BusinessMirror August 06, 2019

GLOBAL FARMER DAR IS NEW AGRI CHIEF

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

& Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

P H.K., DISRUPTED Travellers check on their flights at an electronic billboard showing some flight cancellation information at the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong on Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. The prodemocracy movement held a general strike Monday, leading to more than 100 flight cancellations and major traffic disruptions. See story on impact on Philippine carriers, on A12. AP PHOTO/KIN CHEUNG

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RESIDENT Duterte has appointed William D. Dar, who has had extensive experience in both the local and foreign farm sector, as acting agriculture secretary to replace Emmanuel F. Piñol.

At the same time, the President has also chosen Court of Appeals Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda to be the new associate justice of the Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by newly retired Mariano del Castillo.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed both appointments on Monday.

Asked to verify earlier reports of the appointments of Dar and Zalameda, Medialdea said in a text message to BusinessMirror: “Yes for Zalameda while Dar is Acting DA [Department

of Agriculture] Sec.” Dar replaces Piñol, who has been named

by Duterte to become his point man in the Bangsamoro region.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III also welcomed on Monday Dar’s appointment to the agriculture department.

“William Dar has the educational qualif i c at i o n s, d o m e s t i c a n d i nte r n at i o n a l experience in the field of Agriculture,” Dominguez told financial reporters in a Viber message.

Dar already served a one-year term as agriculture chief from 1998 to 1999 under the Estrada administration.

Under his watch, the agriculture sector posted a 9.6-percent growth, a feat that has never been equaled.

He was a former director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. In his 15 years as director

general of Icrisat, he also championed and institutionalized an overarching strategy called the Inclusive Market-Oriented Development, in which the farmers become active participants for their own welfare. Until now, he advocates the same strategy in pursuit of inclusive agribusiness in the country.

Dar was also the founding director of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research in 1987-1994.

He also served as executive director of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research in 1994 to 1998.

Meanwhile, Zalameda bested five other nominees by the the Judicial and Bar Council, namely, Court of Appeals Associate Justices Apolinario Bruselas Jr., Japar Dimaampao, Ramon Garcia, Jhosep Lopez and court administrator Jose Midas Marquez.

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Tuesday, August 6, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 300

Court issues injunction against fuel unbundling

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court on Monday issued a preliminary injunction against the Department of Energy (DOE), stopping it from implementing a policy that requires oil firms to unbundle their fuel prices.

Regulators had earlier deplored the oil players’ legal campaign to prevent the unbundling—a key policy to encourage fair pricing and transparency—from being carried out.

Under DOE g uidelines, oil

companies must submit a detailed computation of the price components with every price adjustment of petroleum products.

In a nine-page order, Judge Carlos Va lenzuel a of Branc h 213, g ra nted Pet ron Cor p.’s

application for a writ of preliminary injunction on August 5. The DOE received the order on the same day.

“Public respondent, Alfonso G. Cusi, in his capacity as the Secretary of the DOE, is enjoined from

3

The number of temporary restraining orders that have been issued against the Department of Energy to stop it from compelling oil players to unbundle their prices implementing and enforcing Department Circular No. DC2019005-008,” said the court.

Sought for comment, Cusi said in a text message, “the DOE will abide by the court.”

Continued on A2

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

YEAR and a half after its launch, the implementation of the rice-corn blend (RCB) project nationwide encountered a series of roadblocks, forcing corn growers to go back to the drawing board.

Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) President Roger V. Navarro said recent events in the agriculture sector have overtaken the implementation of the privatepublic project and resulted in more delays.

One of the roadblocks, Navarro said, is the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 11203, which effectively reduced the role of the National Food Authority (NFA) to a bufferstocking agency.

The NFA is one of the important partners of the PhilMaize in implementing the project as it would be in charge of marketing RCB, he said.

However, the rice trade liberalization law disallowed the NFA from market participation.

The food agency’s role is crucial as this would guarantee to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), where PhilMaize is seeking a P1-billion loan, that the project will be profitable and that the group can pay the bank.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

PHILMAIZE is seeking a P1-billion loan from the LandBank for the construction of two cornprocessing centers for the RCB project. However, the group did not receive feedback from the LandBank until Cecilia C. Borromeo replaced former CEO Alex V. Buenaventura.

The LandBank is asking PhilMaize to get assurance from the DA and the NFA that they would serve as guarantors for the project to ensure its viability and profitability.

Navarro disclosed that the group recently met with NFA officials, led See “PhilMaize,” A12

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PESO 2ND TOP PERFOMER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA–D.O.F

By Rea Cu

T

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said the Philippine peso, which appreciated by 2.82 percent in the January-to-July period, ranked second among Southeast Asian currencies.

In its economic bulletin, the DOF said the Philippine peso performed well and gained strength against the greenback compared to other currencies in Southeast Asia.

“Year-to-date, the peso appreciated by 2.82 percent, ranking next to Thailand, which appreciated by 4.27 percent,” the DOF said.

The Philippine peso started the year at 52.52 to the greenback, then gained strength toward July, when it settled at an average of 51.01 to the United States dollar.

“The peso-dollar exchange rate a l so rem a i n s st able

throughout the period, its coefficient of variation at 0.82 percent, ranking sixth among 12 regional currencies and lower than the 0.93-percent Asian average,” the DOF said.

During the seven-month period, the DOF noted that the Indonesian rupiah appreciated by 2.69 percent; Indian rupee, 1.06 percent; Japanese yen, 0.93 percent; Malaysian ringgit, 0.34 percent; and the Hong Kong dollar, 0.21 percent.

Currencies that depreciated include the South Korean won (6.65 percent), New Taiwan dollar (1.75 percent), Singapore dollar (0.42 percent), Vietnamese dong (0.16 percent), and Chinese renminbi (0.02 percent).

The increasing strength of the peso was attributed to the country’s strong balanceof-payments (BOP) position and rising gross international reserves (GIR).

See “Peso,” A2

Moody’s: Q2 growth at 6.2%

Navarro said the replacement of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, one of the key proponents of the project, will also contribute to the delay in its implementation.

“Basically, we are back to the drawing board. We will seek Secretary [William D.] Dar’s support for this project as this seeks to stabilize the country’s rice supply,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

The RCB project, endorsed by no less than President Duterte in December 2017, seeks to wipe out the country’s rice-supply shortfall by promoting the consumption of the rice-corn mix.

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PhilMaize to seek new DA chief’s help as rice-corn blend project hits snag

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With reports from Rea Cu

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SHE attributed this to the new Joint Guidelines, signed last May,

OODY’S Analytics, the research ar m of the Moody’s Group, said Philippine economic growth likely returned to the 6-percent territory in the second quarter.

Moody’s Analytics economist for the Philippines Katrina Ell said GDP likely rose by 6.2 percent in the April-to-June period.

In its chart for the week, however, Moody’s assigned a ‘2’ on their Philippine growth forecast in terms of confidence index, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.

Growth proved to be lackluster in the first quarter as GDP expansion reached only 5.6 percent. This was attributed to the delay in the passage of the budget, which prevented government from spending for public projects.

Following the release of disappointing figures in the first quarter, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno expressed his intent to ease inflation but also to expand GDP. In his earlier statements, Diokno —a known pro-growth BSP governor—said the need for further monetary accommodation will depend, in part, on how strongly the Philippines’s growth drivers “kick into higher gear.”

Continued on A2

See “Moody’s,” A2

NEVER-ENDING The task of clearing Metro Manila’s roads of obstructions and illegally parked vehicles has assumed urgency, given the 60-day deadline set by the national government. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Danny Lim (center) is joined by San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora (right) in a follow-up operation in Greenhills Center on Monday (August 5). Related story on A9. NONOY LACZA

Biggest number of alien work permits seen

By Samuel P. Medenilla

T

@sam_medenilla

HE country is now poised to register its biggest number of applications for Alien Employment Permit (AEP) this year with the implementation of new government permit regulations for foreigners.

During the first half of the

year, the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said it already registered 52,450 AEP applications, a figure that is approaching the 2018 full-year total of overall AEP applications at 54,251.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issues AEPs to foreign nationals before they can work in the country for more than six months.

“Most of them are really Chinese nationals and they really come from the POGO [Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators] sector,” BLE Director Dominque R. Tutay told BusinessMirror in an interview.

Growing industry

US 51.3670 n JAPAN 0.4819 n UK 62.3544 n HK 6.5611 n CHINA 7.3995 n SINGAPORE 37.3388 n AUSTRALIA 34.9039 n EU 57.0687 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6942

Source: BSP (5 August 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, August 6, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MOU on WPS oil exploration Palace, Congress list may be on Xi-Duterte agenda 5 bills for October OK

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on joint oil exploration in the West Philippine Sea could be part of the discussions at the bilateral talks between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the President’s visit to China this August.

Malacañang over the weekend confirmed the President’s working visit to China this month. This would be the President’s fifth trip to China since assuming office and what could be his first since the Recto Bank incident last June 9.

The President’s visit to China also comes after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet last week that Beijing has acknowledged receipt of his acceptance of the Asian superpower’s terms of reference on

the proposed joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea. Locsin and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the 52nd Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

Asked in a Palace briefing if the joint oil exploration deal with China will be part of the agenda during the bilateral meeting, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said: “We are waiting for the report of Secretary Locsin. That could be

part of the discussion.”

Last month, Locsin also tweeted that he had already accepted China’s version of the Terms of Reference, which he described as “superior to our own.”

Aside from the oil exploration, Panelo said the West Philippine Sea issue could also be discussed by the two leaders, among others.

However, the Palace spokesman could not confirm if the President will raise the Recto Bank allision last June 9, where a Chinese vessel struck a fishing boat and abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen as they struggled in the water.

“Well, the same—all visits of the President if it’s working, then it refers to discussions with the visited country relative to issues that affect both—issues that will benefit both countries; issues of conflict; issues of cooperation; issues of support especially with respect to terrorism, to fighting drugs, to cultural exchanges, people-to-people and financing too—funding,” Panelo added.

Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go, who remains to be the President’s confidante, earlier said the President might also watch the Philippines’s first game in the 2019 Fiba World Cup. In November 2018, the Philippines and China signed the MOU on cooperation and oil and gas development in the West Philippine Sea, along with at least 28 other accords. This, after denials that there was an oil exploration deal that is in the works in time for Xi’s visit to the country.

The Philippines is in a rush to push for a joint oil exploration deal as Malampaya is expected to dry up by 2027 and pose a “serious energy crisis.” The gas field in Palawan supplies about 40 percent of Luzon’s power needs.

The Duterte administration has been criticized for taking a “softer approach” when it comes to dealing with China on the maritime dispute in an apparent exchange for investments and funding for infrastructure projects.

Court issues injunction against fuel unbundling The same court granted on July 15 a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the implementation of the circular.

A total of three TROs have been issued against the DOE. The Philippine Institute of Petroleum Inc. (PIP) filed before a Makati court a Petition for Declaratory Relief with Application for a TRO and/or Preliminary Injunction to question DOE’s Department Circular No. DC201905-0008.

PIP is composed of Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Chevron Philippines Inc., PTT Philippines, Total Philippines Corp; and Isla LPG Corp.

Separately, Pilipinas Shell filed a similar case before a Taguig court.

In granting the preliminary injunction, the Mandaluyong court said it “again found clear and unmistakable right, which the petitioner was able to establish through evidence, to the provisional relief prayed for, to prevent the public respondent,

the Secretary of the DOE, from implementing and enforcing the assailed DC while this court hears the main petition for Declaratory Relief so as not to render the judgment ineffectual.”

