BusinessMirror May 31, 2015

A broader look at today’s businessBusinessMirrorthree-time

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph n Sunday, May 31, 2015 Vol. 10 No. 234 P25.00nationwide|6sections28pages|7 dayS a week

Health care, retail enterprisesmost at risk from cyber threats

imf sees decrease in 2015 PhiliPPine growth forecast

See “Cyber Threats,” A2

week ahead

eCONOMIC daTa PReVIew

Pldt focuses on internet, digital technology

Continued on A2See “PLDT,” A2

See “IMF,” A2

By Roderick L. Abad

HEALTHcareandretailbusinessesareamongtheindustriestoday

wherethecybersecurityproblemisontherise,accordingtoTrendMicroInc.

searchersagreethattheincreaseismainlybecauseoflackofprepared-nessthatneedstobeaddressed. The study said adware is thetop mobile threat, as Trend Microhas recorded over 5 million casesofwhichintheAndroidoperatingsystem to date—3 million shy oftheprojectedtotalof8millionbytheendofthisyear. Thiswasreflectedintopmali-ciousandhigh-riskappsblockedbyTrendMicrorelatedtothis. Zero-day exploits have beendetectedalsotobetargetingAdobesoftware-utilizedmalvertisements. To become infected with this,victims are no longer required tovisitorinteractwithmalicioussites. Another risk to watch out foris the “old-school” macro malware,whoseresurgencehasbeenindicativeof cybercriminals taking advantageofuser-securitycomplacencyviare-lianceonMicrosoftOfficedefaults. Since the decade-old Freak

Itslatestreport,“BadAdsandZero-Days: Reemerging ThreatsChallenge Trust in Supply Chainsand Best Practices,” showed thatthere is a combination of old andnew threats that defined the on-line-security landscape followingthefirstquarterofthisyear. “Even though we are early inthe year, it is clear that 2015 isshaping up to be noteworthy intermsofvolume,ingenuityandso-phistication of attacks,” said Myla

Pilao, director of TrendLabs Mar-keting Communications at TrendMicroInc. A notable increase in cyber-at-tacks has occurred in the healthcaresectorandretailpoint-of-salesystems. Also, the operating system(OS) of American mobile-phonebrand Apple—iOS—has remainedtobethetargetofcybercriminals. Since exploitations in theseareas have been in their infancyfor several years, Trend Micro re-

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

THE PhilippineLong DistanceTelephone Co.

(PLDT), one of themost valuable listed

companies in the country, is re-wiring its business from a simpletelecommunicationsprovidertoanInternetanddigitalplayer,aglobaldebtwatchersaidinareport. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Rat-ings Services also observed that,given the pace by which the tele-communications giant acquirescompanies that are related to In-ternet services, the locally listedcompany will likely spend up toP20 billion in just two years formergersandacquisitions.  “PLDT plans to become anInternet and digital player, lever-

aging its technical expertise as atelecommunications-servicespro-videranditsvastcustomerbase.The company’s leverage could in-crease as a consequence and ex-ceed our base-case assumption,”S&P’s credit analyst BertrandJabouleysaid. Thus, it revised its assess-ment of the telecommunicationsgiant’s liquidity from “strong” to“adequate,”because“weexpectthecompany to have negative discre-tionarycashflowsoverthenext12to24months.” “We expect PLDT’s spendingto remain elevated in 2015 and2016,atleast.Thecompanyhasin-vested about P30 billion annuallyover thepast10years toenhanceits network. PLDT is contemplat-ingfurtherinvestmentsaspartofits ongoing digital evolution andtransformation. We forecast that

thecompanycouldspenduptoP10billion annually on mergers andacquisitions in 2015 and 2016,”Jabouleysaid. The global debt watcher alsoaffirmedits“BBB+”long-termcor-poratecreditratingonPLDT,whilekeeping a stable outlook on thecompany. For its long-term AseanRegional Scale Rating, the Philip-pine-based telecom-services pro-viderwasgivenan“axA+”rating. “We affirmed the ratings,because we believe that PLDT’sstrongbalancesheetcanaccommo-date the company’s sizable capitalspendingoverthenexttwoyears,”Jabouleysaid. Thisyearthecompanyisplan-ningtospendaboutP39billiontoimproveandexpanditsnetwork. “The stable outlook on PLDTforthenext12monthsreflectsour

By Bianca Cuaresma

THE Inter-n a t i o n a lMonetary

Fund (IMF) mayrevise its growth

forecast for the Philippinesdownward this year, after thelocal economy posted a lower-than-expectedexpansioninthefirstquarter. Inane-mailedresponsetothe BusinessMirror, IMFRes-ident Representative Shanaka

Jayanth Peiris admitted thatthe 5.2-percent growth in thefirstquarteroftheyearislowerthan their projections whenthey formulated their 6.7-per-cent growth forecast for 2015,asannouncedaboutaweekago. “The first-quarter grossdomestic product [GDP] out-turn was somewhat belowthe IMF forecast, due partlyto temporary factors, such asweak agriculture production,exportsandpublic spending,”Peirissaid.

foreign exchange n Previous week: The localcur-rencyduringthepreviousweekmostlymaintained its trading level at theup-perbandofthe44territory.Atthestartoftheweek,thelocalcurrencyhit44.615toadollar,decreasingfurther onTuesday tohit44.705toadollar.Starting Wednesday,however,thepesostartedtoappreciateagaintohit44.69toadollarandat44.58toadollar onTuesday.ThelocalcurrencyclosedtradingonFridayat44.59toadol-lar. The total traded volume is slightlyhigher than that of the previous weekat $2.649 billion. The average of thepeso, meanwhile, during the week isat 44.636 to a dollar, weaker than the44.527seeninthepreviousmonth. n Week ahead: BankofthePhil-ippineIslandssaidthepesowillcontin-uetotradesidewaysintheweekahead,butwithaslightupwardbiasasinves-torspositionthemselvesontherecentpeso weakness and ahead of certaindatafromtheUSthisweek. 

inflation (may)Friday, June 5  n April’s inflation: ThePhilippineStatistics Authority (PSA) reported ear-lier this month that the country’s infla-tion—orthegrowthofconsumerpricesin the country—hit 2.2 percent in Aprilthisyear.This is lowerthanthe2.4-per-cent inflation rate seen in the previousmonth,andfromthe4.1percentseeninthesamemonthlastyear.Thelasttimethat inflation has been this low was 20months ago in August 2013, when thegrowth of consumer prices hit 2.1 per-cent. The April inflation print—whichwasbroughtaboutbyannualdecreasesregistered in housing prices, water andelectricityrates,transportandcommuni-cationpricesandoilprices—pulledthe

Peso exchange rates n us 44.6500 n jaPan 0.3601 n uK 68.3636 n hK 5.7588 n china 7.2002 n singaPore 33.1133 n australia 34.0814 n eu 48.8873 n saudi arabia 11.9067 Source: BSP (29 May 2015)

