BusinessMirror March 24, 2015

SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC)—the most diversified conglomerate in the Philippines—plans to in-

vest P168 billion in the next couple of years to construct and modernize toll roads and highways around the country. This is to help the country to be on a par with the neighbor-ing economies, SMC’s head honcho bared on Monday.

SMC President Ramon S. Ang also said his company is spending P13.1 billion this year to extend the Southern Luzon Expressway (Slex) to Lucena in Quezon. The expan-sion will involve the construction of a four-lane, 58-kilometer thorough-fare from Santo Tomas, Batangas, to Lucena, Quezon, cutting travel time

by as much as three hours. Tagged as the Slex-Toll Road 4 (Slex-TR4), the project is seen to spur economic activities in the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions by boost-ing trade, commerce and tourism in Regions 4 and 5. Ang said South Luzon Tollways Corp. hopes to start construction in less than a year.

“We look at infrastructure as an op-portunity to participate in the growth of our country. Quality infrastructure will change and impact lives,” he add-ed. “The tollway will help encourage new investments across these regions. Land values will appreciate; new busi-nesses will emerge. Because of the new roads, progress will be brought

to the towns and barangays. And we are happy that we are in a position to contribute.” The project is divided into five sections: Section 1 covers Santo To-mas, Batangas, to Macban, Laguna, 10.58 km; Macban, Laguna, to San Pablo, Laguna, 12.2 km; San Pablo, Laguna, to Tiaong, Quezon, 8.1 km; Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon, 14.4 km; and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon, 12.31 km.

TR4 will be equipped with guard rails, median barriers, well-lit toll plazas and CCTV cameras, among other safety features, he said.

The businessman added that his company is aiming to complete the

B B C

IMPLEMENTATION of measures meant to prepare the country for the Asean integration in January

2016 is well on track and is nearing its completion as of end-2014, the Bang-ko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.

In its 2014 Annual Report, the central bank said the country has implemented 86.1 percent of all Asean Economic Community (AEC) measures, ahead of the regional av-erage of 80.7 percent. Among the key factors that the country has been working on is the enhancement of competitiveness to improve the Philippines’s business environment; develop local indus-tries; promote intensive communi-cation with stakeholders to deepen the awareness and understanding

of the AEC; and effective collabo-ration among stakeholders. But, while the country has exceeded the Asean implementation rate average of 80.7 percent of all AEC measures targeted, in terms of the fi-nancial regional integration —which aims to have a semi-integrated finan-cial market by 2020—there is still a lot to be done. The AEC integrates the region in terms of flow of products and services into a single market un-der a single production base.

www.businessmirror.com.ph n�TfridayNovember 18, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 40 P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEKn�Tuesday, March 24, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 166

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirrorBusinessMirrorTHREETIME

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDEE2006, 2010, 2012U.N. MEDIA AWARD 2008

ROTARY CLUB

JOURNALISM

S “A,” A

S “SMC,” A

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 44.8310 n JAPAN 0.3738 n UK 67.0403 n HK 5.7776 n CHINA 7.2236 n SINGAPORE 32.5404 n AUSTRALIA 34.7392 n EU 48.4982 n SAUDI ARABIA 11.9533 Source: BSP (23 March 2015)

LEE KUAN YEW, FATHER OF MODERNSINGAPORE, DIES AT 91 »A2

LEE KUAN YEW in the White House on October 29, 2009. AP/GERALD HERBERT

LEE in London on January 13, 1968. AP/LAURENCE HARRIS

LEE thanking voters who elected him as a member of Parliament on September 11, 1988. AP/SOON TAN AH

INSIDE

DESERTKING II

SportsSportsBusinessMirrorC1 | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, [email protected]@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun Lomibao

DESERT KING IIBREAKTHROUGHFOR SIMONA HALEP

B B DLos Angeles Times

INDIAN WELLS, California—At the cradle of tennis, they celebrate Breakfast at Wimbledon. On Sunday, at the BNP Paribas Open, they established a similar catchphrase.Break-fest at Indian Wells.Simona Halep, a 23-year-old from Romania, won the women’s singles

title in a match that threatened to go into on Monday. As the clocked ticked to two hours and 37 minutes, Halep closed in on a short ball from Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and slapped a winning forehand on match point.

That made the final score, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Depending on your point of view, the match either set new highs for back-and-forth drama in the sport or set women’s tennis back five years.

They played 30 games in the match, and there were 18 breaks of serve. There were 30 break points contested. Halep won nine of her 14, Jankovic nine of 16. In the final set, Halep had four converted break points in four tries and Jankovic three in four.

The serve is supposed to be a weapon in tennis. In this one, it appeared to be a detriment.

Halep rationalized about that.“In the end, I think it was like we were tight,” she said. “We could

not serve very strong. The women’s is not like real important, the serve, you know.”

Jankovic had been up a set and a service break in the second set. Then she tightened up, later admitting to unraveling a bit, even choking. She ended up with nine double faults.

She won here in 2010 and has always been among the more honest and forthright players on a tour that doesn’t always excel at that.

“I was holding my serve fine until the end of the second set,” she said. “Since then, I wasn’t able to hold it. It’s unbelievable what I did.”

She was within two points of winning the match at 5-4 in the second set.

“I needed, you know, if I could just call Karlovic to serve two serves,” she said, laughing with her reference to huge-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who has occasionally helped her with her serve.

Later, she elaborated on her serving failures.“I got nerves,” she said. “My arm was super heavy. I could not even lift

it.... I don’t know if you guys know, if you play sports and you sometimes get nervous. This is what happens. The arm wouldn’t go up.”

For Halep, this was the biggest victory of her career. She is ranked No. 3 in the world, Jankovic No. 21.

Halep’s best previous moment was as a finalist last year at the French Open, where she lost to Maria Sharapova. Jankovic, who just turned 30, was a finalist in the 2008 US Open, where she lost to Serena Williams.

Jankovic actually played at Indian Wells as far back as 2001, as a 16-year-old wildcard entry. Later, she built a home in Rancho Santa Fe near San Diego.

“I was No. 1 junior in the world,” she said, “and I won the Australian juniors. I came here and I was like a kid in a candy store....”

Halep became the first player on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour to win three events this year. Despite the victory and the $900,400 prize money, she sounded more relieved than triumphant afterward.

“I don’t know how I won today,” she said, “because I didn’t play my best. I didn’t play like good tennis, but I just wanted to fight to the end.”

Halep made it to the final when her semifinal opponent, the top-ranked Williams, defaulted because of a knee injury on Friday night.

B B HThe Associated Press

INDIAN WELLS, California—Move over Roger Federer, there is another guy with a share of your crown as king of the desert.

Novak Djokovic defeated Federer, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, to win his fourth BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, tying him with Federer for the most titles in the desert after winning for the second straight year.

“I am at the prime of my career,” Djokovic said. “I’m going to try to use every part of this fact to stay where I am and to

fight for as many

major titles as possible.”

Djokovic, ranked No. 1 in the world, and No. 2 Federer

met for the 38th time, second-most among rivalries in the Open era. Federer leads the series 20-18

and had won three of their last four meetings going into the final.

But Federer made too many mistakes at crucial times, piling up 43 unforced errors to 35 for

Djokovic. The Serb connected on 63 percent of his first serves, while Federer’s serve let him down. He double-

faulted to trail 4-2 in the third as Djokovic won the last four games of the match.

“I felt huge relief, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “I saw I’m not the only one that is double-faulting under pressure. I got

myself in a position to break, and then he handed me that break. I thought I deserved it in a way because I really fought hard for it.”

Federer’s serve had carried him earlier in the tournament, when he faced just three break points in his first five matches and he saved two of those. “I was trying to really focus a lot on my serve because it was very important because he returns so well off the second serve,” Federer said. “He really plays everybody really tough when he returns off the second serve, and I think that’s what also was

tough today against him.”Djokovic also won in three sets last year. He and Federer have

combined to win eight of the last 11 titles in the desert, and they became the first two players to reach the final in consecutive years since the tournament began 40 years ago.

“He has been always the ultimate challenge, with [Rafael] Nadal, depending on which surface I get to play,” Djokovic said. “Obviously Nadal on clay is the toughest one to beat, and Roger on the quicker Nadal on clay is the toughest one to beat, and Roger on the quicker

Novak Djokovic defeats Roger Federer, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, to win his fourth BNP

Paribas Open on Sunday, tying him with Federer for

the most titles in the desert after winning for the second

straight year.

surfaces. But because they have been so dominant over the years and surfaces. But because they have been so dominant over the years and surfaces. But because they have been so dominant over the years and so consistent and so confident on the court, it’s very difficult to get so consistent and so confident on the court, it’s very difficult to get into the mix and start winning titles against them.”

Simona Halep beat Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the women’s final, giving the Romanian the biggest title of her career women’s final, giving the Romanian the biggest title of her career and a Women’s Tennis Association Tour-leading third tournament

victory of the year.Djokovic and Halep earned $900,400 each. On his way to his 50th career Association of Tennis Professionals Tour title, Djokovic broke Federer once to take the first set. Federer rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second set for a 5-all tie. They traded love service games to get into the tiebreaker, where Djokovic took a 5-3 lead.

Djokovic double-faulted three times, including twice in a row, setting up Federer’s first

break point. The Serb’s backhand lob sailed

long, allowing Federer to tie the

match at a set apiece.

Federer then broke Djokovic for a 2-1 lead in a game

that went to deuce five

times before Djokovic netted a backhand. Federer was the clear favorite among the crowd of 16,988, although chanting Serbian fans at the top of the the crowd of 16,988, although chanting Serbian fans at the top of the stadium made their presence known.

“When I play Roger it’s something that you expect that he has more support because of who he is,” Djokovic said.

Federer held serve for a 2-all tie before Djokovic won the final four games of the match.

“You miss a couple of shots which you shouldn’t and then maybe I didn’t serve as good as I should have, and then that’s all Novak needs,” Federer said. “Then he doesn’t blink. It’s pretty quick.”

In the women’s final, Halep improved to 6-0 in three-set matches this year, smacking a cross-court forehand winner off Jankovic’s weak volley return on match point. The world’s third-ranked player advanced to the final when Serena Williams withdrew before their semifinal because of a sprained right knee.

“The first set was strange for me because I didn’t play for three days. It’s really tough to go straight to the finals,” said Halep, who hadn’t played since Wednesday.

Halep continues her rise in the sport, having broken into the top 10 a year ago and being a finalist at the French Open and semifinalist 10 a year ago and being a finalist at the French Open and semifinalist at Wimbledon last year. The 23-year-old Romanian reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January.

“I have another title, my biggest title now, so it’s amazing,” she said.“I have another title, my biggest title now, so it’s amazing,” she said.Jankovic won her biggest career title at Indian Wells in 2010. This

time, she couldn’t hold a lead. She was up a set and a break in the second only to have Halep win two straight games and tie it 3-all.

Jankovic broke for a 5-4 lead on a smash and then was two points Jankovic broke for a 5-4 lead on a smash and then was two points from victory on her serve in the next game, but Halep won the final three games of the set.

“I got a little bit tentative and that was my big mistake,” she said.Both players struggled to hold serve in the third set, when there

were seven breaks. The two-and-a-half-hour match had 18 service breaks in all.

“I don’t know how I won today because I didn’t play my best,” Halep said.

Jankovic committed 61 unforced errors and had nine double-faults, smiling wryly after her last one gave Halep match point.

