The Manila Times An update on the economy 2


010 has been one of the best years for the economy in the


past two decades. The economy posted its best growth of 7.9 per- cent in the first half of 2001. It is the highest growth rate in 22 years. In terms of GNP, which is do- mestic economic output plus in- come from abroad, growth rate was even higher, at 8.2 percent, in the first half. This GNP rate is the highest in 40 years. Third quarter GNP growth was 7.5 per- cent. We thank our overseas Fili- pino expatriates for that. Their remittances rose 6.5 percent in the third quarter.


Also, in the third quarter,


growth continued, with GDP rate of 6.5 percent. NEDA says the economy benefitted from the sus- tained positive business senti- ment, bullish expectations of eco- nomic agents, and faster recovery


of East Asia compared with other regions. All sectors posted posi- tive growth, except for agriculture and fishery. The growth rates of 7.9 percent in the first half and 6.5 percent in the third quarter are remark- able against the backdrop of the past decade. In the 10 years from 2000 to 2009, GDP growth aver- aged 4.6 percent, a rate of growth lower than most of the Philip- pines’ Asian neighbors. Not surprisingly, the Philip- pine credit rating has been up- graded, though at level still a notch below junk. In 2009, with a GDP growth rate of 1.1 percent, the Philip- pines was ranked 84th in eco- nomic growth, according to the IMF. No problem there. No. 1 was Afghanistan, with 22.54 percent growth rate, No. 2 Timor Leste,


TONY LOPEZ


with 11.6 percent, and No. 3 Ethiopia with 9.49 percent. I am sure you wouldn’t want to live in those fast-growing economies. Still, there are worries about the Philippine economy. In the third quarter of 2010, palay production went down by a huge 24.8 per- cent. So did corn and livestock, by 2.4 percent and 1.0 percent, re- spectively. Blame global warming. Mining was also slower.


Industry grew at 9.2 percent, but at a rate slower than in previ-


ous quarters. Manufacturing and construction, however, were growth pacesetters, with 9.3 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively. Also keeping up is consumer spending or personal consump- tion expenditure—which was up 4.2 percent in the third quarter. Spending on food was up by 4.4 percent; on fuel, light and water by 8.1 percent, on beverages by 8.1 percent, and on household maintenance by 3.1 percent. Exports have recovered and are


up by 29.9 percent, paced by semiconductors whose exports were up by 95.1 percent, finished electrical machinery by 48.3 per- cent, crude coconut oil by 22.8 percent, refined copper by 38.8 percent, and other manufactured products by 76.3 percent. Against its competitors in Asia, the Philippines is not growing that


Internet piracy bill in the works


OVES are being made to in- troduce the Anti-Internet Piracy Bill in the 15th congress, as a first step to amend the coun- try’s Intellectual Property Code. In recent weeks in Europe, ar-


M


rests have been made during raids against Internet piracy. At least twelve European countries, in- cluding England, Germany and France have cooperated to neu- tralize about 48 servers distribut- ing the illegal material online. “The challenge to protect intel- lectual property have changed with rapid advances in technol- ogy and the quick transfer— whether legal or illegal—of infor- mation and software through the Internet. There is now a need for us to amend our Intellectual Property Code [IPC] to handle the occurrences of copyright in- fringement through the Internet,” says Sen. Edgardo Angara, au- thor of the amendment to the IPC or Senate Bill 880 in the 14th Congress.


This bill seeks to integrate comprehensive and efficient strategies to respond to the up- surge of Internet piracy. It also seeks to give recognition to the rights of authors of artistic and


RANDOM JOTTINGS


literally works, by acknowledging their right to control or be com- pensated for the use of their works, as well as the rights to dis- tribution and rental.


Angara, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, clarifies the need for technologically-savvy legislation. “In an increasingly global arena, nothing less than a global effort will ensure the effective pro- tection and development of intel- lectual property. Our overall aim is to provide an Internet environ- ment where it is safe to distribute and license protected material. “If done properly, these amend-


ments would safeguard the de- velopment of Philippine digital arts. Moreover, we would be able to use the World Wide Web as a platform to share our nation’s world-class talent while protect-


ing our artists’ intellectual rights,” Angara explained.


Speaking on another front, the


hard working Senator also dis- closed that he will propose the development and implementa- tion of an electric jeepney pro- gram that could lessen the coun- try’s dependence on imported fuel sources and simultaneously lower the nation’s carbon footprint. Noted Angara: “We import roughly 96 percent of our petro- leum, the majority of which is consumed by the growing trans- port sector. This same sector ac- counts for the biggest share of the energy use, nearing 40 percent. “It has long been one of the goals of the government to be- come energy independent. I be- lieve that this can be achieved by promoting innovative projects that can reduce our foreign de- pendence on fuel and at the same time create a less-polluted, envi- ronmentally friendly cities.” An ADB study showed that Metro Manila ranks high among the megacities of Asia that have air quality problems, with a level of suspended particulate matter (SPM) that is more than double the standard of the World Health


Organization. The DENR has also identified that 70 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila is from motor vehicles, highlight- ing the need for a cleaner mode of transport.


