NFA says rice Manila, third

supply and prices in list of Asian

remain stable cities with a brutal
Page 3
climate future
Page 6
P20
January 24-30, 2011 Email:businessmatters@hotmail.ph Vol. IV No 0035

PSE, BIR in collision course

By Lito U. Gagni
A tug-of-war be-
tween the Bureau
of Internal Rev-
enue (BIR) and the
Philippine Stock
Exchange (PSE) is
at play regarding
the reimposition of
the capital gains
tax on certain listed
shares.
The issue,
which has the in-
vestment commu-
nity on tenterhooks,
revolves around
the maintenance of
a so-called public
float of listed is-
sues, and the effect
of a limited num-
ber of owners of a
listed company.
Already, talks
are rife about the
disastrous effects
of a planned im- ments since the BIR’s position
position of the capital gains tax would do away with the prevail-
on certain transactions that in- ing transaction tax on the stock
volve the listed companies with transactions of listed issues in
a worst-case scenario of foreign favor of a capital gains tax. The
investors getting out of the local transaction tax is now at one-half
market and local investors devel- of one percent while the capital
oping cold feet. gains tax is at five and ten percent
The dire consequences of a depending on the trading gain.
planned BIR imposition of the In a letter to the BIR , coursed
capital gains tax arose from a let- through the Securities and Ex-
ter that the BIR chief Kim Jacinto change Commission (SEC), the
Henares, wrote through the Secu- government regulatory body
rities and Exchange Commission, through which the planned high-
the regulatory body overseeing er taxation was pronounced, the
the Philippine Stock Exchange. PSE maintained that the National
The BIR and the PSE are Internal Revenue Code of 1997,
on a collision course regarding specifically set forth the transac-
the tax treatment on the trade of tion tax on issues that have been
shares of stock of listed compa- listed on the exchange.
nies with a public float at below The only precondition is
what the BIR said are the man- that it is listed, the PSE said. Cit-
dated numbers as per the listing ing Section 127 (A) of the said
requirements.
Investors and market players (Turn to page 2)
are keenly watching the develop-

Customs checking Row on LTO IT facility

bonded warehouses ownership continues
CUSTOMS Commissioner Lito Al-
varez has ordered the strict monitor- A group that had staked a claim
ing of customs bonded warehouses on Stradcom Corp. had suffered
(CBWs) as part of a broad measure a legal setback when a Quezon
aimed at increasing revenues and City court dismissed their peti-
curb ing smuggling. tion to be allowed control of the
Alvarez said that the BOC is Stradcom facility at the Land
set to implement the automation of Transportation Office main office
the importation and exportation ac- in Quezon City.
tivities of the CBWs. “We want to In a decision dated January
strenghten controls,” he added. 18, 2011, Judge Lita Tolentino-
CBWs are warehouses where Genilo of Branch 91 of the Re-
raw material imports are initially gional Trial Court of Quezon City
lodged without the payment of cus- denied the petition for Interim
toms duties and taxes on the as- Measure of Protection filed by the
sumption that the imported items group led by a Bonifacio Sum-
are eventually reexported. How- Lito Alvarez billa, who claims they represent
ever, unscrupulous operators of Stradcom Corporation.
CBWs spirit the goods out and have these items sold in the local Stradcom is the exclusive in-
market without the payment of customs duties and taxes. formation technology provider for
The automation scheme seeks to monitor the raw materials the Land Transportation Office.
handling as well as the liquidation of the bonds made for the raw The court said the Sumbilla
material imports. With the automation process, the bureau can eas- group “failed to establish and
ily monitor CBW compliance with the rules. convincingly show that it has an
Alvarez is implementing other measures aimed at improving unmistakable right to be protect-
the collection performance of the bureau which includes the filing ed, a violation of such right and
of cases before the courts against erring firms, tax credit process that there is an urgent and perma-
rationalization and import mapping. nent act and necessity for the pro-
tection order to prevent serious
(Turn to page 2) damage.”
The order also threw out the
only legal basis used by the Sum-
billa group to support their claim
of control over Stradcom – a Su-
preme Court decision of January
29, 2007entitled Yujuico vs Qui-
ambao, 513 SCRA 243.
Judge Genilo ruled that the
court “cannot take into consid-
eration the Yujuico case because
the corporation involved therein
is Stradec (Strategic Alliance and
Development Corporation) and
not Stradcom.”
The court dismissed the pe-
tition outright a few days after it
was submitted for resolution be-
cause the Sumbilla group failed to
convince the court that they were
the real and legitimate stockhold-
ers of Stradcom.
Earlier, Stradcom, led by
Cezar Quiambao, submitted an
opposition to the petition stating
that the Sumbilla group had filed
a “bogus and fraudulent” case
because they have no legal basis
whatsoever to represent them-
selves as Stradcom Corporation.
“Stradcom is very happy with
the decision of Judge Genilo. She
clearly saw the grave misrepre-
sentation of Sumbilla et al and the
absence of any legitimate proof to
their claim that they are the real
Stradcom. We commend her for
her honest and objective decision
which shows that justice works in
our country,” said Vince Dizon,
Stradcom VP for Corporate Com-
munications.
The Sumbilla group led a
take-over of the Stradcom office
inside the LTO main compound
in Quezon City last December 9,
2010.
The failed take-over led to
the disruption of LTO operations
nationwide for nearly a day. The
Stradcom group headed by Cezar
Quiambao accused LTO Execu-
tive Director Virginia Torres, who
is also an Assistant Secretary of
the Department of Transportation
and Communications, of acting
in conspiracy with the Sumbilla
(Turn to page 2)
 2   January 24-30, 2011

NEDA, JICA working to improve policy analysis tools

The National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA)
and the Japan International Coop-
eration Agency (JICA) have part-
nered to enhance development
planning and policy analysis of
the government by improving
and utilizing available data and
analytical tools.
The Project on Enhancement
of Development Planning by Uti-
lizing Input-Output Table in the
Philippines (PEDPIO) is an un-
dertaking of JICA and NEDA to
mainstream the use of input-out-
put tables for national develop-
ment plans and programs, as one
of the effective tools for policy
making and prioritization of in-
vestment projects.
The IO model uses a set of
data that can represent a country’s
economy to determine the effect
of a change in a single industry on
another and by several sectors to
the economy.
“While the Philippines was
among the first to develop the IO
table in Asia, it has yet to come up
with a more frequent and more re-
cent table, and a more widespread
use of technical analysis for pol-
icy plan and formulation,” said
Socioeconomic Planning Secre-
tary and NEDA Director-General
Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr.
He added that the IO analy-
sis, one of the most widely-ap-
plied methods in economics, is
important for analyzing the in-
terdependence of industries in an
economy.
“This is what the PEDPIO
tried to address – that is, to rekin-
dle the interest in IO. The studies
that were done, the simulator that
was developed and the trainings
conducted by the project have
hopefully contributed in rekin-
dling this interest and in improv-
ing the use of the IO analysis in
the country,” Paderanga, who is
also NEDA Director-General,
said.
The PEDPIO also aimed to
create a comprehensive database
of IO tables, develop an econom-
ic simulator and support capacity
development for analysis.
The IO simulator that was
developed can analyze econom-
ic impacts on production, em-
ployment by public investment,
events, and changes of prices,
among others.

EMB checks Caticlan reclamation House looks into

THE Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) "However, a multi-partite monitoring treatment uncollected BoC
surety bonds
of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MMT) has to be established which will be spearheaded by
(DENR) has vowed to strictly monitor the progress of the the project proponent. EMB-DENR will start the monitor-
on-going 2.6 hectares reclamation project in Caticlan, Ma- ing and this will now be adopted by our office," Cabanayan
lay, Aklan, even as the local council calls for a stop to the said.
project. Currently, the Malay council is waiting the results of THE House Committee on Ways and Means will conduct a motu proprio
EMB acting regional director Oscar Cabanayan was a study undertaken by the University of the Philippines- investigation on the possible billions of pesos lost due to the withdrawal of
recently invited by the Malay local council to shed light Marine Society to determine the possible environmental goods from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) without payment of duties and
as to why the EMB gave an Environmental Compliance impact of such reclamation project to this resort island. taxes but only against uncollectible surety bonds.
Certificate (ECC) to the reclamation project of the Aklan "If the study finds negative impact against the envi- Rep. Hermilando Mandanas (2nd District, Batangas), Committee
provincial government without its endorsement. ronment of Boracay nor is there a severe violation com- Chairman, said the investigation will be conducted on the reported BOC
Cabanayan said that as far as they gave the project mitted by the project proponent on the ECC, the higher uncollected and unliquidated surety bonds so that the Department of Fi-
ECC because the reclamation project has no any impact on DENR office will decide if the project will be stopped," nance, the BOC and the Insurance Commission can shed light and be made
the environment. said Cabanayan.(PNA) accountable for these alarming incidents involving customs operations.
"There will be a motu proprio investigation considering the gravity of
the situation as confirmed by the BOC Deputy Commissioner and Insur-
ance Commissioner," Mandanas said.
The committee agreed to have the inquiry conducted by its oversight
panel headed by Mandanas during a hearing last January 18 on pending
anti-smuggling bills. The hearing initially tackled Section 201, Basis of Du-
tiable Value, of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.
Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo (2nd District, Valenzuela City), former
chief of the Anti-Smuggling Unit of the BoC Commissioner during the Ra-
mos administration, disclosed that as far back as 1992, there were uncol-
lected and unliquidated surety bonds payable to the government.
"I move that our oversight committee be activated to probe these un-
collected surety bonds," said Gunigundo.
Rep. Emil Ong (2nd District, Northern Samar) said the potential rev-
enue loss from the surety bonds may have reached billions of pesos in gov-
ernment collectibles.
Insurance Commissioner Atty. John Apatan confirmed that the BoC
was not able to collect the surety bond payments because a number of the
surety companies already closed shop. He estimated the amount uncollected
could amount to hundreds of millions of pesos.
Customs Deputy Commissioner Alexander Arevalo said importations
are released only upon full payment of customs duties in cash or surety
bonds by the importer.
Mandanas said based on the information provided during the hearing,
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala shares a light moment with World Bank Country Director the BOC permitted release of goods without payment of their duties and
Bert Hofman (2nd from right) and Sustainable Development Leader Mark Woodward (right), as he taxes when importers submitted surety bonds, which later turned out uncol-
relates the success stories of two women farmers and other farming groups in Quezon who are lectible, so the government lost hundreds of millions of pesos in uncollected
earning more by selling their produce at the Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultural sa revenues.
Quezon (SPPAQ) in Sariaya. Alcala said more trading posts will be set up for farmers with the help Mandanas expressed concern on the disturbing information in light of
of institutions like the World Bank. (PNA) the government's dire need of funds to support the various programs and
projects of the Aquino administration.
Customs (From page 1)
"With a 2011 budget deficit projected at P256 billion, the revenue agen-
cies need to increase their revenue generation efforts," Mandanas said.
Earlier, Alvarez filed a case said. For allegedly commit-
against a major steel importer
for misdeclaring and undervalu-
Named in the charge
sheet filed by the Run-After-
ting various fraudulent prac-
tices against customs revenue,
PSE, (From page 1)

ing its importations by nearly 90 The-Smugglers (RATS) Team Chavez said that Sanyo Seiki
percent. of the BoC was Gregory Uy should pay P179.4 million as tax code, the
Smuggling charges were Chan, President of Sanyo Sei- the correct amount of duties BIR said that
ordered filed against Sanyo ki, whose listed address is 703 and taxes. “every sale,
Seiki Steel Corp. after it was Heinz Road Le Merciche Vil- Alvarez said that for trying barter, ex-
discovered that the compa- lage, E. Rodriguez Avenue, to save P179.4 million, Sanyo change, or
ny has imported steel coils, Quezon City. Seiki now stood to lose the other disposi-
sheets, bars and stainless steel Customs Deputy Commis- equivalent of the P1.3 billion tion of shares
worth P1.3 billion but de- sioner Gregorio Chavez, con- they spent on their imported of stock listed
clared its value as only P165.4 currently the executive director steel and stainless steel prod- and traded
million. of the RATS Program, revealed ucts. through the
Because of the allegedly that “all consumption entries The customs chief also local stock
suprious invoices Sanyo Seiki filed by Sanyo Seiki were cov- instructed Chavez to conduct exchange...
submitted to the Bureau of ered by falsified weight declara- a post-entry audit of all the shall be sub-
Customs, its tax and duty obli- tions to make it appear that the importations made by Sanyo ject to tax at
gations to the government went weight of the imported products Seiki to determine if they had the rate of
down from P179.4 million to were considerably less than undervalued their previkous one-half of
only P25.3 million, Alvarez what they actually weigh.” shipments. one percent of
the gross sell-
ing price.”
Row (From page 1)
P S E
president and
CEO Hans
group to take over the LTO-IT facility. “What they (the Sumbilla group) did not ex- Sicat said the
The Sumbilla group later filed a complaint pect is the integrity and credibility of Judge Genilo Secretary of
against Torres which the Quiambao group dis- who did not allow such a farce and blatantly ille- Finance can-
missed as a sham and part of a conspiracy to wrest gal act to be performed using her honorable court,” not “amend
control of the IT firm. Dizon added. or expand the
“Let us not allow ourselves to be fooled by Earlier, Torres, Sumbilla and Aderito Yujuico, statutory requirements of the Tax Code,” which is what the proposed
this moro-moro case of the Sumbilla group against excused themselves from the hearing of the De- BIR move seeks on capital gains taxation for listed shares without
Assistant Secretary Torres. It is easy to conclude partment of Justice on the allefgedly illegal take- the required public float, set for implementation next year. The rule-
that she was again part of this plan to give con- over the IT facility of the LTO. making power of the Secretary of Finance are only confined to details
trol of Stradcom to this illegal group because upon “It is very unfortunate that Asec Torres, Mr. for implementing the law as it has been enacted, Sicat added.
receipt of the petition against LTO by the fake Sumbilla and Yujuico did not attend the first hearing. The position of the BIR, through Commissioner Kim Jacinto
Stradcom of Sumbilla, she did not even inform the Stradcom was ready to present its evidence against Henares, is that the listed shares should maintain the required public
legitimate management of Stradcom of such a case them to the investigating panel and face them in float if the said shares are to enjoy the lower transaction tax. Failure
and treated it as legitimate and aboveboard,” Di- a legitimate investigating panel but they were not to maintain the said public float will subject the transactions to the
zon said. present,” Dizon said in an earlier statement. capital gains tax, she said.
 January 24-30, 2011 3