» NOVAK DJOKOVIC (above), ranked No. 1 in the world, and No. 2 Roger

Federer meets for the 38th time, second-most among rivalries in

the Open era. In the women’s final, Simona Halep wins the biggest

title of her career. AP

AYALA’S CONTRIBUTION TO GOVT’SRAILWAY PPP THUS FAR: P9 BILLION

B L S. M

THE oldest conglomerate in the Philippines has so far infused P9 billion in the

Aquino administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) thrust for railway development.  In a filing to the local bourse, Ayala Corp. said its infrastructure arm’s total equity-investment commitment for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Exten-sion deal amounted to P8.5T bil-lion, while its initial investment in the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) was pegged at P500 million as of end-December.  The two deals are part of the government’s key infra-structure program aimed at improving the sorry state of the country’s road network and

infrastructure. AC Infrastruc-ture Holdings Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. won the two contracts last year.  The company holds a 35-per-cent interest in Light Rail Ma-nila Corp. (LRMC), the conces-sionaire for the P64.9-billion LRT 1 Extension. Under the 32-year concession agreement, the consortium will operate and maintain the existing line and construct an 11-kilometer exten-sion from the present endpoint at Baclaran to the Niog area in Bacoor, Cavite.  A total of eight new stations will be built along this route, which traverses the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas up to Bacoor, Cavite. 

In signing the agreement, the

PHL 86% ready for Asean integrationMANILA’S RATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATION MEASURES EXCEEDS THE 80.7% REGIONAL AVERAGE

SPORTS C1 SMC allots P168B for infra push in next 2 years

‘INSURGENT’ KICKS OFF WITH $54 MILLION

B S H | Los Angeles Times

YOUNG adults again proved their box-office might as The Divergent Series: Insurgent launched to a studio-estimated Insurgent launched to a studio-estimated Insurgent$54 million this weekend in the US and Canada. Although the film from

Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment topped the box office, it fell slightly short of the studio’s initial forecast of $55 million to $60 million. Insurgent opened on par Insurgent opened on par Insurgentwith its predecessor, Divergent, which debuted with Divergent, which debuted with Divergent$54.6 million last year.

Insurgent, which follows a young woman (Shailene Insurgent, which follows a young woman (Shailene InsurgentWoodley) fighting for freedom and survival in a dystopian society, pulled in about $47 million in 76 international markets, bringing its total global haul to about $101 million. It was the No. 1 film in 66 markets around the world. “We are in a very good place both domestically and nationally,” said Richie Fay, Lionsgate president of domestic theatrical distribution. “It looks like audiences like the movie.”

The Robert Schwentke-directed film, which cost $110 million to make and is based on popular novels

by Veronica Roth, averaged only a 34-percent positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes but earned a solid “A-minus” score from audience polling firm CinemaScore. Fay attributed star power as key to luring moviegoers. Woodley, who starred in popular indie film The Spectacular Now and Alexander Payne’s The Spectacular Now and Alexander Payne’s The Spectacular Now The Descendants, has proved her box-office might, especially among young audiences.

Last June the teen tear-jerker The Fault in Our Stars, Last June the teen tear-jerker The Fault in Our Stars, Last June the teen tear-jerkerbased on the book by John Green, opened in the US and Canada with $48.2 million. It went on to make $124.9 million domestically.

Woodley’s costars in Insurgent are Miles Teller (her Insurgent are Miles Teller (her Insurgentlove interest in The Spectacular Nowlove interest in The Spectacular Nowlove interest in ), Ansel Elgort The Spectacular Now), Ansel Elgort The Spectacular Now(her love interest in The Fault in Our Stars) and Theo The Fault in Our Stars) and Theo The Fault in Our StarsJames—also rising stars in young Hollywood.

Lionsgate’s marketing campaign included a Google hangout, social-media fan interaction and a Snapchat-exclusive trailer. The studio also partnered with Samsung to create “Insurgent: Shatter Reality,” a four-minute virtual-reality experience that puts moviegoers in the world of the film with the stars. The VR feature toured the US, including a stop Austin at the South by Southwest festival, and was available at more than 100 Best Buy locations.

The result: audiences that were young (55 percent younger than 25) and female (60 percent), although the ratio of males was higher than for the first Divergentfilm. Fay said that change was a result of Lionsgate’s efforts to expand beyond the franchise’s female following. “When you have a core audience, you have to say ‘OK, where can we grow?’” Fay said. “We had a great IMAX presence, which plays more to the male and fanboy audiences in general.” 

The film pulled in $3.6 million on 356 IMAX screens in the US and Canada.

In second place at the box office: Disney’s live-action

version of Cinderella, which fell 49 percent in its second weekend but still added $34.5 million to its domestic gross. The film, which cost $95 million to make, has been propelled by positive word of mouth reflected in an “A-minus” grade on CinemaScore. It crossed the $120-million mark in the US and Canada and has made more than $250 million globally.

Warner Bros.’s Run All Night finished third for the weekend and added $5.1 million. The film, which stars Liam Neeson as a hitman fighting to save his son, has

Today’sHoroscopeBy Eugenia LastzHoroscopezHoroscope

By Eugenia Lastz

By Eugenia Last

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are unique, inventive and dedicated. You are sensitive and empathetic.

ACROSS 1 “___ ho!” 6 Very ritzy10 Sets one’s sights14 Cupid’s projectile15 Straining to be highbrow16 Kelly of morning TV17 One way to get elected20 Herb in stuffing21 A good apprentice, e.g.22 Numerical suffix23 Some building additions24 Synagogue bigwig28 Sudden enlightenment, in Zen30 Galley workers32 Get via trickery35 ‘60s war setting, informally36 Bar mitzvah, for one40 Jack-in-the-box part41 Wry twists of fate42 Medium-dry Spanish sherry45 Awed ones, obviously49 People magazine person, for short50 “Warm” or “cold”

52 Salesperson, briefly53 Bishop’s bailiwick56 Itty-bitty bit57 Certain order to a helmsman61 About62 Liberated63 Projection booth items64 Drummer’s pride65 In the mail66 Scoop the soup

DOWN 1 Holes for anchor cables 2 List of literary goofs 3 “Make ___ turn at the light” 4 Cast a ballot 5 Farm female 6 Funnies frame 7 Killer whales 8 White dwarf, e.g. 9 “The Battle ___ of the Republic”10 Ark landfall11 “East” on a grandfather clock12 Info for an auto buyer (Abbr.)

13 ___ Jose, Calif.18 Monopoly avenue19 Gilpin of Frasier23 Great Lakes city25 Belfry reverberation26 Hillside, in Edinburgh27 “Capital” suffix29 Frequently, poetically30 Vigorous enthusiasm31 Klein or Claiborne, e.g.33 Certain hairdo34 Fed. documents group36 Icy coating37 “Rebel Yell” rocker Billy38 Anagram of “sate”39 Death on the Nile cause, perhaps40 Fond du ___, Wis.43 Flying off the shelves44 Closing notice?46 Ate into47 Give a new version of, as a story48 Like slim pickings50 Woman of Troy51 Small body of land

54 Some switch settings55 Work in a smokehouse56 Light bulb, in comic strips57 ___ Roy (1995 film)___ Roy (1995 film)___ Roy58 Anger or fury59 Fed. property group60 Internet address, for short

‘that sounds about...’ BY JILL PEPPERThe Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

D2

ShowBusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.phTuesday, March 24, 2015

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Peyton Manning, 39; Alyson Hannigan, 41; Jim Parsons, 42; Louie Anderson, 62.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take a serious look at your work situation and consider how you can use your attributes to bring in more cash. Sticking to a budget while you put your plans in motion will be the best way to ensure your success. Use your ingenuity and persuasive tactics and someone with clout will offer assistance. Your numbers are 3, 10, 18, 24, 29, 37, 43.

aARIES (March 21-April 19): Look over your financial situation and you’ll find a way to cut corners or earn more.

Contracts can be negotiated and deals put into place if you are persistent. Business functions will help you connect with someone who can influence your future. HHH

b TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make love, not war. Use your intuition, charm and compassion to find the

right way to deal with anyone or any situation you face. Keep your response simple and mindful. Once you establish a solution, take action. HHH

c GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You will be determined to complete what you start, but be realistic or you’ll face

disappointment. You can make changes, but don’t sacrifice when it comes to hard work and precision. Emotions will be hard to control. HHH

d CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t make an impulsive offer that you will end up regretting. Spend your time

doing things that make you happy or that will enhance your skills and lead to greater earning power. Romance can improve your day and your personal life. HHH

e LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Get involved in activities that will allow you to show off your talents and

leadership ability. Make professional changes that will encourage you to use your social skills. Learn from experience and be persistent, and you will reach your goal. HHHH

f VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Take time to do something you enjoy. Shopping for something that will

make you feel or look good will encourage you to be more social. Romance is in the stars and will lead to personal improvements with someone you think is special. HH

g LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): RA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): RA You’ll have lots of options to choose from. Partnerships will take a turn, but if

handled properly, will put you in a much better position. Size up whatever situation you face at home and make adjustments that will bring you peace of mind. HHHHH

h SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t be tempted by a deal someone offers. Joint ventures will be costly

and will require insight, but if you choose to proceed alone, you will find the road to victory. Love is in the stars. HHH

i SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your ability to get things done will put you in a good position. Don’t let

anyone slow you down or mislead you. A lack of honesty can be expected when dealing with others. Don’t share personal information. HHH

j CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take one step at a time. Refuse to let anyone push you into something that makes you

feel uncertain. Stick close to home and nurture jfeel uncertain. Stick close to home and nurture jyour relationships with the people in your life who count. Make special plans for two. HHHH

k AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Consider what brings you the most happiness. Focus on reviving an

old skill or looking for a position that allows you the freedom to do what you enjoy most. Don’t let anyone discourage you from following your dreams. HH

l PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Get together with someone you haven’t seen in a long time. The more you

get to share your thoughts with someone with whom you have a history, the closer you will come to finding the perfect solution to help you advance. HHHH

‘Insurgent’ kicks off with $54 million

Breakthrough adaptation from MMORPG to filmBASED on the phenomenal MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) of the same name, Dragon Nest: Warrior’s Dawn is now showing in Philippine Dawn is now showing in Philippine Dawncinemas nationwide through Axinite Digicinema.

Dragon Nest marks a remarkable Dragon Nest marks a remarkable Dragon Nestcollaboration between Asian film artists and top talents from Hollywood. The movie is directed by Soong Yuefeng, a leading young animation talent, making his solo directing

debut. The producer and cowriter of the screenplay, Bill Borden, brings in over 30 years of moviemaking experience and credits, such as the worldwide blockbuster High School Musical series.

Borden’s other credits range in style, from Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle to Hustle to Hustle Mission: Impossible 3 to Mission: Impossible 3 to Mission: Impossible 3Spike Lee’s Get On the Bus.

A thrilling adventure in the style of Lord of the Rings, Dragon Nest spins Lord of the Rings, Dragon Nest spins Lord of the Rings, Dragon Nestthe tale of the young teen Lambert,

who joins a group of experienced dragon fighters to face the fearsome Black Dragon, which is menacing the land of Altera. Humans and elves must overcome mutual distrust to battle the dragon and its huge force of frightening beasts.

From the beginning for Soongand his team, the goal was to createa movie which wasn’t limited culturally to Asia, and which could compete with animated films from anywhere in the world.

They did not change the setting from the magical world of the MMORPG, which is a futuristic fantasy but inspired by medieval Europe and its tales of heroes and dragons.

The team recruited top graduates from Asia’s finest art schools, drawing on the remarkable fundamental painting and drawing skills of those artists to create art in a style that is consciously different from the work of studios, such as Pixar, Dreamworks and Disney.

THEO JAMES and Shailene Woodley star in The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Series: Insurgent, Series: Insurgentthe second installment in the blockbuster franchise based on Veronica Roth’s bestselling YA series.

made $19.7 million since its launch last week. The film cost about $50 million to make.

The Gunman, released by Open Road Films, flopped in its debut with a $5-million opening, good for fourth place. The action thriller, which cost about $40 million to make, follows a former Special Forces soldier (Sean Penn) with post-traumatic stress disorder. It costars Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance. Kingsman: The Secret Service rounded out the Kingsman: The Secret Service rounded out the Kingsman: The Secret Servicetop 5, adding $4.6 million in its sixth weekend. The film has made about $114.6 million domestically to date.

The faith-based drama Do You Believe? came in at sixth with a $4-million opening. The film is from the creators of God’s Not Dead, which opened a year ago God’s Not Dead, which opened a year ago God’s Not Deadwith a surprisingly strong $9.2 million.

