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UK’s Oxfam faces more pressure after new report of sex abuse by aid workers

LONDON — British aid organization Oxfam faced fresh pressure on Tuesday after a former senior member of staff said her concerns about “a culture of sexual abuse” involving aid workers in some of the organization’s offices had been ignored.

Helen Evans, who was in charge of investigating allegations against Oxfam staff members between 2012 and 2015, told Channel 4 television that abuse cases she had heard of included a woman who had been coerced to have sex in exchange for aid.

Another involved an assault on a teenage volunteer by a staff member in a charity shop in Britain, she said.

A survey of Oxfam staff in three countries including South Sudan showed around 10% of staff had been sexually assaulted and others had witnessed or experienced rape or attempted rape by colleagues, Ms. Evans said.

Ms. Evans, who headed a “safeguarding” section responsible for protecting staff and the people Oxfam works with, spoke of frustration that her calls for more support for her team were not taken seriously enough.

“I felt that our failure to adequately resource was putting people at risk,” she said in an interview broadcast by Channel 4 late on Monday. “I struggle to understand why they didn’t respond immediately to that call for additional resource.”

One of the best-known international NGOs, with aid programs running across the globe, Oxfam is under threat of losing its British government funding over the sexual misconduct allegations.

Asked about Ms. Evans’s allegations, Oxfam said her work had spurred the organization into taking concrete steps to improve the way it deals with “safeguarding” issues.

“We regret that we did not act on Helen’s concerns much quicker and with more resources,” the statement said.

“We have doubled the number of people to four in our dedicated safeguarding team and we are in the process of recruiting two extra staff.”

The deputy head of Oxfam resigned on Monday over what she said was the British charity’s failure to adequately respond to past allegations of sexual misconduct by some of its staff in Haiti and Chad.

The scandal is escalating into a broader crisis for Britain’s aid sector by bolstering critics in the ruling Conservative Party who have argued that the government should reduce spending on aid in favor of domestic priorities.

Aid minister Penny Mordaunt threatened on Sunday to withdraw government funding from Oxfam unless it gave the full facts about events in Haiti.

After meeting Oxfam officials on Monday, Ms. Mordaunt said she had written to all British charities working overseas to demand that “they step up and do more, so that we have absolute assurance that the moral leadership, the systems, the culture and the transparency that are needed.”

Britain’s Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry on Monday, saying it had concerns that Oxfam “may not have fully and frankly disclosed material details about the allegations at the time in 2011, its handling of the incidents since, and the impact that these have both had on public trust and confidence.” — Reuters

Beijing warns on trade tensions as it aims at US chemical

BEIJING — Trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies rose again on Tuesday as Beijing accused Washington of “excessive protectionism” after targeting imports of a key chemical from the US.

The administration of US President Donald J. Trump has brought a range of commerce cases against China, sparking fears of a trade war.

“China is concerned about the US’ serious trend towards trade protectionism in steel products,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, and “calls on the US to restrain itself from using trade restriction measures.”

More than half of the US’ protective tariffs are related to steel, it noted.

A director of the ministry’s trade remedy and investigation bureau Wang Hejun was quoted as saying that “repeated and excessive protectionism” often “brings about a vicious circle.”

The statement followed news late Monday that Beijing had taken aim at imports of a key chemical from the US.

The commerce ministry said it had found dumping of styrene imports from the US, Taiwan and South Korea, in an initial ruling during a continuing trade investigation into the chemical.

Dumping, or selling goods at unfairly low prices abroad, can undercut domestic markets at the expense of local industries.

“Mainland China’s styrene industry has suffered substantial harm,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that dumping was the cause of this.

The initial ruling called for importers to place anti-dumping deposits of five to 10.7% with China’s customs administration.

Those deposits will be applied to tariffs if the ministry decides in a final ruling to levy such duties.

Styrene is the building block of many plastics. It is used to make foam packaging and many disposable plastics.

Last year China imported 3.2 million tons of the chemical worth more than $4 billion from the US.