The Congressional Commis- sion on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) has studied many programs that could help in addressing the en- ergy and environmental issues of the transport sector. A specific target was the public utility jeepney, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of the public transport of Metro Manila. Angara also noted that the use of electric jeepneys should not be limited to large cities, as their low carbon footprint would be beneficial in provinces and tour- ist areas.


COMSTE has already submit- ted a proposal that would intro- duce the electric jeepney as the foremost mode of tourist trans- port around the province of Au- rora. This initial undertaking will provide a blueprint for similar projects that could be easily rep- licated in other countries.


rjottings@yahoo.com


AGAINST GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION Patents, politics and personalized medicines


BY BIENVENIDO “NONOY” OPLAS


DISEASES evolve, patients’ expectation of getting cured evolve, and so treatments and medicines also evolve. Nothing is stagnant, everyone


and everything keep changing, from disease virus and bacteria to physicians and patients. The issue of patents on newly-


developed medicines by big multina- tional pharmaceutical companies remains a ticklish and emotional issue up to this day. Certain groups simply think that developing new medicines which they expect to be effective disease killer and safe at the same time only cost a few thousand or a few million dollars. Thus, these should be sold as cheaply as possible. Or if the drug inventors will resist, governments should confiscate their invention and make it “others’ invention” as well so that those who did not spend a fortune on expensive R&D can manufacture those drugs as cheaply as possible. Here in the Philippines, despite


the provision in the Cheaper Medicines Law (RA 9502) that allows the government to confiscate the patent of certain important drugs via compulsory licensing (CL), there is little or no reason to rush its implementation. Not because the


Thank God peace talks resume but . . .


ALL Filipinos and all who want our country to prosper should thank God that the peace talks with the Communists and their allies will soon resume. My “but” is the media’s treatment of the arrival of the ex-priest Mr. Jalandoni and the ex-nun Mrs. Jalan- doni. They were made to look if they were great and honored benefactors of the Filipino people instead of the destroyer of their economy and their chance to develop and prosper. Yes, it’s news that these emis-


Send comments to opinion@manilatimes.net or write to the Opinion Editor, The Manila Times, 2/F Dante Ang and Associates Building, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002


saries of Jose Ma Sison are in town to sit down and negotiate. But shouldn’t media reserve the frontpage and large headlines for arrivals of VIPs who have done good to the people?


RUBEN V. CALIP rubenvcalip@yahoo.com Trece Martires, Cavite


Our President’s sense of justice


❋ ❋ ❋


OVER 120,000 have died be- cause of the decades long insur- gency. In this renewed effort for peace with the New People’s Army, JUSTICE for all the peo- ple killed by them and because


Philippine government and its politicians suddenly realize the negative long-term effects of heavy intervention like drug price control and confiscation of patents of costly drugs R&D. But because there are very few patented drugs now in the market, and the patent life of the few patented ones that are left is short already. What we have now is the


mushrooming of many generic manufacturers and traders in the Philippines and other developing countries. And all of these compa- nies are beneficiaries of previously patented drug molecules whose efficacy and safety were discovered by the innovator companies. Still there are global moves to kill


drug patents as often as possible. The operative slogans are “patient over patent” and “people over profit,” as if there is inherent contradiction between the two, and as if there is no contradiction between unproductive bureaucra- cies and the public. Given this reality of constant political threats, innovator drug companies have various options. One is to quit being a drug innovator and become an average generic manufacturer, or move to inventing new shampoo, new skin whiteners, new breast enlargers and other


personal care products that are not subject to politics and envy. Two is to continue drug innova- tion, but limit the sale of newly patented and more revolutionary drugs to countries that respect private property rights. Patients from the Philippines and other developing countries that are likely to declare price control or CL will not have access to such drugs, they will have to buy those from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, US and other countries that respect private property rights. And three, continue innovation for personalized medicines. The latter is a new approach utilizing biomarkers to evaluate compounds in the drug discovery process for various patients. The new develop- ment is that all of the biopharmaceutical research companies that were surveyed in the US by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts University, are now investing in personalized medicines. See their press release here. The implication here is that in the


treatment of a particular disease, say prostate cancer or hypertension, there will be many new medicines that will be developed that are tailored to certain patients and which will not be applicable to other


patients suffering from the same disease. Thus, for every 1,000 patients who suffer hypertension, there will not be one or two or five different drugs against hypertension, but probably 30 to 50 different drugs. If there are 30 to 50 newly


patented, newly developed drugs against hypertension alone, and there are 30 to 50 newly patented drugs against prostate cancer alone, which of them will be issued price control or CL by an intervention-itchy govern- ment? The top five most popular drugs, or top 10, or all of them? As political intervention evolve, health innovation also evolve. And pretty soon, governments will only succeed in discouraging medicine innovation for new diseases that afflict the poor. To prevent this from happening,


governments should rein in their itchiness for endless intervention. And more innovator companies will sprout, to cater to various patients with various health needs and various and buying capacities. And public health will be served better.


