Businessmirror December 5, 2015

By Joel San Juan

THE Supreme Court (SC), voting 3-2, has slammed the door on the government’s bid to aban-

don its agreement with SM Land Inc. (SMLI) to subject to a competitive challenge, or popularly known as “Swiss challenge,” the P25.9-billion unsolicited proposal to acquire and develop a 33.1-hectare property in Bonifacio South in Taguig City.  The SC said its ruling, which granted SMLI’s petition, was in-tended to send a strong message that “this is the conduct that the public should reasonably expect of the government,” which is to keep its contractual and legal obligations to the private sector. In a 13-page decision penned by Associate Justice Presbitero

J. Velasco Jr. the SC’s Special Third Division junked the second motion for reconsideration filed by the Bases Conversion and Develop-ment Authority (BCDA) through its President Arnel Paciano D. Casa-nova. Also trashed were the motions for intervention jointly filed by the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) seeking the rever-sal of the Court’s decision issued on August 13, 2014, and its  resolution issued on March 18, 2015, denying the first motion for reconsideration filed by the BCDA. The SC, likewise, denied the plea of the BCDA to elevate the case to the Court en banc and to set it for oral argument.  It reiterated its earlier findings that there exists a valid contract

between the BCDA and SMLI that has given the company the right to demand that its unsolicted proposal be subject to a competitive challenge.  The SC noted that, under the agreement and the National Eco-nomic and Development Author-ity Joint Venture Guidelines, the BCDA is duty-bound to proceed with and complete the competitive challenge, after its negotiations with SMLI was concluded. “To al-low the government to trample on the very rules it iself issued and to renege on its contractual and legal obligations by invoking the all-too- familiar mantra of public interest, at any time it pleases, will only result in uncertainty in the application of laws, a trait inimical to the Rule of Law,” the SC explained. 

Neda Deputy Director General Rolando G. Tungpalan said im-porting additional rice and other food items can help prevent food- price spikes.  “The government should err on the high side in determining food-import requirements in an-ticipation of El Niño to avoid food- price spikes, which would be very detrimental to the poor, who spend over 60 percent of their budget on food,” Tungpalan said. He added that the faster imple-mentation of the Roadmap to Ad-dress the Impact of El Niño (RAIN)

will soften its adverse impact on food prices. The national government recently decided to scale down its addition-al rice importation for the second quarter of 2016 due to an increase in planting intentions among farmers. The government already expects the arrival of 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice in the first quarter. How-ever, the extent of the El Niño and the recent onslaught of Typhoon Lando in the country’s rice bowl forced the El Niño task force to recommend ad-ditional rice imports.

THE Regional Trial Court in Quezon City  on Friday  is-sued a 20-day temporary

restraining order (TRO) enjoining the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) from al-lowing transportation network com-panies (TNCs) Uber and GrabTaxi to operate in the country, even without

the required franchises and certifi-cates of public convenience (CPC).  In a nine-page resolution issued by Presiding Judge Santiago Are-nas, the trial court held that peti-tioner Angat Tsuper Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator ng Pilipinas Genuine Organization Transport Coalition Inc. (Stop and Go) was able to comply with the requirements

SC sends signal PHL ready to honorcontracts in deciding in favor of SM

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PESO ExchangE ratES n US 47.1550 n jaPan 0.3849 n UK 71.4823 n hK 6.0848 n chIna 7.3712 n SIngaPOrE 33.8393 n aUStralIa 34.4474 n EU 51.6300 n SaUDI arabIa 12.5686 Source: BSP (4 December 2015)

www.businessmirror.com.ph n Thursday 18, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 40 P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 16 pages | 7 days a week saturday, december 5, 2015 Vol. 11 No. 58

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirrormEDIa PartnEr Of thE yEar

2015 EnvIrOnmEntal lEaDErShIP awarD

UnItED natIOnSmEDIa awarD 2008

See “Tour Operators,” A2

‘Food imports to arrest price spikes’nEDa rEcOmmEnDS ImPOrtIng mOrE rIcE, fOOD ItEmS aS InflatIOn PIcKED UP In nOvEmbEr tO 1.1 PErcEnt

INSIDE

SportsBusinessMirrorA8 | SAturdAy, december 5, [email protected]@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun Lomibao

FiFaiN SHaMBLES

WASHINGTON—As members of Fifa’s executive committee prepared to vote on reforming soccer’s scandal-plagued governing body, Swiss government agents swept into a luxury hotel before dawn for a

second wave of arrests on corruption charges in the wake of another sweeping indictment by US prosecutors. Five current and former members of Fifa’s ruling executive committee were among 16 additional men charged with bribes and kickbacks in a 92-count indictment unsealed on Thursday that took down an entire generation of soccer leaders in South America, a bedrock of Fifa and World Cup history. “The betrayal of trust set forth here is truly outrageous,” US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. “The scale of corruption alleged herein is unconscionable.” Led away by Swiss federal police at Zurich’s Baur au Lac hotel were Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay, president of the South American confederation (Conmebol), and Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, head of the North and Central American and Caribbean governing body (Concacaf). The arrests—at the same hotel where initial raid occurred in May—came just before Fifa’s executive committee met to approve reform and transparency measures long resisted by soccer’s top leaders but ones that gained traction in the aftermath of the scandal. Rafael Callejas, Honduras president from 1990-1994 and a current member of Fifa’s television and marketing committee, was indicted, as was Hector Trujillo, a judge on Guatemala’s Constitutional Court. Also among those charged was Ricardo Teixeira, the president of Brazilian soccer from 1994 to 2012. Teixeira is a former son-in-law of Joao Havelange, who was Fifa’s president from 1974 to 1998. In addition, guilty pleas were unsealed for former Concacaf President Jeffrey Webb and former executive committee member Luis Bedoya. The 236-page superseding indictment was handed up by a grand jury in New York on November 25. Eleven current and former members of Fifa’s executive committee have been charged in the investigation, which alleges hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal payments over the past quarter-century that involved the use of US banks and meetings on American soil. The last three presidents of Concacaf and Conmebol have been indicted. “The message from this announcement should be clear to every culpable individual who remains in the shadows, hoping to evade this ongoing investigation: You will not wait us out and you will not escape our focus,” Lynch said. Honduras said later Thursday that the United States had requested Callejas’s extradition and the Central American nation would cooperate with Washington. “Nobody is above the law,” President Juan Orlando Her nandez’s government said in a statement. At a news conference in the capital, Tegucigalpa, Callejas said his lawyers were studying the accusations and considering what steps to take. “I will fight unwaveringly to clear up my legal situation in the United States,” the former leader said. Fourteen men were charged in May, when four additional guilty pleas were unsealed, with prosecutors alleging bribes involving the media and marketing rights for the Copa America, the Concacaf Gold Cup, World Cup qualifiers and other competitions. Eight more guilty pleas were unsealed on Thursday, including three by men indicted in May: Webb, marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco and Jose Margulies, described by prosecutors as an intermediary. Also pleading guilty were former Colombian Federation President Luis Bedoya and former Chilean Federation President Sergio Jadue. Webb, a Cayman Islands citizen who has been released on bail and is largely restricted to his home in Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, three counts of wire-fraud conspiracy and three counts of money-laundering conspiracy. He agreed to forfeit more than $6.7 million. One woman pleaded guilty. Zorana Danis, cofounder and owner of New Jersey-based International Soccer Marketing Inc., admitted to wire-fraud conspiracy and filing false tax returns, and agreed to forfeit $2 million. Fifa President Sepp Blatter, elected on May 29 to a fifth term running through 2019, said on June 2 he would leave office when a successor is chosen. Blatter was provisionally suspended by Fifa on October 8 for 90 days, as part of a separate investigation into a $2-million payment in 2011 to European soccer head Michel Platini, who hoped to succeed him when Fifa’s 209 member-nations vote on February 26. Blatter also is under Swiss criminal proceedings. Blatter and Platini face lifetime bans from soccer at ethics hearings expected this month. Lynch would not respond directly to Blatter’s allegation that the inquiry resulted from US anger at losing to Qatar when the executive committee chose the 2022 World Cup host. “I think he’s probably spending a lot of time reading

through” the indictment, she said during a news conference.

The indictments list a who’s who of soccer executives. “We still have a number of avenues under investigation,” Lynch said. Among those charged were Marco Polo del Nero, a Brazilian who served on the executive committee from 2012 until last week; Rafael Salguero, a Guatemalan who left the executive committee in May; former South American confederation Secretary-General Eduardo Deluca; former Peru soccer Federation President Manuel Burga; and current Bolivian Soccer President Carlos Chaves, already jailed in his own country for embezzlement. Napout and Hawit opposed extradition to the US at Zurich police hearings, Switzerland’s justice ministry said in a statement. “According to the US arrest requests, they are suspected of accepting bribes of millions of dollars,” the ministry said. “Some of the offenses were agreed and prepared in the USA. Payments were also processed via US banks.” The bribes are linked to marketing rights for the Copa America—including the 2016 edition hosted in the US—and World Cup qualifying matches. Hawit also was charged with attempting to obstruct the grand jury investigation by attempting in July to corruptly influence testimony before the grand jury. The government alleged that after he was indicted in May, marketing executive Aaron

Davidson alerted coconspirators to the possibility their conversations would be recorded and Hawit directed a coconspirator to create sham contracts to conceal bribe payments. Prosecutors said there was an argument over the failure of Fabio Tordin, a marketing executive who has pleaded guilty, to pay a $5,000 bribe to a Salvadoran soccer official as part of El Salvador’s appearance at an exhibition game in Washington, D.C., this spring. The Justice Department said the 12 people and two companies already convicted have agreed to forfeit more than $190 million, and also said more than $100 million in addition has been restrained in the US and abroad. The US has sought to restrain assets in 13 nations. Once again, Fifa was shaken ahead of a key meeting of its international leaders, who were set to approve expanding the World Cup field from 32 to 40 starting in 2026, but then put off that decision. The meeting did support some reforms in a process that responds to the dual American and Swiss federal investigations. “Events underscore the necessity to establish a complete program of reforms for Fifa today,” said interim Fifa President Issa Hayatou, who stepped in when Blatter was suspended. Modernizing changes include taking many decision-making powers from the executive panel, to be renamed the Fifa Council with more men and women members. Future presidents and council

members will be limited to 12 years in office and face stricter integrity checks. Fifa’s 209 members are to vote on the changes on the same day they elect a new president. Fernando Sarney, a Fifa executive committee member from Brazil, said the early-morning arrests tainted the meeting. “It was like someone had died, that was the atmosphere inside,” Sarney said. “Everybody was surprised, the feeling was like it’s happening again, that it’s something we think is personal.” The last six months have been the most turbulent period of Blatter’s 17-year reign as Fifa president and have damaged the governing body’s billion-dollar annual business. Asked about reports of a $100-million loss in 2015, acting Secretary-General Markus Kattner declined to say how much of Fifa’s $1.5-billion reserves have been spent on legal bills and making up a shortfall from a failure to sign new World Cup sponsors. “It is clear it’s not an easy year,” Kattner said at a news conference. “We had unforeseen additional costs, and also on the revenue side some challenges to cope with.” Blatter was re-elected Fifa president on May 29, two days after the first raid in Zurich by Swiss police resulted in seven officials arrested and criminal proceedings opening regarding “systematic and deep-rooted” corruption in soccer. AP

‘DADDY MADE SOME MISTAKES’

MIAMI—Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, including two free throws with 1.5 seconds left, as the Miami Heat topped the Oklahoma City Thunder,

97-95, on Thursday in a wild, back-and-forth game that featured 38 lead changes. In Wade’s 13-season career with the Heat, no Miami game ever had more than 31 lead changes. Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Goran Dragic added 14 and Josh McRoberts scored 12 for Miami, which survived when Russell Westbrook’s three-point try from the right wing bounced off the backboard as time expired. Westbrook and Kevin Durant each scored 25 for Oklahoma City, which missed a pair of three pointers in the final 10 seconds. Durant missed a three-pointer and Bosh grabbed the rebound, calling time with 7.7 seconds remaining. Denver’s Will Barton came off the bench to score