The measures come a month after the Trump administration slapped new tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels and washing machines.

Those tariffs followed a series of trade cases brought against China during Mr. Trump’s first year in office, which have rattled Beijing.

More are expected soon. The Trump administration has major decisions looming on Chinese aluminum, steel and intellectual property practices.

Analysts say Beijing is signaling it will take action in any tit-for-tat trade war.

Last week it launched an anti-dumping investigation into sorghum imports from the US, worth almost $1 billion last year.

That was a sliver of the $14 billion in US soybean imports, which a Chinese commerce ministry spokesman last week hinted could also be in Beijing’s crosshairs.

Soybeans are America’s largest export to China.

Washington says achieving a level playing field in trade is near the top of its agenda in Sino-US relations.

But in Mr. Trump’s first year as president the trade deficit swelled to a record high of $375.2 billion by the US’ counting. — AFP

British defense secretary says warship bound for South China Sea — media

SYDNEY — A British warship will sail through the South China Sea next month to assert freedom-of-navigation rights, British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said in remarks published on Tuesday.

British officials first flagged the voyage six months ago and the journey is likely to stoke tensions with China, who claim control of most of the area and have built military facilities on land features in the sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to the energy-rich sea that carries billion of dollars in trade.

The frigate HMS Sutherland will sail through the region after a visit to Australia, Mr. Williamson said in an interview with The Australian newspaper.

“She’ll be sailing through the South China Sea (on the way home) and making it clear our navy has a right to do that,” he said, according to the newspaper.

Mr. Williamson did not specify whether it would sail within 12 nautical miles of any disputed territory, according to the paper. Several US Navy ships have made their own freedom-of-navigation journeys that drew stern rebukes from Beijing.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was aware of the comments.

“All countries in accordance with international law enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. There is no disagreement on this,” Mr. Geng said.

“The situation on the South China Sea is also improving with each day. We hope all relevant sides especially those outside the region can respect the efforts made by regional countries,” he added.

“Like I said last week, currently the South China Sea is calm and tranquil and we hope relevant sides don’t try to create trouble out of nothing.”

In the interview, Mr. Williamson also encouraged Australia to “do more” in a region where it has conducted surveillance flights, but not freedom-of-navigation voyages of its own.

“The US is looking for other countries to do more. This is a great opportunity for the UK and Australia to do more, to exercise leadership,” he said.

China’s construction of islands and military facilities in the South China Sea has prompted international condemnation, amid concern Beijing is seeking to restrict free movement and extend its strategic reach.

The Association of South East Asian Nations is hoping to expedite negotiations with China on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, Singapore’s defense minister said last week.

However, the initial talks have failed to reach a consensus on making the code binding which has already raised concerns as to its effectiveness. — Reuters

Assange in new bid to cancel British arrest warrant

LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will on Tuesday find out whether the British arrest warrant hanging over him is to be canceled, potentially paving the way for him to leave Ecuador’s London embassy.

Mr. Assange has been holed up in the embassy since 2012, dodging a European arrest warrant and extradition to Sweden over a 2010 probe into rape and sexual assault allegations against him.

Sweden dropped its investigation last year.

But British police are still seeking to arrest him for failing to surrender to a court after violating his bail terms during his unsuccessful battle against extradition.

Mr. Assange’s legal team has asked a British court to cancel the warrant, but a judge last week dismissed his claims that the document was rendered null-and-void because there was no longer any underlying crime.

“I’m not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn,” Judge Emma Arbuthnot told a court in London, explaining that Mr. Assange had breached his bail conditions in 2012.

But she said she would rule on Tuesday on another application from Mr. Assange’s lawyers asking her to consider whether it would be in the “public interest” to keep the warrant in place.

The former hacker fears that arrest by British authorities could lead to him being extradited to the US over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret US military documents and diplomatic cables in 2010. — AFP

New releases by Nissan, Ford show diversity in mobility’s future

By Brian M. Afuang

TWO mobility-related presentations held last week — the first in Singapore and the next was in Bangkok, Thailand — bared developments soon to impact car users in Southeast Asia, as well as in most parts of the world. Interestingly, the two cars spotlighted during the presentations were as markedly different as they could be.