Though some religious dramas have found success at the domestic box office, Do You Believe? failed to Do You Believe? failed to Do You Believe?draw in its target audience. The film, backed by Pure Flix Entertainment, follows a pastor and a street-corner preacher. It stars Mira Sorvino, Lee Majors, Cybill Shepherd and Ted McGinley. The box office was down about 8.1 percent from the same weekend last year but is up 4.2 percent year to date. Next weekend Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell’s comedy Get Hard and Get Hard and Get Hardanimated film Home are expected to provide solid Home are expected to provide solid Homecounterprogramming for moviegoers. April is also poised to kick off strong at the box office with the debut of Furious 7. Furious 7. Furious 7 n

SHOW D2

“The leopard never changes its spots.’Yung nangyari sa Mamasapano can be connected to its [MILF] links to al-Qaeda noon pa.”—Ex-Interior

Secretary Rafael Alunan lll

��� ON “KASANGGA MO ANG LANGIT SA DWIZ”

nangyari sa

pa.”

ANG LANGIT SA

PRESIDENT Aquino (right) converses with South Luzon Tollway Corp. Chairman and San Miguel Corp. President and COO Ramon Ang during the briefing on the South Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 (Slex-TR4) Project and other major road projects in Southern Tagalog in Barangay Lalig, Tiaong, Quezon, on Monday. The Slex-TR4 project is a P13.1-billion planned expressway extension from Santo Tomas, Batangas, to Lucena, Quezon, mandated under Presidential Decrees 1112 and 1894. It involves the construction of a 58-kilometer, four-lane toll road. GIL NARTEA/MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU

www.dwiz882.com C A

Lee Kuan Yew, who trans-formed the backwater city-state of Singapore into one of the

world’s most efficient and prosper-ous international business centers, has died. He was 91. Lee had been hospitalized in Sin-gapore for pneumonia. His death was announced early Monday by the Sin-gapore prime minister’s office. For more than 50 years Lee was among Southeast asia’s most influ-ential statesmen. authoritarian, humorless, incorruptible, he reigned over his 240-square-mile island like a stern headmaster, corralling ethnic Chinese, Indians and Malays into a cohesive state, with english as a common language. His legacy was an economic miracle with few parallels in the developing world, though in recent years Singa-pore’s nominally democratic system has come under increasing fire for stifling freedom of expression, open debate and public assembly. Issues like Internet restrictions, gay rights, rising income inequal-ity, the country’s reliance on foreign labor and working conditions for migrants have sparked increasing protests and discontent. Today, there are nearly 1.5 million nonresident foreigners in Singapore among a population of nearly 4 mil-lion citizens and permanent residents. Lee became Singapore’s first prime minister in 1959, two years after colonial power Britain agreed to the territory’s self rule, and his People’s action Party (PaP) has dominated the country’s politics ever since, never losing power. He set out to attract foreign in-vestment and encourage capitalism. He embraced efficiency like a religion and believed that the well-being of the community was more important than the rights of the individual. although Singapore has no agri-culture, mining or resources—other than its industrious people—the is-land nation by the 1990s had become a global high-tech, transportation and manufacturing center that rivaled Hong Kong. It was Southeast asia’s most mod-ern city; its literacy rate was virtually 100 percent and its per-capita income was the highest in the region. “I have spent a lifetime fighting against the odds,” Lee once said, “and they were very heavy odds, to build up confidence in Singapore, confidence of Singaporeans in their future and confidence of foreigners who will in-vest their fortunes in Singapore.” Lee Kuan Yew (Kuan Yew trans-lates as “the light that shines far and wide”) was born in Singapore on Sep-tember 16, 1923, to a Chinese family. unlike many overseas Chinese, he never felt an affinity for the mainland. “I have no links with China, I have no friends in China,” he said in the 1960s. During Japan’s world war II occupation of Singapore, Lee was forced into duty as a translator for Japan’s official news agency. after the war, with Singapore back under British colonial rule, he traveled on an allied troop ship to england to study. He spent four months in Lon-don, hated the city and moved to Cam-bridge. In Cambridge, he proved to be a brilliant student. He studied law at

BusinessMirrorTuesday, March 24, 2015A2

News

Asean. . . Continued from A1

SMC. . . Continued from A1

DND. . . Continued from A8

DOE, NREB urged to increase wind-power installation target

Malacañang stateMent on the passing of lee Kuan Yew

worker’s angst a worker reacts to the question, “what can your P15 buy?” posted on the wall. Metro Manila workers are not happy with wage order 19, which authorized the P15 salary increase and was approved by regional tripartite wages and Productivity Board-national Capital region Chairman alex avila. workers said the amount was an “insult” and is not even enough to pay for a train ticket. ALYSA SALEN

The asean Financial Integration Framework, mean-while, is a component of the entire aeC blueprint, in-volving the liberalization and integration of financial markets through the removal of restrictions on capital markets and other financial services. These include banks, insurance companies, investment companies and other financial institutions. In the same report, the BSP said a lot of things need to be done this year up to 2020 in advancing the financial integration. Most of these measures need to be worked on this year, based on the given timetable in the BSP’s report. among the actions that are set to be worked on this year include the environment and treatment for quali-fied asian banks, or banks that are allowed to operate in other jurisdictions in the region aside from its home base country; the process of financial-services liberal-

ization; capital-market development; and harmoniza-tion of payments and settlements system. “The potential contributions to lowering of banking costs and improving efficiency and mobility of services offers an opportunity for Philippine banks to develop potential tie-ups and strategic alliances to find better ways to expand their reach,” the central bank said. “However, concerns emerge on financial-stability risks and the need to put the domestic industry on an equal footing with regional counterparts. The concern emanates from the observation that Philippine banks are small and might not be able to compete with bigger players in the region,” it added. amid these, the BSP said the local scene remains ready for measures for the banking and financial integration under the aeC.

lee Kuan Yew, fatheR of MoDeRnsingapoRe, Dies at 91. . . Continued from A1

As the singaporean people mourn the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, the Filipino people join them in honoring a statesman who can justifiably be called the Founding Father of the Republic of singapore. Throughout his long life, as prime minister and senior minister, Lee demon-strated an unswerving devotion to his country, turning it into a state that would be an exemplar of efficient, modern and honest governance. The development of singapore has earned it the respect of nations and peoples, including the tens of thousands of Filipinos who work there and visit the country. The President, in joining the Filipino people in expressing the solidarity of the Philippines with singapore at this time of mourning, extends his personal condolences to Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong. Prime Minister Lee has always extended every official and personal courtesy to the President in his visits to singapore and their official interactions in the Asean community. An era has passed, one upon which singaporeans can look back on with deep pride and a sense of accomplishment.

Fitzwilliam House and completed his legal studies at the Middle Temple in London. There he became active in the Ma-layan Forum, a political group of stu-dents who sought an end to colonial rule in Malaya and Singapore. “I did not find anything in Britain that justified their governing me,” Lee said. “They were not superior enough to be able to decide what is good for me. It reinforced my view that we should govern ourselves.” Back in Singapore in the early 1950s, working as an attorney, he joined with the communists to form the PaP to fight for independence. Later, he wrested control of the party and used it to crush the communists. In May 1959 he led the PaP to vic-tory at the polls and the next month became prime minister of a self-governing but not fully independent Singapore. One of his early achieve-ments was to persuade Malaya’s prime minister, Tunku abdul Rahman, to merge with Singapore in 1963. But the Federation of Malaya was short-lived and the two countries separated in 1965 amid increasing racial tensions between ethnic Chinese and Malays on the peninsula. Lee reacted tearfully in public to the Federation of Malaya breakup. But he recovered quickly and set out to tackle the unexpected task of governing a fully independent Singapore and to meet the challenge of finding a place for Singapore in the world marketplace. Singapore’s fraught early years would forever shape Lee’s thinking about how to govern and how fragile Singapore’s place in the world is. “The past has been a series of immense challenges over survival and deprivation,” he said in 1989. “we have secured our survival, although we can never banish danger.” It also animated his arguments about why opposition politicians should not be allowed to govern. “There is a heavy price to pay if me-diocrities and opportunists ever take control of the government,” he said in 1982. Such a scenario, he warned, was possible if citizens “in a fit of pique or a moment of madness voted for the politics of opposition for the sake of opposition. Five years of such a gov-ernment...and Singapore will be down on her knees.” Lee had a fearsome temperament,

and ministers quaked in his presence. He did not tolerate dissent or corrup-tion, and he exercised tight control over his people and the local media. at various times he banned distri-bution of Time magazine, the Asian Wall Street Journal, Asiaweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review. In recent years his successors in the PaP have pursued defamation suits against those who dared question govern-mental policies in blog posts or other online forums. Very much an elitist who believed “asian values” made people of the re-gion inherently superior, Lee estab-lished in 1983 a “graduate mothers” program that paid mothers with uni-versity degrees to have children and improve the gene pool. uneducated people were offered rewards and punishments to induce them to limit family size. The policy was abolished after a public outcry. Lee saw moral failings in the liberal democracy of the west, and believed that “good government” and economic advancement were a more important national goal than individual liberties. He considered so-called human rights largely irrelevant to the growth of de-veloping asian nations. Once asked whether Singapore—a country with so many restrictions that even chewing gum was barred—would slowly become more liberal, he replied: “You mean more like a western society, like Britain or america? I hope never. I think we’d go down the drain. we’d have more poor people in the streets, sleeping in the open; we’d have more drugs, more crime, more single moth-ers and delinquent children; a troubled society and a poor economy.” although often reprimanded by human-rights activists, Lee re-mained a close friend of the united States throughout his political ca-reer. even his harshest critics agreed on one point: The Singapore he built is one of asia’s great success stories, with one of the world’s most efficient airports and ports. a government-financed apart-ment program helped drive the na-tion’s homeownership rate to rank among the highest in the world —90.5 percent in 2013 for resident house-holds, according to government sta-tistics. Singapore’s streets are clean and crime is low, and it is consistently ranked as one of the least-corrupt countries in the world. MCT/TNS

whole extension by 2019. The sec-tion from Santo Tomas to Macban should be opened by mid-2017. This is the latest project in SMC’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La union express-way, the at-grade and elevated Skyway System and the Skyway Stage 3, the ninoy aquino In-ternational airport expressway Phase II, the existing Slex and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog arterial Road, or Star Tollway.

The conglomerate is one of the key players in the public-private partnership arena. It has joined a number of auctions and is aiming to win the P35.42-billion Cavite-Laguna expressway (Calax) deal this year. Documents from the public-works agency showed that the deadline for the submission of bids for Calax is on May 19. The opening of the technical propos-als is set for June 2. The technical requirements will then be evalu-ated. The financial proposals of

those whose documents passed the review will then be opened on June 15. The awarding is set for July 7. So far, three parties have signi-fied their interest in the controver-sial deal, these are SMC, Metro Pa-cific Investments Corp. and another private company that is represented by a law firm. The tender process, as earlier re-ported, will require bidders to place offers higher than P20.1 billion in premium, the alleged financial pro-posal of SMC. Lorenz S. Marasigan

The Western Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) has urged the National Renewable

energy Board (NReB) and the Department of energy (DOe) to raise their installation target for renewable energy (Re).