If the DOE circular is not restrained, Petron, said the court, might not be able to comply with its requirements. “The first of which is the submission of the weekly reports. At the same time, the petitioner might be placed at risk of losing its trade secrets and incur irreparable injury by disclosing such information to DOE.” In so doing, Petron “may be subjected to criminal prosecution and the administrative penalties mentioned in the circular for noncompliance with the same.”

DC 2019-05-8 entitled Revised Guidelines for the Monitoring of Prices in the Sale of Petroleum Products by the Downstream Oil Industry in the Philippines states that for every price adjustment of petroleum products, oil companies must

comply with the submission of the detailed computation with corresponding explanation and supporting documents on the reasons of the movement.

In particular, oil firms must unbundle their fuel cost with the following details: ■ International content, which makes up import cost, freight cost, insurance and foreign exchange rate.

■ Taxes and duties, which include excise tax, value added tax, duties and other imports.

■ Biofuel cost ■ Oil company take components. Details on port charges, refining cost, storage cost, handling cost, marketing costs, transshipment cost, other cost, oil company profit margin and total oil company price are required to be turned over to the agency.

Within two months after effectivity of this circular or whenever required by the DOE or by the DOE-Department of Justice (DOJ) Task Force, oil companies shall be required to submit a

Continued from A1

report to the OIMB (Oil Industry Management Bureau), on a per-liter and per-product basis for liquid fuel and automotive LPG and on a per-kilogram basis for household LPG, containing the detailed computation with corresponding explanation and supporting documents on the unbundled items comprising the oil company price as of December 1, 2018, according to the DOE guidelines.

Cusi said these enhancements would provide the DOE and other relevant government agencies with data necessary to formulate proactive and appropriate policy initiatives for the benefit of consumers and the downstream oil industry.

The data provided will also support the DOE-DOJ task force investigations on reported incidents of anti-competitive behavior.

Oil firms, however, are against this because, among others, they would have to reveal their socalled “industry take amid a deregulated environment.”

Moody’s. . .

Biggest number of alien work permits seen

“More than the notable statistics, for us in the BSP, the bottom line is always the Filipino people.

And for this reason, we are pro-growth. Remember the maxim: A rising tide lifts all boats. An improved economy should benefit all, and so the government economic policy should focus on broad economic efforts,” he said.

Just recently, Fitch Solutions—the research arm of the Fitch Group—also expressed optimism about the future of the Philippines’s growth story.

Their assessment shows that private consumption, which has been one of the pillars of the recent growth story of the Philippines, is projected to grow by 6 percent for this year from the average 5.8 percent in previous years.

“Private consumption in the Philippines will remain buoyant, given lower levels of inflation and a strong labor market backdrop. Furthermore, growing remittance inflows will also support disposable incomes in the country and in turn, boost spending,” Fitch said.

“A strong labor market outlook will also support consumption growth... Alongside falling unemployment, a rise in minimum wages will also provide support to consumer spending in the Philippines,” it added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is expected to release the country’s growth numbers for the second quarter on August 8.

In other parts of Asia, Moody’s Analytics said it sees a slight decline in Indonesia’s growth to 5 percent, from 5.1 percent on weakened external demand. It also expects a slower Japan second quarter growth to 0.2 percent from the previous quarter. Bianca Cuaresma

limiting the categories covered by the Special Work Permit (SWP) to just 14.

Following the enforcement of the guidelines, foreign nationals (FN) in POGOs were no longer allowed to apply under the SWP. A SWP is a document issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to FNs before they work in the country for less than six months.

“Even before it took effect, foreigners were already aware of our [policy] track and have started to apply for the AEP [to continue working in the country],” Tutay said.

Based on its initial reports, BLE said the POGO is expected to expand its operations further as some areas like Cavite set up specific hubs for the said industry.

“We also learned there is now already poaching [of workers] within the POGO sector. So we really need to develop Philippine talent for that,” Tutay said.

Continued from A1

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Peso. . .

Continued from A1

“Strong foreign exchange inflows from exports of services, remittances, income from investments abroad, direct foreign investments and foreign borrowing all contributed to the strong BOP position. These in turn boosted the confidence in the Philippine peso,” the DOF said.

Revenue generation

SHE reiterated their appea l to the Philippi ne A mu sement a nd Ga m i ng Cor p.

(Pagcor) to make it mandator y for POGO operators to train Filipinos to speak in Chinese.

“This will increase the proportion of Filipinos in the POGO sector,” Tutay said.

She said they expect the continuous surge in AEP applications will also translate to higher government revenues after they made Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) a requirement for AEP applications last April, which was formalized with a Joint Memorandum Circular.

Tutay said in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, 9,466 FNs applied for AEP on May and 7,716 on June.

As of July 19, she said 6,355 FNs applied for AEP. Based on its latest estimates, the Department of Finance (DOF) said it will collect at least P32 billion taxes from FNs. The BOP surplus reached $4.79 billion, or 3 percent of GDP, as of end-June, the highest since 2012. This is a reversal from the $3.26-billion deficit recorded during the same period in 2018.

The GIR also rose to $85.77 billion as of end-June, 10.4 percent higher than last year’s level and is equivalent to 7.5 months of imports of goods and services. It was also 5.1 times the country’s short-term external debt.

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HE Executive and Legislative departments on Monday identified five bills that they target to be passed by October.

After attending a small group Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting with leaders of the 18th Congress in Malacañang, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Salceda said they committed to legislate revenuepositive policies.

Salceda said these revenue measures are bills increasing excise tax on alcohol products, Corporate Income Tax and Incentive Rationalization Act (Citira) and amendments to the Public Service Act. Salceda has refiled House Bill 1026 or the Package 2 Plus of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), which proposes additional excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products.

HB 1026 seeks to increase the tax on alcohol products to approximate the 40 to 60 percent sharing of alcohol and tobacco expenditures.

This bill seeks to increase the excise tax rates on alcohol products and the indexation rate to 10 percent to account for inflation and income.

Salceda has also refiled the Citira, formerly known as the “Trabaho” bill, to encourage investments by bringing down the corporate income-tax rate from 30 percent to 20 percent and to modernize investment tax incentives to enhance fairness, improve competitiveness, plug tax leakages and attain fiscal sustainability.

Moreover, Salceda said the Public Service Act, enacted in 1936 to govern public services in the Philippines, needed amending.

He said consumers often experience high prices and poor quality of basic services in the Philippines, because only a few local players or oligarchs effectively control the market.

“Competition and foreign investment are inhibited, because limitations that should only apply to the operation of a public utility are usually also applied to all public services. This situation is caused by the ambiguity in the definition of public utility that is often used interchangeably with public service

under Commonwealth Act 146 or the Public Service Act,” he said.

The lawmaker said the key to fix this problem is to develop a clear statutory definition of a public utility by amending the Public Service Act. This bill proposes to further amend the Public Service Act to effect the necessary changes in the antiquated provisions of the law to increase its relevance to contemporary concerns, in the interest of providing the general public with more choices, better services and lower prices. This bill also prescribes a 12-percent cap on rate of return and prohibits income tax as operating expense for rate-determination pur poses for public ser v ices, including public utilities, consistent with administrative and judicial pronouncements.

Salceda, meanwhile, said the bill creating the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers and the bill institutionalizing the Malasakit Center will also be passed

by October.

“Hopefully we could finish these five bills this August,” Salceda said.

Earlier, Majority Leader Martin G. Romualdez said House committees may implement the one-hearing-only rule on measures that have been approved on third and final reading by the 17th Congress.

Citing House Section 48, Romualdez said that “In case of bills or resolutions that are identified as priority measures of the House, which were previously filed in the immediately preceding Congress and have already been approved on 3rd reading, the same may be disposed of as matters already reported upon the approval of majority of the members of the committee present, there being a quorum.”

2020 budget

MEANWHILE, Salceda said the Palace will submit the 2020 National Expenditure Program to Congress on August 16.

“The House targets to pass the national budget before October 5,” Salceda said.

Like the 2019 budget, Salceda said the 2020 national budget will follow the modified cash-based system. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

HK strike forces CebuPac, PAL to cancel some flights Continued from A12

for Filipinos.

PAL resumes some flights

PHILIPPINE Airlines on Monday was also forced to cancel some flights to Hong Kong, but later resumed operations to and from Hong Kong as the airline managed to ensure regular operations for certain flights: 1). PR 310 Manila-Hong Kong original ETD 7 p.m./ETA 9:25 p.m.

2). PR 311 Hong Kong - Manila original ETD 10:25 p.m. /ETA 12:25 a.m.

3). PR 312 Manila-Hong Kong original ETD 9:10 p.m./ETA 11:55 p.m.

Earlier on Monday (August 5), PAL canceled the following flights as protests affected airport operations: 1). PR 306 Manila-Hong Kong 2). PR 307 Hong Kong-Manila 3). PR 318 Manila-Hong Kong 4). PR 319 Hong Kong -Manila PAL said passengers affected by the earlier cancellations may be accommodated on the available flights on Tuesday (August 6). Other available options, it said, are: rebooking/refunding within the next 30 days with rebooking/refunding fees waived.

PAL assured the public its Hong

Kong station team and the airport authorities “are in regular communication. The goal is to restore normal airport operations at the soonest possible time.”

While it sought “the kind understanding of our passengers affected by the slowdown in Hong Kong operations,” PAL also advised the public to avoid certain protest areas for their safety: Tamar Park, Admiralty Sha Tin Town Hall Plaza Tuen Moon Park Discovery Park, Tsuen Wan Wong Tai Tin Square MacPherson Playground, Mongkok Kwong Fuk Football Park, Tai Po It likewise urged passengers to avoid wearing black or white— the color of protest—for their safety and well-being. This, as news reports said earlier a Filipino worker in Hong Kong was arrested by police as he was returning home from work, apparently because he was wearing black and had chanced upon a group of cops chasing after black-clad protesters.

Filipinos who needed Philippine government assistance while in Hong Kong, were advised to call the Philippine Consular Assistance hotline at 9155 - 4023 or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) at 6345 - 9324.

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Manila Court hands down guilty verdict to ex-Army reservist in road-rage incident

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Regional Trial Court in Manila City on Monday convicted a former Philippine Army reservist for shooting to death biker Mark Vincent Garalde in a road-rage incident in Quiapo, Manila, three years ago.

This was confirmed by Department of Justice (DOJ) Spokesman Undersecretar y Markk Perete who said that the accused Vhon Martin Tanto was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 14 Judge Buenaventura Albert Tenorio Jr. for the crime of murder and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years imprisonment.

The trial court also ordered Tanto to pay Garalde’s heirs P1.048 million as actual damages, P100,000 as civil indemnity, P100,000 as moral damages, and another P100,000 as exemplary damages.

“All damages awarded shall be subject to the rate of 6 percent per annum from finality of this decision until its full satisfaction,” the court ruled.

Present during the promulgation were Garalde’s wife Rachel, and his mother, Malou, who both welcomed the decision.

Tanto shot Garalde several times on July 25, 2016, following an altercation.

The altercation started when Tanto’s car was nearly hit by Ga-

ralde’s bicycle along Vergara Street, a few meters away from P. Casal Street where the fistfight and shooting took place.

An 18-year-old student identified as Rosell Bondoc was also injured in the incident after being hit by a stray bullet from Tanto’s gun.

In indicting Tanto for murder, the DOJ gave weight to the testimony of witness Bryan Yu, who saw Tanto shooting Garalde several times at close range after their fistfight, and CCTV recording of the incident that was submitted by the barangay where the incident took place.

The DOJ held that treachery, which is a key element of murder, was evident in the case since Garalde already turned his back from Tanto and was already moving away from the scene when the latter shot him.

