ProPerty, retail and banking tycoon Henry Sy Sr., whose conglomerate owns the chain of SM Supermalls

in the Philippines and China, has retained the title of the Philippines’s richest person for the eighth consecutive year, with his net worth up $1.7 billion from last year to $14.4 billion. Forbes Philippines, which puts together the list, said on thursday that the value of

Sy’s publicly traded conglomerates SM In-vestments rose 17 percent and SM Prime Holdings 20 percent over the past year. His companies announced record income from banking and retail businesses and two new mall partnerships in 2014. Sy also has a stake in privately owned power supplier National Grid Corp. John L. Gokongwei Jr. of the JG Summit

www.businessmirror.com.ph n Thursday 18, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 40 P25.00 nationwide | 7 sections 32 pages | 7 days a weekn Friday, august 28, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 323

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirrorthree-time

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

Continued on A8

Peso exchange rates n us 46.6560 n jaPan 0.3891 n uK 72.1535 n hK 6.0191 n china 7.2781 n singaPore 33.1953 n australia 33.1529 n eu 52.8239 n saudi arabia 12.4396 Source: BSP (28 August 2015)

Neda cuts growth targetafter subpar Q2 results

INSIDE

MOTORING e1

sy is still Phl’s richest man

govt seized 250 tons of smuggledPorK, beef in january-june–d.a.

all-new toyota hilux

refined and reinforced

By Cai U. Ordinario 

The Philippines’s lack-luster economic per-formance rooted on the

government’s poor spending has made the country’s 2015 growth targets impossible to meet, according to the National economic and Development Authority (Neda). 

By Mary Grace Padin

tHe government seized 250,000 kilo-grams, or 250 metric tons, of smuggled beef and pork in January to June this

year, a senior official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on thursday. In a forum, dubbed as the round table, Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Jose C. reaño told editors and reporters of media companies under the ALC Group that

the government’s antismuggling drive netted 10 containers of smuggled pork and beef. “Smuggling of meat products has gone down in recent months,” said reaño, who is in charge of the DA’s national livestock program. He said the seized contraband was valued at less than P500 million, and would not signifi-cantly affect hog raisers and poultry growers. reaño added that there will be “no letup” in the DA’s implementation of antismuggling

aGRIculTuRe undersecretary for livestock Jose c. Reaño answers questions from BusinessMirror reporters and editors during the business paper’s forum held in its offices in Makati city. NONIE REYES

  Neda Director General and eco-nomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan told reporters  on thursday  that the economy can only achieve a full-year growth of only 6 percent to 6.5 percent for 2015, after yet another disappoint-ing results in the second quarter.  the Philippine Statistics Au-thority (PSA) reported that the pace of the country’s economic growth slowed to 5.6 percent in the April-to-June period, from 6.7 percent in the same quarter last year. With the growth of only 5 percent in the first quarter, the first-semester average was only 5.3 percent.   Continued on A2

Continued on A8

“Realistically, even the low-end [target] now is very much challenged. The DBCC [Development Budget Coordination Com-mittee] technical working group is working on the numbers and we will meet soon to decide on the targets for the rest of the year. But it’s very likely that we will scale down the targets,” Balisacan said. “We’re not projecting right now but what I’m trying to say is that the realistic scenario could be 6 percent to 6.5 (per-cent),” he added. Balisacan said for the economy to grow 6 percent for the full year, the economy needs to register an average growth of 6.6 percent in the July-to-December period. To reach 6.5 percent, the economy needs to post a growth of 7.7 percent in the second half of the year. However, economists believe that hit-ting 6 percent this year may already be the highest growth that the country can register given its recent performance. Former Philippine Economic Society President Alvin Ang said hitting a growth of 6 percent would still depend on how much election spending can affect overall consumption in the country. Ang estimates that election spending increases overall consumption growth by 0.5 percentage point. This includes the im-pact on both household and government consumption. Balisacan, on the other hand, estimates that election spending can increase gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.3 percentage point to 0.7 percentage point. “[Full-year growth could be] toward the high side depending on election spend-ing. [It] has a kind of multiplier effect on consumption growth,” Ang said. Despite the slowdown in the coun-try’s growth in the second quarter, Bali-sacan noted that government spending

increased in the second quarter. “The government stepped up spend-ing and private consumption also re-mains fairly strong,” Gundy Cahyadi, Singapore-based economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd., said before the re-port. “There’s going to be some negative growth impact from financial-market volatility, but fundamentals are way more important at this point.” The peso gained 0.1 percent to 46.665 against the US dollar at 10:50 a.m. local time. While the rout in emerging-market stocks and currencies has dragged the peso to a five-year low, it has still weakened less than other Southeast Asian currencies, losing about 4 percent this year. Government spending climbed 3.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, and consumer spending gained 6.2 percent. That helped counter weakening exports, which fell every month in the second quarter. “The second-quarter GDP growth shows the expanse of the country’s re-siliency from the prevailing weakness of the global economy,” Balisacan told a briefing. The significant improvement in government spending “gives us more confidence about the performance of the public sector in the coming quarters of the year.” President Aquino, whose term ends in June 2016, had targeted growth of 7 percent to 8 percent this year and next. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept the benchmark rate unchanged this month, and Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said this week that, while private consumption will continue to be well supported, it is necessary to find other drivers of growth. Public construction also bounced back from a 24-percent contraction in the first quarter to a 20-percent growth. In the

second quarter last year, public construc-tion only posted a growth of 5.7 percent. “This is a result of government’s efforts to address issues on spending bottlenecks, especially for public infrastructure, which held back growth in the first quarter. This significant improvement gives us more confidence about the performance of the public sector in the coming quarters of the year,” Balisacan said. Apart from better government spending in the coming months, Balisacan said the country may also benefit from the depreciation of the peso. Balisacan explained that the depre-ciation of the peso will be beneficial to exporters since they will earn more for the products they sell abroad. He said as long as the depreciation of the peso will not be sharp and will not be volatile, this will be beneficial to workers since it will protect them from losing their jobs in the manufacturing sector. Balisacan also said that in terms of debt, the country’s borrowings are largely domestic, so the depreciation of the peso will not have a significant impact on the country’s payment of its debts. “We acknowledge fears about the pe-so’s depreciation. However, as long as the depreciation is not sharp, the overall net effect of this development is still positive for the economy, especially for our work-ers,” Balisacan said. “Overall, the growth in the second quarter shows that we are still on the right track in achieving our country’s development goals, especially within our objectives outlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016. But every achievement in the process of attaining a high and inclusive growth brings about new challenges,” he stressed. Tetangco also admitted that the out-turn for the entire 2015 growth will now

BusinessMirror news@businessmirror.com.ph Friday, August 28, 2015 A2

NewsContinued from A1

Neda cuts growth target after subpar Q2 results

apec media partner apec ceO Summit cOO Guillermo m. Luz (seated) discusses with BusinessMirror editor in chief Jun Vallecera (center) and publisher t. anthony cabangon details to a partnership agreement with the BusinessMirror for the apec ceO Summit 2015 event happening on november 16 and 17 this year. the memorandum of agreement signing was held at the new World Hotel in makati city. ALYSA SALEN

be lower than the government’s full year target of the 7 percent to 8 percent. “The higher second-quarter GDP num-ber [relative to first quarter] was supported by solid domestic aggregate demand, par-ticularly consumption and capital forma-tion. Net exports detracted from growth. The Neda points to El Niño and external fragilities as potential risks to growth going forward,” Tetangco said. “With the second-quarter number and given the current operating environment, we can expect eco performance that is still strong, albeit more modest than the government’s full year target,” he added.