NFA says rice supply and prices remain stable

THE National Food Authority (NFA)
assured the public of stable prices of
rice and an adequate supply of up to
45 days, 15 days more that the man-
dated 30-day security buffer it is sup-
posed to maintain.
Lawyer Guilbert Lauengco, spe-
cial assistant to NFA Administrator
Angelito T. Banayo, said the govern-
ment's food agency is also ensuring
continuous support for Filipino farm-
ers while stabilizing rice prices and
supply.
Lauengco said that as of De-
cember 7. 2010. the wholesale price
of NFA rice hovered between P23.50
to P25.00 per kilo, while retail price is
P27.00 per kilo.
Lauengco said the NFA's low-
est-priced "commercial" rice costs
P27.00/kilo –- after the government
imposed a P2.00/kilo hike effective
Dec. 7, 2010.
He added that the last time there
was a rice price increase was last De-
cember.
The move to ensuure the stability
of prices and the supply, is among the
measures the government is undertak-
ing to ensure the viability of the agency
and continue fulfilling its mandate of
supporting farmers to produce enough
for self-sufficiency, Lauengco added.
He said the NFA is ready to flood
the market with government-procured
rice to discourage unscrupulous trad-
ers from jacking up commercial rice
prices.
"Prices of commercial rice follow
the law of supply and demand. If some
traders jack up their prices, we will
flood the market with lower-priced rice
and they will find themselves selling at
a loss," Lauengco said in an intrview.
He added that the price hike is
aimed at protecting the government's
The NFA released this photo to show adequate rice stocks in its warehouses in Quezon City
and Taguig City.
palay (unmilled rice) procurement
fund.
Meanwhile, a lawmaker has pro-
posed to streamline the operations of
the grains authority possibly by priva-
tizing some of its functions instead of
abolishing the agency.
Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua (Lone
District, Quirino) said his measure,
House Bill 1528, will streamline the
agency's operations so it will carry out
its original mandate of promoting the
growth of the grains industry and pro-
viding food security for the nation.
Cua said the National Grains
Authority (NGA) was created under
Presidential Decree 4 on Septem-
ber 26, 1972 and was reconstituted
into National Food Authority (NFA)
through Presidential Decree No. 1770
on
January 14, 1981, to promote the
growth and development of the grains
industry.
“The original mandate of the
NFA was to promote the integrated
growth and development of the grains
industry, to provide food security in
the staple cereals in times and places
of calamity or emergency, either natu-
ral or man-made and to promote the
stabilization of supply and prices of
staple cereals both at the farm-gate
and consumer levels,” Cua said.
“The measure is pursuant to
the declared policy of the State to
ensure food security for all Filipinos,
adequate supply of food grains at all
times and in all places, and reasonable
levels of prices of food grains and to
carry out regulatory and developmen-
tal functions to support farmers and
grains businessmen so as to increase
their productivity and profitability,”
Cua said.
Cua said the NFA's functions
include procurement of paddy from
individual bonafide farmers and their
organizations, buffer stocking, pro-
cessing activities, dispersal of paddy
and milled rice to strategic-locations
and distribution of the staple grain to
various marketing outlets at appropri-
Cua said the NFA buys palay
from farmers at prices higher than
farm-gate prices and then sells the rice
to consumers at lower than market
prices. However, such a practice had
over the years, resulted in mounting
losses and debts to the NFA.
“Based on the NFA’s 2009 An-
nual Report, it has total outstanding
obligations of P146.87 billion, com-
posed of short-term and long-term
loans as well as the debt papers it is-
sued to refinance existing debts and
to fund operations. In addition, the
NFA availed of P17.703 billion in tax
subsidy from the government for its
importation of rice,” Cua said.
Under the bill, the NFA shall be
attached to the Department of Agri-
culture and cannot be abolished or
privatized without the approval of
Congress.
The bill provides that the cor-
porate powers and functions of the
Authority shall be vested in and exer-
cised by a Board of Directors which
shall be chaired by the Secretary of
the Department of Agriculture. Like-
wise, a representative from the busi-
ness sector and the farmers shall sit in
the Board.
The loans incurred by the NFA
will be transferred to an NFA Board
of Liquidators (NFA-BOL) which
shall handle the disposition and liq-
uidation of the transferred assets and
liabilities.
Initial capitalization for the new
agency is pegged by the measure at

Solons call for regulations

ate times of the year. P20 billion.

Splash allots P426 M

on billboards for plant expansion
MORE lawmakers are rallying behind the Philippine Highway Act of 1953 and broad terms and conditions in
the immediate passage of a proposed (Republic Act No. 917), the Struc- practice today in an exact and for- SPLASH Corporation is alloting P426 million for the expansion of all
measure that regulates the country’s tural Code of the Philippines of 1992, ward-looking manner, taking into their manufacturing plants nationwide to increase their capacity as part
multi-billion billboards industry. some relevant Civil Code provisions consideration best practices both here of preparations for international sales of its products.
Rep. Mohammed Hussein P. on easement and nuisance, as well as and abroad and incorporating the lat- In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company
Pangandaman (1st District, Lanao in various Ordinances of local gov- est technological breakthroughs in stated that the board of directors have approved the plan.
del Sur), a co-sponsor, said the ap- ernment units. We need to centralize the industry,” according to Atty. Win- "Approved the 2011 CAPEX (capital expenditure) for the expan-
proval of House Bill No. 3159 is in and update these laws in order for us throp H.R. Bañez, OMAG Executive sion of plant capacity, improvement of facilities, and enhancement of
order because it institutionalizes safe- to meet the demands of advances in Director. management information systems for international and direct selling
guards, promotes free “The out-of-home industry operations," Splash's board resolution read.
enterprise and provides is a legitimate industry. Reason- It earlier said it was confident of ending 2010 with a 450-percent
government of much- able governmental regulation is increase in its net income due to efficient use of plant assets, tighter
needed revenues from necessary in order to bring order control on expenses and launch of new products. (PNA)

Angara wants plan

the fast growing bill- and standardization. The per-
boards industry. plexing issues on size, spacing
“We need a law that and structural integrity of OOH

to attract more mining

will safeguard this multi- media, including environmen-
billion industry, which is tal soundness and technical
a legitimate industry that concerns, are well addressed in

investments to PH
contributes to economic the Bataoil bill. We are all sup-
growth by providing porting its immediate passage,”
employment for our Bañez added.
people and generating During the recently-con-
income for businesses,” cluded “Outdoor Advertising SENATOR Edgardo J. Angara growth of the mining industry in
said Rep. Jocelyn S. Philippines 2010,” the 2nd Phil- is pushing for a comprehensive the country is translated to over
Limkaichong (1st Dis- ippine International Conference plan involving mining stakehold- $3 Billion to the economy.
trict, Negros Oriental), and Expo on Out-of-Home ers so that the industry can take "By strategizing our poli-
another co-sponsor of Media sponsored by the OAAP advantage of Foreign Direct In- cies, we can take advantage of
the measure. Framework for billboards on EDSA. held at the SMX Convention vestments while assuring that the the situation and benefit from
Principally spon- Center, most of the delegates natural habitats and indigenous possible technology transfer and
sored by Rep. Leopoldo representing OOH media opera- committees remain protected. job creation brought by new and
N. Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan), technology and bring us further into tors, practitioners, allied services pro- Angara, the chairman of the expanding mining projects," said
the bill, also known as the “Outdoor the 21st century,” Bataoil added. viders, advertisers, locators, corporate Congressional Commission on Angara.
Out-of-Home Media Industry Act of Bataoil has taken the cudgels partners and members of the media Science Technology and Engi- COMSTE reports that the po-
2010,” seeks to be a one-stop shop self- for the OOH media industry saying have expressed full support for HB neering (COMSTE), said a re- tential positive impact on S&T
regulation law covering the burgeoning “this industry is a sunrise enterprise No. 3159. cently released United Nations is enormous. The commission
P6-billion Out-of-Home (OOH) media as it provides thousands of jobs to our The bill prohibits the construction study showed that developing has also identified possible areas
industry addressing a broad range of people, not to mention the regulatory of outdoor media in a place that ob- countries received more than half that can profit from investments
issues like environment and technical fees and taxes accruing to the govern- structs the view of vehicles or pedestri- of the global total FDIs for 2010. in mining, such as the supplying
soundness, safety, size, spacing, aesthet- ment coffers.” ans, traffic signs or prevent a clear and This trend was noticeable espe- highly skilled engineers and tech
ics, etc. “The year 2011 ushers in new unobstructed view in approaching or cially in the South East Asian re- workers, creating supply compa-
Bataoil was elated over the grow- hope and a new beginning. I hope merging traffic. gion where countries received as nies to support mining operations,
ing support for his proposed measure, my esteemed colleagues in the House No part of the outdoor media much as 5 times FDI, while that biodiversity studies and even en-
which “aims to address the industry’s will support this worthy piece of leg- shall go beyond the property on which of the Philippines is in decline. vironmental labs that can study
clamor for order in an otherwise chaotic islation in order to make efficient the it stands and no part of it shall be placed Boosting the competitiveness and treat waste water.
billboards industry.” regulation of the OOH media indus- on private property without the owner’s of the country is a key factor in Angara noted that there are
“House Bill No. 3159 would ad- try and, in so doing, make this modern consent or any proprietary property of receiving more FDIs, said An- potentially thousands of jobs that
dress the outdated laws that regulate form of communications a solid tool the government, the bill provides. gara. can be created if we can position
the industry and would set and clear and effective channel for public ser- The bill likewise prohibits the Angara said that despite the ourselves and leverage the bil-
the parameters and expectations for vice announcements and information construction of billboards above the decline in FDI, with the local lions of dollars into projects that
all industry players, including govern- dissemination to the people,” Bataoil roof if the building cannot accommo- mining industry boom, the poten- can expand along with mining
ment regulatory bodies,” Bataoil said. said. date the additional load of the struc- tial for S&T development is still operations.
“The laws regulating billboards The Outdoor Advertising As- ture being erected on top of it. enormous. Benjamin Romual- COMSTE reports indicate
are scattered in our statute books – in sociation of the Philippines (OAAP), The bill provides further that dez, President of the Chamber of that the Tampakan mining project
the outdated Chapter 20 of the Nation- through its advocacy arm, the Outdoor the size of billboards shall not exceed Mines of the Philippines reported alone has the potential to bring in
al Building Code of the Philippines Media Advocacy Group (OMAG), 450 square meters and shall be able to that there are 19 large mining up to $5 billion. The project has
(Presidential Decree No. 1096) and supports the bill and is now urging withstand a wind load of 200 kilome- projects lined up with a total in- estimated deposits of 12.8 million
its Implementing Rules and Regula- Congress to expedite its approval. ters per hour. It shall not also exceed vestment of nearly $13 Billion. metric tons of copper and 15.2
tions, the Philippine Electrical Code, “H.B. No. 3159 redefines loose 40 meters in height. (PNA) Romualdez noted that the million ounces of gold.
 4   Asian Market January 24-30, 2011

