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Saturday, January 2, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 86

P.  |     | 7 DAYS A WEEK

D.O.T.C. ALLEGEDLY VIOLATED LAW ON PROCUREMENT

Firm files protest vs MRT 3 rehab deal B L S. M

HE transportation department failed to observe the terms of the law on procurement in awarding the P4.3-billion contract for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, as it moved to grant the deal to a single bidder despite protests from parties interested in the project.

INSIDE

MERKEL TO USE REFUGEES FOR NATION’S ADVANTAGE BusinessMirror

World The

B2-1 | Saturday, January 2, 2016 • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

FIREWORKS illuminate the Burj Khalifa as a tower burns behind it in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on New Year’s Eve. AP/JON GAMBRELL

Dubai New Year fireworks WARNS GERMANS AGAINST REFUGEE HATE IN NEW YEAR’S SPEECH kick off while tower blazes

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—A 63-story luxury hotel was engulfed in flames even as a massive New Year’s fireworks display kicked off at the world’s tallest skyscraper nearby, while tens of thousands of people whistled and cheered at early on Friday’s pyrotechnics. Just minutes before the fireworks began in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, large explosions could be heard from inside the burning building, which was cloaked in thick black smoke. Other blasts followed later during the night. It was not clear what caused them. At least 14 people were slightly injured, and one person suffered a heart attack from the smoke and overcrowding during an evacuation late on Thursday, according to the Dubai Media Office. The statement said another person was moderately injured, without elaborating further. No children were among those injured, it said. Around 1 million people had been expected to gather around the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to watch the fireworks. Dubai’s economy depends heavily on tourism, and New Year’s is one of the busiest seasons, drawing people from around the world to watch the fireworks that the emirate puts on at the world’s tallest tower, as well as the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and over a manmade palm-shaped island. Organizers had installed 400,000 lightemitting diode lights on the Burj Khalifa and used some 1.6 tons of fireworks for the seven-minute extravaganza. Two years ago on New Year’s, Dubai broke the world record for the largest fireworks display. The fire engulfed the Address Downtown, one of the most upscale hotels and residences in Dubai, which was likely to

have been packed with people because of its clear view of the 828-meter (905-yard) tall Burj Khalifa. The hotel towers over the Souq Al Bahar, a popular shopping area with walkways that connect to the Burj Khalifa and the Middle East’s largest mall, the Dubai Mall. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which ran up the 63-story building. The Address is a 991 foot-tall (302-meter) skyscraper that has 626 luxury apartments and 196 hotel rooms, according to Skyscraper Center, which tracks such buildings. Dubai’s Media Office wrote on its official Twitter account that four teams of firefighters were working to put out the blaze. They said the fire appears to have originated on a 20th floor terrace, though witnesses who saw the blaze start said they believed it began on the building’s ground floor. No one offered a cause for the fire. The fire broke out around 9:30 p.m., about two-and-a-half hours before the midnight fireworks display was set to begin. To manage the crowds, Dubai police had closed off some roads and some metro stations before the fire broke out. The Dubai Media Office said that Dubai’s tourism department would provide guests evacuated from the building with alternative hotel accommodation. Nearly an hour after the fire began, some onlookers began to leave while others stood, pressed against crowd barricades, watching the blaze. Among them was Chris Browne, a tourist from London, who watched with her husband, Stephen, standing behind her. They said they hoped no one was injured. “It’s pretty scary stuff,” she said. AP

Merkel to use refugees for nation’s advantage C

HANCELLOR Angela Merkel signaled she’ll use Germany’s economic power to turn a record influx of refugees to the nation’s advantage and urged citizens to reject social conflict fomented by nationalists with “hate in their hearts.” In a New Year’s address devoted to the impact of the refugee crisis, Merkel said coping with migration will cost Germany “time, effort and money,” according to prepared remarks provided by her office on Thursday. If handled right, the challenges of today will be the opportunities of tomorrow, she said. Merkel pressed home the point that she’s determined to treat the influx as a chance to modernize and rejuvenate Europe’s biggest economy, a stance that’s won her international accolades while eroding her poll ratings at home. The domestic fallout pushed other