In a resolution approved during its first quarterly meeting here, the region’s highest policy-making body specifically requests for the increase in target for wind power. The body cited that the 200- megawatt (Mw) installation tar-get for wind power that was issued by the energy Regulatory Com-mission (eRC) in 2012 has already been issued to eligible developers. Developers that are confirmed by the eRC are guaranteed the feed-in tariff (FIT) rate for wind tech-

nology of P8.53 per kilowatt-hour for electricity actually delivered to the grid for 20 years. “Considering the upcoming op-eration of the wind power projects in Region 4, including the construc-tion of the 40-Mw Sibunag wind Farm, there is a need to increase the installation target for wind power,” the RDC petition stated. The increase, according to the RDC, will enable the Re developers that are in excess of the 200-Mw target that are already operating

or with projects under construction to avail of the FIT rate immediately, allowing them to sustain their op-erations, it added. Four wind power projects are expected to operate in western Visayas. Of these, the 54-Mw San Lorenzo wind Power Project is commercially operating and has started to export to the grid in December last year. Meanwhile, the projects in nabas, aklan, and Pulupandan, negros Oc-cidental, with a 50-Mw capacity each are in the construction stage. The 40-Mw Sibunag wind Farm will be constructed by the Trans-asia Renewable energy Corp. once the installation target for wind power is increased. The council contends that “the higher revenues derived by wind farms as a consequence of the FIT rate will enable host communi-ties to reap the full and immediate financial benefits as provided for by the Re law.” PNA

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. on Monday said Widodo’s statement is consistent with the Philippine position that the so-called nine-dash-line theory underpinning China’s claims contradicts the principles of the UN Convention

on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). That is the basis of the petition we filed in the UN arbitral tribunal, Coloma said in a text message to Malacañang media. While saying China’s claims have no basis in international law, Widodo reportedly said

Indonesia will remain an “honest broker” in the territorial disputes. China reportedly claims 90 percent of the WPS, a territory being partly claimed by Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. PNA

[email protected] Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Tuesday, March 24, 2015 A3BusinessMirrorThe Nation

LFS National Spokes-man Charisse Bañez also expressed doubts on the DepEd’s claim that the country is prepared to im-plement the new basic edu-cation program.

“The DepEd’s claims on the country’s readiness to implement K to 12 are just fantasies. In reality, the youth still suffer from

timeworn problems in basic education, including the dire need for classrooms, books and teachers. Pushing through K to 12 is merely adding fuel to the fire,” Bañez said. The group held a noise-barrage protest in front of the DepEd’s main office calling to junk K to 12. Bañez said the government should resolve first the problems that hound the K to 12 program, such as lack of classroom, absence of safety nets for displaced teachers and academic personnel, poor technical-vocational model and others. Earlier, Education Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, admit-

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has urged the leadership of the House of Representatives to prioritize all the measures protecting Filipino children.

The Unicef Philippines team, led by its deputy representa-tive Abdul Alim, in a statement after its recent meeting with the House leaders, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and members of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Popula-tion and Development (PLCPD), said several laws are needed to protect children’s as well as women’s rights in the Philippines. “The meeting offered an important opportunity to advocate for the passage of several child-related law. Within the context of a larger discussion to improve national and local legislation to promote child rights, the discussion centered on key legislative bills, including the far-reaching impact of child nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life; improving access to children in human immunodeficiency virus testing; and mainstreaming child rights in the Bangsamoro basic law [BBL],” the Unicef said. Currently, there are six bills pending in the lower chamber addressing malnutrition among children. There are also 10 pending bills seeking to strengthen the Philippine compre-

hensive policy on HIV and acute immune deficiency syndrome prevention, treatment, care and support. The lawmakers were receptive to the recommendations presented by the Unicef. Joining the discussion were Liberal Party Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica of Bulacan, Committee on Women and Gender Equal-ity chairman; and Party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe of Ako Bicol, Committee on Climate Change chairman; Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin of Ammbis-Owa, Committee on Millennium Development Goals vice chairman; Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino Rep. Bel-laflor Angara-Castillo of Aurora, PLCPD member; LP Rep. Salvio B. Fortuno of Camarines Sur, Committee on Poverty Alleviation chairman; and Nacionalista Party Rep. Henry Oaminal of Misamis Occidental, Ad Hoc Committee on the proposed BBL vice chairman. “The fruitful exchange opened up avenues for continued high-level engagement in advancing and monitoring child rights in the Philippines,” he said. Alongside many countries across the world, the Philippines celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2014. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

K to 12 program assailed by youthgroup, backed by congressman

Unicef asks House to prioritizebills on protection of children

APARTY-LIST lawmaker on Monday asked two committees of the House of Representatives to invite President Aquino on their joint in-

vestigation on the ill-fated Mamasapano mission on April 7 and 8.  Rep. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna said the Com-mittee on Public Order and Safety and the Committee on Peace, Unity and Reconciliation, headed by United Negros Alliance Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer of Negros Occiden-tal and Liberal Party Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman of Basilan, respectively, should invite Aquino to explain his side about the mission. Colmenares, a senior deputy minority leader,  said that there are many inconsistencies on the Mamasa-pano incident that only President Aquino can answer. “Among them are 1) the President’s approval of Oplan Exodus; 2) the problem of coordination be-tween the Special Action Force, Armed Forces and between the Departments of the Interior and Lo-cal Government and of National Defense; 3) the involvement of suspended National Police chief Alan Purisima; 4) the issue of Aquino’s command responsibility, 5) the involvement of the US; and 6) the issue of Armed Forces assistance to the SAF commandos,” he said. “It is to the President’s interest to attend the House

hearing so that he can explain his side and tell the whole truth. As it is the majority of the Filipino people are not satisfied with his answers and handling of the Mamasapano incident and the House probe would be the best venue to answer the people. If he does not attend then it would be another blow to his already collapsing credibility,” he said. “He owes it to the Filipino people, his bosses no less, 80 percent of whom [according to a recent survey] are not satisfied with his explanations on the incident. A House Mamasapano probe without President Aquino’s attendance would also be incomplete like that of the Board of Inquiry [BOI] and the Senate investigations and may further anger the Filipino people. Who knows the 80 percent may climb to 100 percent if he does not attend,” Colmenares added. Earlier, the Palace said that Aquino is open to face the lower chamber’s Mamasapano investigation. However, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., an adminis-tration ally, citing the separation of powers of the three branches of the government, said that the leadership has no intention of inviting Aquino to its inquiry.  Belmonte, however, said that the members of the lower chamber are expecting Aquino to submit the transcript of his text messages with Purisima during the Mamasapano mission January 25  that killed 44 members of the Special Action Force.  Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz 

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

THE League of Filipino Students (LFS) on Monday condemned

the Department of Education’s (DepEd) insistence to implement the K to 12 Program.

ted before the lawmakers that some 39,000 college faculty members and nonteaching personnel of higher-education institutions will be displaced by the full-blown implementation of the K to 12 under Republic Act 10533 next year. To help the 39,000 college faculty and nonteaching personnel of higher educational institutions, Luistro said tertiary schools are planning to construct senior high school where professors to be affected by the program can teach there, adding that the DepEd can also hire them.

Program neededHOWEVER, Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Sherwin Gatchal-ian of Valenzuela said the K to 12 program is needed for Philippine education system to rival best systems in the world. “We have to keep our eyes on the prize, which is an education system that rivals the best systems in the world in terms of equal access and learning outcomes,” Gatchalian, a majority member of the House Committees on Basic Education and Culture and on Higher and Technical Education, said. Gatchalian said the benefits of the K to 12, such as making Fili-pino students globally competitive, would offset the sacrifices that have to be made in order for the program to be a success. “The benefits of K to 12 in the long run will compensate for the problems that we will face in the short term. The Philippines needs K to 12, and we need it now,” he said. “By passing the K to 12 law, we have made a collective commit-ment to pursuing reforms in formal education that are ambitious and innovative in this jurisdiction. In all honesty, we will have to make certain sacrifices today if we want to reach our goal tomorrow. We need to use foresight, and we need to exercise strong political will to push ahead with challenging but meaningful programs such as this,” Gatchalian said. Gatchalian pointed out that one of the program’s adverse effects is the massive displacement of college teaching and nonteaching per-sonnel. There will also be no students in other college levels until the first batch of students graduate from senior high school. Things will only normalize come school year 2021-2022. With Marvyn Benaning

GATCHALIAN: “The benefits of K

to 12 in the long run will compensate for the problems

that we will face in the short term. The Philippines needs K to 12, and we need

it now.”

PRESIDENT Aquino on Monday debunked rumors over the weekend that he had col-lapsed owing to an unspecified ailment,

prompting the cancellation of his scheduled activities and meetings at the Palace. After inspecting the South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4 projects for Southern Luzon in Tiaong, Quezon, on Monday, Aquino delivered a speech that began with a blanket denial of “rumors” that he was seriously sick and had collapsed while at work at his office in the Palace  late last week. “Marahil ho narinig niyo ang kumalat na iba’t ibang bersyon ng tsismis [mula] noong hating gabi ng Biyernes patawid ng Sabado,” he told the Que-zon province officials and residents, adding: “Ang sabi po nag-collapse daw ako sa Malaca-ñang, na may malubha raw akong karamdaman

habang ang iba naman ay nagsasabing nasa ICU [intensive-care unit] na ako.” Aquino related that when his critics later saw him up and about, another storyline was concocted claiming the rumor he is sick was spawned by the Palace, to gain public sympathy for Aquino, who had been reeling from vicious criticisms over his role in the January 25 mas-sacre of 44 Special Action Force commandos by combined Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters gunmen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. “Nang makita nila ako noong Sabado ng gabi na wala namang problema sa kalusugan, may pani-bagong tsismis na namang lumalabas. Kami raw ang nagpakalat ng kathang-isip na ito para lang makakuha ng simpatya sa publiko,” Aquino griped. B. Fernandez

Aquino blames critics for spawning ‘rumors’ he is sick

On the way Workers display different moods as their bus gets stuck in traffic in Makati City. A silver lining, however, is the announcement that the government approved a P15-a day increase in the minimum wage. NONIE REYES

Lawmaker presses 2 Congress committees to invite Aquino

BusinessMirror [email protected] A4

EconomyBy Rene Acosta

One of the three C295 transport aircraft that the Philippine Air Force (PAF) has acquired from a european defense

supplier is already in the country, even as the Army is awaiting for the delivery of armored personnel carriers that were refurbished and upgraded by an Israeli company. The acquisitions are still part of the on-going modernization of the Armed Forces, which is currently beefing up its land, air and sea assets as it accelerates its shift to-ward territorial defense, partly due to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, primarily with China. Air Force Spokesman Lt. Col. enrico Ca-naya said the C295 medium transport plane ordered from Airbus Defense and Space ar-rived at Clark on Sunday afternoon and is al-ready being checked for its christening into the service. earlier, Airbus reported on its web site that the C295 was turned over to Philippine officials in Seville, Spain, on March 18, and was already on its way to the Philippines for its eventual service into the military. The three C295 were being procured with a total worth of P5.29 billion taken from the modernization program of the military. Meanwhile, the Army is also awaiting for

the delivery of 28 upgraded M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) from Israeli defense contractor elbit System Ltd., thus, beefing up its land-based fire support systems and mission. The 28 APCs, 14 of which were upgraded into fire support vehicles, four as armored re-covery vehicles, six as armored personnel carri-ers and four as infantry fighting vehicles, were procured with a total amount of P882 million. eighteen of the APCs will be delivered by May 11, while the remaining 10 will be turned over two months after the first delivery. According to elbit, the armored personnel carriers would be armed with the latest auto-mated firing system that has a 99.9-percent ac-curacy of hitting its target with a single bullet. “This means that the sighting and correc-tion for wind shear and other factors are done electronically and that a highly accurate and computerized firing control ensures for a very lethal weapon system against the enemies of the state,” elbit said. APCs are usually fitted with machine guns that indulges in strafing fire. The upgraded APCs are also equipped with modern thermal sights and infrared equip-ment, which means that the fighting and target-ing and firing can be done under pitch darkness and under complete darkness, which will allow soldiers to effectively engage their targets even under the cover of complete darkness.

ATOTAL of 26 cities and 14 provinces failed in the De-partment of Finance’s (DOF)

Fiscal Sustainability Scorecard, which evaluated the fiscal sustainability and revenue-generation capabilities of lo-cal government units (LGUs) for the

fiscal year 2012. even cities in Metro Manila, such as Manila, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Taguig, were among those 26 cities that re-ceived failing grades in their Fiscal Sustainability Scorecards.