Excess liquidity in Asia may harm markets

AN Asian finance official warned solve the problem. which is used for hedging or port- explained Chan, saying Hong Business Matters is reprint-
against the entry into the region On the short selling regime, folio management, he added. Kong will introduce more require- ing the Chan’s speech where he
of speculative capital, saying the which is very tough in Hong "I don't think short selling ments for market participants to pushed for a stronger financial
excess liquidity in Asian countries Kong, Chan said they are look- should be blamed for everything, report short selling positions on market for Asia which could pro-
could cause destruction both on ing into how to improve it so as but as part of the market supervi- individual stocks if they exceed mote growth and at the same time
the trade and the whole financial to receive better reporting of short sion, it is an activity we look at," the threshold. protect coming investors.
system. selling possessions of the market

Creating a stronger financial market

Speaking at the Asian Finan- participants.
cial Forum held in Hong Kong Short selling which was not
recently, KC Chan, Secretary for regulated and not even known
Financial Services and the Trea- could pose risk to the financial
sury of Hong Kong, said specula- stability in the market, he said.
tive capital coming to the Asian However, it cannot be banned as
By: Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Prof KC Chan
market could cause the asset price part of the regular trade pattern In this bi-polar world, one part banking system system.
bubbles and also de- of the world is really hot, as in Asia and withstood the fi- On the short-selling
struction in terms some emerging markets, and the other nancial tsunami regime, you might know
of trading, while part is very cold, like in the US and Eu- better than some that Hong Kong has a very
its pulling out will ropean markets. Each of them has its own other countries. tight short-selling regime.
pose risk manage- problems. We have always Even on the short-selling
Concerns of Euro debts and the been managing regime, we are looking into
ment problems for de-leveraging in the US lead to skepti- our banking sys- how to improve it so that we
the whole financial cism about the speed of recovery in those tem under high will have a better reporting
system. markets. It is because of this perception, prudential stan- of short-selling positions of
The forum was and this perception backed up by real eco- dards. the market participants.
co-organized by the nomic data, that we are seeing specula- But I think Risk management
Hong Kong Special tive capital coming into our regions and this current spec- We are looking into
Administrativbe Re- markets. ulative capital measures so that we could
gion government. Of course the capital movement, that we are seeing in Asia will pose an get a better reporting and better handling
Finance Secretary depending on the purpose, can be good even greater challenge to all the Asian of risk-taking in our market.
or bad. But at this moment, our judge- countries. So we are now seeing experi- Each of our economies faces differ-
Cesar Purisima was ment is that the speculative capital mentation by various governments and ent kinds of problems. We have different
also at the forum. coming to Asian markets could cause economies in the region trying to deal tools we will need to use for different pur-
Chan said Asian the asset-price bubbles that we want to with the problem. We are compelled to poses. The idea of macro-prudential regu-
economies have a prevent. Also, in the course of the money find the answers , compelled to solve the lation is very much in the infancy. This
long history of deal- flows coming into our market, it problems. means there is room for the governments
ing with such issues, could cause disruption and There is not going to be a and regulators across the region to co-or-
but current specula- excessive trading in the one-size-fits-all solution. Re- dinate better and to share our information
tive excessive capi- market. When the l i - cent macro prudential and ideas on this subject because we need
tal flow poses an quidity pulls out, regulations adopt- to invent more tools as we go along.
it will pose risk- ed across the I do not want to leave this remark
even greater chal- management region differ. without talking about the opportunities
lenge. He said there problems for fi- that we should be taking advantage of.
will be no “one-size- nancial systems. There is no question about the strong
fits-all solution” to Asian countries economic growth in our region and in the
the problem, noting have a long history of long-term the assets under management
that various gov- THE benchmark Korea Composite Stock dealing with such is- in our region will see strong and continu-
ernments have rec- Price Index (KOSPI) set a new record by sues. Dating back to the South Korea put ous growth.
ognized this fact as soaring 19.21 points to 2,115.69 on Jan. 19. Asian financial crisis in 1997, a cap on foreign- The question then we should think
shown by the num- Samsung Electronics Co. touched the 1 mil- we actually have been inventing some exchange trading to about in the longer term is how we could
tools in trying to deal with these kinds of limit exchange rate volatility. India do better in terms of managing and put-
ber of experimenta- lion won ($900) mark for the first time in its concerns. reinstated interest-rate cap on external ting in better regulation of this higher
tions being done to price history during the session. (Yonhap) In fact we have been doing this commercial borrowing. Indonesia intro- level of assets under management in our
before even the term “macro-prudential duced a cap on the banks’ overseas bor- region, so that we could create a stronger
supervision” is coined. You may recall rowing. Taiwan restricted foreign
that after the global financial crisis, investment in government debt, and
regulators came to a room to decide that so on.
we needed Standard, uncoventional tools
to do more In Hong Kong, we have
about our brought out some standard tools.
macro- Norman Chan of the Hong Kong
prudential Monetary Authority has been in-
regulation, troducing a number of measures
so that we to lower the loan-to-value ratio in
could pre- property lending. Banks are being
vent asset asked to observe more strictly the
bubbles interest-to-income ratio for the bor-
from tak- rowers.
ing place, And we have introduced
or we could something unconventional for our
prevent excessive risk taking which market, which is the special stamp
would bring instability to the system. duty on short-term transactions of resi- financial market.
Excessive liquidity dential properties. It was introduced last What I mean is we should do more
While regulators are still debating November to stamp out short-term specu- in terms of regional co-operation in the
what is a macro-prudential policy, and lation from our property market. That’s regulation of financial markets and asset

S. Korea to ease
how to define its goals and objectives and
what the tools are, Asian countries, unfor-
tunately, have to work very hard on invent-
ing those tools because we are now facing
one part. management. We can actually give inves-
The other issue we have to be con- tors better protection and at the same time
cerned about is the implications to fi- promote growth for the financial market
nancial stability if the capital moves out. here.

business restrictions this excessive liquidity which is bringing

SOUTH Korea President Lee
Myung-bak called for speedy and
more assertive work to lift unnec-
essary regulations on investment
and other business activities, as
he presided over this year's first
meeting of a presidential body
tasked with studying ways to en-
hance South Korea's competitive-
ness.
"I hope you will make efforts in a
more bold manner to raise (South
Korea's) international competi-
tiveness," Lee said, receiving a re-
port from the Presidential Council
on National Competitiveness on
its work plan for this year.
Lee asked the council to develop
a strategy to encourage foreign
companies to do business here, as
well as boost the performance of
local firms.
He pointed out that creating a
business-friendly atmosphere is
more important this year as the
international economy faces unfa-
vorable conditions.
"I want you to review various
regulations and speedily handle
them," he said.
Kang Man-soo, chairman of the
council, meanwhile, said his or-
Lee Myung-bak, president
of S. Korea.
ganization will push for the modi-
fication of laws and ordinances
associated with business regula-
tions.
He cited the results of a recent
research revealing that South Ko-
rea will be able to raise its annual
economic growth by 1 percentage
point should it ease restrictions
and expand investment. South
Korea aims to achieve 5 percent
economic growth in 2011. (PNA)
DCT/ebp
instabilities to our region.
Now, we have some experience since
the Asian crisis. That is why the Asian
ASEAN countries fuel world
economic growth
TRADE Minister Mari Elka
Pangestu said two-thirds of the
world`s economic growth was fu-
eled by the economies of ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) member countries.
"Two-thirds of the world`s
economic growth is being sup-
ported by the economies of
ASEAN member countries and
this only shows the importance
of ASEAN and East Asia in the
global context," the minister said
at a press conference in Jakarta
about Indonesia`s ASEAN chair-
manship in 2011.
Mari said East Asia`s gross
domestic product (GDP) was
equal to Europe`s and the United
States` which was $14.6 trillion.
She also said Indonesia need-
ed to utilize the opportunity as the
chairman of the ASEAN Summit
That will include risk management for
the trading and settlement system in our
market. In Hong Kong, we are working
on improvement of our risk-management
lenges and there is no one solution that is
common to all. We have to work together
closely and with that, we will do better.
2011 and face historical challeng-
es to place the association in the
world economy growth.
"Since the central world trade
is in Asia, Indonesia is expected to
be able to make use the chance as
the chairman of ASEAN Summit
2011 as well as it is the biggest
country among ASEAN member
countries," she said.
ASEAN was now in the
world`s limelight amid regional
economic integration in Asia
which meant ASEAN and its dia-
logue partner countries, and other
areas, she said.
Therefore, she added, Indo-
nesia should be able to maintain
ASEAN`s credibility and rel-
evance in the developed world,
as well as highlight the important
role of ASEAN in the develop-
ment of the world community.
So I see both opportunities and chal-
In internal substance, she
said, ASEAN partnership had
played significant part for its
member countries, while the intra-
ASEAN trade represented about
25 percent of the ASEAN trade
total. Mari also said that ASEAN
was the main foreign tourists` re-
source for its member countries.
In the conference for sev-
eral mass media, the Minister ex-
plained three main pillars which
were used to increase the eco-
nomic partnership of ASEAN;
they are to strengthen internal
partnership within ASEAN, to
increase agreement utilization of
comprehensive economic part-
nership achieved by ASEAN and
its dialogue partner countries and
to focus on equilibrium develop-
ment related to medium business
(UKM). (PNA) DCT/ebp
 January 24-30, 2011 Health & Wellness
5

Breast best for 6 months questioned

A recommendation from the World
Health Organization that women ex-
clusively breast feed their infants for six
months lacks support from randomized
clinical trials -- and warrants a critical re-
appraisal in light of recent contradictory
findings, authors of an evidence review
concluded.
The 2001 WHO global recom-
mendation for six months of exclusive
breast feeding was based largely on a
systematic review that included only
two randomized clinical trials (Kramer
MS, Kakuma R WHO 2002), and
since that time conflicting evidence has
included rising rates of food allergy in
developed countries, according to Mary
Fewtrell, MD, of the University Col-
lege London Institute of Child Health in
London, England.
However, writing online in the
BMJ, Fewtrell and co-authors empha-
sized that they were not calling for a
reevaluation of the evidence to support
breast feeding itself -- that evidence is
extensive, they stressed.
In their review, the researchers
urged only for a reappraisal of those data
used to support the WHO recommen-
dation for six months' exclusive breast
feeding -- which the agency defines as
excluding solid foods or any other fluids
(including infant formulas) except med-
icines, vitamins, and minerals before six
months of age.
"In the West, exclusive breast feed-
Advertising tied
ing for six months is linked to a reduced
risk of infection," Fewtrell and co-au-
thors wrote. "Nevertheless, the studies
are observational and some evidence
suggests that introducing solids (rather
than formula) may not significantly af-
fect risk of infection. By contrast, exclu-
sive breast feeding to six months raises
concerns."
Those concerns include an in-
creased risk of iron deficiency anemia,
a higher incidence of food allergies, and
a higher risk of celiac disease.
The systematic review underpin-
ning the WHO advice had four princi-
pal conclusions to support the agency's
recommendation for six month's exclu-
sive breast feeding:
There were no apparent growth
deficits;
No evidence of an association
with allergy;
Poorer iron status;
Delayed return of menses and
more rapid postpartum weight loss in
mothers.
The US and about two-thirds of
European countries elected not to fol-
low the WHO recommendation. In
2003, however, the UK health ministry
decided to comply with the WHO ad-
vice.
"Substantialevidenceindicatesthat
early nutrition has profound implications
for long-term health by programming
aspects of subsequent cognitive func-
tion, obesity, risk of cardiovascular
disease, cancer, and atopy," Fewtrell
and co-authors wrote.
"However, the evidence base
supporting a major population-wide
change in public policy underwent
surprisingly little scrutiny," the re-
searchers noted.
Moreover, the evidence from
the systematic review that preceded
the WHO recommendation included
contradictory findings.
For example, an observational
study in Belarus showed a significant
reduction in the risk of gastroenteritis
among infants following a program
to promote exclusive breast feeding.
In contrast, a systematic review
of 33 studies found no compelling
evidence to support a delay in the
introduction of solids in breast-fed and
formula-fed infants from four to six
US House thumbs
down Obama
health care
THE US House of Repre-
sentatives voted to repeal
months.
The authors suggested three pre-
requisites for adoption of a policy of ex-
clusive breast feeding for six months:
Assessment of the adequacy of
data to support the policy, followed by
an evidence-based approach to apprais-
al of scientific data;
Comprehensive assessment of the
risks and benefits;
An auditing mechanism to detect
adverse population effects.
In a statement, Fewtrell and col-
leagues said they supported six months
of exclusive breast feeding in less devel-
oped countries where access to clean
water and safe weaning foods is limited
and there is a high risk of infant death
and illness.
The authors also emphasized that
they fully support exclusive breast feed-
ing early in life -- and despite their call to
reappraise the WHO recommendation
they stressed that "it is important not
to confuse the evidence for promoting
six months' exclusive feeding with that
for breast feeding itself, which is exten-
sive."