crises, such as the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine and the threat of the UK leaving the European Union into the background in her outlook for 2016. “Next year is about one thing in particular: our cohesion,” Merkel said. “It is important not to follow those who, with coldness or even hate in their hearts, want to claim Germanness solely for themselves and exclude others.” Merkel’s popularity among voters declined since last summer as she insisted “we will make it” through the refugee crisis, an assertion she repeated

in her speech, which was nationally televised later on Thursday and posted online subtitled in Arabic and English. With Germany facing an influx of 1 million or more asylum seekers this year, about half of them fleeing civil war in Syria, the chancellor has rejected calls from within her Christian Democratic-led bloc to cap the number of migrants. Germany’s balanced budget, lowest unemployment since east-west reunification 25 years ago, rising real wages and “robust and innovative” economy mean the country is strong enough to master the challenge as it has others in history, said Merkel, who marked 10 years in power in 2015. The chancellor’s warning to Germans to stand up against anti-foreigner sentiment reprised a line from last year’s New Year’s speech, underscoring concern in the chancellery about the risk of social conflict. Germany is the world’s top destination for asylum seekers, the United Nations said in a report published on December 18. Merkel’s poll ratings have stabilized in recent weeks. While 57 percent said

U.S. STOCKS END 2015 MOSTLY FLAT, CAPPING VOLATILE YEAR

HE US stock market took investors for a wild ride in 2015, but in the end it was a trip to nowhere. Despite veering between record highs and the steepest dive in four years, the stock market ended the year essentially flat, delivering the weakest performance since 2008. That means if you invested in a fund that tracks the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 index, you have little to show for the past 12 months. “It’s been mildly disappointing,” said Michael Baele, managing director at the Private Client Reserve at US Bank. “Any time that you come in toward the end of the year close to flat you always want a little bit more.” Markets overseas had their own challenges. China’s market surged in the late spring and then fell sharply in the summer despite several efforts by China’s government to stem the decline. The Shanghai Composite Index ended the year up 9.4 percent. Japan’s market finished flat after that country’s government stepped up its economic stimulus program. In Europe Britain’s market ended the year

down about 5 percent, while indexes in Germany and France turned in healthy gains of 9.6 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. In the US the market got 2015 off to a slow start as investors worried about falling crude oil prices, flat earnings growth and when and how quickly the Federal Reserve (the Fed) would begin raising interest rates. By May the major indexes were hitting new highs. Even the Nasdaq bested its dotcom high-water mark set in March 2000. The market didn’t stay in milestone territory for long, though. Worries about slowing growth in China and elsewhere gave reason for the Fed to pause and for investors to fret, even as the U.S. economy continued to create jobs and consumer confidence improved. Weak company earnings, largely due to the strong dollar and falling oil prices, didn’t do much for the market’s confidence. By August the anxiety had deepened and the market dropped sharply. The three major US indexes went into a correction, commonly defined as a loss of at least 10 percent from

a recent peak, for the first time in four years. That slide didn’t last long, either. Within several weeks, the market had mostly bounced back. The Nasdaq composite returned to positive territory for the year, while the Dow average and S&P 500 remained slightly in the red until December. In the weeks that followed, the S&P 500 inched back into positive territory, leaving the Dow as the only major market indicator negative for the year. That held true until the last day of the year, when the S&P 500 index slipped back into the red. The Dow ended down 178.84 points, or 1 percent, to 17,425.03 on Thursday. The S&P 500 index lost 19.42 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,043.94. The Nasdaq composite fell 58.43 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,007.41. The S&P 500 ended the year with a slight loss of 0.7 percent. Once dividends are included, it had a total return of 1.4 percent. That’s its worst showing since 2008, when it slumped 37 percent in the midst of the financial crisis. That figure also includes dividends.

