BusinessMirror November 8, 2014

By Bianca Cuaresma

The country’s foreign-currency reserves de-pleted further in October to only $79.296 billion, representing a low point in more

than two years, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.   Servicing the maturing foreign obligations of the national government and the eroded value of the central bank’s gold holdings pulled the coun-try’s dollar buffers down from $79.556 billion the previous September. The October gross international reserve (GIR) was also a $261-million decline from last month’s accumulated reserves, and an even larger drop of $4.312 billion from last year’s $83.607 billion. This represented the country’s thinnest re-

serves in 28 months, or since June 2012, when the buffer against an illiquid global market stood at $76.13 billion. According to the BSP, there was a substantial drop in the value of the central bank’s gold hold-ings in October that was magnified by lower re-turns from foreign-exchange operations. In particular, the GIR’s foreign-exchange op-erations fund slumped to $311.7 million from the previous month’s $1.207 billion.   As a matter of practice, the central bank ob-serves a market-determined foreign-exchange framework but, historically, has not hesitated to “maintain strategic presence in the foreign-ex-change market” from time to time to smoothen out volatilities.

This is one of the reasons the international police body is pre-paring to expand a pilot program known as I-Checkit, under which airlines bounce passenger infor-mation off Interpol’s databases—in hopes that one day the system could expand to include cruise operators, banks, hotels and other private-sector partners.

Turkey, with its long and often porous border with Syria, has been a major thoroughfare for many of the thousands of foreign fighters seek-ing to join extremists like the Islamic State (IS) group, which has captured territory across Iraq and Syria.

Speaking in Monaco, where In-terpol is holding its general assem-bly this week, outgoing chief Ronald Noble confirmed that Turkey was a destination, but declined to identify any others.

He also refused to indicate how many people might be involved, but called on countries to step up screening at all transportation hubs—”airports and, more and more, cruise lines.”

Turkish authorities say they have set up teams to nab suspect-ed foreign fighters in airports and bus stations, and have deported

hundreds in recent months. Pierre St. Hilaire, director of counterter-rorism at Interpol, suggested that the Turkish crackdown has shown results in recent months, and so some would-be jihadis are making alternative travel plans.

“Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there’s a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas,” he told the AP on Thursday. “There is evidence that the individuals, especially in Europe, are traveling mostly to Izmit and other places to engage in this type of activ-ity,” he said, referring to a Turkish coastal town.

The phenomenon is relatively new, within the past three months or so, said other Interpol officials.

“Originally, our concern about people on cruise ships—danger-ous people on cruise ships—really focused on the classic sort of rap-ist, burglar, or violent criminal,” Noble said.

“But as we’ve gathered data, we’ve realized that there are more and more reports that people are using cruise ships in order to get to launch pads, if you will—sort of closer to the con-flict zones—of Syria and Iraq.”

Cruise ships, which often make

repeated stops, offer an added ben-efit by allowing would-be jihadis to hop off undetected at any number of ports—making efforts to track them more difficult.

St. Hilaire said it wasn’t exactly clear yet how many would-be for-eign fighters were traveling by cruise ship to reach Syria, and add-ed that there were other options, as well: to avoid passing through airports, some people have driven all the way from their homes in Eu-rope to the Syrian border.

He was quick to caution that Eu-rope is by no means the only or even the main source of foreign fighters for Syria.

“It’s a global threat—15,000 fight-ers or more from 81 countries travel-ing to one specific conflict zone,” he said, noting that that there are some 300 from China alone.

“In order to prevent their travel and identify them, there needs to be greater information-sharing among the region, among national security agencies.”

Elinore Boeke, director of public affairs for the Cruise Lines Interna-tional Association, the world’s larg-est cruise industry trade association denied security, at least in the US, was any more lax than other means of transportation.

“Cruise lines take security as

seriously as the airlines, and se-curity procedures are very simi-lar. US-based cruise lines share passenger manifests with US authorities who check against official databases,” Boeke said in an e-mail.

Many European governments have expressed concern that home-grown jihadis who self-radicalize online and then travel to Syria will return home with skills to carry out terror attacks. Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche, who allegedly spent a year in Syria and fought with IS, is the chief suspect in a May attack on the Jewish Museum of Brussels that killed four people. AP

The WorldBusinessMirror [email protected], November 8, 2014B3-4

Jihadis on cruise ships to Syria

In this October 31 photo, Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters cheer as they leave the outskirts of Suruc, Turkey, toward the Turkey-Syria border, on the way to the Syrian city of Kobani. Ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the key Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials. AP/VAdim GhirdA

MONACO—Would-be jihadi fighters are increasingly booking tickets on cruise

ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq, hoping to bypass stepped-up efforts to thwart them in neighboring Turkey, Interpol officials have told the Associated Press (AP).

BEIRUT—An overnight US aerial assault in northern Syria struck al-Qaeda-

linked extremists who were plotting to attack the West, the US military said on Thursday.

Targeted was an al-Qaeda faction that US authorities call the Khorasan Group, composed of “extremists who share a his-tory of training operatives, fa-cilitating fighters and money, and planning attacks against US and Western targets,” the US Central Command said in a statement.

Published reports indicated that among those who may have been killed is a French militant known as a skilled bomb maker. Many jihadists from Europe and elsewhere have traveled to Syria and joined up with various armed groups operating amid the chaos of the more than three-year civil war.

“This network was plot-ting to attack in Europe or the homeland, and we took decisive action to protect our interests and remove their capability to act,” the Central Command said, without further details.

“We will continue to take any action necessary to disrupt attack plotting against US in-terests.” The US has launched scores of air strikes in Syria since September, with the vast majority targeting the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda breakaway faction that has overrun vast stretches of Syria and neigh-boring Iraq.

President Barack Obama has vowed that US forces would “de-grade and ultimately destroy” the organization.

But the overnight strikes reported on Thursday were the first since September directed at the Khorasan Group, which remains a shadowy organiza-tion—despite the consider-able attention it has garnered from the US intelligence and defense establishments.

The group is composed of veteran al-Qaeda operatives, US officials say.

Syrian opposition groups re-ported that civilians, including four children, were among those killed in the coalition strikes. The military had no immediate comment on the reports.

While US officials were still assessing the outcome of the at-tack, the military cited “initial indications that it resulted in the intended effects by strik-ing terrorists and destroying or severely damaging several Kho-rasan Group vehicles and build-ings assessed to be meeting and staging areas,” as well as hitting training areas and bomb-making facilities. The military deployed bomber, fighter and remotely pi-loted aircraft in five air strikes, the Pentagon said.

W hile the military said Khorasan was the sole target, pro-opposition activists said operatives from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front were hit.

However, they said it did not appear that air strikes were meant to aid US-backed Syrian rebels in their ongoing struggles with Nusra fighters.

Last week the Nusra Front, along with other Islamist fac-tions, commandeered the posi-tions in Syria’s northern Idlib province of two US-backed Syr-ian rebel groups, the Syrian Revo-lutionaries Front and Haraket Hazm. Nusra’s online support-ers also boasted of confiscating batches of US hardware, includ-ing several armored vehicles and tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Los Angeles Times/MCT

United States air strikes target militants in Syria plotting vs West

WA SH I NGT ON — More than 600 US service mem-bers told military medi-

cal staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Pentagon officials said the de-partment would now expand its out-reach to veterans and establish a toll-free hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking medical eval-uation or care, the newspaper said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an internal review of mili-tary records after the Times reported in October that US troops encoun-tered degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s that had been hidden

or used in makeshift bombs. The initial newspaper report dis-

closed that 17 service members had been injured by sarin or sulfur mus-tard agent, and several more came forward after the story appeared, the Times said on Thursday.

The Army’s Public Health Com-mand collects standardized medical-history surveys, known as post-de-ployment health assessments, which troops fill out as they complete com-bat tours, the newspaper reported.

Those who responded “yes” to a question about exposure to such war-fare agents—”Do you think you were exposed to any chemical, biological and radiological warfare agents dur-ing this deployment?”—were asked to provide a brief explanation.

The review ordered by Hagel showed that 629 people answered “yes” to that question and also filled in a block with information indicat-ing chemical agent exposure, Col. Jerome Buller, a spokesman for the Army surgeon general, told the news-paper. Each person who answered the questionnaire would have re-ceived a medical consultation at the end of their combat tour, Buller said.

The Times reported that it was not clear why the military did not take further steps, such as including com-piling the data as it accumulated over more than a decade, tracking veter-ans with related medical complaints, or circulating warnings about risks to soldiers and to the Department of Veterans Affairs. AP

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—A series of coordinated explo-sions targeted the homes of

several leaders of President Mah-moud Abbas’s Fatah Party in the Gaza Strip early on Friday, a party official said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the explosions occurred at a time of rising tensions with the rival Hamas movement.

Fayez Abu Eitta, a Fatah leader in Gaza’s Jebaliya refugee camp, said no one was hurt in the near-simultane-ous attacks.

He said his car was destroyed and the homes and cars of two other Fatah officials in Gaza City were also damaged.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007. The rival parties have recently pledged to reconcile,

but there are still deep differences.Fatah officials in Gaza are plan-

ning on commemorating the death of party founder Yasser Arafat on November 11 for the first time since 2007. During the previous commem-oration, which took place shortly af-ter the Hamas takeover that year, at least 10 people were killed in clashes between the rival sides, and Hamas activists have spoken out against this year’s event.

A prominent Fatah blog said the stage for the ceremony was also hit by a blast, though the report could not be immediately confirmed.

Abu Eitta refused to speculate on who was behind the blasts, saying the incident was under investigation.

There were no signs of Israeli in-volvement, and the military said it was unaware of the blasts. AP

JERUSALEM—Moving to head off a crisis with Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-

tanyahu on Thursday assured the Jor-danian monarch, King Abdullah, that Israel had no plans to change prayer arrangements at a contested site in Jerusalem that is sacred to both Mus-lims and Jews. Netanyahu’s phone call to Abdullah came a day after Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel in pro-test of police actions during clashes on Wednesday with Palestinian protest-ers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, an area Jews know as the Temple Mount.