to teens trying smoking

ADOLESCENTS who don't
smoke appear more likely to take
up the habit over a nine-month
period when they report greater
exposure to cigarette advertise-
ments, a large German study
showed.
The longitudinal study, con-
ducted among more than 2,100
students ages 10 to 17, found that
13 percent of the teens started
smoking during the study, ac-
cording to Reiner Hanewinkel,
PhD, of the Institute for Therapy
and Health Research in Kiel, Ger-
many, and colleagues.
The rate of smoking initia-
tion increased with exposure to
cigarette advertisements, from
10 percent in the low-exposure
group to 19 percent in the high-
exposure group, the researchers
reported online ahead of the Feb-
ruary issue of
Pediatrics.
After con-
trolling for sev-
eral potential
co n f o u n d er s ,
high cigarette
ad exposure
was associated
with a relative
46 percent in-
creased risk of
smoking initia-
tion, MedPage
Today revealed
in its website.
In contrast, ex-
posure to ads
for other com-
mercial products was not related
to greater use of those products.
"Therefore, study results sug-
gest that the association between
tobacco advertisement and youth
smoking initiation is specific to
tobacco advertising content and
not simply a marker of an adoles-
cent that is generally receptive to
marketing," Hanewinkel and his
colleagues wrote.
The findings could have im-
portant public health implications
beyond Germany, they added,
because five of the six cigarette
advertisements used in the study
represented international brands.
The researchers argued that
the results support a measure
adopted by the World Health Or-
ganization Framework Conven-
tion on Tobacco Control, which
states that "parties recognize that
a comprehensive ban on advertis-
ing, promotion, and sponsorship
would reduce the consumption of
tobacco products."
Although it has been well es-
tablished in previous studies that
exposure to tobacco marketing is
a risk factor for youth smoking
initiation, few studies have ex-
amined whether the relationship
is specific to tobacco ads, accord-
ing to the German team.
To explore the issue, they
surveyed students at 29 schools
in three German states, Branden-
burg, Hamburg, and Schleswig-
Holstein. The analysis included
2,102 adolescents who reported
never smoking at baseline and
who completed the follow-up sur-
vey nine months later. Nearly half
or 47 percent reported having at
least one parent who smoked.
The researchers showed all
of the participants images of six
cigarette billboards and eight ad-
vertisements for other commer-
cial products, including mints,
clothes, cell phones, and cars,
with brand information removed
and asked them how often they
had seen the ads.
A measure combining how
often the students had seen the
ads and how likely they were to
guess the brand correctly served
to quantify advertising exposure.
Of the 277 participants who
reported smoking during the
nine-month observation period,
about half said they had taken just
a few puffs.
Exposure to advertising was
significantly associated with a
greater likelihood of using the
product for cigarettes, but not for
other products, after controlling
for several variables, including
having friends or parents who
smoked, sensation-seeking, age,
gender, socioeconomic status,
school performance, television
screen time, and the German state
where the students' lived.
Hanewinkel and his col-
leagues speculated that cigarette
marketing may be effective in
influencing adolescent behavior
because of the use of aspirational
imaging.
"Adolescents are in the pro-
cess of identity for-
mation, when they
face emotional insta-
bility and social self-
consciousness," they
wrote.
"Aspirational
imagery used in ciga-
rette advertising is
especially appealing,
because it associates
the behavior, smok-
ing, with character-
istics adolescents are
trying to assimilate,
such as masculinity
(for boys), thinness
(for girls), indepen-
dence, extroversion,
and sex appeal."
The authors acknowledged
that the study was limited in that
the loss to follow-up of some
higher-risk adolescents could af-
fect the generalizability of the
findings.
In addition, the researchers
wrote, the teenagers' general at-
titudes toward smoking were not
considered when selecting the
baseline sample.
Finally, they acknowledged
that the measure of advertisement
exposure could be affected by
characteristics of the adolescents,
and that the findings could be
subject to unmeasured confound-
ing.
an overhaul of the coun-
try's health care system
that marked President
Barack Obama's signa-
ture domestic achieve-
ment in his first two years
in office.
The repeal, approved
along mostly party
lines in a 245-189 vote,
marked what had been
seen as a symbolic effort
that had little chance of
becoming law. It fulfilled
a promise by Republi-
cans who took control of
the lower chamber this
month in the aftermath
of November's congres-
sional elections.
"Repeal means keeping a promise," Republican John Boehner,
who earlier this month became speaker of the House, said shortly be-
fore the vote. "When you look at the facts and when you listen to the
people, this is a promise worth keeping."
The Senate remains controlled by Obama's left-leaning Demo-
crats, and the chamber's Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid has
said he has no plans to bring up the legislation. Obama would be cer-
tain to veto any repeal bill that did make it to his desk.
The legislation signed by Obama in March marked the most am-
bitious effort to overhaul the US health industry in four decades and
aimed to extend insurance to about 50 million people who have no
coverage.
Republicans have repeatedly derided the bill as a "government
takeover" of the largely private health care system and mounted court
challenges against the bill's requirement that Americans purchase in-
surance.
The two days of debate ahead of the repeal vote prompted law-
makers from both sides to wade back into a debate that had dominated
US politics for much of Obama's first two years in office.
Boehner appeared to ease the tone of his remarks in light of the
shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords earlier this month, an
attack that provoked a debate in the United States about the nature of
its political discourse.
Other lawmakers were less muted in their criticisms. Republi-
can Congressman Devin Nunes slammed the legislation, saying it es-
poused "failed socialist policies (that) re-emerged from the dustbin of
history."
Democrats sought an opening in defending the bill's most popu-
lar provisions that have already come into effect, including preventing
insurance companies from refusing to cover people with pre-existing
health conditions.
"Today a bill has come to the floor to repeal patients' rights, to
put insurance companies back in charge of the health of the American
people, and to balloon the deficit," said Nancy Pelosi, the chamber's
former speaker and now leader of the minority Democrats.
The health care reform debate is certain to continue well beyond
the January 20 repeal effort. Republican lawmakers have pledged to
cut funding and find other ways to stymie the bill's implementation in
the coming years.
Obama pledged to work with Republicans to find further ways
to improve the country's health care system, but urged them to work
within the confines of the existing legislation.
"I'm willing and eager to work with both Democrats and Republi-
cans to improve the Affordable Care Act. But we can't go backward,"
Obama said.
 6   January 24-30, 2011
Manila is third in list of Asian ci
MANILA, Dhaka and Jakarta
had topped a WWF ranking of the
climate vulnerability of 11 major
cities in Asia which the organiza-
tion released in November 2009
as heads of statewere gathering in
Singapore for the APEC Summit.
WWF said that developed and
developing countries must coop-
erate to prepare these cities for a
brutal climate future.
The report, itled “Mega-
Stress For Mega-Cities,” said
many of the cities analyzed are ex-
tremely exposed to threats such as
storms and flooding, while huge
numbers of people and assets at
stake result in worrying levels of
socio-economic sensitivity.
At the same time, the cities of-
ten lack capacity to protect them-
selves from devastat-
ing impacts.”Climate
change is already
shattering cities across
developing Asia and
will be even more
brutal in the future,”
said Kim Carstensen,
Leader of the WWF
Global Climate Initia-
tive. “These cities are
vulnerable and need
urgent help to adapt,
in order to protect
the lives of millions
of citizens, a massive
amount of assets, and
their large contribu-
tions to the national
GDP.”
The WWF report
covers 11 urban cen-
ters across Asia, all lo-
cated in coastal areas
or river deltas. Fol-
lowing Dhaka (9 out
of 10 possible vulner-
ability points), other
cities at high risk are
Manila and Jakarta (8 each), Cal-
cutta and Phnom Penh (7 each),
Ho Chi Minh City and Shanghai
(6 each), Bangkok (5), and Kuala
Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singa-
pore (4 each).
“Asia is urbanizing rapidly,
and we can be certain that ur-
ban areas will be crucial battle-
grounds in the fight against cli-
mate change”, said Carstensen.
“Cities are responsible for
most of the world’s energy con-
sumption and greenhouse gas
emissions, but they are also pio-
neers when it comes to devel-
oping innovative solutions. We
can’t afford to surrender them to
climate change. Instead, we must
empower them to become change
agents and protect both rural and
urban areas from devastating im-
pacts.”
The report also includes
rankings for sub-categories such
as environmental exposure, socio-
economic sensitivity and adaptive
capacity. Poorer cities often lack
sufficient adaptive capacity and
generally rank higher in terms of
their overall vulnerability.
“Leaders in hotspots of dan-
ger like Dhaka, Manila or Jakarta
need urgent support from their
counterparts in the industrialized
world. Effective near-term and
long-term adaptation will depend
on financial support, technology
cooperation, and capacity build-
ing,” said Carstensen.
In the report, the overall cli-
mate vulnerability of a city is a
combination of its environmental
exposure, socio-economic sensi-
tivity and adaptive capacity.
Assessing these sub-catego-
ries, the report reveals that Ma-
nila’s 11.5 million people are most
exposed to impacts such as storm
threats, sea-level rise and water
stress from droughts or flooding -
followed by Dhaka (13 million),
Ho Chi Minh City (9 million) and
Shanghai (20 million).
Analyzing the level of socio-
economic sensitivity, the report
shows the highest rating for Ja-
karta, Shanghai and Dhaka, based
on the numbers of citizens, the
cities’ wealth and their contribu-
tions to national GDP.
With respect to adaptive ca-
pacity, Dhaka and Phnom Penh
are identified as the least prepared
cities, followed by Calcutta, Ja-
karta and Manila. Hong Kong
and Singapore, in contrast, have
the highest capacity to adapt.
Asia is arguably among the
regions of the world most vul-
nerable to climate change. Cli-
mate change and climatic vari-
ability have and will continue to
impact all sectors, from national
and economic security to human
health,food production, infra-
structure, water availability and
ecosystems.
The evidence of climate
change in Asia is widespread:
overall temperatures have risen
from 1°C to 3°C over the last 100
years, precipitation patterns have
changed, the number of extreme
weather events is increasing, and
sea levels are rising. Because
many of the largest cities in Asia
are located on the coast and within
major river deltas, they are even
more susceptible to the impacts of
climate change.
In response, this report high-
lights the vulnerability of some
of those cities - with the goal of
increasing regional awareness of
the impacts of climate change,
providing a starting point for fur-
ther research and policy discus-
sions, and triggering action to
protect people and nature in and
around Asia’s megacities from
mega-stress in the future.
Cities cover less than 1%
of the planet’s surface, and are
home to around 50% of the
world’s population, and many
of them see a rapid growth
trend. Taken together, all cities
and urban areas worldwide
use 75% of the world’s
energy and are respon-
sible for 75% of global
greenhouse gas emis-
sions.
Without major break-
throughs on energy efficien-
cy and emission reductions
in cities, we will fail to avoid
dangerous climate change in
urban as well as rural areas.
Cities are hotspots of inno-
vation and technology and
have therefore tradition-
ally been the places where
many of the solutions to the
world’s problems have been
developed, making all cit-
ies potential leaders in the
global effort for a low car-
bon future.
This report, however,
focuses on climate vari-
ability and adaptive capac-
ity of cities. It is divided
up into four sections: con-
text, methodology, score-
cards, and policy. While we
highlight the major climate
change effects impacting 11 key
Asian cities, this summary is by
no means an exhaustive review.
The cities chosen for this report
represent large, mostly coastal
cities which are all threatened by
climate change.
These particular cities were
chosen because they represent a
good cross section of coastal Asia
and the impacts of climate change
were assessed as significant. We
encourage governments and all
other relevant
stakeholders to
use this report
as a catalyst for
further discus-
sions on the is-
sue of climate
change in the
region, decid-
ing where addi-
tional research
is needed, and
what the ap-
propriate po-
lices should
be. For each
scorecard, we
provide a short
profile of the
selected city,
highlight the
observed cli-
matic change,
summarize the
major climate
impacts the city is facing, and
suggest some adaptation strate-
gies that may decrease the city’s
vulnerability. For this analysis,
the vulnerability of the cities is a
function of their exposure, sensi-
tivity, and adaptive capacity.
These three categories were
averaged to get the overall vulner-
ability score. It should be noted
that WWF has approached the is-
sue of vulnerability in this report
with the most simplistic analysis
possible, and we appreciate that
there are many additional factors
to consider and alternative meth-
ods for assessing vulnerability.
Below we highlight the over-
all vulnerability scores and rank
them. However, apart from the
overall ranking taking into ac-
count all the assessed criteria, this
report also summarizes a number
of other comparisons including
which city is most at risk of en-
vironmental threats, which city
is most socio-economically sen-
sitive to climate change impacts
and which city has the lowest
adaptive capacity.
Overall Climate Vulnerability
Ranking
Of the 11 cities examined,
Dhaka in Bangladesh is most
vulnerable to climate change im-
pacts. This large, relatively poor
city sits just meters above current
sea levels, is regularly impacted
by tropical cyclones and flood-
ing, and has very limited adap-
tive capacity. Jakarta in Indonesia
and Manila in the Philippines are
also highly vulnerable cities and
tied for the second rank, largely
because of the size of the cities,
degree of exposure (both experi-
ence frequent flooding), and rela-
tively low adaptive capacity. Cal-
cutta in India and Phnom Penh in
Cambodia are tied for third most
vulnerable city, largely because
Calcutta is prone to salt-water in-
trusion and sea-level rise effects,
while Phnom Penh has very low
adaptive capacity. Ho Chi Minh
City in Vietnam and Shanghai
in China are tied for fourth most
vulnerable city, because both are
very susceptible to sea-level rise,
even though Vietnam and China
may have slightly higher adaptive
capacity when compared to some
of the other cities. Bangkok
in Thailand is the fifth most
vulnerable city, mostly because
it has a relatively high socio-
economic sensitivity to impacts
(i.e., it has a large population and
contributes a large proportion
towards Thailand’s gross domes-
tic product). Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia, Hong Kong in China,
and Singapore in the Republic of
Singapore are all tied for the sixth
 January 24-30, 2011 7
ities with a brutal climate future
most vulnerable city, mostly be-
cause all three have slightly more
adaptive capacity than the other
cities, even though the climate
impacts are still significant.
At Risk: Comparing Exposure
To Climate Impacts
All examined cities will be
significantly impacted by climate
change, but when examining the
selected impacts (tropical storms,
sea-level rise and flooding and
drought), the report found that
some of the cities may experi-
ence more frequent or more in-
tense events than others. For this
report, exposure is the average
of the three highlighted environ-
mental categories including the
susceptibility of the city impact-
ed by 1 m sea-level rise and 2 m
storm surge (as illustrated in the
satellite photos at the end of each
city chapter), historical frequency
of extreme weather events includ-
ing flooding and drought, and
frequency of tropical storms and
surges. When examining just the
exposure to these impacts, we see
a slightly different picture from
the overall vulnerability ranking.
Manila, largely due to its exposure
to tropical cyclones and flooding,
tops the list as most exposed. The
recent tropical storm Ketsana il-
lustrates this exposure of Manila
and the surrounding area to envi-
ronmental threats.
With flood waters reaching
nearly 7 m and hundreds of deaths
during this one storm, Manila is
truly vulnerable. Dhaka, Ho Chi
Minh City, and Shanghai tie for
having the second highest expo-
sure to climate change impacts,
largely because of their suscep-
tibility to flooding and tropical
storms.
Hong Kong ranks the third
highest in terms of exposure to
climate change impacts. How-
ever, Hong Kong has relatively
high adaptive capacity and there-
fore is overall less vulnerable.
Calcutta and Jakarta are ranked as
having the fourth most exposure,
with Bangkok coming in close
in the fifth spot. Not surprising-
ly, Phnom Penh, Singapore and
Kuala Lumpur are ranked at the
low end of the exposure scale, but
this is not implying that they are
not at risk to climate change im-
pacts. All cities examined already
see substantial threats with loss of
life and significant damage costs,
and the situation is projected to
worsen in the future.
Sensitivity Ranking: People,
Assets And GDP Under Threat
The relative sensitivity of
the 11 selected cities to climate
change impacts is based on popu-
lation, gross domestic product
(GDP), and the relative impor-
tance of that city to the national
economy. Using these criteria, Ja-
karta stands out as the most sen-
sitive to climate change impacts.
This is largely due to Jakarta’s
large population and huge con-
tribution towards national GDP.
The second most sensitive city to
climate impacts is Shanghai for
similar reasons. Dhaka is third
most sensitive,
while Cal-
cutta, Manila,
and Bangkok
are all tied
for the fourth
most sensitive.
Phnom Penh,
Hong Kong,
and Ho Chi
Minh are fifth
most sensitive,
while Kuala
Lumpur is sixth
most sensitive to climate change
impacts.
Preparing To Face The Storm:
Adaptive Capacity Comparison
We estimated the adaptive
capacity of these 11 cities by ex-
amining the overall willingness
of the city to implement adapta-
tion strategies (calculated by the
number of available adaptation
examples and/or responses to pre-
vious impacts) and the per capita
GDP. It should be noted that a sig-
nificant caveat of this study is that
there are likely quite a number of
adaptation examples that cannot
be located with desk top reviews.
For example, people may come
up with their own adaptation
strategies in the face of climate
change.
However, mass media, the
internet, and peer-reviewed jour-
nals will likely not pick up this
information. In essence, the esti-
mates for these 11 cities are just
that, estimates based on existing
information. For uniformity, we
inversed the adaptation capacity
numbers so that low adaptive ca-
pacity is represented by a larger
number (e.g., 10 equates to a very
low adaptive capacity). Dhaka
and Phnom Penh top the ranking
as having the lowest adaptive ca-
pacity to climate change.
This is not a surprise as both
countries, Bangladesh and Cam-
bodia, are classified as Least De-
veloped Countries by the United
Nations. Calcutta, Jakarta, and
Manila have the second lowest
adaptive capacity. Bangkok is
next, with Kuala Lumpur and Ho
Chi Minh following. Shanghai
has the second highest adaptive
capacity, and Hong Kong and
Singapore tie for having the high-
est capacity.
Policy Recommendations:
How To Adapt Mega-Cities To
Mega-Stress
Whether one examines one
or all three components of vulner-
ability, it is evident that climate
change will affect Asian cities in
many different ways. The latest
science as reported by the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) and others has
highlighted the impacts in much
more detail than previously avail-
able. This report shows that these
cities will be at the front line of
climate change impacts. They
therefore have a strong impera-
tive to act decisively to avoid the
dangerous levels of warming and
limit global temperature rise to
well below
2°C compared to preindustri-
al levels. Allowing climate change
to continue to go unchecked will
cost more lives and more money
in the future, but if we act now,
we can avert the worst impacts.
The costs of avoiding the worst
impacts of climate change can be
limited to around 1% of global
GDP/year, whereas the costs of
inaction range from 5 to 20% of
global GDP/year. To limit warm-
ing to 2°C with more than a
50% chance requires that global
emissions peak before 2015 and
decline 80 to 95% below 1990
levels by 2050. Therefore, WWF
calls on developed countries to cut
their emissions by at least 40% by
2020 and by at least 95% by 2050
compared to 1990 levels. To keep
the global av-
erage temper-
ature increase
well below
2°C, the en-
ergy system
needs to be
altered sub-
stantially and
adaptation
needs to start
immediately.
This is a polit-
ical challenge
that requires
decisionmak-
ing structures
to be put in
place in order
to drive such
change. Gov-
ernments,
businesses,
and the sci-
entific com-
munity should
focus their efforts on delivering
results, and this report provides
some examples of local and re-
gional adaptation action, and lo-
cal, regional and global policy
efforts to support both adaptation
and mitigation. WWF hopes this
report can be a starting point for
further action.
City Profile
Manila is the national capi-
tal and the financial, commer-
cial, and industrial center of the
Philippines. Manila’s metropoli-
tan area, which is comprised of
17 local government units, has a
population of about 11.5 million
people (2007), covers about 636
km2, and has a density of just
over 18,000 people per km2, thus
translating to a socio-economic
sensitivity to climate change im-
pacts of 7 out of 10. Manila ranks
as the fifth largest urban area by
population in the world and sec-
ond in Southeast Asia (Jakarta is
first). If the surrounding suburbs
in the adjacent provinces of
Greater Manila are included, the
population swells to around 20
million. This area creates
32% (US$124 billion (PPP)
in 2007) of the national GDP. Due
to Manila’s protected harbor, it is
also the main seaport for the Phil-
ippines and a major manufactur-
ing center, producing chemicals,
steel, textiles, clothing, and elec-
tronic goods.
Manila is similar to many
large cities around the world and
is characterized by economic ex-
tremes with a huge disparity be-
tween the few who control much
of the wealth and the massive
number of people who are below
the poverty line. Reportedly, 97%
of the total GDP in the Philip-
pines is controlled by 15% of the
population.Manila’s primary wa-
terway is the Pasig River, which
meanders through the metropolis,
passing through Manila before
draining into Manila Bay.
The metropolitan area is
built on the alluvial deposits of
the Pasig River and on some re-
claimed land from Manila Bay.
The average elevation of metro-
politan Manila is a mere 10 m.
Manila is one of the major tour-
ist destinations in the Philippines
and the city attracts over 1 million
visitors per year.
In 2000, net tourism income
totaled US$2.1 billion and is
growing fast. It is projected that at
the current growth rate, Manila’s
tourism volume will surpass that
of Singapore by
the year 2020. Lying just
north of 14 degrees longitude,
Manila has a tropical wet and dry
climate (also referred to as a trop-
ical savanna climate).
Average temperatures range
from lows of 21°C in January to
highs of 33°C in April and May.
Precipitation varies throughout
the year but typically December
through March is generally dry
and June to October is gener-
ally wet. Average precipitation is
about 200 mm a year.
Observed Climate Change
The Philippines has seen an
increase in temperature. Between
1961 and 1990, mean annual
temperature has increased about
0.61°C, maximum temperature
has increased 0.34°C, and mini-
mum temperatures has increased
0.89°C. Subsequently, the fre-
(Turn to page 9)
 8  
Opinion January 24-30, 2011

