BusinessMirror April 24, 2019

BOAO FORUM

SECOND QUAKE, STRONGER THAN LUZON’S, RATTLES BIG PART OF VISAYAS ON TUESDAY

Francis Chua, honorary president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., addresses the Boao Forum for Asia on its second day at the Bonifacio Global City. He said, among others, that Chinese firms are not keen on taking over the Hanjin shipyard at Subic. See story at bottom of this page, and related story on the Boao Forum on A12. ROY DOMINGO

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM & Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

A

6.5-MAGNITUDE earthquake rocked Eastern Samar on Tuesday less than 24 hours after a strong tremor rattled a big part of Luzon including Metro Manila, killing at least 16 people, leaving over 80 others injured and dozens more missing in a collapsed supermarket building in Pampanga.

As authorities assessed the damage from Monday’s quake to buildings and government infrastructure, seismologists tracked the even stronger temblor

in the Visayas, site of the so-called killer quake of October 2013.

A government-issued bulletin said the latest temblor struck San Julian, Eastern Samar, at around 1:37 p.m. and was felt at Intensity V in Tacloban and Catbalogan Cities. It was also felt in Masbate, Legaspi and Sorsogon Cities in Bicol region at Intensity IV. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said later on Tuesday afternoon that it had restored power transmission services to the entire franchise of Northern Samar Electric Cooperative

See “Second quake,” A2

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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Wednesday, April 24, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 196

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DOE: No ‘quick fixes’ to Luzon power mess E

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

NERGY Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on Tuesday said the rotating power outage incidents in Luzon two weeks ago were “deeply regrettable” and that the power industry stakeholders “must share collective responsibility.”

“Based on the figures, we were supposed to have sufficient power supply that week. Regrettably, what could not have been forecasted were the simultaneous unplanned outages of several power plants.

Despite having an excess of 1,131

megawatts over peak demand, the unfortunate unforeseen shutdowns of several plants at the same time resulted in 1,502-MW loss of available capacity,” Cusi’s statement read.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has held three press briefings this

month but Cusi was visibly absent.

However, delegated DOE officials were present to answer questions from media.

In a chance interview, Cusi, when asked to comment on the brownouts experienced by

“The entire industry must share collective responsibility over what happened. This includes the DOE, the NGCP, the Energy Regulatory Commission [ERC], the DUs, and the generating companies.”—Cusi

electricity consumers in certain parts of Luzon on April 11 and April 12, said, “All the pressure is on me, but what can I do?” Nonetheless, he gave assurances that the DOE “will be better” and that the agency will learn from these challenges.

In his statement, Cusi said the DOE’s peak demand projections are made available through the Distribution Development Plan, which is Continued on A2

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

IOSDADO Macapagal International Airport—Except for the ceiling of the check-in counters at the departure area and some minor cracks on the second floor, no other part of this airport complex sustained major damage from the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Luzon island at 5:11 p.m. on Monday.

“The good news is the tower can be operated. It has not sustained any substantial damage. The runway and the apron and the taxiways are all sound,” Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President/ CEO Jaime Alberto Melo said on Tuesday.

“The horizontal infrastructures, the road surface of the airport has no problem,” he added.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.8020

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

PRICE FREEZE DECLARED IN QUAKE-HIT PAMPANGA; DAM DAMAGE HITS P50M

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

& Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday declared a price freeze in Pampanga a day after it got severely hit by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that shook Luzon. The provincial government also pushed for a province-wide state of calamity after one was declared over the worsthit town of Porac, where rescuers raced against time to find dozens of people missing—believed buried in the rubble of a four-story supermarket that collapsed during Monday’s earthquake.

Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda explained the move, noting that the tremor also damaged not only buildings, roads and other infrastructure but even houses, forcing the evacuation of residents, including in the town of Guagua. Disaster officials put the death toll at 16 as of Tuesday,

expressing hope that all the missing would be found alive.

Damage to dams and irrigation systems was placed initially at P50 million, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol.

In a text message to reporters, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said a price freeze is in effect in the Central Luzon province.

The Provincial Legislative Board decided to place Pampanga under a state of calamity, automatically triggering the imposition of a price freeze.

Under the Price Act, prices of basic necessities are maintained at their prevailing numbers or placed under automatic control in areas proclaimed under a state of calamity or state of emergency. Unless sooner lifted by President Duterte, the price freeze shall remain effective for the duration of the condition that brought it about—in this case the damage wrought by the earthquake—but not for more than 60 days.

See “Price freeze,” A2

China ‘not keen on new shipyard’

“The vertical, the tower is already declared safe by an inspection team of the Clark Development Corp. [CDC] and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines [Caap] building officials,” he said.

“The terminal is now being assessed. So, once the terminal is considered safe, it will be immediately repaired,” Melo pointed out. “The repair crews are already on hand,” he added.

“So, we will decide what will be prioritized for repair for partial operation,” he said. “We will try for partial operation today,” he added.

However, Melo said, “in my own assessment, we might open tomorrow.” Melo met the press at the departure area here after completing the inspection of the runway, taxiways and the airport tower with the CDC and Caap building officials.

See “Clark,” A5

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Clark airport structurally sound, to partially open

D

and parts of Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative.

The grid operator said restoration of power transmission services in other earthquake-affected provinces is ongoing.

It also lifted the red alert notice for the Luzon grid at 5 p.m. No manual load dropping was implemented.

Still, Luzon was placed on yellow alert notice until 10 p.m. of April 23 due to thin reserves. The grid’s available capacity stood at 10,643 megawatts as against a peak demand of 9,222 MW.

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

A

TOP official of one of the world ’s leading Chinese shipping firms said this is not a good time to build another shipyard as there is more supply than demand for ships globally.

Executive Vice President Zenggang Yu of China Ocean Shipping Corp. Ltd. (Cosco) said they also have no intention of taking over the country’s largest shipyard, operated by bankrupt Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines (HHIC-Phil).

“We think that shipbuilding’s capacity is more supply than demand at the moment even in the world.

So it’s not a good time to build a PASSENGERS wait for the latest word from airline companies outside the departure area of Clark airport on Tuesday. ASHLEY MANABAT

See “China,” A5

n JAPAN 0.4630 n UK 67.3219 n HK 6.6043 n CHINA 7.7260 n SINGAPORE 38.2302 n AUSTRALIA 36.9866 n EU 58.2565 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.8153

Source: BSP (22 April 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, April 24, 2019

DTI to step up fight against shabby building materials

F

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

OLLOWING the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Luzon on April 22, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday vowed to heighten consumer safety efforts, particularly its campaign against substandard construction materials.

The DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (DTI-FTEB) reported it confiscated and sealed over the first four months of the year a total of 35,112 pieces of steel bars, equal leg angle bars, PVC pipes, GI wires and electrical cords. It claimed the haul amounted to more than P7 million.

The DTI-FTEB monitored 1,173 firms in the four-month period, and served 138 notices of violation, of which 118 were filed with administrative cases.

In the event an establishment receives a notice of violation twice, it will face criminal charges.

Their permits and licenses to op-

Churches. . .

Continued from A12

Ferrer Parish Calulut, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

The remaining churches are the San Pedro Apostol Parish in Apalit, Pampanga; San Andres Parish in Candaba, Pampanga; San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish in Macabebe, Pampanga; San Miguel Arkanghel Parish in Masantol, Pampanga; Sta. Monica Parish in Minalin, Pampanga; San Luis Gonzaga Parish in San Luis, Pampanga; Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish in San Simon, Pampanga; and Sto. Tomas Apostol Parish in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga.

Similar inspections are now also being conducted in churches, seminaries and schools under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila.

“Please check also the parish church, rectory, pastoral halls, and schools for possible cracks or damage, so that appropriate action could be taken,” Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said in a news statement issued on Tuesday.

As of noon on Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported at least 16 people died from the earthquake, which originated in Zambales.

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Archbishop Romulo Valles called for prayers for all the quake victims.

“We pray that those injured and lost properties will be comforted, that help will come and we also pray especially for the grieving people who have lost

Bottlenecks. . .

Continued from A12

They were concerned with the regulatory side so I placed a phone call to our Secretary of Information and Technology Sec. Eliseo Rio, who was here during the opening,” she said.

“There were three who had specific questions and they presented their business plans to our DICT Sec. Rio intently and enthusiastically, and at the end of each question, we realized that all their business plans did not have any restrictions on foreign investments,” Arroyo added.

Arroyo also assured Chinese businessmen that the Philippines’s business climate “is very, very welcoming for your business plans.”

“We in the Philippines want to match your enthusiasm and this is what this forum is all about,” she said.

erate will be revoked.

Further, the DTI-FTEB claimed it found all cement products sold in monitored stores to be compliant with safety and quality checks set by the Bureau of Philippine Standards.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his men’s increased monitoring activities are but an assurance the DTI is committed in its fight against shabby products. He added the agency will implement more consumer protection measures over the next months. “[The] DTI’s heightened presence in the market sends a strong message to both consumers and dear ones in the earthquake, and we hope recovery,” Valles said in a report by CBCPNews.

Valles also prayed for divine aid to the people, who are helping the victims of the earthquake.

Court inspections MEANWHILE, Chief Justice Bersamin also directed Court Administrator Midas Marquez to ensure that all judges and court personnel are safe.

The Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) supervises over 2,000 judges and 25,000 court personnel.

The SC was among the government offices in Metro Manila forced to suspend work to give way for a thorough inspection of government buildings and establishments.

The Senate, located on reclaimed land in Pasay City, also suspended work; same with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Bersamin gave executive judges the discretion to suspend work in other affected areas.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration assured the public it has enough personnel to attend to passengers of flights that have been diverted to Manila from the Clark International Airport (CIA), which was temporarily closed after having being damaged in Monday’s earthquake.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente directed BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina to extend for an indefinite period the ban on the filing of vacation leaves by BI personnel assigned at the Naia, particularly those performing counter duties.

“I have asked our primary line officers to extend the period of their sacrifice in

Trade balance, investments

EARLIER, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Philippines is seeking to maximize its good relations with China by pushing for trade balance and more investments.

Philippine exports to China grew by 8.5 percent to $8.7 billion in 2018, from $8.02 billion in 2017, making China the Philippines’s fourth-largest export market.

With around $962.61 million in approved investments in 2018, China is the country’s top source of foreign investments, according to the Board of Investments (BOI). China leapt to the top from being 14th in 2016 ($31.99 million) and ninth in 2017 ($46.3 million).

As of the previous fiscal year, China remains the Philippines’s top trading partner, with trade with China growing by more than 18 percent from just $25 billion in 2017 to more than $30 billion in 2018.

business that we are serious in our campaign against uncertified and substandard materials,” Lopez said.

“Finding no nonconforming products, such as cement and steel, in the establishments that we monitor means that quality goods are being sold to the public. The protection of consumers is our utmost priority, and we remain steadfast in our commitment,” he added.

The DTI is shifting its sticker verification of import commodity clearance (ICC) to a mobile software to assist enforcement officers during market monitoring. It can also help consumers verify a certified product, as well as detect fake from real ICC and Philippine Standard stickers.

The agency will also accredit hardware stores that sell certified and quality products, and will make available to the public the list of compliant and noncompliant retailers.

Moreover, enforcement officials are negotiating with Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año an agreement that will allow local government units (LGUs) to participate in the apprehension of manufacturers and sellers of substandard products. The arrangement will grant

the name of public service. Their services are much needed now with the influx of more passengers as a result of flight diversions from the Clark airport,” Medina said.

Check on schools “AS per instructions from Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, all principals, school heads and teachers-in-charge are hereby instructed to undertake thorough investigation of all school buildings and facilities before allowing learners, teachers and personnel to enter the same,” stated the memo signed by Undersecretary Alain Del B. Pascua.

The DepEd reported that at least nine schools sustained damage from the tremor.

Likewise, engineers, architects and disaster risk-reduction management (DRRM) offices were instructed to ensure the safety of DepEd buildings, facilities, schools and offices.

For his part, MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, concurrent head of MMDRRMC, issued a memorandum on Monday directing all concerned MMDRRMC member agencies and local disaster-risk reduction and management councils to do an inspection focusing on the structural integrity of all government structures in the metropolis.

“You are hereby directed to conduct an inspection of all government buildings and infrastructures in your respective areas of responsibility,” said Lim’s one-page memorandum.

Lim also ordered the conduct of postearthquake building inspection at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City.

On Monday night 10 personnel from MMDA’s Public Safety Division were

In terms of official development assistance, China has also granted the Philippines with $62 million in 2018.

Chinese tourist arrivals also increased by 30 percent to 1.26 million in 2018 compared to around 900,000 visitors in 2017.

Boao’s vision

IN his keynote speech Monday night, Medialdea said the Boao Forum has become “instrumental in charting the course of Philippine economy in the era of glabalization and regional integration,” and that it is just fitting that the event was held in Manila as the Boao forum traces its roots from the leadership of its founders, including former President Fidel V. Ramos.

“We are optimistic that this conference will not only serve as a platform to introduce the Boao Forum to the Philippine business community, but also to provide our

118

Cases filed in the four-month period that the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (DTI-FTEB) monitored 1,173 firms, and confiscated and sealed a total of 35,112 pieces of steel bars, equal leg angle bars, PVC pipes, GI wires and electrical cords LGUs the capacity to impose penalties against establishments proven to be retailing uncertified goods.

The DTI increased this year the frequency and scope of its monitoring and enforcement activities, particularly in the regions, where substandards are reportedly more prevalent.

The enforcement operations from January to April covered mostly Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Central Visayas and the Cordilleras, according to the DTI. The rest of the provinces are plotted within the remaining months of the year deployed to help in the search and rescue operations at Porac, Pampanga, one of the areas severely affected by the tremor.

In Makati City, Mayor Abigail Binay directed key personnel from the Makati DRRMO, Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), Office of the Building Official (OBO), and Bureau of Fire and Protection converge at the Command Center at Makati City Hall Quadrangle to collate reports and tally the number of damaged buildings and other infrastructure.

The mayor also ordered a thorough inspection of all buildings in the city, especially the Central Business District, to ensure the safety of workers and residents.

Emergency responders also conducted a Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) briefing to plan their next course of action.

Jica study IN 2010, a joint study by the MMDA, Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and other government agencies said a lack of preparation in the event of a strong quake could wreak havoc on the metropolis.

Dubbed the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS), the study showed that a 7.2-magnitude quake would result in 34,000 people killed instantly; 110,000 injured; 13 percent of 170,000 residential buildings heavily damaged or collapsed, rendering 1.2 million people homeless; around 25 percent of critical public facilities like hospitals and schools moderately damaged; and 500 fire breakouts. With reports by Joel R.

San Juan and Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

neighbors adequate insight on the business environment and trade policies currently prevailing in the Philippines,” he said.

“The decision to hold this conference here in Manila is indeed a welcome development as it also reflects the international community’s growing support for and confidence in Philippines-China relations and East Asian regional cooperation,” he added.

When Duterte assumed office in 2016, the Philippines sought warmer relations with China despite the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea, which Manila raised in 2013 before a United Nations arbitral tribunal, where it got a favorable ruling.

Although the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a landmark decision in 2016 invalidating China’s “excessive” claims to the West Philippine Sea, China has opted not to recognize the arbitral ruling.

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DOE: No ‘quick fixes’ to Luzon power mess Continued from A1

formulated in collaboration with the generation companies, distribution utilities (DUs), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

“The entire industry must share collective responsibility over what happened. This includes the DOE, the NGCP, the Energy Regulatory Commission [ERC], the DUs and the generating companies.

“There are no quick fixes to such incidents. Rest assured that the DOE is continuously finding ways to prevent a similar incident from happening again,” said Cusi.

For now, Cusi said the DOE is working closely with the ERC to ensure that NGCP complies with their Concession Agreement and the power reserve requirements under the Grid Code.

Aside from fast-tracking the approval of new power plants, the DOE is closely monitoring the construction of transmission lines, critical in ensuring power reliability for the country, particularly the VisayasMindanao Interconnection Project (VMIP) which is to be completed on or before 2020. This will help export the excess power of Mindanao, to

Price freeze. . .

Continued from A1

The trade chief can also recommend to the President the imposition of a price ceiling for the sale of basic necessities if prevailing prices are found excessive or unreasonable.

Damaged dams

THE tremor that struck on Earth Day (Monday) has caused P50 million worth of damage to government dams and irrigation systems in Central Luzon, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

In a damage report released to media on Tuesday, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said as of April 23 it has recorded damage to five dams in four provinces.

Based on the report, Cong Cadong Dam in Arayat, Pampanga, suffered the most infrastructure damage, estimated to cost about P20 million.

Two dams in Bataan reported a total damage of P15 million: Mangindong Dam in Dinalupihan had an estimated damage of P10 million and Balsik Dam in Hermosa, P5 million.

In Zamabales, where the earthquake’s epicenter was located, two dams incurred a total damage of P15 million. Bucao Intake reported P10 million in damage, while San Pablo communal irrigation system sustained P5 million worth of damage.

All the damaged dams require immediate repair, according to the report, which was prepared

by NIA Regional Office 3.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the damage to the dams was “very minor” and would not disrupt agricultural activities in the region.

Piñol was in Pampanga to join fellow Cabinet and government officials in assessing the situation in the area following the earthquake.

“We’re relieved that the damage actually is very minor. There’s not much damage in agriculture,” Piñol said in an interview with reporters in Pampanga.

NIA Spokeperson Pilipina Bermudez told the BusinessMirror that the speed of the repair of the dams would depend on the “extent of the damage and availability of funds.”

Responding to a query from BusinessMirror, Piñol said, “No, these are minor damages which could be repaired easily.” Damage to the dams had been feared to affect the flow of irrigation to farmers already reeling from the impact of a weak El Niño, which has resulted in hotter weather nationwide.

Second quake. . .

Continued from A1

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported that 98.5 percent of power has been restored in Pampanga Electric Cooperative II (Pelco II), following the earthquake that hit Luzon last Monday.

The remaining 1.5 percent covers around 2,300 households in the municipalities of Guagua, Lubao and Porac.

While the rest of Luzon has already been reenergized, Pelco II is targeting the full restoration of power in its service area by Wednesday morning.

the Visayas and Luzon.

Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said during a press conference on Tuesday that the agency is still collating all data that will be submitted to the ERC and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), which has served notice it will conduct an investigation to rule out possible collusion among power plant operators.

On April 15, Fuentebella said the agency will elevate to President Duterte, ERC and the PCC its findings on the red alert warnings and widespread rotational blackouts.

“What we’re looking at is this: You have a conglomerate of plants that went on shutdown. Plant A is on scheduled shutdown. There’s no problem with that. Plant B, however, went on forced shutdown. We will look at the behavior of Plants C, D and E and their bid offers at the spot market. Did they come out with a strategy to recover the loss of Plant B and pass it on to consumers?” Fuentebella said.

He said the agency is in the process of collating and validating the facts. After which, the DOE will arrive at an analysis and submit a report to the ERC, PCC and Malacañang.

Casualties

THE NDRRMC tallied 16 dead, 81 injured and 14 still missing from Monday’s earthquake, which struck at 5:11 p.m., with the epicenter in Castillejos, Zambales, and which was also felt in most parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila.

It said five of the casualties were from the collapsed Chuzon Supermarket in Porac, Pampanga, and seven others were killed in other barangays of the same town. Two were also killed in the town of Lubao, and one in Angeles.

The NDRRMC said that at least 29 buildings and infrastructure were also damaged in the National Capital Region and in the whole of Region 3, adding it was expecting the damage to increase as assessments are ongoing.

The NDRRMC said power was restored in the provinces of La Union and Pangasinan while utility personnel are working to restore it in Pampanga and Bataan.

Pineda spoke as rescue workers, including soldiers and their equipment, worked through the debris of Chuzon Supermarket, hoping to recover people that might still been trapped or pinned down, nearly 24 hours after it went down.

In the National Capital Region, the NDRRMC said the temblor also damaged the buildings of the Emilio Aguinaldo College, the Anchorage Hotel, Sun Tower and Anchor Land Sky Suites in Manila and the GA Tower in Mandaluyong City.

In Bataan, three hospitals and two malls were damaged.

Private sector

MEANWHILE, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose Congress constituency includes some of the worst-hit areas, said the private sector has deployed rescue teams and equipment to help earthquake-hit Pampanga.

Arroyo said companies such as PLDT, Meralco, Philex Mining Corp., the Makati Business Club, Ayala Corporation and the Philippine Disaster Response Foundation (PRDF) jointly chaired by Manny Pangilinan and Jaime Zobel de Ayala offered generator sets, floodlights, choppers and equipment for road clearing operations.

“I’m trying to acknowledge those who are already sending help, and we are very grateful to them for their support,” she said.

“I’m grateful that everybody is doing everything to save lives and helping the injured, as much as possible, to the extent we can restore normalcy. I ask for the prayers of the Filipino people,” Arroyo added. With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz, Jonathan Mayuga and Rene Acosta The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said it was monitoring possible damage and even casualties out of the quake, although a subsequent bulletin it issued had eased fears of a tsunami in coastal villages in the Visayas.

The military reported only minor damage, although assessment in all affected areas is continuing. An initial report from Major Gen. Eugenio Clement, commander of the Armed Forces Central Command, said only minor cracks were reported in buildings and roads in affected municipalities in Eastern Samar.

He said one was injured from the earthquake.

A power outage was reported in Borongan, Eastern Samar. With a report by Lenie Lectura

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The Nation BusinessMirror

DOLE responds to BPO workers’ complaint against some employers

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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HE labor department on Tuesday said it would still have to verify reports about some employers who reportedly refused to evacuate their workers from the work site at the height of the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that shoot Metro Manila and most parts of Luzon on Monday.

“There is no official report to that effect yet,” Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told the BusinessMirror via SMS. The labor chief issued the statement after labor groups accused some employers of noncompliance to evacuation procedures.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) criticized the supposed incidents, which, the labor group said, endangered the lives of the affected workers.

“We received many reports from workers and employees last night about their bad ordeal with their managers, supervisors and employers who did not evacuate them out of the building and from those who were kept from going home and were ordered to return to work despite of the dangers and hazards on the workplace caused by the quake,” TUCP

President Raymond Mendoza said in a news statement.

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), for its part, also raised similar concern based from its observations in social media of workers from malls and offices in Makati and Taguig Cities.

“This merely shows that they value private property than the lives of people. This is an extreme form of greed,” BMP Chairman Leody de Guzman said.

BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN) said the erring employers could be held accountable for such illegal practice.

“Keeping business as usual in the midst of this life-threatening situation is not only illegal; it is utterly inhumane,” BIEN said in a statement.

BIEN urged the government to implement the provision of the occupational safety and health standards law, or Republic Act 11058.

The labor groups also called on all employers to suspend their operations until they could guarantee the structural integrity of their offices.

“Given the risk of an aftershock and effect of quake on infrastructure, we urge the government and companies to consider suspending operations until buildings and offices are declared safe,” BIEN said.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, April 24, 2019 A3

National ID system cards ready for issuance by Jan. 2020–Neda

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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HE implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), or the national ID system, remains on track, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), an attached agency of the Neda, aims to complete the first of five procurements for the National ID by July.

This will allow the PSA to start the registration process by September this year, which is within the government’s target. The first Filipinos to be registered are those receiving cash transfers from the government.

“So far, we are on track. There are five procurements that will have to be done,” Edillon said. “We’re hoping for [the] delivery [of the registration kits] by July or August because we want to launch in September,” Edillon added.

She explained that the first pro-

curement will be for the registration kits, which will be used for facial recognition, fingerprinting and iris scans.

The second procurement is for the ABIS, or Automated Biometric Identification System, for fingerprint recognition, while the third procurement will be for the registration centers.

Edillon said these registration centers would be situated in various parts of the country, complemented by mobile registrations available in public buildings such as barangay halls.

“The setting up part [of the registration centers] will be the one that will be procured. This is the part where we want [the] PSA [to] have a more detailed specification, let’s say will they require Internet signal, for instance, in that area,” Edillon said.

An Internet signal, she added, is crucial for the PhilSys because the registration will be beamed to the PSA database in real time. This will prevent the data from being stored temporarily in unsecure locations.

The fourth procurement will be for a systems integrator, which will

be a firm who will design all the systems, and ensure that the data captured from Filipinos will be brought directly to an archive without any duplication. This is also a highly technical function that the PSA does not have at its disposal at the moment.

“We are looking at open source platform,” said Edillon.

“We don’t want a vendor lock in…we’ve learned from the lessons of the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] passport [where there was a reported]…vendor lock in, and afterward, when we wanted to upgrade to a different system, it became unreadable and we could not get the data.

We want the Philippine government to own the [the National ID System] data,” she stressed.

The last procurement will be for card printing. Edillon said the PSA will enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for them to produce the card material, while the PSA provides the design and information that will be placed on the card.

Edillon said once registered, those who have been given their PhilSys

numbers will not receive their cards right away. The data would still have to go through a process of “deduplication” using PSA records before cards are released by January 2020.

The process of deduplication will involve verifying whether there are no duplications in the names and the other information obtained during registration.

The PhilSys provides for a national identification system that seeks to unify all government IDs into one. It will provide identification to both citizens and resident aliens of the country to facilitate public and private transactions.

The Neda said despite the numerous IDs issued by the Philippine government, 14 percent of Filipinos are still denied of government and financial services due to lack of proper identification documents.

The PhilSys Act was signed into law last August 6, 2018, an historic accomplishment of the Legislative Agenda under Chapter 5 of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, titled, Ensuring People-Centered, Clean, and Efficient Governance.

A4 Wednesday, April 24, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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PHL seeks $5.618-billion loan mainly for Luzon railway commuter projects

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Philippines is proposing $5.618 billion worth of projects for loan and grant financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as of April 2019.

There are 13 projects listed in the pipeline, and the largest is the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, which will be financed by two loans worth a combined $4.05 billion.

The first loan worth $2.75 billion will be for the construction of two sections, totaling 53.1 kilometers (km) of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), while the smaller loan, $1.3 billion, is for periodic financing requests.

“The project will provide affordable, reliable and safe public transport; reduce greenhouse-gas

emissions; and contribute to cutting travel time from Metro Manila to Clark from two to three hours [by bus] to less than one hour by rail,” the ADB said.

The ADB said the railway project is a 163-km suburban railway network that will connect Clark in Central Luzon to Metro Manila and Calamba, Laguna.

The Malolos- Clark R ailway Project includes the Malolos-Clark section (51.2 km) from Malolos to Clark and Clark International Airport and the Blumentritt extension

(1.9 km) connecting Solis and Blumentritt stations in Metro Manila District I (City of Manila).

Both sections, the ADB said, are part of the NSCR and extensions of the Tutuban-Solis-Malolos section financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

“The NSCR will be completed during 2022-2025 as an integrated 163-km dedicated suburban passenger railway system comprising four sections—Tutuban-Solis-Malolos, Malolos-Clark-Clark International Airport, Solis-BlumentrittCalamba and Clark-New Clark City,” the ADB said.

Apart from this project, the Philippines is also seeking funds for the $400-million Integrated Flood Risk Management Sector Project; $300million Expanded Social Assistance Project; $300-million Secondary Education Support Program; and $100-million City Disaster Insurance Pool Project.

The list also includes the $70-million Davao Public Transport Mod-

ernization Project; $70-million Solid Waste Management Sector Project; and $25-million Capacity Building to Foster Competition Project.

The Philippines is also tapping into a $300-million cofinancing arrangement between ADB and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) or the French Development Agency for the Local Governance Reform Sector Development Program Subprogram 1.

The bulk of the financing worth $169.68 million will be provided by AFD, and the remaining $28 million will be obtained from ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR).

The country is also proposing the Empowering Bangsamoro Communities Through Alternative Learning System and Productivity Enhancement Project, which will be funded by a $3-million grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction managed by the ADB. Two projects, the Restoring Livelihoods and Learning in Marawi and the Strengthening Public-

Private Partnerships in the Philippines (Phase 2), do not yet have cost estimates.

The Philippines nearly doubled its loans from ADB and was considered one of the Manila-based multilateral development bank’s (MDB) top borrowers last year.

The country was the ADB’s fifthlargest borrower in 2018, with borrowings reaching $1.38 billion. This was 97.14 percent higher than the $700 million posted in 2017.

The bank’s total commitment to the Philippines reached $1.75 billion last year, placing the country in ADB’s top 10 in terms of funding. This is composed of loans, cofinancing and technical assistance.

Apart from loans, the Philippines received a total of P363.6 million from cofinanced projects with the ADB, as well as $7.4 million in technical assistance. The data also showed that the country was the country that received the fifth-largest amount of technical assistance last year.

DTI chief says it’s within DA’s PhilFida aims for ‘all-time high’ abaca yield in 2019 mandate to issue SRP on sugar

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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@alyasjah

HE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) may have to issue a suggested retail price (SRP) on sugar if the agency really intends to stabilize prices of the commodity, the country’s trade chief said on Tuesday.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez also said that as much as the trade department wants to manage the supply and control the prices of sugar, the law provides the commodity falls within the responsibility and jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture. Citing the Price Act, he argued sugar is a basic good under the regulation of the DA, not the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Under the law, agricultural crops, fish and other marine products, fresh meat, fresh poultry and dairy products, fertilizers and other farm inputs are all under the DA’s watch.

“We would like to clear once and for all that the DTI can regulate the retail price of sugar in the market only if we are given authority to do so by the DA, or the SRA. Without this authority, [the] DTI can only monitor its supply and availability,” Lopez said in a news statement.

The statement was issued in response to allegations made by SRA board members that the DTI is not doing its part in the monitoring and regulation of sugar prices.

In defense, Lopez said his agency last year recommended to the DA and the SRA the imposition of an SRP on refined sugar at P50 per kilogram to keep prices managed in the face of surging inflation. However, nearly a year later, the SRP is nowhere in place.

Sans an SRP, the DTI continues to monitor prices of the commodity, and issues letters of inquiry to retailers found selling at a price higher than P50 per kilo, Lopez said.

“We assure the consumers that our agency remains faithful to our true mandate. We have [reaped] success[es] in managing prices for manufactured products that are in the list of basic necessities and prime commodities, even during the inflationary months last year, because these [goods] are under the mandate of [the] DTI,” the trade chief explained.

On top of price monitoring, Lopez added the DTI initiated last August the Presyong Risonable Dapat, a mechanism enabling retailers to directly import sugar for as long as they sell at prices not higher than P45 per kilo for brown sugar and P50 per kilo for white sugar.

These sugar variants are sold at Robinsons Supermarket and SM Supermarket branches across the Philippines. On the other hand, Puregold is in the process of sourcing sugar for its house brand that will be made available to consumers at P50 per kilo soon.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo said the DTI has the capacity to monitor any commodity, as it has offices and teams stationed in all regions and provinces of the Philippines.

She argued it is crucial to do a close watch on agricultural products due to the volatility of their prices. Should the DA need it, Castelo said the DTI is most willing to lend its manpower in the monitoring of the staple among the products under its mandate.

@jearcalas

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HE country’s abaca output in the first quarter of the year grew by 8.8 percent to 16,256.575 metric tons from 14,937.05 MT in the same period last year due to a hike in land area dedicated to cultivate the crop, according to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida).

PhilFida Executive Director Kennedy T. Costales told the BusinessMirror that the agency attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA) has expanded abaca plantation area by 1,600 hectares.

Furthermore, Costales added that the higher buying prices, which abaca farmers have felt since last year, continue to encourage planters to cultivate and harvest more natural fiber.

Based on the data released by Phil-

fida on Tuesday, Bicol region remained the top abaca-producing area in the country, as it accounted for 36.5 percent of the quarter’s total output.

Bicol region’s abaca output during the reference period expanded by 39.4 percent to 5,939.79 MT from the 4,261.025-MT recorded volume in the January-to-March period of 2018.

The double-digit growth in Bicol region was driven by the recovery of abaca plantation in Catanduanes, which suffered major losses in the previous years due to typhoons.

Abaca output in Catanduanes alone reached 4,866.24 MT, 25 percent over the 3,893.14 MT it produced in the first quarter of last year, PhilFida data showed.

Costales said if the output growth in the first quarter would be sustained throughout the year, then total abaca production this year could reach an all-time high of 80,000 MT.

“If the present trend continues further up to the end of December 2019, we project to surpass and break our 2008 all-time-high abaca fiber production record over the past 25 years of 77,389.10 metric tons and also project to breach the 80,000 metric tons confidence level this year,” he said.

The double-digit growth of Bicol region together with the 109.8-percent production increment in Western Visayas and 22.4 percent in Central Visayas buoyed the decline in output of eight other regions.

Abaca output in the Philippines, the world’s top producer of the natural fiber, rose by 6 percent year-on-year in 2018, as planters sought to meet rising global demand for the commodity.

PhilFida data showed that abaca production last year reached 76,259.38 MT, 4,313.34 MT over the 71,964.04 MT recorded in 2017.

$10-B investments, trade deals await Duterte in Beijing’s Belt & Road forum

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HE Philippines is staring at over $10 billion of investments and trade deals from China with President Duterte’s participation in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on Tuesday said the Philippine delegation to the Second Belt and Road Forum will be signing at least 15 business agreements on food, energy, power, infrastructure, technology and services.

The investments are estimated to amount to as much as $10 billion, and will translate to the creation of about 20,000 jobs.

“We are vetting groups and their plans, and possible agreements on investments and trade,” Lopez said in a text message to reporters.

Lopez is part of Philippine delegation, headed by the President, to the forum that will be attended by over 40 world leaders and executives of multilateral financial institutions.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which will be the focus of the forum, is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure program that will transform large areas of Asia into economic zones and trading routes.

Estimates indicate Beijing will spend around $150 billion annually in economies that will embrace Xi’s plan at reviving the Silk Road.

Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority reported approved investments from China last year jumped to P50.69 billion, from only P2.33 billion in 2017. This made Beijing Manila’s largest source of foreign investments.