BusinessMirror [email protected] Sunday, May 31, 2015A2

NewsCyber threats... continued from A1IMF... continued from A1PLDT... continued from A1

Outlook... continued from A1

security flaw is brought on patchmanagement challenges, it ismore difficult for information-technology (IT) administratorstodiminishrisksasmorevulner-abilities happen in open-sourceOS’sandapps. Meanwhile, old threats likeRocket Kitten and those behindOperation Pawn Storm, are keenon new targets, with their latest  attack tools, tactics and proce-dures. Exploitkits,ontheotherhand,continuously add new exploits totheirarsenals,enhancingtheiral-luretoexpertandnoviceattackers. Crypto-ransomware volumehas soared, expanding their tar-getbasetoenterpriseusers,apartfrompursuingconsumers. “Theriseinattacksagainstthehealth-careindustry,combinedwiththeriseinmalvertisements,reflectsthat technology users are being as-sailedfromallangles,”Pilaosaid. Given that the report showsthat complacency can lead to cy-

bersecurity risks in this agewhere the margin for error hasbeen significantly diminished,she reminded businesses and in-dividuals to be proactive in pro-tectingagainstthreats. “As a business, how wouldyour IT-Security policies look likein a Zero Trust Environment? Anaggressive and different securitypostureiscriticaltokeepfinancial,personalandintellectualpropertysafe,”shenoted. “While we need to constantlyupdate our systems to protectagainstnewattacks,thefirstquar-terof2015clearlyshowedweneedtoalsowatchoutforolderthreats,and how no industry or systemshouldfeelexempt,”sheadded. Incepted 26 years ago, TrendMicroisagloballeaderinsecuritysoftware, offering solutions forconsumers, businesses and gov-ernmentsthatprovidelayereddatasecuritytoprotectinformationonmobile devices, endpoints, gate-ways,serversandthecloud.

view that the growth in the com-pany’s broadband and data busi-nesses would continue to offsetgradually eroding revenue fromtraditional voice and SMS opera-tions,”Jabouleysaid.“TheoutlookalsofactorsinourexpectationthatPLDT will continue  to generatefreeoperatingcashflowsoverthenext two years in spite of   heavycapital expenditure, and that thecompany’s acquisitions appetitewill moderatecomparedto2014.” Earlier, PLDT Chairman  Manuel V. Pangilinansaidthecom-

panyisplanningtoacquireatleast10Internetcompaniesinthenextfewyears.Thisispartofthe“digiti-zation”initiativethatthetelecom-municationsgianthasbeenimple-mentingforquitesometimenow. Thedigitalfootprintofsubsid-iariesSmartCommunicationsInc.andDigitelMobilePhilippinesInc.(SunCellular)arealsoundergoingmodernizationandexpansionpro-grams. The companies have alsopartnered with over-the-top  con-tent providers such as Facebook,TwitterandViber,amongothers.

“…thesignificantnegativesur-prise inthefirstquarterandbaseeffects going forward mean thatour6.7[percent]forecastfor2015will be reviewed before the nextWEO [world economic outlook]forecastrelease,”theIMFadded. Earlierthismonth,inthecon-clusionoftheirArticleIVconsulta-tionmissioninthePhilippines,theIMFsaidthat itseesgrowthcom-inginat6.7percent—butthisfore-caststilldoesnottakeintoaccounttheactualGDPgrowthinJanuarytoMarchthisyear. As such, IMF Head of Missionto the Philippines Chikahisa SumisaidintheArticleIVconcludingme-dia briefing that the forecast maychange depending on the actualnumbers projected by the economyinthefirstquarteroftheyear. Despite the downturn, Pei-rissaidthe IMF believes that thePhilippineswillrecoverfromtheearly slump in the year and pickupthepaceofthecountry’sgrowthmomentum.

“We still expect growthto pick up through the year asexportsrecoverwiththeglobalecon-omyandpublicspendingaccelerateswiththemeasuresthatarebeingputinplacebytheDBM[DepartmentofBudget and Management] and thePresident’s administrative order,”theIMFresidentrepresentativesaid. Singapore-based DBS Bankwas among one of the earliest fi-nancial insitutions to downgradetheirgrowth forecaston thePhil-ippine economy due to the slowfirst-quartergrowthintheyear. “WenowexpectGDPgrowthtocomeinat6percentand6.2percentin 2015 and 2016, respectively—slight adjustments from our previ-ous forecasts of 6.3 percent and 6percent,”DBSBankeconomistGun-dyCahyadisaid. “It is always a long stretch tomeet the government’s 7-percenttargetfor2015,butGDPgrowthcir-ca6percentstillputsthePhilippinesasoneofthefastest-growingecono-miesintheregion,”Cahyadiadded. 

four-month inflation average from JanuarytoAprilthisyearto2.3percent. n May’s inflation: Bangko SentralGovernor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. earliersaid in hit monthly inflation forecast thatMay inflation could settle within 1.6-per-cent to 2.4-percent range. This forecastrange is lower compared to the previousmonth’sforecastrangeof1.9percentto2.6percent—whichyieldedanactualinflation

rateof2.2percent inApril. If inflationhitsthe floor of the governor’s forecast rangeof 1.6 percent, inflation will be at its low-estsince1998aspertheavailabledataonfromtheBSP.Thiswillalsopushthe infla-tionaverageofthecountryinthefirstfivemonthsoftheyearat2.2percent.Likewise,private economists see inflation continu-ing its downward trend for May this year(see related story).Bianca Cuaresma

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug A3BusinessMirrorEconomySunday

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Consumer-price growth slowest in May

  Local and international private economists polled by the  Busi-nessMirror said,  inf lation is likely to decelerate further owing

to low oil and rice prices. The forecasts of seven econo-mists yielded an average of 2 percent for the month. If fulfilled, May’s in-

THE increase in consumer prices in May this year may have hit the slowest growth for the

entire year, several economists said.

flation rate will be the lowest for the country since August 2009, when inflation hit 1.7 percent. In particular, Bank of the Philip-pine Islands (BPI) economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said inflation would likely hit 1.9 percent in May this year, owing to lower food increase and a drag in global crude-oil prices. Standard Chartered economist Jeff Ng also forecasted inflation to hit 1.9 percent during the month, as base effects for food

inflation continued to ease. Meanwhile, DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi, Maybank Kim Eng economist Luz Lorenzo and Security Bank economist Patrick Ella are all of the view that inflation will hit 2 percent in May. ING Bank’s Joey Cuyegkeng sees inflation hitting 2.1 percent, while Banco de Oro chief market strate-gist Jonathan Ravelas said he ex-pects inflation to hit 2.19 percent in May.