EDITORIAL
The Garcia Affair
There has been much noise lately regarding the plea-bargain
agreement involving former Armed Forces of the Philippines
comptroller, retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Flores Garcia, with the
Sandiganbayan bearing the brunt of public criticism on that
agreement. The public flogging of the Sandiganbayan Special Second
Division even hinted of anomalies in the outing of such a plea-bargain
agreement under which the disgraced general will have to surrender
assets and bank deposits valued at over P100 million in exchange for
his release from jail and a guilty plea on a lesser crime deal.
The public outcry centered on why a plea-bargain agreement
should be entertained in the first place when the government has a
tight case over the plunder case. The truth of the matter is that the
Sandiganbayan Second Division’s ruling, when read fully, will bring
out the fact that the resolution on the matter, promulgated on May
4, 2010, was couched in such a language as to ensure that the state’s
interest is fully acknowledged and that the plea-bargain agreement is
conditioned on the return first of the various assets and bank deposits
of Garcia and his wife and sons.
In the penultimate paragraph of the much-maligned plea-
View from the East
By Jesus T. TAnchanco SR.
bargaining resolution, the court was very clear in its language: that
the Garcias first turn over the assets before the agreement may be

Mass transport system needed

approved. The language was very clear: the operative word was may.
It did not state that the agreement can be effected after the turnover of
the assets. In short, there is another step that is yet to be consummated
before the agreement can be enforced.
“With respect to the offer of restitution by the accused, the Court There is a pronounced need for a mass drive-through from Monumento and Baclaran
is of the considered view that as a manifestation of his genuine intent transport system, especially in the metropolis , and to other points in the metropolis.Later on,
to cede and surrender to the Republic of the Philippines all his interest that the government should put in place, if only the government can think of other ways by
and ownership, as well as those of his coaccused spouse and three to assure the commuters of a viable transport which to use mass transport systems to points
children, over their properties, both real and personal, which are the system with which they could go from one outside the metropolis.
subject of the cases for Plunder and Violation of the Anti-Money point to another. The decision to revive the Bicol rail line is a
Laundering Act, and for the primordial protection of the interest of A mass transport system, like the ones that step in the right direction; and so is the evolving
we have now, the MRT and LRT, is very much line to Clark and possibly to Subic. These mass
the government, the actual cession or transfer of ownership in favor needed in an aspiring economy like ours. With transport systems fill an economic need and
of the Republic of the Philippines of the real and personal properties it, the need for the use of private vehicles and it is all that matters when these projects are
itemized above should first be effected, before the Plea Bargaining other cars can be drastically reduced such that analysed for their cost-benefit ratios.
Agreement may be approved, [italics ours],” the resolution said. the added costs of fuel to allow the cars to use I am pretty sure that the private sector,
That resolution was written by Associate Justice Teresita V. Diaz- the streets , can similarly be reduced. Just think some with help from their foreign partners, are
Baldos and concurred in by Second Division Chairman Edilberto of the economic impact of such a mass transport thinking of putting up mass transport systems
G. Sandoval and Associate Justice Samuel R. Martires. The final system on the economy. since there is a pronounced need for such
paragraph itself saw to it that the intent of the resolution is carried A reduced vehicle population in such a projects. The costs , after all, can be recouped by
out with the Garcias asked to execute the “appropriate deeds of major thoroughfare as EDSA can mean a the investors through viable fare matrices. Aside
conveyance in order to transfer, convey, cede, surrender and relinquish seamless drive for the now-harassed vehicle from this, the said mass transport systems can
to the Republic of the Philippines” the identified properties that were owners. Imagine the resulting smog, the added be pursued as part of a real estate development
fuel costs that drain the country’s foreign play which means that the said project can be
the subject of the case from the Antimoney Laundering Council. exchange resources, and the more expensive used as springboards for the mushrooming of
In fact, the Sandiganbayan Second Special Division gave the use of the cars and other vehicles, that come economic units such as mini-malls and other
parties to the plea-bargaining agreement 60 days to present the about as a result of the use of the private cars, vending facilities that one is very familiar with
resulting conveyances. Thus, the Sandiganbayan saw to it that the instead of the mass transport system. in HongKong.
interest of the state was well covered and that the plea-bargain Indeed, there is a much pronounced need The benefits for the putting up of more
agreement could stand public scrutiny. Unfortunately, the court came now for the government to come up with a mass transport systems are enough to assure
under fire because of the misappreciation of the language of the mass transport system that would lead to the that investors get returns that would make
resolution and the inability of the justices to come up with their own less use of private vehicles for the commuters. them invest their money. For the government,
defense as they are precluded from doing so. Just toting up the economic benefits is enough the benefits can translate into more economic
As per the resolution pertaining to the plea-bargaining agreement, to make the project worthwhile to pursue. activities enough to propel the economy to
the parties to the return-of-assets-in-exchange-for-guilty-plea-on- Other countries in the region have seamless greater heights.
connections via mass transport systems and It is in this respect that I am pushing for the
lesser-crime were on the prosecution’s side—Assistant Special there is no reason why the Philippines should implementation of new mass transport systems
Prosecutor II Joseph F. Capistrano, Assistant Special Prosecutor be left behind. in the metropolis as it would not only reduce
III Jose M. Balmeo Jr., Acting Deputy Special Prosecutor Jesus A. We take pride in the fact that we had the first the consumption of imported fuel but would
Micael, Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert A. Kallos, and Acting airline in Asia, that our economy was second to lead to a more efficient transport of goods and
Deputy Special Prosecutor and Officer in Charge Wendell E. Barreras- Japan and that we boast of bigger banks. Now, people within and around the metropolis.
Sulit and Tanodbayan Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez. On the part of the our airline is shot up, our economy is in danger That added economic benefit is enough
defense, the same was signed by Garcia, assisted by his counsel, of being overtaken by Vietnam and our big incentive for the Aquino goverment to pursue
lawyer Constantino B. de Jesus. banks cannot even match the regional strength the mass transport system.
Thus, the Sandiganbayan came under excruciating circumstances of Thailand banks.
as the public outcry made it appear that the court is the culprit in the What we need,
crafting of the plea-bargaining agreement. The truth is that it only actually, is to forget the
past and concentrate on
made the resolution on the agreement when the contending parties the future. The past is
sought the court’s leave to implement a plea-bargain agreement. already gone; the future is
“At the outset, the parties contend that the instant plea- bargaining what is yet to come. The
agreement, which comes as the prosecution is about to rest its case, government machinery
is countenanced under the ruling of the Supreme Court allowing plea should concentrate on
LITO U. GAGNI
bargaining after arraignment,” the resolution said. doing and executing Editor
On this score, the public complaint, notably by former projects that would CEFERINO M. ACOSTA III
Tanodbayan Simeon Marcelo, that the Sandiganbayan cannot redound to the benefit of News
entertain a plea-bargain agreement after arraignment is not true. the greater majority. And JAMES U. GAGNI
For there is jurisprudence on the matter with the Supreme Court I believe that the mass Researcher
decision in the case of Joselito Raniero J. Daan v. Sandiganbayan, transport system is one RAMIL T. SARMIENTO
such project worth the Layout
citing therein People v. Villarama, People v. Kayanan and People v. expense. RAUL S. GONZALEZ, BERNARDO PACHECO,
Parohinog. Of course, there is ALFRED SANTIAGO JR., GEORGE T. SIY
It is a pity that the Sandiganbayan had to come under a barrage a need to come up with Contributing Editors
of fire simply because of a misappreciation of the facts of the case. public-private-partnership Business Matters is published every Monday by Grandbooks Publishing
Nonetheless, the facts of the case reveal that the Sandiganbayan projects or the so-called Inc. with editorial and business address at 50 M.R. Flores St. Ext.,
justices of the Second Division came up with the resolution on the PPPs of President Aquino Sto. Rosario Kanluran, Pateros, M.M.
agreement with the interest of the government in mind, and there , that would address the Telephones: (632) 628-43-48 Fax: (632) 628-38-82
E-mail: businessmatters@hotmail.ph
is no doubting their desire for transparency and sincerity. In fact, need for the provision of
should any vacancy at the Supreme Court come up, they each have a mass transit system that
my vote. would ensure a seamless
 January 24-30, 2011 9
Manila (From page 7)
quency of hot days and warm
nights has also increased, while
the number of cold days and cool
nights decreased. There has also
been an increase in the annual
mean rainfall since the 1980s and
an increase in the number of rainy
days since the 1990s. Like so
many other regions in Southeast
Asia, Manila has also experienced
an increase in the year to year on-
set of rainfall.
Impacts
The Philippines could see
temperatures rise anywhere be-
tween 1.2 and 3.9°C by 2080
with increasing climate impacts,
such as tropical cyclones, sea-
level rise, floods, and droughts.
Manila ranked a high exposure
score (9 out of 10) because it is
threatened by a number of climate
impacts. Cyclones will likely im-
pact the northern and eastern parts
of the country the most, whereas
floods, landslides and droughts
may plague the rest of the Phil-
ippines. Overall, annual rainfall
has increased and when combined
with tropical storms, has led to
extreme rain, floods, and land-
slides in 1990, 2001, 2004, and
2009. Manila is particularly vul-
nerable to flooding from both ex-
treme rains and tropical storms, as
just seen with the latest tropical
cyclone Ketsana (Ondo) in Sep-
tember 2009, which by latest
accounts has affected over 4.3
million people, displaced nearly
500,000 and killed over 337.
The recent storm damage
is estimated at US$230 mil-
lion. On a country-wide scale,
cyclone-triggered floods are
not uncommon. For example,
the 2001 Camiguin flood was
triggered by tropical typhoon
Nanang and affected more than
35,000 people and killed 157.
Total damage was estimated at
US$96 million. There are other
recent examples of deadly land-
slides including the 2006 Guin-
saugon, Leyte landslide, which
was triggered by super typhoon
Reming, killing 1,126 people.
During that same storm, the
Legazpi, Albay landslide
killed 1,399 people. These
two landslides affected more
than 800,000 families and are
considered the world’s power to surrounding cities. Un- so that they may avoid high im-
second and third deadli- fortunately, the combination of pact areas and better prepare
est disasters of 2006. drought years with rising sea lev- emergency supplies. Other adap-
Droughts, extreme els means that already stressed tation measures may include de-
rain and storms are water areas will get worse. signing and building appropriate
projected to get more During the last 20 years, the infrastructures to better protect
intense and
variable in
the future
in the Phil-
ippines
and can be
strongly
influenced
by in-
creasingly
frequent
inter-annu-
al climate
extremes
( e . g . ,
El Niño
Southern
Oscillation
[ENSO]
events).
Droughts
are nor-
mally asso-
ciated with
El Niño
events in
the Philip-
pines, and
the 1997 to
1998 event
provides
some in-
sight into what more is intensity of tropical cyclones has citizens and allow for massive
to come under climate significantly increased, causing evacuation if necessary. Installa-
change. During this extensive damage to property, tion and maintenance of weather
event, the Philippines assets, and human life. They are prediction (e.g., Doppler radar to
experienced severe projected to further increase in predict precipitation) and hazard
water shortages, mas- frequency and intensity. Adding warning systems, especially dur-
sive crop failures, huge to the damage, storms are usu- ing rainy and tropical storm sea-
forest fires, and coral ally accompanied by torrential sons, is generally a good idea to
bleaching. rains that cause landslides and minimize damage and loss of life.
C o n s e q u e n t l y, flash floods, killing people and The Philippines can also learn
Metro Manila’s main destroying property and agricul- from other case studies. In Cairns,
reservoir of water, the tural crops. Australia, for example, cyclone
Angat dam, saw declin- According to statistics, 80% experience and education may
ing input. Storage was reduced of disasters occurring in the Phil- have contributed to a change in
ippines over the past 100 years risk perceptions and a reduction
have been weather-related, with- in the vulnerability of residents to
typhoons and floods contributing tropical cyclone and storm surge
the most. Sea-levels around Ma- hazards.
nila are also rising and an increase Protecting and restoring natu-
anywhere from 0.4 to 1.0 m by the ral ecosystems is another progres-
end of century is expected, par- sive adaptation measure, which has
tially due to local subsidence and proven to be highly costeffective.
continued ground water extrac- Unfortunately, large-scale conver-
tion. This degree of change could sions of coastal mangrove forests
displace over 2.5 million people to shrimp aquaculture, fish ponds,
and inundate over 5,000 ha of the and salt beds have
Manila Bay coastal area. These occurred during the past three
risks will be further intensified decades in the Philippines. None-
if storm surges associated with theless, with adequate protection
intense storm activity increase. and restoration these ecosystems
Coastal erosion is also increasing can help minimize wave energy
and is exacerbated by the increase from storms and buffer the coast-
in storms, beach sand mining, and line from impacts. Coral reefs have
destruction of coral reefs, man- also proven to be hugely beneficial
groves and sand dunes.Adapta- for the protection of coastline and
tion also provide many with food and
Due to the high risk of tropi- livelihoods.
cal storms, floods, droughts, and Many of these natural sys-
sea-level rise, adaptation is criti- tems are at a critical threshold, and
cal for Manila and the rest of the if appropriate capacity is put into
Philippines. Relevant adapta- conservation and sustainable de-
by 10%, resulting in water ration- tion measures may include early velopment, they can be protected.
ing in some areas. It also affected warning systems to alert residents Revisiting/re-designing Manila’s
hydroelectric plants that provide of approaching tropical cyclones urban plan (or lack thereof) is also
critical. Relocating communities
in high-risk areas as well as criti-
cal waterways (i.e., communi-
ties can impede water drainage
during storms) is also important.
Likewise, reforesting watersheds
and mountains surrounding Met-
ro Manila will significantly re-
duce surface run-off, which was
a main contributor to the recent
September flooding.
Poor adaptation measures,
sometimes referred to as mal-
adaptation, are a risk. Even
activities that are meant to pre-
vent erosion, such as building
of sea walls and ripraps, have
been found to have contributed
to the problem, so caution is
needed. Manila scores 7 out of
10 for inversed adaptive capac-
ity, so the protection of natural
systems, such as mangrove for-
ests and coral reefs and other
no-regret adaptation strategies
can and should be implemented
immediately.
 10   Science & Technology
January 24-30, 2011

The Internet 2010 in numbers

IF your the kind of person that takes
comfort in knowing that our lives
are governed by numbers – such as
how many steps to get to the torch
of the Statue of Liberty or how
many emails are sent daily or yearly
– then read on.
Business Matters came across a
website called pingdom.com that
gathered statistics on the Internet in
2010, getting their numbers from a
myriad of websites and other sourc-
es on or off the web.
In case you’re wondering what the
answer to the three questions above
are: 107 trillion emails were sent on
the Internet in 2010 with an average
of 294 billion a day. And it takes 375
steps to reach the torch of the Statue
of Liberty – 354 to get to the crown
and anotgher 21 steps to the torch.
Email
* 1.88 billion – The number of
email users worldwide.
* 480 million – New email users
since the year before.
* 89.1 percent – The share of
emails that were spam.
* 262 billion – The
number of spam emails
per day (assuming 89
percent are spam).
* 2.9 billion – The
number of email ac-
counts worldwide.
* 25 percent – Share
of email accounts that are
corporate.
Websites
* 255 million – The
number of websites as of
December 2010.
* 21.4 million – Added
websites in 2010.
Web servers
* 39.1% – Growth in
the number of Apache
websites in 2010. Twitter as of September 2010
* 15.3% – Growth * 7.7 million – People following
in the number of @ladygaga (Lady Gaga, Twitter’s
IIS websites in most followed user).
2010. * 600 million – People on Face-
* 4.1% – Growth book at the end of 2010.
in the number of * 250 million – New people on
nginx websites in Facebook in 2010.
2010. * 30 billion – Pieces of content
* 5.8% – Growth (links, notes, photos, etc.) shared
in the number of on Facebook per month.
Google GWS web- * 70% – Share of Facebook’s
sites in 2010. user base located outside the Unit-
* 55.7% – Growth ed States.
in the number of * 20 million – The number of
Lighttpd websites Facebook apps installed each day.
in 2010. Videos
Domain names * 2 billion – The number of vid-
* 88.8 million eos watched per day on YouTube.
– .COM domain * 35 – Hours of video uploaded
names at the end of 2010. * 202 million – The number of worldwide (June 2010). to YouTube every minute.
* 13.2 million – .NET domain domain names across all top-level * 14% – Increase in Internet users * 186 – The number of online
names at the end of 2010. domains (October 2010). since the previous year. videos the average Internet user
* 8.6 million – .ORG domain * 7% – The increase in domain * 825.1 million – Internet users watches in a month (USA).
names at the end of 2010. names since the year before. in Asia. * 84% – Share of Internet users
* 79.2 million – The number of * 475.1 million – Internet users that view videos online (USA).
country code top-level domains Internet users in Europe. * 14% – Share of Internet users
(e.g. .CN, .UK, .DE, etc.). * 1.97 billion – Internet users * 266.2 million – Internet users in that have uploaded videos online
North America. (USA).
* 204.7 million – Internet * 2+ billion – The number of
users in Latin America / Carib- videos watched per month on Fa-
bean. cebook.
* 110.9 million – Internet us- * 20 million – Videos uploaded to
ers in Africa. Facebook per month.
* 63.2 million – Internet users Images
in the Middle East. * 5 billion – Photos hosted by
* 21.3 million – Internet users Flickr (September 2010).
in Oceania / Australia. * 3000+ – Photos uploaded per
Social media minute to Flickr.
* 152 million – The num- * 130 million – At the above rate,
ber of blogs on the Internet (as the number of photos uploaded per
tracked by BlogPulse). month to Flickr.
* 25 billion – Number of sent * 3+ billion – Photos uploaded per
tweets on Twitter in 2010 month to Facebook.
* 100 million – New accounts * 36 billion – At the current rate,
added on Twitter in 2010 the number of photos uploaded to
* 175 million – People on Facebook per year.