One is a model that presently has to hurdle several obstacles in order for it to enter the Philippines; the other is a product that, chances are, will land on local showrooms before the year is through. One speaks of future technologies and the effect these may likely have on societies’ mobility; the other is a machine you can stunt-jump if so desired. One is about insights; the other is wrapped around the idea of driving fun.

Nissan on Feb. 6-7 held in Singapore a series of presentations and dialogues on electric-powered and autonomous-driving vehicles, with its Leaf EV serving as a humming, rolling argument for electrification and the platform it would provide for Nissan’s future driverless technologies. The car maker also brought the Leaf and Note e-Power, a hybrid-powered model, to a test track specifically built for autonomous driving vehicles at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Getting to drive the cars on the track put a real-world perspective on the concepts forwarded during the discussions.

Over in Bangkok, Ford on Feb. 7 revealed the first Raptor version of its Ranger pickup. The car maker put a huge box amid a sprawling parking lot to display the mechanical bits of the new pickup, as well as to house a virtual monster truck arena in which the Ranger Raptor was launched. Though based on the current Ranger pickup, the Raptor is a much more evolved high-performance version that’s practically a set of decals and a roll cage away from desert rally racing. Well, Ford did jump the truck a couple of times to allow a glimpse of what it can do.

Significantly, despite the difference between the concepts underlying Nissan’s and Ford’s products, neither car could be considered as more “important” than the other — everything is relative. Nissan could have brought out its high-performance Nismo offerings, headlined by its legendary GT-R, while Ford could have discussed its $11-billion initiative to bring 40 EV and hybrid models to market by 2022, or its own autonomous-driving projects that involve partnerships with both mass transport and Silicon Valley companies, and the tone taken by either company during its presentations would have suitably switched.

What is clear, then, is that in either case, what was proposed is that technology will allow — and have allowed cars, in whatever shape or form they may take — to become more efficient, relevant and enjoyable. There is diversity in the future of mobility.

For Nissan, the future means driverless cars

AT the start of the Nissan Futures program on Feb. 6, in Singapore, Nissan announced it would introduce the second-generation Leaf EV — unveiled in October 2017 in Japan — to seven Asia-Pacific economies, namely Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. This move is significant; Nissan brought out the original Leaf in 2010, selling more than 300,000 of this all-electric car since then (the figures represent the most garnered by any EV ever). But the deliveries were confined largely to the US, Japan, Canada and parts of Europe, a stark contrast to the car maker’s plans for the second-generation model.

Yutaka Sanada, Nissan’s regional senior vice-president, said the car maker is “working to bring the new [Leaf]… to as many markets as possible,” and that the prospect of launching the model in Indonesia and the Philippines is also being “explored.” Nissan is “studying demand” for its all electric model in two of Southeast Asia’s largest vehicle markets, according to the executive.

To generate demand, Nissan said other factors need to be considered before the Leaf can enter the Philippines — or any Southeast Asian market, for that matter. And the majority of these factors can be gleaned in the results of a Nissan-commissioned Frost & Sullivan study regarding Southeast Asians’ awareness on EVs.

According to the survey, respondents in the region said they expect their respective governments to promote EV use by dangling incentives like designating special lanes and parking spaces, and cutting taxes on EVs. But more than government incentives, most respondents voiced concerns over the safety of an EV’s battery, as well as access to charging ports at home and in the workplace, and the speed at which EV batteries can be charged, as weightier considerations in buying an EV.

Interestingly, the study found the largest percentage of respondents in the region who would consider buying an EV comes from the Philippines — 46%, as opposed to the Southeast Asia average of 37%. Also, respondents from the Philippines were the most concerned regarding the source of the electricity that charges an EV’s battery.