The central bank governor also reiter-ated that with this outturn, there “may be no need for any immediate recalibration of monetary-policy settings.” He vowed, nevertheless, that the BSP will continue to coordinate with other government agencies on the assessment of trends in El Niño and their potential impact on output and the prices of vital goods and services. “We will also remain watchful of global developments to see how these would affect domestic growth and inflation dy-namics,” Tetangco said. Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima,

meanwhile, attributed much of the re-bound to the improvement on the dis-bursements in the country. “Following the President’s action on un-derspending, year-on-year growth in gov-ernment expenditures for June breached 17 percent, pushing total expenditures above the trillion-peso mark by the first half of 2015,” Purisima said in a statement. “We expect public spending to play a bigger role in second-semester perfor-mance as we have ample fiscal space in the P2.6-trillion 2015 budget to fund growth-inducing investments,” he added.

With Bianca Cuaresma, Bloomberg News

NATIONAL Defense Secretary Vol-taire T. Gazmin asked the United States for assistance in the resupply

of Filipino soldiers guarding Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Gazmin posed the request during a meet-ing on Wednesday with visiting US Pacific Command commander, Adml. Harry Harris.

Gazmin told reporters that he dis-cussed with Harris the possibility of the US military helping the Philippines in its maritime security concerns and ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the West Philippine Sea.

However, he refused to go into details, especially on Harris’s response.

But Defense Spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said the US had flown a maritime patrol plane in one of the previous resupply that was carried out by the Philippine military.

Galvez also refused to give details.Soldiers are guarding the Ayungin Shoal

aboard the partly sunken vessel BRP Siera Madre, while Chinese military and para-military ships, which used to harass past

resupplies, are anchored nearby.On Thursday Harris went to Palawan

and met with Armed Forces Western Com-mand (Wescom) commander, Vice Adml. Alexander Lopez.

Armed Forces Spokesman Col. Resi-tuto Padilla said the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff dubbed Harris’s trip to the Wescom “as a sort of area fa-miliarization for the new commander of the pacific command.”

“Harris wanted to be appraised of the situation on the ground and follow on a pre-vious meeting with Adml. Alex Lopez, com-mander of Wescom whom he met earlier in Singapore during the Shangri-La Dialogue,” Padilla said.

He added that Lopez gave Harris a “thor-ough organizational and situational briefing on his command and its area of operation.”

Padilla refused to reveal other details of the meeting, but he quoted Lopez as saying that “it was a meeting of minds” aimed at having a common appreciation of the situ-ation on the ground. Rene Acosta

By Rene Acosta

THE Army will “reissue” the Rem-ington-made M-4 rifles only after their defects are fixed and pass

new evaluations, according to the Army public affairs office (PAO).

Army PAO Chief Col. Benjamin Hao said the rifles would be issued to the troops after the “required inspections and tests are finished.”

Hao said the Army has procured a total of 56,843 M-4 rifles as part of its capability upgrade program. Out of the total procurement, 44,186 pieces have already been delivered.

He said that out of the 44,186, at least 24,300 are already “ready for issuance” and 19,866 still have to undergo ballistic test for record purposes.

A ballistic test by the Philippine Na-tional Police Crime Laboratory uses the Integrated Ballistics Identification Sys-tem (Ibis).

The Ibis is a computer-based system that can capture, store, rapidly compare and retrieve digital images of cartridge casings (shells) and bullets to link or trace these to the guns from which these were fired.

Earlier, more than 20,000 M-4 assault rifles delivered to the Army and were sub-

sequently issued to soldiers were defec-tive, prompting the leadership to order for their recall.

The weapons, part of the 27,000 or-dered by the military from US manu-facturer Remington, was delivered last year during the term of former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr.

Armed Forces PAO Chief Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato said the defects, where-in the firearms’ sights were moving, were found out by members of the military’s tactical inspection and ac-ceptance committee.

“When they delivered, we have techni-cal inspection and acceptance committee and when they tested, they found out de-fects on the sights,” Detoyato said.

“The sights were moving. The defects were on the side of the supplier and so the supplier has to shoulder and cor-rect the discrepancy before it will be accepted,” he added.

In August last year, the military hand-ed over 27,300 units of 5.56mm M-4 rifles to the Army and to the Marines in a cer-emonial distribution at Camp Aguinaldo that was attended by President Aquino.

The rifles were delivered in two batch-es on July 5, 2014 with 100 pieces and on July 31, with 27,200 units.

MEMBERS of the House Committee on Ecology asked the Canadian government to ship back to its ter-

ritory the 50 container vans of mixed waste.In a letter sent to a member of Canada’s

House of Commons, Rep. Amado S. Bagats-ing of Manila said the North American ter-ritory has no right to dispose of its waste in the Philippine jurisdiction.

Bagatsing, chairman of the House Com-mittee on Ecology, cited the Basel Conven-tion on the control of transboundary move-ments of hazardous waste and their disposal as basis for the committee’s missive.

Under the convention, the aforemen-tioned act is deemed as an illegal traffic, based on Paragraph 1.c of Article 9 of the said convention, according to the letter.

“Furthermore, it must be noted that Paragraph 2 of the convention states that the State of export shall ensure that the illegal traffic are either: (a) taken back by the exporter or the generator or, if neces-sary, by itself into the State of export; or, if impracticable, (b) disposed of in accord-ance with the provisions of this Conven-tion, within 30 days from the time the State of export has been informed about the illegal traffic or such other period of time as States concerned may agree,” the letter said.

“It is unfortunate to note that, in this re-gard, the Office of the Ambassador of Can-ada to the Philippines released a statement stating that there is no current domestic law, which your government could apply to compel the shipper to return its containers to Canada,” it added.

Bagatsing, however, expressed hope and confidence the issue “could be resolved through the diplomatic channels?”

The lawmaker added that members of his panel are also united against disposing of the waste in any area within the Philip-pine jurisdiction.

“In this connection, we would like to ex-press our united position that the 50 con-tainer vans of waste, including those waste exported thereafter, be shipped back by the government of Canada itself, since it cannot compel the shipper to return its containers to Canada pursuant to the Basel Conven-tion,” it added.

Bagatsing also told his Canadian counter-part that his committee recently deliberated on House Resolution 1525, which seeks to inquire into the unlawful importation of mixed waste from Canada.

According to documents from his office, the container vans filled with waste, mostly with used plastic bags, bottles, newspapers, household garbage and used adult diapers, were shipped from Canada by Chronic Inc., a private company in Ontario, from June to September 2013.

The shipment was seized by the Bureau of Customs, which declared the contents thereof as heterogeneous waste, thus, an unlawful importation pursuant to Re-public Act 6969, titled “Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Con-trol Act of 1990,” the lawmaker told the Canadian government.

Criminal cases were already lodged against Chronic Plastics, according to Bagatsing. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

However, the Palace made no commitment that President Aquino would certify the bill’s approval by Congress as urgent.

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said in a news briefing on Wednes-day that the Executive branch would review the balikbayan box tax-ceiling proposal, but they would need to study it first.

It’s high time that our lawmakers studied the changes needed to address the issue, Co-loma said in Filipino.