On top of business deals, the Philippines could sign with China five bilateral agreements in the areas of education, anti-corruption measures, official development assistance and drug rehabilitation.

Under Duterte’s watch, the country is enjoying warmer ties with the East Asian country. However, critics are scoring the President for his apparent inaction over China’s military aggression in the West Philippine Sea, resulting to, among others, reported cases of harassment against Filipino fishermen. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Naia chief Monreal tells airlines to help Comelec approval before rehabilitation public in post-quake travel disruptions of damaged public infra stays–Jimenez

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HE chief of the premier gateway on Tuesday warned commercial carriers not to arbitrarily delay or cancel flights in the wake of the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that damaged the Clark International Airport terminal building.

In a statement, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) General Manager Ed Monreal warned airline companies “not to take advantage of yesterday’s [April 22] earthquake to arbitrarily delay or cancel flights.”

Airlines should not burden the public with the inconvenience that may result from the disruption of the passengers’ travel plans.

Monreal’s warning followed reports that Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific canceled outbound and inbound flights to and from Clark, where the terminal passenger was heavily damaged by the temblor.

Clark authorities said 104 flights were canceled on Tuesday, and 14 flights were canceled on Monday just after the earthquake.

Monreal said there was no damage to the Naia runway and taxiways, as well as the passenger terminal buildings.

He made the announcement after several teams fanned out to inspect “every nook and cranny” of the four terminals and found no damage whatsoever.

Monreal directed his operations team to admit flights that cannot be accommodated in Clark following SOPs (standard operating procedure) in slotting in coordination with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) for an orderly landing, parking and take-off.

Monreal said this will also allow them to properly assign the use of aerobridges, baggage carousels and check-in counters. He also strongly urged airlines to ensure the availability of shuttle buses to ferry passengers from Manila to Clark.

Monreal assured the public that “it is business as usual” for passengers using the Naia terminal, and there should be no cause for alarm following Monday’s earthquake.

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines said its has canceled its flight to Clark from Manila and another flight from Davao to Clark.

The carrier advises affected passengers to rebook or reroute within 30 days from the original flight date.

Cebu Pacific (CEB) announced that flight 5J 538 (Singapore to Clark) was diverted to the Naia due to damage caused by the earthquake at the Clark airport.

The flight landed safely in Naia Terminal 3 at 8:15 p.m. on Monday. All the passengers were bussed to Clark.

CEB said in a statement that passengers on canceled flights at Clark may ride these buses to the Naia Terminal 3 and opt to fly out on Cebu Pacific flights from Manila. Recto L. Mercene

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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OVERNMENT agencies should still get the approval of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) before they could start the rehabilitation of quake- damaged infrastructures.

In an interview, Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez said such public works are covered by the election ban under Comelec Resolution 10511.

He noted the concerned government agencies should first get the necessary certification of exception from Comelec for the repair of damaged public infrastructures.

“If everything is urgent then nothing is. It does not take a long time to secure an exception. So it is not an unreasonable burden, I think,” Jimenez said.

Construction restrictions

AS of Tuesday, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have started assessing public infrastructures, roads and bridges damaged by the 6.1-magnitude earthquake originating in Zambales on Monday.

Under Comelec Resolution 10511, “emergency work necessitated by the occurrences of a public calamity, but such work shall be limited to the restoration of the damaged facility.”

Jimenez said the certification of exception also applies to parties, which will be distributing aid to earthquake victims during the prevailing election ban.

“There is a lot of leeway given to humanitarian reason and activities.

But I think it is best if they will ask [permission] from Comelec first,” Jimenez said.

“I would like to advise politicians if they are in the position to disburse aid from public sources to make the effort to get the exemption from Comelec,” he added.

The election ban, which will end on May 12 aims to prevent the use of public funds for poll campaign purposes.

Possible replacements

IN a related development, Jimenez reported they have started assessing the structural integrity of public schools, which will serve as voting centers for the 2019 polls, following the strong earthquake.

“They will have to submit a report to Comelec during the scheduled mancom [management committee] meeting before the end of this week,” Jimenez said.

He said voting centers situated in public schools, which were heavily damaged by the quake, maybe transferred by the Comelec en banc to a new location.

Aside from public schools, other possible venue, which could serve as polling enters, include private schools, village clubs and even churchyards. “ This will depend on the space requirement on what is big enough to accommodate all our voters,” Jimenez said.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 A5

Bacuit Bay polluters face imminent closure–DENR

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

USINESS establishments found polluting Bacuit Bay face imminent closure as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) vowed to leave no stones unturned in rehabilitating beach resorts in El Nido, Palawan.

Report bares crisis in global trade of ‘recyclable’ plastic

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NEW report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) with data analysis on the global waste trade from Greenpeace East Asia revealed that water contamination, crop death, illness and open burning of plastic waste have all flooded into Southeast Asia, along with the world’s so-called recycled plastics.

“Plastic waste from industrialized countries is literally engulfing communities in Southeast Asia, transforming what were once clean and thriving places into toxic dumpsites. It is the height of injustice that countries and communities with less capacity and resources to deal with plastic pollution are being targeted as escape valves for the throwaway plastic generated by industrialized countries,” Von Hernandez, the global coordinator of the Break Free from Plastic movement said in a news statement.

Greenpeace East Asia collated import-export data from the 21 top exporters—with the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan at the top—and 21 top importers of plastics scraps to measure changes to the flow of “recyclable” plastic waste before and after China’s 2018 foreign waste import ban.

Meanwhile, GAIA’s field investigations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand detailed illegal recycling operations and crime syndicates, open burning, water contamination, crop death, and a rise of illness tied to environmental pollution that has led citizens to protest and governments to rush in restrictions to protect their borders, with many following China’s lead with import bans.

According to Greenpeace East Asia, data indicates that Southeast Asia’s current plastics crisis is the pinnacle

of a global experience, with waste piling up globally and domestically for all countries involved, even among former exporters.

Across the board, plastic waste exports dropped almost 50 percent, from 12.5 million tons in 2016 to 5.8 million tons in 2018 based on available data from January to November 2018.

Because plastic manufacturing is projected to rise, the drop in exports in part means recyclable plastics will continue to stockpile or head for improper disposal at home, the study revealed.

However, even the export of this waste doesn’t ensure proper disposal, GAIA and Greenpeace East Asia said.

“Today, exports make their way into any country without adequate regulation to protect itself. North Sumengko, Indonesia, for example, turned into an international dumping ground almost overnight, and GAIA’s field investigation found trash piled 2 meters high, makeshift dumps, and open burning in the farming community,” they said.

Such process will continue until decisive action is taken, they said.

After China’s import ban, waste flooded into Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, who quickly set up import restrictions. Then, exports overflowed into Indonesia, India and Turkey.

“Once one country regulates plastic waste imports, it floods into the next unregulated destination.

When that country regulates, the exports move to the next one. It’s a predatory system, but it’s also increasingly inefficient. Each new iteration shows more and more plastic going off grid—where we can’t see what’s done with it—and that’s unacceptable,” said Kate Lin, a senior campaigner with Greenpeace East Asia. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Clark. . . continued from a1

Electric power in the entire airport complex has been restored. “But we did not switch it on because the electricals in the departure area are still yet to be repaired,” Melo said.

At least 14 flights (arrival and departure) were affected by the closure on Monday right after the temblor. Another 104 flights were canceled on Tuesday affecting 1,500 passengers.

Passengers stranded at this airport since Monday were given two choices by their respective airlines—rebook or get a refund.

In case of rebooking, passengers are advised to get confirmation from their airlines first before traveling via P2P bus to the Ninoy Aquino International Nirport (Naia) for seamless travel.

Safety above all–Manankil

MEANWHILE, CDC President Noel F. Manankil said that as of 10:30 p.m. on Monday, all utilities have been restored and the roads are all passable.

“We’re doing more assessments of structures inside Clark. But so far, they are all operational, and we have advised all the locators to ensure safety regarding the integrity of their structures before allowing their employees to report for work,” Manankil said.

“But all our efforts now are on Clark airport. We will join hands for the opening of the airport,” he said.

Bases Conversion Development Authority Vice President Jake Bingcang assured the public that “as early as last night, there was already an initial assessment of the facilities undergoing construction, and no damage has been found.” He added that construction for new and expansion areas in the airport complex is ongoing, but safety precautions have been put in place.

After the earthquake on Monday, CIAC suspended international and domestic flights.

Melo said seven persons suffered minor injuries when a part of the ceiling at the check-in lobby collapsed. The victims were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The CIAC crisis team, headed by Melo, said flights were suspended for 24 hours beginning 7:40 p.m. on Monday. But Melo said CIAC will try to open the airport as scheduled late on Tuesday.

As such, the fate of Sea Jane Resto Bar in El Nido, Palawan, now hangs in the balance as the DENR Region 4B, or the Mimaropa region, investigates the establishment for allegedly directly discharging untreated wastewater to Bacuit Bay. The DENR is now conducting a laboratory test on the effluent samples taken from the company’s septic tank. Should it fail to meet the water quality standards set by the DENR, the company will be ordered closed, officials of the DENR said.

On April 11, the DENR discovered that the restaurant’s sewage treat-

ment facility was leaking through a large hole and was releasing black and foul-smelling liquid directly into El Nido’s Bacuit Bay. The discovery was made through the ground penetrating radar (GPR) scanning led by a team from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Central and Mimaropa regional offices.

During the excavation, a portion at the beach area fronting Sea Jane Resto Bar was seen with black sand, indicating the potential source of the untreated discharge.

Filthy water gushed out when a park ranger from El Nido’s Protected Area

Management Office dug deeper into the site using a shovel.

The backhoe from the municipal government of El Nido was used to continue the excavation, which later on revealed that the wastewater was indeed coming from a large opening underneath the flooring of the said establishment.

The owner of the establishment has committed to repairing their damaged septic tank.

Under the Clean Water Act, violators face a fine of up to P200,000 per day of violation, and with the issuance of a cease-and-desist order, the establishment may be ordered closed through the

concerned local government unit (LGU).

“We have to stop them, and all other erring establishments from polluting Bacuit Bay and from putting the lives and health of people at risk,” DENR Mimaropa Regional Executive Director Henry Adornado stated.

Bacuit Bay encompasses the islands of El Nido in Palawan. It serves as a jump-off area for tourists going to the famous Big and Small Lagoons and Hidden Beach. Unfortunately, portions of the bay were contaminated with high coliform levels because of irresponsible discharge of wastewater coming from establishments and households.

Poll bets told to disclose environmental agenda

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S the countr y prepares for the national and local polls in May, the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) has called on all political candidates to push for balanced policies to manage the country’s natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

“As the Philippine electorate prepares to wield its power to bestow a new mandate for the legislature and local governments, we challenge our senatorial and local candidates to state your agenda to address the most urgent environmental challenges of the land,” PBEST Convener Carmelo Bayarcal said in a news statement.

Balanced policies mean that the stewardship of the environ-

ment and economic development should not be in conflict. There is a middle ground approach to harnessing the development of the potential of our natural resources that do not compromise the environment,” he added.

As such, PBEST challenged candidates to disclose their agenda on environmental sustainability.

“For the longest time, environmental concerns have only been cursory and novelty platforms for political candidates and existing regulations are softly enforced.

But the issue of environmental protection has now become an urgent discussion worldwide that we cannot afford to be left out,” Bayarcal said.

“The repercussions are real, and we are starting to feel them.

China. . . continued from a1

shipyard or build larger than the shipbuilding’s capacity,” Yu told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the Boao Forum held for the first time in Manila.

Yu added that there are already a lot of shipyards in China, so they are not currently considering enlarging their shipbuilding capacity in two or three years’ time.

“Even [from] Cosco shipping’s point of view, we already have a lot of capacity for shipbuilding in China, and it is also the capacity over the demand, so [there] is no reason to enlarge the capacity of shipbuildings, no reason. Only reduce, I think. We have to reduce the capacity,” Yu added.

Asked when demand for ships would improve, Yu said: “That would only depend on trade: the more trade, the more cargo flows, the more ships, then they need more ships.”

Political issue

FRANCIS CHUA, honorary president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., also said Chinese firms are not keen on taking over Hanjin shipyard.

“It’s more of a political issue because the ambassador of China has already spoken [that] if we are going to enter Philippines, we would put up a brand-new shipyard because if we take over the Hanjin, there would be a political backlash, they would say na ‘itong China, inaagaw niya lahat ng Pilipinas [this China is grabbing everything in the Philippines], so that’s the reason,” Chua said.

Three foreign investors are in the advanced stages of acquiring the Hanjin shipyard, and no Chinese firm is on the list, according to Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo.

None of the prospective white knights come from China, in spite of the government’s earlier statement that two Chinese firms are looking to bail Hanjin out of its financial mess.

Those who vowed to come up with studies and a business proposal in a shot to take over Hanjin’s facilities in Subic Bay include Dutch Damen Group, French Naval Group and a consortium of American firms.

HHIC-Phil in January filed for corporate rehabilitation, after struggling to pay $412 million in loans to five domestic banks. Investment officials are searching far and wide to try and save the shipyard that once employed over 30,000 workers.

Security experts, including former Navy Chief Alexander P. Pama, earlier warned the government it will compromise national security should it allow China to take over the shipbuilder’s facilities in Subic Bay. The shipyard sits at a strategic area near West Philippine Sea, where Beijing has been building up military presence and harassing Filipino fishermen.

In spite of the financial trouble HHIC-Phil got into, the trade official said the government is determined to keep shipbuilding as a priority investment area. However, changes must be introduced into the kind of shipyard that will be allowed, as some types are no longer doing business.

Since taking over the Subic Bay shipyard in 2006, South Korea’s Hanjin invested over $2.3 billion and delivered 123 cargo ships by the end of 2018. The firm that will take over the facilities must have a working capital of $12 million monthly to shoulder all of HHIC-Phil’s debts.

With an earlier report by Elijah Felice E. Rosales

The sooner we and the candidates realize that the environmental agenda is fundamentally linked to other ‘conventional’ election issues such as power, water, food security, and even job creation, the sooner we can make development sustainable,” he said.

The group said recent disruptions such as erratic water supply, food inflation due to precarious supply, intermittent power interruptions and natural disaster are all linked to the environment because they resulted from people’s wanton disregard for the protection and care of nature and its inhabitants.

“Climate change has exacerbated the repercussions of mankind’s historic pursuits of progress often to the neglect of the environment,” PBEST said.

Bayarcal said true prosperity comes from the sustainable use of natural resources. “We cannot talk of prosperity if it is unsustainable.

It should be clear to all of us by now that natural resources are not infinite. All talks of progress and economic growth will not be possible nor make sense if we do not address the sustainability of these initiatives,” he said.

Bayarcal said investors are a l so look i ng for su st a i n able growth of the economy. “Imagine investing so much on infrastructure only to be marred by a lack of power supply, or inviting foreign investors only to drive them away by the rise in the cost of doing business as a result of imbalanced supply and demand,” he said. Jonathan L. Mayuga

A4 Wednesday, April 24, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso A8

The World BusinessMirror

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will go into Putin summit needing a win

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OKYO—When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin for their first one-on-one meeting, he will have a long wish list and a strong desire to notch a win after the failure of his second summit with President Donald J. Trump.

But it’s not entirely clear how much Putin can or will oblige.

Despite a relationship that goes back to the very foundation of North Korea, relations between Pyongyang and Moscow haven’t always been the picture of comradery, or even particularly close.

A look at what Kim is hoping to get out of his furtive pivot north, and why he might be looking to shake things up as his talks with the US and parallel campaign to win massive investment from South Korea have stalled:

Kim’s wish list

KIM has two urgent concerns as he heads to the summit.

More than 10,000 North Korean laborers still employed in Russia, many working in the logging industry in the Russian Far East, are being kicked out by the end of this year as a 2017 UN sanctions resolution takes effect. The laborers, who previously numbered as many as 50,000, have provided a revenue stream estimated

by US officials in the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Kim regime would like to keep flowing.

Kim is also looking at the possibility of a food shortage this summer.

Russia has shown a willingness to provide humanitarian aid and just last month announced that it had shipped more than 2,000 tons of wheat to the North Korean port of Chongjin.

But his decision to more actively court Putin undoubtedly goes deeper than that.

Despite all the talk in Washington about denuclearization, Kim’s primary concern is improving his country’s economy. After the breakdown in his February summit with Trump in Hanoi, his efforts to get out from under sanctions that are

keeping him from doing that have reached an impasse.

North Korea has long depended on China as its primary trading partner. But that reliance, and the influence it threatens to give Beijing, makes many officials in Pyongyang nervous.

Kim has also pushed Seoul hard to participate in joint inter-Korean projects to rebuild its railroads and improve its moribund infrastructure. His appeal to Korean unity, however, has run headfirst into the South’s allegiance to Washington, which has warned Seoul against any actions that would undermine sanctions.

According to internal documents obtained by a South Korean researcher and published this week in a Japanese newspaper, Kim wants to boost trade with Russia tenfold—to $1 billion—by 2020.

That would obviously require some significant easing of sanctions, which would seem unlikely. But it would also require a change in Russian behavior.

Unlike China, which has lots of businessmen on the ground in North Korea, Russia has a very small footprint in the North. Officials have long talked about big projects—including rail routes to Europe, or pipelines across the Korean Peninsula— but Putin hasn’t shown much interest in actually carrying them out.

Why now?

THE Kim-Putin meeting, whose exact date has not been announced, is coming surprisingly late in the game.

It’s been nearly a year and a half since Kim announced his plan to emerge from relative isolation at home and expand diplomatic relations with China and South Korea and open denucle-

THIS combination file photo shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 9, 2019, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 28, 2019. When Kim meets with Putin for their first one-on-one meeting, he will have a long wish list and a strong desire to notch a win after the failure of his second summit with US President Donald Trump in February 2019. AP PHOTO/DMITRI LOVETSKY, EVAN VUCCI

arization talks with Washington.

He has since held four summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping, three with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and two with Trump.

The summitry has done a lot toward establishing Kim as a serious player on the world stage.

But the Hanoi summit showed his limitations. It ended with no agreements on either denuclearization measures or the lifting of sanctions, which may now be even more difficult to accomplish since both sides are digging in on hard-line negotiation positions.

Kim’s decision to meet with Putin now may reflect his frustrations over that.

Putin has more experience with North Korea’s leaders than most. He visited Pyongyang in 2000, and met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, in Moscow in 2001 and in Vladivostok in 2011.

Moscow played an instrumental role in bringing Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, to power and helped rebuild the country after the 195053 Korean War. Those ties fell apart after the 1991 Soviet collapse and Russia’s decision to end support for former Soviet allies amid its own economic meltdown.

Like Kim, Putin is no admirer of Washington’s use of sanctions as a political tool. Even a cautious statement of solidarity with the North, or a rebuttal of any of Washington’s “maximum pressure” policies, would

Iran brushes off Washington’s decision on sanction waivers

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A SHINGTON—Iran has br ushed of f the Tr u m p a d m i n i s t r a tion’s decision to stop exempting countries from US sanctions on its oil exports.

In a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said: “Regarding the illegal status of the sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran basically has not seen and does not see any worth and validity for the waivers.”

It says Iran has intensified consu ltations w ith neighboring countr ies, as wel l as “European and international partners,” on the sanctions. T he ministr y says a “necessar y decision” will be announced later, w ithout elaborating.

President Donald J. Trump restored crippling sanctions on Iran and its vital oil industry last year after withdrawing the United States from the 2015 nuclear accord with world powers. But the US issued waivers to several countries allowing them to continue purchasing Iranian oil, but on Monday said it will no longer extend them.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized the US

decision to end sanction waivers for countries importing Iranian oil, saying the move “will not serve regional peace and stability.”

In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, Cavusoglu said: “Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbors.”

The decision means sanctions waivers for five nations, including China and India and US treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey, won’t be renewed when they expire on May 2.

Cavusoglu added the decision would harm the people of Iran. He tagged the US State Department and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his tweet.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose following news that the Trump administration is telling five nations, including allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey, that they will no longer be exempt from US sanctions if they import oil from Iran.

In morning trading, benchmark US crude surged $1.52, or 2.4 percent to $65.57 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, jumped $1.84, or 2.6 percent to $73.80.

Ritterbusch and Associates, an

oil trading advisory firm, said in a morning note that “a complete elimination of Iranian exports is nearly impossible and that a reduction beyond current levels will likely prove limited.”

It said that the overall effect “will hinge to a large degree on the Saudis response to what is likely to be some strong requests from the Trump administration to increase productions appreciably.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is praising the Trump administration’s decision to end sanction waivers for countries importing Iranian oil.

Netanyahu said on Monday that the move “is of great importance for increasing pressure on the Iranian terrorist regime.”

“We stand with the United States’ determination against Iranian aggression and this is the right way to stop it,” he said.

The move comes as the administration toughens its already strict penalties on Iran by trying to choke off all the revenue the country makes from oil sales.

In a statement, the White House said it was taking “timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market.” AP

be a win for Kim. But Putin has a lot on his plate and good reason to be cautious about making any big new commitments.

He particularly doesn’t want to anger China. Immediately after seeing Kim, Putin will fly to Beijing for a major international meeting on China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, which could be lucrative for Russia.

What’s next?

IF Putin chooses to take a more hands-on approach to North Korea, Washington’s efforts to keep Kim’s focus on denuclearization could get a lot more complicated.

He has already expressed his opposition to Trump’s sanctions-centric approach.

It’s also in Putin’s general interest to weaken Washington’s influence in the region—though, like China, Russia does not want a chaotic collapse in the North that would create a wave of refugees and economic instability.

So what’s the bottom line?

EVEN if he isn’t planning to make any immediate changes in his policies toward Pyongyang, meeting with Kim provides a good opportunity for Putin to reassert himself as a player in a contest for political influence that is, after all, right on his own border.

And for Kim, with the pressure from Washington not likely to let up soon, keeping all options open makes a lot of sense. AP

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Myanmar court rejects appeal of two jailed Reuters reporters

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AYPYITAW, Myanmar— Myanmar’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the final appeal of two Reuters journalists and upheld seven-year prison sentences for their reporting on the military’s brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo earlier this month shared with their colleagues the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, one of journalism’s highest honors. The reporters were arrested in December 2017 and sentenced last September after being accused of illegally possessing official documents, a violation of a colonial-era law.

The court did not given a reason for its decision. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are being held in a prison in Yangon, were not present for the ruling, but their wives were. Kyaw Soe Oo’s wife, Chit Su, broke down in tears when the ruling was read.

“Both he and I hoped for the best,” Chit Su told reporters. “I am terribly sad for this decision.”

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, had denied the charges against them and contended they were framed by police. International rights groups, media freedom organizations, UN experts and several governments condemned their conviction as an injustice and an attack on freedom of the press.

“Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did not commit any crime, nor was there any proof that they did,” Gail Gove, Reuters chief counsel, said in a statement after the ruling. “Instead, they were victims of a police setup to silence their truthful reporting. We will continue to do all we can to free them as soon as possible.”

Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer for the two, said the pair could still seek their freedom by petitioning the president’s office or the legislature.

President Win Myint could reduce the sentence, order a retrial or have them released. Legislative action for a retrial would be a lengthier, more complicated process.

“I am greatly disappointed by the decision of the court because it damaged very much our country’s prestige and our right of information and press freedom, it damaged very much,” Khin Maung Zaw said. But, I’m not losing hope completely, because the entire world is on our side.

So, as I always said, the case was lost, but the cause was won throughout the whole world.­” Myanmar’s military launched a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the western state of Rakhine in 2017, driving more than 700,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya

minority to flee to Bangladesh.

Reporting on the crackdown has proven sensitive in Buddhistdominated Myanmar, where many support the campaign and bristle at worldwide condemnation of the military’s alleged human-rights abuses.

The military has denied any rights abuses and says the campaign is a response to a series of attacks on security personnel by Rohingya insurgents.

The Reuters reporters had worked on an investigation of the killing of 10 Rohingya villagers in Inn Din village, for which the government last year said seven soldiers were sentenced to up 10 years in prison with hard labor.

Investigators working for the UN’s top human-rights body said last year that genocide charges should be brought against senior Myanmar military officers, while other critics accused the army of ethnic cleansing.

Prosecution witnesses at the reporters’ trial gave confusing and conflicting testimony, lending weight to the belief that the arrests were a clumsy setup by the government.

The reporters’ claim that they were framed was supported by surprise testimony from a whistle-blower in the police department, Police Capt. Moe Yan Naing.

Although summoned as a prosecution witness, he told the court that his superior had arranged for two policemen to meet the reporters at a restaurant and hand over documents described as “important secret papers” in order to entrap them.

As a result of his testimony, he was jailed for a year for violating the Police Disciplinary Act, and his family was forced to leave their police-housing unit.

A report released in February by Human Rights Watch noted that expectations of a new era of freedom of expression under the government of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi remain unfulfilled nearly three years after her party ended more than five decades of harsh military rule.

The military, however, remains powerful and controls key ministries that are not under civilian oversight, such as defense and internal security.

The report said Suu Kyi’s government has failed to roll back many of the legal restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, and has instead toughened some of those laws and enacted a new measure limiting free speech.

Journalists have been some of the most high-profile targets. The report cited a Myanmar freedom of expression organization, Athan, as saying that at least 43 journalists have been arrested from when Suu Kyi’s government took power in 2016 through last September. AP

Oil extends rally as White House ends waivers allowing Iranian crude imports

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IL extended gains after leaping to a six-month high on Monday as the US said it will no longer give any buyer of Iranian crude a waiver from sanctions aimed at cutting the Opec producer’s exports to zero.

Futures in London added as much as 0.6 percent, a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said any nation that continues to buy Iranian oil will face American sanctions. In response, the Islamic Republic threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for Middle East crude. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it will coordinate with other producers to ensure that adequate supplies are available.

Brent crude has rallied around 38 percent this year as Opec and its partners embarked on a mission to cut output and avert a global glut, while disruptions in Venezuela, Nigeria and Libya have further squeezed supplies. The White House’s decision to end exemptions for purchasing oil from the group’s fourth-largest producer supports the bull case for oil, with RBC Capital Markets forecasting a loss of 700,000 to 800,000 barrels a day of Iranian exports.

“Oil quickly repriced higher on fears that markets could face an immediate supply crunch, adding more pressure to the already tenuous global supply squeeze,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading and market strategy at SPI Asset Management. “This suggests that $80 Brent under current market conditions—something we thought unlikely only days ago—should now be considered a possibility.”

Brent for June settlement climbed as much as 46 cents to $74.50 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, and was at $74.29 a barrel at 12:34 p.m. in Singapore.

It rose $2.07 on Monday to $74.04, the highest close since October 31.

The global benchmark crude was at a premium of $8.43 to US West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

‘Appropriate supply’

WTI for June delivery rose as much as 40 cents to $65.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before trading at $65.85 a barrel. The May contract expired on Monday at a six-month high of $65.70.

Pompeo said he’s confident that the oil market will remain stable and that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir-

ates (UAE) and the US will ensure an “appropriate supply” of oil. The White House granted six-month exemptions to eight buyers last year, allowing them to purchase limited amounts of Iranian oil. It won’t renew the waivers when they expire on May 2.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid AlFalih said the kingdom and other suppliers will ensure the market doesn’t get out of balance. The biggest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the UAE can boost their combined output by about 1.5 million barrels per day within a short period, according to people who asked not to be identified, as the information is private.

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian military official said the Islamic Republic will shut the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway carrying a fifth of the world’s traded oil, if it’s prevented from using it, the state-run Fars news agency reported.

“In the event of any threats, we will not have the slightest hesitation to protect and defend Iran’s waterway,” the agency reported, citing Alireza Tangsiri, head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps navy force. Bloomberg News

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Sri Lanka arrests 40 suspects after bombings, toll up to 310

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OLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Sri Lanka security brief warned of attacks on churches, and the warning in the April 11 letter was plain: A local group was planning a suicide terror attack against churches in Sri Lanka.

Priyalal Disanayaka, the deputy inspector general of police, signed the letter addressed to the directors of four Sri Lankan security agencies.

He identified Mohammed Zaharan as the leader of “National Thawheek Jaman” and said state intelligence showed Zaharan’s group it was planning a suicide attack in the country.

Disanayaka asked the four security directors to “pay extra attention” to the places and VIPs in their care.

The intelligence report attached to his letter, which has circulated widely on social media, was written in both the local Sinhala language and English. It called the group National Towheed Jamaar and said it was led by Zahran Hashmi, and was targeting “some important churches” in a suicide terrorist attack that was planned to take place “shortly.” The report named six individuals likely to be involved in the plot.

The variance on the names wasn’t explained. The letter bears the seal of the ministerial security division.

On Monday, Sri Lanka’s health minister held up a copy of the intelligence report while describing its contents, spurring questions about what Sri Lanka police had done to protect the public from an attack.

It was not immediately clear what steps were taken by any of these security directors. Disanayaka did not answer calls or messages seeking comment.

But as Sri Lanka’s leaders wrangled the aftermath of an apparent homegrown militant attack and massive intelligence failure, security was heightened on Tuesday, and the military was employing powers to make arrests it last used when the devastating civil war ended in 2009.

Among the 40 people arrested on suspicion of links to the Easter bombings were the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers and the owner of a house where some of them lived.

Heightened security was evident in an international airport outside the capital where security personnel

walked explosive-sniffing dogs and checked car trunks and questioned drivers on roads nearby. Police also ordered that anyone leaving a parked car unattended on the street must put a note with their phone number on the windscreen, and post officers were not accepting prewrapped parcels.

A block on most social media since the attacks has left a vacuum of information, fueling confusion and giving little reassurance the danger had passed. Even after an overnight curfew was lifted, the streets of central Colombo were mostly deserted on Tuesday, and shops closed as armed soldiers stood guard.

On what was declared a national day of mourning for the attacks, police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the death toll had risen to 310, with hundreds more wounded.

Sri Lankan authorities also on Tuesday planned to brief foreign diplomats and receive assistance from the FBI and other foreign intelligence-gathering agencies.

The six near-simultaneous attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels and three related blasts later on Sunday were the South Asian island nation’s deadliest violence in a decade.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he feared the massacre could unleash instability, and he vowed to “vest all necessary powers with the defense forces” to act against those responsible.

Word from international intelligence agencies that a local group was planning attacks apparently didn’t reach the prime minister’s office until after the massacre, exposing the continuing political turmoil in the highest levels of the Sri Lankan government.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the warnings started on April 4, the defense ministry wrote to the police chief and police wrote on April 11 to the heads of security of the Judiciary and diplomatic security division.

Boeing prepares production line for likely Air Force F-15 orders

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AINT LOUIS—Boeing is preparing to build F-15 fighter planes for the US Air Force at its Saint Louis County plant even though the military branch hasn’t bought the jet in over a decade.

The Chicago-based company began ramping up its F-15 production line near Saint Louis after the Air Force submitted a nearly $8-billion budget request last month that included eight F-15s next year and 72 in the following four years.

The request came as a surprise to many since the US military has moved toward stealth fighters, such as Lockheed Martin’s F-35, in recent years.

Prat Kumar, Boeing International’s vice president, told the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch that the company is investing before Congress approves the budget request so it can respond quickly should the Air Force seek rapid field deployment.

Engineers and manufacturing experts recently met at the Saint Louis

County facility to determine how to efficiently assemble the fighter jet with its modern defense, radar and operating systems.

The first F-15 was first developed in the early 1970s, and foreign orders from Singapore, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have kept the Missouri manufacturing line running in recent years.

“With all the improvements we’ve done to the F-15 over the years, there’s more interest in the F-15,” said Andy Stark, manager of F-15 assembly. “We’d rather get ahead of the need versus waiting for the need to happen. So we’re doing these studies so that way, when the need occurs, we’ve already got the business case and we’re ready to pull the trigger.”

The line is equipped to build about one F-15 a month, but Boeing officials believe that minimal modifications can increase production to up to three of the jets each month. AP

RELATIVES carry a coffin for burial during the funerals of three members of the same family, who all died at the Easter Sunday bomb blast at Saint Sebastian Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday, April 22, 2019. Easter Sunday bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites were Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war in the South Asian island nation ended a decade ago. AP PHOTO/GEMUNU AMARASINGHE

Sirisena, who was out of the country on Sunday, had ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in October and dissolved the Cabinet.

The Supreme Court reversed his actions, but the prime minister has not been allowed into meetings of the Security Council since October, leaving him and his government in the dark about the intelligence.

Authorities said they knew where the group trained and had safe houses, but did not identify any of the seven suicide bombers, whose bodies were recovered, or the other suspects taken into custody.

All seven bombers were Sri Lankans, but authorities said they strongly suspected foreign links, Senaratne said.

Also unclear was a motive. The history of Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, a country of 21 million including large Hindu, Muslim and Christian minorities, is rife with ethnic and sectarian conflict.

In the 26-year civil war, the Tamil Tigers, a powerful rebel army known

for using suicide bombers, was finally crushed by the government in 2009 but had little history of targeting Christians. Anti-Muslim bigotry fed by Buddhist nationalists has swept the country recently, but there is no history of Islamic militancy. Its small Christian community has seen only scattered incidents of harassment. Two of the stricken churches are Catholic and one Protestant.

The three hotels and one of the churches, Saint Anthony’s Shrine, are frequented by foreigners. Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said 39 foreigners were killed, although the foreign ministry gave the figure as 31. The reason for the discrepancy wasn’t clear, but some victims were dual nationals.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, said the attacks could have been thwarted.

“We placed our hands on our heads when we came to know that these deaths could have been avoided. Why this was not prevented?” he said. AP

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

A9

Libya Prime Minister: ‘Foreigners arming strongman’s Tripoli push’

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HE leader of Libya’s internationally recognized government said foreign backers have been arming strongman K halifa Haftar since he launched an offensive to take the capital, Tripoli, and warned of a proxy war.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj declined to identify the countries.