By treaty, the Jordanian monarch is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, and the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian-run Islamic trust. The sensitive site has been the focal point of rising tensions in recent weeks, fueled by a campaign by Israeli right-wing activists and law-

makers to lift a ban on Jewish prayer at the compound. Jews revere the site as the location of two ancient Jewish temples. Muslims refer to it as the third-holiest site in Islam.

“We agreed that we’ll do every effort to calm the situation,” Netanyahu said after his conversation with Abdullah. “I explained to him that we’re keeping the status quo on the Temple Mount and that this includes Jordan’s traditional role there, as consistent with the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan. We have to make every effort to restore calm, quiet and security.”

A statement by the official Jorda-nian news agency said that Abdul-lah, who is contending with public anger and Islamist protests over events at Al-Aqsa, “stressed Jordan’s complete rejection of any measures that would tamper with the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, endanger the mosque or change the status quo.”

After Wednesday’s clash at the site, in which Israeli police used stun grenades to drive stone-throwing protesters inside the mosque, Jor-dan called its ambassador home for consultations and accused Israel of “unprecedented and escalated aggres-sions” at the compound. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Israeli “violations are infuriating the emotions and sensitivity of 1.5 bil-lion Muslims around the world,” and he demanded that Israel “respect the sanctity of the holy sites.”

The Jordanian information min-ister, Mohammad al Momani, sug-gested that Jordan might review its 20-year-old peace treaty with Israel, and Jordanian diplomats lodged a complaint with the United Nations Security Council, accusing Israeli forces of storming the mosque com-pound, damaging mosaics and burn-ing rugs. MCT

Coordinated blasts target Fatah officials in Gaza

In this October 18 photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the Fatah revolutionary council in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Palestinian president has been speaking in increasingly belligerent tones in recent weeks, accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and calling on Palestinians to defend a contested Jerusalem holy site “by any means.” AP/mAjd mohAmmed

Troops described chemical weapons exposure

Israel won’t change prayer rulesat Temple Mount, Netanyahu assures

See “GIR,” A2

PESO ExchangE ratES n US 45.0380 n jaPan 0.3911 n UK 71.3087 n hK 5.8093 n chIna 7.3684 n SIngaPOrE 34.7650 n aUStralIa 38.6658 n EU 55.7435 n SaUDI arabIa 12.0053 Source: BSP (7 November 2014)

sublimeperfectionin contrasts

DATING IN THE DIGITAL

AGE... »D4AGE... »

B JT N

SIMILARITY isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for harmony. Sometimes, it can be the lack thereof that makes the fusion of two dissimilar objects even more astonishing, if not exciting—just like when opposing elements somehow jive together

in perfect synergy.The proudly Filipino brand Arden Classic, known

for its pieces informed by contrasts, takes pride in its artisanal and quixotic objets d’art that are all ambitiously conceptualized and masterfully crafted. Placing the country’s bountiful organic treasures—predominantly exquisite seashells—at the core of its collections, Arden’s objets are celebrated for fusing these precious gems of nature with metal in seamless harmony.

According to Arden Siarot, proprietor and namesake of the Mactan-based manufacturing company, the contrast in the qualities of the materials captured his fancy. “I was attracted to the possibility of creating beauty from two elements with seemingly polar qualities: the delicacy of the shell and the strength of metal. From these opposing attributes, I aimed—and still aim—to create a single work of beauty,” Siarot said, who himself is a mixture of acquired technical knowledge in engineering from the University of San Jose Recoletos-Cebu and the natural feel for the arts, as the son of sculptor Agustin Siarot.

Wanting to know more about his chosen craft, Siarot learned to fabricate industrial machinery that proved to be the fundamental foundation of his works. He was then spotted by an Italian firm that specialized in jewerly production, preparing him to fully realize his talents that ultimately led him to establish Arden Classic in 1993 with his wife, Jen Elizabeth. They started out with miniature furniture and eventually, the company became the premier subcontractor in wrought iron furniture.

By 2000, having perfected his mastery in metal arts, Siarot started to infuse seashells in his creations that gave birth to the line of art décor known as Arden, producing centerpieces, decorative bowls, lamps, boxes, trays and wall accents, among others.

“Philippine shells have been regarded since time immemorial as some of the world’s most beautiful creations of the sea. Each work of art that bears the Arden logo aims to capture the spell-binding beauty of these shells,” Siarot said, who received the prestigious President Ramon Magsaysay for Outstanding Filipino Worker in the Self-Employed Category, and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Golden Shell Award for Manufacturing Excellence, both in 2002. Five years later, he was chosen as one of the 50 Men and Women of Science by the Department of Science and Technology.

Siarot said the actual process of making his distinct pieces isn’t, by any margin, easier than their conception. “The process of combining shell and metal sculpture is tedious. I personally develop each meticulous step in accordance with accepted international manufacturing and environmental standards. But in our creative process, we leave nothing to the imagination to bring beauty and joy in every home where our creations can be found.”

Aside from seashells, such as the captivating nautilus and the highly regarded mother-of-pearl, Arden Classic

also uses other organic materials such as coconut shells, ostrich eggs, cattle bones, and even fish and snake skins. These materials are then worked into caressing metal art forms made of brass, and plated with nickel and silver. Each work of art tells a story of poetic elegance, depicting Siarot’s favorite subjects such as the beauty of nature, or of creatures straight out of myths and legends.

As the result of each particular model and process, Siarot stressed that “no two Arden pieces are alike,” adding that “each metal sculpture is painstakingly adjusted to perfectly embrace the unique dimension of every shell. Each is a unique creation of art.”

Recently at the SMX Convention Center, Siarot introduced Arden’s 2015 Spring/Summer Collection, called

“Vita Fauna”, where each sculptural animal reflects age-old Filipino traits.

The ever-patriotic Siarot explained that he wanted to awaken the noble values of Filipinos, especially among the youth. “With Vita Fauna, I hope to instill, especially among the youth, a sense of confidence in and respect to the characteristics that have shaped us as a nation. By using animals, I would like to tell the story of our people in a way that is enchanting, magical, yet truthful.”

He added that he got the inspiration by looking “into the heart of the Filipino and this is what I found: A sense of majesty and nobility that prizes dignity even in the face of great obstacles—abundant love characterized by a mother’s nurturing care to ensure the safety of her family, the intelligence to find solutions even to the most mind-boggling problems, the willingness to work and labor, a sense of serenity despite prevailing

tumult, firm belief in the benevolence of life to face an unknown future with the highest confidence and spirit.”

A premier piece in the collection is “On the Wings of Might,” which is modeled after the majestic Philippine Eagle. Like the Filipino’s acclaimed resilience, these birds are still able to rise above the threat of extinction with unyielding poise despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Artistically, On the Wings of Might fully illustrates the breathtaking craftsmanship that is employed in every piece in an Arden collection, the painstaking hours spent perfecting the texture of the feathers, the beak and, of course, the Arden signature of shell are evident in the piece.

Another noteworthy piece in the collection is “The Clash of Wit and Wile,” which centers on the Filipino’s resourcefulness and versatility. Depicted by wily fighting spiders on sticks, these arachnids offset unfavorable odds like their miniature size and make the most of what they have. Every detail in the piece has been informed by an exacting eye, from the human hand holding the stick to, more important, the spiders themselves.

Siarot said Arden’s latest collection is an amalgamation of three elements: “The allure of Philippine seashells, the beauty of the Filipino spirit, and the fearless creativity of our artist craftsmen and artisans.”

Arden Classic can be found at Soong II, Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Arden Classic has its own retail boutique at Level 3, Greenbelt 5, Makati City. It has been carried by some of the world’s most prestigious retail addresses, such as Harrods, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lane Crawford. It also has been a prime supplier of home décor art to top-tier designer labels like Ralph Lauren and Casa Armani. ■

Life Saturday, November 8, 2014 D1BusinessMirrorEditor: Gerard S. Ramos • [email protected]

DEAR God, sometimes perception is reality. Especially our perceptions about God. When Jesus and His disciples

were crossing the sea of Galilee in a small fishing vessel, a sudden storm threatened to sink the boat. With Jesus asleep and the disciples on the verge of panic , they began to stir Him, asking, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38) If we do fully trust Him, His loving care is all around us. May we always remember that we are in the most holy presence of God and our perceptions about God is a reality in its truest sense. Amen.

Perceptions about God

OUR DAILY BREAD AND LOUIE M. LACSONWord&Life Publications • [email protected]

SUBLIME PERFECTIONIN CONTRASTS

ARDEN Classic collections fuse the delicacy of seashells with the strength of metal into a harmonious work of art. Inspired by the butanding, or whale shark, perhaps, the most docile creature of the world, “Tranquility,” which is part of Arden’s latest collection, illustrates the Filipinos’ loving and kind nature.

»

Life Life Life Life Life Life Saturday, November 8, 2014 D1

Life BusinessMirror

Life IN CONTRASTS

ARDEN Classic collections fuse the delicacy of seashells with the strength of metal into a harmonious work of art. Inspired by the butanding, or whale shark, perhaps, the most docile creature of the world, “Tranquility,” which is part of Arden’s latest collection, illustrates the Filipinos’ loving and kind nature.

» » collections fuse » collections fuse

ARDEN SIAROT, proprietor and namesake of the Mactan-based manufacturing company

life D1

too muchload?SportsBusinessMirror

C1 | Saturday, November 8, [email protected]@businessmirror.com.phEditor: Jun Lomibao

The Lakers are off to their worst start since 1957.

Their average margin of loss is 14.8 points.

Kobe Bryant has shouldered

almost all of the offensive load,

taking 37 shots and scoring

39 points in a 112-106 loss on

Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns.