22 points and Danilo Gallinari added another 21 as the Nuggets stopped an eight-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors, 106-105. Denver avoided its first nine-game losing streak since the 2002-2003 season, when it dropped 14 in a row. Joffrey Lauvergne had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who made all 18 of their foul shots. DeMar DeRozan scored a Raptors’ season-high 34 points and Kyle Lowry had 16. In Mexico City Isaiah Thomas tormented his former team, scoring 21 points and leading the Boston Celtics over the Sacramento Kings, 114-97, in the National Basketball Association’s third regular-season game played in Mexico. Thomas, who played for the Kings from 2011 to 2014, scored 19 points in the first half. He shot eight-for-14 overall and had nine assists as the Celtics won for the

fourth time in five games. Kelly Olynyk added 21 points for the Celtics, while Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each had 20. Rudy Gay scored 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins added 16 for the Kings. The Orlando Magic downed the Utah Jazz, 103-94, for their fifth straight win and best streak since January 2012 after Tobias Harris scored 17 points and had seven rebounds. Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points, shooting seven-for-nine on three-pointers as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 103-83, while Portland’s Damian Lillard had 26 points and backcourt partner CJ McCollum added 21 as the Trail Blazers ended Indiana’s six-game winning streak, 123-111. AP

Wade, Heat melt Thunder; Celtics triumph in Mexico

LINDSEY VONN sits with Tiger Woods and his children, Sam and Charlie, during the Par 3 contest at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in April. AP

NASSAU, Bahamas—Tiger Woods says he has a “fantastic” relationship with his ex-wife, and he has taken steps to explain to his two children what happened to their

marriage. In a rare and extensive interview with Time magazine, Woods also shared the same sentiments about his future that he did on Tuesday at the tournament he is hosting in the Bahamas. He still wants to play golf at the highest level, though he is resigned that it might not happen if the nerve damage in his back doesn’t allow for it. The world’s former No. 1 player was interviewed by Canadian golf author Lorne Rubenstein at Woods’s new restaurant in Florida. They covered topics ranging from his greatest joy on the golf course to chipping sessions with Seve Ballesteros to his family. Woods, who turns 40 on December 30, says he has told eight-year-old Sam and six-year-old Charlie that his parents don’t live in the same house because “Daddy made some mistakes.” “I just want them to understand before they get to the Internet age and they log on to something or have their friends tell them something,” Woods said. “I want it to come from me so that when they come of age, I’ll just tell them the real story. “And so, that’s part of the initiative—’Hey, it was my fault, too. I was to blame’—and so I’m taking initiative with the kids,” he said. “I’d rather have it come from me as the source. And I can tell them absolutely everything so they hear it from me.” In the meantime, Woods said he is stressing to his children that they have two parents who love them. His marriage crumbled at the end of 2009, when he was exposed for having multiple extramarital affairs, and Elin Nordegren divorced him the following August. Woods endured leg injuries in 2011, got back to No. 1 in the world with eight victories in 2012 and 2013, and has been in a free fall because of back injuries since. He had surgery to alleviate a pinched nerve the week before the 2014 Masters and has had two more procedures in the same spot over the last three months. “One, I don’t want to have another procedure,” Woods told the magazine. “And two, even if I don’t come back and I don’t play again, I still want to have a quality of life with my kids. I started to lose that with the other surgeries.” Asked what he would have done differently before and after the scandal in his personal life, Woods said he would have had a more open, honest relationship with his wife. “Having the relationship that I have now with her is fantastic,” he said. “She’s one of my best friends. We’re able to pick up the phone, and we talk to each other all the time. We both know that the most important things in our lives are our kids. I wish I would have known that back then.” Woods last played on August 23, when he tied for 10th and thought the pain he experienced was from his hip. Instead, it was a recurrence of his back problems. The uncertainty of his health has led to plenty of speculation that his career might be over. “Put it this way. It’s not what I want to have happen, and it’s not what I’m planning on having happen,” Woods said. “But if it does, it does. I’ve reconciled myself to it.” AP

fifa inshambles

U.s. senate rejects more gUn backgroUnd checks

california gUnman in toUch With eXtremists

sPORTs a8

wORld b2-1

wORld b2-4

bOnD yIElD rISES tO 3-yEar hIghUber, GrabTaxi barredfrom streets for 20 days

all-New elaNTRa Maria Fe Perez-agudo, president and CeO of Hyundai asia Resources Inc. (Hari); Richard l. lee, Hari chairman emeritus; and edward Go, Hari chairman of the board, present the all-new Hyundai elantra. NONIE REYES

VIllaR sIPaG GIVes away CaMella HOuse aNd lOT The Villars hand over the ceremonial key of a brand-new Camella house and lot to lucky OFw summit winner Marlene Cacho (third from left). leading the ceremony were sen. Cynthia a. Villar (left), director of Villar sipag; Vista land Chairman Manny b. Villar Jr. and las Piñas Rep. Mark a. Villar.

PhiliPPine bonds fell, pushing the five-year yield to a three-year high, after inflation quickened and the eu-ropean Central Bank’s (eCB) stimulus announcement

fell short of what some investors had anticipated. The yield on the sovereign notes due 2020 rose 11 basis points to 4.59 percent, the highest since October 2012, ac-cording to a noon fixing from Philippine Dealing & exchange Corp. The yield has climbed 66 basis points this week, the most since May. inflation accelerated to a five-month high of 1.1 per-cent in november, and exceeded the 0.7 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, data showed on Friday.

The eCB cut its deposit rate by less than expected on Thursday and refrained from enlarging its bond-purchase program, which would have increased the flow of funds to emerging markets. The drop in the bonds was “a response to what the mar-ket deems as a disappointing move by the eCB,” said Bunny Bernardo-Recto, head of fixed income at CTBC Bank (Philip-pines) Corp. in Manila. The faster inflation also had an im-pact, she said. The peso strengthened 0.1 percent on Friday and this week to 47.08 a dollar as of 3:15 p.m. in Manila, according to prices from the Bankers Association of the Philippines. Bloomberg News

By Bianca Cuaresma & Cai Ordinario 

The National economic and De-velopment Authority (Neda) urged the government to “err

on the high side” by importing food items to keep prices stable next year. 

‘Food imports to arrest price spikes’

to be entitled to a temporary relief. The members of Stop and Go are concerned Filipino citizens, taxpay-ers, operators and drivers of public- utility vehicles (PUVs) such as jeeps, AUV express, taxis and tricycles.  A TNC is an organization that pro-vides prearranged transportation services for compensation using an Internet-based technology applica-tion or a digital platform technology to connect passengers with drivers using their personal vehicles. They will provide the public with

online-enabled transportation ser-vices known as a Transportation Network Vehicle Service (TNVS), which will connect drivers with ride-seekers through an app. Grab and Uber started to operate in the country in 2014. “Based on the initial findings after a preliminary assessment of the evidence and arguments pre-sented by the parties, the court, at this stage of the proceedings and without prejudging the merits of the petition, hereby rules to grant a TRO to the petitioner for having established compliance with the

three concurring requirements for the issuance of the said relief,” the order read.  The trial court pointed out that the group  has established that there is a material and substantial invasion of their rights as holders of CPC; has shown clear and un-mistakable right to be protected being recipients of franchise be-fore they operate their units as PUVs and their vested rights are affected by the issuance of the provisional authorities to Uber and Grab vehicles plying the routes of Metro Manila; and has proven

that there is extreme urgency for the issuance of a TRO to prevent grave and irreparable damages to its members. The court  said  the claim of the petitioners that they suffer less or low incomes and earnings  due to the sudden and uncontrolled increase in the number of TNVS utility vehicles running in the streets of Metro Ma-nila “is persuasive.” In its complaint, Stop and Go specifically assailed the legality of DOTC Department Order 2005-11, which allows the TNVS to operate even without CPC and franchises.

The group also sought to invali-date the memorandum circulars is-sued by the LTFRB allowing Uber and Grab to merely secure a provisional authority in order for their units to be allowed to operate.  The group noted that the DOTC memorandum and LTFRB circu-lars  resulted in the decrease in the income of taxi drivers by P600 a day since their net earnings is from P1,200 to P1,500. However, the petitioner said since Uber and Grab were allowed to oper-ate, their net income is now around P600 only, while the drivers of UV

Express now earn only P1,200 in-stead of P2,500 to P3,000. The group also blamed the heavy and chaotic traffic situation in Metro Manila to the  2,900 to 6,000 TNVS units plying Edsa and other routes.  The petitioner said they filed the complaint in order to protect their rights and regain their income levels.  Meanwhile, the court required Stop and Go to pay a bond of P300,000 for payment to the  re-spondents as damages, which they may sustain if the court should decide that it is not en-titled to a TRO. Judge Arenas also set the hear-ing of the petitioner’s application for preliminary injunction on De-cember 8. Sought for comment, GrabTaxi Corporate Affairs Head Lorelei Olalia said her company has yet to receive a copy of the order, but it is already working toward the resolution of the issue as early as now.  “We haven’t received a memo from the RTC regarding the TRO, but we’re currently coordinating with the LTFRB and our lawyers for our next steps,” she said.  Uber Spokesman Karun Arya said his company is studying the effects of such an order, and will coordinate with its partner-driv-ers for support.  “Uber is aware of a decision issued earlier today by the Quezon City RTC in and is studying the implications of this decision upon TNVS performed by Uber partners.” He added: “Uber was not a party to the proceedings that resulted in the court’s decision and plans to coordinate closely with the DOTC and LTFRB.” Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya was not available for comment, but LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez defended the de-cision of the agency to allow TNCs to operate ride-hailing services in the Philippines.  “They were issued to provide our commuters a safe, efficient and convenient means of transporta-tion using online-enabled mobile applications to book their rides,” he said.  He added that the agency will seek the opinion of the Office of the Solicitor General on the mat-ter.  “The LTFRB and DOTC will confer with the Office of the Solici-tor General to determine the best legal remedy to ensure continuity of the services of TNVS, especially this Christmas holidays.”

Joel R. San Juan, Lorenz S. Marasigan

BusinessMirror [email protected] Saturday, December 5, 2015 A2

News “In holding respondent-movants accountable for the repre-sentations they made during the long drawn-out negotiation process and during the times the competitive challege repeat-edly encountered roadblocks in the form of constant delays and postponements, the Court endeavors to concretize into a norm the government’s strict adherence to its statutory enactments, and its fulfillment in good faith of the commitments it made and of the covenants it entered into,” it stressed. The SC said the BCDA failed to comply with the require-ments for a second motion to be entertained. The BCDA, ac-cording to the Court, failed to prove that the granting of the second motion for reconsideration would be “in the higher interest of justice.” It, likewise, did not give weight to the claim of the DND and AFP that being the beneficiaries of the proceeds from the conver-sion, development and disposal of the camps transferred to BCDA, which include the subject property, their military’s modernization program stand to suffer if the ruling is not reversed  “This ‘right to the  proceeds’ is far from actual as it veritably rests on the success of the bidding process, such that there willl be no proceeds that will accrue to their benefit to speak of if the project does not push through,” the SC said. “Consequently, the said right does now constitute sufficient legal interest that would qualify the DND and AFP, in this case, to intervene.” Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Jose Catral Mendoza, while Associate Justices Martin Villarama Jr. and Marvic Leonen dissented.  In its ruling on March 18, the SC affirmed with finality its Au-gust 13, 2014, decision  directing the BCDA to subject to  Swiss challenge the unsolicited proposal of SMLI.

Uber, GrabTaxi barred from streets for 20 daysContinued from A1

Initially, before Typhoon Lando, the task force headed by the Neda recom-mended the importation of an addi-tional 1 million metric tons (MMT) in the second quarter. However, due to Lando and its destruction of rice lands in Central Luzon, the task force was forced to increase its recommendation to 1.3 MMT on top of the 500,000 MT ex-pected to arrive next quarter. Tungpalan added that the govern-ment should address the unstable energy situation in Mindanao, given its large dependence on hydropower plants. “There is a need to reinforce mea-sures to expand investments in the rehabilitation program for exist-ing hydropower plants so as to in-crease their generation capacities,” Tungpalan said. “The government should also start preparing for the possible impact of La Niña, which could be a strong one, as well. The current drier than normal conditions must be taken advantage of to build flood mitigation infrastruc-tures,” he concluded.

