BusinessMirror January 9, 2016

however, later clarified by a transla-tor from his ranks.

The Busan-led consortium— composed of Edison Development Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMI Corp. Inc. and Castan Corp.—was supposed to take over the upkeep requirements of the MRT on January 6. “It was not really to negotiate

the contract, more on to clarify,” Abaya said. “It is in that process of communication that understanding took awhile.”

But with the signing of the agreement and the takeover of the maintenance provider, which has been operating and maintaining the Busan Metro since 1999, operations of the MRT are expected to improve

in the coming months. “We are one step closer to hav-ing a safer and more reliable MRT 3 system with our new world-class rail maintenance service provider. With the operator of the Busan rail-way network in South Korea sharing their technical expertise, the rid-ing public can expect an increase

C A

C A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 47.0700 n JAPAN 0.4003 n UK 68.8305 n HK 6.0703 n CHINA 7.1395 n SINGAPORE 32.8564 n AUSTRALIA 33.0525 n EU 51.4899 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.5403 Source: BSP (8 January 2016 )

ABAYA: “We are one step closer to

having a safer and more reliable MRT 3 system with our

new world-class rail maintenance-service

provider.”

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirrorBusinessMirrorBusinessMirrorMEDIA PARTNER OF THE YEAR

2015 ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

UNITED NATIONSMEDIA AWARD 2008

www.businessmirror.com.ph n Saturday, January 9, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 93 P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK

PDIC reform bill readyfor Aquino’s signature

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BILL SKIPS BICAM AS HOUSE OPTS TO ADOPT SENATE VERSION HSBC: PHL TO OUTPACENEIGHBORS’ GROWTH,BUT STILL MISS TARGET

DOTC, Busan Transport ink ₧3.8-B MRT 3 maintenance contract

Now in the Philippines

BusinessMirrorBusinessMirrorOut in January | Free to BusinessMirror subscribers

‘DEMOCRATS FURIOUS OVER OBAMAADMINISTRATION DEPORTATIONS

SENIORS WANT Q.C. GOVT TO GIVE THEIR I.R.A. SHARE

S “HSBC,” A

B2-4

The [email protected] Saturday, January 9, 2016

Rep. Luis Gutierrez said President Barack Obama risks all the goodwill he has built up over the last year through his executive actions spar-ing millions from deportation, ac-tions now tied up in court. And he complained that the administration did not alert congressional allies be-fore conducting the raids, which � rst became public when � e Washing-ton Post published a story about the plans just before Christmas.

Gutierrez and other lawmakers raised those complaints and others during a meeting with administration o� cials, including Cecilia Muñoz, di-rector of the Domestic Policy Council.

“In the Hispanic Caucus there’s a real sense of outrage,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said he pointed out to Muñoz that Republican presiden-tial candidate Donald Trump, run-ning on an anti-immigrant plat-form, has praised the raids—and

taken credit for them.“Look, what I said to her is, I said,

‘� ink about it a moment. Donald Trump is praising your public policy on immigration. You should need no further evidence of how wrong it is,’” Gutierrez said.

Separately, at a news conference in Las Vegas, Senate Minority Lead-er Harry Reid said he’d contacted the Homeland Security Department “to have them just back o� till we can � nd out a better way to do this.”

A White House spokesman, Peter Boogaard, declined to comment be-yond a statement on Monday issued by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. In that statement, John-son said that 121 people with � nal orders of removal, who had exhaust-ed their legal claims and remedies, had been targeted for removal.

“� is should come as no surprise. I have said publicly for months that individuals who constitute enforce-ment priorities, including families and unaccompanied children, will be removed,” Johnson said.

Despite the small numbers in-volved Democrats say the publicity around the holiday-season raids has

reverberated throughout immigrant communities. And several of the im-migrants have subsequently gotten their removals put on hold, prompt-ing Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, to argue that they need more lawyers and more help.

“We need to obey our laws. But we also want to, in obeying our laws, make sure that the process is fair to people,” Pelosi said on � ursday.

� e Center for American Prog-ress, traditionally a close adminis-tration ally, also released a statement criticizing the raids.

� e planned deportations come as administration o� cials worry about another surge of Central American women, children and families at the southern border as people � ee vio-lence and persecution in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

A similar situation consumed the attention of Congress and the ad-ministration in the summer of 2014, though Congress never acted on an emergency budget request and policy changes sought by the administration. � e crisis subsequently receded from public view as the number of arrivals dropped, but they are back on the rise.

Democrats said administration o� cials pointed to that increase in justifying the raids.

“� is was an announcement to send a message to Central America: Don’t come here,” said Rep. Zoe Lof-gren, Democrat-California. “But if your mother, your father and your brother have just been murdered, the message is not going to do it and that is the problem.” AP

Democrats furious over Obama administration deportations

WASHINGTON—Congressional Democrats confronted White

House offi cials on � ursday over holiday-season raids seeking Central American immigrants for deportation, accusing the administration of spreading terror through immigrant communities.

PALO ALTO, California—With extrem-ists � nding fertile ground for recruit-ment online, the White House is

dispatching top national security o� cials to Silicon Valley to seek the tech industry’s help in disrupting the Islamic State (IS) group and other terrorists.

At a high-level session on Friday, indus-try leaders and government o� cials will discuss ways to use technology to stop ter-rorists from radicalizing people online and spurring them to violence, according to a meeting agenda obtained by The Associ-ated Press.

But it’s unclear what will come of the meeting: While tech industry leaders say they want to be good citizens, they don’t want to undercut free speech or be viewed as government agents. And tech leaders have clashed with the Obama administra-tion before over encryption of online data and messages.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Fed-eral Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and Director of National Intelli-gence James Clapper are slated to attend the session, along with President Barack Obama’s chief of sta� and his top counter-terrorism adviser.

Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and LinkedIn are sending represen-tatives. While it appeared the government wants the companies to send their top ex-ecutives, there were indications some were still deciding late on Thursday who to send, and it couldn’t be learned on Thursday if any CEOs will be attending.

The meeting on Friday in San Jose, California, comes as the Obama adminis-tration tries to beef up cooperation with social-media groups and online compa-nies whose platforms are often used by extremists to attract followers, disseminate their message and organize attacks.

Obama said in a recent speech that he planned to “urge high-tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice.”

At Friday’s session, government o� -cials plan to brief industry leaders on how terrorists use technology, including en-cryption. They also hope to discuss ways to make it harder for terrorists to use the Inter-net for recruiting and mobilizing followers.

Also on the agenda is a discussion of how the government and tech companies can “help others to create, publish, and am-plify alternative content that would under-cut” the IS.

Another goal is to identify ways for law enforcement to better identify ter-rorists online and stop them from carry-ing out attacks.

Some of those goals may lead to thorny discussions. Leading Internet companies say they remove violent or threatening content that violates their policies, but they are reluctant to infringe on free speech. They also cite technical challenges to mon-itoring or policing the vast mountains of messages, photos and other material that are posted on popular online sites.

And particularly after the revelations two years ago about widespread data-gathering by the National Security Agency, tech companies are concerned about making sure that customers around the world don’t see them as agents of the US government.

The government, however, says that digital platforms are increasingly becom-ing tools of radicalization used by the IS, a group Obama recently denounced as “bunch of killers with good social media.”

Slick online magazines, highly pro-duced videos and social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, have all played roles in the group’s propaganda machine.

After last month’s shooting in San Bernardino, California, Facebook found messages by 29-year-old Tashfeen Malik around the time of the attack that included a pledge of allegiance to the IS’s leader, although there were no indications IS had directed the attack.

Confronting the IS on the Internet has raised di� cult questions for US policy-makers about how to balance counterter-rorism against privacy, civil liberties and the hands-o� tradition that has fueled the Internet’s growth.

Especially thorny is the federal govern-ment’s desire for a way to circumvent en-cryption technology that individuals use to protect their privacy but that terrorists can exploit to keep their actions hidden from law enforcement.

In Congress, lawmakers have intro-duced legislation requiring social-media companies to report online to law enforce-ment any terrorist activity they detect, such as planning, recruiting or distribution of terrorist material. AP

US recruits tech leaders to help disrupt IS group

People target for deportation

121

PARIS—A man wearing a fake explo-sives vest and wielding a butcher knife was shot to death by police

outside a Paris police station on Thursday, jolting an already anxious French capi-tal with a new dose of fear as the nation grimly marked a year of terror that started with the newsroom massacre at the Char-lie Hebdo satirical newspaper.

The assailant—who shouted “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great!”—as he waved the knife at o� cers, was carrying a docu-ment with an emblem of the Islamic State (IS) group and “an unequivocal claim of responsibility in Arabic,” the prosecutor’s o� ce said.

The extremist group claimed respon-sibility for the January 7, 2015, attack at Charlie Hebdo and on a kosher grocery store three days later that killed 17 people. The IS group also claimed the November

13 attacks on Paris cafés, restaurants, a sports stadium and a music hall that killed 130 people.

Thursday’s attempted attack shortly before noon in Paris’s multiethnic Goutte d’Or neighborhood came almost one year to the minute after two Islamic ex-tremists burst into the o� ces of Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people. Just moments earlier, President François Hollande had paid respects to fallen security forces—three of whom were killed last year in terrorist violence—saluting their valor in protecting “this way of life, the one that terrorists want to attack.”

The fallen were killed “so that we can live free,” Hollande said, describing the November attacks as “acts of war.”

But there was no reprieve for France.Scores of police descended on Thurs-

day on the northern neighborhood that

was the site of the attempted attack, blocking it o� to pedestrians and order-ing shops to close.

Metro stations in the area, which is not far from the Montmartre district that is home to the Sacre Coeur Cathedral, were closed and buses halted, leaving scores of residents, including many elderly, to walk long distances only to � nd they could not get into their homes.

“It’s like the Charlie Hebdo a� air isn’t over,” said Nora Borrias, a 27-year-old wait-ing for her barricaded street to reopen. She said she no longer feels a sense of safety.

Video shot from a window above the station and provided to The Associated Press showed the suspect’s body lying on the ground in a pool of blood as a sni� er dog was called in to check the body, along with a bomb-detecting robot.

More video aired later on iTele TV

showed a police explosives specialist cut-ting open the dead man’s jacket to check for live explosives.

Alexis Mukenge, who witnessed the shooting, told iTele that police shouted, “Stop! Move back!” before � ring twice at the man, who immediately fell to the ground.

Authorities did not publicly identify the suspect. However, a French secu-rity o� cial said police were “working on the hypothesis” that the assailant is a 20-year-old Moroccan who was involved in a minor 2013 robbery in the southern Var region.

The o� cial, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not autho-rized to discuss the case, said that while the � ngerprints of the dead attacker matched those of the robbery suspect, who identi� ed himself at the time as Ali Sallah of Casablanca, the assailant in

Thursday’s attack appeared older than 20.He said Sallah, who had been in France

illegally, was ordered to leave the country after the 2013 incident. Investigators were trying to determine if and when the man had returned to Paris.

Earlier, the Paris prosecutor’s anti-terrorism unit said it had opened an in-vestigation into Thursday’s attempted attack. Besides the IS emblem and claim of responsibility in Arabic, a cell phone was also found on the suspect’s body, the prosecutor’s o� ce said in a state-ment. It did not elaborate on the claim of responsibility.

France declared a state of emergency after the November attacks, and thou-sands of security forces have spread out around the country, concentrating espe-cially on places of worship and other sen-sitive sites. AP

Man in fake explosives vest killed amid high Paris tension

REP. Luis Gutierrez (center), Democrat-Illinois, joined by Rep. Juan Vargas (left), Democrat-California, and Rep. David Cicilline, Democrat-Rhode Island, leads a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in this January 2015 � le photo. Congressional Democrats are denouncing the White House over recent deportations of Central American immigrants. AP/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

[email protected]

Seniors want QC govt to give their IRA shareSENIOR citizens in Quezon City

will formally seek from the local government their share

of the annual 1-percent internal-revenue allotment (IRA) as soon as city officials become ready for a discussion.

TimeBusinessMirror

OurSaturday, January 9, 2016 • Editor: Efleda P. CamposB4

The seniors will use their part of the city IRA to purchase their own transport vehicle, as well as medical goods, Elpidio A. Suniega, Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (Osca) technical consultant, noted in a recent interview.

“We observed seniors in Que-zon City are left behind by their counterparts in other cities in Metro Manila in terms of services,” Suniega said.

Quezon City seniors based their observation on the pre-paredness and logistics of seniors from other cities who attended a seminar on active aging sponsored by Unilab in Mandaluyong last November 18, he said.

Their counterparts in other

cities showcased products in that event, while Quezon City seniors were not aware of the product ex-hibit component of the seminar, Suniega added.

Seniors from other cities were transported to and from the semi-nar in comfortable vehicles while the Quezon City contingent took public-utility transport to the venue, he said.

Their service vehicles are very nice, Suniega said. All those things would not be possible if they are not supported by their local governments.

Suniega said senior citizens in the city’s six congressional dis-tricts, especially the poor, need free pneumonia and flu vaccines.

Rosita A. Lacson, Southeast Dis-trict 2 senior citizens president, said free flu vaccines should be received by seniors yearly, and pneumonia vaccine every five years.

“It has to be consistent to be ef-fective,” she said.

“We do not blame the Mayor’s office since its budget is for the same office only,” Suniega said.