Apart from the full exemption from the newly imposed excise taxes now enjoyed by all-electric cars in the Philippines, what could also create a convincing business case for the Leaf to enter the country — enough actual demand to make it worthwhile for Nissan to bring the car in — is the installation of a charging network. Mr. Sanada said Nissan can “explore [putting up] charging stations in [its] dealerships” if the demand is present.

For his part, Rommel T. Juan, president of the Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines, who served as a panelist in the Nissan Futures discussions, guaranteed; “Once the [EV] car is there, charging stations will be there, too. It doesn’t have to be a race for which should get there first.”

BEYOND ELECTRIFICATION
The more important role for the Leaf, however, is not merely to spearhead Nissan’s thrust into mainstream EV use, but also to prop the brand’s autonomous driving technologies, all of which based on electric-powered mobility. Nissan Futures’ theme, after all, revolved around “electrification and beyond.”

Nissan Leaf 2
The new Nissan Leaf, launched in October 2017 in Japan, is expected to hold its position as the best-selling all-electric car in the world. Aptly, the model takes the center stage at the Nissan Futures presentation held on Feb. 6-7 in Singapore. — BRIAN M. AFUANG

The Leaf, said Nissan, is the “icon” of its Intelligent Mobility program, which studies the changing ways at “how cars are powered, driven and integrated into society.” Put another way, the program involves developing EVs that can evolve into autonomous driving cars capable of communicating with their occupants, other vehicles on the road, and the infrastructure surrounding them.

Nissan has already made strides in its development of self-driving technologies, equipping some of its cars with systems like autonomous single-lane driving and automatic parking. The car maker early last year tapped the services of NASA for its Seamless Autonomous Mobility feature, which relies chiefly on Artificial Intelligence so that self-driving cars can better handle unpredictable situations. In December 2017 it announced plans of testing, beginning in March, a driverless “robot taxi” service — considered by auto companies as a key area for the technology — on the streets of Yokohama, Japan. At this year’s edition of CES, an annual exhibit of the newest consumer technologies that has become the latest venue for car makers in which to showcase their wares, Nissan demonstrated its brain-to-vehicle system that, essentially, lets the car interpret its driver’s brain signals. And Nissan has declared its intention to put on public roads fully autonomous driving cars by 2022.

But such projections, according to Niels de Boer, program director at Nanyang Technological University’s Center of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous Vehicles, and also a panelist in the Nissan Futures discussions, are “very aggressive, very bold.” Forecasting fully autonomous driving cars may be available for mainstream use only around 2050, Mr. De Boer, however, qualified that targets set by car makers mean only field-testing the technology on a limited scale.

“[One must] ask ‘what do you really mean by autonomous driving?’” he said, noting that existing technologies found in cars today, like smart cruise control and self-parking, can already qualify them to be labeled as autonomous-driving.

Sharing Mr. De Boer’s view were fellow conference speakers Kazuhiro Doi and Ogi Redzic.

“‘Autonomous’ have many meanings, different applications… with the primary consideration being safety,” said Mr. Doi, global director at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. For his part, Mr. Redzic, senior vice-president for connected vehicles and mobility services at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, maintained autonomous vehicles are in “commercial use already… based on some definitions of ‘connected’ and ‘autonomous.’”

In which case, the future is now. — BMA

What would make you buy an electric vehicle?

As I sat through a presentation at last week’s “Nissan Futures” symposium in Singapore, my thoughts raced back to 1886, when German automotive engineer Karl Benz officially introduced to the world his Patent Motorwagen, widely considered to be the very first production car. Speaking in front of me was Vivek Vaidya, the senior vice-president for mobility at the market research firm Frost & Sullivan.

You see, Vaidya’s company had been commissioned by Japanese automaker Nissan to conduct a study on “the future of electric vehicles in Southeast Asia.” A total of 1,800 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam had been surveyed, the main objective being to find out if they were ready to consider getting an electric vehicle for their next car.

To be clear, Nissan had two goals here: First, it wanted to know how big the present EV market in the region already is; second, it wanted to be seen as the car company spearheading the EV revolution, particularly in Asia.