Not for longAMID the low forecasts for May, economists agree that inflation will not stay this low for long, as price pressures are starting to build up toward the second half of the year. “Downtrend is extended with lower rice prices, but prices of other food items may start to rise due to the ef-fects of the dry spell,” Cuyegkeng said. In particular, BPI’s Mapa said that inflation will likely be subdued for an-other month, before it reverses to settle

somewhere in the middle to upper half of the Bangko Sentral’s inflation target by the end of the year. This is also due to, aside from the effects of El Niño, the washed-out base effects from the oil-price movements seen earlier. “While the central bank has room to ease policy rates near term, it is likely to watch for higher inflation by end-2015 and potential US policy rate hikes. Growth momentum will be a swing factor,” Standard Chartered’s Ng, meanwhile, said. Bianca Cuaresma

Sunday, May 31, 2015A4

SundayVoicesBusinessMirror

Gospel Sunday, May 31, 2015 NOW, the 11 disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And, when they saw

Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All au-

thority in heaven and on earth has been given

to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have com-manded you; and, lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”— Matthew 28:16-20

W E have been here before. The House of Representatives has just passed a bill establishing a national identification (ID) system for the Philippines “to streamline government transactions and help promote a progressive society

through efficient delivery of basic services.” Once passed into law, it will require all Filipinos in the country and abroad to register under it.

National ID system: Here we go again

The first time we confronted this matter of a national ID system was in 1996, when Presi-dent Fidel V. Ramos issued Administrative Order (AO) 308 establishing a National Computerized Identification Reference System for the country “to provide Filipino citizens and foreign residents with the facility to conveniently transact business with basic and social-services providers.”

The order was challenged by Sen. Blas F. Ople on two grounds: Its issuance was an en-croachment of legislative power and was in violation of the citizen’s right to privacy. The Supreme Court (SC) found the challenge meritorious and ruled the AO as unconstitutional on those grounds.

The second time was in 2005, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Execu-tive Order (EO) 420, mandating government agencies to streamline and harmonize their ID systems under a Unified Multi-Purpose Identification System.

The order was questioned on the same two grounds. This time, the SC upheld the legality of the EO, saying that, rather than creating a new initiative that required legislative action, the order merely sought to modify an administrative procedure, a process that the Executive branch could well pursue as part of its normal duties; further, the order sought less information than that sought by existing ID systems, showing that it was not driven by any surveillance purpose; last, the order had enough safeguards against abuses of the citizen’s right to privacy.

Perhaps, the action of the House of Representatives is merely to provide a legal basis for the ID system. Whatever its motivation, it remains vulnerable to the charge that it is basically an instrument of political persecution by the government of its own citizens.

Is the purpose of the system to give citizens ready access to government services? Under the present arrangement, no citizen has ever complained of inability to obtain a government service because of a lack of ID.

Is the objective to identify people deemed in violation of the law? As a London School of Economics study that is applicable to the Philippines found, “Police in developed countries believe that lack of identification does not pose a problem in investigation. It is evidence-gathering and prosecution that remain big obstacles to the resolution of crimes.”

But there are safeguards against the misuse of the information gathered. Really? No gov-ernment has ever bothered with safeguards when pursuing perceived enemies. In fact, the current administration has made use of all conceivable measures in the prosecution of its political adversaries.

Let’s make sure that we do not provide governments, however well-intentioned, with the ammunition to invade our individual privacy or violate our human rights. Let’s strongly oppose a national ID system for Filipinos.

Islamic State is rapidly expanding in Southeast Asia

editorial

By Josh Rogin Bloomberg View

THE Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has ramped up its activities  in Southeast Asia

so effectively that there is now an entire military unit of terrorists re-cruited  from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, according to the Singaporean prime minister.

“Southeast Asia is a key recruit-ment center for ISIS,” Prime Min-ister Lee Hsien Loong said at the Shangri-La Dialogue here in Singa-pore on Friday. He noted that this in-cluded more than 500 Indonesians and dozens of Malaysians. 

“ISIS has so many Indonesian and Malaysia fighters that they form a unit by themselves—the Katibah Nusantara—Malay Archipelago Combat Unit,” he added.

Even in the small and tightly controlled city-state of Singapore, “a few” young men have gone to Syria to join the  ISIS ranks,  and even more were intercepted trying to leave, Lee disclosed. He said the Singaporean authorities had re-cently arrested two students, one 17 and the other 19. The latter had planned to assassinate Singaporean government officials if he was un-able to reach the Middle East.

“This is why Singapore takes ter-rorism, and in particular ISIS, very seriously,” Lee said. “The threat is no longer over there; it is over here.”

Lee revealed that the ISIS  has posted a propaganda and recruit-ment video showing Malay-speaking children training with weapons in-side territory controlled by the ter-ror group, and that two Malaysians were identified in a separate video carrying out the beheading of a Syr-ian man.

Lee also said the Malaysian po-lice have arrested several people who were planning to go to Syria to join the terrorist group, includ-ing some members of the Ma-laysian armed forces. Some were planning attacks inside Malaysia. Meanwhile, several jihadist groups in Southeast Asia have pledged al-legiance to the ISIS, including In-donesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah, whose leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, announced his allegiance from his prison cell last year.

The ISIS has said it intends to establish a province of its “caliph-ate” in Southeast Asia. Lee said the idea was a “grandiose, pie-in-the sky dream.” But he warned that it’s entirely feasible that the group could take advantage of some ungoverned spaces to establish a foothold from which to expand re-cruiting and plan attacks in the new host countries.  

“That would pose a serious threat to the whole of Southeast Asia,” Lee said.

Starting Friday, Singapore will contribute a KC-135 tanker plane

to the international coalition fight-ing against Islamic State forces  in the Middle East.

The deployment is symbolic, but Lee emphasized that the fight against Islamic extremism was just beginning, and, like the Cold War, would surely take decades to win. 

“Fifty years from now, I doubt the scourge of extremist terrorism will have entirely disappeared,” he told the forum. “Remember that Soviet Communism, another his-torical dead end, took 70 years to collapse, and that was a non- religious ideology.”

Terrorism in Southeast Asia is not new. More than 200 people died in the Bali bombings in 2002.  Je-maah Islamiyah almost succeeded in a plot to bomb diplomatic offic-es in Singapore just after September 11, 2001. 

But the development that South-east Asian terror groups are now f lying the black Islamic State flag—and that young men from the region are saluting—is a huge problem.

The current US-led fight against the ISIS is largely limited to the Middle East. But the jihadists’ ap-proach to fighting the West has no geographic boundaries. Unless the anti-ISIS coalition does more to co-operate with countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, the terror group will just expand its recruiting and attacks across the globe.