But states including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia have provided weapons in the past to the leader of the selfstyled Libyan National Army, the country’s largest and most organized force.

The offensive, launched about two weeks ago, has stalled on Tripoli’s outskirts, and efforts to mediate a truce have been unsuccessful. Sarraj says he won’t negotiate until Haftar withdraws his forces, and that he’s disappointed by the muted international reaction to the assault.

US President Donald Trump spoke to Haftar last week, recognizing his role in combating terrorism, as Washington and Russia stymied a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire.

Analysts said the language suggested a reversal by Washington, which had initially demanded the withdrawal of Haftar’s forces. But Sarraj said in an interview on Monday that the US administration informed him it remains opposed to the assault.

“We deal with statements from the State Department and direct contacts with the American administration, and the message is very clear: They are not pleased with the attack on Tripoli,” he said.

Without a quick resolution, the conflict threatens to turn into a proxy war pitting Haftar’s backers against countries such as Qatar and Turkey that have sup-

ported Sarraj and allied militias in Misrata, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Tripoli.

“Weapons and equipment have not stopped reaching Haftar, before and after the offensive,” Sarraj said. Asked about the possibility of a proxy war in the North African Opec state, he replied, “Of course there are fears.”

Libya, which is split between his Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and the rival administration in the east that backs Haftar, is under a United Nations arms embargo, and Sarraj voiced frustration with the militia commander’s alleged advantage.

“The aggressor party has open channels to import weapons and equipment and all types of technology while the Government of National Accord cannot defend itself,” Sarraj said, referring to his own administration. “How do you expect the Government of National Accord to commit to this and not think of alternative options to defend itself?”

Sarraj did not say whether he and his allies were receiving support. The LNA accuses Turkey and Qatar of backing his forces.

Haftar’s offensive came as a complete surprise, the prime minister said. The two men had been preparing to meet in Libya on the week of the offensive ahead of a planned UN-sponsored conference on April 14. The campaign— which Haftar has cast as a fight against terrorist groups—began while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Sarraj cast doubt that Haftar could be a partner for future talks, noting that the two had held an amiable conversation about negotiations just days before the offensive began. “He wants the whole cake,” he said. Bloomberg News

A10 Wednesday, April 24, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

PHL needs to have reliable agri data

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MERICAN farmers who want to make better planting decisions go to the web site of the United States Department of Agriculture where they can access databases on various crops and agricultural products. The agency administers programs that create domestic and international marketing opportunities for producers of food, fiber and specialty crops in the US. Apart from updates and forecasts on farm output, the USDA also has studies on potential export markets for American agricultural products.

The US agency has an enviable database given its long history. It was created on May 15, 1862, at a time when about half of Americans lived on farms. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service alone provides marketing insight that assists American farmers and businesses to make decisions about the marketing and sale of their products. With the help of innovations introduced by the USDA, particularly in the area of data collection, American farmers were able to help the US become the world’s most powerful nation on Earth.

The Philippines is not as huge as the United States, which should make it easier for the government to establish reliable agricultural data. Despite the increasing importance of trade data in the country’s economy, however, a database that could help producers make sound business decisions remains missing. This is particularly evident in the agriculture sector, where planters and other producers are practically blind in terms of production planning. While the government has the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that churns out periodic reports on agriculture, farmers continue to grapple with unreliable production data. (See, “Fuzzy PHL agriculture data leads to glut, confused farm sector,” in the BusinessMirror, March 14, 2019).

Like the poultry raisers, banana growers have also urged the government to help them establish credible production data, which would help cement the Philippines’s status as a reliable source of the tropical fruit. (See, “PHL banana sector badly in need of reliable production data—PBGEA,” in the BusinessMirror, April 18, 2019). The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association warned that underreporting or overreporting data on banana production would get us into trouble with our trade partners. Available official data, the group said, is not enough to gauge the real state of the Philippine banana sector.

The lack of credible data could be tagged as the single biggest factor that has hampered the development of the Philippine agriculture sector. Take the case of the rice industry, which would now have to deal with the influx of imports following the implementation of the rice trade liberalization law. The BusinessMirror report, “Snapshot of rice-consumption data remains grainy as Pinoys grapple with supply, prices” published on August 30, 2018, revealed that government uses two data sets to estimate the rice consumption of Filipinos. Not only that, experts pointed out that the government is still using “outdated” parameters to measure consumption and production. The inaccurate estimation of rice consumption alone could result in under-importation or over-importation.

As the Philippines is one of the countries in Asia Pacific that are prone to natural disasters and vulnerable to climate change, policy-makers need to better target their interventions. This cannot be done if they do not have all the proper tools, including credible data, at their disposal that will allow them to craft cost-efficient programs to assist farmers and other workers. Upgrading data collection and expanding the capability of agencies and local governments to set up a reliable database is much cheaper than spending billions of pesos each year to compensate planters affected by natural disasters and rehabilitate damaged farms.

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Where were you when the ground shook?

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How wise is the Lord to be sending us constant reminders not just to be brave, but also to have the courage to be different and the patience to be kind. There must be a way to elevate this life of ours, into that rarest of gifts: relevance. Relevance means living life with purpose, with less self-centeredness in the equation of our minutes, our hours and our days.

The blue sofa moved as we were seated. It felt like our couch transformed into a car that hit a bump and went up and down, and swayed from side to side. It was violent. It was abrupt. It was shocking. Through the seconds of shaking, Jerome and I went still and looked at each other, while Arman gave voice to our fears, “Lumilindol!”

We went outside and saw the office sign swaying. Our neighbor, the Department of Foreign Affairs, a giant of a building, soon emptied itself of weak-kneed staff. The intensity of the earthquake became a guessing game that the media soon resolved.

We all decided to go home.

My journey home was eerie. I saw people outside their buildings

supermart. The Clark International Airport incurred severe damage.

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar and the local officials of Pampanga led by the hardworking Gov. Lilia Pineda continue to make the rounds, and check on structures to ensure their integrity.

A woman and her grandchild in Lubao died after a wall collapsed on them.

A four-story building in Porac collapsed with people trapped inside.

Some of the affected provinces have intermittent power.

You and I, we are so very lucky.

Let us resolve to use this experience to be better people than we are.

Let us think of those who died, and were injured, and offer a prayer for those crushed by this singular blow of Mother Nature.

Susan V. Ople

SCRIBBLES WAS in the office, chatting with Jerome Alcantara, my trusty executive director at the Blas F. Ople Policy Center. Two of our other staff, Riza and Eva, came in from a nearby workshop with food in Styrofoam packs. Our case handlers, Jenny and Arman, were in their workstations, right before me. clutching their phones, taking calls or texting people they love. I saw buses brimming with passengers, groaning from the unexpected weight of it all. I heard the chatter on radio and social media, with government executives saying that the quake did not qualify as a big one. And yet, there the people were—walking around dazed, with both the MRT and LRT unable to run the tracks.

When evening fell, it was somber.

It was difficult to eat dinner while watching prime-time news, knowing that some of us did not make it alive. Our brothers and sisters in Porac, Pampanga, bore the brunt of the quake. Until now, there has yet to be a clear count of casualties inside the collapsed structure of a local

Let us design our life and its remainder with all glory to God and let no sinful boulders of spite stop our hearts from beating with love that is forgiving.

Dear Reader, where were you when the ground shook?

And where are you headed now that it’s over?

Will you go on with your life as if nothing happened? Or will you use this experience to be a greater source of light and love and laughter because you breathe while others no longer can?

How wise is the Lord to be sending us constant reminders not just to be brave, but also to have the courage to be different and the patience to be kind. There must be a way to elevate this life of ours, into that rarest of gifts: relevance.

Relevance means living life with purpose, with less self-centeredness in the equation of our minutes, our hours and our days.

Sometimes the Earth needs to move, so we can be still, and in that stillness, commit to becoming better versions of ourselves.

Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues. She also represents the OFW sector in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

Sri Lanka terror attacks break from past patterns

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By Bobby Ghosh | Bloomberg Opinion

HE wave of suicide attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday feels awfully familiar, as is the government’s assessment of who is to blame: local jihadists, in cahoots with international terrorist networks. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne told a press conference in Colombo that the National Thowheed Jamath—a small, hitherto little-known group—was behind the bombings, which have killed some 300 and wounded 500.

But, he added, “We don’t see how a small organization can do all of this. We are now investigating international support for the group and their other links.”

No group has as yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which is atypical, but not unheard of. As Mia Bloom, author of Small Arms: Children and Terrorism, points out, groups sometimes wait to “to take the temperature of how the attack is received, and occasionally make cost-benefit calculations.” (Another reason to hold off is more ominous: the operation is incomplete, and more strikes are planned.)

Suspicions have inevitably fallen on the various franchises of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. With some reports suggesting that the Indian High Commission in Colombo was one of the targets, Pakistani terrorist organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed must be

added to the list of suspects.

So far, so predictable. International jihadist organizations routinely team up with local actors— whether radicalized individuals or small groups—to conduct terrorist attacks. The targets—hotels and churches—are familiar, too.

But under closer examination, the attacks in Sri Lanka diverge from the pattern in significant ways.

Start with the NTJ. Until Sunday morning, the group was known—to those who knew it at all—mainly for some attempts at defacing Buddhist statues. It had no track record of serious acts of violence, much less suicide operations. It had no credibility among Sri Lankan Muslims, some of which reported the group’s activities to the authorities. Al Qaeda or the Islamic State would hardly entrust a major, multipronged suicide operation—the most complex, most ambitious terrorist strike ever carried out

Muslims in the island nation have no history of rancor with the Christian community—both are small minorities. In recent years, violence against Muslims has mostly been committed by Buddhist extremists. During the decadeslong civil war that ended in 2009, Muslims were sometimes targeted

by Tamil separatists, who were for the most part Hindu.

in Asia, and also the deadliest—to this kind of organization.

The other mystifying element of the Easter Sunday attacks is the lack of local motivation. Typically, when Al Qaeda or Islamic State uses a local proxy to carry out an attack, it counts on that proxy to be nursing deep local grievances—a history of oppression by the state, or long-festering sectarian wounds. In such an operation, the proxy group is pursuing some specific agenda while also serving the global-jihadi objectives of the larger organization.

But even by the twisted logic of jihadist groups, the motivation for the attacks in Sri Lanka is hard to see. True, there has been some jihadist radicalization among Sri Lankan Muslims: a few joined the Islamic State in Syria. But it is one thing to

travel to the Middle East for a “holy war” against forces you believe to be enemies of Islam, and quite another to murder neighbors who represent no threat.

Muslims in the island nation have no history of rancor with the Christian community—both are small minorities. In recent years, violence against Muslims has mostly been committed by Buddhist extremists. During the decades-long civil war that ended in 2009, Muslims were sometimes targeted by Tamil separatists, who were for the most part Hindu.

Why, then, did the attackers chose to attack churches? Certainly not because of a scarcity of Buddhist or Hindu targets. The churches and hotels were not merely targets of opportunity: this was an operation that required planning and coordination, reminiscent of the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, where Pakistani planners spent months scoping out targets and arranging logistics. On that occasion, the terrorist group—Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba—required little local help.

The next few days will reveal a clearer picture of the who and why of the attacks. For now, the government’s claim that this was a Sri Lankan operation, with some outside help, is hard to take at face value.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 A11

Rebuilding Notre Dame Philippine Financial Reporting Standard 4 is no mere vanity project Atty. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

Stephen L. Carter

BLOOMBERG VIEW

I

S it a waste of money to spend the billions of euros that will be needed to rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris? A lot of people seem to consider the whole thing no more than a “vanity project” for the uber-rich.

I disagree. One reason is that I’m not so keen on telling other people how to spend their money. Another is that I think the cathedral is important. But most of all, it’s because I consider private charity an absolute good.

The burning of the cathedral has occasioned a remarkable outpouring of pledges from around the world — including from some of the wealthiest families in France and elsewhere.

So far, more than €1 billion have been promised toward what is expected to be a lengthy effort at reconstruction.

The cost might well run as high as €8 billion, most of which probably will not be covered by insurance.

Nevertheless, social media has been rich with furious suggestions of places the billions might be better spent. In Paris itself, the gilets jaunes were back in the streets last weekend, having decided not to take an Easter break from their regular protests.

In a bizarrely unfortunate choice of symbols, they chose to set small fires of their own along the route of the march—fires, reports the Associated Press, that “appeared to be a collective plea to French President Emmanuel Macron’s government” for help.

But I cannot help wondering whether we would see the same level of anger at the large pledges had the spire that toppled in flames been the Eiffel Tower. It’s hard to believe that any popular movement would have taken the view that reconstructing the world’s most iconic landmark was a social wrong. If this is so, then the fury stems not from the fact that the wealthy are contributing money to rebuilding a national treasure, but from the fact that the national treasure they seek to rebuild happens to be a cathedral. (Although the cathedral is owned by the government of France.)

Besides, charitable giving is an absolute good—not only for the sake of the causes the giver chooses, but also for the promotion of diversity of values that it represents and perpetuates. If all giving were subject to public whim, only the majority’s favored charities would be funded.

Thus the claim that the contributions would better be spent on X is something of a non sequitur.

Not only does private funding fill gaps that officialdom will miss—often intentionally—it also stimulates more private funding. The Notre Dame example illustrates the way that the competition among the wealthy to outgive each other reflects the well-known signaling effect of charity: If the very rich are sometimes ashamed of their conspicuous consumption, they can show off their wealth in a socially acceptable way by the size of their contributions.

So once a single billionaire pledges

millions of euros to rebuild the cathedral, it follows that others will, too, which is in fact what has happened.

Moreover, private contributions can point out directions for our own donations that we might not have considered. A theory of giving associated with the economist James Andreoni holds that people make donations because of the “warm glow” of knowing that they have helped — a satisfaction that occurs even when the gift is anonymous. We give because giving makes us feel good. This view helps explain a happy spillover from the outpouring of large contributions to rebuild Notre Dame: the outpouring of small contributions to rebuild elsewhere.

In the weeks before the fire at Notre Dame, three black churches in Louisiana were burned to the ground. On the day before the news of the calamity in Paris, a GoFundMe campaign to rebuild them had raised just $50,000. Three days later, the donations had risen to over $1 million. Does anyone believe that the pledges would have reached seven figures had the disaster in Paris not made the issue of burned churches salient to potential givers?

One test of the salience theory will be whether there is an outpouring of contributions to rebuild the churches destroyed in this weekend’s horrific bombing attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, which claimed nearly 300 lives.

One cannot seriously argue, given the venues and the timing, that Christians were not the targets— a painful reminder that we often think too small when we announce confidently who counts as a minority and who gets persecuted.

More to the point, the decision to blow up churches constitutes an effort not merely to kill lots of people but to strip a community of one of its most visible symbols of unity. In the American South, black churches have been burned for as long as there have been black churches. The point of such terror has always been intimidation; the response to such terror has always been a determination to rebuild.

Fund-raising efforts aimed at rebuilding the churches destroyed in Sri Lanka are already underway. Restoring those churches, like restoring those destroyed in Louisiana, is important—and not just because the terrorists cannot be allowed to prevail. Even sacred buildings destroyed or damaged in an accidental fire, such as Notre Dame, can have meaning for people who have no particular religious connection to them. Symbols matter; and they can be loved. And they can offer some refuge for those who seek a sense of peace and understanding in a bewildering world.

T

HE current Philippine insurance accounting standard is the Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS) 4, which was adopted from IFRS 4 (Insurance Contracts) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board in March 2004.

IFRS 4 was the very first guidance from the IASB on accounting for insurance contracts. It started in 1997 when the predecessor of the IASB, the International Accounting Standards Committee, embarked on what was then dubbed as the “Insurance Project”.

This project was divided into two phases. Phase 1 was completed in 2004 with the issuance of IFRS 4. The second phase would result to the issuance of IFRS 17.

IFRS 4 will be replaced by IFRS 17, which was issued in May 2017 and will take effect on January 1, 2022. IFRS 4 has been amended in 2005 and 2016. Insurance contracts have been intentionally excluded from other IFRS standards such as IFRS 15 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers), IAS 37 (Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and

Contingent Assets) and IFRS 9 (Financial Instruments).

PFRS 4 was originally intended to take effect in the Philippines for the 2005 financial statements. IFRS 4 was to apply to annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2005.

However, under Circular Letter No. 37-2005, dated December 19, 2005, the adoption of PFRS 4 was deferred

S

AMSUNG Electronics Co. makes really good phones.

Seriously, when they don’t explode or peel apart or simply turn to black, the Samsung name represents solid, reliable devices with good hardware and nice software.

That’s why its decision to delay the launch of its first foldable smartphone shows that these gimmicks may be more hassle than they’re worth. The Fold was never likely to be

a huge revenue or earnings driver. It was merely a chance to show off what the South Korean company could do.

Unfortunately, Samsung has simply proven that it can’t actually do foldable phones after all.

This poor product execution comes a little more than two years after the release of the exploding Galaxy Note 7, a device that earned the rare honor of being banned by name from airlines around the world. As predicted, consumers forgave Samsung and were more than willing to revisit the brand after

it holds. It does not apply to other assets and liabilities of an insurer, such as financial assets and financial liabilities.

The notable features of IFRS 4 included the following, among others: a) it prohibits provisions for possible claims under contracts not in existence at the reporting date; b) it requires a test for the adequacy of recognized insurance liabilities; c) it requires an impairment test for reinsurance assets (that reinsurance assets are not impaired); d) it requires an insurer to keep insurance liabilities in its statement of financial position (balance sheet) until they are discharged, canceled or expired; e) it prohibits the offsetting of insurance liabilities against related reinsurance assets; f) it provides for measuring insurance liabilities on an undiscounted basis; and g) it provides for measuring contractual rights to future investment management fees at an amount that exceeds their fair value.

Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016.

E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Notre Dame fire was a warning bell; but will Europe listen?

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By Raf Casert | The Associated Press

ARIS—It’s a thin line where the patina of age on Europe’s countless monuments gives way to the onset of neglect. Like with so many loved ones, all is assumed to be fine, until suddenly it’s not.

In the wake of the fire last week that gutted Notre Dame, questions are being raised about the state of thousands of other cathedrals, palaces and village spires that have turned France—as well as Italy, Britain and Spain—into open-air museums of Western civilization.

If even an iconic building like Notre Dame could not be protected from devastation, if such a potent symbol of France had to scramble for maintenance funds, that lays bare a culture of apathy that can undermine a shared history, as well as the multibillion-dollar tourism industry upon which much of Europe depends.

“We are so used to our outstanding cultural heritage in Europe that we tend to forget that it needs constant care and attention,” Tibor Navracsics, the European Union’s top culture official, told The Associated Press.

Some say the wake-up call, not just for Europe but the whole world, rang in Paris.

Sneska Quaedvlieg-Mihailovicis, head of the Europa Nostra heritage foundation, said it was “as if Notre Dame decided to set itself on fire to ring the alarm bell. As if she wanted to sacrifice herself for the cause.”

Devastating fires have robbed mankind of its knowledge, art and treasures since the famed library of Alexandria in northern Egypt burned down in ancient times. Prior to Notre Dame, the last global warning came when Brazil’s Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most important cultural institutions in South America, burned down in September.

“Unfortunately, the fire in Notre Dame is just one of many examples,” said Navracsics.

Experts look at the near-endless

list of fires at historical sites in Europe and wonder why officials so often don’t learn before it’s too late.

Data on such fires is limited, because monuments are so varied. Some were accidents, others arson.

“There are no exact statistics,” said Didier Rykner of France’s La Tribune de l’Art, but added that France sees “several fires every year in historic buildings, which is already way too much.”

A 2015 study by the German engineering giant Siemens showed that Scotland had about 10 damaging fires a year, while England lost at least a dozen listed buildings a year.

Germany has seen 70 such buildings destroyed since 2000.

“Every year, there’s lightning or something else that destroys a tower or a roof,” Juan Antonio Herráez, who is in charge of preventive conservation at Spain’s Cultural Heritage institute, told the AP. In 1985, the tower of Luxembourg’s main cathedral caught fire and burned down. In 2004, a fire in the Duchess Anna Amalia library in Weimar, Germany, caused an estimated €80 million ($90 million) in damage. In Italy, the historic La Fenice opera house in Venice was destroyed by fire in 1996, and a year later, that happened at Turin’s Sindone Chapel of the Holy Shroud.

And all too often, fires happen during restoration work.

The Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building was gutted by fire last year for the second time in four years as it neared the end of a multimillion-pound (dollar) restoration project.

In Spain, the Gran Teatre del Liceu—Barcelona’s opera house— was destroyed almost entirely in 1994 by a fire caused by spark that

Samsung can learn from Apple that boring beats sexy

By Tim Culpan | Bloomberg Opinion

to take effect on January 1, 2006.

This marked the first time that a new accounting standard for insurance companies was deferred.

IFRS 4 was issued as an “interim standard” in 2004. The IASB had always intended to replace IFRS 4.

It was prepared under a constrained time frame. Hence, it was written with the objective of attaining the minimum harmonization. It allowed the continued use of national (local or domestic) standards when accounting for insurance contracts. From an international view point, it means a variety of accounting practices across the globe. Thus, under IFRS 4, there really is no global accounting standard to speak of. Consequently, comparability of insurers across jurisdictions remained a difficulty—a matter that will later be addressed

by IFRS 17.

IFRS 4 was issued, as there was a need to improve disclosures for insurance contracts. There was also a need to improve recognition and measurement practices. IFRS 4 was intended to apply to all insurance contracts (including reinsurance contracts) that an entity issues and to reinsurance contracts that

that dust had settled.

Not only could the Samsung brand do without this kind of trauma, the company’s financials don’t need the risk-taking. Another smartphone product failure would be costly, and as my colleague Alex Webb wrote last week, could poison consumer appetite for foldable phones overall.

Besides, the company makes buckets of money elsewhere.

Let’s remember that Samsung is a global leader in the key components used in electronics—displays and memory chips. Granted, these are

cyclical and unstable businesses, yet Samsung’s solid execution has allowed it to continue making money when smaller rivals have lost money or gone belly-up.

Samsung’s chip business, for example, contributed 76 percent of operating income last year despite accounting for 32 percent of revenue.

Phones, on the other hand, provided less than 18 percent of operating profit on 36 percent of sales.

This in-house supply chain is a competitive advantage no other company in the world enjoys.

Devastating fires have robbed mankind of its knowledge, art and treasures since the famed library of Alexandria in northern Egypt burned down in ancient times. Prior to Notre Dame, the last global warning came when Brazil’s Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most important cultural institutions in South America, burned down in September. fell on a curtain during routine repair work.

Experts say what’s lacking is the constant attention and regular maintenance that could help avoid the need for major restoration work, but that costs money. The problem has been exacerbated by the austerity budgets many European nations adopted after the 2008 financial crisis and during Europe’s subsequent debt crisis.

After austerity cuts, Rykner said, “you need some drastic restorations that either you don’t do, or you do them badly or cheaply. And it can lead to fires.”

Herráez wants officials to shift their focus to prevention instead of only reacting to building disasters.

“Reparation or restoration should be seen as the failure in conservation,” he said. “We would be spending money in maintenance but we will be minimizing potential future damages.”

Navracsics echoed that thought.

“We should never forget that there’s also a cost to nonaction, a lack of maintenance or a lack of prevention,” he said.

The problem is that prevention is practically invisible, but grand restorations can be a boon for the politicians cutting the ribbons.

The fire at Notre Dame had barely been doused when two of France’s richest men, rival billionaires, stepped up with flashy, competing donations of hundreds of millions of

To leverage that, Samsung would be better served focusing on solid execution of reliable products rather than trying to be novel with untested technology.

Its long-time rival, Apple Inc., is a good example of that strategy. Rarely the first to utilize new technology, Apple has been content to watch others implement OLED displays, facial recognition and 4G. When its iPhones do finally catch up, they execute with nary a hiccup.

Along with its walled-garden iOS ecosystem, it’s this boring (sorry,

euros to rebuild the Paris cathedral.

Notre Dame donations now stand at over €1 billion ($1.12 billion)—or about three years of France’s national restoration budget.

This massive outpouring of donations grates on those who have begged for years for a few thousand euros to restore a local but valuable monument.

“You have seen that, now, the money is not the problem,” said Quaedvlieg-Mihailovicis. “There is a lesson. Could we not invest smaller amounts, and not just for the biggest and the most iconic monuments?”

The EU itself has allotted €4.7 billion ($5.28 billion) for restorations in the 2014-2020 financial budget on top of what individual nations do.

As state funding dries up, governments are increasingly looking for private donors to renovate major monuments. In Italy in recent years, Tod’s luxury shoes sponsored the Colosseum face-lift, while the Fendi fashion house helped the Trevi Fountain in Rome and Diesel backed improvements for the Rialto bridge in Venice.

“We do need to invest more, but this is a shared responsibility for governments, businesses and citizens across Europe,” said Navracsics.

Nations will reap the benefits of such spending for years to come.

Tourism in Britain and France alone amounts to about 7 percent of their gross domestic product, good for around €150 billion and €170 billion (around $170 billion and $190 billion) a year.

Some say world-renowned monuments like Notre Dame are the driving force behind such tourism and deserve more respect.

“Cultural heritage is a gold mine.

You cannot exploit it and then just leave the mine and go to another one. It is something you really have to cherish,” said Quaedvlieg-Mihailovicis.

Aritz Parra in Madrid, Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless in London, Colleen Barry in Milan, Sylvie Corbet and Sam Petrequin in Paris all contributed.

Apple) but dependable product approach that allows consumers to feel comfortable knowing that the latest iPhone won’t be a lottery.

It’s when Apple has strayed into new territory that it hit product problems (just think of antenna gate and scratch gate).

With the smartphone business becoming so lackluster, it’s tempting to try push the boundaries just to drum up excitement. But most consumers want a product that works, and don’t need one that excites.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Wednesday, April 24, 2019

‘Bottlenecks hinder Chinese trade, investment projects’

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie & Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

HE Speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday said the Philippines has to exert “maximum effort” to address on-theground bottlenecks that prevent the implementation of projects, and hamstrung trade and investment flows from China.

This, as a Palace official expressed the hope that the inputs in the maiden Boao Forum in Manila will put primary consideration on inclusive growth. Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea said in a keynote speech during the opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia Manila Conference on Monday night, “Let me emphasize, that multilateral cooperation and economic development should always be inclusive.

It must always benefit the greater majority, especially the poor and the marginalized.”

Profit and income should be

viewed as mere consequences of the countries’ collective progress, he added.

In her speech before Filipino and Chinese businessmen during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), meanwhile, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said businessmen from China were concerned about the country’s restrictions on foreign investments.

“Vice Chairman Zhou [Xiaochuan] mentioned about the restrictions on foreign investments in the Philippines,” Arroyo said.

“Clearly, the economic and trade cooperation between our two

“Clearly, the economic and trade cooperation between our two countries is as good as it has ever been, better than it has ever been, in fact.

The main thing to focus on now is on the implementation side.

The Philippines has to exert maximum effort to remove on-the-ground bottlenecks that impede implementation of projects that involve trade and investment groups from China.”—Arroyo

countries is as good as it has ever been, better than it has ever been, in fact. The main thing to focus on now is on the implementation side. The Philippines has to exert maximum effort to remove on-theground bottlenecks that impede implementation of projects that involve trade and investment groups from China,” Arroyo said.

According to Arroyo, companies from China wanted to know more about the regulatory policies in the Philippines.

She said the two-day Boao Forum in Manila will seek to enlighten businessmen from China on the Philippines’s restrictions on foreign investment.

“When we were preparing for this Boao Forum, the Filipino businessmen were excited to meet Chinese businessmen and they wanted to meet businessmen in high technology,” she said.

“And we took the cue from that and we asked the Association of Filipino-China Understanding to help invite specifically businessmen in high technology. And 16 of them came to Manila in response to the invitation,” added Arroyo, who is a member of the board of BFA. The Speaker said all the business plans presented by the Chinese businessmen did not have any restrictions on foreign investments, a crucial point that would have to be considered alongside current Philippine policies.

Under Arroyo’s leadership, the House passed a measure amending the Foreign Investments Act of 1991 to make the Philippines more accessible to foreign investors. The bill is now pending at the Senate.

“They all came with their business plans and we in the Philippines want to match the enthusiasm in the implementation side.

See “Bottlenecks,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

24 HERITAGE CHURCHES IN PAMPANGA DAMAGED; COURTS, SCHOOLS CHECKED

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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T least 24 heritage churches in Pampanga face possible temporary closure after sustaining damage from the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that shook Metro Manila and a large swath of Luzon on Monday.

This, as Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin ordered an inspection of all court houses to ensure their structural integrity, and the Department of Education (DepEd) gave a similar directive concerning school buildings and facilities, telling officials on the ground to ensure their safety “before allowing learners, teachers and personnel to enter the same.”

Bersamin on Tuesday personally conducted an inspection of some of the areas in the Supreme Court premises to check for damage.

Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MMDRRMC) also ordered the inspection of government buildings and infrastructure in Metro Manila.

In an advisory, the Archdiocesan Commission on Church Heritage (ACCH) of the Archdiocese of Pampanga recommended the temporary “lockdown” of the churches, while

undergoing structural assessment.

The commission recommended the closure “until deemed safe by experts.”

“The Technical Secretariat is coordinating with experts and national agencies to assure everyone’s safety,” ACCH said.

Among the churches listed on the recommendation are the Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles City, Pampanga; Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish in Mabalacat City, Pampanga; San Bartolome Apostol Parish in Magalang, Pampanga; San Agustin Parish in Lubao, Pampanga; Santa Lucia Parish in Sasmuan, Pampanga; Immaculada Concepcion Parish in Guagua, Pampanga; Santiago Apostol Parish in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga; San Jose Labrador Parish in Floridablanca, Pampanga; Santa Catalina de Alexandria Parish in Porac, Pampanga; and Santa Rita de Cascia Parish in Santa Rita, Pampanga.

Other affected churches which could be temporarily closed are the Metropolitan Cathedral City of San Fernando, Pampanga; Santa Catalina de Alexandria Parish in Arayat, Pampanga; San Guillermo Parish in Bacolor, Pampanga; Santa Monica Parish in Mexico, Pampanga; Santa Ana Parish in Santa Ana, Pampanga; San Vicente See “Churches,” A2

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

B1

SM Prime to spend ₧88B for new malls in PHL, China

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

M Prime Holdings Inc., the shopping mall operator led by the Sy family, said it is spending a total of P88 billion in two years to build four new malls in the Philippines and expand its malls in China.

EXECUTIVES of SM Prime preside over the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday at the Conrad Hotel in Parañaque (from left, seated): Hans Sy, chairman of the Executive Committee of SM Prime; Jose Cuisia Jr., vice chairman and lead independent director; and (standing) Henry Sy Jr., chairman; and Jeffrey Lim, president. Lim said in the President’s report that SM Prime continues to expand in key provinces in the Philippines, as well as China. NONIE REYES

SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said the company will spend P8 billion spread over two years, mainly for the construction of a new mall in Yangzhou and the expansion of its existing shopping mall in Xiamen.

The Yangzhou mall, its eighth in the world’s second-largest economy, is about 80,000 square meters in terms of gross leasable area, while the expansion of Xiamen mall entails 60,000 sq.m. to 70,000 sq.m. from its current size of 300,000 sq.m. Both will start construction this year.

Lim said the company will spend P4 billion each for the Yangzhou mall and the expansion of the mall in Xiamen.

“The Yangzhou land was with us for close to three years now. But we were focused on doing a lot of things in the Philippines,” he said.

“There are two expansions in Xia-

men. We will start this year, but we’ll open latter part of next year or 2021,” he said. With the said development, SM will have over a million square meters of shopping mall in China in two years, Lim said.

In the country, SM Prime said it is spending P80 billion as its capital expenditure this year, mainly for its land banking efforts and various expansion plans in key cities in the Philippines, including building four new malls.

“The year 2019 marks another era for SM Prime as we celebrate our 25th year of being a publicly listed company in the Philippines. Moving forward, we will continue to deliver world-class products to our communities which will also translate into sustainable growth for our shareholders,” Lim said.

SM Prime is set to expand its foot-

Phoenix Petroleum, Cebu Air renew supply contract

Clark Airport seen to partially open Wednesday after April 22 earthquake

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HOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc. and budget carrier Cebu Air Inc. sealed a deal for the renewal of their supply contract.

With the renewal of the contract, Phoenix Petroleum commits to serving the Jet A-1 fuel requirements of Cebu Pacific for 2019, further lengthening the 15-year partnership of the two companies. They signed a memorandum of agreement on April 8.

“We at Phoenix very much treasure the relationship we have developed with Cebu Pacific. The Jet A-1 supply agreement was instrumental in earning our credibility and building our name in the industry as a formidable petroleum company,” Phoenix Petroleum Founder, President, and CEO Dennis Uy said.

The deal between the two companies was initiated in 2004 when Phoenix started providing storage and terminal services to the airline’s Davao site. Now, Phoenix serves 17 of Cebu Pacific’s sites across the country, including eight airports in Mindanao, seven in the Visayas, and two in Luzon, providing integrated Jet A-1 storage, handling, bridging, and into-plane services.

“Cebu Pacific is dedicated to giving the best service to our clients, and it is through partners like Phoenix that we are able to fulfill this mission.

We have cultivated a good relationship with the company for 15 years now, and we are looking forward to achieving more milestones together,” Cebu Pacific President Lance Gokongwei said. Also present during the signing ceremony were Phoenix Petroleum Chief Operating Officer Henry Fadullon; Phoenix Petroleum Senior Vice President for External Affairs, Business Development, and Security Atty. Raymond Zorrilla; Cebu Pacific VP for Fuel Operations Joey Macagga, and Cebu Pacific Director for Fuel Operations Edwin Sarte, along with key personnel of each company. Lenie Lectura

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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HE Clark International Airport should be “partially open” for commercial operations today, Wednesday, with operations limited to “half of terminal capacity,” as the government works to repair the damage caused by Monday’s earthquake.