The DOJ also noted that the victim “was not afforded any chance to defend himself when he was shot four times.”

The prosecution presented 10 witnesses, as well as CCTV footages at the barangay where the incident happened.

Tanto initially fled and hid from the authorities but was arrested by a combined Army and police team in Masbate several days after the shooting incident.

He eventually admitted to the crime and told authorities that Garalde’s arrogant behavior provoked him into shooting the victim.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, August 6, 2019 A3

PNP arrests five suspects in Negros policemen’s slay

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday that it already has under its custody five suspects who may be involved in the ambush-slay of four policemen in Negros Oriental, which has seen a rash of killings over the past weeks.

PNP Spokesman chief Supt. Bernard Banac bared the arrest of two suspects in Negros Oriental and three more in Cebu City as he declared that the peace and order, and even the whole situation in Negros Oriental, had started to return to normal.

“Our police forces are continuing to provide security there,” he said, referring to the province, which for the past weeks, has logged more than 20 killings, which the New People’s Army (NPA) and the military blamed to each side.

Banac said the two suspects, who were arrested over the weekend, were allegedly involved in the killing of four policemen in Ayungon, Negros Oriental, last month, while the partici-

pation of the three suspects nabbed in Cebu was still being investigated.

The five were separate from the 11 suspects tagged by the police as responsible in the killing of the policemen, a case that was followed by spate of killings, wherein two of the victims were a school principal and a human-rights lawyer.

“We will make sure that all perpetrators of the killings will be made to answer before the court, and we are giving our assurance that the peace and order in Negros Oriental is under control. Trade, tourism and business should go on there,” Banac said.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) reported that the head of its chapter

in Bacolod was suspiciously tailed by a motorcycle rider on Sunday afternoon while returning from covering the killings in Negros Oriental.

Marchel Espina, also the Bacolod correspondent for Rappler, was returning from Canlaon City when the driver of her rental car alerted her to the rider, who was of medium build and wore a bonnet concealing his face, a black jacket and pants, and with a backpack.

Espina said the rider trailed them for almost 18 kilometers, from Biak Na Bato to Taburda, in La Castellana town, Negros Oriental.

Espina quoted her driver as saying he blocked an attempt by the rider to overtake their vehicle and drove as fast as he could until they finally outmaneuvered the rider.

The NUJP also claimed that a former station manager of a radio station that focused on reporting indigenous peoples’ (IP) issues was reportedly harassed by elements of the 1st Special Forces Battalion based in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.

JB Deveza of the NUJP Western Mindanao Safety Office said the soldiers went to the house of Kristin Lim at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday to “invite” her to go with them for questioning, but she refused “as the soldiers did not present a clear and valid reason for her to do so.”

Lim claimed the soldiers left, but came back at about 8 a.m. on Sunday. The soldiers only left past noon after barangay officials intervened and proposed the holding of a dialogue between Lim and the soldiers at the village hall.

Deveza said Lim used to be the station manager of Radyo Lumad, a project run by the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region (R MP-NMR).

The radio station was under the Healing the Hurt Project co-funded by the European Union and the World Association for Christian Communication mainly to communicate IP rights and issues.

In Quezon province, the military claimed it has prevented another “extortion” activity by the NPA following an encounter with its members in Barangay Santa Rosa, Calauag, at around 9:45 p.m. on Sunday.

The soldiers recovered a poncho, water bottles, a lunch box, utility rope, t-shirts and other paraphernalia that were left by the rebels.

Brig. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the encounter, which took place following tips from residents, showed the communities have already gravitated away from the NPA.

A4 Tuesday, August 6, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

Tariff body starts probe on imposing duty on imported float glass in the long term

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Tariff Commission (TC) is launching its formal investigation on whether to apply a long-term safeguard measure on float glass following the government’s decision to impose a provisional duty of over P2,500 per metric ton (MT) on such imports.

In a notice on Monday, the TC declared it is commencing its formal investigation on the merits of the imposition of a definitive safeguard duty against importations of reflective, tinted and clear float glass. The probe was endorsed

by Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, whose agency issued a safeguard duty on float glass on July 22, 2019.

All parties on record are required to appear at a preliminary conference on August 14, where the timeline, nature of investigation, appearance of counsel and parties, number of witnesses, notification, accessibility of documents and public file, confidentiality of documents, submission of position papers and memoranda, adjustment plan, conduct of inspection and verification of data, schedules of public hearings and other activities, among others, will be discussed.

The safeguard duty applied on float glass was the third of its kind issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) this year. The first two were placed

on cement at P210 per MT in January and on ceramic floor and wall tiles at P3 per kilogram in May. Under Department Administrative Order 19-02, the DTI imposed a safeguard duty of P2,552 per MT on clear float glass and P2,835 per MT on tinted float glass, both in the form of cash bond and shall be in effect for a period of 200 days from the date of issuance of a relevant Customs memorandum order, or 15 days after the publication of the order in two national newspapers, whichever comes first.

The DTI concluded after its preliminary investigation increased imports of float glass from 2013 to 2017 resulted in serious injury to the domestic industry, particularly in market share, sales, capacity utilization, production, employment, profitability and inventories. The landed cost of imports were apparently lower than the plant prices of their domestic counterpart.

The petition for a safeguard duty on float glass was filed by Pioneer Float Glass

Manufacturing Inc., the country’s lone maker of the product.

Based on records from the Bureau of Customs, imports of clear float glass jumped nearly 650 percent to 29,332 MT in 2014, from 3,918 MT in 2013. It rose 51.61 percent to 44,473 MT in 2015, and by 14.67 percent to 50,699 MT in 2016.

It declined 23.62 percent to 38,953 MT in 2017, the year the DTI applied antidumping measure on clear float glass originating from China, the country’s top supplier of the product between 2013 and 2016.

On the other hand, imports of tinted float and reflective glass nearly quadrupled to 25,450 MT in 2014, from 6,351 MT in 2013, and further increased 119.21 percent to 55,789 MT in 2015. It declined 8.81 percent to 50,871 MT in 2016 and by 10.81 percent to 45,365 MT in 2017.

However, importer Chain Glass Enterprise Inc. alleged the import surge recorded in tinted float and reflective glass could have been “gamed,” or manipulated, as Philippine Glass Processing Specialist Inc., an affiliate of Pioneer Float Glass, was supposedly responsible for 55 percent of the total volume of imports during the period of investigation.

Further, Comglasco Aguila Glass Corp. said, in response to the DTI’s preliminary investigation, imposing a safeguard duty on float glass will result in shortage of the product. It said petitioner Pioneer Float Glass is at present restructuring and retooling its production, making it incapable of supplying the country’s requirement for float glass.

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SC chief favors creation of regional special courts to handle IP cases

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HE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has requested the Supreme Court to designate additional special courts outside of Metro Manila to prevent backlogs and speed up the resolution of IP cases.

IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago paid a courtesy visit to SC justices in July to discuss measures on easing crowding dockets and bringing faster conclusion to IP cases. She relayed to Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin the IPOPHL’s request for more special commercial courts (SCCs) in the regions.

SCCs can issue search warrants in relation to IP cases that are enforceable nationwide, but they are only spread across Metro Manila at present, particularly in Pasig, Makati, Manila and Quezon City.

The request was transmitted to the SC in the face of rising IP cases in recent years, especially on trademark infringement. The IPOPHL is hoping the High Court can designate SSCs in the urban areas in northern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

“We believe the designation of additional SCCs to be located in Metro Visayas, Metro Mindanao and Metro Northern Luzon will further bolster the Philippines’s standing in the areas of rule of law and administration of justice and will be beneficial, as this will serve a greater number of stakeholders,” Santiago said in a news statement issued on Monday.

The IPOPHL is also asking the SC to identify some regional trial courts as specialized courts for IP cases. Under the existing mechanism, IP complaints are filed before RTCs that are designated as SCCs, which handle all commercerelated cases.

Further, SCCs are docketed with drug-related charges that, like IP cases, increased in number in recent years, most likely as an offshoot of the

government’s war on drugs.

In her courtesy visit, Santiago also asked the High Court to create a technical working group (TWG), or a subcommittee, made up of legal practitioners in the field of IP, executives of the IPOPHL and judges from SCCs. She said the group should be mandated to align the 2010 Special Rules on IP Rights with other rules and regulations issued after, including the Revised Guidelines for Continuous Trial of Criminal Cases, Ease of Doing Business law, among others.

“The recommendation to revise the rules was based on several consultations with SCC judges, intellectual-property stakeholders and organizations to address some gaps and to further streamline the procedure,” Santiago explained.

According to the IPOPHL chief, Bersamin responded positively to the proposals, including the designation of additional SCCs, as Congress increased the number of RTCs. On the other hand, the chief magistrate instructed Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta to lead the review of the 2010 Special Rules on IP Rights.

“The CJ himself proposed that IPOPHL sit in the TWG and/or subcommittee that will revise the rules. The IPOPHL would be pleased to actively participate in the move to amend the rules.

In fact, we have prepared a comprehensive list of provisions we believe to be ripe for revision, and we are ready to discuss this at the proper time and venue,” Santiago said.

As actions are under way to hasten the disposal of IP cases at the courts, the IPOPHL is calling on complainants to make use of its alternative dispute resolution. With an average settlement rate of 45.4 percent in the five years until 2018, the mediation mechanism can save parties the difficulties, not mentioning larger costs incurred when lodging charges before the courts. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Compliance programs are about protecting the company!

Now, parent Seven & I Holdings will shut down the service altogether in late September.

Japan’s Recruit Career sells job-seeker data without consent

By Henry J. Schumacher

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IVEN the growing environment of data breaches and corruption scandals, here and abroad, it’s easy to lose track of what’s most important in compliance: the people.

Before we talk about “the people” let’s have a look on the latest international news:

Capital One: 100 million affected by data breach

CAPITAL One says a hacker gained access to the personal information of over 100 million individuals applying for credit. The Virginia-based bank said it found out about the vulnerability in its system July 19 and immediately sought help from law enforcement.

The high-profile data breach at a top proponent of cloud computing could reignite a debate among financial institutions about using such outside vendors. The data breach casts a shadow over cloud security.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether the hacker charged with stealing data of millions of Capital One customers from an Amazon cloud service successfully hit other targets.

Seven-Eleven Japan pay app was easy mark for hackers SEVEN-ELEVEN Japan thought using two-factor authentication for its just-released mobile payment feature would be too much of a hassle for users, a gamble that quickly cost the company consumer trust.

In the days after the convenience store chain rolled out 7pay on July 1, hackers made off with over ¥38 million ($350,000) from unsuspecting accounts.

RECRUIT Career, operator of the Rikunavi job information web site, sold to about 40 companies data on the likelihood that individual students may turn down job offers, and did so without obtaining the full consent of job seekers, Nikkei learned Thursday.

That may violate the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, a law requiring companies to get permission before providing users’ private information to third parties.

The Japanese government’s Personal Information Protection Commission is investigating the matter.

Hopefully, these examples show that compliance management is super important and that compliance programs are needed to protect the company.

And, as stated above, people are at the center of compliance in:

Creating governance structures;

Identifying risks;

Communicate policies and ensure the implementation of controls; and

Sustain compliance initiatives by training and testing people.

As compliance professionals, especially the data protection officers (DPO), we need to secure the necessary resources and support from many stakeholders, in particular—at the top. To reach that objective, we must convince our boards and top managements that our compliance mission makes good business sense!

We all agree that compliance is such a strategic issue that it deserves top management’s utmost and undivided attention, and willingness to make resources, like automation tools, available.