SundayVoicesBusinessMirror [email protected] • Sunday, May 31, 2015 A5

What the US bombed before Ramadi fellBy Eli Lake

Bloomberg View

IN the month before the city of Ramadi in western Iraq fell, US air strikes destroyed an armored

personnel carrier, three humvees, three tanks, four mortars, four gun-mounted pickup trucks and two ve-hicle bombs belonging to the Islamic State (IS) outside the city. On Friday Lt. Col. Brian Fickel, a spokesman for US Central Command, shared this data with me, adding that the

US also hit 25 “fighting positions” and 14 pieces of “miscellaneous equipment.” 

Fickel told me Centcom disputed aspects of my column on Thursday, which disclosed how US intelligence agencies were able to observe the IS’s buildup of forces and equipment prior to the decisive battle, but, the Pentagon “did not order air strikes against the convoys before the battle started.” (I spoke with Centcom be-fore publishing that column, but was not given the information Fickel has

since provided.)Fickel said the data showed there

were strikes on the IS’s “staging positions” prior to and during the battle, but he did not claim that convoys traveling on the open road to Ramadi were among the tar-gets ahead of time. Nor did Fickel say what percentage of the over-all equipment IS forces brought to the battle was destroyed by US air strikes.

In sum, the new Centcom data show  there was 11  in and around

Ramadi on May 15 and 16, the days in which the Iraqi troops left their posts. In the crucial time before the jihadists’ assault— between May 3 and 15—on only four days did the US conduct air strikes against stag-ing areas and IS fighters.

Derek Harvey, a retired Army colonel who advised Gen. David Petraeus on counterinsurgency strategy during the surge in  Iraq, told me on Friday that the numbers of destroyed vehicles disclosed by Fickel represented a “dribble” com-

pared with the overall force the IS brought to Ramadi. 

“The strikes were measured, they left a lot of targets off the table that could have been struck,” Harvey said. “Clearly, we did not do enough to interdict, disrupt and defeat the enemy when they had to move across open space for the most part. And when it came to  urban combat, we did not have the spotters in place that would have provided more accurate targets.”

Free FireBy Teddy Locsin Jr.

Why, more than ever, UN peacekeeping needs global support

Catholicism wins the Cold War

By Hervé LadsousUndersecretary-General for the United Nations

Department of Peacekeeping Operations

EIGHTEEN months ago, Bentiu, like most towns in South Sudan, was bustling with the restless-

ness of markets, people trading and children going to school. UNMISS, the UN Mission in South Sudan, was busy supporting development and growth in the world’s youngest nation.

Today, a visitor to the UN Mission’s base outside Bentiu in Unity State, would see a sea of blue and white tarpaulin tents and hastily erected stalls. The base has become temporary home to some 63,000 civilians seeking protection from the cataclysm of vio-lence that has gripped the new state of South Sudan since the outbreak of the political crisis in December 2013. The town of Bentiu itself remains deserted, its main dirt road lined with the grim evidence of an ongo-ing war in the absence of a final peace agreement between government and opposition forces.

The story is repeated across the country. Today, more than 130,000 are being protected by UN peacekeepers in seven bases, with civilians continuing to arrive at UN protection sites as they flee unimaginable suffering and grave human-rights violations.

The reality is that our peacekeep-ers are often the only hope for a bet-ter life for the civilians they are man-dated to serve. In other places where peacekeeping missions are deployed today, there is little peace to keep. In some of the harshest conditions on Earth, UN personnel must negotiate complex threats each day amid politi-cal instability, with large, often terri-fied populations to protect. They work to provide security in these places, while pursuing a political solution to ongoing conflict.

This is the case in Mali, where peacekeepers strive to bring stability while bearing the brunt of violent at-tacks from armed groups. Since the establishment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabili-zation Mission in Mali in July 2013, 36 peacekeepers have been killed and more than 170 others have been wounded in hostile incidents alone. It is also the case in the Central African Republic, where we are seeing encour-aging signs following the 2013 break-down in law and order and widespread ethnically motivated violence.

Here, 10,000 UN troops, police and civilians are on the ground, support-ing efforts to bring the country back on to the path of peace, good gover-nance and stability. Earlier in May,

the country adopted a peace pact that reflects the people of the Central Af-rican Republic’s aspirations to put the conflict behind them once and for all. Our peacekeepers battle inhospitable terrain and an almost complete lack of infrastructure every day to react quickly to flare-ups of violence which, if left unchecked, could threaten this fragile peace.

This year’s International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, May 29, falls during the significant 70th anni-versary of the UN. Over the course of nearly seven decades, UN peacekeep-ing has proven itself to be a legitimate, reliable and effective means of pro-tecting civilians and facilitating the transition from conflict to peace. In countries like Liberia, Timor-Leste and Bosnia Herzegovina, peacekeeping has played a critical role in helping stabi-lize countries as they seek to rebuild. Today, more than 125,000 military, police and civilian staff carry on this work in 16 peacekeeping operations world-wide, our largest deployment in history, serving as a testament to the international community’s faith in peacekeeping as a tool for bringing peace and security.

But for UN peacekeeping to contin-ue responding effectively and robustly to the conflicts of today and tomorrow,

it needs a strengthened international partnership and the willingness of all to share the burden and risk. In en-vironments where peacekeepers are directly targeted, where widespread violence is ongoing, or where thou-sands of civilians need protection from unthinkable acts of violence, peacekeeping operations must remain fit for purpose.

Our missions require well-trained and skilled troops from a broad array of countries. When crises erupt, they must be ready to deploy more quickly to where they are most needed. And to confront the unique challenges of this century, peacekeepers require the tools and capabilities of this century.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unarmed unmanned aerial ve-hicles are being used to improve situ-ational awareness, serve as a deterrent to armed groups and improve mandate delivery and the safety and security of our personnel.

In Mali, an innovative Informa-tion Fusion Cell is improving the information-gathering efforts of the peacekeeping mission as it con-fronts determined nonstate actors and armed groups. As we honor the 126 peacekeepers who died in 2014, these tools help our Blue Helmets to better protect themselves and

vulnerable populations.A renewed engagement of all mem-

ber-states of the UN is critical. This process has already begun and will receive a major boost in the margins of this year’s general assembly when the secretary-general and several world leaders will co-host a summit on UN peacekeeping. For its part, UN peacekeeping is determined to be more innovative, more flexible and more cost-effective.

With an annual budget of just un-der $8.5 billion—less than one half of 1 percent of global military spend-ing—we are working to increase our value for money and using new ap-proaches to implement our mandates more effectively and efficiently.

Peacekeeping missions deliver be-cause they represent a convergence of interests that is the fundamental concept behind the UN. At a moment in history where new crises and con-flicts emerge constantly, the stakes for peacekeeping are higher, and the consequences of failure are dire. The people of Bentiu, like the populations protected by missions around the world, today deserve a UN peacekeep-ing institution that is an effective tool of international peace and security. More than ever, today, UN peacekeep-ing needs global support.