The result? The survey found 37% of all respondents to be open to EVs, with the Philippines topping the six-nation group at 46%. Granted that these figures may mean little on the showroom floor — willingness doesn’t necessarily mean readiness — it’s still a big leap forward for EV advocates including Nissan, whose Leaf is currently the most popular (and most accessible) full-electric model on the planet.

Still, it’s a long way to go before we see 100% acceptance of electric vehicles among car users. Remember, we’re only talking here of “openness” — or the psychological possibility that one might consider owning an EV. Actually forking over cold cash to purchase one is another matter altogether. That only one in three motorists in Southeast Asia is willing to give EVs a try says a lot about the challenge of convincing people to abandon their gas-guzzling cars.

And this reminded me of Mr. Benz. Imagine him touring Germany as he tried to persuade his countrymen that the horseless carriage was the way to go — that it was in everyone’s best interest to ditch the stallion-drawn wagon. Think about the work he had to do before he had a breakthrough.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We have our comfort zones and regular routines. And we’re always wary of the unknown. Right now, our cars with internal-combustion engines are our comfort zone, and EVs are the great unknown. I’m willing to bet that less than a third of this newspaper’s readers are now prepared to entertain the prospect of EV ownership.

If you’re among those who are not yet ready to cross over to electric cars, allow me to ask you this question: What would it take you to finally accept fully electric vehicles?

My own answers to that question are simple: rising fuel costs and worsening air pollution. Cliché, I know. But those are the two major selling points of EVs. We can no longer ignore these two critical factors. If we don’t make the switch now, future generations won’t stand a chance.

Of course, there’s the matter of pricing. EVs are still much more expensive to produce compared to their conventionally powered counterparts. But that’s what Nissan and other car companies — present-day Karl Benzes all — are here for. They are working overtime to make electric cars more affordable and more practical.

In the meantime, our job is to keep an open mind. Electrified motoring is upon us. Let’s not douse the idea with gasoline.

Built Ford Tough is fun, fast

THE new Ford Ranger Raptor, launched on Feb. 7 in Thailand — the second-biggest pickup truck market in the world, after the US — counts a Baja mode among its many drive settings for on-road and off-road use. When switched to Baja, the truck’s traction control and some other electronic nannies scale back their grip on the mechanical bits, and the automatic transmission will hold a gear longer, as well as downshift more enthusiastically. Baja mode, Ford said, tunes the Ranger Raptor for “high-speed off-road performance, just like drivers need in the famous Baja Desert Rally.”

Certainly, what the car maker was referencing is the Baja 1000 (and its slightly varied renditions). First run as an organized event in 1967, the race that takes place in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula desert has drawn names like Bruce Meyer (plus his seminal Manx dune buggy) and James Garner, Parnelli Jones and Robby Gordon, Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins — the first to do an officially timed run, aboard a motorcycle, in 1962, on the Baja course. Paul Newman raced in Baja.

And then there are the cars. Besides motorcycles, quad bikes and dune buggies, Baja is also conquered these days by serious rally machines, as well as by classic VW Beetles. But the baddest of them all are the trophy trucks — the top guns among off-road racing vehicles.

Ford trucks boast their own place in the Baja lore, with legendary racer Rod Hall clinching the 1969 title aboard a Bronco. F-Series pickups of various vintages, including trophy trucks, have taken on Baja as well. In 2016, a nearly-stock F-Series-based Raptor finished the race, while the overall winner was a trophy truck Ford.

Against this backdrop the Ranger Raptor was born. And so Ford’s latest truck packs some serious hardware (along with the requisite software), chief among which is a beefed-up chassis meant to take on the punishment of high-velocity travel over nasty terrain. For starters, the frame now allows for stouter suspension pieces that increase both wheel travel — great over bumps and ruts — and track (good for stability). Residing at the frame’s rear is a new coil-over set and a Watt’s link to better manage the lateral movements of a solid rear axle. Up in front, the shock absorber towers have been bolstered.