No rate tweaksTHE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

(BSP) has virtually dismissed any possibility to adjust policy rates in its last meeting for the year, as the Monetary Board (MB) shifts its focus on the medium-term inflation after the growth of consumer prices finally picked up in November. Central bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said that, as widely expected by the MB and economists, the inflation uptick in November proves that current monetary-policy settings are still appropriate and do not need adjusting. “As anticipated, inflation had bot-tomed out in October. With credit and domestic liquidity growth rates also stabilizing, these signal that our stance of policy right now is ap-propriate,” Tetangco told reporters  on Friday. The Philippine Statistics Author-ity (PSA) reported on Friday that in-flation hit 1.1 percent, accelerating from the 0.4-percent inflation in October. This is the first time that inflation accelerated since February this year. This is also the highest inflation since June this year, when it hit 1.2 percent. The November inflation also brought the average inflation for the entire 11-month period of the year

to 1.4 percent, still below the central bank’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for the year. Thus, with the governor’s statement that the current stance is appropriate, given the latest development on in-flation, the BSP is likely to hold rates in its December 17 meeting and into 2016, even if the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) is looking to hike in the com-ing week, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said. “The BSP has reiterated that their hikes in 2014 were carried out to preempt the Fed move, allowing the BSP some space to wait and assess the impact of the initial Fed liftoff when it does happen,” BPI said. Talks on a possible rate hike in the Fed’s December meeting rose when Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yel-len said in her statement that they are not ruling out the start of normaliza-tion for the year. The BPI also said inf lation is seen to gradually return to within target in the next six months, pos-sibly due to the upward pressure from El Niño. “A possible rebound in oil prices may also lead to faster inflation with the Opec [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] signaling will-

ingness to ease production,” BPI said. Tetangco vowed to keep an eye on developments, not only in the Fed, but in other central banks, as well. “That said, we will continue to monitor developments, particularly actions of advance economies. ECB cut rates a bit shallower than some anticipated. We will see how the balance of this, possible US liftoff this month and further moves from Chinese authorities would impact on domestic price and growth dynamics,” the central bank governor said. 

November inflationTHE growth in inflation was primar-ily due to the higher annual rate in the heavily weighted food and non-alco-holic beverages index, as it advanced by 1.7 percent from a previous month’s growth of 0.7 percent. Food prices in November 2015 posted a 1.7-percent increase, higher than the 0.7 percent posted in Octo-ber but lower than the 6.7 percent in November 2014. “Higher local demand and the lingering effects of Typhoon Lando accounted for the price increases in meat and vegetables, while ample sup-ply sustained the lower price of rice,” Tungpalan said.

Continued from A1

SC sends signal PHL ready to honor contracts in deciding in favor of SM. . . Continued from A1

briefsLTFRB Launches MeTRO

chRisTMas Bus seRvices

DnD, aFP weLcOMe 152 new OFFiceRs

hOsPiTaL aDvisOR is nOw OnLine

[email protected] Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, December 5, 2015 A3BusinessMirrorNews

DOE exec tells investors: Pour more money on power-generation projects

By Lenie Lectura  

The Department of energy (DOe) on Friday strongly urged the private sector to

continue investing in the power sector, as more power-generation capacity is needed by 2017 and 2018, particularly in  Luzon and the Visayas.

“We need more capacity in the Luzon and Visyas grids,” Energy  Undersecretary Donito Marcos said. “We urge more private in-vestments in the energy sector, and the timely installation of the committed projects,” the DOE offi-cial said at the Energy Investment

Forum. Marcos delivered the key-note speech on Energy Investment Opportunities.

 From 2015 to 2020, there will be 20 power projects in Luzon that are coming online as com-mitted by various private-sector proponents, with a total capacity

of 2,397 megawatts (MW). Apart from the committed projects, there are 9,044 MW of indicative power projects in the pipeline. 

Assuming that all these commit-ted power projects will be in place as scheduled, Marcos said the Luzon grid will be requiring additional capacity in the later part of 2018, which, he said, “provides an oppor-tunity for private-sector investors.” 

In the Visayas a total of 11 projects, with a total of 675 MW, are expected to be installed until 2020, while 18 projects with a to-tal capacity of 601 MW are in the indicative stage.

“These power plants will be mostly renewable-energy [RE]projects. Inspite of the capacities coming in, we will still be need-ing additional capacity by 2017. This opens an opportunity for the private sector to venture into

the power business,” Marcos said. In Mindanao a total of 16 proj-

ects, with a total of 1,920 MW, will be installed and 25 indicative proj-ects are identified. “We would like to see these indicative projects to prog-ress into committed power projects in the years to come,” Marcos added. 

The country has a total installed capacity of 18,445 MW, with a de-pendable capacity of 15,838 MW.

As of Friday, 34 percent of the country’s installed power plants are provided by coal, followed by oil at 17 percent, hydro at 19 percent, natural gas at 17 percent, geother-mal at 10 percent, wind at 1 percent, biomass at 0.7 percent and solar at 0.47 percent. 

In terms of capacity mix of each grid, the Luzon grid has a total installed capacity of 13,516 MW, which is predominantly dependent on coal. Since January 2014 up to

November 2015, a total dependable capacity of 450 MW was added to the grid, with around 229 MW of RE.

  Meanwhile, the majority of the power plants running in the Visayas grid, are sourced from geo-thermal power at 39 percent. Coal comes next at 30 percent, followed by oil at  21 percent. 

In the Mindanao grid the total installed capacity is 2,237 MW and dependable capacity is 1,860 MW. The majority of the power plants in the region run on hydro sourc-es at 45 percent. Oil-based power plants come in next at 38 percent, followed by coal at 11 percent. 

“In summary, we need more capacity in the Luzon and Visayas grids…we hope to see the infusion of investments in the coming years to be able to provide for reliable supply of electricity in the coun-try,” Marcos said.

THE National Electr if i-cat ion Administrat ion (NEA) is close to achiev-

ing its target to provide power to more than 32,000 sitios until the end of President Aquino’s term in June 2016. 

From October 2011 to Novem-ber 2015, NEA was able to con-nect to the grid a total of 30,023 sitios, bringing the sitio electri-fication level to 97.66 percent. Meanwhile, consumer connec-tion was raised to 11.076 mil-lion, with the additional 440,360 consumers connected in 2015. 

The overall electrification target is to attain 90 percent electrification of households by 2017, anchored on the House-hold Electrification Plan of the Department of Energy (DOE). 

NEA Administrator Edita    Bueno is optimistic of attaining the target next year, with the continous support of the Aquino administration and the commit-ment of 119 electric cooperatives nationwide.

  So  far, the Aquino adminis-tration has approved a total of P22.31-billion subsidy assistance to NEA to implement the program.

 The 30,000th sitio energized under the Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) is Sitio Malipay-on in Sagay City, within the coverage area of Northern Ne-gros Electric Cooperative, while consumer Luisa Laguyo of Sitio Nompolia, Hungduan, Ifugao, was identified as the beneficiary of the 11-millionth household connection under the coverage area of the Ifugao Electric Co-operative Inc. 

Bueno said these milestones reflect the “strengthened part-nership of NEA and the electric cooperatives in bringing power to a majority of underserved si-tios in the country and help-ing people in these communi-ties gain access to basic social services and enjoy livelihood opportunities.” 

“This is the government’s way of embracing the Filipinos, es-pecially those who are far from the metropolis and have been enduring their communities’ lack of electricity for a very long time now,” she added. 

NEA’s SEP has a goal of elec-trifying 32,441 sitios by the first quarter of 2016. Lenie Lectura

nea says sitio electrification program nears completion target

THE Aquino administration, through the Philippine Gov-ernment Electronic Procure-

ment System (PhilGEPS), has saved at least P1.05 billion in newspaper-advertisement expenses last year, according to Budget Secretary Flor-encio B. Abad.

The budget chief lauded Phil-GEPS for espousing “the principles of transparent and accountable operations to improve the per-formance of the government as a whole by generating savings and making procurement data more ac-cessible” during its 15th anniversary celebration on Wednesday.

PhilGEPS is a web portal that serves as the primary source of information on government pro-curement, which all government agencies are mandated to use pursuant to the Government Pro-curement Reform Act. The whole procurement process—from an-nouncing and advertising all pro-curement opportunities, inviting qualified parties to bid, evaluation of bids, awarding of contracts, and monitoring of delivery and perfor-mance and payment—is recorded and posted online.

Bil l ions of pesos worth of

infrastructure, equipment, mate-rials, supplies and services pass through government procurement processes each year.

Before PhilGEPS, a news state-ment said, the government spent millions in advertising costs and invitations to bid and procure the goods and services it needs to op-erate the bureaucracy, carry out projects and deliver services to the people.

Bid opportunities costing P2 million and above for goods and consulting services, and P5 million and above for civil works should be advertised twice on two newspa-pers of general circulation.

Today bid opportunities are re-quired to be advertised only once in a newspaper of general circula-tion and posted continuously in the PhilGEPS for seven calendar days.

“Since the launching of the Phil-GEPS, transparency in government procurement has been enhanced and procurement costs have gone down dramatically as a result of savings in advertising expenses,” Abad said.

“Good governance leads to good performance, which, in turn, leads to tangible benefits for Filipinos,

which, in turn, means that we build greater trust between the govern-ment and its citizens,” he added.

Abad also lauded the strict reporting guidelines established by PhilGEPS.

“One of our strategies to en-courage good governance to take root has been to establish strong links between performance and incentives. By establishing strict reporting guidelines as PhilGEPS has done, we are sending a clear message to the bureaucracy that we value honesty and efficiency,” Abad said.

He further lauded the exemplary performance of PhilGEPS in the government’s open-data initiatives because it has consistently been publishing data on Procurement Notices and Awards of key govern-ment agencies, as well as details about each procurement activity, such as the approved budget, con-tract amount, procurement mode and winning supplier.

“PhilGEPS has the most devel-oped and comprehensive data sets in the Open Data portal. With this easily accessible database, Philippine procurement is now more transpar-ent and accountable,” he said. PNA

DBM: Govt saved ₧1.05 billion in newspaper ads with PhilGEPS

THE National Bureau of Investi-gation (NBI) has announced the arrest of businessman  Domin-

go “Sandy” de Guzman, who has been charged with murder for allegedly mas-terminding the killing of international race car driver Enzo Pastor.

De Guzman was arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Acting Presiding Judge Luisito Cortez of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Quezon City Branch 85 on August 5. 

He was arrested by NBI agents  in a hotel room in Barangay Bucal, Sampaloc II in Dasmariñas, Cavite, at around 7 p.m. 

Authorities said de Guzman had been staying in the hotel since  Octo-ber 28 under different names in order to elude arrest.

The suspect was then brought to the office of the NBI National Capital Region (NCR) office .

NBI-NCR Chief Max Salvador said they conducted a surveillance at the hotel following a tip they received last week on the presence of de Guzman.

De Guzman will be presented before the RTC in Quezon City as proof that warrant has been served and would pro-ceed to the NBI, where he will temporar-ily be detained.

In a resolution released last year the Department of Justice (DOJ) recom-mended the filing of parricide against Enzo’s wife, Dahlia, and the filing of murder charges against de Guzman.

Earlier, the DOJ also found probable cause to indict Enzo’s alleged gunman,

Police Officer 2 (PO2) Edgar Angel, for murder despite recanting his previous statements implicating both Dahlia and de Guzman as masterminds in the killing of Pastor. The DOJ pointed out that although there is no direct evidence pointing to the respondents as direct participants in Pastor’s killing, “there is interlocking circumstantial evidence that would point to their complicity in the commission of the crime.”

The justice department noted that even   before Angel came out with his confession, the housemaid of the Pas-tors, identified as Chona Domen, had already executed an affidavit detailing what she knows about the illicit affair of the respondents. 

“This is motivation enough for them to hatch the plan to kill him...This is strengthened by PO2 Angel’s statement that the reason why he was contracted to kill Enzo was because the latter con-stantly beats his wife and that respon-dent Sandy wants to relieve her of this burden,” the resolution stated.

Furthermore, the DOJ said Dahlia and de Guzman both made known their decision to pursue with their plan when they met Angel at Pier I on Jun 11, 2014 and told him to execute the plan the fol-lowing day. 

Enzo was shot to dead at the corner of Congressional and Visayas Avenues in Quezon City while on his way to attend a car racing competition in Pampanga. 