BEFORE thousands of Salva-doran faithful, packed tightly in the central square of the city

where he was assassinated, Arch-bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero was beatified by the Vatican as a martyr of the Catholic religion. He will be the first martyred saint of the New Rome—as the United States used to be called though the distinction has since passed on, possibly to China, by the retreat of American power from the world and the grave respect shown by US President Obama when he visited Romero’s tomb in 2011. Romero, writes Paul Villely in his beautiful but weirdly apologetic account in The New York Times, was murdered at the altar as he celebrated Mass in San Salvador by one of the death squads propping up “an un-holy alliance” of the rich, the army, the CIA and conservative bishops “who identified him with liberation theology.” Romero’s crime, says Vil-lely, was to tell the US-backed mili-tary from the pulpit to stop killing innocent civilians. After his murder, conservative bishops blocked the path to his canonization perhaps because he was killed, not by pagans, but by Central American Catholic assas-sins sponsored by American Prot-estants although the CIA, at the time he was murdered, was run by a Catholic. I forget his name. They are all so forgettable. And yet Romero was encouraged

in his preferential option for the poor by the seemingly gentle but deeply subversive Pope Paul VI who was the main, if discreet, strate-gist of liberation theology. Indeed, Romero carried out to the letter the Church’s duty to work for the so-cial and economic liberation of the downtrodden, rather than merely for their spiritual uplifting so that heaven makes up in the next life for the hell of their lives in this one, without making the rich pay for the improvements. Romero was Opus Dei; yet that orientation did not stop him from morally vomiting on the savage vio-lence practiced by the rich on the poor—and on those who spoke up for them. Within weeks of his appoint-ment as archbishop, a close friend, Fr. Rutilio Grande, who campaigned to give land to the landless and wages to workers—that was novelty in many parts of the Free World then—was murdered. Some 3,000 poor people, including priests, were murdered monthly by the US-backed military. Asked by a reporter what he did as archbishop, Villely recounts, Romero answered, “I pick up bodies.” With every outrage perpetrated on the poor, Romero protested louder until a Free World bullet stopped his mouth at the altar. The urn contain-ing his bloodied shirt was put on dis-play at his beatification this week. Villely, who has followed Romero’s career, written about it, and criticized

conservative attempts to prevent his elevation to sainthood, protests too much that Romero was no liberation theologian. And yet Archbishop Vin-cenzo Paglia, chief advocate of his sainthood, called Romero “a martyr of the Church of the second Vatican Council,” which tried mightily to pry Catholic theology from the grip of the rich and return it to the poor. In the teeth of conservative grip-ing against him, Pope Paul VI told Romero, “Courage! Take heart. You are the one in charge.” When he was sum-moned to Rome to be confronted with thick folders of accusations against him, all of them lies, and roundly be-rated by a conservative cardinal, he turned to Pope Paul for guidance; the pontiff urged him again “to proceed with courage.” Even the anticommu-nist Pope John Paul II would not strip Romero of his duties and told conser-vative critics to “back off,” anticipat-ing Mike Arroyo at Wack-Wack. What Romero was not, says Vil-lely, was a Marxist. In a 1978 sermon, Romero said, “A Marxist Church would be not only self-destructive but senseless because Marxist material-ism destroys the church’s transcen-dent meaning.” But in 1978, Romero was just starting to discover the no-good that capitalism was up to. Indeed, Marxism also failed to ap-preciate the historical facts put forth again by the neoliberal American historian Francis Fukuyama to show that it was the “transcendent” Catho-

lic Church—and not down-to-earth, hand-to-mouth Protestant pastors beholden to the bourgeoisie, as We-ber mistakenly argued—who created the modern institutions that made capitalism possible in the West: like governing by bureaucratic expertise rather than nepotism; the rule of law and not whimsy like in Islam where religion was subordinated to the current warlord; the preeminence of individualism because salvation, like guilt, is singular and not collec-tive; consequently, gender equality so that pious women inherited the same as impious men and could do-nate their wealth to the Church; the honesty engendered by chastity (no wives to corrupt men nor children for them to favor); the intellectual focus of monastic isolation (which Apple encourages); the efficiency of assembly line factory systems that were established in medieval monasteries whose domains were self-sufficient economies in them-selves until they were ruined by the influx of American silver, according to Gilberto Freyre; and the subor-dination of power and authority to moral purpose (which the Chinese never learned across 3,000 years of modern state government). John Paul II bestowed the title of Servant of God on Romero. He told Salvadoran bishops that Romero was a martyr. Pope Benedict followed by calling him “a man of great Chris-tian virtue” and ordered the path to

Romero’s sainthood unblocked. When Francis became pope, he exposed to the media that “the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith”—as the Inquisition has been rebranded—was blocking Romero’s canonization “out of prudence.” But, said the pontiff, “for me, Romero is a man of God.” And so now it is official Catholic teaching: Romero is a Catholic mar-tyr who “was not killed for political reasons but died because of odium fi-dei”—or hatred of the Catholic faith. He was killed by US-sponsored, pro-capitalist Salvadoran death squads because he practiced Catholic teach-ing instead of just preaching it, which is the preferential posture for priests as far as Wall and Lombard Streets are concerned. Francis said, “We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor.” There you go. Clearly, the Vatican is up to some-thing. First, it beatifies two and soon, three Arab Palestinians to show the moral score in the Middle East and now a man of God killed for his Ca-tholicism by a CIA-sponsored death squad. Clearly, the Church is turning its face away from the North and the West where faith is feeble; to the South and East where it is fervid. So who won the Cold War? Com-munism? Hardly. Capitalism? No. Catholicism—and this is the celebra-tion of that victory.

Manual for rescue, rehab of marine turtles ready

Caap to acquire P600-M jet to check Navaids

Sunday, May 31, 2015 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug www.businessmirror.com.phA6

NewsSundayBusinessMirror

PNR expected to resume operations in 2 weeks

Department of Transportation and Communications Spokesman Michael Arthur C. Sagcal said the government aims to reopen the line for commercial use starting next week. “The target is within the first two weeks of June, but [the PNR will not resume operations] before we get an expert safety certification,” he said. The oldest at grade railway sys-tem in the Philippines stopped op-erations this month, after one of its coaches derailed near Nichols Station

in Pasay in April, resulting in more than 50 passengers injured. Earlier, Diosdado N. Silva, the train line’s assistant general man-ager, explained that the service was halted so that the government can conduct an exhaustive inspection of its tracks to ensure the safety of its passengers and trains. A team from the Cologne, Germa-ny-based technical and safety pro-vider TÜV Rheinland Group is now conducting a review of the railway line’s state.