The scoring system was launched by the DOF’s Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to measure the fiscal sustainability and revenue- generation capabilities of LGUs, and to encourage them to raise more revenues to realize the government’s policy of decentral-

izing the delivery of basic services to the people. The scorecards consider many fac-tors relating to the fiscal management of a particular LGU, such as efficien-cy and innovativeness in spending, creating new sources of revenues,

collecting on these revenue sources and updating of market values of real properties. Other cities under “income class 1” but still received failing marks are Santiago City, Calamba City, Cebu City, Mandaue City, Calbayog City

and Ormoc City. The rest of the 26 cities that received failing marks are: Urdaneta, Gingoog, Bago, Pagadian, San Carlos (Pangasi-nan), Bislig, Sagay, Bais, Dapitan, Iriga, Passi, Canlaon, Isabela (Basilan), and Catbalogan. David Cagahastian

neda Director General and economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisa-can said public investments in DRR are needed, particularly on research and de-velopment (R&D). R&D, Balisacan said at the recent United nations (Un) World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, is needed to create effective and evidence-based DRR policies and strategies. “In the case of the Philippines, public in-vestments in R&D, or in science and technol-ogy [S&T], compete with the same pool of fiscal resources needed to address our critical development outcomes in health, education,

social protection and basic infrastructure,” Balisacan said. In order to create fiscal space for cli-mate-change resiliency, the Philippines decided to mobilize the private sector to construct, manage, or maintain infra-structure projects through public-private partnership arrangements. Balisacan noted that the country has turned to the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency to im-prove the country’s DRR capacity. However, more effort needs to be done. Balisacan noted that a case can be made for stronger support to good data and ex-

Tuesday, March 24, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

SUNRISE SUNSET

NEW MOON5:58 AM 6:07 PM

MOONRISEMOONSET

10:02 PM 9:02 AM

TODAY’S WEATHERMETROMANILA

LAOAG

BAGUIO

SBMA/CLARK

TAGAYTAY

LEGAZPI

PUERTOPRINCESA

ILOILO/BACOLOD

TUGUEGARAO

METROCEBU

CAGAYANDE ORO

METRODAVAO

ZAMBOANGA

TACLOBAN

3-DAYEXTENDEDFORECAST

3-DAYEXTENDEDFORECAST

CELEBES SEA

LEGAZPI CITY24 – 30°C

TACLOBAN CITY24 – 31°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

METRO DAVAO24 – 34°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY22 – 34°C

PHILI

PPIN

E ARE

A OF R

ESPO

NSIB

ILITY

(PAR

)

SABAH

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 24 – 31°C METRO CEBU

24 – 32°C

ILOILO/BACOLOD

23 – 31°C

23 – 31°C

24 – 32°C 23 – 31°C 24 – 31°C

24 – 32°C 23 – 31°C 23 – 31°C

23 – 32°C 23 – 33°C 23 – 32°C

24 – 34°C 24 – 33°C 24 – 32°C

22 – 34°C 23 – 34°C 22 – 32°C

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MARCH 24, 2015 | TUESDAY

HIGH TIDEMANILA

SOUTH HARBOR

LOW TIDE

7:54 PM-0.03 METER

TUGUEGARAO CITY21 – 30°C

LAOAG CITY 22 – 31°C

TAGAYTAY CITY 20 – 27°C

SBMA/CLARK 22 – 30°C

23 – 30°C 23 – 30°C 23 – 31°C

22 – 31°C 22 – 32°C 21 – 30°C

22 – 32°C 22 – 32°C 23 – 33°C

16 – 24°C 16 – 25°C 16 – 23°C

21 – 28°C 21 – 28°C 21 – 29°C

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22 – 31°C 23 – 32°C

23 – 32°C23 – 31°C 23 – 32°C

HALF MOON

3:43 PMMAR 27

5:36 PMMAR 20

BAGUIO CITY15 – 23°C

24 – 32°C

12:37 PM0.91 METER

23 – 31°C

MAR 25WEDNESDAY

MAR 26THURSDAY

MAR 27FRIDAY

MAR 25WEDNESDAY

MAR 26THURSDAY

MAR 27FRIDAY

Partly cloudy to at times cloudywith rainshowers

Light Rains

NORTHEAST MONSOONAFFECTING LUZON

(AS OF MARCH 23, 5:00 PM)

METRO MANILA23 – 29°C

Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”.It affects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry;

characterized by widespread cloudiness with rain showers.

Partly cloudy to at times cloudywith rainshowers and/or thunderstorms

ante analyses of policy and investment options to DRR. “Twinning arrangements on DRR science and practices between developed and devel-oping countries, or between or among devel-oping countries, should be advanced. We call on the multilateral development institutions and regional development organizations to deepen their engagement in helping catalyze the effort by serving as bridge or facilitator for such arrangements,” Balisacan said. In 2013 Balisacan said increasing the country’s investments in S&T to around 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) will help the country’s bid to achieve first-world status. Using current prices, the country’s GDP in 2012 was at P11 trillion to P12 trillion. Two percent of this amount means the gov-ernment needs to invest around P220 billion to P240 billion annually. Balisacan said the Philippines’s S&T in-vestments are considered the lowest among its neighbors. He added that in the agricul-ture sector alone, the Philippines does not even spend 0.5 percent of the sector’s gross value added on R&D.

More public investments in DRR needed–Neda

By Cai U. Ordinario

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is urging the national government to

increase public investments in disaster-risk reduction (DRR) efforts.

DOF: 26 cities, 14 provinces flunked fiscal sustainability score in 2012

Delivery of C295 plane beefs up PAF’s transport capability

briefsfuel-price slash takes effect today

OIL companies slashed anew pump prices effective today, the second time this month. Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil announced on Monday that they were reducing the price of gasoline by P1.10 per liter, diesel by P0.95 per liter and kerosene by P0.90 per liter. Other oil firms are expected to follow suit. Prior to this adjustment, oil prices went down on March 17 by P0.50 per liter for gasoline, P1.10 per liter for kerosene and P.85 per liter for diesel. The latest price rollback reflects the movements in the international petroleum market, they said. Based on latest monitoring of the Department of Energy, crude-oil prices decreased by about $3 to $4 a barrel from March 9 to 13, reportedly due to the rising US stockpiles amid a global supply glut and a weaker dollar. The US Department of Energy disclosed that US crude inventories had climbed to a fresh record high of 448.9 million barrels in the week ending March 6, while stockpiles also had increased. Moreover, the US dollar had eased from 12-year highs. A weaker dollar makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, tending to support demand and, in turn, prices. A broadly weak US retail sales report for February also hung over the oil market. Overall, Dubai crude price decreased week-on-week by almost $3 per

[email protected] Tuesday, March 24, 2015 A5BusinessMirrorEconomy

By Marvyn N. Benaning Correspondent

TWO party-list congressmen on Monday claimed that the Supreme Court (SC) and the

Commission on Elections (Comelec) have opened the floodgates for the rich and powerful to dominate the party-list system. Party-list Reps. Neri J. Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna rejected the argument of the SC and the Comelec that the party-list system was not intended for the poor and marginalized, an argument that has been articulated by former Comelec Chairman Christian Monsod for a long time. In a recent decision, acting Comelec Chairman Christian Robert Lim said the poll body would no longer require groups or organizations to submit the names of their nominees when they apply to be accredited as party-list. Lim said this is necessary, since the SC ruling in the Atong Paglaum case

had rendered the nominees insignifi-cant to party-list elections. “This is really shocking and a re-versal of the true essence of the party-list system. Mas lalala ang party-list system dahil sa ruling na ito at magpa-patingkad sa phenomenon na party-list seats for sale dahil ang lalabas ay paramihan na lang ng pera para sa mga gustong tumakbo. Lalong mawawalan ng representasyon ang mga tunay na mahihirap at inaapi sa Kongreso dahil nasasalaula ang party-list system sa ruling na ito,” Colmenares argued. “Sa ngayon pa lamang po ay iilan lang naman ang tunay na nagsusulong ng in-teres ng mga inaapi at pinagsasamanta-lahan sa Kongreso tapos ganito pa ang gagawin nila,” he added. In its ruling, SC said the Party-List System Act does not require that parties or organizations be marginalized and underrepresented for accreditation as party-list groups. The Court added that party-list nominees do not have to come from the marginalized and underrepre-sented sectors.

SC, Comelec open floodgates for richto dominate party-list system–group

ACORRUPTION watchdog is pressing the government to reconsider its multibillion-

peso award to a supplier, which it claimed benefited from a hasty bid-ding process in the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In a 15-page manifestation, the Anti-Trapo Movement (ATM), led by Leon Peralta, detailed to the poll body the questionable bid conditions in the “Lease with Option to Purchase of Election Management System [EMS] and Precinct-Based Optical Mark Reader [OMR] or Optical Scan [Op-Scan] System for the 2016 National and Local Elections Procurement Project.” The group claimed that a lopsided process tailored-fit the contract in favor of supplier Smartmatic-TIM. Smartmatic is presently embroiled in a controversy before the Supreme Court, where a petition has been filed seeking to void its deal with the Comelec for the refurbishment and repair of the vote-counting machines that will be used in the 2016 elections. The petition, filed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, seeks to declare null and void both Comelec Resolution 9922 and the signed contract between the poll body and Smartmatic for al-leged violation of Republic Act 9184. Comelec Resolution 9922 approved Smartmatic’s P300-million “Extend-

ed Warranty Proposal [Program 1]” through direct contracting. Under it, the company will conduct full diagnos-tic examination of the 80,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan machines, and per-form maintenance and minor repairs. ATM, on the other hand, is questioning the contract for the EMS machines. On December 4, 2014, the submis-sion and opening of bids for the EMS and OMR, or Op-Scan, were conducted with only two proponents participat-ing, the joint venture of Smartmatic and Indra Sistemas. And for the pre-cinct-based DRE technology, the joint venture of Smartmatic and the joint venture of the Vibal Group. On January 30 outgoing Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. signed the controversial P268.8-million con-tract with Smartmatic to repair 82,000 voting machines for the 2016 elections through a negotiated deal and without the benefit of a public bidding. On February 25 both proponents, the joint venture of Smartmatic-TIM and Indra Sistemas SA for the OMR, were, likewise, declared disqualified and subsequent motion for reconsid-erations filed by both proponents de-nied by the Comelec Bids and Awads Committee, thus declaring the under-taking a failure of bidding. On March 6 an invitation to bid was posted for the second round of

bidding for the EMS and OMR or Op-Scan system. “Notably, no change in the previous eligibility conditions were made by the Comelec Bids and Awards Committee despite knowing there were only two proponents which participated in the first round of bidding for the P2.5-billion and the P31.27-million proj-ects, which can hardly be described as competitive. Some of the eligibil-ity conditions provided in the bidding documents are obviously tailor-fitted and favorable to the current provider, Smartmatic-TIM,” the group said. “We take note that in most biddings undertaken by other procuring agen-cies, if only to entice more proponents to participate, the period given for such completed contracts is usually 10 years. “So why is the Comelec Bids and Awards Committee restricting this period to only six? “Third, the Philippines is essen-tially, either leasing or purchasing, a highly sophisticated equipment re-quiring 100-percent accuracy, which can make or break the future leaders of our country. And yet, the qualifica-tion of the proponent is described not as the manufacturer of the OMR-DRE and owner of its EMS software, but one which has supplied and delivered or refurbished/repair of such equipment.Why is this so?” they added. Joel San Juan

Group presses govt to reconsider award of multibillion-peso deal to smartmatic-tiM

By Lenie Lectura

ThE Manila Electr ic Co. (Meralco) has sought the approval of the Energy

Regulatory Commission (ERC) to install 100,000 more prepaid electricity meters on top of the 40,000 that and still pending with the agency.

“For this year, we filed for an-other 100,000 meters. We already applied it for one-year implementa-tion,” Meralco Senior Vice President Alfredo Panlilio said.

Meralco’s prepaid-service of-fer ing wi l l enable customers to budget their electricity con-sumption. The system also in-forms consumers if they need to reload immediately to avoid disconnection.

Meralco’s prepaid metering will initially be offered to 40,000 households in Manila. Its applica-tion with the ERC, however, has yet to be approved. Panlilio said the implementation of the service involving 40,000 meters is already delayed. But Meralco opted to file another application for an addi-tional 100,000 meters.

he said among those interested to try out the service is the National housing Authority (NhA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). “The NhA alone wants to have it in-stalled in 30,000 to 40,000 houses,” Panlilio said.