“We will review the proposals and see what is the most logical position the government can uphold, but only after we have read and understood in full the proposed bill of Sen. Recto,” he added.

However, Coloma indicated that they see no urgency in approving the proposed balik-bayan box law ahead of at least five other “pri-ority bills” that Mr. Aquino asked lawmakers to pass during his recent State of the Nation Address in July.

Coloma said the Palace, nonetheless,

needs to immediately decide on the pro-posed bill, and its inclusion among other bills certified as urgent. The priority bills are the General Appropriations Act for 2016; the Bangsamoro basic law; the Anti-Dynasty Law; the Uniformed Personnel Pension Reform; and the Fiscal Incentives Rationalization bill, according to him.

In addition, Coloma said, the Presi-dential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) had also listed 26 other pending measures that the PLLO classified as “priority leg-islative bills.”

At the same time, the Palace is unfazed by the impending “No Remittance Day” declared by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The declaration came after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it is impos-ing additional clearing fees of P100,000 to P200,000 for container vans carrying balikbayan boxes sent by OFWs. Migrant workers said they believe the fees would be passed on to them.

news@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Friday, August 28, 2015 A3BusinessMirrorThe Nation

Palace favors Recto bill raising‘balikbayan’ box tax-free ceilingMALACAÑANG welcomed Sen.

Ralph G. Recto’s proposal to raise balikbayan boxes tax-free cap to

$2,000, from $500 per box set 25 years ago.

Signaling that the Palace saw no cause for concern, Coloma recalled previous “no remit-tance” protest actions by OFWs.

The experience was in 2013, at the height of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel, he explained in Filipino. He added that there were no reported negative effects during that time.

“That’s the basis; that’s why the call not to remit to their families here is no cause for concern,” he added.

The secretary pointed out that a refusal to remit or delay the remittance of OFW earn-ings to their relatives is a personal decision of the worker concerned.

Coloma surmised that there would be de-lays in remittances, but OFWs may not be thinking not to send money eventually.

OFWs belonging to the group Migrante and based in the Middle East announced a “Zero Remittance Day” on August 28 in protest of the BOC to randomly open balik-bayan boxes sent by OFWs. The group said it would continue the protest action, despite the Palace decision to stop the BoC from im-plementing the plan.

According to Migrante’s John Leonard Monterona, about 1.2 million OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 400,000 in the United Arab Emirates would participate in the protest action. Butch Fernandez

Lawmakers to Canada:Get your GarbaGe baCk

Gazmin seeks US help in Ayungin

army to reissue rifles after defects are fixed

By Lenie Lectura 

Declining world prices pulled down the Philip-pines’s oil import bill in the

January-to-June period to $4.25 billion from $6.63 billion in the same period a year ago despite the rise in the volume of imported pe-troleum products.  “The country’s first half of 2015 net oil import bill, amounting to $4,254.7 million was down by 35.9 percent from first half of 2014’s $6,637.3 million due to cheaper price per barrel of crude and petroleum products (about 50 percent) vis-à-vis last year,” latest data provided by the Department of energy (DOe) stated.  net import is  the difference between the country’s net imports and exports.  cost of imported crude oil went down to $60.27 per barrel during the six-month period this year, from $11.28 per barrel in the same period a year earlier.  The total crude oil imported for the first half of 2015 reached 38.25 million barrels (MB), up by 21.7 per-cent from 2014’s 30.27 MB.  As such, total import of crude oil amounted to $2.30 bil l ion from $3.37 bi l l ion, down by 31.6 percent.  On the other hand, the  country’s petroleum-export earnings for the period fell by 32.9  percent to $415.6 million from $619.1 million.  The DOe report further stated that total demand of finished pe-troleum products for the first half grew by 13.8 percent in the same period last year.  The growth in demand, it added, was attributed to the increased requirements of direct importers/end users, particularly for naphtha and condensate products.  compared with first half of 2014 figures, gasoline demand posted an increase of 13.7 percent, while diesel-oil demand rose by 9.6 percent.

BusinessMirror news@businessmirror.com.ph A4

EconomyThe healthcare information

Management sector, a key contributor to the growth

of the information-technology and business process manage-ment (iT-BPM) industry, is seek-ing at least a 3-percent share in the global market, or a conserva-tive revenue target of $5.9 billion by 2020.  The industry also presented an “aggressive” but equally achiev-able revenue target of $9.8 billion at the most, or 5 percent of the global market by the same year. This, the industry said, can be attained if the government and the industry can come up with a strategic push—in the form of a road map—to address major in-dustry gaps.  According to the healthcare information and Management Association of the Philippines (himap), this would mean a bigger contribution to the total iT-BPM industry’s revenues.   The healthcare information Management’s share to total iT-BPM revenue in 2014 was 7.2 percent, or  $ 1.3 billion of the $ 18-billion haul of the entire iT-BPM industry last year. consultancy firm Tholons pre-dicts the Philippine iT-BPM indus-try to be worth $48 billion by 2020, which means that the targeted $5.9-billion revenue of himap by 2020 would translate to a 12-per-cent share.  Moreover, by 2020, himap predicts its employment share to total iT-BPM work force to improve from 87,000 workers to

at least 300,000.  The $5.9-billion revenue target is hinged on an assumed year-on-year growth rate of 25 percent from 2014 to 2020.  himap leaders pointed out that the conservative $5.9-billion tar-get relies on two significant fac-tors: addressing the gap in talent and sustaining a “healthy busi-ness environment.” “in talent development, we’re trying to identify the areas of focus in terms of the services we’re going to offer in the market. We’re try-ing to build the capability of Filipi-nos in the iT expertise,” said Judy Whisenhunt, industry treasurer, adding that the K to 12 Program of the Department of education will play a role in this.  On maintaining a competitive business environment, the indus-try stressed the need to retain government incentives for the iT-BPM projects.  “The incentives that we have today, we just want them to re-main. Shutting off these incen-tives would be disastrous for us,” said Jeff Williams, chairman of the Board of himap.  Under the 2014-2016 investment Priorities Plan, healthcare informa-tion management systems are eli-gible for fiscal perks. Other drivers that will aid the sub-sector in reaching the revenue goal, Williams said, is diversifying the Philippine markets outside of the traditional ones such as the US. The neighboring Asean countries, he said, would be a good start. Catherine N. Pillas

DUe to the unsolved mon-strous traffic in Parañaque city, Mayor edwin Olivarez

has ordered the full implementation of the opening of the interconnection of roads inside private subdivisions to serve as a “friendship route.”  Olivarez also directed the city treasurer’s office to set aside P30 million for the project, as the local government will assume the main-tenance of private roads that will be part of the friendship route, which will allow private motorists access to subdivision roads. “The opening of the friendship route in the city’s private villag-es, before this year’s christmas season, will be our immediate solution to the worsening traf-

fic problem. it will also benefit thousands of commuters and mo-torists not just from Parañaque, but, likewise, the nearby cities of Pasay, Taguig, las Piñas and Muntinlupa,” he explained.  late last year, the city govern-ment conducted a traffic summit and a series of consultations with stakeholders to find solutions to the horrible traffic, particularly along the stretch of Sucat Road and the roads surrounding the ninoy Aquino international Airport.  likewise, Olivarez issued an order creating a committee that will determine which subdivision roads will be opened to the public as part of the friendship-route scheme, as well as to formulate the

rules and regulations concerning its implementation.  The creation of the committee is also in response to the approved city law years back called “An Or-dinance Opening Roads in Sub-divisions with linkages to Major Thoroughfares of the city to the Public, When Deemed necessary.”  however, due to financial con-straint, the implementation of the project was deferred. Subdivision homeowners’ as-sociations asserted that the city government should allocate funds for the road repairs and install street lights in the select private subdivisions.  According to the mayor, now that they have paid the P2-billion bank

loan of the previous administra-tion, they are now considering the possibility of providing nonfiscal incentives to homeowners’ associa-tions that will allow the use of their subdivision roads.  he said directional signs and road paints will be put up in the friendship routes so motorists will not get lost, including the setting up of bay areas. “As part of our beautification program, plants and trees will be planted in the said private subdivisions.”  he said the friendship route’s ac-cessibility will help ease the traffic along Sucat, BF, Don galo, Baclaran and coastal Roads, especially dur-ing rush hour when most of the city residents usually come home. 