He succumbed to gunshot wounds in the head, neck and arms. Joel R. San Juan

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be launching the Christmas Non-Stop Premium Bus Services in three routes in Metro Manila.

To do this, the agency will be issuing special permits to applicants to operate interim point-to-point bus services in the following three routes: TriNoma–Park Square, Ayala Center (A1); SM North edsa–Glorietta 5, Ayala Center (A2); and SM Megamall–Park Square, Ayala Center (A3).  

The special permits will be issued starting on Saturday.  

“As part of our mission to formulate, implement and enforce rules and regulations on land transportation and public utilities, the board has decided to provide high-capacity premium bus services for the riding public in Metro Manila during the holiday season,” LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez said on Friday. he added that through this nonstop bus services, the agency is encouraging private car owners to use the premium bus service to help reduce the number of cars in the road during the Christmas holiday rush.  

Bus fares of the nonstop bus services for routes A1 and A2 will be P80, while route A3 will be P50. The bus operators will be fielding a total of 20 units along the routes. 

The Christmas Non-Stop Premium Bus Service will operate daily and can only load and unload at designated off-street areas and may unload their passengers at designated bus stops on Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Lorenz S. Marasigan

DeFeNSe Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. hernando Iriberri formally welcomed into the military service 152 new officers who graduated from the Officer Candidate Courses (OCC) of the major service commands.

The junior officers joined the service after finishing their one-year training. Of the 152 graduates, 58 were from the Army, 52 were from the Navy and 42 were from the Air Force.

Air Force 2nd Lt. Paul John Valencia, Navy ensign Gay Famero and Army 2nd Lt. Rey Gaezzel Anfone topped the list of graduates in their respective branches of service. They were all given the Presidential Saber for heading their OCC batches.

Valencia graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Aviation electronics Technology degree from the Philippine State College of Aeronautics in Basa Air Base, Pampanga, before deciding to become an OCC cadet at the Air Force.

On the other hand, Anfone holds a BS in Nursing degree rom San Pedro College in Davao City before joining the Army OCC.

The Department of health (DOh) recently launched the hospital Advisor, an online tool to review, choose, and interact with the different hospitals and health-care facilities in the country. 

The project, supported by the Manila’s Bilateral Program Fund of the British embassy, was conceptualized by the Office for health Regulations of the DOh to bridge the gap between the DOh, the hospitals, the health-care professionals and patients to provide a seamless experience in the prevention, treatment and curing of illnesses.  

In a news statement, the British embassy said the online tool—available on desktop and mobile—is a crowd-sourced platform that offers advice on the services, health-care personnel, rates and general information on all hospitals, including both government and private facilities. 

The embassy said hospital Advisor directs a patient to the correct facilities that will cater to their health-care needs and allow them to channel their reviews, complaints and recommendations to not only the DOh but to anyone who has access to the web site.  hospital Advisor is supported by the British embassy Manila and various stakeholders, including other government agencies such as the Department of Tourism, private and public hospitals, media and health-care organizations. Recto Mercene

Suspected mastermind behind Enzo Pastor murder case falls

Sewage-treatment plant manila water has recently inaugurated the taguig north Sewage treatment plant in western Bicutan, taguig City. photo shows (from left) Jaime augusto Zobel de ayala, chairman of ayala Corp; geodino Carpio, manila water group director for operations; Fernando Zobel de ayala, chairman of manila water Co., public works Secretary rogelio l. Singson and officials from the taguig City local government during the switching of the ceremonial light button. the environmental project was undertaken to expand the company’s sewerage services in the cities of taguig and makati. NoNoy Lacza

Saturday, December 5, 2015 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

OpinionBusinessMirrorA4

Dismissed for absenteeismeditorial

One of the concerns that is always expressed about doing business in the Philippines, which negatively affects our competitive edge, is that it is difficult to fire a regular employee.

The process is tedious and time consuming for the employer. When an employee is finally terminated, it is likely that the person will file a complaint with the national Labor Relations Commission (nLRC). The nLRC tends to give the benefit of the doubt to the employee and this requires more time and expenditure from the employer.

Although no one would say that hiring contract employees is better for the business, the employee, or the country, it is a practical alternative to the current situation. even an employee who is habitually absent must be given a lengthy due process to be replaced. According the US Department of La-bor, about 6 percent of all employees are absent due to unscheduled leaves.

The ones who abuse the system, knowing that they probably won’t be fired, make it harder on the good workers.

But the worst cases of employees abusing the system with their absentee-ism are found in the Philippine House of Representatives.

A few days ago, civil-society leaders from 14 Mindanao-based groups wrote a letter to the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the “chronic absenteeism” in the House of Representatives that has hampered its work on important bills.

While the President seems to enjoy calling the people of the Philip-pines the “bosses” of elected officials, that idea is a bad joke. In the real world outside of government, the boss has the right and obligation to fire bad employees at any time. The people—the bosses—of the Philip-pines cannot do this.

Rep. Manny Pacquiao of Sarangani showed up for “work” a total of four days in 2014, although he was marked “present” for seven. Rep. Ju-lio Ledesma IV of negros Occidental also managed to find time in his busy schedule to come to work for seven days in 2014. But they are not the only ones who got paid for being absent. It is reported that Rep. Ro-lando Andaya of Camarines Sur was present for a total of 10 days, Rep. Hernan Biron Jr. of Iloilo for 11, and Rep. Lucy Gomez of Leyte showed up for 15 House sessions.

Pacquiao says that he was absent due to spending 25 days on “con-stituency work.” While we will give the Congressman the benefit of the doubt—as perhaps required by Philippine Labor law—we question this constituency work.

Representatives are not elected to cut the ribbon at the fast-food restau-rant opening in their district. They are not elected to go on taxpayer funded “fact-finding missions” to Boracay.

And the people are helpless to fire these bad employees. Calls for the representatives to lose their salary for missed days is ridiculous. Which congressman/woman takes the job for just the salary like a real employee in the real business world?

These absentee representatives are a disgrace to the country, the govern-ment and to the people they are supposedly representing.

DOWn the street from the Makati Medical Center hospital was an outdoor area on Amorsolo Street with a few food stalls. This was 1988. Most were carinderias that served the

lunch and merienda needs of local office workers. One, though, was a Smokey’s Hotdog stall owned by Pure Foods Corp.

Smokey’s and the Philippine economy

If you happened to drop by at lunchtime, there were many custom-ers buying hotdogs with all the top-pings as a change from their normal carinderia “ulam and one rice.” The few available monobloc tables were always filled.

That was a time of optimism and hope for the future. The Philippine GDP grew by 6.8 percent in 1988. But that number was a bit distorted as growth in both 1983 and 1984 was a negative 7.3 percent. It would take until the end of 1990 for the Philip-pine economy as measured by GDP to get back to the same 1982 level of $37 billion. Last year the size of the Philippine economy was nearly $285 billion.

If you had shared a table with me back then, you might have thought that things were moving along pret-ty well. The customers had money to buy lunch. There were several employees working the Smokey’s

stand. The Pure Foods processing plant was still cranking out millions of hotdogs, buying meat from hun-dreds of piggeries.

But no one was making any money. everyone was just surviving.

The government, of course, was pushing the story of all the great economic gains. There is nothing wrong with that as confidence is as much a part of economic growth as the money. But by 1991 Philippine economic growth had gone negative, thanks to the 1989 coup attempt. You never really know what is in your hotdog or what is waiting around the next economic corner.

everyone is looking at the West-ern, Japanese and even Chinese economies the same way we might have looked at that Smokey’s in 1998. The global economy looks good on the outside, but in 2015 it is all smoke, mirrors and borrowed money.

The Gap Inc. is an American

clothing brand established in 1969 with some 150,000 employees, operating 3,709 stores worldwide with six brands, such as Banana Republic and Old navy. The price is midrange and is available to almost all income classes. Gap just reported that its same-store sales are down 8 percent in november from the prior year. Its total global sales are also off 8 percent from 2014.

Here are a couple of points from my long-winded storytelling. Things are not always what they appear to be, but you know that already. However, we constantly need to make our own reality check and not rely on the government or the “experts.” My economic reality check is the stock market, which is down about 15 percent from the April historic high.

I don’t buy all the analysis that this is due to the impending US interest-rate increase or because of China’s economy. no one can say even with a grain of credibility or certainty what the effect of a US interest-rate increase will have on local stock prices. Further, China is not an is-sue for the Philippine economy in a way that would likely effect profits of listed companies.

Like I have said before, in the stock market, real people put real money on the table and something is keep-ing them cautious. Understand that caution when spending or investing money usually comes from uncer-tainty. I like to travel and I check the

discount voucher web sites. When I see a hotel or resort at what I think is a huge discount, it usually turns out the reviews are “terrible.”

Second, it looks to me that inves-tors are worried about the economy a few months down the road and I rare-ly doubt the collective wisdom of the stock market. But I also see that this will not last for long as stock prices have been going sideways for several months rather than selling off.

Further, as I have said so many times before, the exchange rate of the Philippine peso is crucial to glimpsing into the future. The peso has not reacted negatively to an ap-preciating US dollar. But as we saw this week, it does react positively to a falling dollar.

My economic “blood-pressure” check for the Philippine economy is the stock market. Checking for longer term health problems, like bad cholesterol levels, is the peso ex-change rate. Both are still normal but need monitoring.

But maybe the best way to figure out the Philippine economy is the same way you could have back in 1988; check out the business at the local Smokey’s hotdog stand.

E-mail me at [email protected]. Visit my web site at www.mangunon-markets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-mar-ket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

OUTSIDE THE BOXJohn Mangun

By Jonathan Bernstein | Bloomberg View

IF Marco Rubio is the front-runner to win the Republican presidential nomination, as election prediction markets are saying (and I agree!), then why aren’t his poll numbers spiking? 

How Rubio wins anyway

That’s what the Rubio naysay-ers keep asking. no matter that the Florida senator just moved into sec-ond place, behind Donald Trump, in HuffPollster’s national poll esti-mate. In addition, only 15 percent of Republican voters so far say they won’t vote for him after carefully considering him. 

Among the Rubio skeptics, ed Kilgore at New York magazine, has been raising a more  thoughtful question: At what point in the pri-maries next year will Rubio start winning elections?

Kilgore is correct that factional social conservatives tend to pre-vail in the Iowa caucuses, which are on February 1. This makes it more likely that Ben Carson, Ted Cruz or even Mike Huckabee or Rick Santo-rum will wind up first there. 

new Hampshire votes on Febru-ary 9, and Trump has a large lead now. Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and John Kasich will throw everything they have at the state. even if they

fall short, they could hurt Rubio, who may be too conservative for new Hampshire’s moderates. Meanwhile, Cruz is running hard in Southern states, and it isn’t hard to imagine him winning in South Carolina, which votes on February 20. 

So how and where does Rubio win?T here are many possible

scenarios. One is that if he jumps 10 percent-

age points or more in the polls—and any candidate can have a surge—he’s already in good enough shape that he’ll probably win in Iowa and then, perhaps, in 40 or more states. Polling surges are mostly unpredictable, but Rubio has a lot going for him. He’s a skilled debater, and he’s on the main stage at these events. High-profile Republicans are moving to his col-umn, which will magnify anything good that happens to him.

But what if he doesn’t get that polling surge?

Mitt Romney didn’t in 2012, yet was able to earn a tie in Iowa with

25 percent of the vote. An even lower total could win the caucuses this time if Cruz, Carson, Huckabee and Santorum split their vote more or less evenly, and if Trump either fades a bit (he’s at about 26 percent in current polling there) or, as seems reasonably likely, many of those who support him in public opinion polls fail to turn out.

In new Hampshire, Trump’s cur-rent poll lead is stronger. But if Cruz wins in Iowa, the Granite State’s moderates may be eager to find a Stop Cruz candidate, and might be willing to switch to Rubio. Despite being more conservative than the Republican voters there, he would still be the logical choice if he re-mains ahead of Bush, Christie and Kasich in state polls and if he beats those three solidly in Iowa. Add in the lost luster for Trump if he fails to capture Iowa, and maybe Rubio squeaks over the finish line first in new Hampshire. 