TOO MUCHLOAD? DREAM START

Pau and Bulls sing each other’s praises

BEYOND impressive averages of 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the Bulls, Pau Gasol is punctuating blocks with primal screams and showing emotion befitting his competitiveness. AP

FOR the Lakers, trying to lighten Kobe

Bryant’s load is a priority. AP

By KC JohnsonChicago Tribune

ON an HBO documentary airing this week, Thunder star Kevin Durant says Pau Gasol is “into, like, orchestras and plays” and that

Gasol’s interests hurt Oklahoma City’s free-agency chances compared to more culturally diverse locales. It’s no revelation. Gasol calls Spanish tenor Placido Domingo a friend, Tweeted a photo of himself with cast members from Chicago’s Lyric Opera performance of Don Giovanni on October 23 and said this during training camp: “I’m not happy just playing basketball. I have other interests and other wishes. Chicago had a lot to offer in that regard. I’m culturally very interested, so I’m sure that side of me is going to be fulfilled here in a big way.” But to say Gasol merely picked the Bulls because of Chicago’s culture would be a bit tone deaf. Don’t mistake Gasol’s artsy side with apathy. And don’t try selling the tired “soft” label that, for some reason, occasionally follows someone who dropped 19 points and 18 rebounds on Tom Thibodeau and the Celtics in Game Seven of the 2010 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. Beyond impressive averages of 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the 4-1 Bulls, Gasol

is punctuating blocks with primal screams and showing emotion befitting his competitiveness. “He’s a big-time winner,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes, he can appear to be quiet. We see him every day; we know he’s not quiet. He’s quick-witted, good sense of humor, very, very intelligent. “He plays for the team and to win. He gets as much pleasure out of passing and doing dirty work, rebounding, as scoring. I’m just glad we have him.” This is no ‘Melo, er, mellow consolation prize. This is a highly skilled, legitimate 7-footer the Bulls haven’t featured much since Artis Gilmore patrolled the paint. (Bill Cartwright, while vital to the first three-peat, played a more stationary, physical game. Brad Miller and Tyson Chandler had their best years elsewhere. Omer Asik didn’t stay long enough. And Joakim Noah is listed at 6-foot-11.) “He’s back to his old tricks,” Taj Gibson said of Gasol. “He’s motivated. That’s good for us. It’s a real good thing when you can just throw the ball down low and know you’re going to get something out of it, either a foul or good shot.” Indeed, Gasol’s mere presence as a safety valve for a sputtering halfcourt possession—such a big target and smart passer—takes some getting used to for those still recovering from the Dalibor Bagaric years. Thibodeau theorized Gasol is a better

rebounder as the game progresses. There he was on Wednesday in Milwaukee, grabbing four of his 14 boards in the fourth, and covering ground while doing so. For a franchise used to range rebounding from the colorful Dennis Rodman years, so far, so good for Gasol. “When you’re closing out a game, every possession is critical,” Gasol said. “You have to make sure you go after it and box out and not give up second opportunities in those critical moments.” With Noah missing two games to illness and Gibson battling foul trouble in one of those games, Gasol responded in a big way. He posted 38 points, 27 rebounds and three blocks in 77 minutes, looking spry at 34. “[Coming here] was a reenergizing decision,” Gasol said. “That was one of the main reasons why I made a change—to rejuvenate, to reenergize, to remotivate myself and be in a position to win. I want to help a team be a contender for a championship. “I feel great. I feel guys appreciate what I bring and they’re excited I’m here and playing at a high level and helping the team be better. I feel the same way. I feel we have a great team with great players and a great mind-set. They’re all ready to take it to the next level.”

By Mike BresnahanLos Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES—With the Lakers sputtering to an 0-5 start, it had to come up. Did Kobe Bryant sense any parallels between the twilight of his career and the end of Michael Jordan’s?

The Washington Wizards were 37-45 in both of Jordan’s last two seasons, failing to make the playoffs. He retired in 2003, at 40, after averaging 20 points that season. Bryant, 36, laughed at the question on Thursday and initially said there were no similarities. Then he wavered. “Well, maybe. I guess,” he said, five games into a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension. How so? “He wasn’t in Chicago, playing for the same organization for all those years. It’s a little different. I’m still younger than he was,” Bryant said. “I can see where you guys are thinking there’s similarities there. I also think it’s probably reachable content at this point. I get it. So, yeah, [there’s] similarities.” The Lakers are off to their worst start since 1957. Their average margin of loss is 14.8 points. Bryant has shouldered almost all of the offensive load, taking 37 shots and scoring 39 points in a 112-106 loss on Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns. Lakers Coach Byron Scott called a time-out in that game, pointed to Bryant and said he told the rest of the team, “I know how great this guy is, but you guys have got to play basketball. You can’t look at him every single time and try to give him the ball.” The Lakers will try to use Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin more often to create opportunities, Bryant said, “as opposed to me initiating the offense and then controlling everything from there.” It sounds like a changeup, Bryant coming off screens while Lin spearheads the offense, but Lin is enduring a very slow start in his first Lakers season, averaging 10.8 points and 37.8 percent shooting. Boozer has also been a nonfactor, averaging 10.4 points with 44 percent shooting. Bryant is averaging 27.6 points and shooting 40.2 percent, more than five percentage points below his career accuracy. The Lakers’ worst start ever was 0-7, also in 1957, making their date on Sunday with the Charlotte Hornets (2-3) a relatively important one. After that, they will be big underdogs at Memphis, at New Orleans and at home against San Antonio and Golden State. “We’ve got to understand that we’re probably the

underdog in almost every game that we’re going to play,” Scott said. “I don’t know what teams, besides probably a few in the NBA, that we’ll probably be favored [against].” Bryant was calm on Thursday after the team practiced, though Scott acknowledged aggravation was seeping into the picture. “He was frustrated after the Phoenix game,” Scott said. “I think we all were. He probably showed it a little bit more than we did.”

GOLF AND REHABSTEVE NASH created a mini-firestorm by sharing on Instagram a short video showing him smacking a golf ball recently at a driving range. People cheered loudly because he hit it hard. Lakers fans weren’t amused, aware he was making a lot of money ($9.7 million) to sit out this season because of chronic back problems. And that he will have played only 65 games over three years with the Lakers. Angry, sarcastic comments were left on Nash’s Instagram page by many people. Scott, though, defended Nash on Thursday. “There’s probably a whole lot of people out there that don’t understand the difference between golf and basketball,” Scott said. “The guy is hurt and can’t play this year—it doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy himself and have some fun while he’s going through rehab and everything else. It probably doesn’t look good, but...relax.”

H OUSTON—Dwight Howard scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Houston Rockets continued their dream start with a 98-91 win over

in-state rival San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. Howard exploited a Spurs interior that was missing two key players, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. Manu Ginobili also was held out of the game for rest a night after helping San Antonio to a 94-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Howard and Houston took advantage, leading the game wire-to-wire on the way to a league-best 6-0 record. With the loss, the Spurs drop to 2-2. James Harden had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Rockets.

Cory Joseph led the Spurs with 18 points off the bench and Aron Baynes had 12 points and 11

rebounds. In Portland LaMarcus Aldridge had 20

points and the Portland Trail Blazers led by as many as 27 points in routing the

Dallas Mavericks, 108-87. Portland trailed 50-46 at

halftime but outscored the Mavericks 35-18 in the third

quarter and Dallas couldn’t catch up. Damian Lillard added 18 points. Nicolas Batum had eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but sat out for the fourth quarter after the Blazers had built a sizable lead. Batum has four career triple-doubles. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 17 points, 15 in the first half. AP

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POOr FIlIPInOS rEbUIlD whErE tyPhOOn hIt thEm

chIna: FrOm SUPPlIcanttO majOr POwEr PlayEr

Last time China hosted the asia-Pacific leaders’ summit in 2001, then-President Jiang Zemin vowed to follow international rules as his nation was on the cusp of

joining the World trade Organization. as leaders from the 21-member asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gather in Beijing next week, they’ll visit an economy that’s about eight times larger and be hosted by a leader now seeking to reshape global rules and organizations. trumpeting China’s “great rejuvenation,” President Xi Jinping has been pushing regional maritime claims and expanding its economic clout with neighbors via trade and investment. In the days leading up to the meeting, China has sought to set the agenda, backing a regional free-trade zone over Us-led trade-pact talks, signing agreements on a $50-billion regional bank to finance infrastructure, and announcing a new fund to rekindle the historic silk Road trading route. “Back in 2001 China was asking humbly to get into the room; in 2014 China wants to take center stage,” said Chen Fengying, a senior fellow researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a government

inside

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 saturday, November 8, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 31 P25.00 nationwide | 6 sections 28 pages | 7 Days a week

‘PAL short on cash for expansion’S.m.c. ExEc SayS rEFlEEtIng waS DOnE bEcaUSE P.a.l.haD thE mOnEy thEn tO ExPanD rOUtES, bUt nOt anymOrE

Jihadis on cruiseships tosyria

aN artist puts finishing touches on a mural depicting situations when supertyphoon yolanda ravaged tacloban and other central philippine provinces last year. Various activities are lined up on saturday to commemorate the first anniversary of the cataclysmic typhoon that killed thousands of people in leyte alone and left a wide swath of destruction. AP/Bullit MArquezGIR in Oct thinnest since June 2012aNIBONG, tacloban—a year after supertyphoon Yolanda

(international code name Haiyan) turned a huge swath of central Philippines into a body-littered wasteland, many

survivors are still struggling to rebuild their homes from the ruins, including in government-designated danger zones, where future typhoons could wreck their lives again. In the hard-hit coastal village of anibong, shantytowns are rising around now-rusty cargo ships that were washed ashore by powerful waves from one of the strongest storms ever recorded to make landfall. One villager’s house stands beside a concrete post marked “No build zone.” Villagers say they rebuilt along the coast because they have nowhere else to go. Most are fishermen, and want to be close to their boats, but they say they are willing to relocate once the government gives them land or housing. Yolanda’s ferocious wind generated tsunami-like storm surges that swamped entire communities, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing. More than 4 million people were displaced by the storm, which destroyed or damaged more than a million houses, and knocked down millions of power posts and coconut trees.

social Welfare secretary Corazon “Dinky” J. soliman described the

rebuilding effort as “gargantuan.” she said that, while many managed

to rebuild their homes, the Philippine government, backed by foreign

donors and aid organizations, still must resettle about 200,000 families

to permanent housing sites in the next two to three years.

the displaced are housed in temporary shelters and bunkhouses,

while others live with relatives or in hastily erected shacks. about 300

families are still living in tents, but they could be moved to better—

though still temporary—housing in the next few weeks, soliman said.

Much has been accomplished since Yolanda hit on November

8, 2013. Power, water and cell-phone services are back, and nearby

tacloban City throbs with life again.