AMeASURe establishing a regu-latory framework for the safe operation of players in the

liquefied petroleum gas (lPg) indus-try has been approved recently at the house of Representatives.  house Bill 5617, or the lPg indus-try Regulation and Safety Act, princi-pally authored by nationalist People’s coalition Rep. Susan Yap of Tarlac and Party-list Rep. Arnel U. Ty of lPgMA, sets standards of conduct and codes of practice for the lPg  industry. Under the measure, a regulatory framework for the importation, re-fining, refilling, transportation, dis-tribution and marketing of lPg, and the manufacture, requalification, ex-change and swapping or improvement of lPg cylinders shall be established. The bill said that not later than six months from the effectivity of this act, an lPg Monitoring and en-forcement Task Force shall be created composed of the Secretary of the De-partment of energy (DOe) as chair-man, Secretaries of the Department of the interior and local government and the Department of Trade and industry (DTi) as members and—as determined by the chairman—rep-resentatives from other government agencies, lPg industry participants and private-sector entities. The task force will assist the DOe in monitoring compliance to the standards, and in the exercise of other powers and functions nec-essary to give force and effect to the proposed Act. The measure also mandates the DOe to deputize the DTi in the pro-cessing of the license to Operate for dealers and retailers, subject to the standards set in the proposed Act. The bill said that engaging in business without license to operate, engaging in business without ac-creditation, refusal or obstruction of inspection, failure to post license to operate, failure to submit reportorial requirements, illegal storage, failure to comply with product standards, adulteration, under-filling, illegal refilling, hoarding and unauthorized trading of lPg cylinders are prohib-ited and will be fined with a maxi-mum of P500,000 for an individual and P1,000,000 for a corporation. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz 

During the signing of a partner-ship agreement with the Business-Mirror on late Wednesday, Apec Summit cOO guillermo luz said playing host to this year’s meeting allowed the Philippines to push for the discussion of key issues. “it allows us to project what the Philippines is trying to promote: inclusive growth and inclusive busi-ness, which means that we are trying to give different businesses to think about what we need to do to push for more dynamic growth moving forward,” he said. Dynamic growth, he added, has to be inclusive. “We want to keep this growth engine going in Apec; and for the Philippines, we need to be pushing along this theme,” luz said. hence, the host nation pushed for the discussion of topics on in-

clusive growth, promotion of SMe, the issue on human capital and the need for resiliency. “The Philippines is in the right place pushing this topic up in the world stage—financial inclusion, micro insurance for disasters—these topics are being pushed in a big way during the Philippine year,” luz said. he added: “We’re not just the host, but as chairman, we have the responsibilities to forward and direct an agenda, and help lead the discus-sion of 21 economies.” The Philippines last hosted the Apec meeting in 1996. The Apec ceO Summit is the re-gion’s premier business event and provides unparalleled opportuni-ties for business executives to dis-cuss key issues in the Asia Pacific. it also allows businessmen to dis-cover business opportunities and

MANILA REMEMBERS RIZAL PARK INCIDENT Former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada (right) joins the ritual by Chinese Buddhist monks in the commemoration of the botched bus hostage-taking operation at Manila’s Rizal Park that killed eight Hong Kong tourists five years ago on Thursday. A tourist bus with 21 tourists was commandeered by a suspended police officer Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza on August 23, 2010, in a 15-hour standoff and rescue operation by the police resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage-taker. AP

Friday, August 28, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

forge connections with thought leaders from around the region and the world. This year’s summit will be held from november 16 to 18 in Manila. The BusinessMirror is the official media partner. With the theme of “creating the Future: Better, Stronger, Together,” this year’s summit will bring to-gether Apec leaders from the world’s most dynamic economies, speakers from the world’s top companies and over 700 ceOs from across the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippines’s hosting of the Apec is also serving as a significant avenue for the country to strength-en relations with nontraditional trading partners. “These [Apec meetings] are op-portunities to advance an agenda and create partnerships. One of the things i see is that this creates an opportunity to make our presence known with the Pacific Alliance. These four latin American countries make a fairly formidable economic bloc which is interested in going to east Asia and europe. That’s some-thing to look at, not just our tradi-tional Asean partners. We can take a look at them as a source of trade and investment,” said luz, also the Private Sector cochairman of the national competitiveness council and member of the Apec Business Advisory council. The Pacific Alliance is composed

of chile, Peru, colombia and Mexico. Three members of this latin Ameri-can trade bloc—chile, Peru, Mexico--are members of the Apec. earlier in the year, the Depart-ment of Trade and industry, during the Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meetings held in May, already engaged in bilateral talks with the three Apec economies, with the goal of starting free trade agreements (FTAs) with them. While the trade department has yet to name specific areas of interest in the framework of the FTAs with the countries, Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. cristo-bal Jr. expressed strong interest in pursuing the bilateral agreements, as trade and investment levels are currently negligible. The three South American coun-tries are also members of the United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, a broader trade pact which the Philip-pines has expressed interest in join-ing as a new member. The Third Senior Officials’ Meet-ing is now ongoing in cebu, while the culminating meetings of Apec, including the economic leaders’ meeting, are set to take place in Metro Manila in november. The BusinessMirror recently inked a memorandum of agreement as a media partner for the Apec ceO Summit to be held from november 16 to 18 in Manila.

PHL agenda to take center stage in Apec CEO Summit

By Lorenz S. Marasigan & Catherine N. Pillas

ISSUES pertaining to inclusive growth, promotion of human capital and development of small

and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be discussed in this year’s Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) CEO Summit.