If Trump wins in Iowa and new Hampshire, or if a social conserva-tive prevails in Iowa and Trump takes new Hampshire, could Rubio still take South Carolina? Yes, if Ru-bio has done well in the first two states. At least two and, perhaps, all three of Christie-Kasich-Bush will

probably have left the race by then. If the ballot is only Trump, Rubio and one or two social conservatives (say, Cruz and Carson), then Rubio will likely do well with voters who supported John McCain in 2008, George W. Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996. 

even if Rubio fails to win any of the first states, he could still be in decent shape if he finishes second or third in Iowa and second in both new Hampshire and South Carolina. If his competition is just Cruz, he’ll likely follow Romney’s path to the nomina-tion. If it’s only Trump, Republican party actors in all the remaining states will mobilize everything they can for the Florida senator. 

Of course, Rubio may fade, and one of the current also-rans could surge in the polls. even if Rubio continues to slowly gain in the polls, the way things play out could still be different from how it looks now. For all we know, Huckabee could still win in Iowa, and Christie could take new Hampshire.

But if Rubio continues his gradual improvement in the polls and draws in more support from Republican party leaders, he won’t be stopped just because none of the early states is a particularly good fit for him.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

[email protected]

‘Misericordiae Vultus’

AS announced in this column, His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will lead the opening of the Holy Door at the Manila Cathedral on December 9 at 3 in the afternoon

to mark the official start of the celebration of the Year of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Manila.

Today we continue the reprint of some excerpts from Misericordiae Vultus—the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy by His Holiness, Pope Francis.

“It is proper to God to exercise mercy, and He manifests His om-nipotence, particularly in this way.” Saint Thomas Aquinas’s words show that God’s mercy, rather than a sign of weakness, is the mark of his omnipotence. For this reason the liturgy, in one of its most ancient collects, has us pray: “O God, who reveal Your power above all in your mercy and forgiveness…” Through-out the history of humanity, God will always be the One who is present, close, provident, holy and merciful.

“Patient and merciful.” These words often go together in the Old Testament to describe God’s nature. His being merciful is concretely demonstrated in His many actions throughout the history of salvation, where His goodness prevails over punishment and destruction. In a special way, the Psalms bring to the fore the grandeur of His merciful ac-tion: “He forgives all your iniquity, He heals all your diseases, He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” (Psalm 103:3-4). Another psalm, in an even more explicit way, attests to the con-crete signs of His mercy: “He executes justice for the oppressed; He gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners, He up-holds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked He brings to ruin” (Psalm 146:7-9). Here are some other expressions of the Psalmist: “He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.... The Lord lifts up the downtrodden, He casts the wicked to the ground” (Psalm 147:3, 6). In short, the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality, with which He reveals His love as that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child. It is hardly an exag-geration to say that this is a “visceral” love. It gushes forth from the depths naturally, full of tenderness and compassion, indulgence and mercy.

“For His mercy endures forever.” This is the refrain that repeats after each verse in Psalm 136, as it narrates the history of God’s revelation. By virtue of mercy, all the events of the Old Testament are replete with pro-found salvific import. Mercy renders God’s history with Israel a history of salvation. To repeat continually “for His mercy endures forever,” as the psalm does, seems to break through the dimensions of space and time, inserting everything into the eter-nal mystery of love. It is as if to say that not only in history, but for all eternity man will always be under the merciful gaze of the Father. It is no accident that the people of Israel wanted to include this psalm—the “Great Hallel,” as it is called—in its most important liturgical feast days.

Before his Passion, Jesus prayed with this psalm of mercy. Matthew attests to this in his Gospel when he says that, “when they had sung a hymn” (26:30), Jesus and His dis-ciples went out to the Mount of Ol-ives. While He was instituting the Eucharist as an everlasting memorial of Himself and His paschal sacrifice, He symbolically placed this supreme act of revelation in the light of His mercy. Within the very same context of mercy, Jesus entered upon His passion and death, conscious of the great mystery of love that He would consummate on the Cross. Knowing that Jesus Himself prayed this psalm makes it even more important for us as Christians, challenging us to take up the refrain in our daily lives by praying these words of praise: “for His mercy endures forever.”

With our eyes fixed on Jesus and His merciful gaze, we experience the love of the Most Holy Trinity. The mission Jesus received from the Father was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its full-ness. “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16), John affirms for the first and only time in all of Holy Scripture. This love has now been made visible and tangible in Jesus’ entire life. His per-son is nothing but love, a love given gratuitously. The relationships He forms with the people who approach Him manifest something entirely unique and unrepeatable. The signs He works, especially in favor of sin-ners, the poor, the marginalized, the

SERVANT LEADERRev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

DATAbASECecilio T. Arillo

The Aquino Constitution

Part 3

‘THE ultimate tragedy of our situation as a neocolonial state is that even its own Constitution becomes an instrument of its perpetual enslavement,” the late Harvard-trained

lawyer-economist Alejandro Lichauco said.

Explaining, he said: “I invite your attention to Article XII, Section 1, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, which reads as follows: “The State shall promote industrialization and full employment based on sound agricultural development and agrar-ian reform through industries that make full and efficient use of human and natural resources, and which are competitive in both domestic and foreign markets. However, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises against unfair foreign competition and trade practices.”

That provision, you will note, automatically prohibits an industrial policy based on the heavy industries and the application of protectionist measures against foreign competi-tion, whether fair or unfair.

Lichauco was right because, while the provision stipulates that the “State shall promote industrializa-tion,” it simultaneously qualifies that constitutional directive with an entire complex of conditions and limiting reservations, which make it impossible for the State to adopt any industrialization strategy other than one that is specifically and exclu-sively based on “sound agricultural development and agrarian reform” whatever that means.

“For example,” Lichauco said, “the provision literally prohibits an industrialization strategy based on the heavy industries, like steel, chemicals, machine tools and ma-chine production. But that’s precisely the kind of strategy that made newly industrialized countries [NICs] of our neighbors.”

“This provision contradicted Sec-tion 7, Article II, of the Constitu-tion [Declaration of Principles and State Policies]: The State shall pur-sue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territo-rial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination,” Lichauco continued.

He pointed out, “Our neighbors, particularly South Korea and Taiwan, didn’t transform into newly industri-alized countries through the indus-trialization strategy explicitly man-dated by the above-cited provision of our Constitution. Those countries, imitating Japan, pursued an indus-trialization strategy anchored on the development of industries based on, and moved by, machine power, rather than on sound agricultural develop-ment and agrarian reform.

According to him, real indus-trialization program is one that is based on what is known as the capital goods industry—industries based on machine power and the production of what is known as the means of production. Any other in-dustrialization program can only be a program based on light consumer industries that are totally dependent on industrial raw material and in-dustrial machines produced by the industrialized countries.

“You will further note,” he stressed, “that the constitutional provision insists that industries should be competitive in both the domestic and foreign markets. With that provision, there is hardly any industry that can qualify for govern-ment support and protection, and that is precisely what the provision intends. That provision serves as justification for our reckless entry into the General Agreement on Tariff and Trades and the equally reckless accelerated tariff reduction pro-gram of the government—programs which have contributed heavily to the

bankruptcy of National Steel Corp., the closure of Caltex refinery and the financial problems of an enterprise like Hacienda Luisita, all of whom have attributed their crisis to the flood of imports unleashed by the government’s commitments to the World Trade Organization.”

“No country rose from rags to riches through industrialization by exposing its industries to foreign competition the way we have done. Examine the industrial policies of the Asian NICs, and you will see how protective those policies are of their basic industries, even if these are not competitive in the foreign markets,” he lamented.

Lichauco explained that, while the constitutional provision does provide that the state shall protect Filipino enterprises against unfair foreign competition, it doesn’t de-fine, he emphasized, what unfair foreign competition means. “For example, we have exposed our agri-cultural sector to competition from subsidized agricultural imports, but the authorities don’t consider that a contravention of the Constitution. The result is that even the agricul-tural sector has been marginalized. Apparently, the authorities see noth-ing wrong with pitting our farmers, most of whom hardly made it to sixth grade, with the corporate farmers of the industrial countries, who do their farming with the aid of satellites.”

“The authorities must be remind-ed that any underdeveloped economy struggling to industrialize would have to protect its basic industries from foreign competition, whether fair or unfair. To insist that even infant industries should be competi-tive in the foreign markets would be tantamount to killing these infant industries from the start,” Lichauco argued.

The question is: Why did the authors of the present Constitution feel it necessary to qualify the indus-trialization mandate with the kind of restrictions they placed on it?

“And the answer,” he said, “is that the authors of the cited pro-vision were the very elements who had opposed the heavy industrial-ization program launched by Ferdi-nand Marcos in 1979. The Marcos industrial program was based the establishment of industries driven by machine power and not—repeat, not—by sound agricultural develop-ment and agrarian reform as stipu-lated by the present Constitution.”

In other words, no less than the Constitution has become the barrier to the real industrialization of our economy. Under the “industrializa-tion” provision of the Charter there isn’t any way that this country can transform into a NIC; which means there isn’t any way we can get out of the poverty trap, which has now mutated into a hunger crisis.

Lichauco explained that Article XII, Section 1 Paragraph 2 of the Con-stitution is the best evidence of our status as neocolonial state. It is also the ultimate weapon, which ensures that the anti-industrialization agen-da of the Dodds Report will remain unchallenged by any government elected under the present charter.

“If by some miracle we should have a government tomorrow bent on industrializing the economy by adopting the same industrial poli-cies that have made industrialized countries of our neighbors, such a government would run afoul of the Constitution,” he warned.

To reach the writer, e-mail [email protected]

sick and the suffering, are all meant to teach mercy. Everything in Him speaks of mercy. Nothing in Him is devoid of compassion.

Jesus, seeing the crowds of people who followed Him, realized that they were tired and exhausted, lost and without a guide, and He felt deep compassion for them (cf. Matthew 9:36). On the basis of this compassionate love, He healed the sick who were presented to Him (cf. Matthew 14:14), and with just a few loaves of bread and fish He satisfied the enormous crowd (cf. Matthew 15:37). What moved Jesus in all of these situations was nothing other than mercy, with which He read the hearts of those He encountered and responded to their deepest need. When He came upon the widow of Nain taking her son out for burial, He felt great compassion for the immense suffering of this grieving mother, and He gave back her son by raising him from the dead (cf. Luke 7:15). After freeing the demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes, Jesus entrusted him with this mission: “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). The calling of Matthew is also presented within the context of mercy. Passing by the tax collec-tor’s booth, Jesus looked intently at Matthew. It was a look full of mercy that forgave the sins of that man, a sinner and a tax collector, whom Je-sus chose—against the hesitation of the disciples—to become one of the Twelve. Saint Bede the Venerable, commenting on this Gospel passage, wrote that Jesus looked upon Mat-thew with merciful love and chose him: miserando atque eligendo. This expression impressed me so much that I chose it for my episcopal motto.

In the parables devoted to mercy, Jesus reveals the nature of God as that of a Father who never gives up until He has forgiven the wrong and overcome rejection with compassion and mercy. We know these parables well, three in particular: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the father with two sons (cf. Luke 15:1-32). In these parables, God is always pre-sented as full of joy, especially when He pardons. In them we find the core of the gospel and of our faith, because mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing conso-lation through pardon.

From another parable, we cull an important teaching for our Chris-tian lives. In reply to Peter’s question about how many times it is necessary to forgive, Jesus says: “I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven times” (Matthew 18:22). He then goes on to tell the parable of the “ruthless servant,” who, called by his master to return a huge amount, begs him on his knees for mercy. His master

cancels his debt. But he then meets a fellow servant who owes him a few cents and who, in turn, begs on his knees for mercy, but the first servant refuses his request and throws him into jail. When the master hears of the matter, he becomes infuriated and, summoning the first servant back to him, says, “Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Matthew 18:33). Je-sus concludes, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).

This parable contains a profound teaching for all of us. Jesus affirms that mercy is not only an action of the Father, it becomes a criterion for ascertaining who His true children are. In short, we are called to show mercy because mercy has first been shown to us. Pardoning offences becomes the clearest expression of merciful love, and for us Christians it is an imperative from which we cannot excuse ourselves. At times how hard it seems to forgive! And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To let go of anger, wrath, violence and revenge are necessary conditions to living joyfully. Let us, therefore, heed the Apostle’s exhor-tation: “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26). Above all, let us listen to the words of Jesus, who made mercy an ideal of life and a criterion for the credibility of our faith: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7): the beatitude to which we should particularly aspire in this Holy Year.