Mayor Herbert Bautista, how-ever, complained of disunity among seniors in Quezon City, Suniega said.

Lacson denied it, saying they are generally organized, except for a small number.

In an interview last year, Rene Altuna, Osca Quezon City legal of-ficer, admitted conflict of interests between two factions of seniors in Barangay Tatalon.

Barangay officials failed to en-courage both parties to come to terms, he said.

Osca-Quezon City saw the root cause of the misunderstanding to be a political one, Altuna said.

The Quezon City seniors should demonstrate unity, through which their shared aspirations may be heard and achieved, Suniega said.

Although seniors are receiving 1 percent of the barangay IRA,

SENIOR citizens taking their concerns to the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs at the Quezon City Hall. OLIVER SAMSON

they are yet to receive the 1-per-cent city IRA, Lacson said.

They will purchase their own bus and get medical goods and services once they start receiving the 1-percent city IRA, she said.

Lacson said much of the IRA

will go to senior citizens since they greatly outnumber persons with disabilities in the city.

Q ue z on C it y rece ived a n IRA amounting to P2.8 billion, the largest among Metro Ma-nila cities, for 2013, the Pinoy

Governance web site shows. Under Republic Act 9994, oth-

erwise known as The Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, se-niors are entitled to a part of the 1 percent of the local govern-ment IRA.

LEGAZPI CITY—At least 250 recipients of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

(4Ps) of the Department of So-c ia l Welfare and Development (DSWD) and 240 women belong-ing to the poor sector in this city have started embarking on their microenterprises.

These individuals were trained by the Entrepinay Legazpi City Chapter on making powder soap and fabric conditioner, as well as food products like puto pao, siomai and polvoron.

The training also had values for-mation, basic cash management and simple bookkeeping as components.

The participants were divided into eight groups, with about 30 persons for each session.

Aside from the training, the par-ticipants also received starter kits, like materials and equipment, in making the products which were distributed before Christmas.

The project is part of the Ad-dressing basic needs through ini-tiatives that provide ppportunities and viable economic resources that yield income (Antipoverty) Pro-

gram of the Legazpi City Poverty Reduction Action Team (LCPRAT), conceived and spearheaded by the Entrepinay Legazpi City Chapter with the assistance of the Legazpi City government, the DSWD and the Department of the Interior and Local Government under its Grass-roots Participatory Budgeting Pro-cess (formerly Bottom-Up Budgeting System) of the government under the administration of President Aquino.

It is envisioned to provide live-l ihood for the beneficiar ies to give them a source of income or at least save on the cost of buying these products.

The DSWD provided P2 mil-lion for the project, while the Le-gazpi City government contributed P400,000 as its counterpart.

“As we all know, soap is one of our basic needs. We need to wash our hands as often as necessary. We have to wash our dishes and utensils at least three times a day. We have to wash family members’ clothes, sometimes daily,” said Irene A. Sol-mirano, Entrepinay president.

B u s i n e s s e s t a b l i s h m e n t s ,

especially hotels and restaurants, Solmirano sa id , need soap to maintain cleanliness.

“And, of course, food is indispens-able from our tables,” she added.

Antipoverty is a joint project of Entrepinay-Legazpi Chapter, as the main proponent, and five oth-er civil-society organizations that are members of the 2014 LCPRAT, namely Legazpi City Senior Citizens Organization Inc., Legazpi City Slum Dwellers Federation Inc., Legazpi City Finest Retirees Association Inc., Legazpi City Women’s Federation Inc. and Bicol Consortium for Com-munity Development Inc.

This project aims to contribute to the overall national goal of reducing poverty from 26 percent to 16 per-cent by 2016.

The Entrepinay-Legazpi will con-duct a regular monitoring of the groups to guide them on their re-spective selected endeavors.

It further plans to form the train-ees into a cooperative and conduct business clinics in 2016 with the support of the DSWD and the city government of Legazpi. PNA

B C M-CCorrespondent

IN Makati City senior citizens had one reason to be happy last Christmas.

The senior citizens of the city government of Makati, through the Elderly Welfare Section of the Makati Social Welfare De-par tment (MSWD),   star ted last December 2 the distribu-tion of the year-end cash gift for BLU Card holders in the city, which was conducted until December 12, 2015.

In a report to Mayor Kid Peña, MSWD officer in charge Remedios Ramos showed that some of the 70,203 qualified beneficiaries received their cash gifts starting December 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, at designated venues.

Ramos said the qualified bene-ficiaries received half of the yearly cash gift for specific age groups, which amounted to P1,000 for those aged 60 to 69 years old;

P1,500 for those aged 70 to 79 years old; and P2,000 for those aged 80 and above.

The cash gift for all age groups is given in two equal installments every June and December.

For this year the total amount of the year-end cash gift is P82,453,000.

As of December 10, the distri-bution of cash gifts for Barangay Poblacion happened in Makati High School Main from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In Barangay Urdaneta, the distribution took place at their covered court at the same time.

Last December 9 BLU Card holders from Barangay Pio del Pilar claimed their cash gifts at Pio del Pilar Elementary School.

The covered courts of baran-gays Dasmariñas and San Lorenzo will be the venue of the cash-gift distribution last December 11, while recipients from Magallanes claimed their cash gifts at their barangay hall.

Last December 12 also from

9 a.m. to 3 p.m., distribution was done at Pembo Elementary School for Barangay Pembo, and Rizal Elementary School for Barangay Rizal.

BLU Card holders from baran-gays La Paz, San Isidro, Valenzu-ela, Santa Cruz, East Rembo and Cembo received their cash gifts last December 2.

Beneficiaries from baran-gays Northside, Pinagkaisa-han, Southside, Pitogo, South Cembo, Comembo and Guada-lupe Viejo got their cash gifts on December 3.

On December 4 cash gifts were distributed in barangays San Antonio, Palanan, Bangkal and Forbes Park, while recipi-ents from barangays Carmona, Kasilawan, Tejeros, Singkamas and West Rembo got theirs on December 5.

In Barangay Bel-Air, the dis-tribution took place last De-cember 7, and last December 8, cash gifts were distributed at

barangays Olympia and Guada-lupe Nuevo.

In claiming the cash gift, ben-eficiaries unable to come in per-son sent their duly authorized representative whose name ap-pears at the back of the BLU Card to the Cash Division at the third floor of Makati City Hall. 

The representative should be able to present a medical certificate as proof of the ben-eficiaries’ condition, whether bedridden, disabled or confined in a hospital.

Authorization forms are avail-able at the MSWD office at the fifth floor of Makati City Hall. Senior citizens who are out-of-town or abroad during the dis-tribution of the cash gifts are not entitled to claim the said benefit, and authorization presented by a representative was not honored by the Cash Division.

For 2015 the city govern-ment allotted P194 million for this program.

Makati City gave its senior citizens ₧82.453-million gift for Christmas

250 4Ps beneficiaries in Legazpi start small businesses

GRANDMA’S SPICE BULBS Despite her age, Linda Balberan, 74, keeps her spice stall at the Santiago City Public Market in Isabela abundant with garlic. She claims she sent her kids to school selling the popular bulbs in the last six decades. LEONARDO PERANTE II

WASHINGTON—People who hold negative beliefs about aging are more likely to

have brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a study led by Yale University said on Monday.

In contrast, combating negative beliefs about aging, such as elderly people are decrepit, could potentially offer a way to reduce the rapidly rising rate of Alzheimer’s disease, a devastat-ing neurodegenerative disorder that causes dementia in up to 35 million people worldwide.

The study, published online in the US journal Psychology and Aging and led by Becca Levy, associate professor of public health and of psychology at Yale, is the first to link the brain changes related to Alzheimer’s dis-ease to a cultural-based psychosocial risk factor.

“We believe it is the stress gener-ated by the negative beliefs about aging that individuals sometimes in-ternalize from society that can result in pathological brain changes,” Levy said in a statement.

Levy and her colleagues examined healthy, dementia-free subjects from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, initiated in 1958 and the

longest-running scientific study of aging in the US.

Based on magnetic resonance im-aging scans, they found that partici-pants who held more negative beliefs about aging showed a greater decline in the volume of the hippocampus, a part of the brain crucial to memory. Reduced hippocampus volume is an indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.

Then researchers used brain au-topsies to examine two other indica-tors of Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid plaques, which are protein clusters that build up between brain cells; and neurofibrillary tangles, which are twisted strands of protein that build up within brain cells.

Participants holding more negative beliefs about aging had a significantly greater number of plaques and tan-gles. In both stages of the study, the researchers adjusted for other known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, in-cluding health and age.

“Although the findings are con-cerning, it is encouraging to realize that these negative beliefs about aging can be mitigated and positive beliefs about aging can be reinforced, so that the adverse impact is not in-evitable,” Levy added. PNA/Xinhua

STUDY SHOWS NEGATIVE BELIEFS ABOUT AGING LINKED TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

OUR TIME B4

WORLD B24

B B C

THE Philippines, according to HSBC, will keep its billing as one of the region’s bright-est growth stories this year, although the

government’s ambitious growth target for this year will still be out of reach, as more investments are needed to support the country’s economic ac-celeration, HSBC said.

In its most recent report on Asia’s 2016 prospects, HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra said the Philip-pine economy is expected to grow by a mere 5.7 percent in 2016, below the government forecast of 7 percent to 8 percent.  But at an expansion rate of 5.7 percent, the country is seen to outpace most of the countries in the region this year, including peers such as Indonesia, which is seen to grow 4.7 percent; Malaysia, 3.6 percent; Sin-gapore, 1.8 percent; and Thailand, 3.1 percent.

“The domestic economy is firing on several cyl-inders, namely, private consumption, government spending and private investment; shrugging off a drag from exports,” Incalcaterra said, adding that the economy is relatively less vulnerable to the weak external factors weighing down growth in much of the region.  The projected growth in 2016 is a touch higher than the bank’s previous forecast of 5.6 percent.  “Consumer spending is supported by remittance inflows, which continue to grow at robust levels in peso terms—despite some recent volatility in headline USD growth. Moreover, private consump-tion is buttressed by better employment opportuni-ties, partly on the back of government spending,” Incalcaterra said.

Private consumption accounts for more than 70 percent of nominal GDP of the Philippines.

“Private investment has also displayed a steady trend in recent quarters. However, we tend to see a slight deceleration in investment right before an elec-tion due to uncertainty surrounding the outcome— which isn’t missing this time around as the race heats up,” he added.

The domestic economy is firing on

several cylinders, namely, private consumption, government spending and private investment.”

—Incalcaterra

B L S. M

TR ANSPORTATION Secre-tary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya reported that his office has

signed on Thursday the P3.8-billion deal with the new Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 maintenance contrac-tor Busan Transport Corp. “We have signed the three-year

maintenance  on Thursday,” the transport chief said. “There was never a walkout; the contract sign-ing was delayed by a bit because of a language barrier.” Abaya explained that the South Korean train experts who came to the Philippines for the contract signing had initial reservations on the wording of the contract. It was,

B B F

THE legislative leaders reached a consensus to adopt the Senate version of the Philippine Deposit

Insurance Corp. (PDIC) reform bill to expedite its submission for signing into law as soon as Congress reconvenes on January 19.

‘PAHALIK’ Devotees line up during the traditional pahalik on the eve of the Feast of the Black Nazarene at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila. Millions of devotees are expected to join the feast today. Story on A6. ALYSA SALEN

Often, it’s like telling the

PDIC to step into a crematorium.”

—Osmeña on the current setup

        Sen. Sergio R. Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks and Financial Institutions, said  on Friday their House counterparts opted simply to adopt the Senate version of the measure that, Osmeña said, “aims to make the

PDIC more effective in carrying out its mandate to protect depositors.”

Asked to elaborate, he said that under the existing regime, PDIC is au-thorized to step into ailing banks and financial institutions “only when the

damage is too serious.” Often, Osmeña told the B-M, “it’s like telling the PDIC to step into a crematorium,” where assets that it could have used to service the depositors’ needs have been burned or dissipated. The PDIC bill will allow the agency to step in “much earlier”.

in the number of running trains and the efficiency of operations,” Abaya said.

Under the agreement, Busan will undertake maintenance works of the rolling stock and signaling sys-tem, the most critical maintenance discipline, starting on Saturday. Already, 12 qualified technical ex-perts, including rolling stock, sig-naling and track specialists, from Busan have started to carry out the necessary activities for transition and system assessment. Included in the contract is the general overhaul of 43 coaches over the course of the agreement period, and the total replacement of the sig-naling system within two years.

New trains to start working by end-MarchDURING the same briefing, the trans-port chief also announced the arrival of another train car for the MRT. This, however, will only be utilized on or be-fore March 31, as it needs to be linked with two other light rail vehicles to be configured with the design of the train line’s stations. “The second Dalian train is here, and so before the end of the month, we should have it cleared from Cus-toms. It is still not deployable, as it needs two more to make a set. Hopefully, we can have a new train set working within the first quarter this year,” he said. Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. won the project in 2013, and was supposed to deliver 48 new cars starting end-2015. The stag-gered delivery of the actual coaches, however, was delayed by a quarter. Once the 48 new train cars come in, MRT 3’s trips per hour will in-crease from 20 to 24, which will

translate to a 60-percent rise in the number of passengers per hour per direction.