THE Philippine National Railways (PNR) is expected to resume operations early in June

to ease the worsening traffic in Metro Manila, a government official said.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

THE Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Biodiver-

sity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natu-ral Resources (DENR) has developed a manual for the rescue and rehabilitation of sea turtles. The Response Manual to Marine Turtle Incidents was developed in partnership with the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines through a grant program by GIZ’s Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Areas.  It provides ways of responding to inci-dents involving pawikan and discusses a broad range of topics including the pawi-kan’s biology and the proper way by which to release the captured and distressed turtles back to sea.  A guide for technical staff mem-bers, researchers, and conservation advocates, the manual also provides responses to marine turtle reports such as poaching, as well as rehabilitation and necropsy procedures. The launching of the Response Manual to Marine Turtle Incidents is supported by GIZ’s Support to the Implementation of the Tri-National SSME Comprehensive Action Plan (GIZ-SSME), a project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conserva-tion, Building and Nuclear Safety. SSME aims to protect marine resources in the Sulu and Celebes-Sulawesi seas and smaller seas at the Coral Triangle. The GIZ-SSME project is also looking to translate the manual to different lan-guages for distribution in Malaysia and Indonesia, both also belonging to the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape. Other manuals to be launched by GIZ and DENR-BMB in the future include rescue manuals on sharks, rays and other marine mammals. The manual was released in time for the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22. GIZ, DENR-BMB release manual on rescue, rehabilitation of marine turtles. According to the DENR, there’s an in-crease in nesting sites for marine turtles to 17,593 last year, indicating that conser-vation efforts are paying off. Five out of seven species of marine turtles can be found in the Philippines. However, the DENR-BMB said that marine turtles remain endangered and are threatened by hunting and poach-ing, trade, pollution, climate change, and other destructive human activities. Recent ly, photos of d istressed and dead marine turtles have been splashed all over the news, pushing the need for greater monitoring of Philippine seas. These marine turtles provide large contributions to balancing biodiver-sity in the world ’s oceans. They fa-cilitate nutrient transfer from water to land and vice versa, thus provid-ing healthy ecosystems in both water and land.

By Recto Mercene

THE Civil Avia-tion Authority of the Philip-

pines (Caap) board of directors has set aside P600 million to pur-chase an eight-seater, twin-engine jet as the permanent aircraft to be used to check all 41 navigational aids (Navaids) in the country. Currently, the agency is renting a Lear, at P100 million a year, to calibrate the Navaids, said Rodante Joya, Caap assistant direc-tor general for Operations.

The Navaids are the very high-frequency omni-directional range, Instrument Landing System, nondirectional beacon and localizer systems.

The Caap is opening the bid for the purchase of a Lear jet-type aircraft and hopes to find a supplier by the end of the year. If all goes well, the new jet could be purchased early next year, Joya said.

All 41 Navaids undergo regular calibration to maintain their accuracy, Joya added.

The Caap used to operate a twin-engine, turbo-prop KingAir, under the Flight Inspection and Calibration Group (FICG). However, the airplane needs repairs estimated at P140 million.

Joya said the Caap balked at the company that wants to repair the engine because it could not guarantee that the KingAir would be made operational despite the high cost.

“The FICG has decided that it would be better to buy a new flight-check aircraft that could be used for decades rather than rent one at P100 million a year,” Joya said.

He added that the old KingAir would probably still sell for about P20 million. Joya said the corresponding equipment to check the Navaids could be purchased in modular form and sim-ply fitted inside the jet’s cabin. This would require a separate funding, he added.

He said that, at the moment, an Australian company wants to bid for the supply of the jet, although the Caap said all interested parties may join the bidding.

Another aircraft that the Caap own, is a single-engine, six-seater Cessna that is outmoded.

Joya said the Caap is eyeing a replacement to the tune of P300 million to P400 million.

The Caap needs these aircraft to maintain the integrity of the Navaids for the safety and security of the flying public, Joya said.

The investigation is expected to yield a precise inventory of missing or needed parts such as rail joints, angle bars and rail clips—which will then be procured and installed in order to allow the PNR to resume its operations as soon as possible. Prior to the incident, the railway system had been serving the Tutuban-Calamba route daily. Transportation expert Rene S. Santiago earlier told the BusinessMirror that un-derinvestment ultimately caused the poor state of the railway system. At present, the PNR commuter line operates from Tutuban to Santa Rosa City, Laguna, covering 23 stations over a stretch of 50 kilometers, and from Naga to Sipocot in Camarines Norte with route length of 35 km. The government has ensured that the railway system will soon see improve-ments, as it plans to develop the dilapi-dated line through the P287-billion North-South Railway Project. The first phase of the facility will in-volve the construction of a 36.7-km nar-

row gauge elevated commuter railway from Malolos, Bulacan, to Tutuban in Manila. It is seen to be completed by the third quarter of 2020. The second phase, which will extend the commuter rail up to Matnog, Sor-sogon, will be completed by the forth quarter of 2019. The two-phase deal will be imple-mented under the official development assistance and Public-Private Partner-ship Program. The PNR is also expecting the ar-rival of two secondhand donated trains from Japan in the coming weeks. Aside from replacing missing parts and con-structing double-track rails, the line has other rehabilitation projects for near-term implementation, such as roofing extension to shield passen-gers from heat and rain, installation of turnstiles in major stations, and rail and comfort-room rehabilitation. These immediate improvements are targeted for completion by the end of 2015 or early next year.

Nurses to the rescue The Philippine Red Cross (PNR) recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA). Under the MOA, PNA members will become part of the PRC Nursing Corps, and will be mobilized in case of mass casualty incidents to man PRC’s emergency field hospitals. In the photo (from left) are Sheila Bonito, Edward Malzan, Mela delia Llanes, PRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon, PRC Secretary-General Gwendolyn Pang and Anne Claire Reyta, head of the PRC Health Services. Paul Drossou and Sebastien Jouffroy, both from the Canadian Red Cross, witnessed the signing.

PAL intl carrier of choice in ’14FL A G

c a r -r i e r

Phi l ippine A i r l i n e s (PAL) emerged as the carrier of choice for international travel last year, helping the local market sustain modest gains in terms of passenger throughput in 2014.

International air traffic inched up modestly last year, as the decline in passenger throughput from foreign airlines offset the increase posted by local carriers.

Data gathered by the Civil Aeronautics Board showed that overall international air traffic was at 17.92 million passengers last year, up by 3.5 percent as compared to the 17.32 million passenger print in 2013.

Local airlines carried 9.19 million passengers in 2014, an 11-percent increase from the 8.19 million passengers served in 2013. Foreign carriers, however, saw their numbers tapering. They posted a 4.5-percent decline in passenger throughput to 8.72 million from 9.13 million.

PAL remained the top carrier with international services last year, carrying 4.98 million passengers during the said pe-riod. Cebu Pacific served 3.19 million international passengers. AirAsia Zest carried more international passengers than last year at 704,513.