Healthcare Information newgrowth driver of IT-BPM

DOE notes big rise in PHL demand for oil products

House bill regulating LPG industry OK’d

Parañaque subdivisions set to open gates to public traffic

news@businessmirror.com.ph Friday, August 28, 2015 A5BusinessMirrorEconomy

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad is-sued the pronouncement after the Philip-pine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6 percent in the second quarter of the year. “Robust government spending was a driving force in our GDP growth in the second quarter. As departments and agen-cies catch up on their spending programs,

we find ourselves well-placed to support deeper and broader development in the country,” Abad said in a statement. “Our challenge now is to exceed our-selves in the coming quarters. More than ever, it will be crucial for us to ramp up disbursements and clear more spending bottlenecks, so we can stimulate the econ-omy toward further growth,” he added. Abad noted the 20-percent growth in

DBM vows to fast-track disbursements in H2The Department of Budget and

Management (DBM) said on Thursday that it will continue to ramp up efforts

to ensure faster disbursements of funds for government infrastructure projects in the second half of the year.

public infrastructure in the second quarter versus the 24-percent contraction in public construction in the previous quarter. “These are clear and compelling signs that government spending is back on track,” he said. Citing PSA data, Abad also noted that the government’s final consumption expenditure grew 3.9 percent this quarter, faster than last quarter’s 1.7-percent growth. “Since the beginning of 2015, the DBM has

implemented reforms and policies to strength-en the link between planning, budgeting, pro-curement, project implementation, and project monitoring and evaluation,” he said. Since 2014, Abad said the General Appro-priations Act-as-Release-Document regime has made the majority of agency allotments available for spending at the start of the year, allowing agencies to focus on execution instead of on securing Special Allotment Release Or-

ders. Also, Administrative Order 46, issued in March, directed agencies to implement various measures to improve spending capacity and project reporting. In June the DBM also released guidelines for the creation of “Full-time Delivery Units” in each agency, which are tasked to review project performance and act as “problem solvers” in the face of sluggish program implementation. Estrella Torres

By Lenie Lectura 

THE  Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) tripartite com-mittee will likely extend the P32-

per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) price cap to continue shielding consumers from any sudden price spike.  Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) President Melinda L. Ocampo said during the Ninth WESM annual meet-ing held on Thursday that some industry stakeholders want to extend the price cap. “There were consultations held in Lu-zon and the Visayas, and some want it to be extended. We will still take this up in our next meeting,” Ocampo said, adding that the price cap “can be extended.”  The PEMC, which operates the WESM, is a member of the committee. The other members are the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Com-mission (ERC).  The P32-per-kWh price cap was re-duced from the original P62 per kWh in December 2013, following the record-high prices posted by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).  The implementation of the price cap has been extended since “pending the deter-mination of a new WESM offer price cap.”  “Following the isolated incidents of November to December 2013, the WESM tripartite committee imple-mented an offer price cap of P32 per kWh starting January 2014, in an ef-fort to temper the significantly high prices in the electricity spot market,”

the PEMC said in a statement.  “Since the primary price cap could not fully capture incidents of sustained clearing of high spot prices, a secondary price-cap mechanism was put in place by the ERC as a preemptive measure to help limit recurring occasions of high prices in the WESM,” PEMC said.  A secondary price cap of P6.245 per kWh is triggered once the P9-per-kWh threshold is breached.  “The PEMC is resolved to fully realize the objectives of the Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] in promoting trans-parency in electricity pricing and provide a level playing field to all electric power industry participants.  With the robust enforcement and com-pliance framework present in the spot mar-ket, we assure everyone that competition thrives in the market where all players are encouraged to abide with the WESM rules,” Ocampo said.  Low market prices were observed from mid-September to December 2014, be-cause of the decrease in demand brought about by colder temperatures. Likewise, low prices were also observed from March 2015 to mid-May 2015, because of in-crease in supply when generating plants on scheduled maintenance outage went back online, offsetting the unavailability of Malampaya natural-gas facility.  “The PEMC is relentless in its efforts to ensure that the WESM will work for every Filipino in achieving a reliable and afford-able supply of electric power,” Ocampo said.

‘WESM price cap may be extended’

By Recto Mercene 

REMEMBER the port conges-tion last year that delayed the delivery of hundreds of balik-

bayan boxes from abroad because the local government of Manila banned trucks from entering the city?  To avoid a repeat of this, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV on Thurs-day warned the government and private stakeholders of the “ber” months that would soon be upon us, signaling the arrival of boatloads of balikbayan boxes.  Aquino warned them not to repeat the congestions experienced at the Port of Manila. “Now that we have learned our lesson from last year, we must not let our guard down. This early, we must ensure that congestion will not hamper port operation during the coming ber months,” said Aquino, who is chairman of the Senate Com-mittee on Trade, Commerce and En-trepreneurship. Usually, Aquino said heavy volume of containers arrive from September to December, in time for the Christ-mas season. “As of now, operations remain normal but the port congestion might be repeated due to the flood of cargoes during the latter part of the year,” he said. Early this year, Aquino said he

has initiated a probe on the con-gestion that occurred at the Port of Manila. After bringing govern-ment agencies and private stake-holders in one table, the problem has been ironed out after several months of investigation. During the last hearing, stake-holders reported that the utilization rate at the Port of Manila is now be-tween 70 percent and 80 percent. In addition, waiting time for trucks has improved while cargo ships can now load or unload cargoes in just mere hours, instead of days at the height of the congestion year. Meanwhile, Aquino said the pas-sage of the Foreign Ships Co-Loading Act, or Republic Act 10688, will help decongest the country’s major ports. The law allows foreign ships carrying imported cargoes and cargoes to be exported out of the country to dock in multiple ports. “This will save time, costs and en-ergy for our exporters and importers in sending their raw materials, and goods and products in and out of the country,” he said. “By allowing foreign ships to go directly to other domestic ports around the country, it will lower production costs for our entrepre-neurs, free up space in the Port of Manila, improve the import and export system of the country,” Aquino added.

Lawmaker urges govt to prepare for influx of ‘balikbayan’ boxes

Friday, August 28, 2015

OpinionBusinessMirrorA6

The second-quarter economic growth

editorial

The Philippines’s gross domestic product grew by 5.6 per-cent in the second quarter from the same period in 2014. This was better than the revised 5-percent growth in the first quarter of 2015.

While this was below the consensus expectations of about 5.7 percent to 5.8 percent, with the potential headwinds facing the economy in the second quarter, it was a good result.

Agricultural production in the second quarter actually contracted from last year’s by 0.5 per-cent. While this does not seem noticeable in the major urban areas, it had a substantial effect in many regions where a few pesos less for the farmworkers limit consumer spending.

There were two other negatives that could have severely limited economic growth. The year-on-year increase in retail spending growth was lower than in 2014. Industrial production has contracted at 7.3 percent for two consecutive quarters and may be showing signs of bottoming out. Further, net hiring in Metro Manila was flat in the second quarter.

While the specific internals of the economic growth has not yet been released, comments from economic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National economic and Develop-ment Authority Arsenio M. Balisacan reveal the general economic drivers.

Of course, comments must always begin with kudos to the government and the administra-tion, and this time was not an exception. Secretary Balisacan said: “Government spending accel-erated in the second quarter, where [the] government’s final consumption expenditure rose by 3.9 percent from 1.7 percent in the last quarter [first quarter 2015]. Public construction bounced from a 24.0-percent contraction in the first quarter to a 20-percent growth.”

There is no particular reason to dispute this assessment, but the data given to the public may be “allocated spending” rather than actual “cash-in-the-economy” disbursements. We will reserve judgment as we wait for that data.

however, once again, it is the Philippine private sector that is doing all the heavy economic lifting.Capital formation—buying equipment, buildings and other intermediate goods—grew

by 17.4 percent in the quarter, compared to an 8.6-percent growth in the previous year. Private construction also maintained a double-digit growth rate.

The key to these numbers is that the private sector just keeps on doing its job regardless of the externals and the deficiencies of the government. For example, the Manila port con-gestion may have “ended” in the first quarter, but something like that would have longer-reaching effects. But Filipino businesses have learned how to successfully cope and handle almost anything that is thrown at them. Political foolishness, natural disasters, and global shocks are all in a day’s work for the Filipino businessman and businesswoman. Certainly, overseas remittances and outsourcing are critical to the economy and continue to perform well. however, credit must be given to the private sector as it does what it can to maximize the nation’s external cash flow.