This means that there will be 37,824 passengers who can avail themselves of the rail service every hour heading towards one direction. Currently, only about 23,640 people ride an MRT service per way every hour. But that number still depends on how many trains are running that day. “The 48 trains should be com-pleted by February 2017, with the frequency of the delivery pegged at four light-rail vehicles per month,” Abaya said.

The MRT is in a chronic state of decay, with the 16-year-old trains already maxed out of their rated capacities and the rails already ex-periencing difficulties in handling almost 560,000 passengers per day.

The state wants to address this problem through a P9.7-billion in-vestment plan. Private groups, how-ever, are proposing a different scheme to modernize the train system. The group of businessman Robert John L. Sobrepeña is pro-posing to do a “quick fix” solution to make the train system safe for public transport.

Together with foreign firms Sumi-tomo Corp. of Japan and Globalvia Infrastructuras of Spain, Metro Global Holdings Inc. is proposing to “fix” the ailing system through a $150-million investment that in-volves the procurement of a total of 96 new train cars, and the reha-bilitation of the existing 73 coaches, increasing its capacity by fourfold to 1.2 million daily passengers. Under the proposal, a single point of responsibility will be imple-mented: meaning the rehabilitation and the maintenance of the line will be handled by a single company.

DOTC, Busan Transport ink P3.8-B MRT 3 maintenance contract  In its recent economic bulletin

the finance department said that the country’s imports is set to ex-pand, opening more opportunities for the country in terms of conces-sions and investments.  “In a world of shrinking mar-kets, the government should use this as negotiating tool to con-vince trading partners for more concessions and better treatment for our export products and for more trade agreements that will help generate markets for Philip-pine products,” Finance Underse-creatary Gil S. Beltran said.  “Also, we can use this as spring-board to lure producers in other countries to invest in the Philip-

pines,” he added.Merchandise imports in Octo-

ber increased 16.8 percent, boost-ing the year-to-date growth to 3.9 percent. Net of petroleum prod-ucts, the year-to-date growth was 17.3 percent.

The DOF said this indicates ro-bust investment and production activities. Electronic inputs, mean-while, accounted for 32.3 percent of the total imports and posted the highest year-on-year growth of 70.1 percent. The imports growth could have been faster, according to Beltran, if not for the mineral fuels and lubri-cant segment, which dropped 41.8 percent due to price effects. 

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[email protected] BusinessMirrorSaturday, January 9, 2016A2

BMReports

PDIC reform bill ready for Aquino’s signature

The Philippines will have its presidential elections in May.

For 2015, HSBC estimates growth to have slowed down in the last quarter to 5.7 percent from the 6-percent acceleration in the third quarter. With this, Incalcaterra said the 2015 growth likely hit 5.6 percent. Below targetDESPITE the optimism, both forecasts are still below the government’s targets, as several risks—external and local—still loom. The government has set a 7-percent to 8-percent growth target for 2015 and 2016.

The HSBC said for the government to reach its growth target, infrastructure spending must be ramped up, public-private partnership projects should be accelerated and more initiaives to attract foreign direct investments should be launched.  Also, among the cited risks to the Philippine economy is the low level of investment and key shortages in electricity and transport system.

“Capital outflow is also another concern. The BSP has ample foreign reserves to support the currency, but is still worried about potential volatility alongside Fed tightening,” Incal-caterra said. “That said, we believe soft external conditions and low inflation have motivated the BSP to tolerate some peso weakness, while keeping rates on hold for the foreseeable future if conditions permit. Although there are risks of higher food prices alongside El Niño, we believe the inflation outlook remains very benign.”

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THE country’s import numbers is set to grow substantially this year,

giving the government more reason to seek concessions with its major trading partners, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Govt needs to seek more trade dealsas robust growth in imports expected

HSBC. . . C A

He recalled the PDIC bill was approved on third reading by both chambers, and lawmakers from both houses were scheduled to hold a bicameral meeting in two weeks, to  reconcile conflicting provisions in their respective versions. “But I just got word today that the House panel agreed to adopt the Senate version,” Osmeña said. “So the bill will be enrolled and sent to the Palace for the President’s signa-ture,” he added. An enrolled bill is a final copy of a bill passed by the Senate and the House in identical form. The final enrolled legisla-tion is submitted to Malacañang,  for either the President’s signature or veto. When both chambers resume their sessions on January 18, each chamber will approve in plenary a motion to transmit the enrolled bill—actually, the Senate version of

the enrolled bill as adopted by the House—to Malacañang for signing into law.

The Senate had earlier approved Senate Bill 2964 to amend the PDIC Charter, while the House of Repre-sentatives passed on second reading recently its own version. The bill is seen to boost the state deposit insurer’s capacity to protect depositors of the Philippine banking

system through the increased mini-mum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) and the adoption of corol-lary measures that will reinforce the institutional and financial capabili-ties of the PDIC. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by IH Lee, had ear-lier endorsed financial strengthen-ing recommendations, including enhancements in the deposit insur-

ance system. The IMF expressed its support to the strengthening of the capabilities of the PDIC as a coregu-lator of the banking system through the amendments of its Charter. The IMF Staff Report for the 2008 Article IV Consultation released on Decem-ber 22, 2008, called on a number of measures to enhance the insti-tutional and financial capabilities of the state deposit insurer to sup-port the doubling of the maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) from P250,000 to P500,000.

The IMF had also recommended enhancement of the PDIC by the doubling of the MDIC, the creation of a bridge bank as a bank resolu-tion method, and the recapitaliza-tion of the PDIC. The IMF also not-ed that the PDIC must be given the flexibility to temporarily raise the MDIC amid a turbulent financial sector. The IMF likewise. recom-mended enhanced legal protection for PDIC staff.

OSMEÑA

Paje sees major boost in PHL mining sector with approval of two ‘world-class’ projects

THE country’s total metallic mineral production value is expected to rise by as much

as 40 percent in the next three years, with the approval of two big-ticket projects late last year, Director Leo Jasareno of the Mines and Geosci-ences Bureau (MGB) said.

The approval of the projects was announced by Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje of the Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resources (DENR) at a news conference in Quezon City on Friday. 

Paje said the projects, King-King Copper-Gold Project and Silangan Project, are “world-class” projects that are expected to boost the coun-try’s minerals sector.

“These are world-class projects

that were added to our existing mines,” Paje said.

Total metallic production value went down last year, he added, be-cause of an increase in the price of metals last year, prompting mining companies to slow down production, particularly on nickel. 

The MGB earlier reported that to-tal metallic production from January to September went down by as much as 20 percent, from P107.24 billion in 2014 to P85.78 billion, recording a P21.46-billion decrease.  The MGB is still consolidating its report for the last quarter of 2015.

Jasareno said the approval of the King-King Copper-Gold Project came in the last week of December, while that of Silangan Gold Project came as early as the third quarter

also of last year. The two projects slightly boost-

ed the mining investment in 2015, reaching a total of $750 million. 

“Part of the project costs of King-King and Silangan were already used last year for the project that’s why mining investment increased last year,” Jasareno said.

King-King is a $2.2-billion cop-per-gold project of Nationwide De-velopment Corp. and the Villar-led St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd. in Compostela Valley Province, while the Silangan Gold Project of Philex Mining Corp. is an $850-million project in Surigao Province.

These two new investments, plus FCF Minerals Corp.’s $200-million project in 2015 that was deferred, boosted mining investment.

The King-King project is expected to produce 3.16 billion pounds of cop-per and 5.43 million ounces of gold over its 25-year mine life. 

Once King-King starts opera-tion, it expects to create 5,000 direct jobs and about 20,000 indi-rect jobs during its construction phase, and around 1,700 workers once it starts commercial produc-tion, projected to begin in 2017, at the earliest.

Targeted to start commercial production in 2018, the Silangan project expects to produce 5 bil-lion pounds of copper and 9 mil-lion ounces of gold in its 25-year mine life.

The project involves the develop-ment of Boyongan and Bayugo min-eral deposits.  Jonathan L. Mayuga

POST-HOLIDAY SALE The holiday season may have come and gone but a number shoppers still find time – and the money to spend – for some post-holiday discount buying spree at a mall in Greenhills, San Juan. NONOY LACZA

[email protected] Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, January 9, 2016 A3BusinessMirrorNews

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TWO party-list lawmakers on Friday filed a resolution asking the House Committee on Transportation to con-duct an inquiry into the “anomalous” Motor Vehicle

Plate Standardization Program.Party-list Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Za-

rate of Bayan Muna, authors of House Resolution 2601, said the Plate Standardization  Program of the  Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is only a burden to 9 million car owners.

“The LTO has gotten flak from the public when it under-took the unnecessary Plate Standardization Program due not only to its added cost to motorists but moreover, for the delay in the delivery and the poor quality of the new standardized plates,” the lawmakers said.

According to the resolution, in February 21, 2014, instead of the LTO, the DOTC undertook a contract with the Dutch-Filipino Consortium Power Plates Development Concepts Inc.-J. Knieriem BV-Goes Philippines Inc. (PPI-JKG) for the supply and delivery of new plates. 

It said that the DOTC would have to pay PPI-JKG in two tranches amounting to P1.9 billion for 5,236,439 pairs of mo-tor vehicle plates and P1.2 billion for 9,968,017 motor vehicles.

“Suspiciously, the LTO Memorandum Circular AVT-2014-1895, mandating vehicle owners to replace their old license plates with the new standardized plates only by January 2015, only almost a year after the contract had been undertaken,” the resolution added. 

The Bayan Muna lawmakers said the Supreme Court noted the project did not follow what was prescribed under Govern-ment Procurement Reform Act, and, thus, decided to discon-tinue the procurement of new plates.

In July 2015 the Commission on Audit (COA), the resolu-tion said, issued a notice of disallowance ordering to stop any additional disbursement for the deal between the LTO and the PPI-JKG. 

Colmenares and Zarate added the deal did not comply with procedures prescribed under Republic Act 9184, or the Revised Procurement Law.

“The COA, in its decision, remarked that DOTC violated both the Administrative Code of 1987 and the Government Auditing Code when it procured license plates and approved the contract cost for the same in excess and in utter disregard of what is appropriated in the 2013 GAA [General Appropria-tions Act], which is P187.29 million only,” they said.

The COA said that “no contract involving the expenditure of public funds by any government agency shall be entered into or authorized unless the proper accounting official of the agency concerned shall have certified to the officer entering into the obligation that funds have been duly appropriated for the purpose, and that the amount necessary to cover the proposed contract for the current calendar year is available for expenditure on account thereof, subject to verification by the auditor concerned.”

The lawmakers said “the  deal is overpriced as while the stipulated cost in the contract is only P3.2 billion, it has been overpriced by P1.51 billion, as the budget requested for the same in the 2014 GAA amounted to P4.8 billion.” They said that Transportation Secretary Joseph A. Abaya and Trans-portation Undersecretary Perpetuo Lotilla should be liable for the transaction.

“For such a multibillion deal, the only reason that [the] DOTC could only give to justify the forced availment by mo-torists of this plates is that the new plates have enhanced the security features through the inclusion of bar codes. Yet, these bar codes are useless because not only does it not contain the information of the owner,” the solons said.

“It would have been wiser for the DOTC to instead al-lot such amount to more relevant projects that could have helped in solving the country’s traffic situation. Instead, they dumbfoundingly have done otherwise,” representatives of Bayan Muna said. 

Legislators seek House probe into ‘anomalous’ DOTC, LTO plate deal

B J M N. D C

THE principal author of the Respon-sible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RH) Law on Friday scored

the Senate for removing from the 2016 na-tional budget the P1-billion allocation for free condoms and other contraceptives. 

Former Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay, in a news statement, said the decision of the Senate to cut the budget of the De-partment of Health’s family-planning programs has deprived at least 7 million women of RH services. 

“During the bicameral conference on the 2016 General Appropriations  Bill [GAB], Sen. Vicente Sotto III caused the deletion of P1 billion  from the P1.157 billion for the procurement of Modern and Natural Family Planning Supplies,” Lagman said.

Last Monday Health Secretary Janette Garin said that it will be a big challenge for the agency to implement the govern-ment’s family-planning programs because

the allocation for contraceptives has been removed from its 2016 budget.

“The Congress, particularly the Senate, reneged on its obligation to  adequately fund the speedy and full implementa-tion of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law,” Lagman said.

According to Lagman the remaining P157 million is inordinately inadequate for the purchase of family-planning commodities.

“The P1 billion, which was meanly cut by Sotto, is a drop in the bucket in the P3-trillion 2016 national budget, and it is a minuscule amount compared to govern-ment mega projects, which have lesser number of beneficiaries,” he said.

Lagman added that the original fund-ing of P1.157 billion, which was slashed by Sotto, was recommended by President Aquino in his National Expenditure Pro-gram and adopted en toto by the House of  Representatives in its version of the 2016 GAB, or the newly signed General Appropriations Act for this year.

The RH Law was approved by Con-gress in December 19, 2012, and signed into law by President Aquino on Decem-ber 21, 2012.

Both Sections 2 and 9, among other provisions of the RH Law, are clear  di-rectives for the Congress to appropriate the requisite funds for the law’s effective implementation.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Women’s Party, in a separate news statement, said that cuts to women’s health services for the sake of boosting the Department of National De-fense (DND) modernization program as proof of President Aquino’s fake concern for inclusive services for women. 