Cordless vacuum cleaners

– a gift from space science
WHEN people first began using cordless, handheld vacu- low the moonwalkers to be able
ums to clean up dust and crumbs around the house, few to wander away from the base
probably saw a connection between their household and collect samples from a va-
Hoover and outer space. riety of locations without being
But, as space.com points out, the same technology constrained by the need to use
that helped Apollo astronauts drill for rock samples on the the Lunar Module as a power
surface of the moon eventually returned to Earth and gave source.
rise to the battery-operated miniature vacuum cleaner. Black & Decker responded
Black & Decker's mini-vac – the DustBuster – was with a battery-powered
introduced to American consumers in 1979, but the com- drill with a magnetized
pany developed most of the inner workings for the device motor. And while the de-
as the result of a partnership with NASA for the Apollo vice helped Apollo astro-
moon landings between 1963 and 1972. nauts successfully return
One of the most important tasks for astronauts who samples from the moon,
landed on the moon was to collect lunar rock and soil the technology behind
samples to bring back for analysis on Earth. While most it proved to have some
of these samples could be easily gathered on the surface, valuable uses on Earth as
scientists also wanted to study the moon's crust by extract- well.
ing subsurface soil. In designing a motor
To dig out core samples from depths of up to 10 feet that consumed a minimal equipment for the automobile, construction
(3 meters), the astronauts needed a special drill that could amount of power, Black and medical industries, as well as for the av-
penetrate the sometimes hard lunar surface. & Decker used a special erage consumer.
The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company, based computer program, and their resulting research and devel- The DustBuster was marketed as a miniature vacuum
in Towson, Maryland, was charged with developing the opment formed the foundation for the company's knowl- cleaner that could be used to clean everyday messes, and
drill, which needed to be powerful but also compact and edge base on battery-powered devices. suck up dust or crumbs in hard-to-reach places in the car
lightweight for the journey to the moon. Using the same design parameters as it did for the or around the house. Cordless and weighing less than two
Furthermore, to be most effective, the drill needed to lunar drill (efficient, powerful, lightweight and compact), pounds, the DustBuster was heralded for its convenience.
have its own independent power source. This would al- Black & Decker produced a line of cordless tools and And to think, it all started on the moon.