Government officials were sought for comment, but none responded to the BusinessMirror’s queries.

Domestic air traffic, meanwhile, remained flat in 2014, after PAL experienced a sharp drop in its customer volume during the period, offsetting the increase that its competitors reported.

Local air travel stood at 20.35 million passengers as of end-December, a hairline difference from 20.33 million passengers in 2013.

Domestic and international air travel is expected to get a boost this year, after the regulator decided to scrap the fuel surcharge from airline fares owing to the declining prices of jet fuel in the international market.

The fuel surcharge is a temporary relief granted to airlines to help them recover losses incurred from high fuel prices. It ranges from P500 to as high as P15,000, depending on the destination.

Fuel accounts for as much as 60 percent of an airline’s op-erating cost per passenger, and is the second-highest expense next to labor.

Data from the International Air Transport Association showed that jet fuel was at $78.70 per barrel as of May 22, down by 7.1 percent from the preceding month and 35.8 percent lower than the year-ago price. Lorenz S. Marasigan

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo A7BusinessMirrorRegionsSunday

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Power oversupply in Mindanao by early ’16 seen

  However, this does not guarantee that the country’s second-largest is-land will no longer experience any brownout after that time. “Based on projection, by late 2015 or early 2016 early, the start of oversupply will kick in. During that time, the supply will be enough then it will gain momentum of over-supply by 2017,” Energy Secretary

Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said in an interview. The demand for power in Min-danao has continuously increased through the years with rapid ur-banization and increased indus-trialization yet, no new power could be sourced. Thus brownouts, for as long as 10 hours, crippled the region in the

POWER-HUNGRY Mindanao will have an oversupply of electricity starting early 2016, the

energy department’s top official said.

past. As fear worsened, the private sector, particularly the bigwigs who hail from the region, made a commitment to start building new power plants. “There will be an oversupply, because the commercial operation of the many firsts among the many units of power plants of Aboitiz, San Miguel, Alsons, FDC  will be put up simultaneously,” Petilla said. Alsons Consolidated Resourc-es Inc.’s (ACR) Sarangani Energy Corp. is in the advanced stages of construction of its first 105-mega-watt (MW) coal-power plant in Maasim, Sarangani. “In 2015 we shall see the begin-ning of the end to the Mindanao power shortage. By end of this year,

SEC [Securities and Exchange Com-mission] will operate the first 105 MW of its 210-MW coal plant in Sarangani. SEC will generate much-needed base- load power to help provide solution to Mindanao,” ACR Corporate Secretary Roberto San Jose said. ACR Chairman and President Tomas Alcantara said 2015 is the beginning of the end to Mindanao’s power shortage. “We now see light at end of tunnel in Mindanao.” Therma South Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power, is set to commer-cially operate Unit 2 (150 MW) of its base-load power plant by end of June this year. The commercial operation of Unit 1, which was de-layed for 10 months, is scheduled

in February 2016. “Aboitiz Power’s main interest is to help Mindanao avoid repeat-ing the big problem of the past where it failed to build the power plants needed before the demand for power kicked in. As a conse-quence, most parts of Mindanao have, for years and until today, been exper iencing prolonged and frequent brownouts  and it’s growth and development has been severely affected,” said Manuel Orig, AboitizPower first vice presi-dent for Mindanao affairs. San Miguel Corp.’s first 150 MW of the planned 600-MW power facil-ity is expected to commercially oper-ate in the early part of next year. Likewise, FDC’s 135 MW out of

the 405-MW total capacity will be finished middle of next year. “It’s a full-blown construction. Whether it would be finished in time is another question,” Petilla said. However, Petilla said Mindanao may continue to experience rotat-ing brownouts even if there is over-supply.    “I can’t predict. The dates of commissioning and commercial operation are all based on their sub-mission,” Petilla added. “You will never know until they are commissioning. When actual target date is still far, they are on schedule. However, as the target date nears you see the possible de-lays. They are the ones building their power facilities so all we can do is wait,” Petilla said.

Homegrown foundation uplifts lives of poor

By Lenie Lectura

TWO party-list lawmak-ers and two other per-sonalities on Thursday

filed charges against members of the the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels owing to alleged unconstitutional provi-sions in the proposed Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR). Facing the treason charges, which were filed before Senior Deputy City Prosecutor Eu-frosino A. Sulla at the Manila City Hall, were government peace panel members Miriam Colonel-Ferrer, Marivic Leonel, Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao, Mehol Sadain, Zenonida Broas. Presidential Peace Ad-viser Teresita Quintos Deles is also facing charges as part of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) Transition Commission. On the side of the MILF peace panel and BBL Transition Commission, charged were Mo-hager Iqbal, Datu Michael Mas-tura, Maulana Alonto, Abdull Camilian, Datu Antonio Kino, Ibrahim  Ali, Talib Abdulhamid Benito, Pedrito Eisma, Raissa Jajurie, Froilyn Mendoza, Hus-sein Munoz, Akmad Sakkam, Said Shiek, Asani Tammang, Timuay Melanio Ulama and Jo-haira Wahab.

Treason charges filed vs government, MILF peace panel members over BBLOperators of South Luzon tollways ready for traffic as schools open

THE Southern Tollways Sys-tem, composed of Skyway O&M Corp. (Somco), Ma-

nila Toll Expressways Systems Inc. (MATES) and Star Tollway Corp. (STC), operators of the Skyway System, South Luzon Expressway (Slex) and Star Tollway, respective-ly, started implementing Oplan Ligtas Biyahe, Balik Eskwela 2015, on Friday. The project, designed to ensure a safer and more convenient travel on the south toll roads, will last until June 15. Somco, MATES and STC ex-pect students and summer va-cationers from nearby provinces return to Metro Manila, and vice versa, before public elementary and high schools open on June 2 and private schools and colleges on June 8. School-opening traffic is nor-mally heavy during the first two weeks, which the toll-road opera-tors seriously prepare for. Some road-improvement and traffic enhancement measures, both short- and long-term, are now in place. In Skyway at-grade section, for instance, where the Bicutan and the Sucat interchanges are peren-nial choke points, Somco opened in

March alternative exits for south-bound motorists, which have been very effective in declogging the toll-plaza traffic. The structural rehabilitation and asphalt resurfacing of the Alabang Viaduct, a traffic-dense stretch of Slex, have recently been completed, on top of the repave-ment works on both directions between Filinvest and Santa Rosa, among others. Meanwhile, at Star Tollway, an entirely new toll plaza at the Lipa–Santo Toribio opened to traffic on April 30, 2015, which now considerably eases traffic in Lipa, areas near the University of Lipa and other tourist and recre-ational destinations, as well as industrial parks. During the critical first two weeks of school opening, Som-co, MATES and STC will deploy additional traffic enforcers and motorcycle units strategically inside their areas of jurisdic-tion and the nearby vicinities, especially at identified entry-exit choke points, where am-bulant tellers will be assigned during the peak traffic hours, as needed. Medical emergency and towing services will be available to provide assistance to motor-ists in distress.

Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay, one of the complainants, said the BLBAR is against the 1987 Constitution. “We have decided to take the mat-ter as a party issue. We have filed a complaint against the government negotiating panel for Treason and Inciting to Sedition. The government, instead of protecting the interest of the  Republic, has given in to all the demands of the MILF. This has put the entire nation in a dilemma. Bu-hay Party-list stands for peace—but it should be achieved  in accordance

with the Constitution,” Atienza said. Party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz of Abakada, former Ambassador Jose Romero Jr. and lawyer Jeremy Gatdula are also signatories to the complaint. The complainants, in their 34-page complaint, said the “acts of the respondents, in executing the Framework Agreement [on the Bangsamoro] and in proposing the BBL, also effectively aided the MILF armed forces to successfully assert their existence as a separate and independent state. Therefore, the respondents must be held liable for

the crime of treason…” “We are not for violence and war. We are for peace. But peace that will continue uniting the nation and not disintegrating it. What they are ap-proving now are provisions which are dangerous, to say the least. The creeping expansion provision was retained; by 10-percent vote, contiguous barangays can opt to join the Bangsamoro later on. The amendment to guaranteeing non-secession of the Bangsamoro later on was stricken down,” Atienza added. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

ANGELES CITY—A homegrown foundation in Pampanga, which aims to uplift the overall well-being of the less-fortunate members of the

society through medical assistance and other works of charity, has come to fore. The Datu, Angeles, David Memorial Foundation Inc. (DADMFI), a foundation composed of the Datu Angeles, David and Mallari families of Bacolor, Pam-panga, together with its sister foundation based in the US, the Love for Life Foundation Inc., have accel-erated their altruistic activities in the last quarter of their partnership with the Kapampangan Develop-ment Foundation. DADMFI President Virgilio M. David said the foun-dation also aims to boost the legacy of their patriarch Dr. Jesus A. Datu by supporting the Jesus A. Datu

Medical Center, a special hospital catering to eye op-erations, prosthetics manufacturing and a mother and child-care facility. During the media forum “Batirulan qñg Café Juan” organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc., the Clark Development Corp. and the Holy Angel University here on Friday, DADMFI Secretary Christie B. Datu said the late Dr. Datu wanted to help the less fortunate in his own way. Datu said the vision for DADMFI is “to be recog-nized and respected as an admirable nonprofit medical facility that is competently and compassionately able to provide medical services to indigenous and unfor-tunate populace.” He said “its mission is to provide diagnostic and therapeutic medical services to indigenous patients to uplift their well-being, thereby improving their ability to serve their family, as well as their community.”

DATU, Angeles, David Memorial Foundation President Virgilio David (center right) and the group’s secretary, Christie Datu (center left) discuss the projects of their foundation, as well as other topics including national security issues with officers and members of the Capampangan in Media Inc. at the forum “Batirulan qñg Café Juan” at the Holy Angel University in Angeles City on Friday. AshLey MAnABAT

�rough the years, GSIS carried out a host of reforms to transform the System into a caring institution that is more consultative, transparent, and member-focused. Of importance: increased the minimum pension to Php5,000, restored survivorship pen-sion, lifted the suspension of loan privileges for employees working in suspended agencies, revoked the An-nual Renewal of Active Status for pensioners, enhanced accessibility of services for its members through the deployment of close to a thousand GWAPS kiosks nationwide, and re-newed partnership with LANDBANK as an additional servicing bank.

2014 in Retrospect2014 was a record-breaking year

for GSIS in terms of �nancial perfor-mance and exemplary service deliv-ery. No less than President Benigno S. Aquino III, during the 2015 GOCC Dividends Day at the Bulwagang Rizal in Malacañang Palace, cited the im-pressive performance of the GSIS.

“Bigyan natin ng other success stories. GSIS income in 2010 was at Php64 billion. In 2014, it’s now Php140 billion. Can we give a big hand to Bernie Vergara and the whole team. (Its) assets worth Php567 bil-lion in 2010 is now Php910 billion. Claims and bene�ts from Php46 bil-

lion, has reached Php84 billion…,” President Aquino said tracing the �nancial growth of the pension fund in the last �ve years.

�e processing of claims con-tinues to improve with the reduc-tion in the number of documentary

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph A8Sunday, May 31, 2015

GSIS: DOING GREAT AT 78ON its 78th year, the

Government Service Insurance System reaffirms

its commitment to provide the most responsive service to its over 1.8 million members and pensioners.

requirements, electronic crediting of bene�ts (retirement, life insur-ance, survivorship and pre-need) to the accounts of members, additional system enhancements and ‘�le any-where’ policy. In 2014, GSIS adopted a risk system that closely monitors the processing e�ciency of its 56 branch and extension o�ces. As a result, 96% of all retirement and separation claims are processed well

within the 90-day turnaround time. More importantly, GSIS was

recognized by the Civil Service Com-mission as the top government agen-cy in its annual survey of frontline service agencies last year, garnering an overall average rating of 91 per-cent in its Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) customer feedback survey, with no branch scoring a failing mark.

�is is a far cry from the 2012

survey covering 45 branch o�ces, where GSIS received a “Failed” over-all rating. In the 2013 survey cov-ering 28 branch o�ces, the pension rebounded with an average rating of 89% or “Good.” In addition, eight o�ces received a Seal of Excellence Award for exemplary service. In 2014, GSIS further improved its rat-ing with an overall grade of “Excel-lent” for its 56 branch o�ces. Eleven branch o�ces have already earned a Seal of Excellence—Baguio, Bayom-bong, Borongan, Bulacan, Butuan, Dipolog, Laoag, Pasay, Surigao, Tagum, and Tuguegarao. In the next 400 days or so left, the focus of the pension fund remains upholding the interest and welfare of its members and pensioners. Empowering its stakeholders through the conduct of dialogues will continue, recognizing the important role they play in the evolution of the System, through their voice. Amend-ments to the GSIS charter will con-tinue to be pursued to legislate reforms in line with being service responsive. �ese include establish-ing a members’ bill of rights, designa-tion of bene�ciary by single members before age 50, removal of remarriage and cohabitation as grounds for the cancellation of survivorship bene�t, and lifting of the prescription period for claims.

PRESIDENT Aquino gives a congratulatory handshake to GSIS PGM Robert G. Vergara for the GSIS “success story” during the Dividends Day last May 13 in Malacañang.

GSIS TOTAL INCOME (in Billion Pesos)

GSIS TOTAL ASSETS (in Billion Pesos)

88.7%

91.2%

GSIS GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEMMaaasahan ng Lingkod-Bayan