“The rechanneling of P1-billion cut for the Department of Health’s 2016 purchase of reproductive health sup-plies to beef up DND’s air fleet merely confirms the sense of priorities of the matuwid na daan budgets for the last six years of the Aquino administra-tion,” said Arlene Brosas, spokesman of  Gabriela Women’s Party.

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DAVAO CIT Y—President Aquino on Friday said that a meeting would be convened

next week to address the worsening power situation in Mindanao due to right-of-way (ROW) violations and bombing of transmission towers.

“Meron kaming scheduled meeting by next week, precisely how to ad-dress ’yung [isues] on land valuation at ’yung concerns ng mga landown-ers. Having said that, [since] this is an industry imbued with national interest, surveyors can be utilized to ensure access to repair of the towers,” he said during a brief news conference here after the power plant inauguration of Therma South Inc.’s 300-megawatt (MW) power facility.

Officials from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) will attend the meeting, Mr. Aquino said.

In the past few days, Mindanao was placed on red alert by the grid operator due to the isolation of Na-tional Power Corp. (Napocor)-owned generating facilities Agus 1 and Agus 2 hydropower plants. As of 1 p.m., power reserve in Mindanao stood at 76 MW.

The NGCP even warned of a pos-sible grid collapse should the remain-ing transmission line, which deliv-ers power from Agus hydroelectric power plant, encounters a glitch.

By grid collapse, the NGCP meant that brownouts would likely happen. “It’s the kind that takes several hours to recover from restoration. It’s like restarting a smart phone. So, it takes time,” NGCP Spokesman Cynthia Alabanza said.

The Maramag-Bunawan 138-ki-loVolt (kV) line is the remaining line that currently delivers power from the Agus hydro complex. If the said line is in any way compromised, no power will flow from the remain-ing Agus hydro facilites to south of Mindanao, where the bulk of power demand is located.

Both Davao City and General San-tos City are in the south, and are at risk of being completely cut off from the bulk supply coming from the hy-dro facilites, the NGCP said.

There is only one transmission line left because the NGCP has yet to repair the Agus 2 Kibawe’s 138- kV line. The Agus 1 and 2 hydro facilities are connected to the grid through Agus 2-Kibawe 138-kV line. The NGCP has yet to restore bombed  Tower 25 along said Agus 2-Kibawe 138-kV line in Ramain, Lanao del Sur, due to uncooperative landowners. The line has been unserviceable since Christmas Eve, when it was bombed by unidentified lawless elements.

Task forceENERGY Secretary Zenaida Monsa-da said a task force is being created to ensure the problems would be ad-dressed at the soonest time possible.

“We are creating a task force, an interagency task force. The proposal is for the executive secretary to head the task force,” Monsada said.

She added that the participation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of National De-fense (DND) is extremely important in mapping out a security plan.

“Bombing is a security issue. So, we need the involvement of the DND and the PNP. That will be the main thing to tackle. What is going to be the strategy here?” Monsada said.

The NGCP is appealing to the public, local and national govern-ment, the PNP and Armed Force of the Philippines to help monitor the safety of the towers so that transmis-sion services remain uninterrupted.

The company also appeals to local community leaders to help identify the perpetrators of the bombings, and to negotiate with uncoopera-tive landowners to prevent longer power interruptions.

PRESIDENT Aquino allayed fears of a massive displacement of over-seas Filipino workers (OFW) in the

Middle East that could be trigered by the diplomatic tiff between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and assured that the Philippines has generated enough jobs to accommo-date OFWs if the incident escalates into a full-blown war.

“According to Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz ng DOLE [Department of Labor and Employment], we have a capacity to absorb all of these people and get them gainfully employed in case all of them are repatriated,” President Aquino said

at a news conference in Davao.The government puts the number of

OFWs in the Middle East at around 1.1 million, although workers groups es-timate that there are some 2.5 million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia alone, on top of thousands more in other countries in the Middle East.

Mr. Aquino said that he had already ordered the embassies and consulates in the Middle East to contact all Filipinos within their respective jurisdictions to make sure that when an actual emergency arises, OFWs could be evacuated.

However, President Aquino said that,

based on his meetings with officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there has yet to be an assessment that the diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and Iran will escalate to a full-scale war that will necessitate a massive evacua-tion of Filipinos.

Mr. Aquino held a meeting in Malaca-ñang with the DFA and the DOLE of-ficials in which he instructed them to coordinate with embassy and consulate officials in the Middle East to make sure that the safety of Filipinos is prioritized amid tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. David Cagahastian

Aquino movesto settle ROW issues, power woes in south

RH advocates slam Senate’s ₧1-B budget slash for contraceptives

‘We have enough jobs for displaced Saudi OFWs’

Saturday, January 9, 2016 •Editor: Angel R. Calso

OpinionBusinessMirrorA4

Lucky China?editorial

IF the sovereign nation of the People’s Republic of Chi-na did not exist, an author would have to write a book and create it.

China’s political system is an authoritarian dictator-ship, but not in the traditional manner like North Korea or the one-man rule of Cuba, for example. It is a dictatorship by committee and there are always factions within the commit-tee jockeying for power.

The country has been under perpetual martial law since its incep-tion. A citizen—or noncitizen for that matter—can be arrested by the police or military at any time without even the semblance of proper due process of law. A person can be tried, sentenced and executed in complete secrecy.

This nation stretches its octopus-like economic tentacles around the world. North Korea is China’s colony. It holds Cold War era type client-states throughout Africa.

This past week has seen the Chinese stock markets crash, the same stock markets on which, just a few months ago, the government spent billions supporting stock prices. While previously saying that the Chi-nese yuan renminbi would be allowed to float within a narrow speci-fied limit, this past week the currency was allowed to move outside of those limits and officially devalued to its lowest level since 2011. The Australian dollar dropped 4 percent to keep its exports competitive.

Global markets reacted with volatility with stock prices dropping vio-lently. And then in the midst of all this, as added fuel to the financial market carnage, North Korea suddenly—to China’s benefit—sets off a nuclear weapon, giving another excuse to allow the Chinese currency to depreciate particularly against the Japanese yen.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government “spent” $108 billion out of its $3-trillion foreign-currency reserves last December. No one seems to know where that money has gone. Was it pumped into Chinese banks and corporations to keep them from defaulting on their debt? Is this a stopgap measure to pump up the money supply because of massive capital flight from China?

Seemingly unrelated but actually good news for the Chinese econo-my—is that crude oil prices collapsed by 10 percent.

Here is the summary. China’s stock-market selling has injected bil-lions into the China economy. Its currency devaluation—aided by North Korea’s nuclear test—has made its exports much cheaper, especially to Japan, a major Chinese trading partner. Crude oil price falling has offset any increase in the cost of oil imports caused by the Chinese cur-rency devaluation.

On Thursday night Chinese regulators said they might change the trading rules and help support their stock markets. Financial commen-tators in the West responded like a prisoner thanking the torturer for beating him now with a smaller hammer.

Either China is a very fortunate nation or the men running things in Beijing are much smarter than the financial world gives them credit for.

SAINT Thomas Aquinas outlined an almost perfect philosophy for stock-market investors. “Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know

what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.”

The year the experts become extinct

Further, a stock market-invest-ment strategy is almost like a reli-gion. You have to believe it. You have to follow it. You have to stick with it.

“To know what he ought to be-lieve” for the stock market means that a person has examined the strategy in depth. It has been backed, tested both for a long enough time and under many economic and mar-ket conditions. Like religion, all your prayers are not going to be answered exactly the way you want, but you can see that things are better with the strategy than without.

“To know what he ought to desire” means that you need to keep your expectations within the realm of possibility. Winning the big lotto as an answered prayer is possible; win-ning 10 times in a row is unlikely. You may buy and hold an issue like D&L Industries Inc. at P3.50 and have it go up 300 percent in two years. But do not expect every stock price to

do that, and also do not expect an issue to triple in price every two years forever.

“To know what he ought to do” is the hardest principle to observe both in Catholicism and the stock mar-ket. We all know the “rules” about everything, from what we should eat to driving a car. But that little voice of our human nature whispers in our ear that there might be a better way outside of the rules. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t.

It is interesting that when things do not go the way we want them to, some people run back to their religion and more often than not, people run away from what they previously held as the right path.

That is particularly true for the stock market.

Virtually, all expert stock-market strategies are not strategies at all but a “system”. A system works well in an environment of known “odds”.

For example, betting on the “banker” in the game of Baccarat gives you a 50.7-percent chance of winning ver-sus a 49.3-percent chance betting on the “player.” A betting system based on the banker might make sense. Likewise, averaging down on the price of an issue in a market that is trending higher also might make sense as prices do go up and down even within an upside trend.

However, systems only work in an environment that the system is de-signed for. Averaging down would not have worked on the Philippine stock market from 1996 to 2002, unless you were willing to continually following it until 2007. And even then, on the Composite index, you would have only been back to breaking even.

A proper strategy works in any environment, the simplest being buy when prices are going higher and sell when prices are going down. Unfortunately, you cannot sell many books when the best stock-market strategy takes only one page to pres-ent and explain.

This is the year that we will see many stock-market experts become extinct because, unlike religions (strategies) that endure through the ages, religious cults (systems) only last until the “Paradise is coming” prophecies fail to materialize. It is difficult to “stick with it” when your faith is shattered by reality.

I know exactly what path the Phil-ippine stock market is going to take

between now and July and then to November 2017. The market will first go to 6,000 on the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index. Then it will move to 5,300 and to 4,300.

On second thought, forget all that. We are now at a bottom and will head back up to 8,000 then to 8,500. Actually after further review, it goes like this, 6,000, 7,000 and then 5,000 before going to 4,000.

One of those scenarios is going to be proven an absolutely perfect forecast.

The only question is, which of the expert trading systems is going to work regardless of which scenario is correct? The answer obviously is none of them, which is why during the great extinctions of world his-tory, some species survive and some do not make it.

Certain species always survive and thrive—sharks, the sea sponge and jellyfish—because they each have a strategy to succeed no matter what the environment throws at them. Sharks will eat almost anything and are not afraid of anything. Sponges can restore the lost body parts. Jel-lyfish do not have a brain or nervous system. Maybe stock-market traders evolved from these animals.

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

North Korea tests the world with its latest nuclear detonationTHE earth rumbled beneath the

Korean peninsula on Tuesday evening, signaling an under-

ground nuclear test by rogue nation North Korea. Pyongyang claimed to have set off its first hydrogen bomb, but experts looking at seismographs saw evidence of a much smaller ex-plosion—likely the country’s fourth atomic bomb test since 2006. Possi-bly, it was an atom bomb boosted by additional nuclear material.

H-bomb or A-bomb, the impact is clear: a nasty reminder that one of the world’s most isolated regimes poses a great danger.

There’s a clockwork-like predict-ability to North Korea’s belliger-ence and brinkmanship: Every so often—just when the world seems fully focused on other crises—the North ratchets up tension by testing a bomb or ballistic missile.

There’s a frightening pattern to the world’s response too, which be-gan again on Wednesday: condem-nations followed by threats of more sanctions, though the North already is thoroughly sanctioned. Then, ex-pect an uncomfortable shrug because past negotiations failed, and war is not an option against a nuclear-armed country that values the sur-vival of its regime and not much else.

Within weeks, the world probably moves on, and so will North Korea, on its march to perfecting weapons of mass destruction.

So what do we have to show for decades of patience with North Ko-rea? Um, four nuclear tests.

About that shrug. The Obama administration actually has a name for it: “strategic patience.” The phrase was first used by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009. The idea is to wait out the North, using subtle pressure to coax it back to the negoti-ating table to strike a grand bargain on its nuclear program.

So what do we have to show for decades of patience with North Ko-rea? Um, four nuclear tests. And some ballistic missile tests too, putting the North further along the path to its presumed goal of testing nuclear-armed missiles capable of striking the US.

This is the problem with endless patience and wandering attention. A wily foe such as North Korea will not waste its opportunity to cause trouble.

About that wily foe: Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s third-generation leader, shows no more interest than his father or grandfather in changing North Korea’s paranoid approach. He uses threats and bluster to keep the outside world off balance. At home, his regime keeps the population un-der absolute control, in near complete isolation, allowing the government to spin a fantasy about North Korea as a worker’s paradise bravely facing down enemies.

In North Korea’s alternate real-ity, testing an “H-bomb of justice” is needed to fend off “a gang of cruel robbers”—yes, the US. A North Korea statement on Wednesday justifying the nuke test was filled with such flourishes: “Nothing is more foolish than dropping a hunt-ing gun before herds of ferocious wolves,” it said.

What to do? Waiting around for North Korea to change is folly. The country, bumping along in poverty and always at risk of famine, has an apparently limitless capacity to en-dure hardship. North Koreans don’t know any better. The Kim family de-signed their country that way.

There is one untapped vulner-ability. Most of North Korea’s im-ports, including food and energy, come from China. A Congressio-nal Research Service report said it plainly: Food and energy aid from China is “an essential lifeline for the regime.”

China’s main worry is prevent-ing the collapse of North Korea, which could cause a refugee crisis on China’s border. Just as bad, from China’s vantage point, would be for the North to be absorbed by South Korea, a key American ally.