This means that Clark will only accommodate departures from the airport.

“The good news is that the tower can be operated; there was no substantial damage. The road surface of the airport also has no problem,” Clark International Airport Corp. President Jaime Melo said on Tuesday.

The airport’s terminal saw parts of its ceilings collapsing during the

print in the Philippines with four new malls this year, it said. These malls will add 200,000 sq.m. of gross floor area and will be located in developing provincial cities in Dagupan, Pangasinan; Olongapo, Zambales; Butuan and Zamboanga.

Residential arm SM Development Corp. targets to launch around 15,000 to 20,000 residential units this year. These units will be composed of mixed high-rise and midrise buildings, as well as singledetached house-and-lot projects to address the growing demand among local and foreign buyers.

Among its other businesses, SM Prime is scheduled to launch this year

6.1-magnitude quake, whose epicenter was in Pampanga. It sustained damage on its control tower.

Clearing operations and repairs inside the departure area and terminal building are already ongoing.

All Tuesday flights to and from Clark were either canceled or diverted.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade ordered on Tuesday noon the immediate assessment of the structural integrity of all major transportation hubs, such as airports, land terminals and seaports in the Eastern Visayas and nearby regions, after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the region at 1:37 p.m. on Tuesday.

He “directed transport officials to prioritize the safety of commuters waiting in transportation hubs, as well as thoroughly vet the integ-

the NU Tower, its first universityoffice building in the Mall of Asia Complex, and a new hotel in Iloilo (the Park Inn by Radisson Iloilo) and the Park Inn by Radisson in North Edsa.

Following the NU Tower, the Mall of Asia Complex will soon house the three-tower Four E-Com Center and the first Ikea store in the Philippines in 2020.

New developments will rise soon beside SM City Clark and Park Inn by Radisson Clark where the company will add SMX Clark, a grand terminal, additional retail spaces, and more offices to serve the growing demand in the area, it said.

rity of facilities before resuming operations.”

Initial reports from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) cited that as of 2:10 p.m. on Tuesday, no injuries or casualties were reported from the airports of Ormoc, Guiuan, Borongan, Maasin, Hilongos and Catbalogan.

There were also no reported structural damage in these gateways.

“Passengers and personnel at Tacloban Airport likewise are safe and unhurt, but minor cracks were seen on the ceiling in the arrival and check-in areas of the Passenger Terminal Building,” a statement read. “There was no damage on the runway, control tower, power plant, fire station and other facilities of Tacloban Airport. There was also no standby aircraft on the ramp.”

WMPC overbilled Zamcelco ₧441M

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

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HE new management of Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) insisted on Tuesday that its former power supplier, Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC), overbilled the electric cooperative (EC) in the amount of P441 million.

Zamcelco already filed a motion with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to grant the withdrawal of its power-supply agreement (PSA) application with WMPC and claim for refund of the overbilled amount totaling P441,152,972.16. A hearing is set on Thursday.

The amount represents power supplied from November 26, 2015, to December 25, 2018. While Zamcelco officials said on Tuesday they had to pay WMPC for the power delivered, WMPC had no basis to charge a capital recovery fee, and fixed operation and management based on a monthly “contracted capacity” of 50 megawatts because Zamcelco’s power requirements have not exceeded 25 MW, which is only half of the contracted capacity used as basis for WMPC’s charges.

The transactions between Zamcelco and WMPC are merely regular power-sale transactions, whereby Zamcelco is only liable to pay the value of power actually used, without operationalizing the take-or-pay provisions.

If Zamcelo’s motion is approved by the ERC, the EC vowed to give the amount back to its customers.

“We will return the P441 million once we get it. If we don’t win, then the contract is effective and we have to comply with the ERC. The issue here is that we shouldn’t have been charged because the PSA is not yet effective,” Crown Investments Holdings Inc. lawyer Jomar Castillo said.

The joint venture of Crown and Desco Inc. won the investor-management contract for Zamcelco with a P2.5-billion bid. This capital infusion has allowed the cooperative to settle P1.2 billion of its outstanding debts, and invest in upgrades that allows the new Zamcelco to continuously work toward zero blackout in Zamboanga City.

WMPC suspended its supply of power to Zamboanga City within days of Zamcelco’s notice to WMPC regarding this irregularity, causing two hours to three hours of daily power interruptions in Zamboanga City.

Zamcelco has installed diesel-fired generator sets to augment the supply with 24 additional MW. It is also set to add 18 more MW to the power supply of Zamboanga City by the end of April.

According to the motion, the PSA was not yet in effect because not all prerequisites to its effectivity as provided in the PSA had been met yet.

It identified two conditions that have not yet been satisfied: the ERC’s approval of the PSA, and an “A” rating from NEA resulting from the awarding of the investment-management contract (IMC) to a private utility.

Article 3.1(a) of the PSA stipulates that for it to be effective, it has to have been approved by the ERC. However, the ERC has not yet approved the application of the PSA between Zamcelco and WMPC filed on May 27, 2015.

Further, Article 3.1(c) of the PSA provides that it will only become effective once Zamcelco receives a rating of “A” from NEA. According to the motion, the latest available NEA Electric Cooperative Overall Performance Assessment gave Zamcelco a rating of “C.” In the motion, the side of Zamcelco also pointed out that WMPC’s unilateral withdrawal of its power supply was “premature and without basis” because Zamcelco could not have outstanding debts to do its overpayment.

“Records show that it is WMPC which has an outstanding obligation to Zamcelco in the amount of P354,214,418.87 representing overpayments made for billing period November 26, 2015, to December 25, 2018. Zamcelco’s overpayments are also greater than WMPC’s demanded amount of P348,750,577.99. As Zamcelco does not have any outstanding obligation to WMPC because of legal compensation, there is no basis for the suspension of Zamcelco’s power supply,” the motion read.

Realme partners with Argomall to expand sales channels

S

MARTPHONE maker realme Philippines has struck a partnership deal with Filipino ecommerce platform Argomall to expand the former’s sales channels in the country.

Jacky Chen, the COO of realme Philippines, said this new partnership will help his group address the growing demand for the company’s products in the Philippines, particularly its newly launched realme 3 smartphone.

“We will work harder than ever before to broaden our channels so that more Filipinos can experience this

realme commitment. Our newest partnership with Argomall is a testament to this,” he said.

Exclusive to Argomall is the integration of Home Credit into its platform. This allows customers to avail of and undergo the verification process for installment payment options online.

“This historic Argo Deal jumpstarts Argomall’s official partnership with realme, which will finally enable realme fans to experience the unparalleled customer service,” Argomall Chief Argonaut Karel Holub said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

The Legend Palawan seeks to grow occupancy by 80% with new destination offers

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

A

PART from beach escape, The Legend Palawan (TLP) bared on Tuesday its plan to expand further its offerings with river and mountain experiences to attract more guests once these new attractions are fully available in the next three years.

Being part of a portfolio of different city hotel brands of Legend Hotel International Corp. (LHIC), TLP has already been promoting beach accommodations through Isla Pandan in Honda Bay that it manages and operates.

Basically a bird sanctuary, this 80-hectare island is where the endemic yet endangered bird called Mantanani scops owl can be found.

The island also boasts of another 20-hectare sandbar at the back por-

tion—perfect for swimming and other water sports activities.

“We wanted to present that to families in a very experiential kind of approach,” LHIC Product Development Manager Ger r y Ulanday said during TLP’s 20th foundation anniversary celebration held at The Legend Villas Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

Next to that, he revealed they are developing a unique river escape at an undisclosed destination.

“This will not be the usual river experience,” the top executive said.

“This would be a river-accommodation kind of approach.”

He said a mountain tour package will show off the other side of the internationally renowned Saint Paul Subterranean River.

“The underground river that we see is just a tad portion of the Puerto Princesa National Park. The whole national park is the mountain, [in-

cluding] the limestones that are all over,” Ulanday said. TLP currently works with the Puerto Princesa Underground River Authority to come up with offerings for guests to see the unseen parts of the Underground River, such as the fossils and some portions of the cave that can be traversed very lightly.

“So these will be very unique packages that are down in the pipeline,” the product development manager said.

While development plans for the new destinations are upcoming, TLP, for the meantime, is open to host their hotel visitors there for a day tour.

“If you are more rugged and you want to go camping in the outdoors, we can also arrange that. But the goal, of course, is we want to do it in comfort,” LHIC Chief Operating Officer Celine Marie L. King said. “That’s why we also went to Bangkok a year

ago to visit the floating villas in the River Kuay because that’s sort of our peg to have floating villas in the river and, then, probably treed up villas in the mountain. So that’s the direction,” she said.

In a span of two decades, the hotel made significant contributions both to the hospitality and tourism industries of Palawan.

TLP General Manager Eva Sembria said the hotel has served over 5 million guests, put in millions of investment in the city, employed more than 2,000 local talents, supported hundreds of local suppliers and promoted local destinations.

As part of its 20th year celebration, it launched a plethora of newly enhanced tour packages dubbed “Roam Puerto Princesa.”

At present, the company is focused to complete all of the amenities for the beach experience in Isla Pandan. Following the launch

of its newly refurbished deluxe rooms and suites at its very own hotel near the airport early this year, the renovation of the façade and common areas will soon follow. Around 20 to 30 more rooms are under way to add to its total 91 rooms at present.

With new enhancements and upcoming products, TLP expects about 60 percent and 80 percent occupancy rate in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

“My dream, moving forward, is to create an unforgettable experience in the island of Puerto Princesa where guests can enjoy the beach, the mountain and the river—all of these things they can do in comfort,” said Wyden King, chairman and founder of LHIC. “As the stewards of one of Palawan’s iconic landmarks, we strive hard to keep the balance between tradition and innovation,” Sembria said.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

April 23, 2019

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALS ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH

58 133.5 81.95 26.15 11.54 76 54.7 58.85 25.55 177.4 60.7 1.28 2.19 18.7 4.5 1.38 0.51 795 1.01 179.4

58.65 133.6 82 26.2 11.6 76.2 54.95 58.95 25.6 177.5 61.5 1.34 2.29 18.8 4.69 1.42 0.52 800 1.02 179.5

58.6 133.9 82 26.7 11.56 76.15 51 58.95 26 178.3 60.8 1.28 2.19 18.8 4.6 1.42 0.56 795 0.96 183

58.65 134 82.2 26.7 11.6 76.5 54.95 59 26 178.5 61.5 1.28 2.19 18.8 4.69 1.42 0.56 800 1.01 183

58 132.6 81.8 26.1 11.48 75.95 51 58.9 25.3 176 60.7 1.28 2.19 18.7 4.5 1.42 0.51 795 0.95 179.5

58.65 133.6 82 26.2 11.54 76.2 54.95 58.95 25.55 177.5 60.7 1.28 2.19 18.7 4.5 1.42 0.52 795 1.01 179.5

11500 1891750 1599400 165100 234600 1865130 742850 9880 87300 149120 2410 27000 6000 15900 18000 1000 7020000 240 2088000 3660

674100 252654956 131075010 4330830 2702140 142011159.5 39540142 582605 2234780 26463790 147084.5 34560 13140 298590 83690 1420 3669890 190900 2077310 666345

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER VIVANT AGRINURTURE CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT GINEBRA JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP MG HLDG PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA MABUHAY VINYL PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

1.4 36.65 0.24 22.35 80.1 380.2 23.35 6.41 4.55 1.45 11.74 44.45 6.91 16 16.34 14.94 15.52 5.57 11.14 7.37 115.8 0.87 29.3 302 10.12 14.56 0.201 1.23 12.72 1.63 4.7 2.16 0.128 147.5 1.46 1.9 5.28 15.9 9.45 11.34 21.6 9.04 1.02 1.16 109 1.95 3.53 5.12 45.05 2.85 12.5 1.82 6.1 1.27 28

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME ORION PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES SEAFRONT RES TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.62 18.82 865 55 14.54 6.5 0.76 1.38 1.41 7.47 11.98 14.94 0.235 850 6.42 62.9 5.14 0.495 5.14 16.02 0.55 4.41 0.039 2.92 1.12 2.55 1.33 434 930 177.5 0.98 2.38 265 0.236 0.345

1.43 36.7 0.245 22.5 80.6 382.6 23.5 6.43 4.61 1.46 12 44.5 6.98 17 16.4 16.2 15.88 5.89 11.24 7.38 116 0.88 29.5 302.2 10.58 14.58 0.212 1.25 12.96 1.7 4.8 2.18 0.13 148.5 1.47 1.91 5.77 15.98 9.46 11.4 22 9.33 1.03 1.18 110 1.96 3.69 5.48 45.25 2.86 12.54 1.83 6.39 1.32 28.3

1.43 36 0.243 22.2 81.25 378 23.5 6.47 4.63 1.53 12.16 45.8 7.19 16 16.4 16.1 15.64 5.56 11.22 7.4 113 0.9 29.5 303 10.26 14.7 0.214 1.24 12.9 1.7 4.79 2.18 0.129 150.1 1.45 1.89 5.3 15.72 9.5 11.32 21.65 9.06 1 1.2 108.1 1.98 3.52 5.15 45.25 2.91 12.8 1.82 6.47 1.28 29

1.43 36.65 0.245 22.5 81.3 382.6 23.5 6.47 4.63 1.53 12.16 45.8 7.19 16 16.4 16.1 15.86 5.89 11.34 7.4 116.2 0.92 29.5 304.4 10.58 14.72 0.214 1.25 12.96 1.7 4.8 2.18 0.129 150.2 1.49 1.91 5.8 16 9.5 11.4 22 9.1 1.02 1.2 108.1 1.98 3.7 5.15 45.25 2.92 12.8 1.85 6.47 1.32 29

1.4 35.9 0.237 22 78.3 378 23.2 6.4 4.6 1.41 11.74 44.15 6.9 16 16.3 16.1 15.64 5.56 11.14 7.38 112.8 0.87 29.5 301.4 10.02 14.12 0.214 1.21 12.66 1.7 4.79 2.18 0.128 147.5 1.45 1.85 5.3 15.7 9.2 11.22 21.5 9.06 1 1.15 108.1 1.95 3.52 5 45.25 2.85 12.44 1.82 6.1 1.27 28.3

1.4 36.65 0.245 22.5 80.6 382.6 23.5 6.41 4.61 1.45 12 44.5 6.98 16 16.4 16.1 15.7 5.89 11.14 7.38 116 0.87 29.5 302.2 10.12 14.56 0.214 1.25 12.96 1.7 4.8 2.18 0.128 147.5 1.46 1.9 5.8 15.9 9.45 11.4 22 9.1 1.02 1.18 108.1 1.96 3.69 5.11 45.25 2.86 12.54 1.83 6.1 1.32 28.3

146000 839000 970000 1325200 215050 193140 786500 2021100 187000 33734000 68800 409400 203100 100 136400 3000 10400 3000 3143700 4608200 860350 9087000 111100 963380 7100 1290900 140000 1039000 19900 31000 100000 23000 1200000 382370 1721000 8501000 55700 310300 343100 3792700 3630700 6500 370000 767000 140 65000 8000 76800 67800 5425000 366800 234000 24000 205000 47500

205110 30533950 233600 29532060 17145095.5 73461734 18337125 12985395 864150 49152120 815132 18313650 1412770 1600 2233976 48300 164524 17175 35263858 34049009 98579595 8106410 3277450 291312114 71716 18560970 29960 1277050 252862 52700 479980 50140 153630 56701782 2515010 16089850 299654 4954262 3214485 43091354 79660665 59134 374480 896250 15134 127640 29190 392923 3067950 15625890 4582998 429840 150200 263330 1368970

HOLDING & FRIMS 0.63 19.06 865.5 56.35 14.56 6.65 0.79 1.39 1.42 7.6 12 14.96 0.247 852 6.51 63.8 5.8 0.51 5.15 16.28 0.57 4.42 0.04 2.93 1.14 2.68 1.34 460 930.5 177.8 0.99 2.45 270 0.24 0.35

0.59 18.8 885 55 14.94 6.5 0.78 1.4 1.41 7.6 12.14 14.6 0.243 856.5 6.51 62.8 5.84 0.51 5.13 16 0.55 4.49 0.039 2.86 1.14 2.64 1.33 460 940 176.9 1.01 2.39 265 0.236 0.33

0.64 19.48 887.5 56.35 14.94 6.65 0.8 1.4 1.41 7.6 12.14 14.96 0.25 856.5 6.51 63.8 5.84 0.51 5.2 16.28 0.55 4.49 0.041 2.92 1.14 2.64 1.35 460 940 177.8 1.01 2.39 270 0.242 0.35

0.59 18.7 862 54.5 14.5 6.5 0.76 1.37 1.4 7.47 11.98 14.6 0.234 850 6.47 62 5.8 0.495 5.13 15.8 0.55 4.41 0.039 2.86 1.14 2.64 1.33 430 930 175.1 0.98 2.39 265 0.236 0.325

0.62 19.06 865 56.35 14.56 6.65 0.79 1.39 1.41 7.6 12 14.96 0.25 850 6.5 63.8 5.8 0.51 5.15 16.28 0.55 4.41 0.04 2.92 1.14 2.64 1.35 434 930 177.8 0.98 2.39 270 0.236 0.35

40520000 12900 475950 791600 7906000 5000 290000 3586000 205000 354200 2030200 125700 260000 57380 18200 724910 32000 133000 832200 525800 18000 28913000 7400000 543000 2000 5000 50000 150 97040 330320 543000 1000 20310 190000 12700000

25027750 243788 412588265 43694749.5 115399108 33000 223330 4961020 288050 2674673 24369462 1868480 63230 48817100 118097 46126201 186864 65950 4291858 8455776 9900 128302680 293300 1573440 2280 13200 66780 65140 90399230 58295062 535270 2390 5434936 45040 4336700

586500 -7074367 -3115064.5 -984170 294864 -94904923 17213055 50065 85400 3757604 -6573.5 -190900 -244500 -86838 4290 -1122610 8843825 -1534861.5 340470 -2203540 -978329 -193610 1151770 -55862 58898.0001 -28450 1662824 -8856 -14815334 26400 -16923780 -3720134 -101480 -6350 -456000 -29565234 14700 -4541680 6320 140644 -14092828 49601470 118000 19800 -329778 4525 -1560680 600964 -131400 -294780 -87748860 -28354928 -29573130 6500 -29230 281000 -92193 -18426336 -115310 -10359460 -7079854.5 -1255238 -2534838 -52955230 -0 -30270125 -374612 -140210 -176988 -

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 0.76 0.78 0.77 0.77 0.76 0.76 394000 301190 AYALA LAND 47 47.05 46.95 47 46.35 47 13110000 614136105 81997395 ARANETA PROP 1.88 1.9 1.88 1.9 1.88 1.9 76000 143360 -56400 BELLE CORP 2.42 2.5 2.48 2.52 2.42 2.5 2340000 5820760 4170490 A BROWN 0.76 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.76 0.78 207000 159500 CITYLAND DEVT 0.9 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.92 2000 1840 CROWN EQUITIES 0.24 0.243 0.245 0.245 0.24 0.24 1370000 328930 -240080 CEBU HLDG 6.32 6.49 6.32 6.34 6.3 6.32 72000 455074 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.25 4.26 4.25 4.28 4.25 4.26 334000 1423690 -370990 CENTURY PROP 0.5 0.51 0.495 0.5 0.49 0.5 7900000 3917250 -14300 DOUBLEDRAGON 25 25.05 25.1 25.2 24.7 25 1315400 32913600 12448275 DM WENCESLAO 10.94 11 11.18 11.18 10.52 11 2843900 30540332 1120696 EMPIRE EAST 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.51 0.495 0.495 1511000 748710 EVER GOTESCO 0.125 0.134 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125 30000 3750 FILINVEST LAND 1.52 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.51 1.53 1264000 1926700 136240 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.33 1.31 1.32 2930000 3854990 -221760 8990 HLDG 13.9 13.94 13.84 13.98 13.8 13.94 841900 11716270 -1097224 PHIL INFRADEV 1.82 1.83 1.87 1.87 1.82 1.82 2798000 5143200 723100 KEPPEL PROP 4.2 4.86 3.84 4.86 3.84 4.86 8000 35820 CITY AND LAND 0.82 0.86 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.82 20000 16400 MEGAWORLD 5.5 5.57 5.44 5.58 5.42 5.5 12461100 68496068 23630068 MRC ALLIED 0.345 0.35 0.35 0.355 0.345 0.35 7080000 2476550 -486600 PHIL ESTATES 0.485 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.485 0.485 1110000 543050 PRIMEX CORP 2.4 2.41 2.48 2.48 2.41 2.41 296000 719220 -22140 ROBINSONS LAND 24 24.2 23.7 24.5 23.4 24.2 1771200 42664390 651795 PHIL REALTY 0.42 0.435 0.42 0.45 0.42 0.42 100000 43000 ROCKWELL 1.98 2 1.98 1.98 1.97 1.98 27000 53340 15840 SHANG PROP 3.01 3.06 3.06 3.06 3 3 13000 39100 STA LUCIA LAND 1.65 1.67 1.67 1.67 1.62 1.67 2378000 3904930 SM PRIME HLDG 39.15 39.95 39.25 39.95 39 39.95 4230800 166631985 -10403715 STARMALLS 6.98 7.02 7.12 7.2 6.87 6.98 427500 2991182 -34572 SUNTRUST HOME 0.73 0.79 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 8000 5840 VISTA LAND 7.27 7.29 7.3 7.33 7.26 7.29 1335400 9729417 2826260

SERVICES ABS CBN 19.34 19.36 19.48 19.5 19.34 19.34 246100 4779324 GMA NETWORK 5.21 5.22 5.27 5.28 5.2 5.22 437100 2282873 MANILA BULLETIN 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.62 0.59 0.61 1075000 652970 GLOBE TELECOM 1829 1830 1860 1864 1830 1830 51425 94714995 14554730 PLDT 1233 1234 1240 1240 1225 1233 104865 129012655 3788020 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 15700000 628000 ISLAND INFO 0.129 0.13 0.125 0.131 0.125 0.13 2700000 346570 -21760 ISM COMM 4.95 4.96 5.06 5.06 4.94 4.96 878800 4370660 -137713 JACKSTONES 2.97 3.08 2.98 2.98 2.98 2.98 14000 41720 NOW CORP 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.45 2.35 2.37 1651000 3917970 -1156200 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.375 0.38 0.375 0.38 0.375 0.38 1130000 426800 106400 PHILWEB 2.96 3 2.96 3.16 2.96 3 4369000 13300830 -705980 2GO GROUP 13.08 13.1 12.3 13.1 12.06 13.08 125500 1600836 -53300 ASIAN TERMINALS 14.7 16.78 16.62 16.62 14.36 14.36 10500 154266 CHELSEA 5.08 5.09 5.1 5.12 5.08 5.09 412800 2103203 7690 CEBU AIR 81.9 83.9 82.6 83.9 81.5 83.9 16520 1367230.5 395522 INTL CONTAINER 127.3 127.5 129 129 127.3 127.5 2461370 314289022 -5203516 LBC EXPRESS 15.2 15.76 15.2 15.2 15.2 15.2 300 4560 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.84 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.84 0.88 55000 47190 MACROASIA 21.3 21.35 21.75 21.75 21.35 21.35 1507000 32310620 -113560 METROALLIANCE A 1.7 1.78 1.68 1.8 1.68 1.78 36000 63450 PAL HLDG 9.99 10 10.1 10.1 9.99 10 25400 254181 HARBOR STAR 2.84 2.85 2.86 2.89 2.83 2.85 552000 1573540 -22980 ACESITE HOTEL 1.26 1.3 1.26 1.3 1.26 1.3 25000 32000 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.071 0.072 0.073 0.073 0.071 0.072 17290000 1244510 WATERFRONT 0.68 0.69 0.71 0.72 0.69 0.69 3405000 2380010 FAR EASTERN U 890 895 890 890 890 890 260 231400 STI HLDG 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.67 0.68 946000 639880 500 BERJAYA 2.32 2.35 2.33 2.36 2.31 2.35 103000 240100 -67320 BLOOMBERRY 12.68 12.7 12.64 12.76 12.64 12.7 6377400 80991744 28823118 PACIFIC ONLINE 4.22 4.27 4.36 4.36 4.21 4.21 6000 25770 17200 LEISURE AND RES 3.7 3.72 3.75 3.75 3.69 3.7 857000 3187060 92250 PH RESORTS GRP 4.07 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.02 4.2 102000 424650 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.74 0.75 0.79 0.8 0.72 0.74 25181000 18780520 748310 TRAVELLERS 5.61 5.66 5.63 5.66 5.6 5.63 1599200 8993102 -4763534 METRO RETAIL 3.4 3.41 3.36 3.42 3.32 3.4 7367000 24874410 -8175860 PUREGOLD 44.15 44.6 45.4 45.4 44 44.15 1187400 52863505 -30954780 ROBINSONS RTL 78 78.7 78 78.8 78 78.7 272450 21441266 -176480 PHIL SEVEN CORP 119 120 120.5 120.5 120 120 38910 4669590 -73145 SSI GROUP 2.6 2.61 2.64 2.65 2.59 2.61 6264000 16360250 2988890 WILCON DEPOT 16.98 17 16.26 17 16.26 17 8240700 138598020 17067114 APC GROUP 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.415 0.42 480000 201550 EASYCALL 10.28 10.3 10.28 10.5 10.2 10.28 22100 229510 GOLDEN BRIA 407 408 400 428 396.2 408 16350 6689524 PAXYS 3.05 3.37 3.25 3.37 3.25 3.37 4000 13120 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.97 0.98 1.02 1.04 0.96 0.98 38936000 38424850 -495000 SBS PHIL CORP 8.73 8.99 8.76 8.99 8.73 8.99 38700 344114

MINING & OIL ATOK 11.12 11.58 11.9 11.9 11.2 11.78 13600 158142 APEX MINING 1.28 1.29 1.33 1.33 1.28 1.29 430000 559510 -291470 ABRA MINING 0.0019 0.002 0.0019 0.0019 0.0019 0.0019 52000000 98800 20900 ATLAS MINING 2.82 2.95 2.83 2.97 2.83 2.95 10000 29500 BENGUET A 1.27 1.39 1.29 1.29 1.28 1.28 235000 300880 BENGUET B 1.21 1.54 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 2000 2400 -2400 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.29 0.3 0.295 0.295 0.29 0.29 220000 63950 CENTURY PEAK 2.69 2.72 2.68 2.7 2.68 2.69 435000 1170680 166780 DIZON MINES 7.99 8.06 8.15 8.18 8 8 12200 97728 FERRONICKEL 1.49 1.52 1.5 1.53 1.49 1.49 2142000 3229410 -601680 GEOGRACE 0.247 0.255 0.255 0.255 0.247 0.247 2900000 720380 LEPANTO A 0.114 0.117 0.114 0.114 0.114 0.114 260000 29640 LEPANTO B 0.113 0.122 0.113 0.113 0.113 0.113 20000 2260 MANILA MINING A 0.008 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 27000000 218700 MARCVENTURES 1.08 1.1 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 80000 86400 NIHAO 1 1.01 1.02 1.02 1 1.01 75000 75660 NICKEL ASIA 2.41 2.43 2.42 2.44 2.39 2.41 1017000 2457570 1215180 OMICO CORP 0.58 0.6 0.61 0.62 0.6 0.6 52000 31730 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.89 0.9 243000 218350 PX MINING 3.07 3.08 3.08 3.1 3.07 3.08 502000 1547290 -40210 SEMIRARA MINING 23.35 23.65 23.7 23.75 23.2 23.65 554700 13082790 2795345 UNITED PARAGON 0.0068 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 7000000 49000 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 1600000 19800 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 200000 2500 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 7000000 77000 PHINMA PETRO 3.12 3.2 3.12 3.12 3.1 3.12 31000 96600 18600 PXP ENERGY 7.6 7.61 7.62 7.62 7.31 7.6 1584100 11891486 -68490

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 94.9 95.9 95.9 95.95 95 95 750 71827 AC PREF B1 467 477.2 467.2 467.2 467 467 1000 467098 DD PREF 96.5 97.9 96 97.9 96 97.5 3930 378512 -48750 FGEN PREF G 101 103 103 103 103 103 200 20600 GTCAP PREF B 930 959 950 950 950 950 6050 5747500 MWIDE PREF 100.1 102.9 100.1 100.1 100.1 100.1 5000 500500 PNX PREF 3A 99.55 100.9 100.9 100.9 99.55 99.55 3260 326779 PNX PREF 3B 104 106 106 106 106 106 10 1060 PCOR PREF 2A 970 990 971 971 970 970 610 592010 SMC PREF 2B 75 75.5 75 75.5 75 75 1140 85505 SMC PREF 2C 75.75 76.5 76 76 75.75 75.75 32300 2453051 256035 SMC PREF 2D 71.9 72.95 72.3 72.3 71.9 71.9 6600 475604 SMC PREF 2E 72.5 72.55 72.5 72.5 72.5 72.5 136000 9860000 SMC PREF 2F 73.15 74 73.85 73.85 73 73.15 52570 3853009.5 893520 SMC PREF 2G 72.6 74.4 73.6 74 72.5 72.5 7300 532582 14560

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

18.36 5.12

18.38 5.25

18.5 5.25

18.5 5.25

18.36 5.12

18.38 5.12

192100 300

3535116 1562

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.88

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5 XURPAS 1.19

1.94

1.94

1.94

1.89

1.94

12000

22780

-

5.05 1.2

5.09 1.22

5.17 1.23

5 1.19

5.05 1.2

396700 1354000

2000890 1624750

-101315 -14640

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

117.2

-497100 -

117.3

117

117.4

116.8

117.2

6330

740670

75011

www.businessmirror.com.ph

World stocks mixed as oil soars on Iran sanctions fears

S

INGAPORE—World stocks were mixed on Tuesday ahead of the release of US housing data and more earnings reports. Oil prices soared to their highest level since October on supply fears, after the Trump administration said it would soon impose sanctions on all buyers of Iranian oil.

Markets across Europe reopened after the Easter holiday. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.2 percent to 5,570.15, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent at 7,488.75 in early trading.

The DAX in Germany was 0.1 percent lower at 12,212.35.

Wall Street was set for a flat open. Futures for the broad S&P 500 index fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,911.70, while Dow futures were almost unchanged at 26,515.00.

Traders are waiting for a slew of US earnings reports from big com-

panies, such as Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft starting on Tuesday.

“Market players seem to be adopting a cautious approach ahead of the next wave of corporate earnings and this continues to be reflected across global stocks,” Lukman Otunuga of FXTM said in a market commentary.

“With earnings season kicking into higher gear, this will certainly be another busy week for financial markets as investors try to access the health of the global economy,” he added.

There was no strong impetus for buying in Asia. Reports from a recent high-level meeting in China, which was chaired by President Xi Jinping, showed willingness to fine-tune monetary policy but raised questions about future government stimulus.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was 0.2 percent higher at 22,259.74 and the Kospi in South Korea added 0.2 percent to 2,220.51. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat at 29,963.24. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 1 percent to 6,319.40, while the Shanghai Composite gave up 0.5 percent to 3,198.59.

On Monday, the Trump administration said it would no longer exempt any countries from US sanctions if they continue to buy Iranian oil. The administration had granted eight waivers when it reimposed sanctions on Iran in November.

These expire on May 2.

The move will choke off more than $50 billion of annual Iranian income, which the US says funds destabilizing activity in the Middle East and beyond. China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey are major importers of Iranian oil.

“The prompt contracts quickly

repriced higher on panic fears that markets could face an immediate supply crunch, adding more pressure to the already tenuous global supply squeeze,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Industry experts said the sanctions could potentially remove up to 1.2 million barrels of oil per day from international markets. But that number will likely be lower, depending on how countries respond and just how much oil Iran continues to export.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has rejected the US move, saying it “will not serve regional peace and stability.”

Benchmark US crude added 52 cents to $66.07 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $1.48 to $65.55 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 44 cents to $74.48 per barrel in London. It jumped $2.07 to $74.04 per barrel in the previous session.

The dollar eased to ¥111.86 from 111.93 late Monday. The euro fell to $1.1255 from $1.1257. AP

Bed Bath & Beyond’s revamped board fails to win over activists

B

ED Bath & Beyond Inc. yielded to some demands of a trio of activist investors, naming an independent chairman and replacing five independent directors as the home goods company struggles to turn around sales.

The dissident investors—Legion Partners Asset Management Llc., Macellum Advisors and Ancora Advisors Llc.—said the moves fall short of what’s needed and lacked details on how the new board would create value for shareholders.

“The board changes announced today by Bed Bath are not nearly enough when measured against what is needed to address the issues with the current board and management, including that CEO Steven Temares must be held accountable for the company’s prolonged poor performance,” the group said in a statement on Monday. Under the changes announced earlier on Monday, the company named Lead Independent Director Patrick Gaston as chairman, while

Harriet Edelman, Harsha Ramalingam, Andrea Weiss, Mary Winston and Ann Yerger join as new independent directors. Cofounders and Cochairmen Warren Eisenberg and Leonard Feinstein will retire from the board as of May 1.

The board will also form a committee to review the company’s transformation, strategy and structure, and will institute a new executive compensation plan, it said.

“The changes announced today reflect significant shareholder input and underscore our commitment to ensuring we have best-inclass governance,” Gaston said in the statement. The activist group launched a proxy fight in March to remove Temares and replace the entire 12-person board. The company said on Monday that it has had multiple discussions with the investor group and invited them to participate in the board transformation process, which the group has so far declined. Bloomberg News

Chinese car shipments touted as growth avenue for Djibouti Port

A

DJIBOUTI port part-owned

by China Merchants Port Holdings Co. plans to handle vehicle shipments from China and Europe as it chases other avenues of growth after meeting targets during its first year of operations.