PeaceTech: Building peace, one classroom at a time

PEACETECH, with the support of the British Em-
bassy’s bilateral program, uses technology to build
understanding between groups of people across
large distances or in this case, students of different
religious groups but wanting only one thing – to
learn.
Communication is the cornerstone of peace
building, and as today’s rapidly evolving technol-
ogy provides better and faster ways to communi-
cate with every corner of the globe, it comes as no
surprise that non-governmental organisation Peac-
eTech is using information communication tech-
nology (ICT) to build understanding and respect
between young people throughout the Philippines.
PeaceTech recently conducted a videoconfer-
ence between high school students from Esteban
Abada High School in Sampaloc, Manila and
Zamboanga State College of Marine Science and
Technology in Zamboanga City, Mindanao.
It is the latest in a series of classroom vid-
eoconferences between thousands of high school
and college students in Metro Manila, Zamboanga
City, Iligan City and other Mindanao locations.
Over 50 videoconferences have already been con-
ducted thus far.
PeaceTech employs technology to bridge the
gap between young Muslims and non-Muslims
separated by distance and background. By open-
ing the lines of the communication, young people
are encouraged to embrace diversity, reducing the
chances of conflict based on prejudice.
British Ambassador Stephen Lillie welcomed
the project, saying “We support peace efforts in
communities affected by conflict. Our bilateral pro-
gramme fund has been supporting peace-building
projects that help lay the ground for lasting peace
in Mindanao. This project promotes understanding
and acceptance of cultural and religious differences
between young people, which is an important part
of the peace building process.”
The classes learn together about how to over-
come prejudice, discrimination and conflict, which
divide Mindanao from the rest of the country.
Teachers encourage students to do on-line assign-
ments between videoconferences to deepen rela-
tionships and understanding.
"There's no better way to reduce tension and
ignorance than by bringing people face to face,"
said PeaceTech founder Robin Pettyfer. "And we
are doing this in on a mass scale! By bringing two
sides together they can realise for themselves that
the other is not to be feared. This is especially use-
ful in societies torn by misunderstanding and ten-
sion."
He added that their innovative methods
are educational insofar as they complement the
schools' curriculum for peace education, commu-
nications and history. By tackling the structural
causes leading to conflict, the project clarifies mis-
interpretations about issues and promotes solidarity
among people of different backgrounds.
The lessons learned from the project are not
confined in the classroom. As an example, Saima,
a student of Cotabato City enthused, "I realised that
I can make a difference by promoting peace in my
own little way. I will apply what I have learned to
myself and then influence my friends and my fam-
ily." Other students were just happy to be able to
connect with their peers who are miles away, say-
ing that the videoconference provided a venue for
them to “express and share our diverse thoughts
about the many differences in our communities.”
 January 24-30, 2011 Motoring
Passion, efficiency and the
new Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster
WITH the completely newly de-
veloped SLK, one of the most ex-
citing and successful sports cars
ever built is entering its third gen-
eration, promising to take driving
pleasure and open-air enjoyment
to a new level.
The new roadster blends
light-footed sportiness with styl-
ish comfort, a striking sports-car
design with total suitability for ev-
eryday use, top performance with
exemplary ecology. What’s more,
the SLK is proud to present the
world premiere of the panoramic
vario-roof with MAGIC SKY
CONTROL, which switches to
light or dark at the touch of a
button.
Exemplary efficiency and
sporty flair come courtesy of
powerful new 4- and 6-cylinder
engines featuring the standard-
specification ECO start/stop
function. With their superb lev-
els of performance they are up
to 25 percent more economical
than their predecessors. And a
unique set of safety equipment
bestows role-model status on
the SLK in this segment.
With its wealth of tech-
nical innovations the SLK is
once again the benchmark in its
class.
“The new SLK embod-
ies the role of the trend-setter
like no other car”, says Dr Dieter
Zetsche, Chairman of the Board
of Management of Daimler AG
and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
“I am convinced that with its pas-
sionate design, its high-quality in-
terior and its modesty at the filling
station it will continue to provide
an enormous amount of fun on the
NHSTA’s new rule
on passenger safety
A day after the Alliance of Au-
tomobile Manufacturers, an in-
dustry trade association, wrote
House Republicans asking for
sympathy on a number of issues,
the National Highway Trans-
portation Safety Administra-
tion passed a new law that will
require automakers to develop
countermeasures that will pre-
vent unbelted dri vers and pas-
sengers from being ejected from
vehicles in rollover accidents.
The rule will begin phasing
in beginning in 2013 and will
require all vehicles weighing
less than 10,000 pounds to be so
equipped by 2018. The rule re-
quires automakers to take mea-
sures that will prevent the equiv-
alent of an unbelted adult from
moving more than four inches
past the side window opening of
the vehicle in a crash.
In announcing the new reg-
ulation yesterday, David Strick-
land, administrator at NHTSA
What to do about rare earth materials needed by EVs
RECENT moves by the Chinese
to cut exports of rare earth ma-
terials has encouraged some in-
novative thinking on what to do
without them.
China controls over 90 per-
cent of the world's market for the
minerals like neodymium and
dysprosium that are used in mo-
tor magnets, especially for EVs.
Toyota Motor Corp. has an-
nounced it has found a way to
build motors for EVs and hybrid
vehicles that don't require rare
earth materials.
Toyota calls it an inductive
road in future, too, consolidating
its status as a cult roadster.”
Innovations are part of the
successful history of the Mer-
cedes-Benz SLK. In 1996 the first
generation caused a furor with the
vario-roof, which transformed the
wide-open roadster into a coupé
with a fixed roof at the touch of a
button in just a few seconds
The second generation placed
the warm AIRSCARF around the
neck and shoulders of the occu-
pants as needed, ensuring pleasur-
able open-top motoring even in
cooler temperatures
Now the third generation is
presenting one of its unique high-
lights – the world premiere of the
panoramic vario-roof with MAG-
IC SKY CONTROL. It can be
quickly switched to light or dark
at the press of a button.
The interior features four
said, "Rollover crashed are the
deadliest of all crash types and
this is another important step in
our efforts to reduce fatalities
and serious injuries that result
from them. When fully imple-
mented, we believe this standard
will prevent on average 373 fa-
talities and 476 injuries every
year."
Strickland didn't provide an
estimate of what it would cost
auto manufacturers to develop
and add the measures required in
the new regulation.
The alliance had asked
House Republicans to look in on
their concerns over the proposed
increase in CAFE (Corporate
Average Fuel Economy) and for
a careful review of the Obama
administration proposals that
require higher ethanol blends in
vehicle fuels, video technology
for rear-view visibility and more
detailed window labeling for new
cars.
motor that's said to be lighter and
more efficient than motors that
use magnets such as those used
in its Prius, G.M.'s Chevrolet
Volt and Nissan's Leaf.
Toyota claims that its de-
velopment program is at an ad-
vanced stage and could remove
its dependency on rare earth ma-
terials from China.
But perhaps Toyota, and
other EV makers, need not worry
too much about the shortage of
rare earth materials.
French specialty chemicals
maker Rhodia announced yester-
round, galvanised air outlets in-
tegrated in the dashboard to em-
phasize that this model well and
truly belongs to the Mercedes-
Benz sports car family, their
shape being a nod to those
in the SLS.
The SLK’s generous
round dials are flanked by
a display for the informa-
tion generated by the online
computer. The colour dis-
play for the communications
and entertainment functions
is housed in the centre of the
dashboard, and can be easily read
by both the driver and passenger.
On the top of the dashboard, also
in the center, sits a fine analogue
clock – an unusual detail which
subtly underlines the roadster’s
stylish character.
Other high-quality items of
equipment include a multifunction
sports steering wheel with a flat-
tened bottom section and a thick
leather crown, plus optional sun-
reflecting leather which notice-
ably reduces the degree to which
the surfaces it covers heat up,
impressive ambient lighting and
the innovative neck-level heating
system AIRSCARF, familiar from
Solons want lending of motor vehicles
to drivers without license criminalized
VEHICLE owners who allow a
person without a valid driver's li-
cense to drive their vehicles will
think twice about doing so once
Congress passes a proposed mea-
sure that will make it a crime to
lend their vehicles to such indi-
viduals.
In House Bill 1581, the
mother-son tandem of Rep. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District,
Pampanga) and Rep. Diosdado
Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines
Sur) sought to imposes penal
sanctions and fines on the vehicle
as part of an overall scheme de-
signed to curb the rising incidents
of accidents caused by inexperi-
enced drivers and those who do
day that it has developed a new
process for the recovery and sep-
aration of rare earths contained
in discarded low-energy light
bulbs.
The company said that a
range of research programs con-
ducted for several years on the
life cycle of its products, it an-
ticipates that this process for the
recycling of luminescent pow-
ders opens fresh environmental
and economic prospects at a pan-
European level.
According to Rhodia, once
collected and sorted, used light
the predecessor.
For the first time Mercedes-
Benz is offering a choice of three
variants of the lightweight-con-
struction vario-roof for the new
SLK. The base version is a roof
painted in the vehicle colour. Al-
ternatively there is the option of a
panoramic vario-roof with dark-
tinted windows and the third vari-
ant is a world premiere – the pan-
oramic vario-roof with MAGIC
SKY CONTROL.
This glass roof switches to
light or dark as you wish at the
press of a button. When light it is
virtually transparent, offering an
open-air experience even in cold
weather. In its dark state the roof
provides welcome shade and pre-
vents the interior from heating up
when the sun’s rays are very in-
tense. In other words: a feel-good
atmosphere at the touch of a but-
ton
There are also three suspen-
sion versions to choose from. A
conventional steel suspension
comes as standard while a second
choice is the sports suspension
with harder springs and dampers
ensures a systematically sporty
driving experience.
As an alternative a Dynamic
Handling package is available. Its
not have a valid driver’s license
issued by the Land Transporta-
tion Office (LTO).
“By providing a strong de-
terrent against vehicle owners,
it is hoped that the perils posed
by inexperienced drivers will be
reduced,” the Arroyos said in in-
troducing their measure.
Statistics from the World
Health Organization (WHO)
showed that an estimated 1.2 mil-
lion people worldwide are killed
every year due to road accidents,
while as many as 50 million are
injured or suffer permanent dis-
ability.
Under the measure to be
known as the “Motor Vehicle
bulbs are processed with a view
to recycle various components,
including glass, metal, plastics
and mercury.
The luminescent powders,
containing high concentrations
of rare earths, are disposed of
in landfills. Rhodia says it has
established recycling centers at
its Saint-Fons and La Rochelle
plants in France.
“At a time when global de-
mand for rare earths is experienc-
ing growth rates above 6 percent
per year, this initiative opens the
way to new sources of rare earths
11
merits include a suspension with
continuous adjustable damping.
It has an electronically controlled
fully automatic damping system,
so the vehicle
rolls away
gently even
on poor road
surfaces, but
still offers
high driving
dynamics
A l s o
included in
the Dynamic
Handling
package are a
Direct-Steer
system and
the Torque
Ve c t o r i n g
Brakes devel-
oped by Mer-
cedes-Benz.
The third generation Mer-
cedes-Benz SLK also sets new
benchmarks in terms of safety.
The vehicle uses a whole host of
assistance systems to support the
driver, including the drowsiness
detection system ATTENTION
ASSIST, developed by Mercedes-
Benz and fitted as standard; the
optional anticipatory occupant
protection system PRE-SAFE,
which is unique in the world; and
the PRE-SAFE Brake, which can
apply the brakes autonomously in
the event of an impending rear-