Perhaps the mascot for Filipino business should be a battle-scarred carabao that just keeps moving forward regardless of the obstacles it has to hurdle.

There are only 64 days left in the voter registration and validation period, preparatory to the 2016 national, local, and Autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao

elections. In view of the looming deadline, here are some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs)—and the answers to them—on the subject:

#Tanong

Where can I register? You can register at the Commission on elections (Comelec) office in the city or municipal-ity where you reside and intend to vote. As an alternative, you can register at a satellite registration that serves your specific district, within the city or mu-nicipality where you live.

What are the requirements for voter registration? You need a valid ID with your picture and your current address. Your ID doesn’t have to be a gov-ernment-issued ID. You can use a driver’s license, a company ID, or a school ID that is valid for the current school year. If you don’t have a valid ID, a registered voter from the same barangay can vouch for your identity.

I’ve changed my name . What should I do? You need to file an appli-cation for change of name, and present a valid ID showing your new name and current address. You also need to show proof of your legal name change. For

example, a marriage certificate.I’ve changed addresses. Should

I register as a new voter? No, you shouldn’t. Any registered voter who has transferred residence to another city or municipality (or to another barangay within the same city or municipality), at least six months before the next elec-tion may simply file an application for a transfer of registration.

To do that, visit the Comelec office in the city or municipality where you live, present an ID that reflects your new address and fill out the appropriate ap-plication form.

T he Comelec got my name wrong! What should I do? If your registration record contains errone-ous entries, including wrong or mis-spelled name, birth date, birth place or typographical errors, you can file an application for correction of en-tries at the Comelec office in your city or municipality. All you have to

do is present evidence that justifies the correction. For example, if your name is misspelled, you can present a birth certificate to prove the correct spelling of your name.

What does being deactivated mean? Being “deactivated” means your registration record has been temporar-ily suspended and you cannot vote until the record is reactivated. This happens when you’ve missed two consecutive national elections.

For example: You didn’t vote in the 2013 national and local elections and in the 2013 barangay elections, you’re de-activated for 2016, because you missed two consecutive national elections.

On the other hand, if you voted in the 2010 barangay elections, did not vote in the 2013 national elections, but voted again in the 2013 barangay elections, you’re NOT deactivated be-cause you didn’t miss two consecutive national election.

In order to reactivate, simply visit the Comelec office in your city or mu-nicipality and fill out the application for reactivation form.

I’m a regular voter with no bio-metrics. Can I be delisted? republic Act 10367 states that those voters who fail to submit for validation by the end of the current registration period will be deactivated. Although this is not the same as removal from the list of voters, this will still mean that in relation to the next elections, the voter with a de-activated registration record will not be allowed to vote.

Wait. What are biometrics?

Biometrics are a way of verifying your identity using your picture, your signa-ture and your fingerprints.

Needless to say, this list isn’t exhaustive. And that’s where the Comelec’s newly opened, multichannel, hot lines come into the picture. You can ask questions via landline at the follow-ing telephone numbers:

(02)527-5574; (02)525 -9296; (02)525-0821. You can send your que-ries in via SMS or text message, at 0918-5668301 and 0917-3708158. And if you’re a digital native—or just really attached to the Internet—you can use tweet @COMeLeC or leave a comment on the Comelec’s official Facebook page. Space permitting, it would be helpful if query tweets could be hash tagged #Tanong.

You can also send an e-mail to com-electv@gmail.com, or post a comment on the Comelec education and Information Department’s web site, http://www.electionsphl.com/learn/ask-questions/. Questions asked over these hot lines will eventually find their way into the Comelec’s FAQs.

For now, the hot lines are officially open only from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Operationally, this means that queries received on weekends, or after 5 p.m., will be attended to on the next working day. As the elections draw nearer, however, hot -line operations will also ramp up.

James Arthur B. Jimenez is director of the Commission on Elections’s education and information department.

spoxJames Jimenez

Friday, August 28, 2015

OpinionA7BusinessMirroropinion@businessmirror.com.ph

annotationstito Genova Valiente

MY grandfather was the first sanitary inspector of the entire island of Ticao. Regularly, he would go to the Masbate mainland for a meeting. He would return taking

the last boat trip and also the last bus (there was only one bus then plying the length of the island).

We are the ‘balikbayan’ boxesGovernance should dominate economics

All of us would be excited to meet him with his pasalubong of tiny, soft muffins in a brown bag. We knew it was the same kind of muffin because oil blots would mark the paper con-tainer. When we moved to the city of Naga, there were more varieties of muffins and other pastries in the new place, but our grandfather, Elpidio Genova, would still bring us pastries and other things from the island. In our young mind, the gift was unnec-essary because our lolo could just buy from the many bakeries and pastry shops in the city. But my father had an explanation: The muffins, or any of those special bread we received from him in the simplest of brown bags, had a value greater than the more expensive and fancier cakes he could buy for us. The gift crossed the sea and traveled on land, a trip that in the late 1960s took the whole day.

As a student of anthropology, I would find an engaging explanation from the great French sociologist, Marcel Mauss, who wrote in 1925 a book called The Gift. In that book, Mauss developed the theory that a gift is more than a material offering. For him, the material and the spiri-tual are blurred or the line between the two transcended to make the gift magical.

For Mauss, the one who sends or gives the gift gives a part of himself. Certainly my grandfather gave a lot of himself in those many occasions that he took care of the fragile container of the muffins he was assured would make us happy. If not, perhaps, for the fact that he stayed with us finally, he would have packed the same soft muffins over and over to give to us.

I remember my grandfather now, more than ever, when a great portion of this nation’s population is up in arms against the present obsession of the Bureau of Customs to tax ba-likbayan boxes, which are gifts. Rela-tives living abroad are looking at the things they have gathered and are still gathering and feeling a sense of helplessness. The box or boxes in front of them are now objects of anxi-ety rather than joy. Many are shocked that these boxes are now classified as forms of smuggling.

To the overseas Filipino workers, the Customs is another bureaucracy added to those that are supposed to work for their benefit. Name them: the Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Gov-ernment Service Insurance System,

Social Security System and the Bureau of Immigration. Now here is Customs newly customized to look at what these workers are sending home. It has come to its attention, if we are to believe its premises, promises and press re-leases, that the balikbayan boxes are being used to send goods that are for sale. These practices should be put to a stop, a certain Lina who heads this bureau screams.

As with any kind of law or regula-tion this government enforces, the latest preoccupation is antismall people. This reminds me of what legislators have been complain-ing all this time that the so-called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Pro-gram (4Ps) is engendering depen-dency, and that poor people remain poor because they are not sweating enough. As if our politicians in both houses of Congress are working.

I am angry. Like many Filipinos who have brothers, sisters, parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins work-ing abroad, I am aware of what goes into those boxes. These are small gifts—shoes of all types, photos of which were sent to a favorite uncle, magazines acquisitioned for a year or years, boxes of chocolate that were bought on sale, are re-sults of saving for months so these special dark and white delicacies could be shared on All Souls’ Day

or death anniversaries or Christmas gatherings. Are some of these good-ies for sale? I think some are, but they are afterthoughts of a laborer who is simply proud to show siblings and kin the nice things available abroad. No talk about scrimping or dutifully saving; what are laid on the table or what are revealed after the huge luggage has been opened are gifts of oneself. The distribution of these nice and “expensive” things is a magical moment, filled with laugh-ter, banter and happy talk.