“We’re 60-percent to 70-percent back to where we were, but

there is still a lot to be done,” soliman said. “We need to work on the

permanent shelters, repair of shelters and sustainable livelihood.

the hardest part, villagers say, is living with haunting memories

of the storm. AP

yolanda anniversary

a youNg typhoon survivor smiles beside new boats during blessing rites in tanauan, leyte. a nonprofit group called burublig para Ha tanauan has started projects to help villagers recover from damages brought by supertyphoon yolanda. the projects include distributing boats to fishermen who lost their vessels and training women to sew hospital scrubs and school uniforms. AP/AAroN FAVilA

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

The group of tycoon Lucio C. Tan does not have enough capital to support the funding

requirement that Philippine Airlines (PAL) will need for further route expansion to complement the massive fleet-modernization program that San Miguel Corp. (SMC) initiated in 2012. 

An executive of  the diversified conglomerate  made this statement late Thursday, following a negative comment from aviation think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), which noted that the  food-to-infrastructure firm made a wrong decision in expanding the capacity of the airline.  The industry expert advised PAL to clip its oversupply of “wings” to reduce its chances of ending the year in the red.  But the decision of SMC to aggressively expand the fleet was doable back then, said the company official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.  “We initiated the ‘overambitious’ refleeting program, be-cause we have the money to complement it with a massive

See “China,” A2

Continued on A2

Groups controlled by Francisco Ortigas and Rafael Ortigas signed an agreement to drop all lawsuits relating to the ownership and man-agement of the family’s OCLP Hold-

ings Inc., the two builders said in separate disclosures to the stock ex-change on Friday. Francisco is backed by SM and Rafael by Ayala. The alliance ends Ayala and

SM’s two-year rivalry for a stake in OCLP and its landholdings. Ayala and SM have also fought over a 300-hectare (741-acre) rec-lamation project in Manila Bay, a 7.7-hectare property in Negros Oc-cidental and over which company’s Manila mall would be picked for a new train hub. “A cooperation avoids a costly battle for control and this will help boost the value of property,” Allan Yu, who helps manage about P330 billion at Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., said. “Both groups are professionals

so they will see to it that this coop-eration would work.” Ayala Land, which developed the Makati district known as the Philip-pines’s Wall Street, and SM had been expected to make competing bids for a stake in closely held OCLP. SM Prime is the nation’s largest mall operator, with 49 shopping hubs in the Philippines and five in China. Ayala Land rose 1.2 percent at the noon break in Manila, poised for its highest close since September 30. SM Prime was unchanged at P17.70.

BusinessMirror [email protected] Saturday, November 8 , 2014A2

News

SUNRISE SUNSET

5:54 AM 5:25 PM

MOONRISEMOONSET

6:52 AM 6:42 PM

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 CITY22 – 30°C

TACLOBAN CITY24 – 31°C

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

METRO DAVAO24 – 32°C

ZAMBOANGA CITY24 – 32°C

PHILI

PPIN

E ARE

A OF R

ESPO

NSIB

ILITY

(PAR

)

SABAH

(AS OF NOVEMBER 7, 5:00 PM)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 25 – 30°C METRO CEBU

25 – 31°C

ILOILO/BACOLOD

26 – 31°C

23 – 31°C

25 – 31°C 24 – 32°C 24 – 32°C

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24 – 32°C 25 – 33°C 25 – 33°C

Watch PANAHON.TV everyday at 5:00 AM on PTV (Channel 4).

Weekday hourly updates: 6:00 AM on Balitaan, 7:00 AM & 8:00 AM on Good Morning Boss!, 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM

on News@1, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 6:00 PM on News@6

www.panahon.tv

@PanahonTV

NOVEMBER 8, 2014 | SATURDAY

HIGH TIDE

11:56 AM0.45 METER

MANILA SOUTH HARBOR

LOW TIDE

5:28 PM-0.14 METER

TUGUEGARAO CITY 21 – 31°C

LAOAG CITY 22 – 32°C

METRO MANILA21 – 32°C TAGAYTAY CITY

19 – 28°C

SBMA/CLARK 23 – 32°C

21 – 32°C 22 – 32°C 22 – 32°C

21 – 30°C 21 – 30°C 21 – 31°C

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NOV 7

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NOV 10 NOV 11

23 – 30°C23 – 31°C 23 – 30°C

25 – 32°C25 – 32°C 25 – 32°C

INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ITCZ) AFFECTING SOUTHERN MINDANAO.

NORTHEAST MONSOONAFFECTING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL

LUZON.

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies withisolated rain showers and/or thunderstorms

Cloudy skies with rain showers and/or thunderstorms.

HALF MOONFULL MOON

11:16 PM6:06 AMNOV 14NOV 7

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with rain showers.

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is the result of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere tradewind convergence; widespread

cloudiness, occasional thunderstorms, precipitation and moderate to strong surface winds are associated weather conditions.

Northeast Monsoon locally known as “Amihan”. It a�ects the eastern portions of the country. It is cold and dry; characterized by widespread

cloudiness with rains and showers.

BAGUIO CITY14 – 23°C

AyAlA land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc. agreed to ally with members of the Ortigas family to

develop a portion of a business district in the Philippine capital.

Ayala, SM end 2-year OCLP feud

research agency, in Beijing. “China is now playing offensive, not defensive.” As China’s GDP, by dollar terms, ex- panded from $1.2 trillion in 2000 to more than $9 trillion in 2013, the country is poised to seek greater influence, Chen said. “China has accumulated massive national wealth under Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, and now Xi Jinping can turn the wealth into power,” she said.

Rule followerWHen the Apec leaders’ forum was held in Shanghai in 2001, a month after the Septeber 11 terror attacks, Jiang of-fered support to US President George W. Bush. Jiang said then that China would “strictly follow international market rules” and implement “open, transparent and fair” trade and investment policies. That stance paid off: China’s export machine ran full steam, expanding eight times from $266.1 billion in 2001 to $2.2 trillion in 2013; foreign-exchange reserves ballooned to almost $4 trillion

from $212 billion at the end of 2001, and China received an influx of investment flows that brought new technologies and expertise. “The Apec meeting in 2001, gave a chance for China to fit into the region-al and global trade system,” said Liu Chenyang, director of Apec Study Cen-ter in nankai University in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, who attended the event then. “As the no. 2 economy now, China has to play a more proactive role in defining new goals and paths in regional integration.”

Chinese investmentIT’S time for China to focus on out-bound investments, according to Xi’s comments made at a leadership meeting to develop land and maritime routes connecting China and europe, Xinhua reported on Thursday. Out-bound investment has swelled from $2.1 billion in 2003, the earliest year of official data, to $75 billion in the first nine months of this year. AP

Continued from A1

route expansion,” the highly placed source said.  The executive reckoned that the LT Group is finding it hard to supply the new aircraft with new routes as it does not have a huge war chest to fund the needed expansion.  “They see it as inappropri-ate because they don’t have the money to finance the needed ex-pansion,” the company official pointed out.  The SMC official said the new management of the legacy carrier should stop blaming the diversi-fied conglomerate for the massive fleet modernization, as this was appropriate when the food-to-in-frastructure firm was still at the helm of the airline.  “They have to pay $500 million in loan, on top of the $800 million

they paid us for the buyback transac-tion. The $500 million is part of the working capital, it has either to be refinanced or paid internally to the bank they tapped. They don’t have enough working capital to expand,” the source said.  The carrier’s fleet expansion was part of then-PAL President Ramon S. Ang’s strategic plan of launching operations in Europe, the United States and other long- and medium-haul flights.  For now, PAL President and CEO Jaime J. Bautista said these plans would have to be shelved.  “We want to focus on profit-able routes, and the US is a very promising route for PAL, especially now that we are out of Category 2 and we are operating our new Boe-ing 777-300ER, which will result in very efficient operations in terms of fuel consumption and

maintenance,” he said.  SMC officially exited the flag carrier in October, concluding the over $1-billion buyback transaction launched in September.  San Miguel Equity Investments Inc., a unit of the food-to-infrastruc-ture firm, sold its 49-percent stake in Trustmark Holdings Corp. to the billionaire last month.  The group of the taipan owns 88.23 percent of the a irl ine through Trustmark, which holds an 89.78-percent stake in listed PAL Holdings Inc.  The group of the taipan is cur-rently revisiting the massive re-fleeting program struck by SMC with France’s Airbus. It has a price tag of $9.5 billion, involving  the delivery of 84 airplanes from Air-bus, comprising of a mix of A330s, A321s and A320s.  As of end-June its fleet is composed

of 85 aircraft composed of six Boeing 777-300ER, four Boeing 747-400, five Bombardier DHC 8-400, four Bombardier DHC 8-300, 10 Airbus A340-300, 18 Airbus A330-300, seven A321-231, 28 Airbus A320-200 and three Airbus A319-100. PAL Holdings successfully ex-ecuted an income backflip, after it posted a net profit of P1.49 billion in the second quarter of 2014 from a net loss of P1.08 billion in the same three-month period in 2013. In the same comparative periods, revenues of the airline operator rose by 47.4 percent to P27.30 billion from P18.52 billion, while operat-ing expenses climbed by a slower 31 percent to P6.04 billion from P19.47 billion. PAL Holdings shares ended Fri-day’s trading at P3.65 apiece, crash-ing by 8 percent or 33 centavos from P3.98 each on Thursday.  

W

‘PAL short on cash for expansion’

  The peso weakened and traded within the P44-territory in October this year on the back of the dollar’s re-surgent strength during the month.   Its gold holdings fell by $257.8 billion from the previous month’s $7.57 billion, totaling $7.3 billion in October. Income from the BSP’s foreign investments hit $69.832 billion in October, $856.4 million lower than the previous month’s $68.936 bil-lion in September. “The decrease in reserves was due mainly to revalua-tion adjustments in the BSP’s gold holdings and payments for maturing foreign-exchange obligations of the

national government,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said. The BSP also maintained that the level of reserves remain ‘ample’ as this can cover 10.8 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income. It was also equivalent to 8.2 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity, or six times based on residual maturity. The BSP previously aimed for the GIR to accumulate as high as $83.5 billion by the end of the year. This assumption is subject to re-view and revision seen happening this month.  