The compliance program is about protecting the company, as well as its management and employees from regulatory and reputational risk. Compliance is a company-wide initiative.

The complexity of compliance management and understanding that the safe journey into data protection needs automation inspired me to create a cooperation with Straits Interactive, a company in Singapore that has developed the online DPOinBOX platform to equip professionals, managers and executives with the competencies to perform their jobs in data protection. The DPOinBOX is not only assisting in the compliance with the Philippine Data Privacy Act but also with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Let’s make sure that everybody understands that the compliance program is about protecting the company from regulatory and reputational risk—it will not only avoid fines and prison terms but will maintain the company’s reputation, protect its bottom line and help secure the future of business.

Comments are welcome/automation assistance is available—please contact me at Schumacher@eitsc.com.

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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

DOF eyes options to recoup ₧42-B investment in UCPB

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said it is looking at other options to recover the government’s investments, estimated at P42 billion, in the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government is evaluating other options apart from privatizing the UCPB. “We are evaluating. The government has supported this [UCPB] for so many years,” Dominguez said.

“The question is, how is it best for us to recover the P42 billion, plus all the cost of money of that P42 billion

all these years? How is it best for us to recover that? Is it through privatization or other means?”

Dominguez told reporters he estimates the cost of money involved at P100 billion.

The finance chief explained that the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) are still

calculating the final numbers to identify the total investments made by the government in stateowned UCPB. Dominguez said the government wants to regain all the funds it has invested in the bank.

“I asked the PDIC to calculate and also our own staff to compare.

We haven’t come up with the final amount but it’s large. As chief financing officer of the country, I’d like to get back everything that we have there; I think that’s the goal.

Now, how we do it, is it through privatization or other means?”

Dominguez, however, said he’s “pretty sure that privatizing it is not going to do it.”

Two years ago, the government said it is winding down support for the UCPB and would soon set in motion a likely phased withdrawal of national government deposits as

its two-year support commitment lapses by year’s end.

Such withdrawal would compel the government to privatize the lender quickly while ensuring the potential buyer or buyers have the wherewithal to inject fresh equity.

Officials said the potential private investor should not only have pockets deep enough to purchase the government’s 73.9-percent UCPB shareholdings but have plenty more for fresh capital injection estimated to cost at least P15 billion.

The fresh capital infusion requires the purchase or subscription to 37.2 million UCPB common shares to bring the bank on even footing with existing universal lending peers in the industry.

Citing personal reasons, Higinio O. Macadaeg Jr. resigned last month as UCPB President and CEO, a post he served since October 2016.

Central Bank donates ₧5M to PHL Red Cross

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) donated P5 million in humanitarian aid to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to support the group’s ambulance services.

A statement by the PRC cited its Chairman and Sen. Richard J. Gordon expressing gratitude to BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno “for helping the Red Cross in saving more individuals in times of emergencies.”

“Thank you for always trusting the PRC,” Gordon was quoted in the statement as saying. “We always make sure that the money and donations we humbly receive will reach the most vulnerable.” The group said the BSP’s humanitarian contribution is primarily for the

operational expenses of its ambulance services, which provides free transport for individuals affected by disasters and emergencies.

This year alone, the PRC has catered to 46,173 individuals through its ambulance service program.

For 14 years, the PRC and BSP have been collaborating to address the pressing needs of the most vulnerable communities, the PRC statement said.

Last year, the BSP, under the leadership of then-Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., contributed P2 million for the PRC’s program that shoulders the blood processing fee of qualified indigent patients.

The PRC and the BSP also hold joint mass blood donation annually.

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Slashed RRR, looming rate cuts lure investors to T-bills

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ENDERS for the Treasury bills (T-bills) were almost six times oversubscribed at P87.1 billion as investors expect the local Central Bank to take cue on Thursday after US monetary authorities signaled a rate cut.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the auction committee was swamped with bids for the 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has awarded the full P15 billion on offer on Monday’s T-bills auction.

“We were swarmed by offers not only in terms of the volume but also in terms of how deep the rates are given from the average of about 50 basis points; even looking at the one year at 62 basis points lower than the previous auction,” de Leon said.

The 91-day T-bill was awarded the full P4 billion on offer, with tenders for the security amounting to P13.352 billion.

The average annual rate settled at 3.398 percent, posting a 37.10-basispoint decline from the 3.769 percent recorded in the previous auction.

Bids for the 182-day T-bill amounted to P27.629 billion with the auction committee awarding the full P5 billion on offer. The average annual rate settled at 3.677 percent, which posted a decrease of 42.30 basis points from the previous auction rate of 4.10 percent.

Confluence of events

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno (left) and Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and Sen. Richard J. Gordon shows the check for P5 million donated by the BSP for the PRC’s ambulance service.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

DE LEON explained that the massive volume of offers for the government security was due to cuts in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) of banks.

“The last tranche of the RRR cut last month, that’s another 50 basis points.

And then the previous months we’ve also seen 100 basis points and 50 basis points in June.” The more obvious reason for finding T-bills more attractive is the rate-cut by US and Asian monetary officials, according to de Leon.

“In terms of the rates, obviously, because coming from the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting...the insurance rate cut given by [Federal Reserve System Chairman Jerome] Powell during the last Fed meeting. And there’s also a lot of Asian central banks on the road to easing.”

De Leon surmised “there’s also

the high probability that the market is also pricing at a 25-basis-point cut by the Central Bank when they meet on August 8 for the Monetary Board policy meeting,” she said.

The 364-day T-bill was awarded P6 billion by the auction committee as tenders for the security amounted to P46.149 billion.

The average annual rate for the security settled at 3.898 percent, which showed a decrease of 62.10 basis points from the previous auction rate of 4.519 percent.

According to de Leon, these are the “confluence of reasons [investors] are now just parking the funds with the T-bills.”

“There is also a good pipeline eventually of bank bonds and corporates that would be issuing in the domestic market. That’s why they are opting to use the T-bills as a parking lot, in the meantime, for those excess funds that they also have to deploy eventually,” she added.

Samurai bond

MEANWHILE, the samurai bond issuance of the Philippine government was triggered last week wherein the country was able to raise ¥92 billion or around $850 million bearing four tenor buckets: three, five, seven and 10 years.

The coupon rate for the threeyear tenor settled at 0.10 percent, the five-year tenor with 0.28 percent, the seven-year bond at 0.43 percent and the 10-year maturity at a coupon rate of 0.59 percent.

De Leon earlier said the BTr is eyeing an initial $750 million equivalent to yen issuance for the samurai bond but decided to increase the offer to around $850 million seeing the tightness in spreads from the investors.

De Leon said this was “to show our appreciation to the investors because they also lowered in terms of the spreads over the benchmark.”

She said the samurai bond is the last offshore bond issuance this year based on the government’s offshore borrowing program for 2019.

“For now we are not thinking of any prefunding, in terms of offshore borrowings, during the last quarter of the year,” de Leon added. Rea Cu

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If you have any information / objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400-6011.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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Tuesday, August 6, 2019 A9

Fil-Am firms eye young coconuts from PHL

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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OME retail firms in the United States are keen on importing young coconuts, or buko, from the Philippines owing to its health benefits, outgoing Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said.

US$1

The price of one green coconut that prospective US buyers have quoted for Philippine exports he said in a Facebook post on Monday morning.

The retail stores expressed interest to import buko after several “taste tests” of the commodity brought to the US by a coconut farmer from Zamboanga del Sur, Piñol explained.

This month, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will ship a one-container load of young coconuts, which is expected to arrive in California by September—in time for the launching of its green coconut marketing campaign, Piñol added.

“The launching will be highlighted by the signing of a long-term marketing agreements between the three companies and associations or cooperatives of Filipino coconut farmers,” he said.

Under the agreement, the DA will assist Filipino coconut farmers in establishing consolidation and processing centers in major coconutproducing areas of the country.

“The marketing agreement will also be used by the DA in convincing other coconut farmers to start shifting to the sweet-water variety which has a great demand in the evergrowing health conscious market of America, Europe and China,” he said.

Last month, a Davao-based firm exported 48 tons of buko to China after the Asian country opened its domestic market to Philippine coconuts.

Piñol, who was in the US recently, said three firms, two of which are owned by Filipino-Americans, have expressed interest to import buko starting this September.

These firms are: Seafood City Supermarket Chain, Sun Tropics and

99 Ranch Supermarkets. The first two firms are owned by FilipinoAmericans, Piñol said.

“The prospective buyers have quoted a price of at least $1 per green coconut delivered to their warehouses in the different parts of California,”

MMDA, LGUs of Caloocan, San Juan clear roads

Villar to DA: Return ₧4B for rice fund CA affirms unconstitutionality of city ordinance imposing total ban on tobacco products

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HE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), along with the local government units of Caloocan and San Juan, continued clearing operations on Monday to sustain the campaign to unclog traffic flow by tearing down illegal structures and towing illegally parked vehicles.

In San Juan, MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim was joined by Mayor Francis Zamora and other local officials who conducted an inspection of the designated “No Parking Zone” in Barangay Greenhills.

Zamora has suspended all roadside pay parking and one-side parking in the city and barangays, including those in Mabuhay Lanes, in accordance with President Duterte’s order to clear all road networks from obstruction.

He also assured motorists and car owners there are enough parking spaces at the Greenhills Shopping Center and in 24-hour parking buildings within the city. He is also mulling over incentives to private land owners who will volunteer to make use of their land as parking spaces.

While conducting the inspection, one businessman identified as John de Castro, approached Lim and Zamora after he was given a citation ticket for illegal parking. De Castro argued that he just parked his vehicle on the designated parking area of the building where he is a tenant and has been paying for it every month.

He also claimed that he was not informed by the building administrator of the order from the mayor. He was referring to Zamora’s Executive Order FMZ-004, stating that vehicles will not be allowed to park on either side of the following streets from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.: Club Filipino Avenue (part of Route 9 of the MMDA Mabuhay Lane); Annapolis Street (from corner of Eisenhower Street to corner of Missouri Street, which is part of Route 9 of the MMDA Mabuhay Lane); Missouri Street (corner of Annapolis Street to corner of Connecticut Street); and Connecticut Street (from the corner of Missouri Street to the corner of Ortigas Avenue, which comprises Route 10 of the MMDA Mabuhay Lane).

However, both Lim and Zamora said that sidewalks are public spaces and are for pedestrians to use.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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EN. Cynthia Villar on Monday asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to return the P4 billion meant for programs to assist farmers after the lifting of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice imports.

Villar, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, recalled that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P5 billion in December last year in anticipation of the enactment into law of Republic Act (RA) 11203, which mandated the creation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

In a statement, Villar noted that of the amount, only P1 billion went to RCEF’s program providing farmers access to cheap credit through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Outgoing Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol maintained that the P5 billion released by the DBM to the DA last year was not part of the RCEF.

With the appointment of William Dar as secretary of DA, Villar expressed hope that the department will now be more supportive of the full implementation of the law and that the new secretary will prioritize the return of P4 billion to RCEF. “Even if the money has been spent as the measure has not been passed, the DA should have waited and should not have spent the money for other things. I want the DA to account for the remaining P4 billion and also to make sure that P4 billion will be immediately returned to RCEF,” Villar said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Villar added the amount is needed to jump-start the programs enumerated in the law, which was already delayed by the late approval of the 2019 General Appropriations Act. RA 11203, which was signed by President Duterte on February 14, replaced the QR on rice imports with tariffs. The collected amount will be given to farmers to improve their competitiveness through RCEF. “What I do not want to hear is that only P5 billion is left for RCEF this year. That is not right, it is against

the law,” Villar said.