The rapid growth of new business lines underlines why Chinese companies are scurrying to get a footin-the-door in the tiny northeast African nation, a passing point for about a third of the world’s shipping traffic. Businesses from the world’s second-biggest economy are involved in everything from rail to banking as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which often uses debt to fund infrastructure and other projects.

The Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port also plans to extend its offering from mainly bulk importers, including fertilizer and wheat, with cargo destined for neighboring Ethiopia to serve companies operating in the new Djibouti International Industrial Parks Operation, a sprawling manufacturing hub, said DMP’s Commercial Director

Habon Abdourahman Cher. It will seek to import raw materials and then handle exports from the interior, she said.

The port achieved 4.7 million deadweight tonnage, a measure of how much weight a ship can carry, in its first year, meeting its target for between 4 million tons to 5 million tons, Director General Wahib Daher Aden said. Richards Bay Coal Terminal in South Africa, the continent’s biggest shipper of the black fuel, has a design capacity of about 91 million tons a year.

“We think the second year of operations will achieve more than last year,” he said.

DMP’s container terminal, where four red cranes manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. hang overhead, is operating at almost 40 percent of capacity of 400,000 20-foot equivalent units annually, Habon said, referring to a standardized measurement for cargo containers. China Merchants owns 23.5 percent of Port de Djibouti SA, which operates DMP. Bloomberg News

MUTUAL FUNDS

April 23, 2019

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 260.71 -1.31% 0.91% 0.87% 3.36% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.5985 1.32% 9.3% 2.85% 10.95% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.0743 -2.87% 1.18% -0.11% 4.39% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9311 0.51% N.A. N.A. 4.56% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8597 1.75% N.A. N.A. 4.75% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.4382 1.04% 0.83% 0.67% 3.17% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 126.62 9.69% N.A. N.A. 8.72% ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC. -A 0.8679 -1.27% -3.85% N.A. 4.26% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 51.574 1.21% 1.92% N.A. 4.81% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 538.65 0.79% 0.92% 0.63% 4.65% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3015 1.84% 2.45% 3.43% 3.79% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 38.3479 1.66% 3.26% 2.81% 4.68% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0272 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.2223 1.74% 2.78% 2.91% 5.31% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 871.65 1.86% 2.45% 2.82% 5.21% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9243 3.41% 1.83% N.A. 7.33% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.281 2.77% 2.82% 2.02% 5.47% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0023 1.36% 2.45% N.A. 5.03% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.6915 3.49% 4.71% 2.79% 5.44% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 116.639 2.2% 3.53% 3.9% 5.32% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $1.0502 -5.28% 7.3% 1.74% 13.03% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.2877 -0.33% N.A. N.A. 16.52% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.7089 -0.75% -0.67% -1.61% 3.49% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.305 -0.59% 1.06% 0.62% 4.34% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6195 1.1% -0.74% -1.61% 2.98% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3472 -1.28% N.A. N.A. 3.29% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9092 2.11% 1.19% 1.14% 3.59% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.6537 0.06% -0.14% 0.21% 3.52% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 16.4923 1.05% 0.08% 0.25% 3.67% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.128 0.97% 1.42% 1.88% 2.69% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.8233 2.33% 1.21% 1.27% 4.71% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 0.9894 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 0.9883 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 0.9864 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9748 2.47% 1.23% N.A. 5.76% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03599 2.13% 0.31% 1.5% 2.1% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.005 -5.86% 3.64% -0.15% 7.35% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.7092 0.13% 5.86% 2.99% 12.11% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.0901 -0.57% N.A. N.A. 7.93% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 347.79 2.84% 2.07% 2.15% 1.28% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A ,1 1.883 1.01% -0.13% -0.22% 1.28% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0181 5.38% 5.27% 5.3% 1.59% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.157 2.25% 1.07% 1.8% 1.24% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.2539 1.72% 0.32% 0.9% 2.02% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6032 0.36% -0.84% 0.25% 2.48% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.0237 1.42% -0.55% 0.75% 2.65% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.5976 2.92% 0.89% 1.18% 2.29% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9173 0.94% -0.58% N.A. 2.77% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.8778 4.01% 1.18% 1.74% 4.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.5947 3.36% 0.59% 1.22% 3.56% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $454.06 2.64% 1.71% 2.85% 1.29% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є215.97 1.36% 1.38% 1.57% 1.56% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1659 4.33% 1.48% 2.29% 3.56% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0252 1.61% 0.67% N.A. 1.61% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7125 -0.36% -1.44% 0.88% 1.32% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0587 1.85% -0.81% -2.38% 2.03% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.2534 3.53% 0.2% 2.79% 3.79% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0581342 2.53% 1.13% 1.78% 2.02% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $2.9663 1.45% -0.34% 2.04% 3.28% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 122.47 3.47% 2.19% 1.79% 1.35% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0086 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.1964 2.77% 1.19% 0.77% 1.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2348 3.3% 2.5% 1.87% 1.3% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0237 2.08% N.A. N.A. 0.77%

* - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY ** - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO *** - LISTED IN THE PSE.

**** - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BALANCED FUND STARTING JANUARY 1, 2017 (FORMERLY GREPALIFE BOND FUND CORP.).

***** - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ****** - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 08, 2018 ******** - RENAMING OF THE FUND WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST APRIL 13, 2018.

********* - BECAME A MEMBER SINCE APRIL 20, 2018. ******* - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Local financial institutions ‘slow’ in adapting to IT innovation–exec

L

OCAL financial institutions have been “reasonably slow” in adapting to the digital transformation in the banking sector due mainly to key constraints in the local operating environment, according to an executive of an American firm.

In his talk to local media on Tuesday, Fiserv Inc. Senior Vice President and Managing Director for its Asia Pacific operations Marc Mathenz said Philippine banks may be one of the strongest and most sound financial institutions in the world, but they are quite slow in their transformation to a more digitized sector compared to the rest of the world.

Mathenz particularly said the key restraint of banks is their mindset of adapting digitalization via particular product sets rather than providing a more holistic solution that could give financial consumers a seamless digital product that could be utilized across different channels.

Local banks’ mindset to digital financial transformation is set to look at specific problems of customers, such as long queues and documentation requirements, and then tries to give a digital solution to the problem, the Fiserv executive said.

As such, he said Philippine banks could take cue from financial institutions in Australia and in Thailand, where banks put a solid digital transformation team in place to start the whole digital project that goes beyond a product and looks at how to change the bank itself.

In terms of the environment for digital transformation, Mathenz said among the biggest hindrances to the further digital transformation of banks in the country’s Internet system: its snail-paced speed and shallow reach.

Filipinos, according to Mathenz, are also particularly risk averse when

it comes to the handling of their money, with concerns on risk security and fraud looming with the growth of digital banking in the country.

“Filipinos need to be educated for digital transformation to really take off,” he said. “We have all of these great points, but there needs to be an education of financial services in general and reduce the friction in basic services.”

These particular constraints put pressure on the Philippine banking sector’s booming capacity to fully transform into one of the economies that is at the forefront of digital banking transformation, he added.

According to Mathenz, among the advantages of the Philippines in terms of its digital transformation include the Filipinos’ tech-savvy attitude and the large percentage of mobile penetration in the country.

He also said the country’s high gross domestic product and its ability to be an investment hub in recent years gives local banks “good potential to adapt to a more digitized system.” Mathenz also lauded efforts of monetary authorities to advance their regulations on digital transformation, setting a digital-friendly environment for banks to innovate.

“Here you have a very very supportive and visionary regulator with the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas],” Mathenz said. “The BSP is very focused on driving the adoption of electronic payments. It is very driven to reduce the cash or turn the cashbased society into more or digital, online electronic payments society.”

Fiserv said it is a global organization with more than 12,000 clients worldwide. Among their local clients include BDO Unibank Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Veterans Bank, Manulife and Sun Life Financial Philippines. Bianca Cuaresma

MONEY TALKS This photo shows BDO Unibank Inc. President and CEO Nestor V. Tan (left)

and Chairman Teresita T. Sy-Coson in a conversation during the listed firm’s Annual Stockholders Meeting on April 22. The bank reported to shareholders a full-year 2018 net income of P32.7 billion, representing a 17-percent growth, beating the P31-billion full-year guidance. NONIE REYES

BOC to deploy 69 staff to man ports

T

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) will see its fuel-marking program and the x-ray inspection project bolstered after 69 graduates completed their training on basic enforcement.

In a statement issued on Monday, the BOC said its Customs Training Institute held its second commencement exercises for the Maalab (zealous) Class of 2019 at the bureau’s Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) grounds at the port area in Manila.

According to the BOC, the graduates have completed their training for new employees, which started on October 2018, and will be deployed to their respective port assignments after the election ban. The BOC’s fuel-marking system, which was formally launched in February, aims to check if fuel products being distributed in the country have gone through the correct process and have paid the right duties and taxes. This system is expected to curtail oil smuggling.

“Our work in the BOC requires vigilance, professionalism and judiciousness, to help you as you embark on your career here at BOC, you have to do your best, apply your skills and expand your capabilities in order to ensure that you contribute to the overall objectives of your unit and the bureau as a whole,” Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero was quoted to have said during the graduation rites.

The Customs chief was quoted to have told graduates “to work as one with the BOC.” “Everyone must be mindful of their actions, pointing out that they have to be judicious and transparent in their interactions and transactions because every decision they make has repercussions on the unit they serve, the department they are part of and the bureau that they are now working for.”

In January this year, Guerrero said the BOC will be organizing its own customsborder police force in line with the deployment of its allocation of manpower.

Guerrero added the Customs border-police force would be created this year and is targeted to be comprised of 1,500 new recruits hired and trained by the bureau.

Meanwhile, the BOC’s Manila International Container Port (MICP) said its employees will be rendering overtime work from April 22 until April 30 to accommodate stakeholders who weren’t able to transact with the port during the Holy Week break.

“The port will continue to process transactions past its eight-to-five operating hours,” BOC Spokesman Erastus Sandino B. Austria said. “Brokers, processors and others who are transacting with the port are assured that they will be entertained even past the port’s office hours.” Rea Cu

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 B3

BOC vows resolution of cases involving containers in MICP

T

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) vowed to swiftly issue decisions on about 1,236 cases involving containers contributing to the decongestion at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, BOC Spokesman Erastus Sandino B. Austria said expediting the decisions on the cases pending with the MICP’s law division is expected to help further remove overstaying containers at the yards. Austria, a lawyer, added that doing so is also expected to improve MICP’s yard-utilization rate, as well as the process of trade and logistics in the country.

Austria, who is also MICP district collector, said the identified number of cases awaiting decision, some

dating as far back as 2012, was a result of the inventory the MICP undertook of all pending cases.

All the cases are now catalogued in a database where details of each case and its status can be easily monitored, making it easier for overdue cases to be identified and assigned for faster disposition from the law division, according to Austria.

In line with shortening the time to decide on the cases, the MICP law division encourages claimants to

submit position papers preparatory to rendering a decision instead of going through the formal-trial type of proceedings.

According to the BOC, cases pending decision pose a bottleneck in the removal of overstaying containers at the yard as shipments with undecided cases cannot be auctioned or disposed of in accordance with law.

Earlier in the month, the BOC reported an improvement in the yardutilization rate for the MICP and the Port of Manila (POM), the two major ports in Luzon.

The MICP reported a yard-utilization rate of 70 percent, while the POM reported a rate of 69 percent for April this year, coming from the January level of 90 percent and 95 percent, respectively.

Austria earlier explained that under international standards, the 70-percent to 80-percent yard-utilization rate range reported by port operators is still within manageable levels and that congestion is not present in the ports yet.

Meanwhile, the BOC implemented a skeletal work force on April 23 as Malacañang suspended the operation of government offices in Metro Manila after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Luzon on Monday afternoon.

“To ensure that the services of the BOC remain uninterrupted, the BOC central office, all ports and subports in Metro Manila, and all other offices rendering frontline services shall observe skeletal work force today,” the BOC said in a public advisory issued on Tuesday.

The MICP earlier reported it will be rendering overtime work starting from April 22 until April 30 to accommodate stakeholders who weren’t able to transact with the ports during the Holy Week break.

“The port will continue to process transactions past its eight-to-five operating hours,” the MICP said in an advisory. “Brokers, processors and others who are transacting with the port are assured that they will be entertained even past the port’s office hours.”

DOF assures Japanese of good PHL tax climate

T

HE Department of Finance (DOF) has cited the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) will expand opportunities for Japanese investors to do business in the Philippines.

This is what Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told a delegation from Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren) based in Osaka, Japan.

“We would like to point out that, actually, our economy is growing very quickly. If you want to participate in the local economy, you have to better invest here,” said Dominguez during his recent meeting with Kankeiren members led by its chairman, Masayoshi Matsumoto. “We’d like to make you feel welcome, but what will make you feel welcome is the improving disposable income of our people, improving infrastructure, improving peace and order, and I’m sure many Japanese companies can certainly benefit here.”

Package 2 of the CTRP, which aims to cut the corporate income tax (CIT) rate from 30 percent to 25 percent and eventually to 20 percent, as well as rationalizing fiscal incentives, is expected to help attract more investors for the country.

The reduction of the CIT under Package 2, also called the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and HigherQuality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, will make the country’s CIT on a par with the other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economies.

However, the Trabaho bill is still being deliberated in Congress.

Dominguez, nonetheless, remains hopeful that the bill, alongside the remaining three packages under the CTRP, would be approved later this year.

Dominguez also noted that the fiscal incentives under the tax reform program would not be removed but would instead be rationalized or improved to ensure that these are

performance-based, targeted, timebound and transparent.

“Rather than look at the effect of tax reform on some companies, look at the effects of tax reform on the entire economy, because it is making it better. Instead of looking at the place where you might lose, look at opportunities in the larger economy,” he added.

Matsumoto, who is also the chairman and CEO of Sumitomo Electronic Industries, said he is “very satisfied with the explanation” of the finance chief about the need to rationalize fiscal incentives in the country.

Dominguez explained that the country’s current system of fiscal incentives despite being “the longest and most generous” among the Asean economies have not attracted more investors to the Philippines, which remains among the lowest recipients of foreign direct investments in the region.

“There is no danger that we are abandoning fiscal incentives. But as

I described to you, it is really necessary for us to rationalize it. I hope for your understanding and support because we certainly don’t want to hurt companies that are making a good contribution to Philippine society,” Dominguez said.

He also assured Kankeiren that the “one-stop shop” that Japanese investors are currently enjoying through the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) would not only be retained but would also be the norm for all business applications in the future, following President Duterte’s signing into law of the Ease of Doing Business Act last year.

“Everything that makes business easier, we will keep and we will improve,” Dominguez added.

Present during the meeting were, among others, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda and Masayuki Matsushita, Kankeiren vice chairman and chairman of its International Committee, and vice chairman of Panasonic Corp. Rea Cu

NGO bats for vigilance in loan contracts review

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HE Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said it welcomes the announcement of President Duterte that the executive department shall review all existing loan contracts with China and other foreign creditors and shall purge these contracts of any onerous conditionalities.

In a statement, the nongovernment group FDC said its president, Rene E. Ofreneo, explained, “This executive initiative shall only be meaningful if there is full transparency or disclosure of all the contracts under the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ [BBB] program and if there is citizens’ participation in the review process.”

“In the first place, under the freedom of information principle, all these contracts should have been made public,” Ofreneo was also quoted as saying.

In the Kaliwa Dam project, the FDC research team led by Rovik Obanil found the Preferential Buyer’s Credit Loan Agreement between the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the Export-Import Bank of China to be one-sided in favor of China, according to the FDC. “For example, Section 8.4 of the said agreement states that the contract and the rights and obligations of the parties ‘shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of China,’” the FDC said.

“Further, any dispute arising from the Agreement shall be submitted for arbitration not to a neutral third party but to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, which shall conduct the arbitration in accordance with the Center’s rules. Additionally, the MWSS, as the borrower, waives ‘any immunity on grounds of sovereignty or otherwise for itself or its property in connection with any arbitration proceeding.’”

communities of Rizal, Quezon and Laguna provinces that are adjacent to the proposed dam.”

Lastly, there are other proposals on water procurement that are cheaper and safer compared to the proposed Chinese-funded Kaliwa Dam project, the NGO added.

“This is why more public consultation and information sharing with all stakeholders is critical,” Ofreneo said.” Is this not also the democratic way in economic governance?”

Kaliwa Dam

Debt accumulation

THE FDC said a case study prepared by its research team on the Kaliwa Dam uncovered several anomalies.

First, the project failed to secure “Free, Prior and Informed Consent” from the Dumagat/Remontado indigenous people in the area. The FDC said the Dumagats were also not given full information and documents about the project. Both, the FPIC and incomplete information, are in clear violation of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (Ipra), according to the FDC. “Second, the dam will be constructed within the Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve, which means violation of the National Integrated Protected Area Systems Act,” the FDC said. “Third, the dam shall be built on an active earthquake fault, which endangers the lives of the people living in the towns and

THE FDC also expressed alarm over the rapid accumulation of debt under the BBB program.

In 2016, the total government debt was P6 trillion. And yet, by 2022, the government was projecting the total infra spending under the Duterte administration to reach P8 trillion. “This means the national debt might double in six years, not to mention the increase in taxes because the infra spending is based on borrowings and GAA [General Appropriations Act] allocations,” the FDC said.

According to Ofreneo, this debt-accumulation process is similar to the BBB program in the 1970s under the Marcos administration.

“After Marcos declared martial law in 1972, the World Bank and other ODA

[official development assistance] aid creditors gave full support to the massive infra program of the government, such as building of dams, irrigation projects, roads, bridges and so on of the government,” Ofreneo explained. Thus, the $2.7-billion debt in 1972 rose to $6.7 billion in 1976, and then to $17.2 billion in 1980, he added.

“Then the debt became unpayable in the early 1980s, resulting in the further swelling of the debt [to $24.8 billion] and the collapse of the economy by 1983 to 1985.

Are we not building a similar debt bomb?” he said.

Debt bombs form when countries rapidly accumulate debt without growing the capacity to pay or service the debt. And when they default or are unable to pay on time, these countries resort to more borrowings, with high interest rates and the borrowers tied to stringent conditionalities.

B4 Wednesday, April 24, 2019

LIMA RACE 2019: RUN HARD, BREATHE HARDER MEGABITES.COM.PH HOLDS ‘AVENGERS: ENDGAME’ BLOCK SCREENING

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EGABITES.COM.PH, your online portal for all things tech, food and lifest yle, brings you a block screening of the highly anticipated movie of Avengers: Endgame on April 25 at Robinsons Movieworld Galleria Cinema 6.

Block-screening tickets are priced

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N May 4 Spartan Philippines will be hosting the first leg of the 2019 Southeast Asia (SEA) regional series titled “Spartan Lima Beast/ Sprint 2019”. This event will be held at the AboitizLand estate development of Lima, Batangas. As the first out of three SEA series, this race will kick off what will be the stepping stone for the competitive spartans to qualify for the Asia Pacific championships in August and world championships in September.

This particular event will highlight the spartan sprint, a 5-km, 20 obstaclecourse race as the qualifier of the SEA series. This is the only race in the event that will have the elite and age group categories. The event will also feature the Spartan Beast, a 2-km, 30 obstacle course race for spartans to be able to complete their first 2019 trifecta medal in the Philippines.

Moreover, this event will also feature the very first Hurricane Heat 12-hour in the Philippines. Taking place on May 3 at 7

p.m., participants of this endurance event will go through challenging individual and team activities that will test their strength, grit, team work and will. Only the best of the best remain after the 12-hour ordeal.

Expecting around 4,000 racers and spectators, the Lima Beast/Sprint will be a grand event that will gather spartans from around the country and region to battle it out, and reach the podium and earn their points in the SEA regional series. Spartans from outside the region are also expected to take part in this momentous event.

An hour drive away from Manila through the South Luzon expressway, the Lima estate offers a live-work-play lifestyle with 600 hectares of industrial, commercial and residential developments. Located in Lipa and Malvar communities in Batangas, it also offers 21-km running and biking route for sporting events.

To know more about Spartan Lima Beast/Sprint 2019, visit spartanrace.ph or follow Spartan Race Philippines on Facebook and Instagram.

at P450, with inclusion of lootbags and more than 100 raffle prizes to be given away from our event sponsors.

A f t e r Avengers: Inf init y War, the grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out ha lf t he universe and f ractured the Avengers’ ranks compels the

remaining heroes to take one final st a nd i n Ma r vel St ud ios’ g ra nd conclusion after 22 films.

Megabites.com.ph is your onestop online news feed for everything techie, most raved-about in the food scene and the latest updates in the lifest yle industr y, from fashion, health, business, real estate, banking, as well as travel destinations. We aim to bring the latest or trending news to our online readers that deserves to know and be informed.

Megabites.com.ph’s movie block screening was made possible with the following event sponsors: (Gold sponsors) Asus Philippines, ECooter Club, DCA Professional Power Tools, Gardenia, GCash, Hotel Sogo, Mestiza, Mynt, Organique California, RC Cola, R e publ ic of Ga mers, R obi n son s Movieworld, Saint Paul University M a n i l a a n d Wo r k p r o; ( B r o n z e s pon sors) A gent s I nter n at ion a l Inc., Curmerine, Greenbulb Communications, Nature’s R ain, Potato Corner, Purple Sage, Raimol Motor Oil and Industrial Lubricants, R ipple8, Tu rc u m i n Herba l Food Supplement, Uni writing instruments and Wilson; and (media sponsors) BusinessMirror, Diyar yo Pinoy, Ridestyle Philippines and StreettalkPH.

LAST-DITCH EFFORT UP FOR BOXING IN TOKYO

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IN case of a tsunami, the Japanese organizers are preparing for any eventuality.

BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Olympics organizers guarantee evacuation plan at sailing venue T SOUTH Korea’s Kim Minji competes in the women’s long jump final at the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha on Monday. AP

OKYO 2020 insisted procedures would be in place to ensure the safety of spectators after a professor at Aichi Prefectural University raised concerns over a possible evacuation at the Olympic Games sailing venue.

Nobuaki Shimizu told the Japanese media that simulations had shown evacuation plans would be inadequate at Shonan Port.

The plans would reportedly be used in the event an offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami near the venue.

Shimizu claimed it would take nearly an hour for spectators, athletes and officials to evacuate.

But Tokyo 2020 offered reassurance over its plans, stating it had changed the maximum spectator capacity following the simulation.

“Tokyo 2020 acknowledges the tsunami impact simulation exercise that was carried out by the Kanagawa Prefectural authorities and has formulated an evacuation plan to address the scenarios they simulated,” a Tokyo 2020 spokesman told the South China Morning Post.

“Taking into account the level of assumed damage caused by any such tsunami, we have estimated the number of people that could safely be evacuated and have accordingly reduced the maximum capacity of the venue from the 7,000-plus people included in our original bid to 5,700.

“Excluding athletes, staff and media representatives, the spectator capacity has been reduced to 3,300 people.

“As a result of this verification exercise, we have established that all 5,700 people would be able to evacuate to six designated facilities in the vicinity of the venue itself and in surrounding hilly areas.

“We are working on formulating safety procedures through the training and education of staff in the safe evacuation of those affected in any such occurrence, and by establishing evacuation procedures in cooperation with local authorities and other related parties.

“Based on the above, we will continue to share all relevant event information and any necessary alerts and updates with spectators

ASIAN ATHLETICS HEAD CRITICIZES U.A.E. FOR SKIPPING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DOHA A SIAN Athletics Association President Dahlan Al Hamad criticized the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for refusing to send athletes to the Asian Athletics Championships.

Four days of competition are being staged at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar’s capital Doha.

The event is set to offer organizers a crucial test ahead of hosting the World Championships later this year.

The championships will take place amid a political dispute in the region.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were among the countries to cut ties with Qatar in June 2017.

They accused the nation of supporting terrorism, a claim that was denied.

The resultant blockade included withdrawing ambassadors, and imposing trade and travel bans.

The diplomatic crisis has put pressure on Qatar with sport among several sectors impacted.

The UAE has opted not to send athletes to compete in the Asian Championships but Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will be represented.

And Al Hamad reportedly criticized the UAE’s decision.

“How can Asia vote for such a strange approach, whatever the justifications and reasoning might be, as they claim that the reason is the non-approval of the UAE Foreign Ministry,” he said, according to the Gulf Times.

“This is not acceptable and contradicts the rules and regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), as well as the Asian Athletics Association.”

Al Hamad, an IAAF vice president, was reelected as Asian Athletics Association President prior to the Championships.

He received 30 votes, with Jordan’s Saad Alhiyasat only polling 13.

Al Hamad is set to serve a four-year term until 2023.

He chairs the Doha 2019 Organizing Committee and will hope that the Asian Athletics Championships provide a positive test event for the World Championships.

The 2019 Championships, featuring around 2,000 athletes from 213 countries, are scheduled to take place from September 27 to October 6. Insidethegames

during the Games.”

The Tokyo 2020 sailing competition will take place from July 27 and August 6 at Enoshima Yacht Harbour.

A total of 10 events will be held and a test event will take place from August 15 to 22.

No Paralympic sailing competition will take place at Tokyo 2020, after the sport was axed from the programme.

Japanese residents, meanwhile, can apply for tickets for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo from May 9, it was announced today.

Tokyo 2020 confirmed the domestic ticket lottery would run until May 28, with results revealed on June 20.

The Organising Committee has also launched its dedicated ticket web site today, where residents in Japan can submit their applications. insidethegames exclusively revealed last month that international ticket sales are due to begin on June 14—the same day a new law banning the resale of tickets comes into force.

The decision to start the domestic phase of ticket sales before the international one is unusual as at previous Olympics they have been launched together.

Tokyo 2020 has asked those interested in entering the lottery to preregister on the Olympic IDs portal.

Those who are unsuccessful in the domestic lottery will have another opportunity to secure tickets for the Games in the Japanese capital during the first-come, first-served phase, scheduled to start in the autumn of this year.

A further phase of ticket sales will start in the spring of next year, offering first-come, first-served sales on a global basis, Tokyo 2020 said.

It is not clear how many tickets are available in the first phase of domestic sales.

Tokyo 2020 announced last July that the most expensive tickets for the Olympics, for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, will cost ¥300,000 ($2,500), while half of all tickets will cost ¥8,000 ($70) or less.

The cheapest adult tickets will be ¥2,500 ($22), while a cheaper concessionary rate for children, the elderly and people with disabilities will also be available at ¥2,020 ($18).

The cheapest tickets will be available at sports including softball, football, hockey and rugby, while the most expensive sporting tickets will be available for athletics at ¥130,000 ($1,100). Insidethegames

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HE European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) has attempted to take the current crisis into its own hands by creating a working group aimed at pressuring the International Olympic Committee (IOC) into keeping the sport on the Tokyo 2020 program.

In a statement released following an Executive Committee meeting in Belgrade recently, the EUBC said it would ask the International Boxing Association (Aiba) to authorize the continental organization to “initiate a relationship” with the IOC. The EUBC, led by Aiba Vice President Franco Falcinelli, claimed it did not want to “remain idle” while the future of boxing within the Olympic Movement was “at risk.”

The last-ditch move marks a desperate attempt from the EUBC to ensure Aiba remains the Olympic governing body for the sport.

Aiba remains the subject of an IOC inquiry, which could lead to the worldwide body being stripped of the right to organize the Olympic boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020.

It also suggests that the EUBC is concerned by the progress made by Aiba toward maintaining its status as the IOC-recognized body for boxing.

The composition of the working group remains unclear, although insidethegames understands Falcinelli could chair the new panel.

“The EUBC is willing to do whatever it is in its power to overcome the current crisis and to secure the presence of boxing in Tokyo 2020,” a short statement published after the Executive Committee meeting said.

“We owe it to our member federations, our boxers and all boxing fans.

“The EUBC has decided to create a working group and will ask Aiba for authorization to initiate relationships with the IOC and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.

“The working group will include boxers, who we believe have been penalized most by the situation, because their Olympic dream is jeopardized.”

Boxing will almost certainly feature at Tokyo 2020 in some form but who organizes the qualification process and the tournament itself remains unclear.

The IOC Inquiry Committee is due to submit its final report to the Executive Board at its next meeting in Lausanne on May 22.

The investigation was mainly triggered by the election of Gafur Rakhimov as president in November but the IOC has insisted it has other grave concerns with Aiba, such as its financial situation, ethics, and refereeing and judging following the scandal at Rio 2016.

Aiba is hopeful recent developments, including Rakhimov stepping aside and a proposal from influential Russian official Umar Kremlev to personally write off Aiba’s significant debt, will count in its favor when the IOC makes its decision.

Kremlev, the EUBC’s first vice president, said he would write off Aiba’s debt of $16 million if the IOC allowed it to remain in charge of the Olympic boxing competition at the Games in the Japanese capital.

The Russian was thanked by Aiba Executive Director Tom Virgets but has provided little explanation as to how the proposal will be financed, raising concern among some members of the EUBC. Kremlev made the offer in a letter to senior IOC officials, including President Thomas Bach and Nenad Lalovic, chairman of the Inquiry Committee into Aiba.

It is not yet clear if the IOC has responded to the Boxing Federation of Russia secretary general.

The offer was discussed at the Executive Committee meeting today and insidethegames understands some members sought clarification from Kremlev regarding the source of the money.

The Aiba Executive Committee member and Boxing Federation of Russia secretary general has already declared his intention to replace Rakhimov as the next president of the worldwide governing body.

Moroccan Mohamed Moustahsane was elected interim president after Rakhimov, who remains on a United States Treasury Department sanctions list as “one of Uzbekistan’s leading criminals, temporarily stood down.”

It is possible Rakhimov could return but Kremlev is among the main contenders should the 67-year-old Uzbek’s decision prove permanent. Insidethegames KAZAKHSTAN’S Vassiliy Levit (right) fights Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko during the men’s heavyweight final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. AP

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WALTON SUED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT

BUCKS ADVANCE FOR FIRST TIME IN 18 LONG YEARS

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ETROIT—Giannis Antetokounmpo will have his unique talents on display in the second round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs for the first time in his six-year career.

If Milwaukee’s superstar can match or beat his latest jaw-dropping highlight, everyone is in for a treat, unless they play or root for the Boston Celtics.

Antetokounmpo scored a career playoff-high 41 points to lift the Bucks a 127-104 sweep-sealing win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.

“This means a lot,” he said softly.

The top-seeded Bucks will face fourthseeded Boston in a postseason rematch. The Celtics are also coming off a sweep, against Indiana, and should have confidence in the matchup after eliminating Milwaukee in the first round last year.

The Bucks swept a seven-game series for the first time since 1983, when they did it in the conference semifinals against Boston.

“We’re going to celebrate it and have fun, but we’ll quickly focus on Boston,” Milwaukee guard Sterling Brown said. “It’s going to be a fun series.

Last year, they got us in Game Seven.”

Milwaukee has come a long way from Antetokounmpo’s first postseason appearance

By Tim Reynolds

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The Associated Press

RLANDO, Florida—If there was a silver lining for Indiana fans after the Pacers were the first team to be bounced from the 2019 National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs, it’s this: They won’t have to watch any more first-round games.

For that, they should be thankful.

Drama is in very short supply so far in these playoffs. Close games? Few and far between (more on this later). Ratings? They’re down double-digit percentages from last year, a massive hit that suggests casual fans aren’t watching if LeBron James—out of the playoffs for the first time since 2005—isn’t playing.

Tickets? There were seats on the secondary market available for Monday’s Milwaukee-

four years ago when Chicago advanced with a 120-66 win.

“From where we were and where we are right now, it’s been an unbelievable journey,” Antetokounmpo said. “The organization has done a great job of just pushing in another direction.”

Antetokounmpo has had a lot to do with that, smashing expectations for the No. 15 pick overall in 2013.

In games and practices, he has impressed his teammates with spectacular plays and even they were shaking their head in disbelief after his latest highlight.

“It’s crazy to be able to witness each one of these, it seems like each and every game,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said.

The latest one, though, wasn’t a play any of his teammates could recall seeing before.

Antetokounmpo leaped in the middle of the lane, trying to dunk on Andre Drummond with his right hand.

He was met by Detroit’s 6-foot-11, 279-pound center in the air and got fouled, getting bumped off his path in the paint.

No problem.

Antetokounmpo had enough strength to bring the ball down to corral it with both hands before

flicking his right wrist just enough before landing to make the shot to get the ball up and into the hoop.

“It was just unbelievable,” Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe said.

Brown was on the court for the three-point play late in the first half. A couple hours later, he still couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Everybody is not like him,” Brown said.

That appears to be true off the court, too.

Bucks Assistant Coach Vin Baker has been watching Antetokounmpo up close on a daily basis and raves about his game as much as his personality.

“He’s the best player in the world right now,” said Baker, a former NBA starter. “He reminds me sometimes of Scottie Pippen, but Scottie wasn’t 6-11. Sometimes I see some LeBron [James] in his game. But Giannis is so unique, I don’t think there’s ever been another NBA superstar like him.

“And, he’s just 24 and he attacks every day like it’s his first day in the league.”

Baker has seen Antetokounmpo accommodate requests from young and old fans and marvels at his humility.

“He’s one of the best people I’ve ever been around,” Baker said. “He doesn’t say no to people and unlike some stars, it’s not an act. He’s as real and genuine and authentic as you can be.” AP

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MILWAUKEE’S Giannis Antetokounmpo is fouled by Detroit’s Andre Drummond. AP

PLAYOFFS SORELY LACKING DRAMA Detroit game for as little as $18.