China. . . continued from a1

GIR. . . continued from a1

Expect more drug busts–de LimaJUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima

said on Friday that more anti- illegal drug operations are expected

to be undertaken by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) follow- ing a raid in a methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, laboratory in Camiling, Tarlac, on Thursday that resulted in the arrest of six Chinese and the seizure of P3 billion worth of shabu and other paraphernalia.

De Lima said she was privy to the planning of the operation several weeks ago, following a surveillance conducted by the raiding team. “We hope that it will deal a big blow to the illegal-drugs industry in the Philippines. There is really a need to intesify efforts to fight ille-gal drugs, particularly now that the election period is nearing, we don’t want these so-called narcopolitics to proliferate,” de Lima said. De Lima assured that the NBI will be relentless in its drive against illegal drugs and will work closely with other law enforcement agen-cies, such as the National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

[email protected] Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Saturday, November 8, 2014 A3BusinessMirrorThe Nation

 DE LIMA: We hope that it will deal a big blow to the

illegal-drugs industry in the Philippines. There is really a need to intesify

efforts to fight illegal drugs, particularly now that the election period

is nearing. We don’t want these so-called

narcopolitics to proliferate.

“Of course, the lead agency always is PDEA, and the national police has its own unit, and so does the NBI.And I know for a fact na all of these units are really working double time to intensify antidrug efforts,” de Lima assured

 NBI Deputy Director for Inves-tigative Services Ricardo Pangan said the suspected drug laboratory was discovered during the raid in a big warehouse on Bonifacio Street, Camiling, Tarlac. He said the area was placed under surveillance for two months before the raid, which was conducted the strength of a search warrant is-sued by the Regional Trial Court in Manila. The six arrested Chinese, who have yet to be identified, are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Danger-ous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly the provision involving the manu-facture of illegal drugs. Joel San Juan

By Joel R. San Juan

THE Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its decision denying the plea of Don Mariano Tran-

sit Corp. (DMTC) to lift the order issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), its  certificates  of public convenience (CPCs) following several road accidents involving its units. In an 11-page decision written by Associate Justice Fernanda Lam-pas-Peralta, the CA’s Eight Division held that DMTC failed to raise new arguments that would warrant the

reversal of its ruling issued on July 17. “After a careful and judicious study of the arguments of petitioner in its motion for reconsideration of the Court’s resolution dated July 17, 2014...the Court is still now swayed to reconsider,” the CA said. “The motion for reconsideration fails to present any new and substan-tial matter, or any compelling and cogent reason, warranting a reversal of the Court’s ruling,” it added. It can be recalled that, on Decem-ber 13, 2013, one of DMTC’s units fig-ured in a road accident on the Skyway at Alabang, Muntinlupa City, killing

21 passengers and injuring 24 others. Records also show that another DMTC bus was involved in an inci-dent on May 19, 2012, where a call center agent was stabbed inside one of its units with the bus driver and conductor not helping the victim. Another unit of the bus company figured in an accident on the Edsa-Ortigas flyover, resulting in multiple physical injuries and damage to prop-erty on July 4, 2012. A month after this incident, another DMTC bus was involved in a road mishap resulting in the death of a motorcycle driver.

Thus, on January 4, 2014, the LTFRB revoked DMTC’s permit to operate. The CA said it is well-within the power of respondent LTFRB to revoke the CPC of the operator of the motorized vehicle. It pointed out that, under Section 5 of Executive Order 202 series of 1987, LTFRB is empowered to im-pose fines and penalties for violation of existing public service laws and its issuances, including the revoca-tion of existing CPCs. In seeking the reversal of the CA’s ruling, DMTC argued that the LTFRB committed grave abuse of discre-

tion in canceling its CPCs because of its findings that the bus company allowed the illegal use or change of chassis without informing the board.  The DMTC also claimed that it was denied due process because it was not allowed to respond to the “inaccurate” contents of the reports submitted by the various govern-ment agencies to the LTFRB. However, the CA insisted that it is the LTFRB which has the power to determine whether peti-tioner can provide the riding pub-lic with safe, adequate and proper transporation.

THE lawyer of the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) on Friday asked the

Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to drop all criminal cases referred by the Mu-nicipal Trial Court (MTC) in Tarlac, saying the cases are spurious, if not agrarian, in nature. Lawyer Jobert Pahilga of the Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo told the Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance that the group has evidence showing the agrarian nature of a criminal case filed against Hacienda Luisita farm workers for trespassing. Pahilga filed a motion seeking the con-duct of a summary proceeding-preliminary fact-finding investigation to determine if there is an agrarian dispute filed against five farm workers in the Hacienda. On October 16 Judge Scott Robinos of Branch 1 of the MTC in Tarlac referred the cases of Vicente Sambu y Roma, et. al. for trespassing to the DAR Provincial Office to determine if there exists an agrarian dispute in the case. Vicente Sambu and four others—Jose Baldiviano, Rod Acosta, Mamerto Man-digma and Ronald Sakay—were arrested by the police on December 21, 2013 when they, and several others, resisted eviction by the Tarlac Development Corp. (Tadeco) with the assistance of the police. Tadeco then filed a case against the five for alleged trespassing in January 2014, but there were also earlier cases filed againt them for physical injuries and assault on persons in authority by security guards of Tadeco and the police, respectively.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

CA junks bid to lift cancellation of bus firm’s permit to operate

Lawyer tells DAR to dropcriminal raps vs Luisita farmers

By Butch Fernandez & Lenie Lectura

Malacañang on Thursday has assured that adequate safeguards are in place to

prevent a repeat of the alleged price fixing and collusion that marred trad-ing at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) during a previous power-supply shortage, when the Malampaya plant was shut down for maintenance in 2013.

Palace assures safeguards in place vs price fixing, collusion in WESM

Communications Secretar y Herminio B. Coloma Jr. made the as-surance on Thursday amid concerns that the reported malpractice could be repeated following warnings by energy officials of another looming electricity-supply crisis anticipated to hit Luzon with recurrent brown-outs in 2015.

Coloma affirmed the govern-ment’s determination to ensure electricity consumers are protected against such illegal rackets by unscru-pulous WESM traders looking to take

advantage of the expected energy cri-sis seen to recur next summer, when the Malampaya plant undergoes an-other scheduled maintenance.

“Determinado ang pamahalaan na tiyakin ang kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan na hindi magaganap ’yung sitwasyon na kung saan ay nagkakaroon ng labis o mapagsamantalang pagpre-syo sa kuryente dahil ito ay tungkulin ng pamahalaan na pigilin ito,” Coloma said. 

The Palace official pointed out that the safeguards are provided in the Electric Power Industry Reform

Act (Epira), also known as Republic Act 9136, passed by Congress and enacted into law on June 8, 2001.

“Nakalagay ang [mga safeguards] sa probisyon ng Epira,” Coloma said, adding that President Aquino him-self had repeatedly given his assur-ance that the government will not tolerate abusive practices by market players at WESM. “Ilang ulit ding sinabi ito ng Pangulo na hindi niya pahihintulutan ’yung pagsasamantala, o ’yung tinatawag na collusion or so-called abuse of market power,” Co-loma pointed out.

He recalled that as what happened earlier, when electricity prices spiked after Malampaya shut down for re-pairs, the government made sure that the rate increase was reasonable and in accordance with the Epira.

“Nakita naman natin na katulad ng ginawang hakbang ng ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] sa nakara-ang pagtaas ng singil sa kuryente bun-sod sa pagkumpuni sa Malampaya, titiyakin ng pamahalaan na mayroong makatwirang batayan ang itatakdang presyo,” he said.

Coloma also noted that as provided in the Epira, the government can move to avert any excessive electricity-rate increase. “Maaari ding pigilan ng pama-halaan ang ano mang labis na pagsingil. Kaya ’yan ang tututukan natin para

tiyakin na hindi magkakaroon ng hindi makatwirang pagsingil,” he said, reiter-ating the government’s commitment to closely monitor power prices.

Demand aggregation takes back seat THE plan of the Department of En-ergy (DOE) to bid out the aggregate power requirements of distribution utilities (DUs) and electric coopera-tives (ECs) will have to take a back seat while the agency strives hard to address the projected power shortage in the summer of next year.

“The plan on demand aggregation is delayed until we are finished deal-ing with what we have right now,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said. The agency already is-sued a draft circular on Adoption of Demand Aggregation and Sup-ply Auctioning Policy in the Electric Power Industry that is envisioned to be the platform for a yearly venue to auction the electricity demands fu-ture and current of all DUs and ECs.

In this way, it can easily be pre-dicted if supply is enough or lacking. More important, consumers will be assured of a secured and reliable sup-ply of electric power. Petilla said the draft circular, if implemented, is go-ing to be a landmark policy under his term. “We should not wait for their

contacts to end before [DUs and ECs] contract another power supplier. We need to secure their requirements today, and not when their contracts expire,” Petilla said. “With aggregate demand, this will not only assure consumers of lower prices but also as-sures them that the power plants are always there when they are needed.”

The energy chief was earlier eye-ing October 15 target date for the approval and issuance of the circular. “There were so many hearings and meetings related to special powers for the President. We will deal with the circular as soon as possible,” he said. DUs and ECs deliver electricity to the consumers. They source power from power producers via bilateral contracts. At times, they also pur-chase power from the WESM.

For the Manila Electric Co., it sources 90 percent of its power re-quirements from bilateral contracts and the remaining 10 percent from the spot market, which is a central-ized system for buying and selling of electricity in Luzon and the Visayas.

“The adequate and proper power supply contracting by the DUs en-sures electricity demand is met, while electricity end-users is protected from unnecessary exposure in the volatility of spot prices in the WESM,” stated the draft circular.

Saturday, November 8, 2014 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

EconomyBusinessMirrorA4 [email protected]

THE Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday said it will offer electric tricycles

(e-trike) to a wider audience. Energy Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos said the new e-trike pack-age would now include local govern-ment units (LGUs), academe, tour-ism growth areas, subdivisions and villages, and industrial, commercial and residential enclaves. “The rebidding of the e-trike project signals the entry of more and equal opportunities for LGUs and other interested sectors… With this improvement, we can strengthen and even intensify our campaign for energy sustainability in the trans-port sector,” said Marcos in a news statement. The DOE issued an invitation for bid for the supply and distribution of 3,000 units of e-trikes on November 5, with the deadline for submission of bids set on January 5 next year. The recent developments were conceptualized during a meet-ing for the project’s rebidding on October 31. Key stakeholders, including the Asian Development Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Board of Investments and the Land Transpor-tation Office, attended the meeting.