Under RCEF, P5 billion will be allocated to the Philippine Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) for the procurement of farm equipment to be distributed to 947 rice producing towns in the Philippines.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will get P3 billion so it could teach farmers how to produce inbred seeds, which will increase their yield by up to 50 percent from 4 metric tons per hectare to 6 MT per hectare.

The LandBank and the DBP will also be given P1 billion from the RCEF for the creation of a credit facility with minimal interest rates and collateral requirements.

The remaining P1 billion is allocated to PhilMech, PhilRice, the Agriculture Training Institute and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for the skills training of farmers in rice crop production, modern rice farming techniques, seed production, farm mechanization, farm machinery servicing and maintenance, and knowledge and technology transfer through farm schools nationwide.

Traders’ average offer for local rice still below P18/kg

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HE average farm-gate price of unhusked rice as of the third week of July fell by 17.6 percent to P17.8 per kilogram from P21.59 per kg last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Also, the latest average quotation of palay was slightly lower than the P17.81 per kg recorded in the second week of July, according to PSA’s weekly price monitoring report.

The PSA recorded the lowest farmgate price in Caraga region at P15.17 per kg, while the highest quotation was observed in Central Visayas at P20.14 per kg. Farmers’ groups claimed that in some areas, the farmgate price had dropped to as low as P12 per kg. Traders’ quotations for local rice have been on a downtrend after the government implemented Republic Act (RA) 11203, which eased import restrictions.

Prior to the implementation of RA 11203, the farm-gate price of palay usually picks up in July, which is the

start of the country’s lean season, when rice harvest is usually minimal.

Farmers and other stakeholders, such as millers, attributed the drop in prices to the increase in imports this year following the implementation of RA 11203.

Last month, outgoing Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol urged government agencies tasked to implement the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to fast-track their interventions to help farmers affected by the influx of cheap imports.

Piñol told members of the RCEF program steering committee (PSC) on July 22 that time is running out for the government to roll out the necessary interventions for farmers now reeling from the steep drop in the price of unhusked rice.

The PSC, chaired by Piñol, also includes the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Land Bank of the Philippines and Technical Education

and Skills Development Authority as members.

“The spirit of the law is to assist rice farmers in increasing their productivity. The farmers are expecting the interventions, and we must deliver and so you have to work fast on this,” Piñol said.

The agriculture chief made the statement after rice farmers in Luzon reported to him that the farm-gate price of palay plunged to P12 per kg due to the influx of cheap rice from other countries.

“The situation could worsen if we don’t deliver our commitment.

For now, there is so much unrest among farmers especially in Luzon so we cannot afford not to deliver [interventions],” Piñol said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Under RA 11203, P5 billion of the RCEF is allocated for farm mechanization, P3 billion is for the distribution of inbred rice seeds, and P1 billion is for credit assistance and farmers’ training. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Senate panel sets early hearings on refiled security of tenure bill

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HE Senate Committee on Labor, undaunted by a Palace veto, is set to front-load early public hearings on a refiled security of tenure (SOT) bill.

“Hopefully, [we can start it] next week,” Sen. Joel Villanueva, committee chairman, told reporters on Monday, asserting that as far as the Senate panel is concerned, “this bill is a priority.”

Admitting he was “disappointed” with administration officials for advising the President to veto the long-awaited labor reform measure, Villanueva lamented he “could not understand why the Cabinet reversed course...We were never consulted.”

He earlier singled out the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), which expressed serious reservations at the 11th hour, after

being “silent” in the nearly three years the bill was being heard in the Senate. The Senate Labor Committee chairman added he also intends to confer with Speaker Alan Cayetano who, the senator recalled, also delivered a speech on “Endo” “because he believed it should be stopped.”

“That is good to hear coming from Speaker Cayetano,” Villanueva acknowledged, even as he indicated

that the House leader’s stance is not enough to reverse the presidential veto. “We considered the option to override [Duterte’s veto] but decided to just refile the SOT bill, the senator added. This developed as Senate President Vicente Sotto III confirmed plans to call a an all-senators’ caucus on priority measures of senators “so they can give us a feedback.”

Butch Fernandez

A COCONUT vendor in Malate, Manila, chooses a young coconut fruit, report said that Filipino coconut farmers could now export young coconuts to United States to ease the persisting glut in domestic supply after Washington opened up its domestic market to the Philippine commodity. NONIE REYES

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed a ruling by a trial court which declared as unconstitutional an ordinance being implemented in the City of Balanga, Bataan, imposing a total ban on the use, sale, distribution and advertisement of tobacco products.

In a 13-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Jane Aurora Lantion, the CA’s Special 16th Division held that the City Council of Balanga transgressed the jurisdiction of Congress by passing Section 5 of Ordinance 09 which expands the scope of the prohibition on the use, sale, distribution and advertisement of tobacco product as defined under Sections 5, 6,10 and 22 of Republic Act (RA) 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

Sections 5,6,10 and 22 of RA 9211 ban smoking only within a specific number of public places, and prohibits sale and advertisement of tobacco products in limited circumstances.

The ordinance took effect in 2017 but its implementation was halted after the Regional Trial Court of Balanga City, Branch 93 issued the assailed ruling on July 5, 2018.

In the said ruling, the trial court branded the ordinance as “unreasonable and discriminatory” and tantamount to restriction or prohibition of free trade.

The appellate court noted that the ordinance prohibits not only the act of smoking in specified public places but also the acts of selling, distributing, using, advertising and promoting tobacco products—not only within the University Town but as far as a 3-kilometer radius, which practically covers the entire developed portion of the city.

It noted that under RA 9211, the act of smoking is absolutely prohibited in specified public places, such as centers of youth activity like schools and recreational facilities for minors, elevators and stairwells, areas that are fire hazards, inside buildings, hospitals and medical clinics and establishments, public transportations, conference halls and food preparation areas.

The law also provides that the prohibition on the sale or distribution of tobacco covers only 100 meters from any point of the perimeter of schools, public playgrounds or other facilities frequented by minors.

“Clearly from the foregoing, the City Council of Balanga has overstepped Congress by passing an ordinance which imposes more prohibited acts than those specified under national statute [RA 9211],” the CA explained in denying the petition for review filed by the Balanga City

officials of the 2018 ruling of the trial court.

“Therefore, the challenged Ordinance should be struck down as invalid for being ultra vires [an act done without authority] since it contravenes RA 9211,” it declared.

Invoking WHO

THE appellate court did not give weight to the claim of its local officials that the ordinance is consistent with the pronouncement of the President’s policy against smoking and in compliance with the State’s obligation under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), to adopt a comprehensive range of measures designed to reduced tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.

“While the respondents-appellants claim that the challenged Ordinance was in conformity of the WHO FCTC, they cannot simply disregard the provisions of RA 9211 for the plain reason that in this country the latter law governs,” the CA said.

“Hence, between WHO FCTC and RA 9211, it is the latter law which should prevail. Therefore, the respondents-appellants in drafting the challenged Ordinance should have taken into consideration the provisions of RA 9211,” it pointed out.

The WHO FCTC was signed by President in 2003 and concurred in by the Senate in 2005.

A lt hough t he ord inance was compliant with WHO FCTC, RA 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 and Executive Order 26, Series of 2017, the court noted the said laws do not totally ban smoking and selling of tobacco products.

The case stemmed from the petition for prohibition filed by the tobacco companies under its umbrella organization, Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI).

PTI members include Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc., Philip Morris International Fortune Tobacco Corp., Associated Anglo-American Tobacco Corp., Filharvest Manufacturing Inc., Fortune Tobacco Corp., GB Global Exprez Inc., GB-BEM Cigarette Co. Inc., La Suerte Cigar & Cigarette Factory, JTI Philippines Inc., JTI Asia Manufacturing Corp. and Mighty Corp.

The petitioner ran to the courts after the City of Balanga refused to issue business permits for the sale and distribution of tobacco products in the city pursuant to its ordinance.

The ordinance, according to the petitioners, has substantially diminished their profits, with one member losing around P15 million a month since its enforcement.

A10 Tuesday, August 6, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Metro Manila floods are getting worse

T

AXPAYERS who were trapped by floods and standstill traffic in Metro Manila on Friday were bound to ask: Is this where our taxes go? Or perhaps more appropriately, is this where our taxes are wasted?

If you are a dutiful taxpayer, it’s frustrating when you get caught in the middle of a flood. Amid the chaos and the helplessness, you wonder if there is really a government that looks after you or cares about you. You wonder if your taxes really go where they should be spent.

The heavy downpour on Friday forced the government to suspend classes in private and public schools because many parts of Metro Manila were getting submerged in floodwater. Government workers were sent home at 3 p.m. and many private firms told their employees to go home early.

The government has a P23.5-billion budget to help manage flooding in Metro Manila. Despite this, flooding in the metropolis continue to get worse.

So, what happened to the billions appropriated for flood control?

Before the Duterte administration took over, it was reported that there were 9,479 flood-control and drainage programs under the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III, with a total budget of P351.718 billion.

Were any of these projects ever completed?

An equally worrying question: If this is what a southwest monsoon can do to the Philippine capital, what would happen if Metro Manila was in the direct path of a typhoon? The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) told the Commission on Audit (COA) in a recent report that floods in the National Capital Region took longer to subside in 2018 than in 2017. In 2018 it took an average of 30 minutes for floods in Metro Manila to subside, compared to an average of 18.5 minutes in 2017. So, despite all the government spending to modernize and improve the drainage systems and pumping stations and clear waterways of obstructions, flooding is still getting worse?

The MMDA admitted that only 41.63 percent of waterways and drainage systems were unclogged and desilted, which is why it takes more time for floods to subside. It said no flood mitigation project was completed prior to the onset of the rainy season in 2018.

Indeed, COA cited the MMDA for delays in the implementation of various flood-control projects.

“Evaluation of the flood-control projects of MMDA revealed that of the 170 programmed flood-control projects for 2018 with a total cost of P878.57 million, only 53 projects were fully implemented during the year,” COA said.

Needless to say, the government is responsible for the welfare of its citizens.

Government officials have to make sure that the people are okay, especially during times when they most need help and can’t do things on their own, like when they are caught helpless by floods.

When funds have been earmarked, there is no excuse for lack of action.

The government has to help take care of traffic and flooded roads and streets.

Indeed, we have never seen such heavy flooding occur so quickly after downpours, a phenomenon that is replicated in many parts of the metropolis, as well as in other towns and cities all over the country.

In the past, only the heaviest, consistent rain from strong typhoons triggered flooding. Nowadays, regular monsoon rains and intermittent showers can cause havoc on our roads and streets, making them impassable.

Our floods today are the worst in decades, even taking lives at times and causing damage to our cities and provinces, precisely because the government has failed to complete its promised solutions, because its multibillion floodcontrol program has been stalled.

With current technologies and innovations, surely government can expedite the critical infrastructure needed to solve Metro Manila’s flooding problems, especially considering that the metropolis accounts for the largest share of the national economy.

Of course, there is no overnight solution, but these problems have persisted for so long. It’s not like the government does not know which drainage systems and waterways are clogged with trash or impeded by squatters and other obstructions. It is not like the government does not already know what solutions are necessary.

Surely, with political will and a properly allocated and spent budget, the government could minimize flooding a lot sooner.

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It’s hard to be Xi Jinping John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

T

O put it bluntly, China is screwed and that is based as much on Beijing’s reaction to recent events as it is to the events themselves.

Protests in Hong Kong—with massive numbers of demonstrators —eventually led Beijing to capitulate without a face-saving exit. However, once you let the “Protest Genie” out of the bottle, it takes on a life of its own.