“There was a lot of news that kept hitting the market and the market kept shrugging it all off and hung in there,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. “I’d say, given all that the market faced this year, it was pretty strong.” These were some of the key factors driving US markets in 2015:

Waiting for the fed WALL Street watched few things more closely this year than the Fed. Traders had been predicting early on that the central bank would begin raising its benchmark interest rate as early as March. When that didn’t happen, investors turned their focus to June, only to be disappointed again. Eventually, in December, the Fed took action. It nudged its benchmark overnight borrowing rate higher, its first increase in interest rates in nearly a decade. The Fed made it clear that it was expressing a vote of confidence in the US economy by doing so and that future increases would be gradual. That helped reassure investors

that the Fed wouldn’t raise rates too quickly and, thereby, stunt the economy’s growth. “It really was central banks looming large over the market,” Baele said. “The market had a fair amount of fear that the Fed raising rates was a risk to the market. It’s turned around now.”

Correction arrives THE bull market had racked up six years of annual gains by the time the calendars turned to 2015. The last time it had a correction was 2011. Historically, that’s an unusually long time for the market to go without

in a mid-December ARD poll they’re dissatisfied with her stance on refugees, 42 percent expressed support, 3 percentage points more than when the broadcaster last asked the question in the first week of November. Support in the ARD poll for Merkel’s party bloc rose for the first time in almost five months, by 1 percentage point to 38 percent, after mostly holding at more than 40 percent since the September 2013 election. Alternative for Germany, a party that criticizes Merkel’s open-door policy and rejects the euro, held at 10 percent in the Infratest poll. Germany’s 16 states plan to spend €17 billion ($18.5 billion) on the migrants next year as some struggle to balance their budgets, Die Welt reported, citing a survey. Spending plans are based on 800,000 refugees arriving in Germany in 2015, a number that has already been exceeded, the newspaper said. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said the task of sheltering refugees takes priority over other goals, such as taking on no new debt. Bloomberg News A FERRARI SF15-T is parked in front of the New York Stock Exchange as part of the promotional activity around Ferrari’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange. While 2015 has proved to be a big year for mergers and acquisitions, the market for initial public offerings has been less active with many analysts blaming volatility in financial markets for spooking investors. AP/MARK LENNIHAN a meaningful pullback. That plus a string of record highs in late 2014 led many to think the market was overdue a drop. The long-awaited correction finally arrived in August. Late in the month indexes dropped sharply as investors worried that a slowdown in China’s huge economy could spread to other countries. Yet, after an 11-percent plunge between August 17 and 25, and another, less steep drop in late September, the market began to struggle higher. By late November it had recouped all the losses from its late summer swoon. AP

WORLD

B21

SPORTS SCANDALS Sports BusinessMirror

| SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

McCoy, 3 others honored by Queen Elizabeth L

ONDON—Jockey Tony McCoy, former Manchester United striker Denis Law, two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome and five-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan are among the United Kingdom sporting figures honored by Queen Elizabeth in her New Year list. McCoy, who retired this year after winning 20-straight British champion jockey titles and a record 4,358 races in a 23-year career, was knighted in recognition of his services to horse racing. He is only the second jockey to be made a Sir, after Gordon Richards in 1953. The 75-year-old Law, who played for United from 1962 to 1973 and was part of the club’s so-called Holy Trinity with George Best and Bobby Charlton, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for

services to football and charity. Froome was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) after becoming the first Briton to win a second Tour de France in July. O’Sullivan also was awarded an OBE in recognition for his services to snooker, having won the world championship five times—most recently in 2013—and become the sport’s boxoffice name. The success of the England women’s football team in finishing third at the World Cup in Canada this year was recognized as captain Steph Houghton and teammate Fara Williams were both made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). John Surtees, the only man to win world championships on two and four wheels, was made a CBE. The 81-year-old Surtees won seven world motorcycling championships

before switching to four wheels and winning the 1964 Formula One title. Heather Rabbatts, a director at England’s Football Association, who became the organization’s first female board member in 2012, was awarded a damehood for services to football and equality. As a campaigner on behalf of women in sport, she recently spoke out in support of former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro in her dispute with the club. Former Manchester City striker and chairman Francis Lee received a CBE, while ex-England rugby winger Mark Cueto and Intenational Boxing Federation super-bantamweight boxing champion Carl Frampton were awarded MBEs. Britain’s honors are bestowed by the monarch, but recipients are selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the public. AP