That’s $18, by the way, to see a Bucks team that was the best team in the NBA during the regular season. The Bucks have the likely MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pistons fans had to have known it would be their team’s last home game of the season. And it was, with Milwaukee winning in

a rout to finish off a four-game sweep.

A predictable one, at that.

The divide between the haves and the havenots in the NBA looks like a canyon right now.

Unless San Antonio takes two of the next three against Denver, or someone rallies from 3-1 or 3-0 down, the eight higher-seeded teams will all win

in the first round for the first time since 2008.

On the one hand, that means the secondround matchups could be really good. BostonMilwaukee. Golden State-Houston. PhiladelphiaToronto. None of them are set yet, but they would all be fascinating if they happen.

“You take control of a series by winning games on the road,” Golden State star Stephen Curry said. “We’ve been able to do that.”

This past weekend, all the higher-seeded teams took control by winning away from home. Road teams went 4-0 on Saturday.

Road teams went 4-0 again on Sunday. That’s never happened in NBA history. And with lower seeds not cashing in on home-court advantage, this first round might wind down real fast.

Boston swept away Indiana. Milwaukee swept Detroit. Houston could sweep Utah on Monday night. Philadelphia, Golden State, Toronto and Portland all have a chance to win in five games. Entering Monday, only one series—Denver versus San Antonio—was assured of going six games. There might not be a single Game Seven in the first round. The last time that happened was 2011.

Fans might want the drama that comes with close games, long series, back-and-forth tussles. Players, of course, don’t mind going without. There have been moments, of course.

Portland-Oklahoma City has given us flashes of Damian Lillard vs. Russell Westbrook. And Brooklyn-Philadelphia had some on-court shenanigans, plus Nets general manager Sean Marks somehow getting into the referee locker room to complain and a Nets owner tweeting to the league’s chagrin.

Hot tempers, yes. Great games, not so much.

“Not worried about it or paying attention to anybody else right now,” said Toronto guard Danny Green, whose team is up 3-1 over Orlando. “We’re focused on us and Orlando.

We don’t skip steps here. We can’t think about the next series. We haven’t won this series yet. Can’t even think about the next series.

Orlando’s our focus. They deserve all our focus.

They’re a pretty damn good team. And we’re not looking ahead because we haven’t beat them yet. The job’s not finished.”

Out of the first 31 games in these playoffs, road teams have gone 17-14. That’s absurd.

And just two of the

OS ANGELES—New Sacramento Kings Coach Luke Walton has been accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit by a former sports reporter.

Kelli Tennant filed the suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday alleging that Walton assaulted her in a hotel room in Santa Monica during his time as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. TMZ first reported the lawsuit.

According to the suit, Tennant considered Walton to be a friend and mentor and was also friendly with his wife before the incident that occurred when she tried to deliver him a copy of her book that Walton wrote the forward for while he stayed at the Casa del Mar Hotel during a Warriors road trip to Los Angeles.

Tennant said Walton met her in the lobby and invited her back to his room. After discussing the book, Tennant said Walton suddenly pinned her to the bed, and forcibly kissed her. She said she yelled “Stop!” but Walton used his full body weight to keep her on the bed, where he groped her and forcibly kissed her. She said he laughed as she asked him to stop.

Tennant said Walton finally relented and she started to leave the room when he grabbed her again and kissed her ears and neck. She said he finally stopped, laughed and said “Good to see you” before she left the room.

Tennant said she confided with people at the time of the alleged attack but never filed charges. She said Walton continued to harass her after he became coach of the Lakers and she was working as a broadcaster in Los Angeles for Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA. The Warriors and Lakers said they both first heard of the allegations after TMZ reported the lawsuit on Monday night and had no further comment. Walton was an assistant with Golden State from 2014-2016 before being hired as Lakers head coach.

Walton was dismissed by the Lakers earlier this month and hired by the Kings.

The Kings say they are aware of the report and gathering additional information. The team had no other comment. AP A FORMER sports reporter says Luke Walton assaulted her in a hotel room in Santa Monica during his time as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. AP

31 games have been decided by three points or less.

The average margin of victory so far in these playoffs: 14 points per game.

So there’s been lopsided games, and for the most part, lopsided matchups. By Wednesday, most of the second round might be set. By Thursday, the first round might be completely done. There’s a chance this could be the fastest first round since the NBA made the opening matchups all best-ofsevens in 2003.

The earliest the second round can start is Saturday.

Here’s hoping the intrigue ramps up around then, as well.

Suns fire Igor Kokoskov after losing season

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HOENIX—One season was not enough for Igor Kokoskov to convince the Phoenix Suns that he was the man to lead the franchise into the future.

The Suns fired Kokoskov on Monday night, ending the tenure of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) first European-

born coach after one disappointing season.

“After extensive evaluation, I determined it is best to move in a different direction with our head coaching position,” Suns GM James Jones said in a statement. “I want to thank Igor for his work this past season and wish him the best with his future endeavors.”

Kokoskov arrived in the desert with hopes of rebuilding a franchise coming off its secondworst record at 21-61. He was hired to replace Jay Triano, named interim coach after Earl Watson was fired last season.

The Suns entered the 2018-19 season with one of the NBA’s most dynamic scorers in Devin Booker and added the No. 1

KOKOSKOV

overall pick of the 2018 draft, big man Deandre Ayton.

Instead of a revitalizing season, the Suns continued to mire in mediocrity, missing the playoffs for the ninth straight season.

Phoenix had a franchise-worst 17-game losing streak in 2018-19 and became the first team in the shot-clock era (1954-55) to be held under 10 points in the first quarter of consecutive games.

The Suns finished 19-63 in Kokoskov’s only season in the desert, worst in the Western Conference.

Jones became the full-time GM after the Suns removed the interim tag earlier this month and his first big move was to fire Kokoskov, an assistant with the franchise from 2008-13.

Now, Phoenix is in limbo again, searching for its fifth coach in five seasons.

The Serbian Kokoskov spent 18 seasons as an NBA assistant before becoming a head coach, including stints with Utah, Orlando Cleveland, Detroit and the Los Angeles Clippers. He also was the head coach of the Georgia national team from 2008-15 and led Slovenia to its first EuroBasket title in 2017. AP

Team Liyab to represent PHL at League

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EAM Liyab—the professional eSports team of Globe in partnership with Mineski—bagged the championship at the expense of Steelwolves, 2-0, at the Philippine National Minor event of the

League of Legends (LoL) SEA Tour. As a result, Team Liyab will represent the country against opponents from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia for the right to participate in the Mid-Season Invitational

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ARL CORPUS blew a one-under card with a shaky windup for a 75 but nipped Sean Ramos in a playoff to clinch the top seeding in the Philippine Amateur Open Match Play Championships at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac on Tuesday.

Corpus holed out with back-to-back double bogeys for a 36-39 as the defending champion pooled a 148 after 36 holes of stroke play elims, then beat Ramos for low medal honors heading to the knockout stage beginning today. He clashes with Korean Ha Tae Won, who finished at 160 after an 82, and edged Jeffrey Gabe, who shot a 76, in the countback for the 16th and last spot in the tournament proper of the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation.

Ramos turned in a 74 to match Corpus’s 148 but

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 C3

Corpus rules elims, seals duel vs Korean settled for the No. 2 spot for a face-off with Seo Dong Bin, who figured in a three-way tie for No. 15 with a 79.

Leandro Bagtas also carded a 74, which proved to be the best in tough conditions at the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed layout, and finished third with a 150 for an interesting duel with No. 14 Josh Jorge, who groped for an 81 and a 159.

Also making it to the next phase are Perry Bucay (75-153), Masaichi Otake (75-155), Dan Cruz (77-155), Paolo Barro (77-155), Don Petil (77-155),

Kristoffer Arevalo (79-155), Zachary Castro (80-156), Jacob Rolida (77-158), Paolo Wong (82-158) and Korean Kim Tae Soo (82-158).

Bucay takes on Kim in today’s Round of 16 with Petil mixing it up with Arevalo, Otake squaring off with Wong, Rolida facing off with Cruz, and Barro tangling with Castro. Winners will advance to a grueling stint on Thursday with the quarterfinals in the morning and the semis in the afternoon.

In girls play, Laurea Duque picked up her second

win in the round robin format among six players, beating Korean Bang Hee Yeon, 4&3, while Laia Barro, who drew her opening round match with Kim Ga Yeon, stopped Rianne Malixi, 5&4.

Kim also hurdled Kristine Fleetwood, 3&2, to her title bid in the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and backed by the PLDT Group, Cignal and Metro Pacific.

AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

Tributes shower on Tiger Woods

BALASABAS CARIÑO, LAGO DETERMINED UP BY 2 SHOT DESPITE BITING UZBEK COLD PI SIGMA GOLFEST

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HE second Paglingkuran ang Kabayanan Golf Cup presented by the Pi Sigma Fraternity Alumni Association Inc. is set on Wednesday at the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

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By Jun Lomibao

AZALKENT, Uzbekistan—Daniel Ven Cariño and Marc Ryan Lago get into the Asian Cycling Championships action here on Wednesday faced with two gargantuan tasks—compete against the best in the continent and race in a bitingly cold weather that this part of the globe is known for.

But the two young Filipinos and their five other teammates are hoping the weather holds on in the individual time trial (ITT) races that mark the second day of races that also include para cycling.

“I hope the weather holds, especially the temperature,” said Cariño, 21, who races in the 40km Men Under-23 individual time trial at 3:30 p.m.

(6:30 p.m. in Manila) on Wednesday.

Lago, 18, will vie in the 30-km Men Junior ITT also on Wednesday but earlier at 1 p.m.

“It’s biting cold,” sighed Team Manager Ednalyn Hualda on Monday during the License Check and Team Managers Meeting at the Pyramida Hotel in Chorvoq where the weather is even colder—always below 18 degrees Centigrade—at 600 meters above sea level.

With the temperature dropping to close to 10 degrees and a strong shower making the conditions terrible for the seven Filipinos here backed by Go For Gold and sent by the PhilCycling, Hualda had to improvise.

“Warming oil,” quipped Hualda, referring to a

Registration is set at 6 a.m., and the shotgun tee off is at 8 a.m. The System 36 format will be applied.

The event aims to generate funds for the Sigman Leadership Training Program, the University of the Philippines Open Debate Tournament and its other socially relevant projects.

popular brand of baby oil back home that mothers use on babies before they bathe them. But Hualda’s woes have no instant solution because all products sold in Uzbekistan are labeled in Russian, and hardly could anyone find a local who speaks English.

Nevertheless, the Philippine team members vowed to give their all extremely hoping the sun continues to shine as it did on Tuesday during the team time trial for Men and Women Elite and Para Cycling.

“This is the Asian Championships, and we’re here to give our all,” said Cariño, the Best Young Rider of last year’s Le Tour de Filipinas.

Because of the cold and rain, the Filipinos only rode 20 kms on Sunday afternoon. On a sunny Monday and the temperature hitting 18 degrees, they did 80 kms, enough to make them sweat a little.

Besides Cariño and Lago, also on the Philippine team are Ismael Gorospe Jr., Joshua Mari Bonifacio and Jerico Lucero in the Men Under 23, and Efren Reyes Jr. (18) and Ean Cajucom (17) in the Men Juniors. They will race in the massed start events on Friday.

The Philippines owns a modest reputation in the Asian Championships with Rustom Lim clinching a bronze medal in 2011 in Nakhon Ratchasima, in Thailand, and Rex Luis Krogg bagging silver in Naypyidaw, Myanmad, last year.

The time trial routes are on a flat stretch of highway that resembles the expressways back home. The roads have been totally closed for the races.

Go For Gold goes extra mile in tapping triathlon potentials

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ERSON BALASABAS birdied the tough par-three 17th to save an eagle-spiked 72, then watched a slew of fancied rivals fumble at the finish to wrest a one-stroke lead in an early test of will and wits in hot, windy conditions at the start of the rich The Country Club Invitational in Santa Rosa, Laguna, on Tuesday.

Balasabas, seeking to check a dip in form after scoring a breakthrough in the Philippine Masters last year, hit a pitch-in eagle on the par-four No. 1 and went three-under with a birdie on the par-3 third hole. But like the rest of the select 30-player field in this P5-million championship, he stumbled in other baffling holes of the demanding Tom Weiskoph-designed layout, specifically on two other par 3s which he bogeyed (No. 6) and double bogeyed (No. 11).

He gained a stroke with another birdie on No. 13 but fell off the leaderboard with back-to-back bogeys from No. 15 before moving on top again with that birdie on the 17th to set the pace in the 72-hole championship kicking off the Philippine Golf Tour’s milestone 10th season.

“After hitting the green, it bounced once and rolled into the cup,” said Balasabas, referring to his rare eagle feat on the water-laced opening hole off an 8-iron shot from 158 yards. “The strong wind is but a normal thing here, but it was super hot out there.”

The lead kept changing hands as the buffeting wind changed its direction, forcing the bidders to adjust with their respective club selections while trying to set up birdie chances on difficult pin placements as the course kept its reputation as one of the toughest with no one able to break par.

Clyde Mondilla, winner in the Solaire Philippine Open here three weeks ago, appeared headed to keeping his familiar spot with a two-under card after 10 holes. But he bogeyed the next, regained the stroke on No. 13, only to drop strokes on Nos. 14, 16 and 17 and fall to joint second with 73 with Angelo Que and Tony Lascuña in the event also known as the Don Pocholo Razon Memorial Cup put up by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Chairman Ricky Razon in 2003 to honor

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

J JEREMY GO (third from left), Go for Gold godfather and Powerball Marketing and Logistics Corp. vice president for marketing, makes the unity pose with (from left) triathlon’s Melvin Fausto, Swimbikerun.ph President and CEO Carlos de Guzman, Sunrise Events Inc. General Manager Princess Galura, triathlete John Chicano and Rudy Project Marketing Manager Marge Camacho. ROY DOMINGO

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O For Gold is expanding its support to triathlon through a talent-search program that targets top finishers in at least six races both domestic and international.

Jeremy Go, Go for Gold godfather, told a press conference at the Rudy Project store in Uptown Mall in Taguig City that his program would immediately enter into contracts with triathletes who show potentials to excel on the global stage.

“This program aims to encourage more young individuals to pursue excellence through sports,” said Go, vice president for marketing of Powerball Marketing and Logistics Corp.

“There is no shortcut to success. But if your dream is to be part of the Go For Gold Philippines, then this might be your time to shine,” he added.

The Go For Gold Sunrise Sprint-Cebu will be the first race under the program. It is set on April 18 in

the City of Naga in Cebu.

Next up is the Go For Gold SBR PH Aquaman at the Vermosa Sports Hub on May 19, then the SBP PH Duaman in Nuvali on June 16.

Completing the program are the Go For Gold Sunrise Sprint in Davao City on July 7, SBP PH Triman-Clark on July 18 and the Sunrise SprintSubic on November 4.

The races are under the short distance category—750-meter open water swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run.

The top 10 finishers from each race will earn points that will be totalled for the overall rankings.

The top athletes will also receive a Storck bike and a trophy.

Go For Gold is also supporting cycling, sepak takraw, chess, wrestling, dragonboat and skateboarding. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

e of Legends SEA Tour

unconventional strategies, upset Arkangel in the other semifinal.

Liyab banked on its championship experience to beat Steelwolves at all facets of the game to book a ticket to the LST Major.

Liyab’s Cara Cute, meanwhile, will vie in the Hearthstone Philippine National Qualifiers for the World Cyber Games in 2019. She will

that offers a $50,000 prize pool.

The LoL squad beat TNC Pro Team, 2-0, in the semifinals to advance to the finals against Steelwolves Gaia.

The Bacolod-based Steelwolves, known for their

ORDAN CLARKSON’S inclusion on the national team for the China Fiba World Cup will not only guarantee firepower but also added pride to the adoring fans of the basketball-crazed country.

Guiao’s wish for the national team remains—naturalized player Andray Blatche playing alongside Cleveland Cavalier and proud Filipino Clarkson.

But bringing the two best available talents for Team Pilipinas is something that fancies the fiery 60-year-old coach.

“I’m keeping my hopes high that we will play with him [Clarkson],” Guiao told on Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Hotel Amelie in Malate, Manila.

the memory of his father and ICTSI founder.

Except for Balasabas and Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia, the rest of the early contenders floundered on the par-72 layout’s tough finishing holes with threetime champion

Que and former winner Lascuña holing out with bogeys and missing joining Balasabas on top.

Some, however, struggled early, including reigning Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Order of Merit champion Jobim Carlos, who made a horrific “13” on the tight, tricky par-four No. 4 with a hazard on the right and out-of-bounds on the left.

“You can actually see the green off the mound, but you have to be extra cautious and precise in your shot to avoid getting into trouble.

I just felt sad it happened to me,” rued Carlos, who lost five balls on the hole on three OBs and two wayward drives on his way to an 85.

Action in the Ladies PGT, meanwhile, gets going at the Royal Northwoods Golf Club Inc. in San Rafael, Bulacan, on Wednesday with 2017 Order of Merit winner Pauline del Rosario leading the hosts’ bid against a crack foreign Thai squad.

Del Rosario hopes to finally hit top form after a string of mediocre finishes following a swing change in preparation for her Ladies Professional Golf Associaton Tour Q-School bid later this year although she will have her hands full against the Thais looking to extend their domination of the circuit.

Jhonnel Ababa birdied Nos. 13 and 14 to recover from a three-over par round but bogeyed No. 15 to settle for a 74 for joint fifth with Keanu Jahns, who also bogeyed No. 18, while Korean Kim Joo Hyung also birdied Nos. 13 and 14 but bogeyed the last two to slip to a share of seventh at 75 with Aussie Tim Stewart, who bogeyed No. 16, and Stojanovski, who hit a birdie on No. 16.

Juvic Pagunsan mixed three birdies against

M

also see action in the Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifiers for WCG 2019 set this weekend.

Globe continues to be at the forefront of developing the eSports ecosystem in the country and believes that with the right support and training, Filipino eSports athletes can compete with any eSports team in the world.

THE lead keeps changing hands as the buffeting wind changes, but Jerson Balasabas finds himself ahead by one stroke.

the same number of bogeys at the front then birdied the par-five 10th to erase the stigma of his woeful 11 that cut short his stint in the PHL Open and gain a share of the lead.

But the former Asia’s No. 1 fell with a thud again with a wobbly finish, bogeying No. 14 and dropping two strokes on the next before closing out with three straight bogeys.

He wound up with a 77 for joint 13th with Jay Bayron and one stroke behind the 76 scorers who included Albin Engino, Justin Quiban and Pete Vilairatana of the US. Korean-American Micah Shin, who edged absentee and 2017 winner Miguel Tabuena by one to become the first non-Filipino winner of this event put up by Razon in 2003 to honor the memory of his father and ICTSI founder Don Pocholo, recovered from a 41 start with birdies on Nos. 10, 12 and 14.

But he double bogeyed the long parfour 16th and dropped three strokes on the 18th to limp with a 79 for joint 17th with Michael Bibat, James Ryan Lam and Nilo Salahog, a stroke behind American Lexus Keoninh and Dutch Guido van der Valk, who hobbled with 78s.

TENNIS star and comeback author herself, Serena Williams, called Tiger Woods “buddy” in her congratulatory message after Woods’s April 14 Masters victory. Like Woods, Serena also engineered a triumphal return to tennis after giving birth to her first child a couple years back.

Serena’s tweet: “I am literally in tears watching @Tiger Woods. This is Greatness like no other. Knowing all you have been through physically to come back and do what you just did today? Wow! Congrats a million times!

I am so inspired thank you buddy.”

From Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warrior who owns one of the hottest pairs of hands that can shoot threes with impunity, this: “Greatest comeback story in sports! Congrats @Tiger Woods. Let me hold one of those 5 jackets one time!”

While Serena doesn’t play, Curry does. Curry is a single-digit handicapper.

Many more stars in sports, show business and other sectors of society have sent congratulatory messages to Woods, but none beats the one from President Trump.

Mr. Trump tweeted that he spoke to Woods and congratulated him on the “great victory” and “to inform him that because of his incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE, I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!” The President is an avid golfer who owns several golf courses. He played a round of golf with Woods only in February. He watched the Masters final round from his Virginia golf club.

The presidential medal of freedom is America’s highest honor for a civilian.

And from Barack Obama, this: “Congratulations, Tiger! To come back and win the Masters after all the highs and lows is a testament to excellence, grit, and determination.”

Oh, yes, Jack Nicklaus also tweeted: “A big ‘well done’ from me to @TigerWoods! I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic!!!”

Nicklaus holds the record in most majors won with 18, with Woods now having a total of 15.

Nicklaus was 46 when he won his 18th major— the 1986 Masters.

Woods is “only” 43 and so, there is that possibility—however remote?—that he could tie, if not surpass, Nicklaus’s all-time best.

Just you wait.

THAT’S IT Before Tiger Woods’s celebrated comeback, there was Ben Hogan, who survived a car crash and a 59-day hospital confinement due to broken ribs and multiple fractures and won the 1950 US Open, 11 months after the accident and in which his doctors said he couldn’t play golf again. Never underestimate the will and power of the human spirit.

Hoops officials remain hopeful on Clarkson “For me, it’s not only his abilities that will help the team, it will also be a big boost for the morale of the team and the fans,” he added the forum where he was joined by Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Willie Marcial.

Guiao revealed in the same forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Tapa King, Amelie Hotel and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. that the Samahang Basketbal ng Pilipinas is doing everything to secure Clarkson’s eligibility to play as a Filipino from the Fiba.

HOTSHOTS HOPE TO RIDE MOMENTUM

AGNOLIA aims to completely change the complexion of its series against Rain or Shine in Game Five of their Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup showdown on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Down from two games, the Hotshots turned the tables around and scored two straight victories, the most recent a narrow 94-91 win on Monday.

Now on equal footing, Magnolia shoots for the lead in the game set at 7 p.m.

It wasn’t a smooth ride for the team, especially in Game Four where they almost squandered a 21-point lead before escaping in the waning seconds. Nevertheless, Head Coach Chito Victolero had no remorse as the victory reduced the series to a best-of-three affair.

“We knew that they would come back. But

Clarkson played for Guiao in last year’s Asian Games in Indonesia. But the rules in the Asian Games are different from Fiba’s where a foreign-bread player must have secured a passport of his heritage country when he or she was 15 or younger.

“It’s a long shot, but its doable,” Guiao said.

The NLEX coach in the Philippine Basketball Association knows Team Pilipinas needs to move heaven and Earth to shock the world when the best teams gather in eight cities in China for the World Cup in August.

PHILIPPINE Basketball Association Commissioner Willie Marcial and national team Coach Yeng Guiao grace Tuesday’s forum. ROY DOMINGO

we just tried to stay composed, and we did.

We held on, and that’s the most important thing,” Victolero said. “A win is a win. Whether it’s 20 points, or three points or one point, I would take it.”

Victolero, however, said they need to make adjustments in Game Five.

“We just tied the series so it now boils down to a best-of-three. The momentum is on our side so it’s up to us to continue pressure on them,” he said.

Elasto Painters Head Coach Caloy Garcia also had no ill feelings for his team despite

Final 4 bonuses still up for grabs

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HE Final Four cast is now complete but the two twice-to-beat bonuses remain up for grabs with Wednesday’s double-header on Wednesday serving a crucial role in University Athletics Association of the Philippines Season 81

women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

With only Far Eastern University (8-5 won-lost) assured of a fourth-place finish after the eliminations regardless of the result of its

falling short in Game Four.

“I told them after the game that it was a test of character. We climbed back from a 21-point lead, I felt that we did a better job,” he said.

Garcia also expressed confidence that nothing has changed in the series and that they still control their fate.

“They just tied the series. It’s nothing like they gained momentum. Basketball is different everyday. It’s a different 48-minute ball games next game,” Garcia said. “So for us, we just have to find ways on how to win in Game Five.”

Ramon Rafael Bonilla match against De La Salle on Saturday, the top 3 positions have yet to be determined with three play dates remaining in the calendar.

Ateneo (10-2) battles already ousted Adamson University (1-11) at 4 p.m. with the Lady Eagles needing to win only one of their last two matches to grab the semifinals bonus.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

‘WORLD HAS CHANGED’ T Sports

By Jenna Fryer

The Associated Press

HE Indianapolis 500 is steeped in a century of tradition with rules and regulations, pomp and pageantry that have remained largely unchanged since 1911.

The fastest 33 cars compete in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and drivers unable to make the cut watch from the sidelines. James Hinchcliffe, a series regular and one of IndyCar’s most popular drivers, didn’t qualify last year and thus began a debate about the fairness in sending fulltime teams home from the biggest race of the year.

Bumping has always been part of the mystique and magic of the Indy 500, which is the hallmark event of the IndyCar season. Pundits insist the race stands alone, and drivers indeed spend an entire year trying to scrape together the funding needed to get a car on the hallowed speedway grounds. The race is so special to retired Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso that he is returning next month for a second chance to close out his “Triple Crown” quest.

The race is also just one of 17 on the IndyCar schedule, but worth double points in the championship race. Hinchcliffe was fifth in the standings when he missed the 500 last year and he plummeted to 11th and never recovered to make a run at the title. It’s the one event every sponsor wants to be part of when they sign the checks, and Michael Andretti had to scramble to buy Ryan Hunter-Reay a seat in 2011 when the team failed to qualify and Andretti needed his longtime partners in the field.

So when Hinchcliffe and sponsor Arrow were sent home last year, Roger Penske was one of the first owners to publicly question the bumping tradition.

Penske also competes in Nascar, which has a charter system that guarantees full-time entrants make every race, and he told The Associated Press that bumping had grown antiquated because “the world has changed.”

Penske said it was time for IndyCar “to step back and look at this and be sure that people who commit for a full season know they have a [guaranteed] place in the Indy 500.”

It was an interesting take from the most revered team owner in the paddock: Penske drivers have won the Indy 500 a record 17 times, and his organization was stunningly excluded from the race in 1995 when his cars failed to qualify. For added humiliation, defending race winner Al Unser Jr. was one of those sidelined.

“I remember walking out of pit lane with 100,000 people on qualification day and going back to my garage and it was a real blow,” Penske told the AP. “On the other hand, it made us better going forward. This is a place you want to race and you have to be there [guaranteed] going in.”

Now Chip Ganassi and Michael Andretti have echoed Penske’s sentiment, and Hulman and Co. CEO Mark Miles

said he understands their position. Guaranteed spots will not happen next month for the 103rd running of the race, but there are ongoing discussions as to how to protect IndyCar’s full-time entrants when it comes to the marquee race.

Fans could not be angrier at that idea.

Ganassi a week ago at Long Beach enlivened the debate by openly aligning with rival Penske.

“He knows what it’s like not to be in that race,” Ganassi said. “Thank God I don’t know what that’s like.

But obviously I agree with him. When you’re making a commitment all year for the series, a commitment is just that.”

Bedridden and bored all last weekend with the flu, Ganassi passed the time on Twitter responding to the backlash. A user named John Day asked Ganassi, “why now?” when there was no griping over Bobby Rahal missing Indy in 1993 or the Penske cars two years later.

“Hey John calm down,” Ganassi wrote. “We are just discussing options. Maybe there is one that keeps everyone happy. Maybe not.”

Team owners and the Indy 500 purists both make compelling arguments.

The traditional “Bump Day” is a part of the Indy 500 mystique and adds a crucial wrinkle of drama to qualifying weekend. The race against the clock to make the field of 33 can be heartbreaking—it sure was for Hinchcliffe last season—and IndyCar has updated the system for this year.

Hinchcliffe was knocked out of the race in Saturday qualifying last year, but the bumping will now be held on Sunday afternoon. Any cars outside the top 30 will have a shot at the “Last Row Shootout” to snag the final three spots in the field. It gives those teams an extra day to work on improvements, adds suspense to a second day of qualifying for television purposes and gives teams a last-ditch chance to make the show.

It’s a lifeline for teams struggling to make the race, and a pretty fair concession. For the time being.

Motorsports is simply not as healthy as it was when Penske’s cars failed to make the race nearly 25 years ago.

His sponsors absorbed the blow then, as Arrow did last year, but teams are scraping together every dollar to fill a season these days and missing the 500 can decimate the bottom line.

The economics of IndyCar means many drivers bring their own money to their teams. Not making the Indy 500 not only means they don’t get paid but also hurts their ability to sell future races.

If this was 1911, then sure, the fastest 33 cars race and that’s just fine.

But this is 2019 and teams—and we’re only talking about 20-something full-time entries, leaving about 10 open spots in the field—at least need the assurance they will have a spot in the race. Maybe that means more than 33 cars race? As Penske noted, the world has indeed changed, and sometimes business trumps tradition.

BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Al UNSER JR. waves after he fails to qualify for the 1995 Indianapolis 500 as Canada’s James Hinchcliffe talks with the media after he, too, doesn’t advance in last May’s race. AP

Thessaloniki, Russian billionaire celebrate victory in Greek league

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HESSALONIKI, Greece—Tens of thousands of fans in Greece’s second-largest city partied through the night and into Monday after PAOK Thessaloniki became the first team outside Athens to win the Greek league title in more than three decades.

In wild scenes of celebration, fans packed along the city’s seafront—hundreds holding red flares—to catch a glimpse of the winning team on a double-decker bus after its 5-0 win over Levadiakos sealed its undefeated run to victory.

At the heart of the party was Ivan Savvidis, a stout Russian billionaire who transformed the club and bet heavily on the northern Greek economy. Supporters chanted his name as he walked between two rows of flame machines during a celebration ceremony.

The 60-year-old businessman, whose family is partly of Greek ancestry, took over PAOK in 2012 and rescued the club from

financial ruin, settling debts and building a €63-million ($70 million) roster equal in value to that of the country’s largest club, Olympiakos.

Savvidis, who made his fortune in agriculture in southern Russia, tapped into PAOK’s underdog status and broader resentment throughout the city, which believes it has been overlooked by decision-makers in Athens.

“We have laid the foundations for what I hope is the start of some great achievements,” he said late Sunday, speaking through an interpreter. “Let those in Athens think with a clear head: What they did to us made us stronger by the day.”

Over the past decade, Savvidis has invested in northern Greek businesses, some on the brink of failure, as well as television stations and newspapers that are generally supportive of the country’s left-wing government. Despite his popularity in Thessaloniki, he is seldom far from controversy.

Greece’s western allies have noted his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he served as a member of Russia’s parliament before setting up his Greek businesses. And Savvidis’s dream of building a major club was almost toppled last season in a league

game against AEK Athens, during which he stormed onto the field to challenge the referee’s decision with a handgun holstered in his belt.

He remains banned from attending PAOK’s games, but fans late Sunday were forgiving, chanting under the White Tower, the city’s main monument, “Ivan, get your gun.”

PAOK last won titles a generation ago, in 1976 and 1985, and Larissa was the last team outside Athens to claim the championship trophy when it did so in 1988. Olympiakos dominated subsequent decades, winning 19 out of 21 titles before AEK’s victory last season. (Another Athens club, Panathinaikos, won the other two.)

The stranglehold fueled bitterness among PAOK’s owners and fans. Controversy surrounding big-game refereeing decisions, as well as match-fixing prosecutions in the top-flight league, prompted league organizers to use foreign referees at all key matches this season.

PAOK was founded in the mid-1920s by Greek refugees who fled to the city after a catastrophic war with Turkey and owes much of its loyal following to that history.

Not only veterans and fans feel that burden.

Vieirinha, PAOK’s Portuguese captain, wasn’t born the last time the team won the league. On Sunday, in tears, he received a standing ovation from 25,000 fans at Toumba Stadium, playing the last five minutes despite an injury.

“A great team like PAOK does not deserve to wait 34 years to win a championship,” Vieirinha said. “What we lived through this past year is a dream for every PAOK fan. I am one of them. I come from them. For me, PAOK means everything.” AP

PAOK Chairman Ivan Savvidis is cheered by fans during celebrations for the Greek Super League title in Thessaloniki. AP

1K HITS? NOTHING NEW FOR ARENADO

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ENVER—No. 1,000 was nothing new for Nolan Arenado.

Arenado hit a tiebreaking homer for his 1,000th career hit and the Colorado Rockies rallied to beat the Washington Nationals, 7-5, in Major League Baseball on Monday night.

Arenado also doubled twice and drove in two to help the Rockies win for the seventh time in eight games. He is the ninth Rockies player to reach 1,000 hits, getting there with a solo shot off Wander Suero (1-2) in the seventh to make it 6-5.

“I’m just thankful I was able to put the team ahead there and have a good quality at bat against a guy throwing hard and throwing really good cutters,” Arenado said. “I just tried to hit the ball hard there.”

Washington manager Dave Martinez said Suero’s pitch to Arenado went over the middle of the plate.

“With a guy like Arenado you’ve got to make a better pitch than that,” Martinez said. “He’s a really good hitter. He’s one of the premier players in the game and you’ve got to make your pitches.”

ARENADO The Rockies located the home run ball, convincing the fan who caught it to give it up in exchange for balls autographed by Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. Clubhouse manager Mike Pontarelli put the ball in a case and presented it to Arenado after the game.

“This is real cool,” Arenado said with a smile.

Mark Reynolds and pinch-hitter Raimel Tapia also homered for Colorado, and Trevor Story singled twice and drove in a run to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Brian Dozier had a three-run home run for the Nationals, who could not hold two- and three-run leads.

Tapia connected off Kyle Barraclough in the Rockies’ eighth.

Wade Davis got three outs for his second save, capping a strong showing by Rockies relievers, who picked up faltering starter Tyler Anderson by not allowing a run over six innings. Chad Bettis stabilized the game for the Rockies by working three innings and Seunghwan Oh (1-0) worked a hitless seventh. AP

God, our refuge

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EAR God, You give us joy in the days of our affliction.

We praise You and pray: Oh God, come to our aid.