Apparently, the local and central governments learned nothing from protests in France. Apparently, the Hong Kong protestors learned much.

This week, transportation including the airport is virtually at a standstill. But the response is doing more damage. Reports that the People’s Liberation Army is at the border of China and Hong Kong is a “reaction to recent events as it is to the events themselves.”

The escalating maritime struggle over resources between Vietnam

and China has escalated. Last week, a notable Australian defense strategist blamed inaction by the United States for China’s aggressive behavior. Perhaps only “coincidentally” US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spoke of placing US intermediaterange missiles in the region while on a trip to Australia.

US President Donald J. Trump announced that trade talks with China failed and additional tariffs would be placed on the previously exempted imports from China.

In response, China escalated the “Trade War” into a “Currency War” by devaluing the “off-shore yuan” to an historic low against the dollar. The PBOC—the central bank of China—said that it “will crack down

on short-term yuan speculation, and anchor market expectations.”

The problem is that they said in May 2019 that “those shorting the yuan will inevitably suffer from a huge loss.”

The score right now is Currency Traders 1/Beijing 0. And to put the frosting on the cake, everyone in China with a cryptocurrency wallet and Internet access moved as much money out of the country as possible.

Bitcoin boomed 10 percent higher as the Chinese overwhelmingly dominate crypto trading and therefore price movement.

It is difficult to challenge your biggest trading customer who also is in charge of the global reserve currency, led by a man who has stated his unwavering intention for the past year to make trade more US-favorable.

Now there will be those who will say that China holds the ultimate “nuclear” option in that it could sell the US government debt it holds.

Certainly, that is a possibility—a disastrous possibility for China, not the US. The financial markets are populated by the greediest traders on earth, and I say that with complete admiration. The moment China tries to unload significant amounts of US

debt, the price will fall like a dead bird. China will be lucky to get 30 cents on the dollar. Further, think of this: The US sold that debt to China at 100 percent valuation. Now the Federal Reserve—and its minions— would have the opportunity to buy it back at a huge discount. Of course, the debt market will be in chaos for a day or two. So what? “Money” always wins against mere mortals.

Global stock markets are taking a beating on this new currency situation. But this also will pass. The US just lowered interest rates in spite of economic data that should have precluded that decrease. I do not believe in coincidences. Europe—especially with the almost-certain no-Deal Brexit—is pretty much finished with the coming “stagflation” with the euro in an 11-year downtrend and dismal economic growth.

All eyes are on China and it is an ugly sight. Chinese President Xi Jinping forced a move to extend his term potentially “for life.” I wonder if he regrets that decision.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Porn purveyors’ use of copyright lawsuits has judges seeing red

By Susan Decker & Christopher Yasiejko Bloomberg Opinion

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ORNOGRAPHY producers and sellers account for the lion’s share of copyright-infringement lawsuits in the United States—and judges may have seen enough.

The courts are cracking down on porn vendors that file thousands of lawsuits against people for downloading and trading racy films on home computers, using tactics a judge called a “high tech shakedown.”

In one case, two men were jailed in a scheme that netted $6 million in settlements.

The pornography companies have “a business model that seeks to profit from litigation and threats of litigation rather than profiting from creative works,” said Mitch Stoltz, a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco group that has waged a campaign against companies it thinks abuse the copyright system.

Two companies that make and sell porn are responsible for almost half of the 3,404 copyright lawsuits filed in the US in the first seven months of this year, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Law’s Tommy Shen. Malibu Media Llc., which distributes such titles as “Stunning Sexy Shower,” has filed some 8,000 lawsuits nationwide since 2012. Strike 3 Holdings Llc., operator of such sites as “Tushy” and “Vixen,” has filed about 3,500 lawsuits in just the past two years, according to Bloomberg Law dockets.

The companies say they are protecting their movies from piracy and infringement under US copyright law, as major movie studios have done for decades, and suggest that the content of their films is the reason for the wrath of the judges. But some of the tactics used in their infringement suits to identify targets and force settlements have critics—and some jurists—up in arms and may require congressional actions to fix.

The suits don’t initially name names. They identify the Internet Protocol addresses using peer-topeer networks like BitTorrent to download or distribute the movies and then file suits against “John Does” and ask the courts to order Internet service providers, like Verizon Communications Inc. or Comcast Corp., to identify the account subscribers. Those people are then contacted by the porn company lawyers.

The companies “don’t take any measures to try to stem the tide of piracy; instead, they try to profit from the piracy,” said Leonard French, a lawyer in Allentown, Pennsylvania, who’s represented 800 people sued

by Malibu Media. He said the defendants, mostly men, run the gamut— business executives, retired military

officers, authors, engineers and even law students. The companies target users in wealthier areas and tend to go after any adult male in the house “since they assume that only men view and download porn,” said lawyer Leslie Farber of Montclair, New Jersey, who has handled about 150 cases filed by the two companies.

Judges grant such requests in thousands of copyright-infringement lawsuits each year. Last December, though, District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington balked at Strike 3’s request for an order, saying he “will not accept the risk of misidentification” and that the flood of lawsuits smacks of “extortion.”

Strike 3 “treats this court not as a citadel of justice, but as an ATM,” Lamberth said. “Its feigned desire for legal process masks what it really seeks: for the court to oversee a high-tech shakedown. This court declines.”

Strike 3 said Lamberth’s ruling was swayed by “an extraordinarily blatant disapproval of the purported content of Strike 3’s works.”

While the company said it’s willing to take steps to protect identities of its targets, it will continue pressing its rights under the US Constitution and Copyright Act. Lamberth’s December ruling is already having a ripple effect. A federal judge in New Jersey on July 9, granted Malibu Media’s request to identify the user, but refused to enter a judgment against the man, citing Lamberth’s “scathing

opinion” and concern for the privacy of the individual when only an Internet address is known.

Malibu Media and Strike 3 have nothing on the actions of two lawyers, who sometimes worked under the name Prenda Law. They would upload the movies themselves to peer-to-peer sites, use shell companies to sue anyone who took the bait, and made up elaborate tales to hide their actions. Between 2011 and 2014, they collected some $6 million based on settlements of $3,000 or less, according to federal prosecutors.

One lawyer, who cooperated with prosecutors, was sentenced in July to five years for mail fraud and money laundering in what a federal judge called a “vile” scheme; the other is appealing his 14-year federal prison sentence. Malibu Media and Strike 3 say they have no choice but to sue —both reported a drop-off in their subscription services because of the illegal downloads. Strike 3 said it filed suits only against “the most egregious of these infringers.”

Patrick Cerillo, a Flemington, New Jersey-based lawyer who represented Malibu Media in the New Jersey case, said the lawsuits are having a deterrent effect. The number of downloads that investigators are finding in any given case has dropped, from as many as 120 films at a time to an average of eight to 15, he said in an interview. The idea that Malibu Media is using shame to coerce settlements is “a bunch of malarkey.”

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, August 6, 2019 A11

We need a stronger labor Duterte heeds call of the majority voice in Congress Cecilio T. Arillo

DATABASE

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

T

HE President’s veto of the Security of Tenure bill that would have ended contractualization in the work force had dashed the dream of every contractual worker to enjoy a regular and permanent job with all the benefits and securities appurtenant to it. An ordinary worker’s ticket to a better life is having a full-time job to support his family and enjoy the perks of living.

Disgusted by the President’s action, one factory worker who has been a contractual worker for the past three years lamented: “It is clear that the President has just let us down. The SOT could have helped provide us with livable wages, a safer workplace. He has forsaken us.”

On the other hand, leading business organizations, including the Makati Business Club, Employers Confederation of the Philippines and PCCI welcomed the President’s disapproval of the bill. The President has ordered the Department of Labor and Employment to submit a new draft for consideration of Congress. It will be a great challenge to Labor Secretary Bebot Bello how he and his bright boys can craft a new bill that, as prescribed by the President, shall “strike a healthy balance between the interests of capitalists and workers.” Good luck, Sir. It must have taken PRRD a lot of political courage to veto the SOT bill, which he had earlier certified as urgent. We recall that he had asked Congress in his 2018 State of the Nation Address to pass the necessary legislation to end the practice of contractualization once and for all to honor a promise he made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

No doubt, this has endeared him to the working class who hailed him as the champion of labor. Let’s pray that Department of Labor and Employment and the PRRD supporters in Congress can come up with a new bill that will not be perceived by the labor group as a sellout to the business group. Otherwise, the President’s veto will be a profligate waste of invaluable political capital, which should come in handy in his many battles ahead. nnn

THE objective of every capitalist is the accumulation of profits while the goal of labor is to increase the salaries of the workers. As put simply by Walter Reuther who founded the United Auto Workers, the powerful labor union in the US, the task of labor is to carve out the pie as fairly as possible. And the bigger the pie, the bigger the slice for the workers. There is a dispute between labor and management because the two cannot agree on how to divide the pie equitably. The common gripe of labor is that they are not happy with their share of the pie, while capital is never satisfied with the returns it is getting. The interests of labor and capital appear to be irreconcilable and perforce they are always on a collision course. The general perception is that capital dominates labor, and that the latter has been subservient to the former.

Labor unionism was envisioned to strengthen the ranks of labor but unlike in the US and other European

Let’s pray that DOLE and the PRRD supporters in Congress can come up with a new bill that will not be perceived by the labor group as a sellout to the business group. Otherwise, the President’s veto will be a profligate waste of invaluable political capital, which should come in handy in his many battles ahead. countries, unionism has not really taken a solid grip among the working class in our country.

In Great Britain, many labor unions have coalesced into a major political party, which is now the Labor Party. Until the birth of the party-list system, labor has failed to make a mark in Philippine politics.

Now we have elected party-list representatives from labor in the HOR although no candidate for senator running under a labor party has won a seat in the Senate. Senator Boy Herrera, a top official of ALUTUCP, ran under a major political party. Recently, the Makabayan bloc where labor is a leading component has lost several seats during the last elections. We need a stronger labor voice in Congress.

P

RESIDENT Duterte, obviously mindful of the more than 20 million Filipinos tremendously supporting the Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPSBC) cheap electricity project, which I wrote earlier in my column, has granted a 25-year nonexclusive franchise to the private firm despite strong calls earlier raised by moneyed and monopolistic business groups.

The President authorized SPSBC, owned by Leandro L. Leviste, son of former senator and now Antique Rep. Loren B. Legarda, to operate a nonexclusive franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain in the public interest and for commercial purposes microgrids utilizing renewable-energy technology to provide solar electric power to customers and end-users under Republic Act 11357.

The Department of Energy (DOE), which is not affected by the SPSBC franchise, is tasked to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to operationalize this franchise without compromising the grid stability, the rate effect on consumers, the continued viability and sustainability of the grantee’s operations, and other technical and financial considerations.

Should any competing individual, partnership or corporation receive a similar permit or franchise with terms and provisions more favorable than those granted or which tend to place SPSBC at any disadvantage, such terms and provisions shall be deemed part of the Act and shall operate equally in favor of SPSBC.

AS for its rates for services, the retail rate charged by SPSBC to end-users shall be the true cost and shall not be entitled to any government subsidy.

Such retail rates shall be regulated by and subject to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approval.

In June, business groups asked Duterte to allow his economic team to review the bill granting the franchise to SPSBC due to issues of corruption and alleged lack of deliberation.

According to them, the grant of the franchise “may defeat the President’s objective of leveling the playing field in the renewable-energy sector and would prejudice power consumers.”

The joint statement was signed by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex), Makati Business Club (MBC), and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (Seipi) Foundation Inc. and the Women’s Business Council Philippines also signed the statement.