Curry-less GSW downs Houston

MCCOY

SPORTS SCANDALS 2015: A YEAR WITH A SILVER LINING B J L

The Associated Press

ARIS—For the past 12 months, scandals off the field of play eclipsed exploits on it. Beyond the usual cases of doping and cheating that are sadly common in modern sports, shocking corruption in soccer and athletics begged the question of whether the vast riches and accompanying greed generated by professional sport are rotting the entire multibillion dollar industry to its core. On the upside, the stink got so bad that 2015 also saw the forces of law and order sit up and take action, opening criminal investigations, making high-profile arrests and recovering tens of millions of ill-gotten dollars. That legal pressure sped change, notably at soccer governing body International Football Federation (Fifa), forcing administrators to abandon some of their old-school, shoddy, backroom and amateur management practices and enact reforms that should make them behave more professionally. “What we’re going through now, it’s like a tectonic shift,” International Olympic Committee (IOC) veteran Dick Pound said. “Sports organizations are coming to realize—voluntarily or involuntarily—that they can no longer operate outside of the larger social and legal orders.” “In the old days, sport was well outside of anything that governments had focused on,” Pound said in an Associated Press interview. “They were all private organizations and they were kind of run informally like clubs and so on, and have tried to pretend that they can do that even in 2015—and they can’t.” In short, this was a year that left a sour taste for sports fans but also offered some hope of a brighter future. It was bookended by “deflategate,” which saw National Football League star quarterback Tom Brady accused of throwing deliberately under-inflated (and theoretically easier to grip) footballs in January’s American Football Conference title game on his way to winning the Super Bowl, and by the disgrace of Sepp Blatter, kicked out of soccer in December for unethical conduct, ending his 17 scandal-scarred years as president of Fifa. His heir-in-waiting, France’s former midfield

INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says sports organizations must do more than ever in 2016 to protect their credibility after a year of corruption and doping scandals that tarnished the Olympic movement. AP

star Michel Platini, also was banned for a dubious $2-million payment that Blatter approved for the Fifa vice president in 2011. Their appeals of the eight-year bans that decapitated the leadership of the world’s most popular sport, as well as ongoing criminal probes in Switzerland and the United States of soccer bribery and corruption, promise to cloud Fifa’s ambitions for a fresh start with the election of a new president in February. In track and field, a cornerstone of the Olympic Games, a World Anti-Doping Agencyordered investigation that Pound led concluded explosively in November that doping in Russia was not only widespread and deep-rooted, but also likely tacitly sanctioned by President Vladimir Putin’s government. A resulting blanket ban from competition could see Russian track and field athletes miss the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, unless the sporting powerhouse can convince the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that it has made real changes. In March the IAAF’s ethics commission also started investigating alleged doping cover-ups in distance-running power Kenya, which topped the world championships medal table in August. Those probes were just the beginning of a scandal that threatened to sink the IAAF in 2015, gravely undermining not only the federation, but trust in the entire sport it oversees. In November three months after stepping down as IAAF chief, Lamine Diack, was taken into police custody in France, suspected of pocketing more than €1 million ($1.1 million) in an alleged scheme to blackmail athletes and hush up their doping cases. Diack, who presided at the IAAF for nearly 16 years, is under formal investigation for corruption and money laundering. If proven by France’s investigating magistrates, the allegations could be even graver than soccer’s massive scandal. The US Department of Justice’s sprawling soccer case alleges more than $200 million in bribes and kickbacks in the selling of media and marketing rights. Although grievous, the schemes seemingly didn’t affect the outcome of matches. The alleged wrongdoing at the IAAF, however, raised the possibility that on-track results were corrupted