As for the smuggled goods, they are not in balikbayan boxes, but in crates that are not products of sav-ings and having two or three jobs, but of a capital that accumulates and grows because they escape taxation.

I like to join the thousands of people hurling expletives at Lina and the entire Customs bureau. But I want to refer everyone to my former publisher, Teddy Boy Locsin, who has reserved the utmost obscenity and has hurled it with the might of the righteous at Lina. I would like to pray at this point that the ghost of some past would visit all Customs officials and the commissioner and scare their conscience. I wish I could summon the spirit of my dear grandfather so he could share with them his gifts of muffins and honesty.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Apec women and economy

THESE series of meetings are used to be called the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Women Leaders’ Network (Apec WLN). I was lucky to have attended several WLN meetings

in Cairns, Australia; Arequipa, Peru; Singapore; Tokyo, Japan; and in 2011, the San Francisco, US, meeting took an interesting turn. It adopted the name change that started in Japan the previous year to Apec Women and Economy Summit (WES).

EaGLE WatCHLeonardo a. Lanzona Jr.

DESPITE the overwhelming economic problems faced by the country, governance—or the set of processes in running a government—must continue to be the crucial issue in the

coming elections. For us, this is disparaging since, for past five years, the government has implemented reforms to improve its operations and eradicate corruption.

The proof of success in this area is the remarkable trend in economic growth. It is difficult to identify the root causes of this growth, consid-ering the inability of the state to address fundamental economic is-sues, like infrastructure and basic services. Apart from the increases in remittances, the only clear factor seems to the improvement in inves-tor confidence resulting in increases in both domestic and foreign invest-ments, which, in turn, can be attrib-uted to the current administration’s commitment for good government.

However, to sustain this growth, the next administration must fo-cus on enhancing the country’s economic viability. In particular, infrastructure weakness needs to be addressed in order to create the environment for greater productiv-ity and allow benefits to be more ef-fectively shared to the poor.

In this context, why should gov-ernance dominate in the present electoral discourse? The answer is simple: Vice President Jejomar C. Binay is relentlessly pursuing the presidency despite facing widespread and largely unrefuted charges of cor-ruption. Binay’s candidacy alone is the single, most crucial governance challenge the country now faces.

Three questions will surface under a Binay government. First, what will happen to the cases of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, all of whom are closely associated with the vice president? Second, what will now be the status of persons perceived to be part of the country’s dark history of corrup-tion? I refer here to former Presi-dent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Sen. Bongbong Marcos who have all openly supported Binay’s campaign. Finally, what will happen to the pend-ing cases of Binay? It is laughable to even assume that a sitting president will expose himself willingly for in-vestigation while in office.

Hence, a Binay presidency may repeat the type of governance that had ruined our economy since the time of martial law. More impor-tant, Binay’s strategy of playing the rich versus the poor, even when he was Makati City mayor, only sig-nals the impending return of the patronage system where the poor would be indebted to key persons, their benefactors, instead of being supported by an established social- protection program.

Building on the set of connections created by his late predecessor Nem-esio Yabut, Binay seemingly amassed wealth while giving “freebies” to the poor, both within and outside Makati City. At the same time, he reportedly allowed institutions, which aimed to develop greater transparency and civil-society participation, to falter. This is in contrast to the late mayor and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, who led a participa-tive style of management during his term in Naga City, institutionalizing citizens’ participation after push-ing for an ordinance that required citizen representation in various city government committees.

The evolution of institutions con-ceptually begins with an absolute ruler who can confiscate any assets his subjects may own or any future income. However, because social policing and monitoring are costly, the ruler stands to gain by interact-ing with his subjects. If his subjects can own and accumulate wealth, he can get more income by letting the constituents keep a portion of their

incremental income and offering them various gifts.

Consequently, the ruler continu-ally faces a trade-off between the higher income he can obtain by relax-ing restrictions on constituents and the increasing threat to his security that the relaxed restrictions entail because his subjects have both more freedom of action and resources to overthrow him. Equally the con-stituents face the dilemma that the ruler, at some point, may withdraw his promises, confiscate the accumu-lated wealth of his constituents and terminate all forms of gifts. The so-lution is for the ruler to either struc-ture society in a way that it is both in his and his constituents’ interests to abide by his rules, or to willingly renounce his power by giving over more power to the constituents.

Nations with a diversified culture and greater land area are expected to have rulers relinquishing their hold over power and providing greater rights and responsibilities to their constituents. As the complexity of the environment increases because human beings become increasingly interdependent, more complex insti-tutions are necessary in order for the constituents to capture the potential gains from development. Such an evolution also requires that the so-ciety develops institutions that will permit anonymous and impersonal exchanges across time and space. This leads to inclusive growth as greater participation among the so-cial agents are enhanced, while, at the same time, ensuring that merit (instead of favors) becomes the basis for promotion. In particular, we can-not return to the culture of patron-age. The Conditional Cash-Transfer Program was intended to supplant this practice, with an objective and politically detached national agency providing subsidies to the poor.

Voters then should focus on good government and its implications to the economy. To cover-up his weak-nesses in governance, Binay would often highlight his performance in Makati City. However, at best, his contribution to the progress of the city is questionable. To smokescreen the corruption charges he is facing, he would also cite unfounded abuses by the Aquino administration, from practicing “selective justice” and us-ing government funds for campaigns to instituting martial law. What is undeniable is a high-ranking public official who is unwilling to take re-sponsibility for the country’s institu-tional failures and lack of transpar-ency, and who shamelessly sacrifices social interest for personal ambition.

Leonardo Lanzona Jr. is director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development and a senior fellow of Eagle Watch, the school’s macroeconomic research and forecasting unit

WomEn stEppinG Uppacita U. Juan

The special guest in San Francisco? No less than the former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. I was in awe as we sat listening to Clinton and Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook fame. On the video was Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund or World Bank. These are the rock stars of the world in business and politics.

At the same San Francisco event, the San Francisco Declaration was ad-opted by the 21 Apec economies to give women more access to capital; access to markets; capacity and skill-building; and, of course, to give women leader-ship a second look and have it inte-grated in the plans of all economies.

You can read more at: http://fpc.state.gov/172626.htm or look up San Fran-cisco Declaration.

Today many economies have ad-opted policies to give women access to these important factors—market, capital and capacity-building. The Philippines already ranks in the top of having women in senior leadership positions. Check out our Cabinet and our private sector, as well. We also have best practice examples of access to markets (like the Great Women Program of PCW and Cida); access to finance (like the Ilaw Program of Devel-opment Bank of the Philippines); and capacity and skills building (Technical

Education and Skills Development Authority and private-sector groups like ECHOsi Foundation).

We, at Women’s Business Council of the Philippines (mostly MAP members, as well), are proud to be the private-sector partner of the Department of Trade and Industry, under Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado. For over two years now, we have been planning the activities for this year’s hosting of Apec Women and Economic Fora. It will finally unfold from September 16 to 18 at the Philip-pine International Convention Center. Though it is invitational as with all Apec events, we think it is important to share that private sector has a voice in shap-ing the policies of not only our economy, but of 21 other economies. In shaping policies for women’s advancement in all industries and finally closing the gender pay gap still present in many economies.