SPSBC claimed an estimated 12 million Filipinos lack access to

BIR collection letters and painkillers Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS

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IT seems that no distance or risk can isolate a devastated island from the reach of the Philippine Red Cross when it comes to providing assistance and relief to distressed Filipinos. As usual, Sen. Richard Gordon and his intrepid PRC crew and volunteers were among the first to respond to the victims of this most recent tragedy, which hit the Itbayat Island in Batanes. “The operation is extra challenging as the remote island of Itbayat is a two to three hour boat ride from Basco and can only be reached by small boats. But this will not slow us down,” Senator Gordon said. Since he joined public service both as a government official and PRC chairman, nothing has slowed him down. Whether he is presiding at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee or launching a rescue operation, Senator Gordon has always been on the go and unrelentlessly undertaking actions to resolve a catastrophe—natural or manmade. If only all government officials have the same fervor and passion in serving our country, we can all exclaim, “wow, Philippines!”

No government subsidy

electricity as of 2016. This translates to 10.4 percent of Philippine households without electricity. By island, 5.2 percent of households in Luzon is in need of power access, 7.6 percent in Visayas and 27.6 percent in Mindanao.

The DOE is eyeing to achieve 100-percent electrification by the end of Duterte’s term in 2022.

There is no proposed law in recent memory other than House Bill (HB) 8179, originally filed on September 3, 2018, that has gained tremendous public support for immediate approval, generating Facebook posts of more than 20 million Filipinos and drawing over 2 million likes, comments and shares.

The proposed bill grants SPSBC a nonexclusive right to operate microgrids in “remote and unviable, or unserved or underserved areas in selected provinces of the Philippines.”

Once approved, SPSBC will (1) enable projects without needing the consent of the existing utility, (2) cover underserved municipalities, (3) reduce approval requirements, (4) create an effective alternative, while respecting the rights of existing utilities and paving the way for others to offer better service to consumers.

Unlike the existing Qualified Third Party program, which had energized just three barangays in 18 years and was highly supported with billions in government funds, the SPSBC and its advanced technology can finally provide to the people cheaper and better service at zero cost to the government.

Now operating in 12 towns, SPSBC brings 24/7 electricity for the first time to over 200,000 Filipinos, at zero cost to the government. According to Pulse Asia Director Ana Maria Tabunda, support for new options for cheaper electricity is consistent across all demographics in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

I

T pains me when clients ask for help and my hands are “almost” tied. This happens when clients “self-medicate” and are clueless of the remedies available to them and the jeopardy that their companies are exposed to. When clients present to me collection letters from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), i.e., Preliminary Collection Letter (PCL), Final Notice Before Seizure (FNBS), Warrant of Distraint and Levy (WDL) or worse, Notice of Garnishment (NG), I know that a pain reliever will not do the trick.

Some taxpayers do not know the urgency and the crucial decisions that they need to make after receiving these collection letters—that can either make or break them. A recent Supreme Court decision (GR 221780, March 25, 2019), illustrates how a wrong appreciation of collection letters can result in finality of a tax assessment.

In the said case, the taxpayer received a PCL, let’s say, on June 1. He was surprised to receive said notice since he did not receive any assessment notice before that. He did not receive a Preliminary Assessment Notice (PAN) nor a Final Assessment Notice (FAN). On June 15 or 15 days after receiving the PCL, he visited his

BIR Revenue District Office to inquire about the nature of the PCL that he received. The BIR informed him that the PCL is authentic and that his worst nightmare is true. The BIR is after him and collection against him is now being enforced. Since he has no copies of the PAN and the FAN, he secured certified true copies of the same from the BIR. Thirty days is about to lapse since he received the PCL on June 1. Knowing that he has only 30 days to appeal to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) on matters that it has jurisdiction of, he decided to file an appeal to the CTA on June 30. Was the taxpayer successful in protecting itself from the PCL?

Unfortunately, the SC says no.

The tax assessment has become final and executory because the taxpayer’s appeal to the CTA is premature. The taxpayer should instead have filed an administrative protest to the BIR within 30 days from receipt of the certified true copy of the FAN. In other words, instead of filing an appeal to the CTA on June 30, the taxpayer should have filed an administrative protest to the FAN within 30 days from June 15.

The SC says that by securing certified true copies of the PAN and the FAN, the taxpayer is effectively notified of the assessment notices. The appeal to the CTA is premature. And since the taxpayer was not able to file an administrative protest within 30 days from June 15, the tax assessment has become final and executory.

This case shows how vague the rules are with respect to the treatment of collection notices. Should they always be treated as decisions of the BIR that are appealable to the CTA? Apparently, the answer is no.

There are other scenarios that the cited case was not able to clarify, e.g., What if the taxpayer did not secure certified true copies of the PAN and the FAN, was it able to file its appeal to the CTA on time?

What if instead of appealing the PCL, it waited for the FNBS or the WDL, will its appeal to the CTA be

China’s suspension of US farm imports is smart strategy

By David Fickling Bloomberg Opinion

T

HE logic behind China’s decision to ask its state-owned enterprises to halt imports of US farm goods would, at one level, seem blindingly obvious. Leaders in Beijing may have a more complex game in mind, though.

After US President Donald J. Trump last week threatened to impose tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese imports, in large part because China had supposedly reneged on a promise to ramp up agricultural purchases, President Xi Jinping could hardly afford to look like he was bending before the pressure.

Chinese state agricultural firms will wait to see how trade talks progress before resuming purchases from the US, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News Monday.

Economically, this was one of the easiest decisions Xi could possibly have made. The fact is that agricultural trade between the two nations has been declining since well before Trump launched his trade war. US farm exports to China peaked all the way back in 2012.

Exclude the wood, paper and pulp industries, where trade has remained fairly constant, and the decline is even more dramatic: The $13.93 billion China imported in 2018 was barely more than half

the $25 billion in 2014.

China pointedly isn’t making similar threats over aircraft, machinery, electronics, precision equipment and cars.

Each accounts for a larger share of imports than farm goods but are far more difficult to replace using other suppliers.

The de facto ban has the additional benefit of maximizing political impact. Trump has made no secret of the fact that farm trade is close to his heart—hardly surprising, given how important swing states in the Midwest grain belt such as Iowa and Wisconsin were to his 2016 election victory. Chinese agricultural purchases were the most well-trailed part of the pact that

Trump’s trade negotiators were working on before the talks blew up in May, and Trump appears to regard resuming them as more or less a precondition to any further agreement.

Making a show of cutting this particular area of bilateral trade at a time when the American farmer is reeling from the after-effects of this year’s floods is a potent way for Beijing to jab its fingers in Washington’s eyes. (Today’s decision to let the yuan weaken past seven to the dollar should similarly support Chinese exports and worsen the US trade deficit that Trump cares so much about.)

The move could be more than a short-term attempt to lash out,

however. When negotiations appeared to be making progress, China was only too happy to hint that it would beef up its farm purchases. But any trade discussion ultimately comes down to a bargain. By withdrawing apparent concessions now, Beijing is creating chips it can trade away again at a future date.

For all that China is a relatively slight importer of US farm commodities— behind Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Japan in the already tradewar affected 2018, and only just ahead of South Korea—its potential is still enormous. Removing all barriers could lift the value of US agricultural exports to China by $53 billion, twice the size

In 2018, SPSBC completed the largest Solar-Battery Microgrid in Southeast Asia at zero cost to the government. With solar panels, Tesla batteries, and backup diesel generators, it serves Paluan 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at 50 percent below the full cost of the local electric coop.

“Throughout our history, our town was denied service by the electric coop because of lack of supply in the whole Occidental Mindoro.

Everything changed when Paluan sought SPSBC to provide stable, cheap, clean energy. Our municipality now enjoys 24/7 electricity, which has opened new opportunities for Palueños,” Paluan Mayor Carl Pangilinan said.

Amended version

Here’s HB 8179’s final version: (1) Limits the scope to “remote and unviable, unserved, or underserved areas,” in selected provinces with less than 2 percent of the power demand of the Philippines; (2) Requires use of renewable energy; (3) Subjects the grantee to regulation by the ERC and DOE, pursuant to Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira); (4) Obligates the grantee to provide reliable service, with financial penalties; and (5) Explicitly states the grantee “shall not be entitled to any government subsidy.”

This incorporates inputs of industry stakeholders from extensive congressional hearings, to ensure the franchise is highly regulated and compliant with Epira and the Constitution, respects existing franchises, and enables DOE and ERC to impose further safeguards. This imposes even greater restrictions on SPSB than existing utilities, limiting it to marginal areas and prohibiting it from receiving any government subsidy.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

still considered on time? One thing is for sure though, in determining whether appeal to the CTA is proper, the unique circumstances of every case must be evaluated.

In order to simplify the collection process, the BIR recently issued RMO 35-2019 on July 18, 2019. The Commissioner realized that the soft approach in the enforcement of civil remedies to collect taxes no longer bears substantial impact in enhancing collection. Thus, issuance of PCL and FNBS is now a thing of the past. The BIR will now immediately issue WDL. Taxpayers must now be more wary.

It means that the BIR’s next move against them after the issuance of the WDL is garnishment or levy of their properties.

It also means that self-medication is over. It is time to let go of the painkiller.

The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001 local 330.

of the $25 billion import trade in 2014, and enough to increase overall overseas purchases from US farms by half, according to a study last year led by Minghao Li of Iowa State University.

That’s quite the carrot. At this point, even if trade talks do resume as scheduled in September, the chances of China agreeing to the kind of long-term structural reforms the US has been demanding appear to be fading. Xi may be betting that Trump, desperate for a win on the campaign trail, will, at some point, agree to a smaller deal focused primarily on concrete Chinese purchases he can tout.

Opening the checkbook then should be as easy as closing it now.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Tuesday, August 6, 2019

HK strike forces CebuPac, PAL to cancel some flights

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By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

HE Philippines’s biggest air carriers were told by the Airport Authority Hong Kong on Monday to cease flying into Chep Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong because of the general strike which forced a reduction in manpower.

Four-star airline Philippine Airlines and largest low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific told travelers on Monday that because of prolonged delays initiated by Hong Kong, both airlines have canceled some flights between Hong Kong and Manila,

Clark, Cebu or Iloilo.

As a result, dozens of flights between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and Chep Lap Kok Airport were canceled.

“In light of this, we strongly advise passengers with flights today

“We appeal for patience and understanding as we try to manage our operations in Hong Kong amid the situation that is beyond our control.”

—Lagamon

to reconsider their travel plans for tickets booked on or before August 5, 2019, with travel dates on August 5, 6 and 7, 2019,” said CEB Spokesman, Charo L. Lagamon. “Cebu Pacific will waive all charges for rebooking and refunds. Passengers may manage their bookings via the ‘Manage Booking’ portal on the

Cebu Pacific web site,” she added.

“As much as possible, we will try our best to operate flights as scheduled. For passengers who do need to travel today until August 7, allot more time and prepare as there may be additional security measures put in place as well as disruptions in public transport,” she added.

“We appeal for patience and understanding as we try to manage our operations in Hong Kong amid the situation that is beyond our control,” added Lagamon, referring to the massive protests that have escalated in the special autonomous region, a popular travel destination Continued on A2

LandBank H1 loans to agri up 14.7% to ₧220B

T

HE L a nd B a n k of t he Philippines (LandBank) on Monday said its total loans to the agriculture sector in the first half rose by 14.74 percent to nearly P220 billion from P191.74 billion in the same period last year. “ L a nd Ba n k i s t he big gest lender to agriculture, especially

to small farmers and fishers. We have been steadfast in pursuing our mandate of supporting the agriculture sector through easily accessible financing,” LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo said.