SEPP BLATTER’S International Football Federation is at the heart of controversies and scandals in sports in 2015. AP

by off-track criminality, and that dopers may have robbed competitors of medals by paying the sport’s guardians to look the other way. Contacted repeatedly by the Associated Press, Diack’s lawyer has refused to comment. Tasked with cleaning up the mess is British former middle-distance running great Sebastian Coe, elected in August as Diack’s successor. But just months into his new job, the credibility of the chief organizer of the 2012 London Olympics suffered a blow when the BBC uncovered in November that Coe had spoken privately to an executive at Nike, his long-time personal sponsor, about hosting the 2021 world championships in Eugene. The Oregon city, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the sportswear giant’s headquarters outside Portland, was subsequently and controversially awarded the competition without an open bidding process. Coe denied that working for both the IAAF and Nike represented a conflict of interest and severed his ambassadorial role with the company. But the affair left doubts about Coe’s judgment and, more broadly, fed into a dominant theme of 2015, which was that sports administrators often appeared chronically out of touch with a shift in the public mood against their clubby ways and, in worst cases, their criminal habits. “It simply won’t work in this day and age,” Pound said. “You have to be more transparent, which doesn’t mean that you run around buck naked, but people have got to understand how a decision was reached, and by whom, and for what reasons, and that sort of thing that never used to happen. There was a code of silence.” “Sport has got to change...,” he added, “or it’s going to be changed.”

U19 Volcanoes cop Pacific Cup

HE Philippine Volcanoes Under-19 squad bagged its first Pacific Cup crown after pummeling Hong Kong Junior Warriors, 49-0. Hamish Roxas McWilliam provided a rousing hat trick of tries that sealed the victory, dimming the chances of HK Junior Rugby team to make a comeback. McWilliam made it with the help of national team captains Robert Villaluz McCafferty and Rhys Jacob Mackley, along with outside back Dan O’Rielly. The Junior Volcanoes prevailed despite the drizzling weather, blanking the Hong Kong national team with six unanswered attempts in the opening half. “The U19s national team is a platform for our next batch of future Volcanoes. This program helps develop and identify the next generation of elite athletes. It provides

a pathway so our men’s national team can continue to be successful on the world stage,” Assistant Coach and Volcano mainstay Jake Letts said. Letts added that he and his staff saw potential among the U19 players tand will most likely be added in the men’s program this year. “Robbie McCafferty had a great series, he showed real maturity at this level and is no doubt pushing for selection in the National Men’s Squad,” he said. However, the Philippine Development Team was dealt a final blow in their second match after winning the opening game just three days earlier. The Hong Kong Senior Warriors took out the Transcom Shield in a close encounter, 13- 0, to hand the home team an even 1-1 record in the series. Lance Agcaoili

OUSTON—Golden State’s Klay Thompson covered for the absence of star player Stephen Curry by scoring 38 points to lead the Warriors to a 114-110 win at Houston on Thursday. Having suffered only their second defeat of the season on Wednesday when Curry missed his first game due to a lower leg injury, the Warriors found just enough to compensate for the loss of the reigning league Most Valuable Player and edged the Rockets. Among other results on New Year’s Eve, Oklahoma City hung on to send Phoenix to a seventh successive loss, and the Los Angeles Clippers capped a perfect five-game road trip by defeating New Orleans. Golden State’s Thompson made six three-pointers, while Draymond Green had a triple-double of 16 assists—a career high—along with 10 points and 11 rebounds. James Harden had 30 points for Houston, which has dropped seven straight regular-season games to Golden State. Oklahoma City’s dynamic duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant steered the Thunder to a 110-106 win against Phoenix. Westbrook had 36 points and 12 assists, while Durant scored 23 points for Oklahoma City, which has won 12-of-14 games. Westbrook also had five steals and blocked a shot. TJ Warren had 29 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who had six players score in double figures but still lost. Scores were tied with 1:34 left when Durant scored on a fade-away jumper and got free for a dunk that made it 106-102 with 31.7 seconds remaining. Los Angeles’s Chris Paul made up for a poor shooting performance by pulling off some pivotal plays in the closing minutes to seal a 95-89 win for the Clippers at New Orleans. Paul missed 15 of his first 17 shots, but hit a 19-foot step-back jumper with a minute to go to give Los Angeles a 90-87 lead. Before and after that score, Paul assisted on baskets by Jamal Crawford. Paul, who finished with 12 assists, then added three free throws in the final 21 seconds. JJ Redick scored 26 points for the Clippers for a second straight night. Anthony Davis had 14 points and 15 rebounds for New Orleans. Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton scored 33 points as the Bucks stopped a three-game losing streak and edged Indiana 120-116. AP