For the ERC’s part, Executive Di-rector Saturnino Juan said hearings on Meralco’s application are ongo-ing. A decision will be out soon, he added, “assuming [that] the ap-plication is approved, Meralco can roll out the service on a commercial basis thereafter.”

The Meralco official said the installation of 40,000 meters, if and when approved by the ERC, will only take a few months. “We want to finish it, if not June, by the end of the year the latest. I’m pushing my team to sell all 40,000 meters so that once the approval is out, we can immediately do the commercial operation,” Pan-lilio said.

Prepaid electricity is also being used in other countries, such as In-donesia, Australia and New Zealand, Meralco said.

Meralco has allotted a bud-get of $7 million for the entire system.

Meralco targets to install 100K prepaid power meters this year

In making the call, SME Corp Ma-laysia Chairman Tan Sri Ir Mohamed Al-Amin Abdul Majid said SMEs play a pivotal role as the engine of growth in all economies of Asean. he said SMEs should be fully prepared ahead of the formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which aims to increase the international competitiveness of the 10 member-nations and make the Asean region an attractive in-vestment location. “The population of Asean is more than 600 million and the business potential throughout the region is huge, ranging from all manufactur-ing, services and other sectors,” he told Bernama in an interview. In 2013 Asean’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.1 percent to $2.4 trillion ($1=RM3.71), with GDP per capita at $3,837. The region attracted a total of $122.38-trillion foreign direct in-vestment during the year, against $114.28 trillion in 2012.

Mohamed Al-Amin urged SMEs to participate in international-level events, including at the coming Asean SME Showcase and Confer-ence (ASSC) 2015, which would enable them to establish business relations and enhance their un-derstanding of rules and regula-tions for doing business in Asean member-countries. “This is an excellent avenue for knowledge and experience exchange, a lesson in business practices and good governance. We can also emu-late success stories and learn from other people’s failures, as well,” he said, adding that ASSC 2015 would help contribute further to Asean- and non-Asean economies going forward. The event, to be hosted in Ma-laysia from May 26 to 28 by SME Corp., will provide the Asean SME community vast trading and net-working opportunities, and feature six plenary sessions involving more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, industry leaders and innovators. PNA-Bernama

Asean SMEs told: Grab opportunities to broaden network and foster growth

KUALA LUMPUR—Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Association of Southeast

Asian Nations member-states have been urged to look at all possible opportunities in the region, in order to broaden their network and significantly contribute to the growth of the region as a whole.

biodiversity conservation for ecotourisM EnvIrOnMEnT chief ramon J.P. Paje is seeking more biodiversity conservation nationwide to help boost Philippine ecotourism, which the government estimated as potentially generating up to P157 billion in revenues by 2016. “The Philippines will be reaping economic benefits of biodiversity through ecotourism,” he said, as the Department of Environment and natural resources (DEnr) stepped up its campaign for biodiversity-conservation financing and ecotourism in the country. Paje noted that the Philippines has the potential to be an ecotourism star, having some 240 protected areas (PAs), and being one of the world’s megadiverse sites with thousands of endemic and exotic flora and fauna species. The World Tourism Organization expects Southeast Asia, where the Philippines is, to become one of the three top recipients of international tourist arrivals that’s expected to grow 5 percent, which is higher than the global average of 4.1 percent, he added. The Asean Centre for Biodiversity estimates that about 700 million people annually travel to more than 33,000 PAs worldwide. PNA

barrel (bbl). MOPS gasoline and diesel also decreased by $2.30/bbl and $3.20/bbl, respectively. Also, the peso per US dollar rate depreciated by P0.16 to P44.28, from P44.12 in previous week. Lenie Lectura

fruit Medicine A lady vendor cheerfully puts several pieces of duhat—a local fruit abundant during the summer season—for a customer in Hidalgo street, Quiapo, Manila. Also called java plum, duhat is said to possess certain medicinal qualities beneficial to the kidneys. Kevin de la Cruz

PANLILIO: “For this year, we filed for another 100,000 meters.

We already applied it for one-year

implementation.”

suMMer barGain sale Assorted bags and clothes for summer are on display in one of the stalls in Baclaran. The clothes—with comparable quality and make—are being sold at a much lower price than those sold at malls and boutiques. nonie reyes

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

OpinionBusinessMirrorA6

Lee Kuan Yew in perspective

editorial

THE passing of Singapore’s “Founding Father,” Lee Kuan Yew, truly marks the end of an era. He ruled Singapore for 30 years, bringing Singapore from its pre-independence days to becoming the

first “Tiger Economy.”

When Lee became leader of Singapore, perhaps in the world’s eyes, the city-state was best known for the British Changi Prison, later used by the Japanese as a prisoner-of-war camp. Now, when people say “Changi,” they are referring to one of the world’s best airports.

Even in the early days of the new Republic of Singapore, governing this for-mer British colony was an incredible challenge. Four ethnic groups—Chinese, Malay, Indian and Tamil—each with their own language, religion, culture and heritage, made for a political balancing act.

The island’s economy was built on the British naval base and little else. British author and naturalist David Attenborough said this when he first traveled there. “Getting to places like Bangkok or Singapore was a hell of a sweat. But when you got there, it was the back of beyond. It was just a series of small tin sheds.”

Lee turned an island of small sheds into the third-largest economy in the world based on purchasing power, as reported by the International Monetary Fund in 2013.

While Lee’s Singapore is considered somewhat of an “economic miracle,” some luck in terms of location and some smart planning led the economic rise of the nation.

Singapore’s economic escalation began at the time that Indonesia was start-ing to develop its oil resources. Crude oil from Indonesia was being shipped to various places around the world for refining. Lee recognized the opportunity for Singapore to build oil refineries, and thereby increasing Indonesia’s crude- oil profits and Singapore’s value-added profits.

A small and well-managed nation with a sound government fiscal policy, Singapore tracked the growth of both Hong Kong and Japan through the 1990s. Then its growth accelerated dramatically.

This boom coincided with China’s export-market expansion, with the Port of Singapore transshipping half of the world’s supply of crude oil. It was the busiest port on earth until dropping to second place behind Shanghai, China.

Sometimes it helps to be in the right place at the right time, no matter how smart you are.

However, Lee does leave an example of what a competent government fo-cused on economic, rather than political, gains can accomplish. But it came sometimes at the price of ruthless oppression of dissent and disagreement.

In 1994 Lee declared that Singapore would have gambling “over my dead body.” In 2013 Singapore casinos produce $6 billion in gaming revenue.

But, perhaps, Lee’s greatest legacy was his pragmatism in dealing with is-sues that needed to be solved through realistic means and not political theater.

Fourth of a series

THE business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry is another sector of the economy with which the real-estate industry has a synergistic relationship.

THE fulmar is a seabird that dates back to an extinct species from the Miocene age and are long-lived for birds with a 20-year life span. Having spent some time sailing in the

waters around northern Europe, they are a more refined version and much prettier than the common seagull as they look for food off fishing boats.

Taking the Philippines to the global stage

The coming months

THE EnTrEprEnEurManny B. Villar

The BPO industry has fueled an explosion in office-space development, now one of the active segments of the real-estate industry. Property consul-tant CBRE Philippines says the BPO sector is constantly driving the real-estate industry’s office segment.

BPOs are also stimulating other business activities like commercial centers, retail establishments, restau-rants and even coffee shops.

From another perspective, the con-struction of modern office buildings catering to BPO companies make the Philippines more attractive to foreign companies that outsource parts of their operations.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) noted in a 2010 study on the information-technology (IT)-BPO industry that the sector sustained ro-bust growth during that year despite uncertainties in the global economy. Total revenues of the industry were estimated at $10.1 billion, up 21.8 per-cent from $8.3 billion in 2009.

Among the various subsectors of

the IT-BPO industry, contact centers accounted for 52.3 percent of the in-dustry’s revenues. According to the BSP, the Philippines took the lead as the contact center of the world in 2010, outperforming India in terms of rev-enues and employment generation.

An industry road map prepared by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Infor-mation Technology and Business Process Association of the Phil-ippines (ITBPAP) estimates the industry’s revenues reaching $25 billion by 2016 and employment at 1.3 million. Revenues for 2014 were estimated at $18.4 billion and em-ployment at about 1 million.

During an industry summit last year, consulting firm Tholons said the IT-BPO’s annual revenues could reach $48 billion by 2020, if it sustains its compounded average growth rate of 9 percent to 12 percent that it posted during the period 2004 to 2014.

The BPO phenomenon is spreading outside Metro Manila, in the process

But as was pointed out to me in my readings recently, the name comes from the Old Norse words meaning “foul” and “gull,” a reference to the fulmar’s “gut oil puke” of the chicks.

A defense mechanism, the stomach oil that the chicks expel in projectile vomiting not only smells like rotten fish but is almost impossible to wash or even scrape from human skin. And if you are a bird looking for a free and easy meal, the stomach oil also has the consistency of super-glue, gluing a bird’s feathers to-gether making flight impossible. If the bird tries to wash the stomach oil off by going into the water, its feathers lose their natural buoyancy and waterproof-ing and the bird drowns.

The fulmar looks harmless and yet it is an accomplished murderer by nature and inclination. I have written several times that crude-oil prices are going to fall, and while some financial experts doubt that forecast, more evidence says that by June, what we think of as low prices today may seem high by comparison in the future.

Last week the American Petroleum Institute reported that the buildup of crude-oil inventories in the US was the largest on record since 2001. The estimate was for an increase of about 3.1 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage facility—the biggest in the world—but, in fact, came in at 10.5 million.

At the average current pace of unsold inventory, Cushing will be at full capac-

boosting real-estate developments in these areas. In addition to Metro Cebu and Clark, the DOST’s Information and Communications Technology Office and major industry players have iden-tified the next wave of cities (NWCs) that could host IT-BPO companies.

These are Davao, Santa Rosa (La-guna), Bacolod, Iloilo, Metro Cavite (Bacoor, Imus and Dasmariñas), Lipa (Batangas), Cagayan de Oro, Malolos (Bulacan), Baguio and Dumaguete. These areas were chosen from among 34 cities and municipalities because of their rich source of untapped talent. 

For instance, Cavite which has over 5,000 graduates a year, is a neighbour to Manila’s high-density university belt and labor force and is the most populous province in the Philippines. Iloilo City, which has the lowest aver-age wage, rental and power rates among the top 10 NWCs, produces over 17,000 graduates a year. Davao City, the only city outside of Metro Manila with more than a million residents, has more than 11,000 graduates a year and almost 500,000 workers.

Outside of the main hubs and top 10 NWCs, IT-BPO companies could also explore other potential locations such as Iligan, Zamboanga, General Santos, Leyte, Laoag, Bohol, Legazpi City and other provinces in Central and Southern Luzon.

Major players in the real-estate in-dustry are launching office projects in the NWCs. Megaworld Corp. plans to build a 15-story office tower in Davao City this year. According to reports, four IT-BPO companies have expressed interest to set up operations in the

still-to-be-built office tower.Most of the other major players in

the industry are also going into or ex-panding their office space portfolio. Vista Land’s proposed Vista City, for example, will include several office towers that will cater to BPO compa-nies. Starmall Inc., another member of the Villar Group of Cos., is already operating several BPO office buildings.

The current trend in office space development is to include commercial facilities, restaurants, coffee shops and other retail outlets as anchor for the BPO buildings.

Industry experts see the entry of more local and foreign retailers, both in the major malls, many of which are attached or near BPO offices, in the domestic market.

The BPO phenomenon is also in-creasing demand for master-planned communities close to the office towers, as the growing number of BPO workers add to the demand for housing.

I realize that the BPO phenomenon also has negative effects. One is that many of the BPO employees work at night because the clients they serve overseas are on different time zones. It is night in Manila when it is day in California.

However, I believe working in the BPO companies is still a better alterna-tive to working abroad, which means being away from families. 