Lenie Lectura

DOE renews marketing push for e-tricycles

Aquino says he’s willing to stake waning popularity for ‘BBB’ in Yolanda-hit areas

By Butch Fernandez and Lorenz S. Marasigan

President Aquino, asserting it was more important to ensure the next disaster will

not claim as many lives, said the “build back better” (BBB) anchor of the government’s post-Yolanda rehabilitation efforts will be observed with full political will even if banning the rebuilding on high-risk sites will make people hate him.

Visiting heavily devastated ar-eas ravaged by killer Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) one year ago, Aquino af-firmed that the BBB policy will be ob-served across all infrastructure, from homes to schools to local facilities.

The President, speaking in East-ern Samar, listed his administra-tion’s main achievements in rehabili-tation so far on the eve of Yolanda’s first anniversary, as Aquino and his Cabinet were scheduled to island-hop from Guiuan to Palawan to Bantay-an, Cebu on Friday.

Mr. Aquino also quoted interna-tional groups and agencies that cited the remarkable speed with which the Philippines coped after Yolanda’s massive devastation compared to other places hit by similar disasters.

The President sought to fend off accusations of “slow progress” in re-habilitation and recovery efforts, par-ticularly in Tacloban, where typhoon victims belonging to the group People Surge triggered a congressional in-quiry into reports that thousands of families still live in tents and bunk-houses, with no jobs nor substantial

economic activities, a year after the tragedy had struck their province.

Tacloban was not included in the President’s itinerary of Yolanda disaster areas to visit amid reports that complaining residents were preparing to rally the government to address their plight.

Accompanying Mr. Aquino in his disaster-recovery inspection tour were Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, Education Secretary Ar-min Luistro, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Transportation Sec-retary Emilio Abaya, National Hous-ing Authority chief Chito Cruz and Secretary Panfilo Lacson, and the Presidential Assistant for Rehabili-tation and Recovery.

Earlier in the day, Aquino led the delegation in inspecting the rebuilt Guiuan public market, the Guiuan East Central School classrooms and the Cogon relocation site, all in East-ern Samar, where the President also presided the symbolic turnover of temporary shelters to beneficiary families, who were also to be pro-vided with “basic needs, such as hy-giene kit and kitchen wares,” before being sent off to their assigned tem-porary shelters.

DOTC airport, port projects TR ANSPoRTATIoN Secretary

Joseph Emilio A. Abaya on Friday listed his department’s accomplish-ments in restoring several gateways in the Visayas a year after Yolanda ravaged the country’s belt from the Eastern Visayas to Northern Palawan. 

He said the  Department of Transportation and Communica-tions, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Philip-pine Ports Authority have com-pleted 17 port rehab projects over a span of one year. 

“In the wake of Typhoon Yolan-da, we saw that the resilience of the Filipino people is truly remark-able. To speed up recovery in the affected regions, transportation agencies have completed three airport and 14 seaport rehabilita-tion projects, in order to support the victims in their livelihood re-quirements and in the delivery of their basic needs,” he said. 

Tacloban Airport was one of the most damaged transport facilities following the typhoon, but it now boasts of a refurbished passenger ter-minal building with new floors and ceilings, walls, windows and doors, finishings, and furniture. 

New safety and security equip-ment, such as four x-ray machines and four walk-through metal detec-tors, have also been installed.

The airport’s administration and Project Management office build-

ings have also been rehabilitated, while fire station and perimeter fence reconstruction ventures are ongoing.

Asphalt overlaying of Tacloban Airport’s runway is currently being undertaken, which is why operations are now limited to small aircraft. 

Despite being subject to rains and inclement weather, however, the government is expediting these works to accommodate large aircraft by January 2015.

These Tacloban Airport improve-ments are being implemented under a P43.65-million budget. 

Meanwhile, three other badly hit aviation hubs have already been com-pletely rehabilitated. These are the Kalibo International Airport, which was completed last April; the Roxas Airport, completed in June; and the Busuanga Airport, which was fully rehabilitated last month.

The Kalibo and Busuanga airports cater to tourists visiting the country’s renowned beaches, while the Roxas airport serves over 200,000 passen-gers a year as a main gateway to the whole island of Panay.

In terms of maritime projects, 14 ports have also been completely rehabilitated through a P41.2-mil-lion budget. 

These entailed civil works, such as the construction of access roads and storage facilities, and the reha-bilitation of causeways and seawalls.

BusinessMirror Saturday, November 8, [email protected] A5

EconomyP-Noy confirms $1-M donation to UN fund to contain Ebola

AS its contribution to the global effort to contain the deadly Ebola virus, President Aquino on Friday

said the Philippines is donating not less than $1 million to the United Nations’ cam-paign to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola disease.

Aquino noted that when the Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus, or MERS-CoV, broke out in Arab countries where millions of overseas Filipino work-ers are based, the Philippine government quickly moved to upgrade its emergency response system in case the virus enters the country.

Mr. Aquino recalled that he immedi-ately issued Executive Order 168 creating a task force to closely monitor the problem to ensure it does not spread and pose a threat to the country.

He added that the government is now laying down effective measures to closely monitor and track exposure of overseas Filipinos to the Ebola virus. “Inilalatag po natin ang epektibong paraan upang masu-baybayan ang exposure ng mga kababayan natin sa mga sakit, partikular na ang nasa ibang bansa, upang mapauwi sila, habang pinapangalagaan ang kanilang kalusugan at ng ating kababayan dito.”

He reported that the government, on learning that the Ebola virus contagion in Liberia was confirmed, promptly decided to bring home the 142 Filipino soldiers assigned as UN peacekeepers there. “Sila po ang mga kababayan nating pinadala sa ibang lugar upang makibalikat sa pag-tataguyod ng kapayapaan.” Butch Fernandez

Editor: Alvin I. DacanaySaturday, November 8, 2014

OpinionBusinessMirrorA6

The US midtermelections and PHL

editorial

THE phrase “Elections have consequences” is true. However, it is rare for any particular election to become noteworthy. The election of President Aquino in 2010 qualifies as noteworthy, as his

candidacy was unexpected and completely changed that year’s elections.

The United States just concluded its midterm elections, in which all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of all Senate seats were up for grabs. Campaign excitement and voter turnout may be lower this time, but this particular election will definitely go down in the history books.

The Republican Party increased its hold on the House to a high level not seen since the 1920s. US President Barack Obama’s Democrat Party lost control of the Senate. The Republicans now control 31 of the 50 state governorships.

No matter what the political spin may be, the midterm elections served as a firm condemnation of Obama’s policies, both domestic and foreign. Nearly 40 percent of the voters said they considered their vote as a vote against Obama.

The key issue in the midterm elections, as with every election, is the economy, followed closely by foreign policy.

So what can we expect from the imminent change in Washington’s politi-cal scene in the next two years?

For starters, don’t expect Americans to continue putting in large amounts of money in climate-change programs for countries like the Philippines. Ameri-cans are generous by nature, but many, if not most of them, feel that they are being taken advantage of in this regard.

We may expect a slightly friendlier environment for our outsourcing busi-ness. There is general concern that outsourcing is costing Americans jobs. But a Republican-controlled Congress is more inclined to favor increasing corporate profits. Further, there is the greater issue of immigrants taking away Ameri-can jobs, which must be dealt with by the new Congress.

Americans want a stronger foreign policy and less time to spend on helping solve other nations’ problems. It’s unlikely that there will be any significant change in US policy on China. Speaking of China, it may become a little more cautious about throwing its weight around the region in the near future.

There will be no real change in US economic policy. But sometimes, percep-tion is reality. Obama’s handling of the economy in the last six years has not worked. We may see increased optimism among American consumers, and that would be good for the world as a whole.

The significance of the US midterm elections for the Philippines is more on the future. With the Republicans controlling the legislature, this does dramati-cally change the political scene for our 2016 national elections. The Philippines has tended to be more comfortable with Democratic presidents. We may need to think about a Republican president in 2016.

AS an old man, it never ceases to amaze me how much information is available on the Internet at the push of a button. While we take it all for granted, this easily accessible

storehouse of data and ideas has changed the way we think and, obviously, what we know about the world.

Problems are actually opportunities

But there’s a problem: We have begun to substitute information for experience, and information does not tell the complete story.

An example: One of the most unique things about New York City is its food carts and trucks. There are literally thousands of them that look like small personal businesses, similar to our own fish-ball stands and food kiosks. But nothing could be farther from the truth: A simple hotdog cart outside of New York’s Central Park costs $290,000 a year in city fees. The cart owner has to sell $500,000 worth of hotdogs a year just to earn enough. A small bottle of water costs $3.

But that’s only information. What you’ll discover there in person is this: The sidewalks of New York are filled with some of the most incredible food on the planet. In the space of a few blocks you can sample the cuisines

of dozens of countries, including the Philippines. From vegetarian dishes to greasy sausages and everything in between, and with websites devoted to reviewing these food stalls as if they’re five-star restaurants—that’s the experience.

The point is, we cannot under-stand the true situation just by knowing the information.

Information is a two-way street that, we sometimes forget, carries the bias of the “speaker.” When you are actually speaking with someone, untruths are often hard to conceal. On the Internet, lies are common. Further, in this age of the Internet, even what we see around us can be distorted by the information we get from outside.

Have you ever gone to a hotel or restaurant because of the positive reviews you read on a website, and

then hated it? Immediately you judge other people’s opinions. “What exotic herb were those dummies smoking?” you might say. Or: “What did I do wrong? How come they enjoyed the place, and I didn’t?”

However, outsiders often have a better perspective than we do. There has been much scorn about public officials talking about Metro Ma-nila’s terrible traffic being a result of increased economic growth, and that is partly true.

Nevertheless, we see problems; others see opportunities.

On the capitalistexploits.at web-site we find this analysis written by a man, Chris, who has maintained an outsider’s view, despite having traveled around our region enough to know it. He writes: “Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of things in Asia that need fixing…a lot. Traf-fic can be horrendous, and crossing the street in Manila, Saigon or Ja-karta requires balls of steel, several tranquilizers and luck. Traffic lights are decorative.”