Ford Ranger Raptor 2

Raising the chassis’s performance further are Position Sensitive Damping shock absorbers made by Fox Racing, which Ford said are tuned for control and comfort over pavement or rough terrain. Holding the shocks in place are aluminum upper and lower arms.

Supporting the Ranger Raptor’s suspension bits are 17-inch wheels wrapped with all-terrain BF Goodrich 285/70 tires that were specifically developed for the truck. Braking, meanwhile, has been improved by larger twin-piston calipers and ventilated rotors all around.

The Ranger Raptor is propelled by a small but high-output engine — Ford’s new 2.0-liter diesel mill that, thanks to a pair of turbochargers, expels 210 hp and 500 Nm of torque. Harnessing the engine’s power is a 10-speed automatic transmission shared by the Ranger Raptor with the F-150 Raptor. A full range of electronic driver-assist systems, traction and stability governors, and convenience features guarantee the Raptor is smart, posh and safe.

This truck looks awesome, too. Taking off from the Ranger’s already appealing sheet metal, the Ranger Raptor is markedly more muscular as it sprouted wider fenders, composite wheel arches, a more imposing grille and bumpers, snarky head lamps, off-road-specific side step boards, and numerous other pieces. The truck’s cabin has been upgraded as well by way of, among others, more supportive suede-covered seats and a steering wheel adorned by an on-center red-stripe marking. Clearly, the Ranger Raptor is not a body kit-and-decals job — one cannot retrofit a Ranger to turn it into a Raptor.

But, given there is already an F-150 Raptor, why did Ford create the Ranger Raptor?

Ford Ranger Raptor 3

Peter Fleet, Ford’s concurrent group vice-president and president in Asia Pacific, said the move is “all about creating excitement for the brand,” as well as to “showcase the capabilities of our Ford Performance division.”

Another reason, however, is that the Ranger was designed and had been intended for markets outside North America — Asia Pacific ranks high among its target audiences. During the Ranger Raptor’s Bangkok reveal, Ford announced its deliveries of the Ranger across Asia Pacific in 2017 spiked 22%, representing more than 134,000 trucks, with record sales logged in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

So where the F-Series trucks — and the F-150 Raptor — are meant for North America, the Raptor version of the Ranger, which is going to be built in Thailand, and which to date has not been committed to a US release, is clearly aimed at Asia Pacific.

Baja can exist elsewhere. — BMA

(The Ford Ranger Raptor is expected to be sold in Thailand starting the third quarter of the year, with releases to other markets, including the Philippines, to follow soon after. No price has been announced for the new truck.)

DBM: New law needed to scrap lowest-bidder rule

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT can at best amend implementing rules to fast-track public bidding in response to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s call to scrap the practice of awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, the Budget secretary said.

Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said scrapping the bidding process for public works projects would need Congressional action, as procurement law specifically requires awarding projects to the lowest bidder.

Mr. Duterte has said that he wants all projects of the Philippines will be “something like a Swiss challenge,” which was his preferred route to eliminate corruption in the bidding process.

A Swiss challenge means the government will accept competing bids from other parties who can present a better deal compared to the original proposal, with the proponent later on entitled to make another offer.

“The concept of a Swiss challenge applies to unsolicited proposals… I think it does not apply to all projects,” Mr. Diokno told reporters in a chance interview. “That’s under the law, you have to amend the law if you want that.”

“We can change the implementing rules and regulations. It’s hard to push legislation, we’re not sure what will come out of Congress,” the Cabinet official added.

Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act awards contracts to the “lowest calculated responsive bid” received from suppliers and developers.

For now, Mr. Diokno said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has drafted a system to categorize supplies for procurement as “low-cost, medium, and high-cost,” as they seek to provide some leeway for government agencies.

The Philippines likely missed the 3% deficit ceiling in 2017, Mr. Diokno added, with a surge in revenue partially offsetting the impact of increased government spending.