On September 15 Filipina women, led by Filipino-American Irene Nativi-dad, will be opening and striking the opening bell at the Philippine Stock Ex-change. This crowd attraction has been Irene’s trademark as we have opened stock exchanges in all the places where the Global Summit of Women (another annual, but private event) has been hosted. I have personally attended the openings in Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur. It makes for good press and promotion

of women’s role in leadership of various industries and promotes women partici-pation as corporate directors in public companies, as well as in private ones.

Around that week of September 15 to 18, you will see a lot of woman leaders, influencers and celebrities gracing the print pages and the airwaves of broad-cast media. And maybe we can take yet another look at the power these women have. The power to change our world to be a better place for women and the next generation. The power to collaborate for finding solutions to global challenges. The power to influence our kind to stand up and be counted.

That is Apec Women and Economy Fora. And if you wish to witness these events, tune in to TV and radio during these days—September 15 to 18 and be informed. Men, as well as women, of course, will have something to think about to give women the stage to change the world. It is never too late. The Phil-ippine Declaration may yet be another milestone in Apec history.

This article reflects the author’s opin-ion and is not the official stand of the BPW Makati. Women Stepping Up is a rotat-ing column of members of BPW Makati and comes out twice a month. For more information on BPW Makati, visit www.womensteppingup.org.

THIS is in reaction to the article entitled “Labor leader assails Phil-Health TV ads for losing adminis-tration bet” which came out in your publication on August 20, 2015.

We wish to categorically state that Philippine Health Insurance Corp. did not spend a single centavo for the production and airing of the

new TV commercial featuring Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, a member of our board of directors.

The television commercial was produced and its airing bankrolled by her friends who share her advo-cacy for quality health care.

The storyboard, however, was cleared with this office to ensure

accuracy and consistency with our marketing and communi- cation strategies.

‘(Sgd.) Israel Francis A.

Pargas, M.D.QIC-Vice President

for Corporate Affairs GroupPhilHealth

Please e-mail your letters to the editor to opinion@businessmirror.com.ph. Letters chosen for publication in this sec-tion are edited for brevity and clarity.

MAIL PhilHealth denies spending for TV ads

The improvement in investor confidence, resulting in increases in both domestic and foreign investments, can be attributed to the current administration’s commitment to good governance. To sustain this growth, the next administration must focus on enhancing the country’s economic viability. In particular, infrastructure weakness needs to be addressed in order to create the environment for greater productivity and allow benefits to be more effectively shared with the masses.

A8

2ndFront PageBusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.phFriday, August 28, 2015

Near-zero inflation seenin Aug, but rates to stay

TeTangco reiterated there “may be no

need” to adjust the monetary-policy

settings, no matter that inflation has

fallen consistently below the target the

past three months.

By Bianca Cuaresma

InflatIon was seen on thursday to have moved lower in august and

approach still closer to zero percent, according to the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

conglomerate, which owns SM’s rival mall chain Robin-sons, is the second richest with a net worth of $5.5 billion. Forbes said he moved up three spots after his company’s stocks rose 30 percent, boosted by revenue growth in its petrochemical business and investments in Meralco, the Philippines largest power distributor. JG Summit also has interests in food and beverage, airlines, telecoms, prop-erty development, banking, retail and hotels. Forbes compiles the net wealth of the Philippines’s richest based on stock prices and exchange rates, with the value of private companies based on similar compa-nies that are publicly traded. Alliance Global’s Andrew L. Tan climbed a notch to

third place despite a drop in his net worth to $4.5 billion from the previous $5.1 billion. His company’s stock price is 11 percent lower due to a drop in income from its resort and casino operations. Lucio Tan of LT Group, whose  businesses  include stakes in beverages, tobacco, distilled spirits, banking and property, was fourth with a net worth of $4.3 billion. Tan is also the chairman of Philippine Airlines.Fifth was International Container Terminal Services Inc.’s Enrique Razon Jr., who is worth $4.1 billion. Rounding out the top 10 are George Ty, the Abotiz Family, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, David Consunji and Tony Tan Caktiong. AP

Sy is still PHL’s richest man. . . Continued from A1

  But BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. indicated that an inter-est-rate cut was out of the question as the rate of change in prices was projected to range from 0.2 percent to 1 percent in August.  The forecast, Tetangco said, was based on sustained downward ad-justments in electricity rates and falling oil prices. He quickly added that so-called base effects should also be at play. In a statement, Tetangco reiter-ated there “may be no need” to ad-just the monetary-policy settings, no matter that inflation has fallen consistently below the target the

product] from the first quarter and the lags of monetary policy, there may be no need as yet to adjust policy,” Tetangco said. What could change this stance? Tetangco said developments in oil prices, manifestations of the El Niño weather disturbance and finan-cial-market volatilities are keenly watched “as part of the surveillance to see if there is a need to adjust the stance of policy. In July inflation hit a record low of 0.8 percent, from 1.2 percent in June. Inflation had been moving progressively lower since April. In the first seven months, inflation averaged 1.9 percent, a tad lower than the target for the year of 2 percent to 4 percent. Should inflation in August hit the forecast low of 0.2 percent, the av-erage rate in the first eight months was seen at 1.7 percent. Should inflation in August av-erage higher at 1 percent—or the ceiling of the governor’s forecast for the month—average inflation from January to August was seen at 1.8 percent. At the last rate-setting meeting of the Monetary Board, the BSP said inflation was seen averag-ing 1.8 percent for 2015, or lower than the target.

past three months. “For next year, however, we see inflation moving up to within tar-get. Given the rebound in the sec-ond-quarter GDP [gross domestic

initiatives. He said the DA is continu-ously coordinating with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to prevent the smuggling of meat products. “We are exchanging notes with the BOC. The BOC also gives us access to inward foreign manifest, while we give them tips on importers with question-able business practices,” he said. Reaño said the government’s anti-smuggling drive and the implemen-tation of stringent sanitary and phy-tosanitary (SPS) measures, such as banning expired meat products, have encouraged hog raisers and poultry growers to increase their output. Data from the Philippine Statis-tics Authority (PSA) showed that the livestock subsector expanded by 5.2

percent in the second quarter. In the first semester, livestock output rose by 4.25 percent. “At current prices the subsector’s gross receipts amounted to P62.2 bil-lion. This represented a 1.59-percent increment from last year’s record,” the PSA said. The poultry subsector, mean-while, grew by 4.71 percent in the April-to-June period. Chicken boosted the subsector’s perfor-mance in the second quarter, post-ing a 5.08-percent increase in out-put. In the first half of the year, the gross output of the subsector went up by 5.03 percent. “For the whole of 2015, the poul-try subsector’s output could grow by

9 percent, while the livestock sector’s production could increase by 4.5 per-cent,” Reaño said. Earlier, the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) projected that the Philippines would produce 1 billion broilers this year. Ubra Chairman Gregorio A. San Diego Jr. said the projected broiler production this year is 11 percent higher than the estimated 900 mil-lion birds produced by the local poul-try industry in 2014. Meanwhile, Reaño said the DA is currently bent on expanding the pro-duction of native hogs and chicken, as the government sets its sights on increasing its shipments of meat products to other countries.

Govt seized 250 tons of smuggled pork, beef in January-June–DA. . . Continued from A1