As we can see in Sacred Scripture, mercy is a key word that indicates God’s action toward us. He does not limit Himself merely to affirming His love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something con-crete: intentions, attitudes and be-haviors that are shown in daily liv-ing. The mercy of God is His loving concern for each one of us. He feels responsible; that is, He desires our well-being and He wants to see us happy, full of joy and peaceful. This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do His children. Just as He is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other.

We will continue with Laudato Si next week.

To know more about Caritas Ma-nila, visit www.caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail [email protected].

CREDIT where it’s due: After 10 years, much haggling and several dozen failed at-

tempts, Congress now looks likely to pass a long-term highway bill. It will finally shore up America’s ail-ing roads and bridges. It will sen-sibly revive the US Export-Import Bank. It even takes a firm stand against automated traffic tickets.

The bad part—you knew there was one—is that the bill’s $305-bil-lion cost is paid for with an unholy admixture of gimmicks, artifice and bad ideas.

And it leaves finding a long-term solution to this perennial problem for another day.

Some of the funding measures are one-time-only stunts, such as selling off millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, while assuming each will fetch roughly double the current price. Others are aspirational, such as hoping private contractors can somehow bolster tax collection.

More pernicious are the mea-sures that could set a precedent. For instance, raiding the Fed-eral Reserve’s (the Fed) surplus seems like a seductive entree into

monetizing government spending. Reducing the dividend paid to big banks for their shares in the Fed system, arbitrary in its own right, also seems like a harbinger: Once banks can be plundered to pay for roads, why not for everything else?

What all these funding schemes have in common is that they have nothing to do with transportation. The traditional way of paying for highways and bridges has been through the federal gas tax—a sen-sible user fee on drivers that hasn’t

been raised since Bill Clinton’s first year in office. This time around, Congress should’ve simply boosted that tax modestly and indexed it to inflation. Simplicity, alas, isn’t a legislative specialty these days.

Now inflation will continue to erode the buying power of the fed-eral gas tax. Vehicles will continue to grow more fuel-efficient. And new technology, such as driverless cars, could upend gas consumption and driving patterns in unpredict-able ways.

So when the gags and gimmicks in this highway bill expire, the un-derlying problem of how to pay for the country’s transportation needs will only have gotten worse.

That means Congress will have to think about a serious and sus-tainable revenue source for the 21st century.

One promising option is a  ve-hicle-miles-traveled tax, in which cars would be fitted with technol-ogy that tracks their mileage and drivers billed directly for their road use. This would uphold the principle of a user fee, and collect revenue from the growing number of cars that don’t use gasoline. It could also easily be adjusted based on location, traffic and time of day to charge drivers more during peak congestion.

That technology still needs a lot of work. But it’s a far better ap-proach to transportation spending than raiding the financial industry or arbitrarily selling off govern-ment assets. As Congress ponders how to pay for the next bill, five years on, this one should stand as an exemplar of what to avoid.

Bloomberg View

A highway bill Americans will regret

briefsAQUINO HOSTING JAPAN’S

EMPEROR, EMPRESS IN MANILA NEXT MONTH

Experts back Comelec DQ case against Grace Poe, see uphill battle for lawmaker

By Joel R. San Juan

LEGAL experts have sided with the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to disqualify

Sen. Grace Poe in the 2016 presiden-tial election on the ground that she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, and for her failure to meet the 10-year residency requirement.

Election lawyer Romulo Ma-calintal, litigation lawyer Raymond Fortun and poll lawyer Carlo Vistan all agreed that Poe  might have a hard time having the unanimous ruling reversed.

“The decision of the Second Di-vision appears to be supported by factual and legal arguments, espe-cially on the residency issue, where Poe admitted a residency of only six years and six months when she filed his COC [certificate of candidacy] for the May 2013 elections,” Macalintal   told reporters in a text message.

Meanwhile, Fortun said he does not see Comelec commissioners Al Parreno, Arthur Lim and Sheriff

Abas—the three members of the Second Division that disqualified Poe—reversing their decision.

“From experience, a unanimous decision is already an ominous sign. It is highly unlikely that these same commissioners would change their mind,” he said.

On the other hand, Vistan said Poe might be unable to secure a re-versal, especially since the Comelec division had considered her COC for the 2013 senatorial race as an “admis-sion against her interest.”

Poe is appealing the decision before the seven-member Com-elec en banc, which is composed of the three commissioners from

the Second Divisions, poll chair-man Andres Bautista and three other commissioners.

“That kind of evidence, state-ments or admission against one’s own interest, that’s a very good evidence against a person. In other words, parang umamin ka o nagsabi ka ng isang bagay na kino-contradict ’yung sinasabi mo ngayon,” Vistan said.

“In that sense, it will be difficult for her to seek a reversal of the Com-elec division’s ruling against her, since the primary evidence is her own declaration that will contradict her 10-year claim,” he added.

Vistan said the Second Division’s decision might even affect the out-come of the three other disqualifi-cation petitions lodged against Poe before the Comelec’s First Division.

The three legal experts all agreed that Poe would need new and com-pelling evidence that would convince the Comelec en banc to reverse the Second Division’s ruling.

“As a general rule, the Poe camp needs to present compelling reasons before the en banc commission of se-rious errors by the Second Division,” Fortun pointed out.

For his part, Macalintal said: “Poe needs new and material evi-dence to overturn the division rul-ing. DNA results proving her ties with a Filipino parent might prove

her being a natural-born Filipino citizen.”

“But that is only one issue, because she still has to hurdle the residency issue, which, according to the Second Division, she made an ‘admission against interest, when she herself declared her said residency in her COC for senator,” he said.

In its   35-page decision issued last week, the  Comelec Second Di-vision  ordered the cancellation of Poe’s COC for saying that she “falsely” declared that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen in her COC. 

“Respondent’s representation in her COC that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen is false; Respondent being a foundling, is not a natural-born Filipino citizen,” the Comelec said. The Comelec’s ruling stemmed from the petition filed by  lawyer Estrella Elamparo, who argued that Poe’s COC should be denied, since the latter failed to meet the citizen-ship and residency requirements for candidates for president.

The Comelec Second Division pointed out that as a sitting sena-tor, Poe is expected to know that the 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitu-tion have adhered to the “citizen-ship by bloodline” principle, wherein   natural-born Filipino citizenship is solely and exclusively determined by a bloodline to a Filipino father

(1973 Constitution) and by bloodline to a Filipino father (1973 and 1987 Constitution).

“Respondent knew or ought to have known that she is not a nat-ural-born Filipino citizen. The rep-resentation in her subject COC for President that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen is obviously false,” the resolution read. 

Likewise, the Comelec ruled that Poe lacks the required residency to qualify as a candidate for president next year.

The Comelec noted that Poe’s COC for senator in 2013 indicated “six years and six months” in the space for the candidate’s period of residence in the country.

Based on her COC, the Comelec said Poe admitted under oath that she has been a resident of the country only since November 2006.

This, according to Comelec, falls short by six months of the re-quired May 2006 commencement of resident in the country in order to qualify as a candidate for presi-dent in 2016. 

It branded as “self-serving” Poe’s claim that she committed an hon-est mistake when she stated in her COC for senator that her period of residence in the Philippines before May 13, 2013, was six years and six months.

[email protected] Saturday, December 5, 2015A6 BusinessMirrorNews

MalacaÑang reported on Friday that President aquino will be hosting Japa-nese Emperor akihito and Empress Michiko during the Japanese leader’s state visit to Manila next month.

The Palace confirmed the upcom-ing visit, as the Department of Foreign affairs assured the Philippines “is pleased to receive Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan,” for a state visit from January 26 to 30, 2016.

according to a Palace advisory, Emperor akihito’s state visit “is in re-sponse to President aquino’s long-standing invitation for Their Majesties to visit the Philippines.”

The Emperor and Empress Michiko last visited the Philippines in 1962, when they were then-crown prince and princess, the advisory re-called. It also noted that the Japanese leader’s state visit is “an auspicious start of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic rela-tions between the Philippines and Japan in 2016. Butch Fernandez

ThE Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to indict Mayor Eulalio Maderazo of caibiran, Biliran, for violation of Section 3(e) of Repub-lic act 3019, or the anti-graft and cor-rupt Practices act, in connection with the procurement of medicines with-out the benefit of a public bidding.

Municipal Treasurer loreto Serde-ña Jr. and accounting Department Officer in charge Rodolfo Baguna are also facing charges for allegedly conspiring with Maderazo in giving unwarranted benefit, advantage and preference to the supplier, andrea Medi center.

In august 2010 the Municipality of Biliran purchased medicines worth P283,335.15 for the use of its rural- health unit. Soon after, complaints of overpricing and purchase without the required public bidding were re-ceived by the Ombudsman.

In the course of the investiga-tion, it was uncovered that the pur-chase did not pass through the Bids and awards committee (Bac), and that payment was processed with-out supporting documents, such as abstract of bids and minutes of Bac meeting.

The commission on audit (cOa) reported that the purchase had “no proper documentation.”

In an 11-page resolution, Ombuds-man conchita carpio-Morales said Maderazo, Serdeña and Baguna are li-able for unlawfully resorting to shop-ping as an alternative mode of pro-curement, considering that the pur-chase price was beyond the P50,000 threshold allowed for a fourth-class municipality.

“The supplier, andrea Medi cen-ter, was awarded the procurement contract without the benefit of a fair system in determining the best pos-sible price for the government. The supplier was able to profit from the transaction without showing proof that their prices were the most ben-eficial to the government,” the resolu-tion said. PNA

ThE Office of the Deputy Ombuds-man for the Visayas has ordered the suspension for one month and one day of State auditor III llane Saratan of the commission on audit (cOa) Regional Office VI for simple misconduct.

Based on the Ombudsman’s fact-finding investigation, it was uncov-ered that Saratan incurred tardiness/undertime for the months of January, February, October, november and December 2011 as reflected in her daily time record.

likewise, the administrative head of cOa Regional Office VI was admon-ished for failure to act on Saratan’s habitual tardiness.

Deputy Ombudsman for the Vi-sayas Paul Elmer clemente directed the cOa regional director to imple-ment the suspension order. PNA

ThE representative of the Tai-wan Economic and Cultural Office (Teco) in the Philip-

pines on Friday said the enhanced relations between the Philippines and Taiwan will bring in more for-eign direct investments (FDI) to the country.

Dr. Gary Song-huann Lin said the Philippines’s economic sta-bility is one of the main reasons foreign firms are keen on invest-ing in the country, and noted that Taiwanese investors would want to invest in the agro-industry sector, one of the fastest growth areas in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is ripe for FDI. With a population of 100 million, half of them young, fu-ture domestic demands will be huge for agriculture, aquaculture and livestock feeds to produce food,” Lin said.

“The Philippines is the rising star of Asia with a gross domestic product that is more than 6 percent. In fact, it is the best performing Asean country right now,” the Tai-wan official added.

In 2014 the Philippines pulled in $6.2 billion in net FDI—the high-est figure on record.

Investor confidence in the coun-try has been rekindled by the ad-ministration of President Aquino

on the back of a proreform and anti- cor r upt ion pol ic y-platfor m, which helped encourage record economic growth.

Lin said the inauguration of a feed-manufacturing plant owned by Taiwan’s leading feed enter-prise—Grobest holdings Ltd.—earlier this week is proof of the confidence that his country’s busi-nessmen have in the country.

The Grobest Feeds Philippines Inc. facility in Gerona, Tarlac, was inaugurated on Wednesday, with Lin and other high-ranking of-ficials, along with their Filipino counterparts, present.

The $15-million facility boasts of an annual production capacity of 150,000 tons of aquatic feeds and 200,000 tons of livestock feeds using new production technologies that ensure high-quality feeds that are environment-friendly.

The feed-production facility would employ up to 200 local work-ers and would also indirectly benefit thousands of stakeholders in the aquaculture sector.

Local farmers would also benefit from the firm’s establishment, as it would use locally produced agri-culture products as raw materials.