Chris also writes, “These are all problems [that] increasingly get re-solved. Expecting farmhands from the boonies [the English version of bundok] to understand traffic signs is neither fair nor reasonable. Expecting DHL-like services, air-conditioned subways and decent plumbing used to be unreasonable. Not so much anymore. Now I ask

you…where would you think the most attractive growth comes from? An established environment or one busily establishing itself?”

Yet, a Manila-based Filipino re-cently told me that he would never invest in the Philippines, as there are too many problems.

Coffee consumption in the Philip-pines has always been low. But since 1997 per-capita coffee consumption has been up 264 percent. The first Starbucks branch opened here on De-cember 4, 1997. Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said this recently: “With a population of more than 600 million people, an emerging middle class that is driving strong consumption, and a robust and resilient economy, Southeast Asia presents a compelling growth op-portunity for Starbucks.”

The best opportunities come from finding ways to fill needs and solve problems without complain-ing. As my good friend, stockbroker executive Ramon Tejero, recently reminded me, it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. And you make more money, too.

E-mail me at [email protected].

Visit my website at www.mangunon-markets.com. Follow me on Twitter at @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-mar-ket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

OUTSIDE THE BOXJohn Mangun

JUST when one thought the “Korean discount” might be a thing of the past, South Korean billionaire Chung Mong Koo reminds us why Asia’s No. 4 economy continues to be plagued

by such cheap valuations.

Backlash against the big boys in South Korea

South Korean stocks have tradi-tionally traded at a lower price-to-earnings multiples than peers, thanks to an economic model dominated by family-run conglomerates, or chaebol. These sprawling enterprises have long passed control to sons, enjoyed clubby government ties and used company assets to enrich cronies, instead of shareholders.

Since taking office in February 2013, South Korean President Park Geun-hye has pledged to trim back the influence and opacity of the chaebol. In August she sent a shot across their bow with a proposal to tax companies that hoard cash. Park’s argument: Why let monopolistic billionaires sit on spoils that would be better used on new investments and higher wages for workers?

Barely a month later, Hyundai Mo-tor Co. Chairman Chung thumbed

his nose at Park by spending $10 billion—three times the assessed value—for land on which to build a new corporate headquarters, hotel, convention center and car museum. The deal was excessive, even by chae-bol standards. On October 31 Skagen Funds, the biggest holder of Hyundai preferred shares, told Bloomberg’s Sharon Cho that the scheme was “an embarrassment.” An investor revolt, which carried into this week after the United States fined Hyundai and Kia for overstating the fuel-economy standards on some car models, has cost Hyundai its coveted place as the No. 2 chaebol after Samsung; it’s now No. 3, after SK Hynix.

If there’s a silver lining to all this, it’s that the market backlash may chasten Chung and his chaebol peers going forward. Even mighty Samsung appears to have taken notice. On Fri-

day, a day after Samsung Electronics reported a 49-percent plunge in net income, management said it would detail a shareholder-friendly restruc-turing of the company.

Park should seize this moment. Events in the global economy are adding to the sense of urgency: The Bank of Japan’s latest stimulus bar-rage, which has driven down the yen sharply, threatens to hit South Korean exporters hard. It’s time for Park to follow through on her 10-percent levy on excessive cash hoards, as well as other regulatory tweaks.

The president needs to go further, though. As the Korea Times argued in a November 3 editorial, “[South] Ko-rea’s economy needs to make another paradigm shift, as it did at major junc-tures in the past.” That means plac-ing “greater emphasis on research, developing services industries, and expanding the domestic markets.”

While Park has talked quite a bit about transforming South Korea into a “creative economy,” thus far, she hasn’t done enough to imple-ment her vision. To be fair, she’s been distracted by North Korea’s provocations and short-term stimu-lus efforts amid tepid global growth. But the real problem is the lack of a clear strategy. The president can’t just order a risk-averse population of 50 million people to be more cre-ative. That requires fresh government

support for startups, tax incentives for small companies, fresh training, an education curriculum that fosters more critical thinking and a greater openness to foreign investment across industries.

In dealing with the chaebol specifi-cally, shareholders can be allies. Park should be leveraging their voices to her advantage, prodding companies to give minority shareholders a big-ger voice and end cross-sharehold-ings between friendly companies. The president could even use the bully pulpit to name and shame giant companies that pass leadership from one generation to the next like some wealth-destroying birthright. Exhibit A: Samsung heir Lee Jae Yong, who is preparing to take the reins from his dad, even as profits tumble and the company struggles to develop its own world-changing product.

Long-time South Korea investors have every reason to be skeptical. Seoul has promised chaebol reform since the 1997 Asian crisis, and, yet, five names still dominate the city’s skyline. With a bit of gumption on Park’s part, though, recent events could catalyze change. South Korea has proven, time and again, that it can weather and even thrive amid existential challenges to its economy and political system. The sense of cri-sis in Seoul may offer another ideal moment to raise the nation’s stock.

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n DXQR - 93dot5 HOME RADIO CAGAYAN DE OROSTATION MANAGER: JENNIFER B. YTINGE-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]: Archbishop Hayes corner Velez Street, Cagayan de Oro CityCONTACT NOs.: (088) 227-2104/ 857-9350/ 0922-811-3997

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BLOOMBERG VIEWWilliam Pesek

Saturday, November 8, 2014

[email protected]

Evangelii Gaudium

37th part

WE must not think that, in catechesis, the kerygma gives way to a supposedly more “solid” formation. Nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wisdom-filled

than that initial proclamation. All Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma, which is reflected in and constantly illumines the work of catechesis, thereby enabling us to understand more fully the significance of every subject that the latter treats. It is the message capable of responding to the desire for the infinite that abides in every human heart.

The centrality of the kerygma calls for stressing those elements that are most needed today: It has to express God’s saving love, which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part; it should not impose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance that will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines, which are, at times, more philosophical than evan-gelical. All this demands, on the part of the evangelizer, certain attitudes that foster openness to the message: ap-

proachability, readiness for dialogue, patience, a warmth and welcome that is nonjudgmental.

Another aspect of catechesis that has developed in recent decades is mystagogic initiation. This basically has to do with two things: A progressive experience of formation involving the entire commu-nity and a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation. Many manuals and programs have not yet taken sufficiently into account the need for a mystagogical renewal, one that would assume very different forms based

on each educational community’s dis-cernment. Catechesis is a proclamation of the word and is always centered on it, yet, it also demands a suitable environ-ment and an attractive presentation, the use of eloquent symbols, insertion into a broader growth process, and the integra-tion of every dimension of the person within a communal journey of hearing and response.

Every form of catechesis would do well to attend to the way of beauty (via pulchritudinis). Proclaiming Christ means showing that to believe in and to follow Him is not only some-thing right and true, but also something beautiful, capable of filling life with new splendor and profound joy, even in the midst of difficulties. Every expression of true beauty can, thus, be acknowledged as a path leading to an encounter with the Lord Jesus. This has nothing to do with fostering an aesthetic relativism that would downplay the inseparable bond between truth, goodness and beauty, but rather a renewed esteem for beauty as a means of touching the hu-man heart and enabling the truth and goodness of the Risen Christ to radiate within it. If, as Saint Augustine says, we love only that which is beautiful, the incarnate Son, as the revelation of in-finite beauty, is supremely lovable and draws us to Himself with bonds of love.

So a formation in the via pulchritudi-nis ought to be part of our effort to pass on the faith. Each particular church should

encourage the use of the arts in evange-lization, building on the treasures of the past, but also drawing upon the wide va-riety of contemporary expressions so as to transmit the faith in a new language of parables. We must be bold enough to discover new signs and new symbols, new flesh to embody and communicate the word, and different forms of beauty that are valued in different cultural set-tings, including those unconventional modes of beauty that may mean little to the evangelizers, yet, prove particularly attractive for others.

As for the moral component of cate-chesis, which promotes growth in fidelity to the Gospel way of life, it is helpful to stress again and again the attractiveness and the ideal of a life of wisdom, self-fulfillment and enrichment. In the light of that positive message, our rejection of the evils that endanger that life can be better understood. Rather than experts in dire predictions, dour judges bent on rooting out every threat and deviation, we should appear as joyful messengers of challenging proposals, guardians of the goodness and beauty that shine forth in a life of fidelity to the Gospel.

To be continued

For comments, e-mail [email protected]. For donations to Caritas Ma-nila, call (632) 563-9311. For inquiries, call (632) 563-9308 or 563-9298, or fax 563-9306.

IN my previous column, I discussed what’s called nursing-care tourism, which can develop into a strong niche-market product for the Philippines, as the overseas demand for such care is

predicted to develop exponentially over time.

THE United Nations’s (UN) approved budget for peacekeeping operations in the July 2013-to-June 2014 period reached $7.83 billion, higher than the $390 million

in the previous period.

Homeowners’ associations and senior citizens

UN peacekeeping responsibility far outstrips own budget

But do we always need to look abroad? How about our very own senior citizens in the Philippines? What is the status quo? What are the services available?

Seniors with special-care needs, especially those diagnosed with de-mentia, are usually taken care of at home, either by their families or caregivers. Filipino senior citizens also reside in health-care facilities.

You may think this is the excep-tion, but the numbers tell us differ-ently: In 2005 we had 169,000 docu-mented dementia cases. This number is forecast to reach 316,000 by 2020 and 1.20 million by 2050.

This shows that we do not only need to provide nursing care for foreigners, but also for the local population. You can argue that it is embedded in Philippine culture to take care of the elderly at home. I will not disagree.

But there are some serious ques-tions that need to be asked about Phil-ippine culture and Filipino families. Is the growing number of condominium owners, combined with urbanization, part of Philippine culture? Are the 10 million Filipinos living overseas, who are naturally away from their families, part of Philippine culture?

No, they’re not. Industrialization, urbanization, higher workloads, looser family ties and a more self-centric approach are already chang-ing the way we take care of our senior citizens. In the next 10 to 15 years, this trend is expected to continue. This is exactly what happened in First World countries. This change is slowly gaining ground in countries like the Philippines.