Still, there are signs Beijing may be frustrated with Kim Jong Un. The Chinese government protested the nuclear test as loudly as the US, and China’s President Xi Jinping has

never met Kim, seemingly a snub. Beijing knows that the more Kim stirs up trouble, the more active the US will get in defending the Pacific, tightening ties along the way with South Korea and Japan. That threat-ens to hem in China.

Relying on China to protect Amer-ican interests shouldn’t be at the top of anyone’s New Year’s resolution list, but with four nuclear tests in the bag, it’s time for the US to replace strategic patience with some urgen-cy. Let’s find out if China is ready to push North Korea into serious talks. Meanwhile, the US should put ad-ditional pressure on North Korea through a greater show of military force in the Pacific.

North Korea’s menacing behavior is a reminder of why the US has to demand strict adherence from Iran on its nuclear deal. The negotiators of that deal seemed to learn some-thing from the failed nuclear agree-ment with North Korea reached by Bill Clinton in 1994. But that lesson will be lost if the US, as it seems to be doing so far, is willing to let Iran duck and dodge.

Nor can the US allow other is-sues—including Iran—to distract from the threat of nuclear North Ko-rea. The next bomb Pyongyang deto-nates in a test could be big enough to truly frighten the world, or small enough to place on an intercontinen-tal ballistic missile. TNS

OUTSIDE THE BOXJohn Mangun

Saturday, January 9, 2016

[email protected]

TODAY, January 9, we once again commemorate the Trasla-ción, or the transfer of the miraculous image of the Black Nazarene from Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park to

the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church in Manila.

Traslación 2016mercy through the means of pro-moting new evangelization.

Radio Veritas 846, the leading faith-based AM radio station in the Philippines, is currently airing today, January 9, a special programming to commemorate the Traslación. Updates and reports from Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila, where the traditional Pahalik (kiss-ing of the image of the Black Naza-rene) happen and updates, from rout of the procession till the image of the Black Nazarene returns to the Quiapo Church, is being aired throughout the day.

The Black Nazarene is a life-sized, dark-colored, wooden sculp-ture of Jesus Christ that was brought to Manila by Augustinian Recollect Friars in 1606. The image has been known to be miraculous by its Filipino devotees. It is attended by millions of devotees, making it one of the country’s biggest annual religious procession.

Meanwhile, devotees of the Santo Niño de Cebu may visit His pilgrim at the chapel of Our Lady of Veritas in Quezon City from January 6 to January 17, 2016.

Dubbed as the oldest religious

relic in the Philippines, Santo Niño de Cebu is usually depicted in red and gold vestments. The image, be-lieved to be miraculous because of the countless answered prayers and healing, is housed at the Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu.

Devotees may visit the miracu-lous image of Santo Niño de Cebu from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Our Lady of Veritas Chapel at the second floor of Veritas Tower, 162 West Avenue corner Edsa in Quezon City. For in-quiries, please call Ms. Renee Jose or Mr. Rey Isabela at (02) 925-7932 to 39 local 129.

A Eucharistic Celebration will be held on January 17, 12 noon at the Our Lady of Veritas Chapel in honor of the Feast of Santo Niño. Devotees may bring their images of Santo Niño to be blessed by the mass presider.

We will continue with Misericor-diae Vultus next week.

To know more about the programs of Caritas Manila, visit www.caritas.org.ph. For donations, call 563-9311. For inquiries, call 563-9308 or 563-9298. 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].

‘Must-do’ economics for the next administration

EVENTS that have recently unfolded during the first week of this New Year seem to foreshadow rough sailing ahead for many emerging economies in 2016. The sudden drop of the

Shanghai Stock Market and the Saudi-Iran tension have clearly shaken global financial markets.

Closer to home, politics is taking center stage as the election season goes full blast. The combination of external and internal factors is mak-ing many stakeholders anxious about the sustainability of the current Philippine growth.

It’s already a known fact that the Philippine economy has broken through its 40-year growth average to its current above-5-percent trend. Will these factors put a cap on the higher growth path yet again?

Answers to this question aren’t sim-ple, and these will be placed squarely on the shoulders of the next national and local leaders who will be taking charge starting July. This reminds us, Filipino voters, of the need to carefully understand the direction of the Phil-ippine economy in the next six years.

We should be concerned about how the different candidates perceive current challenges and what their responses are likely to be. Moreover, candidates, whether national or local, should clearly prioritize issues that need to be tackled this year.

From our perspective here at Eagle Watch, there are at least three “must-dos” that the incoming administration should immediately address to sustain economic growth. These are interna-tional finance, global climate change and the Metro Manila traffic. Let us discuss these in turn.

International financial landscapeAMONG the contributing factors to Philippine growth in the last five years have been the low interest rate regime and quantitative easing in many devel-oped countries. These have resulted in movement of financial resources to our economy, whether as portfolio or direct investments. This condition has now changed significantly.

The United States has already increased interest rates and may continue to increase them further. Meanwhile, China has been exhibit-ing declining growth, which has led to expectations of weaker global demand, primarily for oil.

The recent Saudi-Iran debacle and the continued fall in oil prices are caus-ing concerns that overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) remittances may fall way below expectations. For the Phil-ippines, this could shake the major engine of growth over the last 10 years.

Climate changeWEATHER forecasters from all over the world have already warned that the current episode of El Niño could be the worst. It could lead to longer droughts, as well as fewer but more destructive typhoons.

These warnings do not augur well

for the sustainability of economic growth. Although agriculture has al-ready lagged behind significantly in terms of contribution to GDP, a huge El Niño might further weaken this languishing sector.

There are two negative implica-tions. First, falling output in agricul-ture will not improve the poverty sce-nario. Most of the poor Filipinos are employed in this sector. Second, food prices could sharply rise and, thus, pull inflation and possibly interest rates.

Metro Manila trafficIT is critically important to resolve the Metro Manila traffic as soon as possible. Forty percent of Philippine GDP is generated in the capital, which is the gateway to all other economic-growth engines, such as the tourism and business-process outsourcing (BPO) sectors.

As it is, the national government continues to treat this challenge as a local and segmented issue. It remains lacking in pushing for a long-term and strong-hand solution to a prob-lem that is causing significant losses of productivity and efficiency to the whole economy.

These three challenges have di-sastrous proportions, and so those who are running must have very clear strategies on how to respond to them immediately. They are surely posing serious risks not only to growth sus-tainability, but to the overall capacity of the economy. Their combined po-tential negative impacts could further worsen the already stubborn level of poverty and exacerbate inequality.

A quick look at the pronounce-ments of the national candidates show they focused mostly on the usual challenges of jobs, poverty, agriculture and corruption. There is more to be desired, considering that the country is not growing out of isolation. It would be good to bring these challenges to the core of their economic agenda.

In particular, we can demand from the candidates a clear action plan on the following: 1) declining OFW re-mittances and the impact of lower oil prices on OFW job security; 2) poten-tially higher inflation due to higher food prices; and 3) lower supply of wa-ter and power, among others. Indeed, it is necessary for the next leaders of this country to understand external issues in order to predict their impact on domestic affairs.

We would like to invite you to our First Quarter Macroeconomic Briefing to be held on February 4 at the Ateneo Rockwell Campus from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. For reservations, please contact 4265661 or e-mail [email protected]

Part Three

THE Newsweek ’s story cited the former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos as one of “History’s 11 Greediest People,” and this had been repeated many times over by her critics.

Even the Guinness Book of Records (GBR) mentioned her and former President Ferdinand E. Marcos as thieves. They also mentioned her collection of shoes.

Evil men at work

Does Mrs. Marcos want to react on these?“Yes!” “Genghis Khan was on the News-

week list too, and he was the great-est conqueror of mankind; I did not conquer the world with weapons but with peace.”

“Greedy?” “My shoes?”“I plead guilty to being greedy for

the true, the good and the beautiful. I don’t want to waste my time answer-ing the GBR reference to us as thieves because records will show we are not. Neither were my shoes an issue at all. My shoes were mostly collections from our successful shoe industry but our critics turned them into a propaganda hyperbole. I am glad they did not find skeletons in my closet.

“This much I can tell you, though, that our political enemies will never succeed in comparing me with the world’s embezzlers, adulterous and ambitious mistresses who sold their bodies and souls because I live a moral and ethical life. My behavior in and outside the government can attest to that.”

What’s your most unforgettable experience?

“The most significant and most

exacting for me was the honor of having brought the image of Our Lady of Fatima to be consecrated with the Liturgical Service in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. That was Oc-tober 1985, the month of the Holy Rosary. As I left the Church, together with a large retinue of Catholic bish-ops from the Philippines, a spray of snow descended on my face and before I could wipe them out, an old woman from nowhere sidled close and whis-pered: ‘Madam, for the blessings you have brought to Russia by opening our Church to honor the Virgin Mother, much will be exacted from your life!’

“Those words were indeed pro-phetic. In a few months, we were forced into exile, and shortly there-after, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics began to dissolve, and the freedom of religion was restored along with other fundamental liber-ties throughout what was once the solid bastion of communism.

“It symbolized in a way the sacri-fices expected of my own life, the life of my husband, lives of my children, our country and our people.”

Can we talk about your husband before we touch on other issues?

“Ferdinand was the guest speaker

at our high-school graduation. He was a charming young congressman from Ilocos Norte, a bar top-notcher from the University of the Philip-pines and reputed to be a highly decorated war hero. He was 29 at that time; I was 18.

“Seven years later, a friend, the late Manila Times columnist Jose Gueverra, formally introduced him to me at the coffee shop in Congress. It was the 6th of April, my mother’s birthday.

“Since then, he doggedly pursued me and after 11 days, we were mar-ried and that merely affirmed the dream that both of us sought to re-alize someday.

“In Philippine mythology, our marriage was like the genesis of man and woman from a single bam-boo. We were one in the tree and in life, two beings united in spirit, Malakas [strong] at [and] Maganda(beautiful).

“When I entered into the politi-cal life of my husband, there was, in the beginning, a great discom-fort on my part. My system rejected the demands of being married to a politician and this caused me men-tal anguish, emotional stress and severe headaches.

“He took me to the US for medical treatment. There, the doctors said the only cure was for me to have a sedate life, away from political ac-tivities. Unmindful of the presence of the doctors, Ferdinand whispered:

‘I’ll give up politics for the sake of your health. I love you!’

“Believe me, it was love that transformed my pain into joy, re-fined my feelings that I may be pure and allowed me the privilege of serv-ing, caring, nurturing and giving; it was love that gathered my faults and tied them up into bouquet of blossoms; and it was love that con-stantly put a prayer on my lips in thanksgiving.

“I told myself: This man, my other half, my whole, deserved nothing less than all of me. No moment, since then, has been lived apart from him. His dreams, his visions and his com-mitments became mine, too.

‘I shall build the house and you shall make it a home,’ he told me on our return to Manila.

“My marriage to Ferdinand was a marriage to mothering: the mother-ing of a husband, of three children, of eight grandchildren [all boys] and of the Filipino people. Not in any order of priority, but simultaneously, as a drop of water dissolving naturally into the vastness of the ocean,” Mrs. Marcos said.

Briefly, the country’s political conflict and complexities for almost a generation now are centered on two families, the elite Aquino-Cojuangco of Tarlac and the Marcoses of Ilo-cos Norte, a peaceful and progres-sive province known for windmills, beautiful beaches, old churches and Mrs. Marcos’s all-purpose mothering centers meant to ameliorate people from all walks of life.

In contrast, Tarlac, then the hot-bed of communism, now known for its controversial Hacienda Luisita and whose population is twice that of Ilo-cos Norte’s more than half a million people (2010 census), is still stuck in its worst social and agrarian unrest between the elite and the masses.

To be continued

The theme for this year’s Trasla-ción is “Banal na Eukaristiya, Buhay ng mga Sumasampalataya sa Poong Hesus Nazareno sa Taon ng Awa.”

The Poong Nazareno, or the Black Nazarene, is the icon of mercy of the Archdiocese of Manila. In the words of His Holiness, Pope Francis in Misericordiae Vultus—the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy:

“Jesus Christ is the face of the Fa-ther’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reach-ing its culmination in him…Jesus

of Nazareth—by His words, His actions and His entire person—re-veals the mercy of God.” (Misericor-diae Vultus 1)

This year’s theme for the Trasla-ción is in line with the two litur-gical events—the International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Cebu from January 24 to 31 and the declaration of the Extraor-dinary Jubilee Year of Mercy by Pope Francis.

The Eucharistic Congress and the Jubilee Year of Mercy promote to all faithful the importance of the Eucharist as the center and vortex of all forms of piety and to spread

Be scared of China’s debt, not its stocks

DATABASECecilio T. Arillo

SERVANT LEADERRev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

EAGLE WATCHAlvin Ang

B N S Bloomberg View

CHINA’S stock market is crash-ing again. After two days this week with big and rapid

declines—the  latest of which  shut off trading only a few minutes after the open—Chinese stocks are back in the neighborhood of their mid-2015 lows. The raft of administrative mea-sures that the Chinese government has used to prop up its markets since the big plunge last year seems to only have postponed further declines, rather than prevented them. 

US stock markets have also fallen a lot, probably as a result of the Chi-nese decline. Perhaps investors were expecting US corporations to make

fortunes selling to the Chinese mar-ket. Or, perhaps, leveraged investors, hurt by the Chinese crash, are selling US stocks to keep their total lever-age low. Maybe large stock market crashes just generate waves of free-floating pessimism. 