Lin said the opening of Grobest bodes well to the future of Philip-pine-Taiwan partnership. PNA

VIcE-PRESIDEnTIal candidate and incumbent Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. ex-

pressed his appreciation to Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Friday for picking him as running mate, after the former president bared plans to run for the top post in the 2016 elections if Sen. grace Poe is finally disqualified and Vice President Jejomar c. Binay removed from the races amid charges of corruption.

“I am deeply honored and very grate-ful for the trust given to me by former President, Manila Mayor Erap Estrada. Mayor Estrada’s wide support is undis-puted, and choosing me as his running mate will definitely boost my chances,” Marcos said in a news statement.

“Estrada will be a strong contender, and his chances of winning the presidential election are very high,” Marcos said.

Estrada was one of the “heavy-weights,” together with Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who had endorsed Mar-cos during the formal proclamation of his vice-presidential bid on October 10 in Intramuros, Manila. In a speech dur-ing the proclamation, Estrada said he never entertained second thoughts in deciding to endorse Marcos as his vice-presidential candidate as he called on the Manileños to, likewise, support the senator.

“I am very thankful to Mayor Erap for his forever, sincere and staunch support, and also to the people of Manila. he is well loved by the people, especially the masses. Nakakataba talaga ng puso na ang ‘Ama ng Masa’ ay may malaking pagtitiwala sa atin at hinding-hindi na-tin sisirain ang tiwalang iyan [It’s heart-warming that the Father of the Masses trust us and we will never destroy the trust,” Marcos said. Recto Mercene

OMbUdSMAN INdIcTS bILIRAN TOwN MAyOR fOR GRAfT

c.O.A. AUdITOR SUSPENdEd fOR HAbITUAL TARdINESS

More Taiwan investments coming to PHL–Teco exec

Erap endorses Marcos’s 2016 VP bid

GORAYEB’SCONFIDENCE

MILO MARATHON FINALS UP

SportsA7BusinessMirror Saturday, December 5, [email protected] | [email protected]

DEFENDING champion Petron and overachieving Foton go for all the marbles in the no-tomorrow Game Three for the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix crown

on Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome. The showdown for the championship of the interclub tournament, presented by Asics and backed by Milo with Senoh, Mikasa and Mueller as technical partners and TV5 as official broadcaster, starts at 1 p.m. Petron, bannered by Aby Maraño, Rachel Ann Daquis and Dindin Manabat-Santiago and Brazilians Rupia Inck and Erika Adachi, remains the favorite to repeat as champions against the younger Tornadoes. But the Blaze Spikers neither be complacent nor conficent. The Tornadoes stunned the Blaze Spikers in Game One; 14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22, casting doubt on their ability to match, or surpass, the three-straight championships powerhouse Philippine Army pulled off in the league. Petron, behind the leadership of Adachi and the rock-solid backline defense of libero Jen Reyes, stormed back in Game Two in nail-biting fashion, 25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 26-24, to set the stage for the rubber match. “Game Three is not just an ordinary game,” said Petron Coach George Pascua, noting that the league’s first-ever Game Three will not be a battle of firepower, coaching strategy or defensive prowess, but a “clash of hearts.” “Whoever has the desire and the fighting heart will win the crown. Game Three is where heroes are born. We have to seize the opportunity and unleash all our weapons to make sure that we will be the last team standing,” Pascua added. But Foton is definitely the team to reckon with. The Tornadoes, who made a late push in the eliminations before shocking top seed Philips Gold in the semifinals, have a triple tower in American imports Lindsay Stalzer, Katie Messing and national team stalwart Jaja Manabat. “Expect a different story in Game Three,” Foton Coach Villet Ponce-de Leon vowed. “We will put special premium on defense. We know that offense earns points, but defense wins games. We have to tighten up our blocking and backline defense if we want to win the crown.” Ponce-de Leon added that they need to have a lightning-quick start to throw Petron off its comfort zone. “In the past two games of the series we always started slow,” she said. “We need to jump the gun early because Petron is a veteran team.” “We were brought here by fate. We have a lot of luck in the elimination and semis so it’s time for us to work and do our part. We have to work hard to convert that luck into a title.” Lance Agcaoili

ALTHOUGH they got the job done with practically an all-Filipino crew in Game One, PLDT Home Ultera Coach Roger Gorayeb will still be banking on his American imports when they go up for the clincher in Sunday’s

Game Two of the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Reinforced Conference Finals at The Arena in San Juan City. Sareea Freeman and Victoria Hurtt did see action in the opener, but the former US National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I standouts continued to grope for form while trying to blend with the locals, forcing Gorayeb to lean on her tested local crew, led by Alyssa Valdez and Gretchel Soltones, on their way to pulling off a stirring come-from-behind 16-25,

20-25, 26-24, 29-27, 18-16 victory last Saturday. But Gorayeb believes the weeklong break has given Freeman and Hurtt

enough time to jell with the rest of the squad, further firming up their frontline rotation against the embattled Lady Troopers in the season-ending conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s and presented by PLDT Home Ultera. “All I want from them is to intimidate Army with their blocking and height,” PLDT coach Roger Gorayeb said. Hurtt scored eight hits in a three-set stint, while Freeman finished with five markers while seeing action in the latter part of the fifth set. But if his reinforcements fall short of expectations for the second time, Gorayeb said he can always go to his local aces again. In fact, the power-hitting Valdez unloaded 25 hits, including 22 on kills, majority of which delivered in the last three sets in her very first game in the conference backed by Mikasa and Accel. “Her [Valdez] presence alone inspires the players and also sows fear in the hearts of the opposing team, that’s how important she

is to this team,” said Gorayeb, referring to the reigning Open and Collegiate Conference Most Valuable Player (MVP). Valdez also got help from National Collegiate Athletic Association MVP Soltones, who stepped up all game to provide additional firepower for the Open Conference champions. “She stepped up for us, she came through when we needed it most,” said Gorayeb of Soltones, also his ace at San Sebastian. But Gorayeb believes Freeman and Hurtt will explode this time. “We expect Army to adjust so we will need them (Freeman and Hurt) to play strong for us to have a chance,” Gorayeb said.

THE National Finals of the 39th Milo Marathon goes to a new venue—Angeles City in

Pampanga—on Sunday. The country’s biggest and most prestigious footrace will see children, students, aspiring runners and professional athletes of all ages running around Clark Field. With the new venue, runners will get the chance to enjoy being away from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila—with less traffic and pollution. “The National Finals in Angeles is a fresh and exciting challenge our participants can look forward to,” Milo Sports Executive Andrew Neri said. “The Milo Marathon is all about bringing new and electrifying experiences to our runners. We believe that our runners will appreciate this change, and we cannot wait to see them in Clark on Sunday.” Rafael Poliquit and Mary Joy Tabal are defending their National Milo Marathon King and Queen crowns. Poliquit is focused at breaking the record time of five-time champion Eduardo

Buenavista, his senior officer in the Air Force of the Philippines and also his running idol. Tabal, on the other hand, is gunning to post a new record as she eyes a third-straight victory. The winners in the men’s and women’s races will each bag P150,000. The winners will also be sent by Milo to the United

States on an all-expense paid trips for a chance to run in the prestigious 2016 Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual marathon. To further inspire the home-grown 42K runners to push their limits, local runners who finish among the top winners of the open category will also win the prize for the local category corresponding to their respective ranks. Bonus prizes will also be given to the first runner who breaks the 2:15:00 invisible time barrier (P100,000), first male runner who breaks the 2:18:53 men’s course record of Buenavista (P50,000) and first female runner who breaks the 2:48:00 women’s course record of Tabal (P50,000).

SAN MIGUEL- Northern Cement came charging with 143 points on Friday to tie Manila Southwoods atop the

Fil Championship heap heading into the final round of the 66th Fil-Am Golf Invitational Championships at the Camp John Hay course in Baguio City. Southwoods settled for 140 points in the third round to find itself sharing the lead with its arch rival with a 395 aggregate. “It’s anybody’s game,” San Miguel-Northern Cement team captain Bobby Iñigo said. Rupert Zaragoza led San Miguel-Northern Cement’s drive with a six-under 63 for 42 points.

Eddie Bagtas played for the first time on Friday and scored a 39, while Jelbert Gamolo made 32 and JP de Claro a 30 to count for San Miguel-Northern Cement. Lanz Uy did not count with his 24. Southwoods, on the other hand, leaned on the 38 of Yuto Katsuragawa, 37 of Chepe Dulay, 35 of Quiban and 30 of Ryan Monsalve. Royal Northwoods scored 136 for 377 to be in third place, followed by a young Luisita squad which got 38 from Weiwei Gao for a day’s effort of 134 total and a 374 aggregate. “This will be an exciting fight,” Southwoods captain Thirdy Escaño said.

BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel Beer tries to cement its spot in the quarterfinal stage when it battles Blackwater in the

Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Saturday at the Angeles University Foundation Gymnasium in Pampanga. The Kings (4-4) and the Elite (1-6) face off in a crucial encounter at 5 p.m. Blackwater is hoping to end a four-game losing streak to get back on track for a slot in the next round. Both teams are coming off losses, with Ginebra yielding a 94-86 decision to Rain or Shine and Blackwater kneeling to GlobalPort, 105-120, putting the Elite to the brink of elimination. “Every game is crucial at this point of the conference. We’re right in the middle of the standings and on the brink of sixth place,” Ginebra Head Coach Tim Cone said. “Every one of our games has playoff implications, so we’ll have to step up and play. We’re still looking to smoothen our game and develop some consistency,” the two-time grand-slam mentor added. With the automatic semifinal seat already out of reach for the Kings, their next best goal is to land anywhere from No. 3 to No. 6, where they will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against teams which finished seventh to 10th place. After Blackwater, Ginebra will face NLEX and Talk ‘N Text, two squads that are also fighting for a better spot in the next round. The Elite of Head Coach Leo Isaac are fighting for their lives—a loss would dim their chances of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Right now, Blackwater is at 11th spot behind Star and Mahindra, which carry identical 2-6 records. At the bottom of the field is Meralco with 1-8 mark. The bottom two teams after the single-round elimination will crash out of the tournament. Joel Orellana

Pumaren brings credentials,experience to San Marcelino

By Joel Orellana

FRANZ PUMAREN’S era at Adamson University has officially begun . And Pumaren promised nothing but

a men’s basketball crown for the Soaring Falcons, who last won a University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) championship in 1977. Pumaren was formally introduced by Adamson University management as the new head coach of the San Marcelino-based dribblers on Friday, with school president Fr. Gregorio Banaga, CM, welcoming the five-time UAAP champion to their fold. “We’re happy and proud to confirm the announcement of Franz Pumaren as head coach of Adamson University men’s basketball team. We have full trust on him,” Banaga said. “We don’t expect instant transformation, winning the championship next year. If it happens, it will be a miracle. But we expect to have a highly competitive team, living up to his name,” he added. Pumaren, whose last stint with De La Salle was in 2009, admitted it will be tough to bring the Soaring Falcons back to the UAAP podium, especially with the kind of talent he inherited from Interim Coach Mike Fermin. But the championship will be his

only goal for the school that finished in the cellar in the last two seasons. “We don’t run away from  challenges. Each year we’re going to be competitive. I’m not going to be a hypocrite. We’re here to give Adamson University a championship,” said Pumaren, who is also bringing his former players Don Allado and Renren Ritualo to his coaching staff. “Rest assured, from our group, that we will give Adamson University the respect it deserves from the school, the league and the students,” Pumaren added. Adamson University finished 3-11 won-lost in Season 78. Pumaren, who was contracted to coach the Soaring Falcons for three seasons, will build a team around Pape Sarr and JD Tungcab. Pumaren was contracted to coach the Soaring Falcons for three seasons. Banaga was accompanied in the news conference by Fr. Aldrin Suan, CM, director for Athletics and Recreation, and Gilbert Cruz, team manager of the Soaring Falcons. Also present were officials from Akari and Metro Stonerich Corp. and Alliance, Adamson University’s sponsors for basketball. Fermin will remain with the coaching staff that will also include Jack Santiago and Tonichi Yturri.