To be continued

For comments, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.mannyvil-lar.com.ph.

ity by May 15, 2014. At that point there will simply not be any more land-based storage available for crude oil. While some will turn to the expensive storage method of using ocean-going tankers, some producers will be forced to dump this excess oil on the market regardless of price as storage costs will be more expen-sive than accepting a lower welling price.

Shale-oil production in the US fell about 3 percent last month from Decem-ber’s historic high. We know that many shale-oil producers have stop production on less productive and expensive wells and are now confining their efforts to better wells in order to keep cash flow coming in. The financial experts—not the oil experts—are predicting that there will be less oil production by the third quarter and prices will begin to in-crease. But as I have said before, real life in the oil fields is much different than real life in the financial markets.

One critical ground zero for shale-oil production is in the US state of North Dakota in the Bakken fields. The direc-tor of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources tells us to expect a surge high-er in production during June. “Bakken production could suddenly skyrocket, by nearly 10 percent in June, potentially rising to a historic high level.”

There are two reasons for this to oc-cur. About 125 uncompleted wells must come online by the end of June to comply

with a state law to “use it or lose” land lease contract. Further, a major state oil tax incentive starts in June on any pro-duction after that date further increas-ing the cash flow on any new oil produced.

Oil-drilling companies may take ad-vantage of the tax break to shut down production somewhere else but that is only an outside possibility.

While low oil prices are good for the Philippine economy, at some price point—and no one knows what that is—the financial experts may see even lower prices in the future as the oil experts do and we could really have a free fall occur. That would cause some negative contagion to wash up even on our shores.

One last concern that I have in con-sidering that the coming months may be like the fulmar bird—pretty to look at but very bad to hold—is that, for the first time this year, the two weeks saw a large amount of foreign money start flowing out of the Philippine stock mar-ket. While foreign money is often, if not usually, wrong about local stocks, this time it looks different and the picture is not pretty.

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

OuTSIDE THE BOXJohn Mangun

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

[email protected]

To serve and protect

THE resignation of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Alan Purisima in the aftermath of the tragic Mamasapano mission of the Special Action Forces (SAF) on January 25

underscores the ups and downs of the institution in recent years. Purisima had been placed on a six-month preventive suspension last December by the Office of the Ombudsman on graft charges arising from alleged unexplained wealth.

ABOUT TOWNErnesto M. Hilario

There’re more lows in the history of the institution. A former PNP chief and another top general are now detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame for the al-leged anomalous contract for the repair of V-150 armored vehicles. No such repairs were found to have taken place.

Not too long ago, the PNP sus-tained a black eye when several top generals were tagged for bringing out of Saint Petersburg airport no less than €100,000 without declar-ing the money after an Interpol con-ference in the Russian city.

If the lows overshadow the highs, it’s probably because the media gives more prominence to the bad news.

In the case of the recent hulidap involving policemen from Quezon City, the case was solved in no time at all with the help of social media. A concerned citizen took a photo of the incident along Edsa, which quickly went viral via Twitter and Facebook and allowed Camp Crame to identify the rogue policemen and put them behind bars.

And, of course, the public extols the bravery of the 44 SAF who died in a hail of bullets from Moro reb-els after successfully neutralizing most-wanted terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan.

The gallantry of the SAF in Ma-masapano is now part and parcel of Philippine National Police (PNP) history. It offers proof that the po-lice force can redeem itself even if some of its members have strayed from the straight and narrow path.

Regaining the trust and confi-dence of the people in their police force was what prompted then-PNP chief Panfilo Lacson, who would later on be elected senator, to effect

needed changes in the institution.First, he improved police effi-

ciency by implementing the 85 to 15 rule: downloading 85 percent of PNP’s logistics to town and city police stations, while the remain-ing 15 percent was retained at headquarters.

Lacson also bore down hard on the so-called kotong cops who ex-torted money from jeepney, taxi, bus and delivery truck drivers for nonexistent traffic violations, and instilling discipline in the police force by getting rid of what he called the “ICU”: the inept, corrupt and undisciplined cops.

Apart from stopping policemen’s use of recovered stolen vehicles for themselves, Lacson initiated efforts to enhance the capability of the PNP and the Asian regional police net-work to combat drug trafficking in the country and in the region.

Under his watch, the PNP achieved a 58-percent public approval rating, the highest in its history, and 78-per-cent approval rating for himself.

The PNP has more than 150,000 personnel throughout the country at present, but this number is inad-equate to protect our current popu-lation of more than 100 million.

Apart from this, the police force needs more resources as it cannot fight criminals and terrorists with one hand tied behind its back, which is what happens when it lacks even basic equipment, such as patrol cars and communications gear.

It is true that a good number of our people have lost faith and trust in the police force because of the involvement of some policemen in extortion, hulidap and other out-right criminal activities, or because come cops are rude or discourteous

toward the people they are supposed to serve and protect.

The PNP should not tolerate any wrongdoing or corruption on the part of law enforcers. It should impose the severest disciplinary ac-tion, including summary dismissal from the service, against those found to have abused their author-ity and engaged in criminal activity. The campaign to rid the police force of scalawags and misfits should be unrelenting, as what Lacson did during his time.

The challenge before the PNP leadership now is to continue to transform it into a competent, ef-fective and credible police force.

BCDA bullying Camp John Hay locators? LAST month the Philippine Dis-pute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI) came out with a decision on the dis-pute between the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and the Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo). The PDRCI de-cided to rescind the original lease accord between the two, directed the BCDA to return the P1.42 billion in rentals thus far paid by CJHDevCo, and ordered the latter to return to BCDA its leased 247-hectare prop-erty at the former American mili-tary facility.

In the wake of the arbitration rul-ing, the BCDA, through its President Arnel Paciano Casanova, appears to have started bullying subloca-tors, concessionaires and lot own-ers who had in good faith acquired 50-year leases on properties at what has been transformed by its private developer into the No. 1 ecotourism destination in the North.

Recently, the BCDA said it would not honor the sublease agreements on the pretext that the agency was never privy to these transactions and telling the concerned sub-locators and other lease-contract holders to run after their lessor, the CJHDevCo, instead.

This is the latest act of bad faith on the part of BCDA at the expense of innocent third-party stakehold-ers at CJH, because the truth is, this state-run corporation has neither the power nor authority to bully the sublocators, concessionaires and lot owners, or cancel their legitimate sublease contracts with CJHDevCo.

In fact, the BCDA is not even in a position to order CJHDevCo to vacate its leased CJH property un-til 1) a writ of execution has been issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Baguio City affirming the rescission of the lease agreement as ordered on February 11 by the PDRCI; and 2) BCDA has refunded the money reward of P1.42 billion to CJHDevCo as ordered by the PDRCI.

Until such time that the RTC in Baguio affirms the PDRCI ruling and BCDA settles its P1.42-billion refund, CJHDevCo has stated that it would continue under the law to exercise possession, control and management of CJH to maintain peace and order, assure the safety of residents, and enable its sub-locators and sublessees to conduct their business as usual.

And even if both these conditions are met, the BCDA still cannot run after the sublocators, concession-aires and lot owners, according to CJHDevCo. The CJHDevCo cited a number of reasons for its stand.

For one thing, the BCDA sim-ply cannot alter any part of the lease contracts for any and all properties leased by CJHDevCo to third parties.

Another thing is that BCDA con-sented to all subleases within CJH when it expressly gave CJHDevCo the right to sublease various areas and real-estate inventory. The sub-lease holders enjoy 50-year rights because from the very beginning, BCDA had committed to 25-year contracts renewable for another 25 years at CJHDevCo’s sole op-tion. This makes third-party lease contracts good until October 2046.

E-mail: [email protected]

Edgardo J. Angara

I FAILED to impress Lee Kuan Yew when we met for the first time a decade ago. It was in December 2004 in Bangkok and he was giving a speech arguing that rumors of America’s decline

were premature.

After Lee, Singapore needs a rethink

ISIS, a relatively new jihadist group, is waging a singularly vicious campaign of violence in Syria, Iraq and various parts of the Middle East, most recently in Libya, Sudan and Tunisia. ISIS

gained global notoriety when it repeatedly posted online videos of gruesome executions of hostages.

By Neal Barnard and Cameron WellsCQ-Roll Call/TNS

WHAT if your doctor gave you a prescription that would help you lose weight, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and reduce the risk of several forms of cancer? Even better,

the side effects are all beneficial: increased energy, productivity and an elevated mood. The catch? The prescription isn’t for a pill. It’s for healthful foods and regular physical exercise. Every day.

A world on edge

A new prescription for health

“America,” he declared, was “the most dynamic economy in the world” and would be for many years to come. Afterward, when I asked the founder of Singapore if he was too bullish on the US given the rise of China, he rolled his eyes.

“Why are you such a bad Ameri-can?” he joked with signature blunt-ness, before lecturing me on the mechanics of competing in a fast-changing world. Today, as Lee leaves the scene, I’m struck by the irony of that exchange. It’s now Singapore’s turn to confront questions about whether it can still compete, as Asia’s emergence challenges the impressive economy Lee built.

With the gap between haves and have-nots widening and citizens turning against the open immigra-tion policies Singapore long em-braced, the Southeast Asian city-state is facing stark questions about its identity. Lee’s early successes were based on a unique confluence of factors. Whereas Asian “tigers” Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan relied on productivity gains to drive growth, Singapore appropriated do-mestic savings, marshaled the popu-lation into moderate-paying jobs and led the charge with government-linked companies. While the results were dramatic, a model Paul Krug-man once compared to Stalin’s Soviet Union has clearly run its course.

The question now is what the new model should be. “For Singapore to maintain its position as a coun-try with Asia’s highest per-capita GDP, it will need to sustain strong productivity growth to support steadily rising wages, while keep-ing unit labor costs constrained,” says economist Rajiv Biswas at IHS Global Insight. “Singapore’s future success will, therefore, depend on continued transformation of the economy toward higher value-added industries.”

Efforts by Lee’s son, Prime Min-ister Lee Hsien Loong, to raise Sin-gapore’s competitiveness have had mixed results. Five years ago, the government launched a 10-year, $2.6-billion effort to boost pro-ductivity. Instead of rising toward the targeted 2 percent-to-3 percent range, growth in worker efficiency has averaged around 0.5 percent in recent quarters.

What’s been lacking? Scale, fo-cus and audacity. A true transfor-mation will require a more targeted approach, not to mention spending more than 1/115th the size of the city’s $298-billion economy. Offering cash rebates to companies that pass out flashy new laptops and iPads to workers will achieve nothing. Even the metrics—gross domestic prod-uct divided by the work force—are wrong. Singapore needs more telling

indicators, like sales per square foot of retail space or square-foot-per-man-per-day progress in the con-struction sector.

But the real problem is boldness. In 2010 the government unveiled plans to increase Singapore’s expen-diture on research and development (R&D) from less than 3 percent of gross domestic product to 3.5 per-cent—hardly enough to catalyze a startup boom. Singapore needs to get more creative with grants for cutting-edge R&D across indus-tries—software, biotechnology energy, logistics and health care among them. Given the backlash against immigration, Singapore must get more out of the 5.5 million-person population it has now—not rely on new recruits.

One way to do that is to curtail the outsized role of government-linked companies. A necessary evil in the 1960s and 1970s, these champi-ons are impeding opportunities for small-to-midsize companies, which tend to be more innovative. To level the playing field, says economist Irvin Seah of DBS, Singapore should help these companies tap growth in faster-growing economies like In-donesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is actively lowering trade barriers. Why not give smaller companies preferential treatment to strike partnerships in neighboring economies? Also, small and medium enterprises in struggling Europe are desperate for joint ventures in overseas markets. Singapore could leverage Europe’s technology, experience and reach to internationalize even further.

Clearly, the only way Singapore can maintain the remarkable gains made under its legendary founder is to innovate. As the government well knows, the city’s future lies in inventing new ideas, industries and processes, as well as niche, high-val-ue-added services. That will require more strenuous efforts to revamp an education system still based too much on rote learning. Start-ups could use new tax incentives and a stronger safety net to encourage en-trepreneurs to risk failure.