So, are nursing homes the answer? It depends. Nursing homes are not a solution, but rather an option for families that need assistance in car-ing for their loved ones. Confined within the care of family members is not enough when dealing with individuals who have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Another option can be day-care centers for senior citizens and home-care services. These are already in other countries in Southeast Asia. It might come as a surprise, but, after the initial apprehension, these ser-vices have been proven to be more valued by senior citizens and their families, even here in the country.

Nursing-care providers are profes-sionally educated and psychologically trained to manage long-term care.

The country’s first senior resi-dence opened in Metro Manila in 2007, with six beds. Since 2011 there has been a 500-percent increase in such a facility. Today the Philippines has more than 200 private beds in 15 facilities throughout Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Laguna and Tagaytay.

So far, data obtained by the Retire-ment & Healthcare Coalition have highlighted a surprising trend: a lo-cal and foreign residency mix, with Filipinos at 80 percent and foreigners at 20 percent.

It is also important to note that the Philippine government has iden-tified the importance of support for its aging population and passed Re-public Act (RA) 9994, or the Expand-ed Senior Citizens Act, in February 2010. This law amended RA 9257, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003, which, in turn, amended RA 7432, or the Senior Citizens Act of 1993. Abstracts of the content are:

n To recognize the rights of senior citizens to take their proper place in society and make it a concern of the family, community and government.

n To give full support to the im-provement of the total well-being of

the elderly and their full participa-tion in society, considering that se-nior citizens are an integral part of Philippine society.

n To encourage their families and the communities they live with to reaffirm the valued Filipino tradi-tion of caring for senior citizens.

n To recognize the important role of the private sector in the im-provement of the welfare of senior citizens.

Senior-citizen residences are complementing RA 9994 and ad-dressing the lack of geriatric care in the country, benefiting local and foreign senior citizens, and creating urgently needed jobs in the health-care industry.

Is the Philippines ready for this development? Yes and no. We need to do our homework when it comes to quality-management systems for se-nior residences and the development of a proper geriatric curriculum for nurses and caregivers.

However, not only do we need to work on direct services and knowl-edge for these residences, but we also need to search for acceptance of these facilities.

For example, it surprised me very much when I found out that it’s close to impossible for senior citizens with special-care needs to take their proper place in society and ensure their par-ticipation in the community. Why? Because homeowners’ associations (HOAs) are not allowing senior resi-dences inside their neighborhood.

Based on my own experience and that of nursing homes under the Philippine Healthcare Initiative, HOAs will simply not accept senior residences within their boundaries. Most of them would not provide a reason for it or state that they are a “solely residential community.”

On one hand, Filipinos have a culture that values senior citizens, but, on the other, they do not wish to have residential facilities for seniors within their vicinity. Most of those living in Filipino senior residences have lived their entire life in gated communities and are not allowed to do so any more the moment they receive care outside their home. I believe that Filipino senior citizens should be given the option of retir-ing in gated communities, even if they are living in senior residences.

There is a lot of work to be done to open minds and change the percep-tion of Filipinos, especially HOAs, on how a nursing home or home for senior citizens can provide a lot of benefits to families.

It needs to be understood that senior residences are not forcing to change the way we take care of our senior citizens, but, rather, are pro-viding a necessary option for graceful aging. We are living in an entirely dif-ferent world right now, and lifestyle changes are necessary.

A model needs to be developed that shows that senior residences will not disturb subdivisions. Nursing homes will provide a healthy com-munity and lifestyle, as well as health care, for its own senior citizens.

E-mail: [email protected].

This, however, is the third-highest budget since the record $8.26 billion spent in the 2009-to-2010 period. De-spite some relatively minor fluctuations in the last seven years, peacekeeping budgets are much more stable now than in the 1990s, when a rapid rise in spend-ing was followed by an abrupt decline, said senior researcher Michael Renner in the Worldwatch Institute’s latest Vi-tal Signs trend.

“While [the] UN peacekeeping bud-get has been increasing since 1950, the world’s armies could not operate for even two days on the current annual peace-keeping budget,” he said.

According to Renner, today’s peace-keeping missions are highly complex. “Some attempt peace enforcement, but many others involve a broad array of civilian tasks, such as assistance in elections and other political processes, institution-building, reform of judicial

systems, and training for police forces, as well as other steps to foster and con-solidate peace,” he said.

At the beginning of the year, the UN maintained 15 peacekeeping missions: eight in Africa, three in the Middle East, two in Asia and one each in Europe and the Americas, deploying a total of 117,630 personnel, most of whom are uniformed peacekeepers.

In comparison three dozen coun-tries have armies that surpass the strength of uniformed and civilian peacekeepers, and five countries have more than 1 million soldiers each.

Renner reported that, in March 2010, the number of troops, military observ-ers and civilian police reached the high-est level ever: 101,939. It has remained just below the 100,000 mark since then.

Poor countries, especially from South Asia, contribute the bulk of peacekeep-ers. Decisions to establish, expand or

SERVANT LEADERRev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

DATAbASECecilio T. Arillo

terminate a peacekeeping operations are made by the members of the UN Security Council.

Among the five permanent mem-bers, only China is making a substan-tial personnel contribution, with 2,186 peacekeepers. Collectively, the “Perm 5” (permanent Security Council members) account for less than 4 percent of the entire UN peacekeeping forces.

Renner explained that the Perm 5 do account for a substantial share of the funding. They and other top 10 contribu-tors provided over 80 percent of the total budget in 2013, with the United States and Japan accounting for almost half of that (39 percent). The next four—France, Germany, the United Kingdom and China—contributed nearly 28 percent, while Italy, Russia, Canada and Spain contributed 13.5 percent.

Currently, the UN is far from the only organization that dispatches peacekeepers.

Renner said other types of non-UN missions can be found in all regions of the world, although they sometimes work in conjunction with the UN’s Blue Helmets. Altogether, UN and non-UN missions deployed about 251,000 peo-ple in 2013, about 213,000 of whom were military personnel.

“Peacekeeping missions of various stripes have become a steady presence in several regions of the world,” Renner said. “Although they are not necessar-ily making the world a more peaceful

place—with the exception of the small Organization for Security and Coopera-tion in Europe missions, [which] are only dispatched after a conflict weighs on the conscience of global decision-makers—they fulfill an important role in trying to bring a semblance of peace and order to troubled areas.”

Other highlights of Renner’s report:n The number of civilians involved

in peacekeeping grew from 8,430 in January 2000 to 22,616 by December 2010, but then fell below 19,000 in the last two years.

n In addition to peacekeeping operations, there are also several “po-litical and peace-building” missions with mostly civilian staff. In January there were 13 such missions (typically, follow-up efforts once a peacekeeping mission ends) in Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia, with a total of 3,810 personnel.

n In six-and-a-half decades of peace-keeping, 3,211 peacekeepers have been killed on duty, including more than 1,400 fatalities in the currently active missions.

nIn January the largest missions, in terms of both expenditures and per-sonnel, were those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (25,723 people and a budget of $1.5 billion) and in Darfur, Sudan (23,754 people and a budget of $1.3 billion).

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FOR decades, the Chinese government has ruled via quotas and benchmarks while ignoring the social and environmental costs incurred in meeting them. The most obvious example

is the relentless pursuit of high gross domestic product numbers, no matter the air pollution that chokes the nation’s cities. But there are endless others, including—as of last week—that “funeral reform” officials in China’s Guangdong province will be expected to meet quotas on the number of dead people who are cremated.

In China, even grave robbers have to meet quotas

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It needs to be understood that senior residences are not forcing to change the way we take care of our senior citizens, but, rather, are providing a necessary option for graceful aging. We are living in an entirely different world right now, and lifestyle changes are necessary.

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The notion seems absurd. But what made it particularly newsworthy was the revelation that local officials in the prov-ince hired a gravedigger to steal corpses from cemeteries for as much as $490 per body, on delivery, ensuring that quo-tas could be met (and, in all likelihood, their annual performance assessments enhanced). For Chinese citizens accus-tomed to government by benchmark, it represents an extreme example of what they face daily: a political system that’s accountable only to itself.

Considered coldly, the point of cre-

mation quotas is neither new nor totally objectionable. Since the 1940s, officials have tried to persuade rural Chinese to opt for cremation over burial so as to preserve arable farmland. But it’s be-come particularly urgent in recent years, because of relentless urbanization. In yet another bureaucratic metric, China’s central government declared in 2006 that arable land could not fall below a “red line” of 300 million acres.

For the many local governments in China that depend on land sales as their primary revenue source, this

poses a problem: Where do you get more farmland to replace the stuff you’ve built shopping malls on? And, equally important, how do you free up more land? For many, the answer is to order the disinterment of the millions of graves dug into farm fields across China, while ordering and enforcing strict moratoriums on new ones. In 2012 a government in rural Henan province ordered the exhumation of 3.5 million graves, while offering free cremations of the remains. The decree did not go out gently, either: Families were expected to do the disinterring themselves, or face the excavators.

Brute-force policies like this will cause strong reactions anywhere, but they are particular affronts in ancestor-worshiping China, where respect for el-ders and the dead, and the need to keep the body intact after death, remain cul-tural imperatives.

Predictably, the Henan disinterment program inspired widespread condem-nation, including from prominent aca-demics and the state-run media. Simi-larly, last year in Anhui province, several elderly people committed suicide just days before a government order ban-ning burial went into effect. Their goal, viewed sympathetically by many tradi-tion-minded Chinese, was to avoid the

crematorium. More commonly, Chinese families simply hide burials from local governments.

According to state media, the new cre-mation quota was calculated based on the population in an official’s jurisdiction, and how many people were expected to die in a given period. But with families in Guangdong hiding bodies because of antiburial rules, it has become hard to tell how many people are actually dying. The two officials who got caught, of course, had other options than grave robbery. They might have followed Singapore’s model for funeral reform, and paid for dignified disinterment and cremation ceremonies, while educating a skeptical public about why such a program meets public needs.

But that approach takes time, money, patience and—above all—respect for the people you serve. That last quality can be severely lacking in Chinese government when it comes time to fulfill quotas that might promote a career.

The two funeral officials will not be the last to choose criminality over hu-maneness; not so long as China contin-ues to promote the Communist Party’s interests over the rule of law. Future examples may not be as macabre but, as in the case of air pollution, they may be far more deadly.