Ginebra Kings eyequarterfinals slot

San Miguel forcesexciting showdown

Neri

FrANZ PUMAreN (center) receives a Soaring Falcon jacket from Aldrin Suan (left) CM, Adamson University director for Athletics and recreation, and school President Fr. Gregorio Banaga Jr., CM. NONIE REYES

eXPeCT another confrontation at the net between the Santiago sisters—Dindin (3)and Jaja. NONOY LACZA

NO-TOMORROW DUEL

SportsBusinessMirrorA8 | SAturdAy, december 5, [email protected]@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun Lomibao

FiFaiN SHaMBLES

WASHINGTON—As members of Fifa’s executive committee prepared to vote on reforming soccer’s scandal-plagued governing body, Swiss government agents swept into a luxury hotel before dawn for a

second wave of arrests on corruption charges in the wake of another sweeping indictment by US prosecutors. Five current and former members of Fifa’s ruling executive committee were among 16 additional men charged with bribes and kickbacks in a 92-count indictment unsealed on Thursday that took down an entire generation of soccer leaders in South America, a bedrock of Fifa and World Cup history. “The betrayal of trust set forth here is truly outrageous,” US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. “The scale of corruption alleged herein is unconscionable.” Led away by Swiss federal police at Zurich’s Baur au Lac hotel were Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay, president of the South American confederation (Conmebol), and Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, head of the North and Central American and Caribbean governing body (Concacaf). The arrests—at the same hotel where initial raid occurred in May—came just before Fifa’s executive committee met to approve reform and transparency measures long resisted by soccer’s top leaders but ones that gained traction in the aftermath of the scandal. Rafael Callejas, Honduras president from 1990-1994 and a current member of Fifa’s television and marketing committee, was indicted, as was Hector Trujillo, a judge on Guatemala’s Constitutional Court. Also among those charged was Ricardo Teixeira, the president of Brazilian soccer from 1994 to 2012. Teixeira is a former son-in-law of Joao Havelange, who was Fifa’s president from 1974 to 1998. In addition, guilty pleas were unsealed for former Concacaf President Jeffrey Webb and former executive committee member Luis Bedoya. The 236-page superseding indictment was handed up by a grand jury in New York on November 25. Eleven current and former members of Fifa’s executive committee have been charged in the investigation, which alleges hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal payments over the past quarter-century that involved the use of US banks and meetings on American soil. The last three presidents of Concacaf and Conmebol have been indicted. “The message from this announcement should be clear to every culpable individual who remains in the shadows, hoping to evade this ongoing investigation: You will not wait us out and you will not escape our focus,” Lynch said. Honduras said later Thursday that the United States had requested Callejas’s extradition and the Central American nation would cooperate with Washington. “Nobody is above the law,” President Juan Orlando Her nandez’s government said in a statement. At a news conference in the capital, Tegucigalpa, Callejas said his lawyers were studying the accusations and considering what steps to take. “I will fight unwaveringly to clear up my legal situation in the United States,” the former leader said. Fourteen men were charged in May, when four additional guilty pleas were unsealed, with prosecutors alleging bribes involving the media and marketing rights for the Copa America, the Concacaf Gold Cup, World Cup qualifiers and other competitions. Eight more guilty pleas were unsealed on Thursday, including three by men indicted in May: Webb, marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco and Jose Margulies, described by prosecutors as an intermediary. Also pleading guilty were former Colombian Federation President Luis Bedoya and former Chilean Federation President Sergio Jadue. Webb, a Cayman Islands citizen who has been released on bail and is largely restricted to his home in Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, three counts of wire-fraud conspiracy and three counts of money-laundering conspiracy. He agreed to forfeit more than $6.7 million. One woman pleaded guilty. Zorana Danis, cofounder and owner of New Jersey-based International Soccer Marketing Inc., admitted to wire-fraud conspiracy and filing false tax returns, and agreed to forfeit $2 million. Fifa President Sepp Blatter, elected on May 29 to a fifth term running through 2019, said on June 2 he would leave office when a successor is chosen. Blatter was provisionally suspended by Fifa on October 8 for 90 days, as part of a separate investigation into a $2-million payment in 2011 to European soccer head Michel Platini, who hoped to succeed him when Fifa’s 209 member-nations vote on February 26. Blatter also is under Swiss criminal proceedings. Blatter and Platini face lifetime bans from soccer at ethics hearings expected this month. Lynch would not respond directly to Blatter’s allegation that the inquiry resulted from US anger at losing to Qatar when the executive committee chose the 2022 World Cup host. “I think he’s probably spending a lot of time reading

through” the indictment, she said during a news conference.

The indictments list a who’s who of soccer executives. “We still have a number of avenues under investigation,” Lynch said. Among those charged were Marco Polo del Nero, a Brazilian who served on the executive committee from 2012 until last week; Rafael Salguero, a Guatemalan who left the executive committee in May; former South American confederation Secretary-General Eduardo Deluca; former Peru soccer Federation President Manuel Burga; and current Bolivian Soccer President Carlos Chaves, already jailed in his own country for embezzlement. Napout and Hawit opposed extradition to the US at Zurich police hearings, Switzerland’s justice ministry said in a statement. “According to the US arrest requests, they are suspected of accepting bribes of millions of dollars,” the ministry said. “Some of the offenses were agreed and prepared in the USA. Payments were also processed via US banks.” The bribes are linked to marketing rights for the Copa America—including the 2016 edition hosted in the US—and World Cup qualifying matches. Hawit also was charged with attempting to obstruct the grand jury investigation by attempting in July to corruptly influence testimony before the grand jury. The government alleged that after he was indicted in May, marketing executive Aaron

Davidson alerted coconspirators to the possibility their conversations would be recorded and Hawit directed a coconspirator to create sham contracts to conceal bribe payments. Prosecutors said there was an argument over the failure of Fabio Tordin, a marketing executive who has pleaded guilty, to pay a $5,000 bribe to a Salvadoran soccer official as part of El Salvador’s appearance at an exhibition game in Washington, D.C., this spring. The Justice Department said the 12 people and two companies already convicted have agreed to forfeit more than $190 million, and also said more than $100 million in addition has been restrained in the US and abroad. The US has sought to restrain assets in 13 nations. Once again, Fifa was shaken ahead of a key meeting of its international leaders, who were set to approve expanding the World Cup field from 32 to 40 starting in 2026, but then put off that decision. The meeting did support some reforms in a process that responds to the dual American and Swiss federal investigations. “Events underscore the necessity to establish a complete program of reforms for Fifa today,” said interim Fifa President Issa Hayatou, who stepped in when Blatter was suspended. Modernizing changes include taking many decision-making powers from the executive panel, to be renamed the Fifa Council with more men and women members. Future presidents and council

members will be limited to 12 years in office and face stricter integrity checks. Fifa’s 209 members are to vote on the changes on the same day they elect a new president. Fernando Sarney, a Fifa executive committee member from Brazil, said the early-morning arrests tainted the meeting. “It was like someone had died, that was the atmosphere inside,” Sarney said. “Everybody was surprised, the feeling was like it’s happening again, that it’s something we think is personal.” The last six months have been the most turbulent period of Blatter’s 17-year reign as Fifa president and have damaged the governing body’s billion-dollar annual business. Asked about reports of a $100-million loss in 2015, acting Secretary-General Markus Kattner declined to say how much of Fifa’s $1.5-billion reserves have been spent on legal bills and making up a shortfall from a failure to sign new World Cup sponsors. “It is clear it’s not an easy year,” Kattner said at a news conference. “We had unforeseen additional costs, and also on the revenue side some challenges to cope with.” Blatter was re-elected Fifa president on May 29, two days after the first raid in Zurich by Swiss police resulted in seven officials arrested and criminal proceedings opening regarding “systematic and deep-rooted” corruption in soccer. AP

‘DADDY MADe SOMe MiSTAKeS’

MIAMI—Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, including two free throws with 1.5 seconds left, as the Miami Heat topped the Oklahoma City Thunder,

97-95, on Thursday in a wild, back-and-forth game that featured 38 lead changes. In Wade’s 13-season career with the Heat, no Miami game ever had more than 31 lead changes. Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Goran Dragic added 14 and Josh McRoberts scored 12 for Miami, which survived when Russell Westbrook’s three-point try from the right wing bounced off the backboard as time expired. Westbrook and Kevin Durant each scored 25 for Oklahoma City, which missed a pair of three pointers in the final 10 seconds. Durant missed a three-pointer and Bosh grabbed the rebound, calling time with 7.7 seconds remaining. Denver’s Will Barton came off the bench to score

22 points and Danilo Gallinari added another 21 as the Nuggets stopped an eight-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors, 106-105. Denver avoided its first nine-game losing streak since the 2002-2003 season, when it dropped 14 in a row. Joffrey Lauvergne had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who made all 18 of their foul shots. DeMar DeRozan scored a Raptors’ season-high 34 points and Kyle Lowry had 16. In Mexico City Isaiah Thomas tormented his former team, scoring 21 points and leading the Boston Celtics over the Sacramento Kings, 114-97, in the National Basketball Association’s third regular-season game played in Mexico. Thomas, who played for the Kings from 2011 to 2014, scored 19 points in the first half. He shot eight-for-14 overall and had nine assists as the Celtics won for the

fourth time in five games. Kelly Olynyk added 21 points for the Celtics, while Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each had 20. Rudy Gay scored 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins added 16 for the Kings. The Orlando Magic downed the Utah Jazz, 103-94, for their fifth straight win and best streak since January 2012 after Tobias Harris scored 17 points and had seven rebounds. Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points, shooting seven-for-nine on three-pointers as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 103-83, while Portland’s Damian Lillard had 26 points and backcourt partner CJ McCollum added 21 as the Trail Blazers ended Indiana’s six-game winning streak, 123-111. AP

Wade, Heat melt Thunder; Celtics triumph in Mexico

LiNDSeY VONN sits with Tiger Woods and his children, Sam and Charlie, during the Par 3 contest at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in April. AP

NASSAU, Bahamas—Tiger Woods says he has a “fantastic” relationship with his ex-wife, and he has taken steps to explain to his two children what happened to their

marriage. In a rare and extensive interview with Time magazine, Woods also shared the same sentiments about his future that he did on Tuesday at the tournament he is hosting in the Bahamas. He still wants to play golf at the highest level, though he is resigned that it might not happen if the nerve damage in his back doesn’t allow for it. The world’s former No. 1 player was interviewed by Canadian golf author Lorne Rubenstein at Woods’s new restaurant in Florida. They covered topics ranging from his greatest joy on the golf course to chipping sessions with Seve Ballesteros to his family. Woods, who turns 40 on December 30, says he has told eight-year-old Sam and six-year-old Charlie that his parents don’t live in the same house because “Daddy made some mistakes.” “I just want them to understand before they get to the Internet age and they log on to something or have their friends tell them something,” Woods said. “I want it to come from me so that when they come of age, I’ll just tell them the real story. “And so, that’s part of the initiative—’Hey, it was my fault, too. I was to blame’—and so I’m taking initiative with the kids,” he said. “I’d rather have it come from me as the source. And I can tell them absolutely everything so they hear it from me.” In the meantime, Woods said he is stressing to his children that they have two parents who love them. His marriage crumbled at the end of 2009, when he was exposed for having multiple extramarital affairs, and Elin Nordegren divorced him the following August. Woods endured leg injuries in 2011, got back to No. 1 in the world with eight victories in 2012 and 2013, and has been in a free fall because of back injuries since. He had surgery to alleviate a pinched nerve the week before the 2014 Masters and has had two more procedures in the same spot over the last three months. “One, I don’t want to have another procedure,” Woods told the magazine. “And two, even if I don’t come back and I don’t play again, I still want to have a quality of life with my kids. I started to lose that with the other surgeries.” Asked what he would have done differently before and after the scandal in his personal life, Woods said he would have had a more open, honest relationship with his wife. “Having the relationship that I have now with her is fantastic,” he said. “She’s one of my best friends. We’re able to pick up the phone, and we talk to each other all the time. We both know that the most important things in our lives are our kids. I wish I would have known that back then.” Woods last played on August 23, when he tied for 10th and thought the pain he experienced was from his hip. Instead, it was a recurrence of his back problems. The uncertainty of his health has led to plenty of speculation that his career might be over. “Put it this way. It’s not what I want to have happen, and it’s not what I’m planning on having happen,” Woods said. “But if it does, it does. I’ve reconciled myself to it.” AP