Mr. Diokno said the budget gap may have settled at “slightly below 3%” of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, ahead of the release of full-year figures.

This comes as underspending was reduced to “less than 2%,” lower than the 3.6% rate in 2016.

Preliminary figures from the Department of Finance released last month pegged the full-year fiscal gap at 2.6-2.8% of GDP, while economic growth came in at 6.7%.

This year, the government has programmed a 3% budget deficit, which is expected to allow GDP growth to come in at between 7-8%.

Chinese, US investors looking at Mindanao solar, hydro investments

By Carmelito Q. Francisco,
Correspondent

DAVAO CITY — Renewable energy projects, particularly the manufacture of solar panels and the development of hydroelectric plants, are among the opportunities that foreign investors are looking into, the Mindanao business lobby said.

Arturo M. Milan, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., said Chinese businessmen visiting the city in March have raised the possibility of investing in solar panel production and putting up hydroelectric plants.

“(Renewable) energy development is among the key areas that not only the Chinese are interested in,” Mr. Milan told BusinessWorld Monday on the sidelines of a media forum.

He added that members of a delegation from Hawaii who were in the city last week also wanted to explore the potential of the green power sector.

Last week, a business and government delegation from Kauai in Hawaii were in the city to sign a sister city agreement with the Davao local government.

Renewable energy is listed as one of the priority investment areas of the city government, with incentives such as tax holidays offered to investors.

Mr. Milan, however, said that government should look at how the investment climate in energy can still be enhanced, such as bringing incentives down to the household level.

“We need to look at how we can encourage homes to use solar panels instead of relying on electricity from their distributors,” Mr. Milan said.

Under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, consumers who use solar panels should be able to avail of net metering, under which they are compensated for the excess electricity that their panels feed into the grid.

Another area of investment that foreigners want to explore, Mr. Milan said, is agricultural production and processing.

Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr., in his speech during the sister city signing event, said businessmen from his country are keen to invest in cacao and coffee, two commodities which are being pushed by Davao City and other local government units within the Davao Region.

The Chinese visitors, on the other hand, want agribusiness areas “where everything can be put in place.”

Mr. Milan explained that this means a site, such as economic zone, where it is possible to set up growing areas as well as processing facilities.

The Chinese delegation will consist of about 70 investors who will be making a push for China’s One Belt, One Road program.

Mr. Milan said the group will charter a flight from Shanghai using an airline that is considering regular direct flights to and from Davao.

In September 2016, Xiamen Airlines conducted a test flight from Xiamen to the city with about 80 passengers using a Boeing 737 aircraft.

City Tourism Operations Office data show that 9,231 Chinese tourists visited the city last year. The top foreign visitors were from the US with 20,779 and Japan with 12,510.

Ford vows to boost customer service

By Kap Maceda Aguila

ON the heels of 8.7% sales growth in 2017, Ford Company Philippines, Inc. cornered 8.6% of total vehicle sales with 36,623 units moved — good for third place behind Toyota Motor Philippines and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. Ford executives were in Manila on Feb. 5, disclosing that the Asia Pacific-wide growth was driven by the firm’s so-called “big three” nameplates: the Ranger pickup and the Ecosport and Everest SUVs.

But even as the Dearborn, Michigan-headquartered global auto brand revels in its 2017 success, Ford Asia Pacific president Peter Fleet conveyed cognizance of the work that needs to be done to further drive positive performance. He said the company needs to “strengthen customer service capability across the region… lessen cost of ownership, while increasing transparency in pricing.” The executive promises that Ford will “respond to customer complaints in a faster manner.”

Meanwhile, Ford ASEAN President Yukontorn Vickie Wisadkosin reported that the Southeast Asian market registered a “very strong year” for Ford — with Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam leading in sales performance. The Ranger pickup proved the “biggest contributor,” while the Everest is “doing very well in the Philippines.” The Ranger is once again expected to sell, particularly with the introduction of a new power train and the new Raptor variant.