FUN RUN Team Kramer, composed

of pro cager Doug Kramer, actress Cheska Garcia and their children Kendra, Scarlett and Gavin, grace the 2015 Tempra Run Against Dengue Family Run at the Quirino Grandstand. Also backed by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Deuter, Toby’s, Guard Insect Repellent, Maynilad and Malaya Business Insight, the fun run lured 2,893 dengue busters. This Fight Against Dengue project of Tempra returns later this year with a bigger staging, but with a different format.

BACH: SPORTS BODIES MUST CLEAN UP FOR CREDIBILITY B S W

The Associated Press

ONDON—Sports organizations must work harder than ever in 2016 to clean up their act after a year of corruption and doping

scandals that tarnished the Olympic movement, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday in a New Year’s message. Bach said the entire Olympic world must live up to the public’s expectations of integrity and heed his call from a year ago to “change or be changed.” “One just needs to look at the events over the last 12 months to realize that this message is even more urgent today to safeguard the credibility of sports organizations and to protect clean athletes,” Bach said. “Undoubtedly, recent developments in some sports cast a shadow across the whole world of sport.” While Bach didn’t cite any sports by name, he was clearly referring to the corruption scandal that has enveloped soccer governing body International Football Federation (Fifa), and the allegations of

bribery and doping cover-ups involving the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Russia’s track and field program. Noting the public’s growing demand for ethical behavior by athletes and sports bodies, Bach said: “It is our shared responsibility in the Olympic movement to provide new answers to new questions.” Fifa is reeling from a corruption scandal that has led to the arrests of dozens of soccer and marketing officials and eight-year bans for outgoing Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) head Michel Platini. Blatter is a former member of the IOC. Russia’s athletics federation was suspended following a damning report by a World AntiDoping Agency panel that alleged widespread, state-sponsored doping in the country. Russia’s track and field athletes could miss next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The IAAF’s former president, Lamine

Diack, was arrested and charged by French authorities with corruption and money laundering, stemming from allegations that he took money to cover up positive tests in Russia. The IAAF’s former antidoping manager was also arrested. The IOC went through its own major corruption scandal in the late 1990s, with 10 members ousted for receiving cash and other favors during Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games. Bach said sports federations and national Olympic committees must implement the IOC’s “Olympic Agenda 2020” reform program, approved last year, and apply rules of good governance. “We have called on and we expect all sports organizations to follow our lead,” Bach said. He noted that the IOC has proposed taking drug testing out of the hands of sports organizations to make the system more

independent and credible. The IOC wants an independent antidoping system in place ahead of the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. “We are convinced that all these changes are necessary to better protect the clean athletes and enhance the integrity of sport,” Bach said. Looking ahead to the Olympics in Rio, the first in South America, Bach said he expects Brazilians to welcome the world “with their joy of life and their passion for sport.” The buildup to the games is taking place amid Brazil’s worst recession in decades, an impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff and a vast corruption scandal centered on state-owned oil giant Petrobras. “We know the current economic and political situation in Brazil will make the next months of final preparations more challenging,” Bach said. The Olympics, he added, “will bring the world a message of hope and joy during difficult times.”

SPORTS

Comm Builders and Technology Phils. Corp. (CB&T) President Roehl B. Bacar said his group filed a notice of protest before the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) last December 23. On this basis, the agency should refrain from awarding the contract until the dispute is resolved. Bacar, the authorized representative of Schunk Bahn- und Industrietechnik GmbH-Comm Builders and Technology Phils., cited Republic Act (RA) 9184, or the procurement law, in questioning the transport department’s decision to award the contract to Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMI Corp Inc. and Castan Corp. on Christmas Eve. “In accordance with Rule 57 of the Implementing Rules, the protests must first be resolved before any award is made,” Bacar pointed out. “Accordingly, please be notified that the joint venture intends to submit its position paper in accordance with Rule 17 of R A 9184.” S “MRT,” A