Historians will long debate the merits of Lee Kuan Yew’s soft au-thoritarianism. Yet as I walk the streets of Asian nations stifled by more unsteady leadership than Singapore has enjoyed, I wonder how much stronger these econo-mies would have been under his guiding hand. The irony is that the model Lee pioneered is no longer sufficient for Singapore itself. The government must think bigger and bolder if it’s to sustain his remark-able legacy.

Boko Haram, for the past six years, is perpetrating frightening atrocities and human-rights viola-tions in its campaign to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and sur-rounding areas. This extremist group grabbed world’s attention when it

abducted up to 200 schoolgirls from Northern Nigeria in April 2014.

The two extremist groups, origi-nally separate but have now co-alesced, follow in the footsteps of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda. As nonstate actors, they are wreaking

havoc in their respective strongholds and, in the process, sowing terror and instability purportedly in the name of Islam.

These terror groups, as one can easily see, are all nonstate actors. Some analysts recognize their ca-pacity to cause widespread anxiety and to destabilize some weak states.

However, these observers point to a far graver destabilizing factor.

The current world order—or the relatively peaceful post-Cold War era—appears to be far more threatened by some of the states themselves. Russia’s aggressive takeover of Crimea, China’s bel-l igerent behavior in the East China and West Philippine Sea, North Korea’s erratic behavior, an unstable Pakistan, Iran—Israel confrontation—all these states

possess an arsenal of nuclear bombs and armed to the teeth.

International rules of conduct be-tween states have been replaced by sheer display of brute power, making both large and small nations worried and uneasy. The rhetoric of hard-line nationalism seems to be mak-ing a comeback—not to mention the specter of nuclear conflict.

The 2015 Global Risks Report of the World Economic Forum cited “in-ternational conflicts with regional consequences” as the top global risk, some 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. And the same re-port describes a world undergoing a “leadership crisis.” More sober voices calling for global peace are drowned out by war-like rhetoric.

E-mail: [email protected].

BLOOMBERG VIEWWilliam Pesek

More than 94 percent of doctors would like to prescribe this approach but only 14 percent feel comfortable doing so. It stems from a lack of nutri-tion education, which most medical schools don’t teach. While doctors

are regarded as the most credible source of information about diet and health, more than half rate their nutrition knowledge as inadequate.

This explains why less than 25 percent of doctor office visits

today include counseling on diet and exercise. This is unacceptable and—in the field of preventive medicine—borders on malpractice. As rates of lifestyle diseases skyrocket, it only makes sense that medical training fol-lows suit. Rep. Tim Ryan, Democrat-Ohio and Rep. Pat Tiberi, Republic-Ohio, agree. The duo has introduced the Expanding Nutrition’s Role in Curricula and Healthcare (Enrich) Act, a bill that will grant federal fund-ing to help medical school students learn about dietary patterns and life-style habits for disease prevention.

By reallocating funds from the Health Resources and Services

Information budget, Enrich allows up to 30 medical schools to integrate nutrition and physical activity educa-tion into existing curricula for three years, starting in 2016. The results speak for themselves: The 10,000 students who received 25 hours of nutrition instruction in 2005, as a result of a previous grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood In-stitute, rank their nutrition knowl-edge higher than peers who went without this federally supported coursework. Right now, less than 30 percent of medical schools maintain baseline nutrition education recom-mendations set forth by the National

Academy of Sciences. And fewer, just one in eight, offer coursework on physical activity.

The federal funding doesn’t re-quire medical students to become nutrition experts or exercise aficiona-dos. Twenty-five hours—half a work week—is all it takes to help narrow the ever-expanding nutrition gap in medical education. In fact, studies show that doctors who spend an ex-tra 5.5 minutes with at-risk patients to talk about nutrition help them lose 5 pounds, lower saturated fat intake and lower LDL cholesterol levels.

From a clinical perspective, five minutes and 5 pounds serve as a

catalyst for change—a low invest-ment of time and just enough weight, in some cases, to eliminate the need for statins, insulin and beta-blockers.

With 7 in 10 deaths preventable through diet in our country, a new prescription for health is the remedy we need. At the very least, it lays the groundwork for a new medical mind-set—one that benefits doctors and their patients.

Neal Barnard is the president and founder of the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Cameron Wells is the acting director of nutrition education.

The gallantry of the SAF in Mamasapano is now part and parcel of Philippine National Police (PNP) history. It offers proof that the police force can redeem itself even if some of its members have strayed from the straight and narrow path.Regaining the trust and confidence of the people in their police force was what prompted then-PNP chief Panfilo Lacson, who would later on be elected senator, to effect needed changes in the institution.

the US, Japan, Australia, and even with most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where some of its members, including Veitnam and Brunei Darussalam, are also claimant-states. Gazmin said that, while “there are worries” with China’s pace of reclamation, “the DND would also continue to adhere to the rule of law in settling the dispute as endorsed and pushed by the international community.” Meanwhile, Malacañang said the state-ment of Indonesian President Joko Wido-do that China’s main claims to the majority of the West Philippine Sea have no legal basis is consistent with the Philippines’s position in the disputed territories.

concessionaire agreed to invest P35 bil-lion to construct the extension of the line, which is envisioned to help ease the wors-ening traffic conditions in the Parañaque-Las Piñas-Cavite corridor.  The remaining P30 billion will be spent by the govern-ment to procure train coaches, construct and expand depots and acquire the right of way.  Metro Pacific owns 55 percent of LRMC, while the remaining 10 percent is held by Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Inc. The LRMC will start operating and maintaining the LRT Line 1 in October, with the whole project set to be completed by May 2019. For the P1.72-billion AFCS deal, AC In-frastructure and Metro Pacific partnered with Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom Inc., BPI Card Finance Corp. and Meralco Financial Services Corp.  AF Consortium is currently installing the unified ticketing system for the LRT

Lines 1 and 2, and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 that will use a single, stored-value “tap-and-go” card.  Based on the web site of the PPP Center, 50 percent of the equipment has been installed in LRT Line 2. It has also completed the installation of the ticket-vending machines for MRT 3, while public-transport operators are currently being trained.  The proposed project aims to facilitate efficient passenger transfer to other rail lines and reduce inconvenience due to ticket-payment delays.   Aside from the two big-ticket projects, the government has so far awarded seven other deals under the PPP Program. The state aims to sign at least 15 contracts before President Aquino bows out from office in 2016.  The state intends to plug the gap in the country’s transportation infrastruc-ture in the next decade by rolling out massive projects that are seen to spur economic growth.

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Continued from A1

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

See “DND,” A2

DND has eagle eye on Chinaactivities in West PHL Sea

BOEING EXPECTS GROWTHIN ASEAN DEFENSE MARKETBOeING Co., the second-big-

gest US government defense contractor, expects Southeast

Asian demand for defense equipment to grow rapidly, as economic growth enables the countries in the region to boost purchases. “The Southeast Asian market isn’t as large as other markets, but it’s grow-ing,” James Armington, Boeing vice president for the east Asia-Pacific re-gion, said in an interview in Langkawi, Malaysia, last Thursday. “Over the next decade, with the growth rate in this region, we’re going to see a signifi-cant increase in demand for defense equipment. It will grow very rapidly.” Boeing and other companies are trying to attract Southeast Asian coun-tries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, to purchase jet fighters, air-refueling tankers and other military equipment as regional disputes proliferate over territory and resources. Asia’s defense-related market is expected to grow 3 percent annually over the next five years, Armington said. Malaysia, the first country outside europe to have Airbus Group NV’s A400M military transport plane, is considering replacing some of its ag-ing fighters. Boeing plans to propose its Super Hornet jet for the bid, which

hasn’t opened yet, Armington said. Boeing’s defense and space busi-ness gets 30 percent of its $30.8 bil-lion in last year’s sales from outside the US, with a third coming from Asia, Armington said. Boeing vs LockheedCOMPeTITION to win military deals in Asia has mounted as budget cuts in the US and europe push Boeing and its rivals to bid for Asian proj-ects. Indonesia and the Philippines, for example, have ordered trainer jets, submarines and patrol vessels to strengthen their defenses as ten-sion in the region intensifies. In recent years Boeing lost out on jet-fighter deals to Lockheed Martin Corp. in Japan and South Korea. It may get the chance to make up for those losses: Boeing has offered its KC46 tanker, which competes against Air-bus’s A330 multirole tanker transport, to provide an air-refueling solution for South Korea. South Korea could decide on the potential purchase this summer, Armington said. Boeing also plans to offer the KC46 in Japan, which is expected to open competition this year for air-refueling tankers, Armington said.

Bloomberg News

ABSOLUT DISTILLERS COMPLETESFIRST SOLAR PLANT IN BATANGASAbsolut Distillers Inc. (ADI), the only

multiawarded distillery in the Philip- pines known for its innovative and

sustainable initiatives, has announced another milestone as it completed the first 2-megawatt (MW) solar-power plant in batangas. Gerardo tee, ADI general manager, said the project is the lucio tan Group’s first venture of this magnitude in renewable energy, in response to the government’s call for companies to partici-pate in the generation of sustainable energy. ADI has been a staunch advocate of sustain-able energy since the 1990s, and the company is making greater strides as it invests in solar power and contributes even more to carbon- footprint reduction. the launch of the solar-power plant highlights the celebration of ADI’s 25th year in the industry. “this year we are giving the local potable alcohol industry its first solar power-generation facility,” tee revealed. the facility occupies about 27,000 square meters within an industrial area, where the 17- hectare ADI plant in barangay Malaruhatan, lian, batangas, is located. some 150 technical staff and construction personnel were commissioned to finish the project within two months since its groundbreaking in January this year. A launch ceremony to be attended by ranking government representatives, lt Group executives and ADI Chairman lucio tan is slated this month. “over the years we have been successful in

ensuring that every step of the process in our distillery complies with industry standards of sus-tainable development,” tee related, adding that, “by venturing into solar power, we are strength-ening our commitment to mitigate the effects of climate change on a more meaningful scale.” ADI has been at the forefront in advocating green economy since the 1990s and among the many green initiatives it contributed to the alcohol industry, two of the most notable and multiawarded are the liquid Fertilization Project in 1999 and a joint project in 2006 with Mitsubishi under the Clean Development Mechanism Project of the 1997 Kyoto Proto-col, a united Nations-sponsored program that aims to reduce emissions into the atmosphere of harmful gases like methane. the uN cites methane-gas emissions as the primary cause of global warming. ADI was established in 1990 under the com-pany Absolut Chemicals Inc., which was engaged in the manufacture of ethyl alcohol and liquefied carbon dioxide as fermentation byproducts used for producing soft drinks, among others. both Philippine government agencies and international environmental institutions have recognized the consistent efforts of the company to green growth. the Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resources (DENR), for instance, gave it a Green rating under the ECoWAtCH Program for having “sufficient efforts to comply with DENR standards.”

By Rene Acosta

DEFENSE officials continue to monitor China’s movements in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and to build the

country’s defense and security relations with its allies and neighboring armed forces, Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin said.

In a news briefing, the defense secretary said his office receive updates on China’s earth-moving activities in at least seven reefs, which are also being claimed or even owned by the country in the disputed territory. Two of these reefs, Gaven and Chigua, have seen massive reclamations of China over the past months, hinting that Beijng could be building a port or airfield, huge enough to moor or launch Chinese military vessels and aircraft. Department of National Defense (DND) Spokesman Peter Paul Galvez earlier said the reclamation in these two reefs already

reached several kilometers. Gazmin said that, aside from keeping tabs on Chinese movements in that dis-puted territory, the DND is also waiting for the decision on the territorial case that the government has filed against China before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Gazmin added that the DND is also strengthening its defense relations, and even security cooperation, with the coun-try’s allies, and even neighboring states, as a deterrent against China. The country has strong defense and security relations with

AYALA’S CONTRIBUTION TO GOVT’SRAILWAY PPP THUS FAR: P9 BILLION

Gazmin said while “there are worries” with

China’s pace of reclamation, “the DND would also

continue to adhere to the rule of law in settling the

dispute as endorsed and pushed by the international

community.”