Whatever the reason for the lat-est sell-off, the big question is what the stock-market crash means for the Chinese economy. For more than a de-cade, the Chinese economy has been the engine of world growth, so if it grinds to a halt, countries that depend on trade with China may be in for a serious recession. If the slowdown is only mild, the danger obviously is less ominous. 

If a stock bubble and crash were China’s only problems, the danger

might not be so great. Research  shows that bubbles are less damag-ing to the real economy when they mostly involve equity rather than debt. Debt crashes inflict harm on the financial system, creating major recessions that take years to repair. Equity crashes, meanwhile, merely reduce paper wealth. A good exam-ple of an equity bubble that wasn’t very harmful was the late 1990s US dot-com boom. When it ended, stock prices were devastated, but the crash led to only the mildest of recessions. 

The problem with China is that the stock-market crash looks like it’s only the most visible sign of a much deeper and broader distor-tion in the country’s financial mar-kets. Chinese property prices, while

they have fluctuated from year to year, fell steadily in late 2014 and most of 2015. The long-anticipated deflation of the Chinese housing market may finally be at hand. 

China probably also has a  debt problem. Chinese banks, local gov-ernments and many companies have relied heavily in recent years on vari-ous debt instruments sold directly to individual Chinese people through a system of so-called shadow banks. In a typical arrangement, a bank will set up a trust company that borrows money from individual investors by selling them securities that are, in effect, high-yield junk bonds. The proceeds from these bond sales are then invested, usually in real estate or in companies related to real-estate

development, such as construction. This shadow-banking system has

enabled a large buildup of bad debt, much of it related directly or indirectly to real estate. If property prices fall, trust companies will go broke, and banks—having invested in the trust companies—will be on the hook. That will create the conditions for a really destructive crash. 

In that case, the stock-market gy-rations we’ve seen might simply be a sideshow to the underlying debt-and-housing cycle. China’s stock markets began to soar in late 2014, just as prop-erty prices began to tumble. Investors may have been looking for some alter-native to the housing market. Those investors probably pushed prices to unreasonable levels, which, in turn,

likely drew in speculators looking to ride the wave of momentum. A crash at that point becomes unavoidable. 

So China’s stock market might simply be a symptom of something much bigger and more troubling go-ing on beneath the surface—the end of a huge property-based debt-fueled boom. That happened in Japan in the late 1980s—the Nikkei 225 bubbled and  crashed, but it was the long, slow, debt-powered rise and fall of the housing market that really under-mined the Japanese financial system. 

There is good reason to be worried about the performance of the Chinese economy. How much its woes will af-fect developed economies is another question  entirely—and it’s the one everyone wants answered.

“My marriage to Ferdinand was a marriage to mothering: the mothering of a husband, of three children, of eight grandchildren and of the Filipino people. Not in any order of priority, but simultaneously, as a drop of water dissolving naturally into the vastness of the ocean.”

[email protected], January 9, 2016 BusinessMirrorNews

Lee seeks dismissal of ₧6.6-billion caseB J R. S J

DETAINED businessman Delfin Lee on Friday sought the immediate dismissal of the

P6.6-billion syndicated estafa case against him and other executives of Globe Asiatique (GA) “as it no longer has any leg to stand on.”

Lee’s lawyer Rony Garay told reporters that  apart from the decisions of the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Makati City clearing Lee in the charges, the Home Devel-opment Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund or HDMF) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) have also already conceded that there was no such P6.6-billion loss or damage incurred by the

government as earlier alleged against Lee.

“The P6-billion housing scam is fabled and an outright lie. That’s why Lee’s continued detention in [the] Pampanga jail is a clear case of injustice,” Garay told journalists in the Supreme Court (SC) upon filing of the urgent motion for resolution of cases involving Lee and GA.

“This is exactly the reason why we are pushing for the immedi-

ate resolution of the petitions before the Supreme Court ques-tioning the Court of Appeals’s de-cisions that dismissed Lee’s syn-dicated estafa case and quashed the arrest order issued by the trial court against our client,” the lawyer stressed.

In its charges against Lee, Pag-IBIG Fund had earlier alleged that it suffered damage in the amount of P6.6 billion in loans taken by GA, but Garay said, “such claim is an outright lie as clearly shown not only by HDMF’s own docu-ments, but by its officers’ express pronouncements.”

“No less than HDMF President and CEO Darlene Berberabe admit-ted during the Senate Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee hearing on April 13, 2015, that respondent [accused] Delfin Lee representing Globe Asi-atique did not obtain any P6.6-bil-lion loan from petitioner Pag-IBIGFund,” Garay pointed out.

“On the contrary, it is Globe Asiatique, as further admitted by

Berberabe, that has receivables of P600 million from petitioner HDMF, more than sufficient to pay off or cover the alleged P18-million claim of the 28 other complain-ants of petitioner HDMF, accord-ing to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV,” he recalled.

Garay said as early as April 2013, the Pag-IBIG Fund could not justify in hearings on the case why it has not filed any case against GA for the collection of the alleged P6.6-billion damage.

He recalled that the Pag-Ibig Fund’s counterclaim was only for P12 million, adding that the agency is now barred from increasing the amount in any proceedings.

The lawyer said the OSG also confirmed this admission of Pag-IBIG when it “admitted in its com-ment dated March 19, 2013, to the petition for certiorari in CA GR SP 127553, that there is no such thing as P6.6-billion damage to petitioner HDMF.”

“This is also the reason why af-

ter more than six years, respondents [Lee] and Globe Asiatique have not received to date any demand letter or summons in any pending civil case, for the payment of this fabled P6.6-billion damage allegedly,” Garay added.

“Besides, there can be no damage on the part of petitioner HDMF for P6.6-billion because it is fully secured by the collateral town house units at the Xevera Bacolor and Mabalacat township projects,” he added.

Such being the case, Garay said  the SC should now dismiss the petitions of Pag-IBIG Fund and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jus-tifying the syndicated estafa case filed against the GA executives be-fore the RTC in Pampanga.

Instead, Garay urged the Court to uphold the earlier rulings of the CA and the RTC in Makati clearing Lee in the case.

He pointed out that this summa-ry judgment of the RTC in Makati had been affirmed by the CA in a case denominated as CA GR SP

128262, and the ruling had become final and executory.

The tr ia l court ’s summar y judgment “practically invalidated the factual findings in the review resolution of the DOJ” that led to the filing of the syndicated estafa case, Garay said.

With regards to the double sale and ghost projects, Lee and his law-yers said that, out of the 10,000 buyers of Bacolor and Mabalacat township projects in Pampanga, a total of only 27 individuals filed cases against GA and most of these individuals are the “delinquent ones” who took advantage of the is-sue that beset the project more than five years ago.

As for allegations of ghost proj-ects, Lee said that all of the more than 10,000 units were fully con-structed, including all of the ame-nities to make a model township.

Last month affected homeown-ers of the Globe Asiatique’s subdivi-sions in Pampanga have also pushed for resolution of the cases in the SC.

A6

B J R. S J

LAWYER Estrella Elamparo on Friday accused Sen. Grace Poe of  not really being inter-

ested to be recognized as a Filipino, but only after her ambition to be-come a president.

In her 90-page comment-oppo-sition, Elamparo sought the dis-missal of Poe’s petition seeking the Court’s reversal of the resolu-tions issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last month, disqualifying her from seeking the presidency for not being a natural-born Filipino and for her failure to meet the residency requirement.

Elamparo explained that Poe, ac-cording to some legal scholars and jurists, is a Filipino citizen by virtue of an abbreviated form of naturaliza-tion, considering that she has been de facto considered by the government a Filipino, and has, in fact, been issued a Philippine passport.

However, Elamparo said, Poe’s  in-sistence in her petitions that she is not a naturalized Filipino only proves that she is not after being a Filipi-no national only since mere citizen-ship or nationality is not enough to catapult her to the presidency.

“Viewed in this light,  one can easily see the hypocrisy behind her quest for the presidency.  Enough with the sentimental plead. This petition is not about being recog-nized as a Filipino;  it is about her misguided ambition, which regret-tably  runs roughshod against the fundamental law,” Elamparo said.

Elamparo was one of the peti-tioners in the Comelec who sought the cancellation of her certificate of candidacy (COC) for president.

The poll body granted the peti-tion along with the separate con-solidated petition filed by former Sen. Francisco Tatad,  De La Salle University Prof. Antonio Contreras and former University of the East College of Law Dean Amado Valdez.

T he compla inants arg ued that  Poe, being a foundling,  can-not be considered natural born be-cause identity of her parents is still undetermined.

Elamparo urged the Court not to ignore the glaring facts about Poe just to accommodate her ambition and the clamor of her followers.

Among the undisputed facts on Poe, according to Elamparo, are the following:  (a) she is a found-ling; (b) she renounced her Filipino citizenship to become an Ameri-can;  (c)  to reacquire Filipino citi-zenship,  she  lied  in her petition under Republic Act 9225 that she was  born to Filipino parents; (d) it was this lie that misled the Bureau of Immigration into granting her dual citizenship; (e) prior to reac-quiring Filipino citizenship, she registered in her and her spouses’ name three pieces of real estate misrepresenting that they were Fil-ipinos; (f) prior to reacquiring Fili-pino citizenship in July 2006, peti-tioner had no permanent resident’s visa; (g) she declared in her 2012 COC that her residence in the Phil-ippines as of May 2013 consisted

only of six years and six months.“Indeed, the Honorable Court

should not be misled and must only decide the case based on law  and  not  the latest survey re-sults. To suggest that petitioner should be allowed to remain a can-didate because of public clamor is to reduce this case to a popularity contest  and makes a mockery of the Honorable Tribunal’s authority. This can never be countenanced,” Elamparo said.

Last December 28 Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno issued   a temporar y restra ining order (TRO) enjoining the Comelec from implementing its two resolutions nullifying the COC of Poe.

Aside from the issuance of a TRO, the Court ordered public respondent Comelec and private respondents to comment on the two separate peti-tions filed by Poe.

Sereno also ordered the two pe-titions be set for oral arguments on January 19.

Poe’s camp, through law-yer  George Garcia, filed two sepa-rate petitions assailing the two resolutions issued by the Comelec’s First and Second Divisions that were both upheld by the Comelec en banc last month. 

The poll body’s First Division, in its decision last December  11, dis-qualified Poe based on the petitions filed by Tatad, Contreras and Valdez.

The Second Division, on the other hand, unanimously voted last December 1 to disqualify Poe based on the petition of Elamparo.

SC urged to ignore survey on Poe disqualification case

B R A

TWELVE Filipinos were injured after a wooden ferry boat that was carrying them along with more than 100 others

struck a barge in Malaysia, a belated report reaching the military said.

Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman for the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command, said that based on the report of their Malaysian coun-terpart, the incident happened at around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Malaysians reported that the boat, M/V Juhari, was sailing toward Semporma, Malaysia, when it hit the barge near Bum-bum Island, also in Semporma. The ferry, owned by a Malaysian and registered in Malaysia, was carrying at least 158 Filipinos.

All of the Filipinos, including the injured were rescued by Malaysian authorities.

Tan said the report indicated all the in-jured were taken to a hospital in Semporma for medication.

Collision at sea injures 12 Pinoys in Malaysia

Entertainment icon German Moreno, 82B G R

Lifesteyle and Entertainment Editor

WIDELY known in recent years as “The Master Showman,” and more

simply as “Kuya Germs” in and out of show business for the better part of his long-running career, German Moreno passed away at 3:20 a.m. on Friday, at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City where he was rushed following a heart failure.

He was 82.The entertainment icon’s death

came a year after he suffered a stroke. He took several months off hosting his long-running weekly late-night program Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman on GMA television network, to convalesce, returning to the show only last June.

John Nite, Moreno’s nephew and cohost in Walang Tulugan, announced the showbiz veteran’s passing in a statement he sent to GMA News Online.

“He passed on in the company of his family and friends. He lived a full life, touched so many hearts through the years, and helped make dreams come true for most of the biggest stars in the Philippine en-tertainment industry,” he said. “We are deeply saddened by his passing but we are comforted by the thought that his legacy will live on.”

GMA Network Inc., the media giant that has been home to Ger-man Moreno for decades, issued the following statement:

“GMA Network deeply mourns with the entire entertainment in-dustry the passing of our beloved German ‘Kuya Germs’ Moreno. The Master Showman will be greatly

missed by his friends and fans both here and abroad, especially those in show business, where he devoted the best years of his life. Kuya Germs was responsible for building the careers of the biggest stars we now have. The epitome of a loyal Kapuso, his dedication to the industry will serve as an inspiration to all. We pray for his eternal repose.”

In the 1980s, That’s Entertain-ment, his top-rating daily program on GMA, trained the spotlight on a gaggle of aspiring unknown young talents, providing them with a na-tional platform on which to shine. These included Judy Ann Santos, Lea Salonga, Manilyn Reynes, Janno Gibbs, Gladys Reyes, Billy Crawford, Donna Cruz, Ramon Christopher and Lotlot de Leon.

Tweeted Salonga: “RIP, KuyaGerms. And thank you. #Thurs-dayGroup.”