Said Ms. Wisadkosin; “The Ranger is doing very well for us in ASEAN, and also had record sales for us in Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam — including Myanmar and Cambodia as well. Another major product for us is the Everest which has been doing very well here in the Philippines. It has also contributed to a strong 2017 for us.”

Ford Philippines has a strong retail channel, acknowledged Mr. Fleet, and promised to push through this “a range of exciting utility and performance vehicles.”

STRONG JANUARY START
Ford Philippines defied expectations of weaker demand owing to the implementation of the new excise tax, which generally jacked car prices up at the outset of 2018.

“(While 2017 was) a pretty good year, this is, in fact the fifth consecutive year of sales growth and record sales… What is interesting is that we continued that trend in momentum in January,” shared Ford Philippines Managing Director Bertrand Lessard. “If you recall, by the end of December, there was this race against the excise tax [implementation]. We were fearing that in the month of January, we [would be] slowing down because of that. It didn’t happen because we had another record sales in [that] month. We finished with 2,737 units — the best January ever for the Philippines.”

NO ESCAPE IN SIGHT
Ford Philippines will put passenger cars like Focus and Fiesta on the back burner for the meantime, as consumers have shown a continued predilection for SUV. “We want to focus attention on the fastest-growing segment, the SUV. It’s where the market is growing,” revealed Mr. Lessard. Still, there are no immediate plans to push Ford’s previously popular Escape product.

“At this point we’re already covering the whole scope with what we have now,” he maintained. “The Kuga [or Escape] is covering almost the same thing as the Everest.”

Aside from the Ranger Raptor, Ford is slating the 2018 release of the Ecosport [during the first half], the Ranger and Everest with enhanced power trains, the Explorer, an aluminum-body Expedition, and a Mustang convertible.

CUSTOMER SERVICE PROMISE
Mr. Lessard explained that the customer service and ownership thrusts began last year, and a report on results will be presented the end of the first quarter of 2018. “We’ll come back to you with the final program that says we’re going to reduce the customer dealership or cost of ownership significantly but we will do that with the dealer.” He hinted that they are “progressing very well.”

One of the end goals of Ford in the region is to have “the same consistent experience from showroom to showroom,” concluded Mr. Fleet.

Government to fund 78% of infrastructure program with internal funds — NEDA

THE GOVERNMENT will finance with budget appropriations about 78% or P7.096 trillion of its ambitious infrastructure program, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said, signalling confidence in the economy’s prospects and capacity to pay with tax reform shoring up the state’s fiscal position.

In   statement, NEDA said the P9.04 trillion the national government hopes to spend over six years excludes infrastructure projects to be undertaken purely by local government units (LGUs), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), the private sector and other sources.

In the statement, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the financing plan was firmed up after the NEDA Board’s Committee on Infrastructure (INFRACOM)-Cabinet Committee met on Feb. 7. The committee was chaired by Mr. Pernia and co-chaired by the secretary of Public Works and Highways with representatives from the Office of the President and the Departments of Transportation, Budget and Management, Finance, Trade and Industry, Energy, Agriculture, Tourism, and Information and Communications Technology.

INFRACOM made headway “in improving connectivity and promoting economic clusters in regional and sub-regional growth centers. This is consistent with the country’s National Spatial Strategy,” Mr. Pernia said.

The committee also approved its provisional work plan for 2018, the proposed draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the National Transport Policy, and the guidelines for the utilization of the Project Development and Other Related Studies Fund for the conduct of feasibility studies, master plan formulations, analyses and other pre-investment activities, Mr. Pernia said.

In the statement, NEDA said regions outside Metro Manila are receiving a “big share” of infrastructure programs, noting that of the 4,985 infrastructure programs in the government program between 2017 and 2022, 3,911 projects, excluding the National Capital Region (NCR), are region-specific, while 98 are intra-regional.

“If you look at the data, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the highest number of projects. This dispels the notion that government projects are centered in Mega Manila,” Mr. Pernia said.

From 2017 to 2022, ARMM will get a total of 1,340 projects while Metro Manila will have 320 projects, he said.

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