Uphold Your Church’s efforts to educate and promote action to eliminate sex and labor trafficking. Inspire Catholic schools in their mission to educate young people for service to their faith communities and society. Strengthen and heal those who are undergoing treatment for serious illness. May God favor us with blessing and give us success to the work of our hands and minds, through Christ, the suffering servant of God. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life BusinessMirror

HARRY AND MEGHAN’S ROYAL BABY: QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED D3

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

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Electric scooters have zipped by docked bikes in popularity

THE Samsung Galaxy Fold smartphone is seen during a media preview event in London on April 16. AP

Some of Samsung’s new folding phones are already breaking SAN FRANCISCO—Some of Samsung’s new, almost $2,000 folding phones appear to be breaking after just a couple of days. Journalists who received the phones to review before the public launch said the Galaxy Fold screen started flickering and turning black before completely fizzling out. Two journalists said they removed a thin, protective layer from the screens that they thought was supposed to come off, but was meant to stay.

But reporters from The Verge and CNBC said they left that layer on and their screens still broke.

A CNBC video shows the left side of the inside screen intermittently flashing, and the right side as unresponsive.

The phone was “completely unusable” after two days, CNBC reporter Todd Haselton wrote.

The long-anticipated folding phone is about the size of a standard smartphone when folded, but can open up to the size of a small tablet. The phone is designed to work whether closed or open; when open, the single screen display is bisected by a crease.

Samsung promises the screen can withstand being opened and closed 200,000 times, or 100 times a day for five years. The Galaxy Fold goes on sale on April 26 in the US for $1,980, making it one of the most expensive phones anywhere—particularly if it isn’t as durable as promised.

Samsung acknowledged it had heard reports of the screens breaking and said it would “thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter.”

A company spokesman also said it would make it clear that the top protective layer is necessary to prevent scratches.

The company had a disastrous rollout of a new phone in 2016 with the Galaxy Note 7, which Samsung eventually recalled because its batteries were catching on fire. AP

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By CAthy BusseWitz The Associated Press

EW YORK—Love them or hate them, electric scooters are everywhere— zipping along city streets and littered on sidewalks, to the dismay of pedestrians and drivers who must share the road.

And now they have overtaken station-based bicycles as the most popular form of shared transportation outside transit and cars in the US. According to a news report released on Wednesday by the National Association of City Transportation Officials, riders took 38.5 million trips on shared electric scooters in 2018, eclipsing the 36.5 million trips on shared, docked bicycles.

Riders also took trips on 3 million dockless pedal bikes, which can be picked up and dropped off anywhere, and 6.5 million dockless electric bikes in 2018, but the report notes those numbers are declining.

One reason for electric scooters’ fast growth: companies are jockeying for strategic position in the so-called micromobility revolution, where consumers are embracing shared scooters and bikes for short trips and exploring alternatives to car ownership buoyed by the ubiquity of smartphones.

Riders took 84 million trips on micromobility services in 2018, more than double the number from the year before, according to the report. Electric scooters helped drive that trend, with more than 85,000 of them available for public use in the US compared with 57,000 station-based bikes.

To be sure, scooter companies face challenges from every direction, including vandalism, theft, rider injuries, intense competition and aggressive regulations in cities across the country.

Yet the industry persists and venture capitalists, ride-hailing companies and traditional auto manufacturers have poured millions of dollars into the fledgling business.

The original bike-share systems in the US developed after cities invited them in, said Kate FillinYeh, director of strategy for the National Association for City Transportation Officials.

“In the last year-and-a-half, it’s a very different animal,” she said. “The companies are in some cases trying to beat each other to the market.”

Bird, a Santa Monica-based scooter company launched in late 2017, raised $418 million and rang up more than 10 million rides in its first year. Lime, which offers shared bikes and scooters, clocked more than 12 million rides and $467 million in investment in its first 15 months.

Car manufacturers and ride-hailing companies are taking notice, and some have made their own plays in the space with larger ambitions than scooters alone.

Uber bought Jump Bikes, an electric bike and scooter company that operates in about two dozen cities, and last year it invested $30 million in Lime, which is in more than 100 cities worldwide.

Ford, which bought scooter company Spin in November, said deploying electric scooters will help the company eventually roll out autonomous vehicles by building critical relationships with US cities as they work together to craft regulations and build out infrastructure.

“In this next revolution of micromobility, the cities are taking a more active stance in how they’re going to participate,” Sunny Madra, vice president of Ford’s mobility businesses, told The Associated Press late last year. “By doing this now in advance of

A COUPLE rides scooters near the White House in Washington. Electric scooters are overtaking station-based bicycles as the most popular form of shared transportation outside transit and cars. AP

autonomous programs and other forms of mobility that will come up, this is a great way for us to make sure that we’re a part of the transformation of mobility.”

If it seems like electric scooters popped up overnight, that’s because they did. Several companies distributed them throughout cities without permission or permits, reminding local officials of when ride-hailing companies such as Uber launched in their markets years ago without warning.

But cities learned from that experience and have been more aggressive about regulating scooters. San Francisco, for instance, kicked out Bird, Lime and Spin and instituted a competition for permits, ultimately awarding them to relative underdogs Scoot and Skip and capping the number of scooters they could deploy.

New York City does not allow shared electric scooters, although legislation has been introduce to change the rule. As a condition for operating there, many cities are requiring scooter companies to share their troves of location data, which show where the scooters are and the routes they take. That can be valuable to plan bike routes and docking stations or to understand traffic patterns.

It also raises questions about user privacy. The location data provided to cities is not linked to names, e-mails or other directly identifiable information, but “if you take enough GPS data points and begin

attaching other data sets, it can be used to identify specific individuals,” said Regina Clewlow, CEO of Populus, a company that helps cities securely access data for policy and planning while protecting privacy.

Another consequence of electric scooters is head injuries. Dr. Vishal Bansal, director of trauma surgery at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, noticed many riders were getting on scooters at night intoxicated, without wearing a helmet, taking “30, 40 years of what we’ve learned about injury prevention and just thrown it out the window,” he said.

“If your head hits concrete at 20 miles an hour, you are not going to get up,” said Christopher Ziebell, emergency room medical director at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin. “These have little tiny wheels on them, so it doesn’t take much for a rider to go flying off.”

Some industry watchers wonder how long the electric scooter phenomenon will last. Veteran auto analyst Maryann Keller calls the billiondollar valuations that have been reported for some scooter companies nonsensical. Scooters are a capital-intensive business, and there are few ways to differentiate from competitors’ models, making it hard for companies to stand out, she said.

“These little fads come and go,” Keller said.

For those wishing for the scooter fad to go, they might have to wait a little longer. n

Mother’s genuine love wins #IFoundRealLove online contest IN celebration of the love month, game-changer smartphone brand realme held an online contest that gathered different love stories for a chance to win a brand-new realme C1 and P35,000 in cash.

The #IFoundRealLove contest saw hundreds of stories of love among friends, families and life partners, but one particular story stood out among the rest—the story submitted by 28-year-old mother Rejane Morales.

The young mother from Pasay sent in the story about her beloved baby daughter Denisse, who was diagnosed with cystic hygroma or the abnormal growth of a fluid-filled sac resulting from a blockage

in the lymphatic system. Even prior to her birth, ultrasound results showed that there was already a tumor in baby Denisse’s tongue, and this grew bigger and deprived her of the ability to eat properly or talk.

The rarity of the case and the family’s financial situation limited the medical attention that could be given to baby Denisse, which, in turn, raised the risk of her permanently losing the ability to speak. With the help of kind-hearted people and organizations, baby Denisse was able to undergo her first surgery, which amounted to about P70,000, excluding laboratory tests and daily expenses.

Sadly, she still needs to undergo three more

surgical procedures, which will require a hefty P400,000.

As if by some stroke of fate, Rejane saw realme’s #IFoundRealLove contest through her Facebook timeline while she was thinking of ways to raise funds for her daughter’s operation. With nothing to lose, Rejane decided to join and shared the story of her unconditional love for her daughter. Netizens were touched by Rejane and Denisse’s story, which raked in a total of 276,000 engagement, thus making the mother and daughter the winners of the smartphone brand’s online contest.

One phone call with the realme Philippines team

and Rejane knew that her real love has brought real hope for her daughter. By sharing her story, she will not only be bringing home a new realme C1 unit but she will also be getting P35,000 in cash for baby Denisse’s medical needs.

Realme is a technology brand that specializes in providing high-quality smartphones.

Established on May 4, 2018, National Youth Day of China, the brand is committed to offering powerful performance, stylish design and quality services to Filipinos, in particular the youth, to enable them to explore and experience more possibilities with their smartphones.

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Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Teen pours affection for animals into volunteering

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By Allison Ward The Associated Press

OLUMBUS, Ohio—Seventh-grader Rebekah Weiner volunteers weekly at Columbus Humane, walking dogs, cuddling cats and playing with lonely animals. The 13-yearold has always had a passion for helping creatures, large and small.

Rebekah Weiner couldn’t contain her giggles as she watched a one-year-old pit bull frolic in a fenced-in area behind Columbus Humane.

She tossed a tennis ball to the rambunctious Nova—who sometimes returned it and sometimes didn’t—and treated the pit bull to a doggie bone despite the pup’s inability to “sit” for any length of time. And Nova wasn’t the only dog the 13-year-old volunteer couldn’t say “no” to during a recent visit to the Hilliard facility. Prismo, a five-year-old orangeand-white mix, got a long walk; Honey, a five-year-old pit-bull mix, got extra kisses and head pats because she’d recently had surgery.

For the dogs that she and her mother, Megan, didn’t take outside for playtime, Rebekah made sure to speak to each individually in their kennel.

“Hi, pretty!” she said to yellow lab Scout. Several others got “You’re a good boy!” as she bent down to pet them through the chain links.

“I like all animals,” said Rebekah, a seventh-grader at Pleasant View Middle School in South-Western City Schools. “I think they should all be able to find their forever home.” That’s where she comes in, volunteering at the animal-welfare organization to make creatures comfortable until they are adopted.

Since the fall, the animal lover has visited Columbus Humane at least weekly alongside her mother—volunteers under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult—walking dogs, snuggling cats, talking to lonely animals and even cleaning up animal feces.

“I don’t really like doing the poop,” Rebekah said with a laugh. But it’s a job she’s willing to do to care for these animals waiting to find homes.

Weiner said her daughter had been counting down the days until she turned 12 and was old enough to officially volunteer. Then the pair went through 22plus hours of orientation and training. Prior to that, she brought Rebekah at least once a month to pet and play with the cats, just for fun.

Animals, Weiner said, have always been Rebekah’s thing. “She has cerebral palsy, and she was nine months old before she even rolled over, and she only rolled over to pet the cat,” said Weiner, who lives on the West Side with her daughter, their three cats and an albino gecko. When Rebekah was younger, her mother said, she made a “hospital” for ants that may have been stepped on, and just last summer she needed the rabies vaccine after a bite by a bat with a broken wing that she tried to save.

“He died during the night, and she was devastated,” Weiner said. “She loves all animals.” (Snakes are a bit scary, though, the teen admitted.)

Besides tapping into one of Rebekah’s passions, volunteering with animals has helped her come out of her shell, her mother said.

“It’s helping with her social skills with other individuals,” she said. “She’s always had great social skills with animals, but this has given her a sense of

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: David Boudia, 30; Kelly Clarkson, 37; Cedric the Entertainer, 55; Barbra Streisand, 77.

independence. She’s proud of being a volunteer, and she tells everyone if they’re going to get an animal to come here.”

Rebekah is one of the most active teen volunteers at the facility, said Amy Stover, Columbus Humane’s volunteer program manager. Since October, she’s put in more than 70 hours.

“If you think of the crazy hours kids have with sports, school, activities, this just shows me she’s really dedicated,” Stover said.

And while 18 percent of the organization’s roughly 450 volunteers are teens, few of them have committed to the mission like Rebekah.

“We have kids come in for service hours for school, then you sign off on it and you never see them again,” Stover said. “I don’t think I’ve ever signed off on anything for her—it’s just something she wants to do.”

At first volunteering was difficult for Rebekah because she wanted to bring all the animals home with her. She got attached, and when one would get adopted, she’d cry, her mother said.

The middle-schooler recalled one of the first cats that made an impression on her, an 18-pound cat named Silent. “At first, people thought he was scared because he would just meow at you, but he’d just lay there and let you pet him,” Rebekah said. “My mom says I have a thing for fat cats.”

Rebekah said she’s not sure why she loves animals so much, but she does know that she enjoys helping them, even though she has to eventually say goodbye.

“It’s sad, because you can’t play with them anymore,” she said, “But it’s happy because they found their forever home and they won’t be stuck in a kennel anymore.” n

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Share your adventures, thoughts and plans with the people you love. Turn this into a productive year personally and professionally.

Mix business with pleasure, and bring unity and stabilization into focus. Fine-tune your life to encourage less stress and more progress. Plan trips or educational pursuits that will be enlightening and push you in a positive direction. Your lucky numbers are 4, 12, 20, 24, 33, 38, 45.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t let emotional matters interfere with your progress. Separate your personal life from your professional, and channel pent-up energy into something constructive. A financial gain is possible if you negotiate on your own behalf. HH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Set a pace you can handle. Don’t feel pressured to make a change that you aren’t ready to make. Sort through what’s happened in the past, and eliminate anything you think might stand in your way or ruin your day. HHHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Exaggerating will get you into trouble. Stick to the truth, and be transparent regarding your intentions. Charm alone will not be enough to convince others to believe you or follow your example. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): An emotional conversation with a personal or professional partner will result in an unexpected but beneficial change. Let what transpires run its course, and you will come out on top. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let what others do be your guide. What you learn through observation and asking questions will help you avoid getting involved in someone else’s drama.

Don’t gossip or give others insight into your thoughts and feelings. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): How you deal with change will make a difference to the way others perceive you. An honest assessment and approach will get the best response from those you want to attract, and it will discourage those you want to avoid. HHHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): No one is perfect, so before you take on a dispute that can damage an important relationship, consider alternative ways to handle the situation. Using compliments to offset criticism will help you avoid a rift or alienation. HH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): An encounter you experience or information you are given will change your attitude regarding your health and how fit you are. Take a quiz that will help you figure out the best way to make physical, emotional and mental improvements. HHH

AMERICAN pit bull terrier Magic with his pawrent Philip Vasquez.

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The changes you make at home or to the way you live or handle important relationships will get you moving in a better direction. Facing facts and making positive adjustments will ease stress. HHH ASPIN lover Melanie Weiss with Digong and Sven Garbisch with Lenny.

PET Express Doggie Run 2019 5K Category 1st Placer Jovie Villaganas with his aspin Jenny.

Run, doggie, run

PET Express Doggie Run 3K Category 1st Placer Jojie Daga-as (third from left) with his dog Prince and Pet Express AVP for Merchandising Jason Go (second from left) during the awarding ceremony.

IT was a day of fun, fitness and lots of furry friends during the recent Pet Express Doggie Run 2019 at the SM Mall of Asia.

Now in its ninth year, the annual event is considered as Manila’s biggest dog run. More than that, it is for the benefit of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of humane treatment of all animals.

Jovie Villaganas, Jojie Daga-as, and Cindy Lorenzo, won first place in their respective 5K, 3K, and 1K runs, bringing home goodies from Nature’s Protection, Holistic Recipe, Cesar, Nutram, Sleeky, Brit, Kibbles ‘n Bits, Pedigree and Eukanuba. Other prizes included health and grooming aids from Nexgard Spectra, Bayopet, Dextrolyte, Canidae, Saint

Roche, Pupkits, Fur Magic, Kleen Kenel, Approved, Playpets and Pampered Pooch, and Kong.

Pet Express Doggie Run 2019 was a project of Pet Express with the support of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, Pedigree, Nature’s Protection, Science Diet, Holistic Recipe, Nutram, Cesar, Saint Roche, Ezydog, Fur Magic and Sleeky.

This month, Pet Express and Meow Mix would like to invite all cat enthusiasts and their feline friends for a summer cat fashion show with Pet Express X Meow Mix Purrfect Combi: Summer Purrty on April 28 at the third floor, Event Area of SM Makati. More information is available at www. facebook.com/PetExpressPH.

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Do what you can to improve your living arrangements. An innovative change will help you cut costs, giving you greater financial freedom. Handle your investments personally. Don’t pay for someone else’s mistake. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Moderation will be required if you intend to stick to your fitness goals. Exercise and proper diet should not be foregone because you are tempted to indulge with your bestie. Set an example instead of giving in to an indulgent request. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Make positive changes that will help you up your qualifications or improve your reputation.

Refuse to get involved in someone else’s battle or to believe everything you are told. HHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are excitable, caring and industrious.

You are stylish and proactive.

‘hidden strength’ BY MATTHEW SEWELL The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 “In that event...”

5 Cheetah markings 10 Map app relative 13 Ukraine’s capital 14 Tomb Raider actress Vikander 15 Sturdy literary symbol in 42-Across 16 Youth-Dew cosmetician 18 Marseille assent 19 Delights 20 “One of ___ days...”

22 Bay Area baggage code 23 Defended oneself, skunk-style 25 Annually celebrated promotions?

30 Hall rug 31 Relatives 32 Quest for 36 Award for Green Book 37 Tiny antenna user 38 Do a crossword, say 39 Neighbor of Libya 40 Supporting 41 Gadget enthusiast 42 Bond film with a Duran Duran theme song

5 Closest friends, slangily 4 48 Solo who said “Chewie, we’re home!”

49 Does a critic’s job 50 Lose altitude 54 Fury 55 Old-time players 59 Chowed down 60 Martial artist Chuck 61 Roaring literary symbol in 25-Across 62 Golden Knights’ org.

63 Curriculum divisions 64 Red Muppet DOWN 1 1950s president 2 Crushing literary symbol in 55-Across 3 Meyers of late-night 4 Broken off 5 Winding Winter Olympics event 6 Any of 12 popes 7 Repetitive condition, briefly 8 Attachment 9 No Exit playwright 10 Like hot fudge 11 (II) button

2 Competed in a 5-Down 1 14 Totally supporting 17 Michael once in charge of Mickey 21 Padded footstool 23 Fit of pique 24 Sty or stylus 25 Swamp snapper, for short 26 Teeming with greenery 27 Native Peruvian 28 Meeting one’s match?

29 “Tell me about it!”

33 K to 12 34 Diabolical 35 Hull backbone 37 Shield-bearing Greek god 38 Event with spirits 40 Sliced dessert 41 “Cheers!” and others 43 Four-armed Hindu god 44 Dissertation 45 Williams on MSNBC 46 Gophers dig it 47 Tempered literary symbol in 16-Across 50 Scandalous gossip

1 Creator of Perry and Della 5 52 ___ Patrick Harris 53 Pessimistic prophecy 56 Charge carrier 57 “Casual” day: Abbr.

58 ___-Caps

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Harry and Meghan’s royal baby: Questions asked and answered

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By Gregory Katz The Associated Press

ONDON—The time is drawing near for the impending birth of the first child for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The couple is keeping many details about Meghan’s pregnancy and birth plan private and say they don’t know the baby’s gender, yet. Here are some key points about what will be the latest addition to the world’s most famous royal family.

WILL THE BABY AT LEAST BE A PRINCE OR A PRINCESS? THIS won’t happen automatically. It’s really up to the queen to decide, although Harry and Meghan may also have a say.

A decree issued by King George V in 1917 limits the number of grand royal titles in a way that would make Harry and Meghan’s baby known as a “Lord” or a “Lady” rather than as a prince or princess. They would not become “his royal highness” or “her royal highness” under the current rules.

The queen has the authority, however, to intervene as she did when future king William and his wife Kate started having children. The queen decreed that all of William and Kate’s children, not just the eldest, would be princes and princesses.

She could do the same for Harry and Meghan’s offspring, but the queen’s feelings on that subject have not been made public. It is also possible that Harry

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BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

NO CASH INVOLVED

WHO is the young network star having a house built without shelling out any cash? Here’s the thing, the female star is known as an exchange deal queen. She’s known for getting exchange deals for just about anything, so why not her new house? She has exchange deals for her hair and makeup, clothes, dates with her boyfriend and even her vacations, so this new development isn’t surprising. We wonder though what hashtags the young star will use in her social-media accounts for it.

MONEY ISSUES

THE couple appears lovey-dovey on social media but we heard all isn’t well as it appears to be. The couple isn’t poor but only the wife works hard while the husband just, well, lounges around. The wife’s family is concerned that the husband is so used to being a lazy bum that he will forever rely on her. The situation isn’t like that yet but they’re scared that could easily become the case if the wife allows it. The guy seems to be perfect. He is good-looking, nice and pleasant, and comes from a good family. The only hitch is that he doesn’t want to work.

HOW WILL WE HEAR ABOUT THE BABY? KENSINGTON Palace says the press and the public will be informed when Meghan goes into labor.

Harry has resented the often-intrusive coverage of the royals by the British press and he has toned down expectations for what information will be released about the new baby. That means the public won’t be told where Meghan plans to give birth.

Some observers think she will opt for a home birth away from prying eyes at a hospital. Queen Elizabeth II, Harry’s grandmother, had all her children at home but Harry’s brother Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, opted to give birth in a central London hospital.

Harry and Meghan have also indicated that they won’t be posing on the hospital steps with their newborn hours after the baby has arrived, breaking with the pattern set by William and Kate. They have indicated it will be several days before they show the baby to the world. Kate was both praised and trolled for how glamorous she looked greeting the world’s press just hours after each of her three babies’ births.

WILL THE BABY GROW UP TO BE A KING OR QUEEN? THE baby will be seventh in line for the throne, making it very unlikely that he or she will grow up to be the British monarch.

The current heir is Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year-old son. He is followed by William and William’s three young children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Next comes the new baby’s father, Prince Harry, and then the newborn.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

LOOKING FOR ATTENTION

EVERYBODY is worried about the singer and his mental health based on his social-media posts. He seems to have a lot of anger in his heart for someone who used to be his friend. Observers say the singer is doing all that for attention so that his career will flourish. It’s too bad he has to get into all that ugliness so because he really is quite talented.

FAKE LOVETEAM

WHAT prime-time drama show isn’t doing well because it is selling a loveteam that’s long been dead? The show is really okay, the acting and the script, too. The problem is that it banks on a loveteam that no longer has any love. Perhaps this loveteam’s management should analyze their strategy because it really is very wrong. The leads can do other projects separately. They’re very talented. It is wrong to sell them as a couple in love when they’re not.

EXCESSIVE PDA

and Meghan could decide they don’t want the special designation for the baby, in order to give their child a more normal upbringing.

WHAT WILL THEY NAME THE BABY? LONDON’S savvy legal bookmakers believe the baby is likely to be a girl. They had to close betting on the name due to the heavy volume of bets favoring a baby girl. Many believe that a baby girl would be named Diana, after Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997. Royal babies often get several names so it’s possible that Diana could end up as a middle name.

Other names seen as quite possible include Victoria, Alice, Grace and Elizabeth.

If it’s a boy, speculation abounds that he would be named Albert, Arthur or James.

Meghan is feminist and some believe she could name a girl Eleanor after both Eleanor Roosevelt, the former US first lady who was a champion of women’s rights and civil rights, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of England in the 12th century.

ADELE, HUSBAND SIMON KONECKI HAVE SEPARATED NEW YORK—Adele and her husband Simon Konecki have separated.

The pop singer’s representatives Benny Tarantini and Carl Fysh confirmed the news on Friday in a statement to The Associated Press.

“Adele and her partner have separated,” the e-mailed statement said. “They are committed to raising their son together lovingly. As always they ask for privacy. There will be no further comment.”

Adele gave birth to their son, Angelo, in 2012.

The Grammy-winning British superstar has been private about her relationship, but confirmed she married Konecki when she won album of the year at the 2017 Grammys. In her acceptance speech, she said: “Grammys, I appreciate it.

The Academy, I love you. My manager, my husband and my son—you’re the only reason I do it.”

Konecki cofounded Life Water, an eco-friendly brand of bottled water in the UK. Funds from the company assists the charity that Konecki runs, Drop4Drop, which provides clean water to countries in need.

A representative for Konecki could not be reached. AP

WILL THE BABY BE AMERICAN? MEGHAN is an unusual addition to the royal family because she is an American citizen born to a white father and an African-American mother. Palace officials said at the time of her engagement to Harry that she planned to eventually become British, a process that can take several years.

She and Harry could decide to pursue American citizenship for their baby, so the child could end up having dual British and American nationality.

That would give the baby the right to live and work in the United States without needing a visa in the future—and spare him or her the lengthy entry procedures that often face foreign visitors arriving at US airports.

Meghan has not indicated whether she plans to give up her American status once she has British nationality—a decision that could have an impact on her tax liabilities but something she is not forced to do

by British law. n Sylvia Hui contributed to this story.

Celebrating the music of the ’80s THE 1980s was known for being big, bold, brash, colorful, lively and loads of fun. Solaire Resort and Casino’s latest retro concert, Into the ’80s, on May 18 celebrates the music that brings out not just the look and feel but also the diversity of musical styles popularized during that time.

A wide range of music genres were either born or reached a new high in popularity during the 1980s: pop, hard, metal and alternative rock, contemporary R&B, hip-hop, country music, new wave, post-punk and electronic dance music.

Exceptional artists and bands exploded onto the scene, their performance styles as diverse as the music they performed. From Madonna to Prince and The Police, Sheena Easton to Spandau Ballet, Blondie to Kim Carnes, Bangles to Irene Cara, Whitney Houston to Wham, Billy Joel to Rick Astley, Kool and the Gang to Queen—each one was unique in their own right and all with a near fanatical following of fans all over the world.

Into the ’80s brings many of these songs back through the incredible talents of some of the Philippines’s own 1980s musical icons: Gino Padilla, Jett Pangan, Raymond Lauchengco, Lou Bonnevie, and Jam Morales, with a unique repertoire that covers the entire gamut of songs

popular during that era.

Musical Director Toto Gentica has put together a set list that includes Billboard top hits like “Careless Whisper” by George Michael and “Every Breath You Take” by The Police; favorite movie themes like Xanadu, Ghostbusters, and Footloose; the best of New Wave and 1980s dance tunes “Just Got Lucky” by Jo Boxers, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston, “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel and “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.

The icing on this already musically rich repertoire are some of the hit songs of each of the evening’s performers: Lou Bonnevie’s “Love Me Tonight,” Gino Padilla’s “Closer You and I,” Jett Pangan’s “Salamat,” Jam Morales’s “Please Be Careful with My Heart,” Raymond Lauchengco’s “I Need You Back,” plus medleys of other 1980s OPM hits by Gary Valenciano, Randy Santiago, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Verni Varga.

The headliners of Into the ’80s will be joined by the Filipinas Dancers and the Session Band, plus some surprise guests, under the direction of Toto Gentica, with script by Henry Tejero and choreography by Butch Esperanza.

For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999.

THE couple is suspected of being fake, meaning they’re not really in love with each other, but during shoots, the problem people have with them is too much PDA. The displays of affection are so excessive that they sometimes need to be told to tone it down. The thing is the guy is OK with all that but the girl isn’t. She just rolls her eyes and continues what she is doing and no one is really surprised.

EDDIE GARCIA, Gloria Romero and Tony Mabesa in Rainbow’s Sunset

‘RAINBOW’S SUNSET’ BIG WINNER AT THE 52ND ANNUAL WORLDFEST

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Executive Committee extend its congratulations to the filmfest’s 2018 entry Rainbow’s Sunset after it emerged as a big winner at the 52nd Annual WorldFest in Houston, Texas.

The MMDA, through the MMFF, backed last year’s best picture winner as it competed in the international filmfest on April 14. Directed by Joel Lamangan, the film—which is about an aging man’s admission to his family about his romantic feelings toward his childhood best friend—won the Special Jury Prize. It also bagged the Gold Remi award for best story innovation (for screenwriter Eric Ramos), and the best actors plum was shared by lead stars Eddie Garcia and Tony Mabesa.

MMDA and concurrent MMFF Chairman Danilo Lim said that throwing support for local films’ international screenings and joining international film festivals are ways to showcase the Filipino talent to the world. “We are very proud of Rainbow’s Sunset ’s success in the Annual WorldFest. Those awards go to show that Filipino films are indeed world-class,” he said. “The MMDA and the MMFF will continue to back our local films and filmmakers for the Philippines to have its rightful place in global filmmaking industry.”

The Annual WorldFest in Houston is the third oldest film festival in the United States.

Rainbow’s Sunset bagged a number of awards from the MMFF 2018 last December including best screenplay, best actress, and best supporting actor and actress, among others. Garcia also won the Special Jury Prize, together with costar Max Collins.

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Image BusinessMirror

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

PROF. Tony Mok, chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, talking about the latest molecular therapies of lung cancer management.

Lung cancer specialists from HK headline forum on latest cancer treatments IN partnership with Hong Kong Integrated Oncology Centre (HKIOC), Makati Medical Center recently held a lung cancer forum, titled “Updates You Should Know in Molecular & RT Treatment of Lung Cancer,” featuring two award-winning clinical oncologists from Hong Kong.

Prof. Tony Mok, chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, discussed what doctors should know about the latest molecular therapies of lung cancer management. The European Society for Medical Oncology Lifetime Achievement awardee led several international research studies on precision medicine and management of advanced lung cancer with a focus on molecular targeted therapy.

Also featured in the forum was Dr. Oscar Chan, clinical oncologist at HKIOC, who talked about how integrating contemporary radiotherapy to target therapy in certain types of lung cancer can improve the outcome in patients.

Doctors and medical practitioners from around the Metro had an interactive discussion during the question and answer, moderated by MakatiMed’s radiation oncologist Teresa T. Sy-Ortin, MD, and medical oncologist Maria Belen E. Tamayo, MD. The forum was made possible through MakatiMed’s Strategic Hospital Alliance Program that forges partnerships with healthcare institutions across the country and abroad.

In 2017, HKIOC signed a partnership with MakatiMed (www.makatimed.net.ph) and has since organized symposiums and forums to share best medical practices. This is the second forum hosted

by MakatiMed with experts from HKIOC.

Dealing with difficult people SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

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VERYBODY avoided her but they could not because she was seated right at the entrance to the office. And on my first day, when I asked her where I could find my manager, she pointed with absolute disinterest in the general direction of where I was supposed to go.

I was one of the lucky ones. She would sometimes not answer or turn her back altogether. And sometimes, there were those who made snide comments or sarcastically tell you off, making you feel riled and disturbed.

We all have had experiences with difficult people in our office. Some, we try to shrug off and convince ourselves they are really just like that, some we avoid at all cost, and some we try to live with because we need them in our work. The office environment is already stressful as it is, and working with difficult people makes it more so. But you do not have to cower in fear or slink away when you see them. There are so many things you can do to make working with them tolerable and, dare I say, even pleasant.

One thing you can do when you encounter a difficult person is to calm down. It is always a bad idea to fight fire with fire when dealing with difficult people. Do not take anything personally because chances are, they became irritated by something or someone before they talked to you. If you are merely doing what you need to do and you are the source of their irritation, just go about it and keep on doing what you need to accomplish. But always keep calm and be as pleasant as you can be. The more calm and pleasant you are, the more the other person will feel

the disparity in your disposition and, hopefully, they will change their attitude. If not, move on but do not let them get under your skin. Just shrug it off and go about your business. And smile. Smiling jumpstarts your happy hormones and helps you get rid of the bad taste in your mouth after dealing with a difficult person.

When a difficult person is becoming argumentatively berserk, just listen. Do not placate them by telling them to calm down or be silent because all the more they will take offense. Allow them to vent and say what they have to say. Avoid saying you understand because it will just irritate them more. What you can do is ask them to help you understand better what they are trying to say. This will help you buy more time to see how you can win them to your side.

Do not, however, let them trample over you.

While you remain calm and peaceable, do not be afraid to respectfully call them out when they get out of line. You should not tolerate behavior that is unbecoming of a professional because everybody is expected to be respectful. While they may have a point, they do not have to resort to name-calling or embarrassing people to drive it. And when they become aggressive, ask help from people around you.

Violent people should not have a place in an office environment because they threaten not just your peace of mind but others’ as well.

One technique I learned to appease a difficult person is to mention their name. I learned this from a hospital executive dealing with distraught patients.

He said that after letting the person vent out, mention their name frequently. There is a soothing effect when you mention their name. He says hearing their name from someone promotes a sense that you know them and you understand them. He says it works every time and is one of the most effective ways of calming another person.

Another way in dealing with difficult people is to understand their hidden need. Nobody knows this better than people from human resources. When people get angry over requests, HR people understand that the need is an emotionally charged request

The woman behind the vision ALREADY a household name in the eye healthcare industry for more than three decades, Ideal Vision Center, however, should not stop there, says Joy Go, IVC assistant vice president for marketing and merchandising. She believes the company’s reputation should be treated as an opportunity to continue to educate, innovate and research for the benefit of Filipinos.

“In the Philippines, eye health care is not a priority and we aim to change that mindset. It’s a long, ongoing process especially with the fast-changing business landscape, but we look forward to seeing the light at the end of it,” says Go. Go, whose grandfather launched Ideal Optical, is confident and determined to achieve their goals. As head of branding, marketing and merchandising, Go is also always finding new opportunities to explore, expand and discover new solutions to make eye care accessible to everyone.

Despite growing up in a family of eye care professionals, Go’s involvement in the eye care

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industry was not a childhood dream. Her initial passion was on food, which explains why she has a degree in Culinary Arts and Related Services. Her interest in eyewear and eye care was piqued only when she started working part-time in IVC. “More than the technicalities behind being an optometrist, I find the marketing and research side of the business very engaging. Aside from that, I am also interested in eyewear fashion,” she says.

Go got her degree in optometry at the Centro Escolar University and joined the family business in 2002. She still loves to cook and says the key to finding a balance between two passions is that “you don’t give up one or the other but enjoy both at the same time.”