Mikee Cojuango-Jaworski also said on the social-media platform: “Rest in peace, Kuya Germs. What

an amazing contribution this man made. Prayers for his family and the loved ones he left behind.”

On Instagram, Regine Velas-quez-Alcasid posted a photo of German Moreno with this caption: “Thank you Kuya Germs we will miss you. ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.’ Matthew 5:14.”

German Moreno began his en-tertainment career as a janitor and curtain-raiser in Clover Theater in the 1950s. He went on to appear in a slew of bodabil productions and made the transition into films in Sampaguita Pictures. Apart from his f lamboyant suits, German Moreno was known for his kind-ness and loyalty.

Upon learning of the veteran en-tertainer’s death, Alden Richards, who was in Dubai for his first-ever show in a UAE destination, tweeted: “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving, that’s Kuya Germs. Rest in peace ’Tay.”

THE city government of Manila on Friday advised those joining the Traslación to celebrate the Feast of the Black Naza-

rene to avoid use of selfie sticks and other gadgets that might pose inconvenience, if not danger, to the safety of millions of people ex-pected to participate in the event.

Johnny Yu, officer in charge of the Ma-nila Disaster Risk Reduction and Manage-ment Office, said while they do not see any lethal threat from selfie sticks, tripods and other gadget extension tools, it is just prac-tical that people do not bring these in the midst of crowds, especially the Traslación and other gatherings related to the feast. He said all concerned local and national authorities are doing their best to ensure the effective management of the event.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, being the Hermano Mayor for the Black Nazarene Feast,  earlier said the city government’s  main role and priority is “to keep peace and order, to ensure the safety of all the people in the procession, and to ensure there will be no

obstruction in the procession; and to maintain cleanliness of all the roads where the proces-sion will pass.”

Yu said the occasion is expected to draw a huge crowd of about 13 million to 15 mil-lion participants and observers, thus, mak-ing this year’s feast the biggest Nazarene celebration to date.

“Hindi naman po nabanggit na ipinagbabawal ang mga gadget accessories na iyan pero mas maganda nga sana kung huwag nang magdala ng ganyan. Kung meron mang magdadala niyan ay huwag doon sa mismong prusisyon at mga crowd ng tao dahil baka may matapilok o matamaan, iyon po ang delikado,” Yu stressed.

Yu said he does not recall any incidence in past celebrations of the feast or other large gatherings in the city where a selfie stick or other gadget extension devices caused an untoward incident, but insisted that it is still better to exercise caution.

Yu also reminded devotees that bringing of backpacks, bull caps, weapons and alcoholic drinks during the event is prohibited.

Meanwhile, security and medical assistance are in place for the Feast of the Black Nazarene, as millions of devotees are expected to participate in the annual Traslación on Saturday. The Social Communications Department of the Quiapo Church said the preparations for the Traslación were already in place on Friday, like the pre-positioning of medical and security stations along route of the Black Nazarene procession.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Emerson Carlos, on the other hand, said the agency is all set for the procession.

“We will deploy 1,680 traffic enforcers and as of this time there is still no need or request for additional personnel,” Carlos said in an interview. He added that the MMDA personnel also installed orange plastic barriers at Quirino Grandstand to make sure that the queue for the Pahalik will be strictly observed.

Meanwhile, Msgr. Hernando Coronel, rector of Quiapo Church, reiterated his call on candidates in the May elections to spare

the event of personal promotion.Coronel said candidates should refrain

from putting streamers and posters along the route of the procession to increase their popularity.

“Our focus is the Black Nazarene. Let’s give Him our due respect and love,” Coronel reiterated as he also warned against distribution of shirts bearing not only an image of the Black Nazarene but also names and faces of politicians.

On Thursday a total of 47 medical cases have been reported to the Quiapo Church Command Center by the Medical Committee, including a 60-year-old man who was taken to Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital owing to dizziness and hypertension. He is in stable condition as of press time. A 15-year-old boy was taken to the National Orthopedic Hospital in Quezon City for a dislocated right clavicle.

There were also 45 cases of foot open wounds which were treated on site by various medical and rescue volunteers. Joel R. San Juan with Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

‘Don’t bring selfie sticks, tripods during Traslación’

SportsA7BusinessMirror Saturday, January 9, 2016

KARATEDO WORKSHOP Instructors, speakers and participants pose for posterity after the Karate Coaching Accreditation Workshop held recently at the PhilSports Complex in Pasig City. Among those in the photo are Kyoshi David Lay, Sensei Ali Parvinfar, Renshi Raymund Lee Reyes, Kyoshi Eman Velez, Philippine Karatedo Federation President Joey Romasanta, Kaicho Alejandro VaHesquez, Renshi Rommel Raymundo, Kyoshi Ramon Franco, Renshi Emerson, Kyoshi Dacanay and members of the All Blackbelt Nationwide Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Group.

ROOKIE RISES

B D C

OPPORTUNITY, they say, knocks at your door the least you expect it. In the case of Don Trollano, the moment he’s been waiting for came on Thursday, when Rain or Shine Coach Yeng Guiao tapped him to start

for Game Two of the Smart Bro Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup semifinal series. The rookie reserve guard-forward confessed he was stunned. Who wouldn’t? With Paul Lee back in the rotation, Trollano—who bore a hole on the bench two nights ago—knows well there’s little chance he could play. Not to mention the team was hard-pressed

THE Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) salute once again the best and brightest of

2015, as it holds its Annual Awards Night on February 13 at One Esplanade in Pasay City. Highlight of the formal affair, presented by Milo and San Miguel Corp., is the awarding of the coveted Athlete of the Year award, won by BMX rider Daniel Caluag in 2014 for providing the country’s lone gold medal in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Several prominent athletes in different sports are in the running for the prestigious award solely handed out by the country’s oldest media fraternity, which turns 67 this year. Major awardees and citations will also be given out to athletes, entities and organizations, which did the country proud in the year just passed. Also to be honored are the gold-medal winners during the country’s campaign in the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore. The PSA, under President Riera Mallari of the Manila Standard, will also hand out the President’s Award, Executive of the Year, National Sports Association of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award and Posthumous Award. Also to be given out are the Tony Siddayao Awards for outstanding athletes 17 or younger, and the Milo Outstanding Athletes for boys and girls.

EMILIO AGUINALDO College (EAC) spoiled Perpetual Help University’s bid for outright entry

in the men’s and boys’ finals, while Arellano University clinched the second semifinals berth in the women’s contest on Friday in the 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) volleyball tournament at the Arena in San Juan City. EAC, the reigning men’s champions, dealt the Altas their first loss in eight matches in the season, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17, and the Brigadiers also halted the Junior Altas’ five-game winning run, 25-27, 25-21, 25-21, 21-25. The Generals grabbed the No. 1 spot with an 8-1 win-loss record for a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals. Reigning Most Valuable Player Howard Mojica unleashed a match-best 20 hits, 15 of which came on kills and five off his powerful jump serves. “All the players, especially Howard [Mojica] want to win,” EAC Coach Rodrigo Palmero said. Ralph Joshua Pitogo uncorked 22 hits, while skipper Cee-Jay Hicap and Ederson Rebusora fired 18 and 12 points, respectively, as the Brigadiers get the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four with a 6-1 mark. The Junior Altas fell to 5-1. Arellano University, meanwhile, survived College of Saint Benilde (CSB), 25-20, 22-25, 28-30, 25-18, 19-17, to advance to the women’s semifinals. Jovielyn Grace Prado led Arellano University’s charge with 23 hits on 18 spikes and five service aces. The defending champion Lady Chiefs finished the regular season at second spot with an 8-1 win-loss record, also for a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals. Lance Agcaoili

EAC preventsAltas sweep

BEST Center opens new year with clinics

Swede, de los Santos lead Bora leg cast

RAIN or Shine rookie Don Trollano (right) is confronted by San Miguel Beer veteran Marco Lassiter.

ATTE KAPPEL of Sweden and local bet Doque de los Santos go for back-to-back victories as they banner another crack international field vying in

the second leg of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Philippine Kiteboarding Tour Season 3, which got under way at Aqua Boracay on Friday. Kappel bested Philippine Kiteboarding Association (PKA)  President Jay Ortiz in the kick-off leg of the four-stage $40,000 circuit in Siargao last month, with the Swede ace tipped as the rider to beat again in the centerpiece Masters Twin Tip Race on his Flysurfer.

But Ortiz and a slew of top riders from Australia, Germany and Poland are raring to foil his bid and fuel their own campaign in the three-day event, sponsored by ICTSI and organized by PKA. De los Santos also looms as the rider to beat in the Twin Tip Division after turning in five aces in five races to dominate the Siargao stop of the event, sponsored by Cabrinha, GreenYard, Aqua Boracay, Coca-Cola, Sailor Jerry, Municipality of Malay, Freestyle Academy, Vaavud, Lemon Café, Valhalia, Double Dragon Apparel and By Da Way, which hosted the opening night on Thursday.

THE Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center starts the new year with a bang, as it holds its award-winning basketball clinics in

three venues starting on Saturday. The Ateneo courts are expected to be filled with young students hopeful of following in the footsteps of their basketball idols when they join the Saturday-

only clinics for Preparatory Level and Levels 1 to 5 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. The clinics, sponsored by Milo, then heads to the Xavier School from 1 to 4 p.m. for classes in Preparatory Level and Levels 1 to 3. Sunday classes are set from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Starmall in Alabang for students in Preparatory Level and Levels 1 to 3.

to bounce back after blowing a 22-point lead in a 100-76 loss to defending champion San Miguel in

the Tuesday series opener. Fortunately, Guiao is one coach who doesn’t subscribe to keeping a fixed starting lineup. His starting five depends on the matchup they’re up against. “As a rookie, I don’t expect to play all the time. But when the chance comes, I’ll have to do my best,” Trollano, a former Adamson University Falcon, said. “I’m very happy, it’s my first time to play in a PBA [Philippine Basketball Association] semifinal game so I gave it everything I’ve got.” Trollano played a total of 19 minutes and Guiao swore he was impressed with the performance of his rookie, who finished with 13 points on a five-of-six shooting, as the Elasto Painters defeat the Beermen, 105-97, to even the best-of-seven series at one game apiece. Trollano said he was so thrilled when he knocked down the first basket of his first PBA semifinal game—a three-pointer at the10:30 mark of the first quarter. “[Marco] Lassiter was in front of me when I made the shot, and it went in. That raised my confidence,” he said. His performance certainly didn’t go unnoticed. “I always give my players their chances, whether they’re doing badly or not, just to give them their confidence,” Guiao said. “But I’ll be crazy if I don’t give him credit [for his performance]. He definitely deserves another chance. He’s a strong kid and he has the smarts,” Guiao said.

JOBIM CARLOS and Harmie Constantino built enough cushion to buck a pair of faltering finishes and complete their domination of the Philippine Amateur (Stroke Play) Open Golf

Championship at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club’s Aoki course on Friday in General Trias, Cavite. Carlos, who virtually sealed his title-retention drive in the country’s premier amateur championship with a 10-shot lead on a bogey-free 66 in the third round, closed out with a four-over 40 for a 75 and still beat Gen Nagai by seven on a six-under 282 aggregate. “Hopefully, this win will inspire me to excel more next week when I join the Asian Tour Qualifying School in Thailand,” said Carlos, referring to the region’s premier circuit final eliminations stage in Hua Hin, Thailand, where he seeks to earn a Tour card starting this year. The diminutive Constantino, eight-up on Korean Lee Ji-hyeon and Yuka Saso at the start of the final round, padded her lead over Lee to 10 after 10 holes on two birdies but wavered with a double-bogey on the par-3 17th

to settle for a 72 for an eight-shot romp on a 283 total. The 23-year-old Carlos is also set to join the local pro tour starting next month after finishing fourth in the recent Qualifying School, which he actually topped last year before deciding to stay in the ranks and further hone up his talent and skills. Playing pressure-free in the final round, Carlos bounced back from a bogey on No. 2 with two birdies to close out his frontside stint then just went through the motions at the back, making bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12 before dropping two shots on the par-

5 16th, miscues he could afford given the huge lead he had built after 54 holes.

The victory also came on the heels of his triumph in the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP National Doubles at Aguinaldo last week, where he teamed up with Iñigo Raymundo in a win that helped fuel his drive to post a

dominant victory this week in the event, the kick-off leg of this year’s PLDT Group

National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP

Sports Foundation,

Smart, PLDT and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. Nagai matched par 72 in windy condition and wound up with a 289, while Korean Jang Jun-ha ended up with a 73 for a 293, followed by Aidric Chan (73-298), while Jang Yu-bin, also of Korea, and Weiwei Gao finished tied for fifth at 301 after identical 75s. Rupert Zaragosa carded a 74 to place seventh at 302, while Luis Castro and Ira Alido took the next three spots at 303 and 304 after a 72 and 78, respectively, while Lanz Uy shot the day’s

best of 70 to tie reigning Hong Kong Junior champion Leon Philip D’Souza, who skied to a 77, at 306.

Lee also matched par 72 and took solo second at 291 as Saso sputtered with a 74 and wound up third at 293 followed by Hwang Min Jeong of Korea (77-297), Malaysian Nur Durriyah Damian (75-298), LK Go (76-301), Felicia Medalla (75-305), Koh

Eua A of Korea (78-307), Genevieve Ling I-Rynn of Malaysia (79-310) and

Kristine Torralba (78-313) in the event

organized and conducted by

the NGAP.

