light of the data explosion in the country. In February a policy brief on Philippine broadband was launched. It dwelled on the idea of better competition as solution to awfully sluggish Internet speeds that consumers get no matter that the service is more expensive than elsewhere in the region. The policy brief also highlighted other issues, such as barriers to entry, anticompetitive practices, inadequate infrastructure, as well as bureaucratic requirements imposed by both local and national governments when telcos build infrastructure.
conduct flight operations in the area, including the South China Sea, and lay the foundation for joint air patrols to complement ongoing maritime patrols,” he added. The local armed forces senior military official, on the other hand, said that Edca’s aim for the country was to check China and its activity in the disputed territory, but this may already be an afterthought since Beijing has put up bases in the area. “We could play for defense, but denying China of access to its bases in the disputed territory can be considered as impossible, not now with those bases. We could not even deny them of patrols since China needs these patrols in order to protect and secure these bases.” The official noted that Beijing was even pushing the stakes in the South China Sea by being brave enough to shadow US patrols as shown by incidents during the past weeks.
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Specialists, has a portfolio of more than 100 brands, ranging from clothes, bags, footwear, personal care to home furnishings. It opened its first Prada store in 2003 in metro Manila and followed five years later with Jimmy Choo and Hermes stores, according to its web site. SSI plans to spend P600 million this year to add between 5,000 square meters (sq m) to 6,000 sq m of specialty stores. “Our focus after growing our portfolio of brands and stores, for lack of a better term, is to milk it,” Huang said. “It’s all now focused on the execution: buying the right kind of merchandise and making marketing flawless to create brand-awareness that suits us.”
Department store
SSI earlier this year sold its department
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Local players PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are more than willing to engage in an aggressive cell-site buildup, but issues pertaining to local government approvals prevent them from doing so. Also, a clear policy on infrastructure sharing—a practice that has proven effective in limiting costs and improving service coverage—has yet to be put into place. Mirandilla-Santos added the failure of the regulator to force telcos to interconnect their Internet networks. “The large telcos, who are also the largest Internet service providers in the country, are able to discriminate who connects to them and to dictate the price and quality. Local IP peering with PLDT is done through bilateral, commercial agreements—unlike 90 percent of peering arrangements globally that is done through a handshake,” she lamented. The government has been operating an open and neutral Internet exchange called the Philippine Open Internet Exchange (Phopenix). “PLDT has refused to connect to the exchange until recently due to public pressure. But this happened without any help from the regulator, who has practically made a hands-off stance on anything Internet-related, despite the service being the new breadand-butter of the local telcos,” Mirandilla-Santos said. She noted the Internet exchange has facilitated inbound traffic exchanges reaching an average 14 Gbps a month despite the nonparticipation of PLDT.
store assets due to competition in that segment and to focus its resources on specialty stores, which is drawing more consumers. The sale raised P499 million, Huang said. Huang said the company will add another online retail store this year to its three e-commerce web sites, as it expects purchases through the Internet to pick up as broadband services improve and smartphones proliferate. The company will also open as many as 10 more FamilyMart convenience stores this year in Manila’s main business districts, adding to the 112 franchised outlets it operated at the end of last year. The company needs a network of at least 400 FamilyMart stores for the venture to be profitable, and is looking to boost the chain’s appeal in the suburbs, Huang said. Bloomberg News
“Imagine how much more this would be if the country’s largest telco would peer,” the expert said. Essentially, the peering of Internet protocols allows the exchange of Internet traffic among data-service providers, making possible faster transfer of information from one point to another. To do this, ISPs have to be linked via an Internet exchange. Without IP peering, local in-country Internet traffic are routed abroad, instead, and pass through an overseas exchange before reaching its local destination. Enterprises that are IP peered with Phopenix will have cost savings as local in-country Internet traffic exchanged through Phopenix will not count against the use of international network links or backhaul usage. As local in-country Internet traffic need not transit abroad, service providers will exchange with each other at lower latency —that is, better response times —and deliver faster responses that consumers enjoy. Lower latency for consumers mean faster, more reliable and more stable Internet connectivity experience, particularly for ecommerce transactions with businesses, financial institutions and government frontline services. Simply put, IP peering allows consumers to enjoy “more robust, fault- and attack-resistant network infrastructure, which is personally important to consumers in their transactions through the Internet, such as tax filing, banking, e-commerce, Skype conversations with family and friends overseas, among the many uses of fast, reliable and inexpensive Internet.”