The eye doctor also notes that being in the eye care industry gave her a meaningful purpose of taking care of other people’s needs and well-being. It has also become important to her to provide only the best vision solutions. “We always try to find the most advanced products, to offer more advanced and better

products to our patients.”

To be able to do that, Go noted the importance of partnering with brands that share their vision.

Hence, their partnership with Essilor, the world’s No. 1 ophthalmic company which offers complete vision solution through its wide range of products including Crizal, Transitions and Varilux, gives them an opportunity to provide clients an access to worldclass eye care products. “Partnering with Essilor for more than 32 years is the best move we made to improve our service to our customers. We at IVC know that Essilor shares the same vision with us: to offer top-notch eye health care to Filipinos,” she said.

Aside from this vision, the eye doctor reveals her personal goal to leave a legacy in the eye health-care industry. “It is my ambition, through IVC, to leave a legacy and be a part of every Filipino’s eye health-care routine. It is a long and challenging path but we will never stop improving and finding solutions so that quality eye health care will be more convenient and accessible to all,” Go says.

because it affects an employee at a personal level.

So when people get angry over a payroll dispute or a lost benefit, it is not just about the thing itself. It is connected somehow to a personal need which was not met. So find out the reason why the person is being specifically difficult. Once you know why, it is easier to address it if the issue can be mitigated, or find another way to help the person. Either way, it becomes easier for you to deal with them because you know what is behind their upset. It also becomes easier to let go of things you cannot control and find other means possible to get the job done.

You also need to be very clear about your intentions when dealing with difficult people. The issue might not lie with them but with you. People have set ways of doing their work and they might see it as an indictment when people ask them to do their work differently. They can become difficult because they simply do not understand what you need from them, or they feel you are telling them how to do their work which you know nothing about. In this case, make it clear to them the end result you want and ask for their recommendations toward achieving that goal. This will make it easier to work with them because you give them the freedom to do what needs to be done in the ways they are best or most comfortable in achieving it. But, again, you need to be clear of your intentions.

After doing any of these and you still feel raw, go for a brisk walk or vent out to a trusted friend. Our natural tendency when faced with a difficult person is to be defensive or react to them in the same way.

Keeping a cool head and consciously understanding the other person takes a lot of effort. So go ahead and release the tension by doing something physical to release pent-up emotions.

People come to our lives either as water, nurturing us to become better at what we do; or as sandpaper, honing our abilities and making us better persons.

While I am thankful for the people who have nurtured me, I realize that difficult people come to our lives to also help us grow. It might not be what we have in mind but they get the job done in helping us become the best we can be. n

DR. Joy Go’s vision is to have quality eye health care that is convenient and accessible to all

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, April 24, 2019 • Editor : Tet Andolong

Shrine of Saint John Baptist de La Salle

DLSU Laguna: Poised to be the country’s Silicon Valley

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio | Contributor

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Photos by Jose Bernabe Magbanua, Office for Strategic Communications, DLSU-Taft

HE technopreneurship horizon in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon) area is going to be green and white with the establishment of De La Salle University (DLSU) Laguna.

“The Laguna campus will be the Center of Knowledge, Innovation, and Science and Technology [KIST] Philippine Economic Zone Authority [Peza] zone. Five hectares from the master plan was identified for this purpose,” said Prof. Gil Nonato C. Santos, vice chancellor of DLSU Laguna in a recent e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror.

Santos, also a full professor of the physics department of DLSU Laguna, also pointed out the officials are positioning the campus to be a Silicon Valley-type of area in the south where industry will form a strong synergy and collaboration with academe.

So far, DLSU is on the right track as it was able to form two successful start-ups. The Kamino project produces algae for Nanotronix which synthesizes nanocomposite materials for a wide variety of applications.

Kamino is supported by the Lopezes, while Nanotronix is a Department of Science and Technology (DOST)funded project through Animolabs.

Furthermore, Kamino is preparing the stages to put up a manufacturing plant while Nanotronix on its way to become a pilot plant.

Since the Laguna campus is a hub for developing new technologies, Santos said the Lasallian system will benefit from this since the startups can incubate in their facility, do research and development, market analysis, and launch the product, and invite as well venture capitalists and investors in the campus.

Since DLSU Laguna is near Laguna Technopark, Santos said this will address the need of parents working in the economic zones in sending their children to a reputable and prestigious school. At the same

time, as they grow, Santos said the students will be exposed to the atmosphere of science and technology in the campus, with the presence of researchers in the fields of science and engineering.

To develop a holistic education, DLSU Laguna is also focused on developing the arts and sports as it building the infrastructure for sports and program for interactive design and entertainment.

“New programs will be offered in this campus that will address the need for other forms of energy that is efficient, supply-chain management, Internet of Things [IoT] applications, electric vehicles, drone technology, driverless car, bike sharing, food science, promotion of new products and inventions, all adds up of becoming a Smart city in the Calabarzon area.” Right now, Santos said DLSU Laguna has two major companies on board. They are Montreuil, France-based Ubisoft, the second-biggest game developer in the world, and Unison City, California-based Amber Kinetics.

Santos said Ubisoft provided expertise in developing the curriculum of game development under the college of computer studies.

In partnership with Ubisoft, DLSU Laguna offers two programs: BS Interactive Entertainment major in Game Development and BS Interactive Entertainment major in Game Art and Design.

Meanwhile, Amber Kinetics is engaged in development of renewable energy using flywheel storage battery. “The engineering students will benefit from the knowledge of this technology and do research and development on the scheduling of energy utilization in the campus.”

Richard L. Lee Engineering and Technology Block

John Gokongwei Jr. Innovation Hall

“We are looking forward in the establishment of the Logistic Institute, which will promote research and development in the field of supply-chain management.

We are also forming an academy that will educate DLSU students on network, switching, and iCloud technology, power electronics and railway engineering.”

Other courses offered in DLSU Laguna are BS in Computer Engineering, BS Computer Science with specialization in software technology, BS in Electronics Engineering, BS in Industrial Engineering, BS in Information Technology, BS in Marketing Management, BS in Pre-Med Physics, BS in Psychology (pre-med) and BSE in Mathematics.

Moreover, DLSU Laguna offers bachelor of arts programs in international studies (major in Chinese studies and Japanese studies), English studies, and political science, and business courses.

Business

E2 Wednesday, April 24, 2019

How to make Malls more AWE-TIS-SM & PWD-friendly on the autism spectrum experience heightened self-esteem from being productive, improved social skills and economic empowerment.

From one pilot store in Metro Manila, SM’s AutiSM at Work program has grown to multiple stores in nine provinces—National Capital Region, Benguet, Cavite, Cebu, Davao del Sur, Iloilo, Laguna, Misamis Oriental and Quezon. Stakeholders are keen on expanding the program’s geographic reach and the variety of job functions earmarked for autistic workers.

Amor Maclang

first dibs in real estate

Echoing the call to action

Conclusion

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Awe-ti-sm and creating spaces for all

utism is a variation of the human condition, affecting approximately 1.2 million Filipinos. Those who live on the autism spectrum need our acceptance, accommodation and appreciation. This lifelong developmental exceptionality challenges an individual’s ability to communicate, socialize and adapt to the world around him or her.

“The Autism Society Philippines feels a genuine appreciation for how the SM brands have grown with our community,” shared ASP President Mona Magno-Veluz. “They do not look at us just as customers and disability advocates; but also as partners in programs that make life’s simple joys like—entertainment

and employment—accessible to those who live with autism.”

Innovating services

Due to unique hypersensitivities of children with autism, families often find the simple act of watching a movie in a mall highly stressful. The children can be afraid of

“Caring for Customers with Special Needs” happens twice a year in each SM mall.

loud sounds or darkness; they may talk incessantly, or they may find it difficult to stay seated and need to wander about the theatre. These behaviors draw irritation from the public and make it nearly impossible for a family with a child on the spectrum to sit through a movie.

SM Cinemas have made available “Sensory-Friendly Movies: Sounds Down, Lights Up” film screenings to autism communities all over the country. They have made possible the dream of many to enjoy a wholesome movie on a Sunday morning by offering children with autism and their families a safe, accessible and compassionate environment. This offering of sensory-friendly movies reflects SM’s continuous aspiration to respond to unmet customer needs and exceed expectations.

Caring for the vulnerable

After many natural disasters have left lost lives and livelihood, risk management and disaster preparedness has become a priority for the

global community. Typhoons and natural disasters are particularly difficult for individuals with autism. Rigidity and sensory issues leave them vulnerable.

Engr. Bien C. Mateo, director of the SM Cares Program on Persons with Disabilities, observed that although there were many training workshops on disaster preparedness, children with disabilities are not given special attention, leaving them unprepared for emergencies.

SM Supermalls and SM Cares have hosted Disaster Resilience Conferences, exclusively for children with disabilities.

With its belief that no one should be left behind, SM Cares conducted conferences to educate and prepare parents and their children with disabilities to survive natural disasters, such as earthquakes. First responders such as firemen, police and coast guard were also trained on how to rescue and manage adults and children with autism in crisis situations.

Supporting communities

Young adults with autism face significant challenges to employment, beyond those faced by many other disability population. In partnership with the ASP, SM Markets—SM Savemore, SM Supermarket and SM Hypermarket—started a workplace inclusion program for workers with autism in 2016.

“AutiSM at Work” is a disability workplace-inclusion program inspired by best practices in community-based rehabilitation. The program provides young adults on the spectrum opportunities to be productive contributors in a workplace. Neurodivergent workers are assigned various tasks in the supermarket selling area, such as returning stray items, organizing carts and baskets, as well as assisting customers. Simultaneously, there is an in-store advocacy campaign to help educate customers on how to respectfully deal with their workers with autism. Beyond the hard skills learned in the store, workers

On World Autism Awareness Day, April 2, SM Mall of Asia hosted the ASP’s Color It Autism-OK collaborative art event with 580 participants—individuals with autism, family members and friends—from many parts of Metro Manila, Rizal and Laguna. The iconic SM MOA Globamaze lit up with the call to action, “Make Every Day World Autism Awareness Day.” “Persons with autism are more challenging to identify when they enter our malls, and that is the reason we have partnered with the Autism Society Philippines, for them to teach us on how to serve them when they are in our business environment. What we want is a change of attitude from our employees, our front liners and, most especially, from our customers.” added Engr.

Bien C. Mateo, senior vice president for Operations and director of SM Cares Program on Persons with Disabilities.

SM Supermalls has worked consistently and effectively with autism-advocacy organizations like the ASP to come up with innovative solutions that build a genuinely autism-inclusive society. They have paved the path for more innovations toward acceptance, accommodation and appreciation of individuals on the spectrum.

Home

Marc Nelson for stylish, sustainable lighting Lamudi kicks off Housing Fair 2019 at Trinoma

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AMUDI has once again hosted another successful housing fair. This year, the No. 1 real-estate platform kicked the series off at the Trinoma Activity Center. Like previous housing fairs, the Lamudi Housing Fair in Trinoma offered an extensive selection of property offerings from some of the country’s biggest industry players. The exhibitors were Aspire by Filinvest, Futura by Filinvest, Prestige by Filinvest, The Hauslands, SMDC, Amiya Raya, Taft Properties, Robinsons Communities, BPI Family Housing Loan, Grand Monaco, Ortigas & Company, Phinma Properties, Pag-IBIG Fund, Sandari Batulao and Suntrust.

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ARC Nelson is what one would consider these days as a “multi-hyphenate” personality. While well known as a TV and events host, not to mention as a model and reality-show star, Marc is also, unbeknownst to many, a supporter of numerous advocacies and causes.

From caring for orphans and disadvantaged kids, to promoting disaster preparedness and resiliency, environmental issues are also very close to his heart, leading to his being named as celebrity ambassador of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a global organization.

It is because of these qualities and more that Marc was chosen as the newest brand ambassador of Landlite Philippines Corp. (LPC), a leading distributor of lighting fixtures and solutions in the country, and a recognized pioneer in LED lighting. Some of the brands exclusively distributed by LPC are Landlite, Faro and Uozu.

“I’m very honored to be part of the Landlite family,” said Marc. ”Landlite and I have a lot of very similar directions in life, as well as sharing in similar ideas and viewpoints.”

Specifically, Marc did not hesitate to accept the offer to be LPC’s brand ambassador because of Landlite’s thrust toward sustainable and ecofriendly light products, best represented by their extensive line of LED lighting solutions. After all, the company is credited with bringing in LED lighting technologies to the country, which allows for lower

Online real-estate marketing seminars

LPC Brand Ambassador Marc Nelson

energy consumption and are longer lasting compared to regular bulbs.

“As a brand, they are very conscious of the environment and of the community,” Marc relates. “I believe in what they do and what they stand for. I’m really after efficiency and practicality without sacrificing aesthetics. So, Landlite’s decorative lightings plus LED bulbs are for me.”

Apart from helping spread the word on the value and importance of environmentally friendly lighting through Landlite’s products,

Marc, together with LPC CEO Jocelyn Li, are also collaborating on a number of environmental-related initiatives. One of the projects they did was to help provide clean water supply for the people of Paly Island in Palawan.

“From the moment we got Marc to host our event for the opening of our Lux Décor showroom in 2018, we already knew he was the perfect fit to be our ambassador,” Jocelyn said. “We really couldn’t have chosen a better partner.”

More than property selling, the housing fair also aimed to educate and help real-estate professionals boost their businesses. As such, those who were in attendance were treated to free online real-estate marketing trainings conducted by Lamudi Academy’s learning development coaches. Some of the topics discussed during the two-day event were Top Online Lead Generation Channels, Conversion of Online Leads to Sales and The Power of Lamudi.

Property discounts and foreclosure auction

Exclusive property discounts were also given away to aspiring property seekers. Similarly, Unionbank also hosted a property auction at affordable price points.

Homebuying seminars

For first-time homebuyers, the Lamudi Housing Fair at Trinoma also gave prospective property buyers the lowdown into how to approach this important but otherwise challenging undertaking.

Representatives from Pag-IBIG Fund talked about the agency’s EndUser Financing Program, while the Land Registration Authority was also present in the event to guide property seekers in their land titling concerns and questions.

Several experts in various facets of real estate also imparted their knowledge to property seekers and sellers. For instance, a talk on Property Photography was discussed, as well as Interior Design Essentials, especially for small spaces.

“The Lamudi Housing Fair is the perfect venue for those actively and passively looking to invest in a prop-

erty. Each one of our housing fairs has a goal to connect buyers to the right people so they can make the right decision. By bringing together property seekers and property sellers, we are helping them understand the steps involved in the decisionmaking process and learn from each other. ” Lamudi CEO Bhavna Suresh said of the Lamudi Housing Fair.

“We had hoped that Trinoma would set the tone positively for this year’s run, and needless to say, we were not disappointed by the turnout. The following ones will offer the same benefits, if not more, to attendees, as we really want our housing fairs to provide value and [be] worth their time.”

The next Lamudi Housing Fair will be happening on July 20 and 21 at Glorietta, followed by SM Cebu in September, and lastly, SM Mall of Asia in December.

sMirror

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 E3

Grand Central Park adds more exclusive residences to BGC

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ITH the World Bank gross domestic product growth projection of 6.4 percent and new pro-growth economic policies, the Philippines is poised to sustain its economic rise. The various infrastructure projects of the government and the private sectors hail optimism to both local and foreign investors across all segments, but especially for the real-estate industry.

In fact, Asia Property HQ tags the country as “one of the best locations for real-estate investments in Southeast Asia.”

Zoning in on the residential landscape, Colliers International Philippines projects 15,100 new units to be introduced in 2019. While this figure is poised to increase, vacancy rates have seen a downturn at 11 percent for the coming period, indicating how the strong demand outweighs the supply available in the market.

This movement has influenced property prices to soar, as well.

Global Property Guide reported in 2017 “the average price for a threebedroom condominium increased by 4.3 percent” in Fort Bonifacio.

Opportune is the word for the current scenario as property consultancies continue to report strong sales in luxury residential, and the urgency to snap up presale properties as availability becomes null.

Prime real-estate developer Federal Land Inc. is on top of this trend.

In 2012, Federal Land introduced Grand Central Park, a 10-hectare master-planned community patterned after the dynamic New York City. Strategically located at North Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig, Grand Central Park is home to multiple star projects, such as the world-renowned Grand Hyatt Manila; two towers of luxury residences Grand Hyatt Manila Residences; the Japanese-themed community The

Torre Lorenzo headstrong with 2019 development plans

Tomas P. Lorenzo, president and CEO of Torre Lorenzo Development Corp., shares the company’s plans for 2019

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ROM pioneering the first premium university residence in the Philippines to developing masterplanned townships in emerging urban centers outside Metro Manila, Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. (TLDC) has established itself as one of the leading and most progressive real-estate companies in the industry.

“2018 proved to be a milesone year for Torre Lorenzo Development Corp.,” said Tomas Lorenzo, president and CEO of TLDC. “Since last year, we have expanded our porfolio to include more Torre Lorenzo Premium University Residences, Torre Lorenzo Premium Residences, Tierra Lorenzo Premium Lifestyle Developments and TLDC Townships.”

TLDC’s bread and butter, the Torre Lorenzo Premium University Residences, continue to put the company at the forefront of upgraded studentliving in the Philippines. In 2018, TLDC expanded its premium university residence base with the turnover of Torre Central in the University-belt area. This year, TLDC will bring the same premium experience to Loyola Heights, Quezon City, with the groundbreaking of Torre Lorenzo Loyola.

Since the turnover of Torre Sur in 2017, TLDC has also been working on the expansion of its Torre Lorenzo Premium Residence base. With construction on full-swing, the company hopes to attract young professionals to its newest premium residence, Torre Lorenzo Malate.

As TLDC works hard to become a full-scale real-estate developer, the

company also continues to strengthen its Tierra Lorenzo Premium Lifestyle Developments outside Metro Manila. This year, the company anticipates the grand openings of its lifestyle developments in Tierra Lorenzo Davao—namely, the dusitD2 Hotel and Dusit Thani Residence Davao. TLDC also awaits the turnover of its first residential tower in Tierra Lorenzo Lipa, the company’s mixeduse residential and hotel development in Batangas. Apart from two residential towers, Tierra Lorenzo Lipa will also house the region’s upscale international hotel, Dusit Princess Lipa.

Alongside more partnerships with international hospitality groups, TLDC also hopes to bring the full TLDC premium experience to its master-planned townships in Davao this year. The company’s master-planned leisure township, Lubi Plantation, has opened its Beach Club and luxury villas offering day tours and overnight resort experiences.

“Our company’s growth has always been achored on our foresight to spot opportunities and develop projects in emerging urban centers ahead of everyone else,” said Noel Rapadas, chief financial officer of TLDC. “And from a financial standpoint, I am proud to say that our numbers justify our growth.”

While the Torre Lorenzo Premium University Residences remain to be a key revenue driver, the Tierra Lorenzo Premium Lifestyle Developments in Davao and Lipa allowed the company to grow in revenue exponentially. The company is also expected to grow by 25 percent year on year for the next three to five years.

As TLDC continues to expand its footprint in emerging urban centers outside Metro Manila, the company ensures to promote inclusive growth within the communities they support.

Apart from creating more jobs in the surrounding communities, bringing new developments to these areas also boost economic activity.

“Our company has shown significant growth over the last few years and we can’t wait to show you what we have planned for tomorrow,” added Lorenzo.

Seasons Residences; the flagship store of Japan’s oldest surviving department store chain, Mitsukoshi Mall; and the upscale residential towers Park West, Park Avenue, Times Square West, Central Park West and Madison Park West.

T he mi xed-use communit y is a confluence of international partnership and investment with brands well-known abroad. Grand

Hyatt Manila Residences is a joint venture between Federal Land and ORIX Corp. of Japan, through North Bonifacio Landmark Realty and Development Corp. to bring in the Chicago-based Hyatt brand.

To bring in Japanese ingenuity and lifestyle, Federal Land partnered with two of Japan’s leading firms, Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., and Isetan Mitsukoshi

Holdings Ltd. to develop The Seasons Residences and the Philippines’s first Mitsukoshi Mall.

While most properties within the city are currently of reselling status, Grand Central Park offers increasingly scarce additions to the presale condominium pool. Only November last year, it saw launches for two of its world-class high-rises: Grand Hyatt Manila Residences-South

Tower, and The Seasons Residences’ first tower called Haru.

Grand Hyatt Manila ResidencesSouth Tower will be ready by 2023, and The Seasons Residences is set to be completed by 2027. Until then, the anticipation continues to build for property hunters and aficionados. www.federalland.ph.

Ever Malls bring genuine shopping satisfaction

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EVER miss a day of shopping at Ever Malls as the Metro’s favorite community mall makes way for refreshing upgrades that will take daily shopping experiences to the next level with “EVERday is a Happy Day” campaign.

Ever Malls—known as the pioneer shopping destination and a neighborhood “second home” that offers a variety of food, fashion and fun shops for over 23 years is transforming to become the ultimate destination for retail shopping, entertainment and leisurely enjoyment.

to all happy spectators during the launch event.

Customers both old and new will also experience better shopping convenience courtesy of the newly renovated Ever Supermarket, including an assortment of casual dining foodie hubs via the new lifestyle strip Calle Bistro.

Genuine customer satisfaction

Fun shopping ‘community’ within reach

Speaking about the new campaign, Chie Arao-Santos, head of Corporate Marketing of Ever Malls said, EVERday aims to instill everyday positivity in life as shopping should be one of life’s delightful experiences. The campaign also reinforces Ever Malls as a go-to shopping destination that offers fuller shopping experiences—meaning better and happier customer service and an engaging retail environment for all kinds of customers.

“We want Ever Malls to continue to be known not only as a retail haven but also as a happy place that’s worth coming back as customers would love to be here, to discover something new and

exciting any time of the day. We want them to fully enjoy whatever it is that they need to do, whether it is shopping for daily essentials, hanging out with friends for food trips, or strolling leisurely with their family for relaxation,” said Arao-Santos.

“Our malls are strategically located. For example, our Commonwealth branch is within the vicinity of subdivisions and villages thus, accessibility and convenience are a strong point and this makes it possible for Pinoys to visit Ever Malls every day.”

To boost the excitement and positive “community-feel” that will draw cus-

tomers to visit and linger in Ever Malls, the Ever Malls Group went the extra mile in incorporating various “happy” elements into the new branding concept.

To execute the new campaign message, which was formally launched on March 24, visually stimulating vibrant colors and compelling images of beaming, happy faces were utilized to depict the joyous feeling associated with great shopping experiences. Tying together all creative aspects is a new campaign jingle. Along with the melody is the launch of a catchy dance craze MTV. Lastly, commemorative EVERday is a Happy Day items were also given away

As the campaign is designed to offer shoppers real value and satisfactionguaranteed experiences, Ever Malls also infuses entertainment and amusement elements in its retail spaces by hosting interactive social events like live band performances, food pop-ups, celebrity bazaars and many more. And because customers love a good deal, incentives like promos and prizes, special discounts, as well as freebies and giveaways will be regular treats for loyal mall goers.

“Everyday visit to Ever Malls is an EVERday happy shopping experience because customers will have a grand time exploring a vast array of offerings from upcoming new tenants with products ranging from branded items to affordable novelty products. Alongside a more diversified retail lineup is the enhanced in-store customer experience and engaging social activities that will delight people of all ages,” concluded Arao-Santos.

Primark opens 36th Town Center in Tacloban

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Primark Special Projects Officer Ace Lopez (from left), South Area Regional Manager Rym Altavas, Administrative Officer Grace Creer, LKY Group Chief Operating Officer Ben Lua, LKY Group President Wilbert T. Lee, electrical engineers Ricardo Gutierrez and Rico Orticio, and Senior Project in Charge Rodelio Dizon

HILIPPINE Primark Properties Inc. (Primark), the country’s leading developer of community malls called “town center,” recently soft opened its 36th branch in Caibaan, Tacloban City, as part of its expansion in the countryside. With a floor area of 6, 244 square meters, the Caibaan Town Center carries SM supermarket Save More as anchor tenant, with popular brands, such as McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Generika, Watson’s Pharmacy, Shawarma Shack, and Cebuana Lhuillier, as well as homegrown enterprises like Danny’s Delicacies, Siomai Chino, Cellcom, Fon Plus, Quality Breadshop, El Torogi, Kid’s Paradise, Cellcom Telecom,

Leyte Paperworld, Chingo Buko House, Bochok Rice Meal, R8 Agripet Center, May Abohan, to name a few.

A part of the LKY Group of Cos., Primark currently operates in more than 40 key cities and urban centers across the archipelago with notable economic growth is evident, manifested in high consumer consumption patterns. The Town Centers offer shopping convenience with the consumer needs of the communities it caters through welldesigned facilities and provide venues for local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

For more information and leasing opportunities, visit primark.com.ph.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Colorado company pioneers real-estate franchising in PHL

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

RANCHISING is one of the best routes toward entrepreneurship.

With a reliable franchise as a business partner, a fledgling entrepreneur can be guided and trained properly in running the business. Denver, Colorado-based RE/MAX saw the potential of franchising in the country’s real-estate sector as the company continues to show dynamism and growth in the past six years.

Kenneth Stern, country manager of RE/MAX Philippines, said the country is an attractive market in real estate mainly because of its strong macroeconomic fundamentals and strong remittance from overseas Filipino workers. As a result, RE/MAX launched six years ago its franchising model in the property sector.

The real-estate juggernaut has more than 125,000 real-estate brokers and agents in its network of 8,229 offices in more than 100 countries and territories across the world—one of the world’s largest—if not the largest real-estate brokerages.

Aside from its broad network, Stern said, Filipino real-estate professionals could learn a lot from their American counterparts such as having a goal-oriented mindset and who thrive on challenges. If you are basketball fanatic, you can imagine they are looking for people who have the passion and drive of a Michael Jordan.

Moreover, Stern said, the franchising model in the local property sector seeks to professionalize and make it on a par with global standards. Moreover, the Filipino-American executive said, a real-estate agent or broker could put her or his own business with the backing of a global brand.

Aside from offering higher commissions, RE/MAX offers agents and

brokers the support in marketing.

He disclosed in an earlier interview with a local publication that has more than an average of 15 transactions in a year.

Stern said RE/MAX is pushing the envelope further by promoting inclusivity. “Being in the country for six years now, we want to spread the growth to the other parts of the country,” he said. It has opened 30 branches nationwide. It had recently opened two branches in Cebu, one in Bacolod, Iloilo, Mindoro and Antipolo. “We’re planning to open in Clark and Davao soon,” he said.

“We have opened branches in Tuguegarao, Siargao and Palawan.

“We’re looking to expand in other areas of the country,” he added.

“The vision of RE/MAX is to professionalize real estate in the Philippines. We are also growing that, especially in new markets,” he pointed out. As an emerging market, the expertise of RE/MAX can be tapped especially in the countryside in terms of identifying the legitimate brokers and professionalizing the industry, among others.

Stern said emerging cities have also caught their attention because of the boom enjoyed by the local property sector. “Who would have thought that we will open an office in Siargao,” Stern pointed out.

According to Stern, as RE/MAX opens more franchises and collects more data, it will be interesting to

RE/MAX Country Manager Kenneth Stern conducts a seminar to a group of aspiring real-estate brokers at his office recently.

see how other areas perform in the secondary market, especially with regards to foreign buyers.

“As a global company, RE/MAX is in good position to help its brokers and agents get worldwide exposure, giving them access to foreign markets that were previously inaccessible to them,” said Stern. “As we expand, we also aim to include more locations to our data and see how up-and-coming locations are performing with the

entry of RE/MAX, Stern said, adding that they will introduce professionalism in the property industry, especially to the people living in the provinces. “There’s an opportunity there for companies looking for investment,” he said.

“Our goal in every country we operate is to professionalize the realestate industry. In the Philippines, we are still growing that. The Philippine real industry needs more

professionalism. We want to boost the brokers’ capabilities and expand nationwide,” he said. “Moreover, the people can leverage the multinational experience so they can enhance their businesses,” he added.

Stern stresses that their franchising model also fosters entrepreneurship in real estate. “For the first time in the Philippines, a real-estate broker or agent looking for a better opportunity can start…[and] own [a] business using the credibility of a big name in real estate. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs get their business started or help business owners scale up their existing real-estate business.”

Stern added that their business model works because it is not just about selling more real estate. “It is about helping agents make more money in less time and giving them the flexibility to control their own schedules. Our system is about finding top producers who want to professionalize in the real-estate industry and be in control of their own legacy in the industry.”

As testament to Filipino brokers’ high level of professionalism, RE/MAX Philippines has four brokers in the top 100 RE/MAX brokers in the entire world in 2017. “One of them in fact is No. 2 in the world,” shared Stern.

So effective is its franchising business model that according to a survey of major players in the United States, RE/MAX agents close the most number of transactions per year, which is 17.2 per agent in 2016—that’s more than one property, sold per agent each month.

In the Philippines, the numbers are not too distant: in 2017, each agent of the company closed on average 15 transactions, which is equivalent to a sales volume of P243 million and commissions of P3.7 million.

For the first time in the Philippines, a real-estate broker or agent looking for a better opportunity can start...[and] own [a] business using the credibility of a big name in real estate. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs get their business started or help business owners scale up their existing real-estate business.”—Stern

Refused US visa eight times, Zoom CEO is now a billionaire

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FTER hearing Microsoft Corp. cofounder Bill Gates give a speech about the Internet three decades ago, Eric Yuan decided he wanted to become part of the Silicon Valley dot-com boom.

Then the China-born entrepreneur hit a snag. The US government denied his visa application—eight times.

After two years of rejection, Yuan, 49, finally made it to the US and is now the major shareholder of videoconference services firm Zoom Video Communications Inc., which raised $751 million in an initial public offering on Wednesday.

Yuan and his family sold stock worth $57 million, based on Zoom’s IPO price of $36 a share.

The company’s shares closed at $62 on their first day trading on New York’s Nasdaq Global Select Market, valuing their stake at $3.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Priscilla Barolo, a spokesman for San Jose, California-based Zoom, declined to comment. Yuan said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that “the price is too high” and that the huge leap in the stock is piling pressure on the company.

ERIC YUAN BLOOMBERG

Yuan, Zoom’s chief executive officer, joins Alphabet Inc.’s Sergey Brin, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk as immigrants

who became billionaires after helping create Silicon Valley companies.

The US is the favored country for more than three quarters of wealthy

Chinese looking to emigrate, according to the Hurun Research Institute and immigration adviser Visas Consulting Group.

The global videoconferencing market is expected to expand almost 8 percent a year through 2026, according to Transparency Market Research, as a growing number of employees work from home. Zoom reported net income of $7.6 million on revenue of $331 million for the year ended January, and is now worth nine times the $1 billion valuation it secured after a funding round two years ago. Before starting Zoom in 2011, Yuan was an early employee at WebEx Communications, an online conferencing firm, and then worked at Cisco Systems Inc. after it acquired the company for $3.2 billion in early 2007.

Yuan came up with the idea for Zoom—which counts Uber Technologies Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. as customers—after repeatedly traveling 10 hours to see his girlfriend while they were college students.

“Someday, if I can have a smart device and with just one click I can talk with you, can see you, that was my daydream, right?” Yuan said in a July interview with US venture capital firm GGV Capital. “And every day I thought about that.”

Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

HK property scion has no house, and no inheritance

ALEX SHIH BLOOMBERG

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HE heir to the biggest real-estate agency in property-mad Hong Kong doesn’t own a house.

Not only that, he won’t inherit his father’s stake in Centaline Group, estimated to be worth about $400 million according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, because it was donated to charity more than a decade ago.

But Alex Shih isn’t perturbed, even though he’s missing out on the wealth that the offspring of some Hong Kong tycoons are taking control of along with the family business. Li Ka-shing, the city’s richest man, last year handed the reins to son Victor, while billionaire Lee Shau Kee last month said he was considering retiring from Henderson Land Development Co. and putting his two sons in charge.

“I personally accept it,’’ the 30-yearold Shih said of his father’s decision not to pass on the family fortune to his three children. “He told us when we were very young and we didn’t have a choice. He would say that it’s better not to lead a life that’s too comfortable in one go.

You’ll treasure more if you gain things step-by-step.”

Shih took over running Centaline, which handles two out of every five property transactions in Hong Kong, at the start of this year when he was named vice chairman. He is set to become chairman when his 70-year-old father Wing-Ching Shih retires, which he expects to happen sometime soon.

He ascended to the top job after a difficult year for Centaline, which was founded in 1978. Commission revenue rose a bare 1 percent to about HK$19 billion ($2.4 billion) last year, and net income slumped 52 percent to HK$501 million, as a downturn in Hong Kong’s property market and growing competition in mainland China took its toll.

Hong Kong’s property market has since rebounded, and Shih is looking to modernize the agency. He oversaw the introduction of virtual-reality house viewing in 2017, and more recently a blockchain platform to streamline sales and rental agreements.

“The company is like a big ship,” Shih said. “I am trying to provide new technology tools to make it move faster.”

While the firm handles millions of dollars of transactions a day, the softspoken Shih says he earns only a regular salary. The foundation that his father donated the Centaline stake to aims to alleviate poverty in rural China, from building infrastructure to supporting under-privileged children’s education.

“My friends who are working in finance are making more money than I do,” he said.

A graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Shih said he considers himself an average Hong Kong citizen. His office is small and sparsely decorated, and he enjoys hiking and playing badminton—hardly the pursuits of the billionaire set.

His modest upbringing has also helped keep him humble—his father eschewed the elite international schools favored by Hong Kong’s wealthy and enrolled his children in local government-subsidized schools, and instilled his philosophy that money should be used to help the less fortunate from an early age.

He even worked as a real-estate agent when he first joined the family business. “It was quite tough—staying outdoors to compete with other agents for limited customers, rain or shine.”

And, like many other millennials in a city ranked the world’s least-affordable for the past nine years, he’s still saving for his first house. Bloomberg News