C  A

HELLO 2016 The 66-meter Quezon mausoleum was illuminated by fireworks during the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. The country welcomed 2016 with fewer firecrackerrelated injuries, according to the Department of Health. ALYSA SALEN

PHL’S DEBTORNATION STATUS RETAINED AS OF ENDSEPT 2015

B B C

HE country’s status as a debtor-nation improved only slightly in the third quarter last year, based on latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). According to the central bank, the country’s socalled net liability position hit $29.3 billion at endSeptember 2015. This was lower by $9.1 billion than the $38.5-billion net liability position recorded a quarter earlier. Any country with more external liabilities than assets is referred to as a net debtor rather than a creditor-nation. The Philippines reported more external liabilities than assets since 2006. According also to BSP data, the country’s net liability position as of the third quarter last year has been the lowest since 2011. “The decline in total external financial liabilities was mainly brought about by significant downward revaluation adjustments, particularly in nonresidents’ investments in equity securities amid the weak performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange index, which fell by 8.9 percent from end-June to end-September 2015,” the BSP said. “In addition, expectations on the US Federal Reserve rate liftoff toward the end of the year led to nonresidents’ net withdrawal of their portfolio investments. This was partly offset by an increase in loans extended by nonresidents to resident banks and borrowings by corporations from their affiliates abroad,” it added. More than half (52.8 percent), or $80.6 billion, of residents’ total external financial assets continued to be in the form of reserve assets held by the BSP. Direct investments in the form of debt instruments (or intercompany loans) and equity capital placements in foreign affiliates accounted for 15.5 percent and 10.7 percent of total external financial assets, respectively. Residents also invested in debt securities issued by nonresidents (8.5 percent) and placed deposits abroad (7.9 percent), the BSP reported. Total outstanding external financial liabilities reached $181.8 billion as of end-September 2015, from the $151.7 billion in the previous quarter. “…the slight increase in total external financial assets was due to residents’ direct and portfolio investments abroad, mostly in debt instruments and debt securities, respectively,” the BSP said. A country’s international investment position is the difference between its overseas assets and liabilities. Across sectors, only the BSP recorded a net external-asset position as of end-September 2015, due to reserve assets amounting to $80.6 billion. Deposittaking corporations, except the central bank (banks), general government and other sectors posted net external-liability positions.

‘Stable economy among biggest feats of Aquino admin in 2015’ B B F

HE stability of the economy, which allowed the Philippines to retain its investment-grade rating, was one of the “biggest accomplishments” of the Aquino administration in 2015, a senior government official said on Friday. Asked to cite its major achievements over the past 12 months, Com-

munications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said the list also includes the “drastic” decline in the number of Filipinos seeking overseas jobs. “President Aquino noted that the number of overseas Filipino workers declined by almost 500,000,” Coloma said. The Palace official said Mr. Aquino also considers the reduction in the number of Filipino families classi-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 47.1660

COLOMA: “President Aquino noted that the number of overseas Filipino workers declined by almost 500,000.”

fied as poor as one of the administration’s achievements last year. “This was due to the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program [4Ps], while the decline in the out-of-school youth was due to the K to 12 Program, as well as the 4Ps,” Coloma said. He said government programs, such as the 4Ps, have helped ensure the stability of the country’s economy.

Coloma said the glitch-free visit of Pope Francis last January and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting last November showed the world that the Philippines is capable of successfully hosting major international events. The administration-dominated Congress, however, failed to pass the proposed Bangsamoro basic law, a pet bill of President Aquino. The Aquino

administration had been hoping to pass the measure by the end of 2015. The bill, which calls for the creation of a new entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is part of a comprehensive agreement that the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed in March 2014 to end decades of armed conflict in Mindanao.

n JAPAN 0.3920 n UK 70.1783 n HK 6.0857 n CHINA 7.2697 n SINGAPORE 33.5176 n AUSTRALIA 34.2652 n EU 51.7411 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.5766

Source: BSP (29 December 2015)