end collision. As such, with the
SLK too Mercedes-Benz is con-
sistently and significantly exceed-
ing the requirements imposed by
safety standards.
Those wishing to do so can
extend the host of assistance sys-
tems in the new SLK even fur-
ther:
The Intelligent Light System
provides five lighting functions
(cornering light function, coun-
try mode, motorway mode, active
light function and enhanced fog
lamps), which are activated de-
pending on the driving conditions
Safety Act of 2010,” violators
shall be penalized with a fine of
not more than P10,000 or impris-
onment from one month to six
months or both.
The bill also provides a pen-
alty to any director, officer or
agent of a corporation who shall
violate any provisions of the pro-
posed act.
Furthermore, if the violator
is a foreign juridical person duly
licensed to engage in business in
the Philippines, such license shall
be immediately revoked plus
penalties would be imposed on
the director, officer or agent who
authorized and performed the
acts penalized under the bill.
perfectly tailored to market needs.
This process should be operation-
al by the first quarter of 2012 and
allow 25 and 35 jobs directly re-
lated to this activity to be created
within the Group,” said Frédéric
Carencotte, industrial director
of Rhodia Rare Earth Systems
and responsible for the recycling
projects.
“This initiative, which also
sets out to conserve the use of
this resource, illustrates Rhodia’s
commitment to increasingly sus-
tainable forms of development,”
he added.
 12   January 24-30, 2011
$1.5M for Metro flood control
A comprehensive study leading to a
master plan that will help reduce the
vulnerability of Metro Manila and sur-
rounding areas to destructive floods
will soon get underway following the
approval of a grant from the World
Bank-administered Global Facility
for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
(GFDRR) Trust Fund.
The $1.5 million grant responds
to the recommendations of the Post-
Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)
for the Philippines after it was devas-
tated in 2009 by heavy floods caused
by typhoons “Ondoy” (Ketsana) and
“Pepeng” (Parma).
According to the PDNA, ty-
phoons Ondoy and Pepeng caused
massive damage and losses amounting
to $4.4 billion, equivalent to 2.7 percent
of the country’s Gross Domestic Prod-
uct. The report recommended, among
other measures, the formulation of a
comprehensive flood management
master plan to deal with the continuing
vulnerability of Metro Manila and its
surrounding areas to floods.
Signing for the Philippine Gov-
ernment, Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima said that the grant will boost
the government’s efforts to strengthen
the resilience of Metro Manila and
surrounding towns and cities against
floods and similar disasters.
“Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng
affected close to one million peo-
ple, many of whom belong to the
poorest of the poor. Preventing
similar disasters entails reforms
in key governance issues such as
land use planning, housing, water
management, environmental pro-
tection, and disaster risk reduc-
tion,” Purisima said. “This grant
provides us additional resources
to accelerate these reforms. We'd
like to thank the World Bank
once again for their assistance to
the Filipino people.”
The grant was provided
by the GFDRR using funds ear-
marked for the Philippines by the
Government of Australia through
theAustralianAgency for Interna-
tional Development (AusAID).
GFDRR is a partnership of
32 countries and 6 international orga-
nizations, including the World Bank,
committed to helping developing
countries reduce their vulnerability to
natural hazards and adapt to climate
change.
Department of Public Works and
Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson
said the master plan will inform policy,
engineering and financial decisions
to ensure that lines of accountabil-
ity among agencies involved in flood
management are clarified and adequate
infrastructures are put in place.
Equal attention, he said, will be
given to non-structural measures such
as community participation, catch-
ment protection and reforestation, early
warning, and emergency preparedness
as an approach to flood management.
“Considering that Metro Manila
accounts for roughly 40 percent of
the Philippine GDP and hosts over 20
million residents, an adequate flood
management framework that would
provide protection to life and property
against floods is a necessary under-
taking for the Government,” Singson
said.
The formulation of the master
plan will be undertaken for a period
of 13 months. The Philippine Govern-
ment, through the DPWH’s leader-
ship, will provide overall supervision.
The technical assistance will build on
the various efforts undertaken by the
government, stakeholders, and de-
velopment partners which have built
extensive knowledge on disaster risk
management and infrastructure plan-
ning in Metro Manila.
World Bank Country Director
Bert Hofman said the grant is part of
the institution’s commitment to the
Philippines under its Country Assis-
tance Strategy (CAS) for the period
2010-2012.
With the theme “Making Growth
Work for the Poor,” the CAS seeks to
reduce the vulnerability particularly of
the poor to external shocks, including
those arising from natural disasters.
“In addition to the master plan, the
World Bank is assisting the Philippine
Government in coming up with a risk
finance strategy to reduce the fis-
cal burden arising from increasing
costs of disasters, and in building
the capacities of high risk LGUs to
deal with natural disasters,” Hofman
said.
Hofman said that support for
Metro Manila’s flood master plan is
an important addition to the World
Bank’s engagement in disaster risk
reduction and management as well
as climate change adaptation.
He added that the WB has just
approved a Global Environment
Facility-funded Philippines Climate
Change Adaptation Project that fo-
cuses on making agriculture and na-
tional resources management more
climate-resilient.
He said that the WB is also imple-
menting a Climate Change in Coastal
Areas Project with financing from a
Norwegian trust fund grant aimed at
assisting local communities in reduc-
ing vulnerabilities to climate change
impacts and strengthening disaster risk
management in coastal areas.
“Many of the country’s poor live
in environmentally fragile and hazard-
ous areas such as waterways, sea walls,
slopes, and low-lying areas, making
them vulnerable to natural disasters like
floods and typhoons,” said Hofman.
“We are committed to working with
the government and other sectors of
society including civil society and the
private sector in reducing people’s vul-
nerability to natural disasters as well as
strengthening the country’s resilience
to these calamities.”
Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng:
Post Disaster Needs Assessment
The PDNA said that for the next
three years, the Philippines
needs $4.42 billion for re-
construction and recovery
from damage and losses
caused by Typhoons Ondoy
and Pepeng.
The report states:
1. On a national scale, Ty-
phoons Ondoy and Pepeng
caused considerable dam-
age and losses, estimated to
amount to some $4.4 billion,
or 2.7 percent of GDP. This
is comparable in size with
similar flooding and typhoon
damages in other countries,
and sufficiently large to have
an impact on overall growth,
poverty, and the fiscal posi-
tion of the country, and af-
fected regions.
2. Nearly 95 percent of the dam-
age and losses was sustained by
the country’s productive and so-
cial sectors. This contrasts with
other disasters in the Philippines
and abroad in which destruction
of infrastructure is predominant.
The enterprise sector (industry,
commerce, and tourism) was par-
ticularly hit, with $2.34 billion
in damage and losses. The im-
pact was felt mostly by micro- to
medium-sized enterprises, which
normally have limited or no ac-
cess to credit.
3. Next are the agriculture sector
with $849.3 million in damage
and losses, and the housing sector
which sustained an unprecedent-
ed degree of damage and losses
amounting to $730.4 million. The
storms came just before harvest-
time and destroyed important irri-
gation systems. The floods affect-
ed many informal housing units
erected in flood-prone areas.
4. A large share of the damage and
Check LGUs disaster plans -- Chiz
SENATOR Francis 'Chiz' Escudero
is calling for an immediate audit of
all local government units (LGUs) to
determince their level of compliance
with the mandated disaster risk man-
agement plan as the onslaught of La
Nina continues to inflict damage on
different parts of the country.
Escudero, chairman of the Sen-
ate national defense committee, has
put to task the Department of the In-
terior and Local Government (DILG)
to check all LGUs if they have estab-
lished possible evacuation centers
and if they keep a map of the danger
and risk areas in their localities.
"The amount of water that
strange torrential rains bring to dif-
ferent parts of the country is al-
loss—more than 90 percent—fell
on the private sector. Public assets
were less affected, but indirect
losses, notably revenue losses,
remain considerable. Private sec-
tor losses were particularly large
in housing, agriculture and com-
merce.
5. The Philippines needs $4.42
billion for reconstruction and re-
covery from damage and losses
over three years. The PDNA esti-
mates that the public sector share
in implementing the recovery and
reconstruction program is estimat-
ed at 55 percent ($2.44 billion)
and the private sector 45 percent
($1.99 billion). Financing can
come from a variety of sources,
including domestic budget, local
government budgets, private sec-
tor contributions, and grants and
concessional financing from de-
velopment partners.
6. The financing needed is large,
but the cost of doing nothing
would be larger still. Given the
constraints of the flood manage-
ment system in Metro Manila and
the possibility of increased fre-
quency and intensity of typhoons
and floods, such costs are expect-
ed to rise unless efforts are made
to mitigate the effects of future
disasters, the report said.
7. Preventing disaster impacts in
the future requires attention to
the governance of Filipino devel-
opment in areas such as land use
planning, housing, water manage-
ment, environmental protection,
and disaster risk management.
8. There is the need for a transpar-
ent, accountable, and results-based
recovery and reconstruction pro-
gram that will monitor activities,
track funds, and evaluate projects
and programs and report these to
the public.
ready alarmingly dangerous. Rains
have been wreaking havoc even to
provinces that are usually spared
by typhoons," Escudero said in a
statement. "All localities must brace
themselves for any eventualities.
There must be no single local unit
caught unprepared anymore."
The senator reminded local of-
ficials that under Republic Act No.
10121 or the Disaster Management
Act of 2010, all LGUs were mandat-
ed to establish disaster management
offices and maintain local disaster
risk information such as danger and
risk areas.
Escudero said the last time a
report was submitted to him only 15
percent of the LGUs had complied
9. In implementing recovery and
reconstruction, these areas stand
out:
Enterprise sector: Helping the en-
terprise sector will require a mix
of financing mechanisms to help
small and medium-scale enter-
prises recover from damage and
losses.
Rural production: Immediate res-
toration of rural livelihood before
the end of the year to avoid loss of
production during the dry season
by rapidly repairing the damaged
irrigation systems and clear the
fields of accumulated gravel, silt,
and sand.
Flood management: Given its
vulnerability to flooding, protect-
ing Metro Manila requires insti-
tutional changes, comprehensive
planning, and investment in both
restoration and infrastructure for
effective flood management sys-
tem.
Housing: The vast majority of
damage to housing stock was con-
centrated in the informal sector,
so reconstruction means provid-
ing better alternatives for informal
settlers.
Disaster Risk Reduction: The ex-
isting disaster risk reduction sys-
tem needs to become more proac-
tive, coherent, and effective; and
Local Governance: LGUs should
have the key role in implementing
the recovery and reconstruction
program and future measures to
mitigate disaster risks.
10. The following are guiding
principles for recovery and recon-
struction. The purpose of these
principles is to enhance the effec-
tiveness of recovery and recon-
struction efforts, increase trans-
parency and accountability, and
ensure that resources are translat-
ed into results on the ground.
with the law.
"It may have changed already
because that was last year. If the au-
dit finds a 100-percent compliance,
that's good news and calming for us.
Otherwise, the DILG should prod
each single locality to institutionalize
the policies and programs on disaster
risk reduction than be sorry," Escu-
dero said.
The Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical and Astronomical Ser-
vices Administration (PAGASA)
warned that the country had already
entered the La Nina period last Oc-
tober which would continue until
May, bringing strong and frequent
storms that may trigger flashfloods
and landslides.