Nonoy Oplas heads a free market think tank in Manila, Minimal Government Thinkers Inc. He blogs on health, climate, taxes, trade, politics and many other topics at http:// funwithgovernment.blogspot.com


of them is an issue that the ad- ministration seems to be ac- tively ignoring. Our country- men have been butchered all over the place, and our Presi- dent is having amiable talks with the butchers. I ask now, our President, where is your sense of justice? Weren’t you the one who said “there can be no reconciliation without justice”? What hap- pened to that man?


Joshua Lipana


joshualipana@yahoo.com Metro Manila


fast. It is average. In the third quar- ter, Singapore GDP grew 10.6 per- cent, China 10.6 percent, Taiwan 9.8 percent, Vietnam 7.2 percent, Hong Kong 6.8 percent, and Thai- land 6.7 percent. Our GDP growth of 7.5 percent exceeded only by those of Malaysia’s 5.3 percent and Indonesia’s 5.8 percent. Additionally, our neighbors are attracting more investments— and tourists—than we do. That we are growing modestly and having low levels of investments is blamed on our lack of com- petitiveness. Among 135 coun- tries, we ranked very low, 85th, according to the World Eco- nomic Forum’s Global Competi- tiveness Report.


There are many difficult chal-


lenges. Unemployment is among the highest in Asia. A third of employment is in agriculture but


this sector contributes no more than 20 percent of total na- tional output. The world economy remains in precarious condition. Fiscal po- sition needs a lot of improve- ment. Oil prices have started climbing back to $100 a barrel. These three factors threaten to make inflation rates rise. To address these problems, Eco- nomic Planning Secretary Caye- tano Paderanga says the Aquino administration has drawn up a strategy called “A Social Contract with the Filipino People,” focus- ing on three broad directions: attaining high and sustained economic growth, equalizing access to development opportu- nities, and effective social safety nets for the poor.


Bna.biznewsasia@gmail.com


»news analysis Guarded hope at UN climate talks


BY SHAUN TANDON AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


CANCUN, Mexico: Negotiators on climate change were raising their hopes Sunday (Monday in Manila) after signs of modest progress in Mexico, but a dispute over the future of the Kyoto Protocol threatened to derail momentum. The 194-nation talks at the


Caribbean resort city of Cancun were trying to finalize a general statement on the world’s long-term action against climate change as envoys arrived for the main thrust of talks starting Tuesday. But with few expecting a full- fledged climate treaty anytime soon, the UN-led negotiations were considering extending the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012—setting off sharp disagreements. The United Nations and host


Mexico are mindful of widespread disappointment over last year’s summit in Copenhagen and have tried to keep expectations in check by discouraging heads of state from coming and highlighting progress. “We must continue working with a new sense of urgency,” Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said. “I am optimistic that we will move forward very quickly in the next two days.” But the climate negotiator for


the European Union, which champions action against global warming, said that advances during Cancun’s first week of lower-level talks had been insufficient. “Texts currently on the table


are not ready to be used by ministers to finalize a deal,” EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said. “A robust and balanced


outcome is in reach here in Cancun, but it requires us to step up the pace of negotiations. We have come here to negotiate, not restate national positions.” Talks are taking place on two


tracks. Organizers released a draft agreement on one of them—the part covering long-term action by the world against global warming. The draft would reconfirm a key


part of the Copenhagen accord— that the world needs to make “deep cuts” in industrial emissions to keep warming in check at two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The draft also calls for a review on whether the goal should be


strengthened to 1.5 degrees Celsius in light of warnings by scientists that the world faces growing natural disasters and extinction of species due to climate change. The agreement would recommit


developed countries to mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 to help the poorest nations adapt to climate change. Wendel Trio, international


climate policy director for environmental group Greenpeace, said that the atmophere in climate diplomacy had “vastly improved” in the past year but that Cancun “can still go both ways.” “We can leave with an agreement


that has substance on a pathway to a legally binding deal, or have one with very little substance. It’s hard to predict, but at least there’s a positive sign,” he said. Momentum in several key


developed nations has shifted away from climate action. The United States is unlikely to approve nationwide cuts on emissions anytime soon after the November election victory of the Republican Party, some of whose members doubt the scientific basis of climate change. Faced with the growing view


that a new global treaty is far away, the European Union has led calls to extend the Kyoto Protocol. Its requirements for developed nations to cut emissions run out at the end of 2012. Japan has adamantly rejected the


idea, saying that the Kyoto Protocol—negotiated in its ancient capital in 1997—is unfair and that it will not sign up for a second round of pledges under the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol makes no demands of developing nations such as China, which is now the world’s top emitter. The United States, the No. 2 emitter, also is free of requirements as it rejected the treaty in 2001. “We must dispel the clouds over


the Kyoto Protocol because we do not want to handicap the Cancun outcomes,” said Indian negotiator Vijai Sharma.


India has joined China in balking at US-led demands that the next treaty legally bind them to cut emissions. Sharma said that the issue was


premature, saying: “Unless we know the substance, how can we speculate about the form?”


Global view


TUESDAY


December 7, 2010


A 5


opinion


OPEN NOTEBOOK


VIRTUAL REALITY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16