SCRIBESHONORATHLETES

NBA RESULTSAtlanta 126, Philadelphia 98

Chicago 101, Boston 92

Houston 103, Utah 94

Sacramento 118, LA Lakers 115

PRINCESS SUPERAL rode a fiery finish at the front to wrest control, then outsteadied Tiffany Chan in a tense-filled backside duel to fashion out a four-stroke victory over Mimi Ho on a closing six-

under 66 in the Hong Kong Ladies Amateur Open at the HK Golf Club’s New Course in Fanling on Friday. Superal leaned on a crucial two-shot swing on No. 15 to go four-up over Chan, then took the crown in emphatic fashion with a birdie-birdie windup that drew cheers from the gallery for her best round in the 54-hole world ranking event, beating a rallying Ho, who fired a 67, by four on a 205 aggregate. “It was a tough win. I just hung in there and made some clutch putts,” said Superal, who birdied three of the last four holes at the front to go from one down to two-up en route to victory, her fifth straight counting her two wins in Malaysia and one each in Singapore and Jakarta the last two months. With Chan, No. 16 in the current world amateur ranking, fading in the face of Superal’s superb finish, Ho came from behind to snatch runner-up honors at 209 with the former ending up third at 211 despite an eagle-spiked 72. Michelle Cheung, also of Hong Kong, also shot a 67 to tie compatriot Isabelle Leung, who carded a 73 at 214, while Superal’s teammate and reigning Thailand Amateur champion Pauline del Rosario turned in a 72 for sixth at 218. Sam Martirez, the other The Country Club (TCC) bet in the event, wound up at joint 11th at 229 after a 75. “She’s in control of her game and has been working hard on her putting to reach her current form,” said TCC Coach Bong Lopez of her prized ward, way down at No. 174 in the world who actually won the 2015 HK Am crown, this being originally scheduled last September but was moved to this week due to bad weather. Unable to shake off the long-hitting Chan, who eagled No. 9 to stay within two after nine holes, the former US Girls’ Junior champion matched the local’s ace’s pars and birdie in the first five holes at the back, then came through with a clutch 6-foot birdie putt off a solid approach shot on No. 15 to pull away by four, as Chan missed her target from close range then three-putted. That big two-shot swing was all Superal needed to secure the victory she capped with that blazing birdie-birdie finish inside 10 feet. “It’s nice to win again and it’s a big morale-boost heading to the Philippine Ladies Open later this month,” said Superal, referring to the country’s premier championship slated from January 22 to 25 at Tagaytay Midlands. Tied with the Filipina ace after two rounds at five-under overall, Chan birdied the opening hole to take charge only to reel with poor putting. She three-putted the second hole, birdied the next but dropped two strokes on the par-3 No . 4 on four putts. Superal parred the first three holes and bogeyed the fourth after missing the green to remain tied at four-under total. After both parred No. 5, Superal hit two solid approach shots in the next two for birdies to seize a two-shot lead as Chan settled for pars and went three-up after the latter stumbled with another three-putt miscue on No. 8.

SUPERAL GRABSTITLE IN HK GOLF

SportsSportsBusinessMirror

SCRIBESHONOR Carlos, Constantino capture crowns

CARLOS

Sports A8 | SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, [email protected]@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun LomibaoAsst. Editor: Joel Orellana

BusinessMirrorSports Editor: Jun LomibaoAsst. Editor: Joel Orellana

B S P�e Associated Press

NYON, Switzerland—Michel Platini’s dream of becoming the next International Football Federation (Fifa) president is over. Platini told the Associated Press (AP) that he remains determined to overturn the eight-year

ban he was handed by Fifa’s ethics committee last month, but that the deadline for the February 26 elections is too short and renders his candidacy impossible. “I’m withdrawing from the race for Fifa presidency,” Platini, the suspended president of European football’s governing body Union of European Football Association [UEFA], told the AP in an interview on Thursday. “The timing is not good for me. I don’t have the means to fight on equal terms with the other candidates. I have not been given the chance to play the game. Bye, bye Fifa. Bye, bye Fifa presidency.” Platini’s bid to succeed Sepp Blatter in soccer’s top job was put on hold because of a payment he received from his former mentor back in 2011. Blatter and Platini were last month banned for eight years for conflict of interest in the 2-million Swiss franc ($1.35-million) payment deal that is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Switzerland. Platini hopes to clear his name at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The 60-year-old Frenchman was not authorized to bypass Fifa’s appeal procedure, which states that he will only be able to turn to CAS once Fifa’s appeal committee has ruled on the case. “I’ve spent more time in hearing rooms than on football pitches speaking about 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 or football news,” Platini said. “I’m taking this philosophically, let’s wait and see what happens. But injustice is revolting me and I’m trying to fight it.” Platini and Blatter were cleared of corruption charges in December, but suspended for a series of breaches, including conflict of interest. But Platini, who worked at Fifa as Blatter’s special adviser from 1998 to 2002, said he has no regret over the payment. “I can’t have any regret in that story because things fell upon my head while I haven’t done anything wrong,” Platini said during an interview in a Nyon hotel. “I’m struggling to understand what happened, unless there was a will somewhere to prevent me from bidding.” Also Thursday, Fifa ethics judges formally opened a case against Jerome Valcke, Fifa’s former secretary-general, who faces a nine-year ban from football.

‘BYE, BYE FIFA’Michel Platini told

the Associated Press that he remains

determined to overturn the eight-

year ban he was handed by Fifa’s

ethics committee last month, but

that the deadline for the February

26 elections is too short and renders

his candidacy impossible.

‘BYE, BYE FIFA’IFA’IF

Valcke is charged with violations of the Fifa code of ethics while serving as Blatter’s top aide. The charges include accepting gifts and conflicts of interest. Valcke, who denies wrongdoing, was suspended from work by Fifa in September. A hearing in Zurich is likely within weeks. In Paraguay authorities raided the headquarters of the South American confederation known as Conmebol in connection with the sprawling Fifa probe being led by US and Swiss prosecutors. Three former presidents of Conmebol were among 16 men indicted in December on corruption charges after a pre-dawn raid at a luxury hotel in Switzerland where Fifa officials were meeting. A statement from the Paraguayan Public Ministry said investigators were searching for documents or information on computer hard drives related to the case. Another top official who was indicted, Marco Polo del Nero, the president of the Brazilian football federation, announced he would go on leave for up to 150 days starting Friday to work on his defense against the charges. He is accused of racketeering and money laundering. And in New York, a US magistrate set bail at $4 million for Hector Trujillo, the general secretary of Guatemala’s soccer federation, who was also arrested last month. Trujillo, who faces racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges, was taken

into custody in December on a cruise ship docked in Florida waters. Platini’s fall from grace has been similarly quick and unexpected. Just four months ago, he was considered the favorite in the race for the Fifa presidency. But his campaign derailed after he was questioned on September 25 in a Swiss federal investigation of suspected criminal mismanagement at Fifa. Platini was paid in February 2011, just before Blatter began campaigning for re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. Platini’s UEFA urged its members weeks before the June 2011 elections to back Blatter, who was elected unopposed when Bin Hammam was implicated in bribery. Few Fifa officials knew of the Platini payment, which emerged during a wider Swiss probe of the governing body’s business affairs, including suspected money laundering in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests. Asked whether he understood critics saying he should have been more careful with the way he handled the Fifa payment, Platini said: “There is nothing wrong in claiming what one has promised.” “I’ve done what I needed to do. I have nothing to reproach myself with,” Platini said. “I think they are making me pay for being UEFA president, I think the Zurich administration does not wish someone from UEFA to head Fifa. Because we are beautiful, we are big, we are rich, and we are the strongest.”

REED OPENSWITH 65KAPALUA, Hawaii—The first round

of the new year on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour was not

an encore for Jordan Spieth—or defending champion Patrick Reed.

Spieth had said earlier in the week that an encore means the show is over, and it sure didn’t look that way at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He opened with seven birdies and no bogeys for a 7-under 66 that left him one shot behind when Reed finished strong and made a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole for a 65.

Reed hasn’t won since he rallied to win at Kapalua a year ago, though, he hasn’t been far off. He ended last year with six top 10s in five countries, and he showed his comfort level on a Plantation Course in gorgeous sunshine and only a stiff breeze that picked up in the middle of the round. Reed and Spieth both had eagle putts on three of the par 5s. The difference was Reed converting on the final hole. They were in the last group and part of a five-way tie for the lead, when Reed smashed a 3-wood from 309 yards that trickled onto the front of the green and let the grain take it 15 feet below the hole. “I didn’t think I could get it all the way to the green,” Reed said. “I thought if I smoked it, I’d get to the front edge and it just happened to ride the wind a little bit and kind of just kept on going. And once it gets on that green, I know it’s going to just keep feeding.” That capped off a finish that took Reed from the middle of the pack to the lead. He was 6 under over the last six holes with that eagle. Spieth came up some 60 yards short and hit a great shot of his own, a flip wedge that rolled to 4 feet for birdie.

Brandt Snedeker, still battling a head cold, JB Holmes and Danny Lee were all at 67, while Fabian Gomez of Argentina was another shot behind.

Jason Day, who has a chance to replace Spieth at No. 1 in the world this week, has not played in three months since the Presidents Cup. And it showed. In ideal scoring conditions, Day didn’t make a birdie until the ninth hole and made only two on the back nine for a 70.

Only seven players from the 32-man field of PGA Tour winners last year failed to break par. One of them was Dustin Johnson, a past winner at Kapalua, who had to birdie the 18th for a 73. Johnson had the longest drive on six of the holes, including three of them just short of 400 yards. It didn’t help him score. Smylie Kaufman, one of 14 players making their debut at Kapalua, hit the opening tee shot of 2016 so far left that he played his next shot from the ninth hole. He still made birdie, and wound up with a 70.

Spieth won the Masters and US Open last year, along with three other titles that led to the FedEx Cup and a sweep of all the awards. He wanted this to me a continuation of last year and brought that attitude to the opening tee shot.

“It’s another event in the course of my career,” he said. “The calendar changed.”

It only took two holes from a familiar look—Spieth walking across the green as a long putt dropped for birdie. He had long two-putt birdies on the par 5s on the front and missed a 15-foot eagle on the 15th that was such a weak attempt that he said even Reed said to him, “Nice effort.” They typically do well together, which includes a 2-0-1 record as partners in the Ryder Cup two years ago. Reed picked up his first PGA Tour victory in a playoff over Spieth in 2013 with a shot out of the trees to 3 feet. Spieth got him back last year at Innisbrook with a 30-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole. “Whether we want to feed off each other or we want to beat the crap out of each other, we somehow play well together,” Spieth said.Reed wasn’t converting many chances, with two-putt birdies on the par 5s on the front. His round turned with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th. He followed with a pitch to tap-in range on the 14th and 15th holes, and a shot over the gorge to two feet on the 17th.

Snedeker has been at Kapalua for a week, playing four times before the official start of tournament week. He was ready to go, and when it counted, he looked sharp.

“I know the golf course pretty well and I think getting over here early, the greens always pose a big problem,” Snedeker said. “You get comfortable on greens and be aggressive on putts that you know are fast or slow. You just have to know putts. They’re hard to read. So that’s kind of the reason I came over to do that. AP

PATRICK REED squeezes himself from the middle of the pack

to the first-round lead.

LONDON—Video technology is set to arrive in soccer this year with trials to assist referees who find it harder to keep up with the faster, modern game when the

financial stakes are so high. The International Football Association Board (Ifab) on Thursday “overwhelmingly supported” progressing with experiments and the body’s full annual meeting is expected to approve them in March. “It’s a fundamental decision, something we’ve been debating for many, many years—ultimately, it could lead to referees being assisted by video,” Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford, who chaired the

meeting, told the Associated Press (AP). “The reality is that refereeing is a very difficult job. It’s one person, two eyes and, in many games now, we have 10, sometimes 20 cameras, millions of people watching games, so we’ve got to do what we can to assist referees.” To gain sufficient information on different systems, trials will take place across entire competitions in the coming seasons. The use of video would be restricted to referees ruling on whether a goal has been scored, a penalty should be awarded, a player should be sent off or cases of mistaken identity. It comes three years after Ifab approved systems that send a signal to the referee determining if the ball crossed the line.

Reacting to calls for more technology, Ifab envisages various video systems being tested in games, including a person watching on monitors in a truck outside the stadium feeding information into the referee’s ear, or the referee being able to go to the sideline to view replays or see the clips on a wearable device. “There’s a lot more to the game than sitting and watching a screen,” Ford said. “So in an ideal world the referee will be able to make that decision with his own eyes watching that footage.” International Football Federation controls half of the eight votes on Ifab, which also features four United

Kingdom football associations. A motion requires at least six votes to be approved. English Football Association Chief Executive Martin Glenn said it is proving “physically harder for referees to keep up” in games and high-tech assistance is proving essential. “The game has never been faster, referees have never been fitter but players are getting quicker,” Glenn told the AP. “So those difficult snap-shot decisions at high speed are ones where we think, and certainly the English FA would think, technology might help and we’ve just got to test that.” AP

Video technology trials set this year

MICHEL PLATINI withdraws from Fifa presidential race. AP