“We will intensify our support and multiply our effort of lending to more farmers and fishers in or-

TROPICAL STORM “HANNA” 845 KM EAST OF APARRI, CAGAYAN SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING LUZON AND VISAYAS as of 4:00 pm - August 5, 2019

der to boost their production and increase their income,” Borromeo added.

Of the total loans as of end-June, P42.31 billion went to small farmers, fishermen and their associations, according to the bank.

The figure was 5.88 percent higher than the P39.96-billion loan extended to small farmers in

the same period last year, LandBank added.

The remaining P177.32-billion loans went to other players in the agribusiness value chain, LandBank said. LandBank lent P151.78 billion to other players in the agribusiness value chain in January-toJune period of last year.

LandBank said it has always been compliant with the agri-agra credit law, which requires bank to allot at least 10 percent of their total lending portfolio to agrarianreform beneficiaries and 15 percent to farmers and fishermen.

“The share of the bank’s agri loans against its total gross loans was at 27.45 percent as of June 2019,” it added.

Furthermore, the bank added that it extended P542.86 billion worth of loans to government projects that helped finance construction of various infrastructure projects that benefited farmers and fishermen.

These projects include farm-tomarket roads, schools, hospitals, electrification, water systems, socialized housing and other livelihood projects.

“We are aggressively stepping up our efforts to make direct credit accessible to small farmers and fishers,” Borromeo said.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

PhilMaize. . .

Continued from A1

by its Administrator Judy Carol Dansal, to review their memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the RCB project.

He said the responsibilities of the NFA under the MOA, such as marketing, are no longer feasible due to the agency’s new mandate.

Navarro added that his group is looking into how they can move the project forward. “With the [appointment] of Secretary Dar, we will probably be able to solve some problems.”

This is not the first time the RCB project was delayed. In May last year, the BusinessMirror reported that the DA could not transfer government funds to PhilMaize to kick-start the project.

The DA said it had to ensure the legality of the fund transfer so that it will not be flagged by the Commission on Audit. The agency promised to set aside P50 million for the construction of a processing facility.

The government targets to sell at least 500,000 metric tons of corn grits this year through the RCB project and 1 million metric tons next year.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

KASPERSKY RANKS PHL 5TH AMONG NATIONS MOST ATTACKED ONLINE

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

T

@alyasjah

HE Philippines placed fifth among economies with the highest number of detected online attacks as Filipino Internet users continue to visit unsecured and malicious web sites, according to antivirus provider Kaspersky.

In its Global Q2 2019 Security Bulletin, Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) reported nearly 7 million, or 37.4 percent, of Kaspersky users in the Philippines got attacked by threats while browsing online between April and May. With the figure, the country climbed four notches and had the fifth most Internet attacks during the period.

The Philippines was behind Algeria (44.1 percent), Nepal (43 percent), Albania (40.1 percent) and Djibouti (37.9 percent).

Internet users in the Philippines continued to be victimized by cybercriminals through a method called drive-by download, according to KSN. Under this, the user enters a web site that is infected with malicious scripts that transfer malware onto the device.

However, the user usually falls victim to drive-by download even while doing nothing, as it requires no action from the user and the infection is automatic—and silent—once the web site is opened.

“Attempts to infect users’ computer and devices normally happen when a Web surfer visits a web site that he/she didn’t know was infected. Such an [unsecured] web site is planted with malicious scripts that install malware directly onto the computer or device,” the KSN said.

“Once in an infected web site, the user’s computer or device gets infected automatically, and silently, particularly if the computer is vulnerable in some way, such as when its operating system [OS], any of its applica-

tions or its Web browser contain security flaws due to unsuccessful updates or lack of updates,” it explained.

The KSN also reported that cybercriminals make a living out of Filipino Internet users through social engineering.

In this method, cybercriminals persuade unsuspecting users into sending them sensitive data, resulting in the infection of their device with a malware.

Hackers also exploit some users’ lack of knowledge in the virtual space by convincing them to give a few pieces of information, such as name, date of birth and address, which they use to gain access to multiple networks by pretending to be relatives, friends or even information-technology support personnel.

In the same report, the KSN said the Philippines saw cyber threat incidents rise by 15 percent to 67,000 due to servers hosted here from April to June.

This put the country at 34th, from 36th during the same period last year, among economies with the most number of such online attack.

Kaspersky said its products detected and blocked about 13 million local incidents—or malware spread through removable media, such as flash drives, CDs and DVDs—between April and May, positioning the Philippines on 65th spot worldwide, from 59th last year.

The KSN called on Internet users in the Philippines to take preventive measures to avoid rogue programs getting transmitted onto their device.

Users are urged to eliminate vulnerabilities by keeping their OS and applications updated; keep their Internet security software up to date; be cautious about search engine results; type the URL into the address bar; stay out of Web surfing dangers; and avoid opening malicious attachments.

Comelec disqualifies Cardema, says he’s too old to be ‘youth’

By Samuel P. Medenilla

F

@sam_medenilla

ORMER National Youth Commission (NYC) head Rep. Ronald Cardema suffered a major setback in his congressional bid after being disqualified by the Commission on Elections’ First Division.

In its 25-page decision, the First Division said Cardema committed “material misrepresentation,” when he claimed he is of the right age to represent a youth party-list group.

It said Cardema is too old to represent Duterte Youth since he is already 34 years old.

Election law states that youth representatives should be at least 25 years old but not more than 30 on the day of the election.

Cardema claimed he is qualified and is not covered by the age limit since he actually represents young professionals, the sector supposedly represented by the party-list Duterte Youth.

The Comelec First Division, however, ruled otherwise, since Cardema made the manifestation after his eligibility as a youth representative was questioned before the poll body.

Furthermore, it noted that Cardema failed to present any track record of advocating for young professionals.

The Comelec also addressed the technical questions raised by Cardema on the disqualification case against him.

It noted that while some of the issues have merit, such do not invalidate the content of the two consolidated petitions questioning Cardema’s eligibility.

“Wherefore, premises considered, the instant petition is granted. The nomination of respondent, Ronald Cardema, as the first nominee of Duterte Youth party-list is hereby canceled,” Comelec First Division said.

The decision, however, could still be appealed before the Comelec en banc.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

ALI’s 1st-half income up 12% on higher office sales

By VG Cabuag

P

@villygc

ROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. on Monday said its net income rose 12 percent during the first half of the year to P15.2 billion from last year’s P13.53 billion, led by office sales, but it saw a fall in its residential revenues.

Revenues rose a mere 4 percent to P83.2 billion, from last year’s P80.38 billion.

Real-estate revenues for the period reached P81.9 billion, while property development revenues amounted to P58.9 billion.

Office for sale segment grew more than twofold to P10.1 billion, and commercial and industrial lot sales rose 11 percent to P4.3 billion.

Meanwhile, commercial leasing revenues jumped to P18.6 billion, a 16-percent increase from the previous year.

“We continue to benefit from the strong economic growth of the country. Results from our various business lines continue to be good, with notable performances in our leasing portfolio and the sales of office condominiums and commercial lots. Moving forward, we remain positive on demand across all market segments and plan to increase the level of product introduction in the second half of the year,” said Ayala Land President

and CEO Bernard Vincent O. Dy. The company said its capital expenditures reached P49.5 billion in the first half of the year.

It earlier said the company will spend some P130 billion in capital expenditures this year, an 18-percent increase from last year’s P110 billion in actual spending.

Residential revenues registered at P44.5 billion, 11 percent lower than the previous year, mainly due to the full sellout and completion of projects by its two premium brands, Ayala Land Premier and Alveo.

As for its lower-end brands: Avida generated P13.6 billion in revenues, 28 percent higher than P10.6 billion last year, while Amaia recorded revenues of P3.7 billion, a 19-percent increase from P3.1 billion in the previous period.

Sales reservations was flat at P72.3 billion as local Filipinos continued to drive demand, comprising 70 percent of the total buyers.

Sales from overseas Filipinos accounted for 13 percent, while sales from other nationalities amounted to 17 percent.

A total of 13 projects valued at P19.5 billion went to market in the first half of 2019. The company said it plans to ramp up launches in the second half with bulk of the projects to be launched within the last two quarters of the year.

For its commercial leasing business, shopping center revenues grew 12 percent to P10.3 billion, as same-mall revenue (revenues coming from the existing mall without the expansion) grew 11 percent, given the increased contribution of Ayala Malls Feliz, Circuit Makati and Capitol Central.

Office leasing revenues rose 25 percent, reaching P4.6 billion as newly opened offices in Ayala North Exchange, Vertis North and Circuit Makati gained further traction.

The hotels and resorts segment, on the other hand, saw a 17-percent increase in revenues to P3.7 billion, due to strong patronage of Seda Ayala Center Cebu and Lio. The company said it is set to end the year with projects such as estates in Tarlac and Batangas, the Alviera Country Club in Porac, and the recently launched Ayala North Exchange in Makati.

“We continue to build our nationwide footprint as we gear up to launch estates in Batangas and Tarlac. Our best in class land bank of over 11,000 hectares is strategically positioned in the most progressive areas in the country and will support our long-term growth objectives,” Dy said.

Philippines ‘Iron Lady’ leads push for fair alcohol taxes

By Siegfrid Alegado Bloomberg News

O

LIVIA LIMPE-AW is leading a group of Philippine liquor billionaires in asking President Duterte for equitable treatment in his plan to raise liquor taxes.

And she’s certain to have one tough battle as she leads both the Southeast Asian nation’s oldest distiller and the industry at a time of rising alcohol taxes, challenges from foreign brands and a debate over fairness.

Congress this month will start debating proposed tax increases, after Duterte sought a law to help finance a free health-care program partly via taxing spirits. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III wants it passed this year.

“It’s about having equal treatment,” Limpe-Aw said of the plan to overhaul Philippine taxes on alcoholic drinks that she says deters the local liquor industry’s growth.

She’s leading the Distilled Spirits Association of the Philippines—a decade-old group she helped establish that includes billionaires Lucio Tan’s Tanduay Distillers Inc., Ramon Ang’s Ginebra San Miguel Inc. and Andrew Tan’s Emperador Inc. Her family’s Destileria Limtuaco & Co. Inc. is the Philippines’s oldest distiller established in 1852.

Currently, distilled spirits such as gin and whiskey are slapped a tax of 20 percent of the retail price and a specific sum in pesos per proof liter. Meanwhile, only the latter is imposed on beer and wine—most of which are imported.

The proposed measure would raise the rates using the current tax structure.

“You have to be very careful in designing tax structures, so you don’t kill one over the other,” Limpe-Aw, the first female president of Destileria Limtuaco, said in an interview in her office in Manila. “They can increase taxes, and no one will complain as long as it’s equitable.”

Family-owned business

AFTER taking over the family-owned business in 2004, Limpe-Aw, who’s tagged by local media as the industry’s “Iron Lady,” said she was questioned by male colleagues about her knowledge on distilling processes and techniques, which she said didn’t happen to men in her position.

“I was told that I’m an entrant in an old boy’s network, and I have to prove myself

OLIVIA LIMPE-AW BLOOMBERG PHOTO

worthy,” said Limpe-Aw, who only drinks for research and development and not socially with colleagues. “Anywhere in the world, it’s an old boy’s network. If you’re a woman in a man’s world, you have to work harder.”

Limpe-Aw is attacking a growing list of challenges. Besides the tax issue, she’s guarding against a bevy of foreign brands seeking to jump into one of the world’s fastest-growing alcohol markets.

Hamburg-based Statista estimates spirits account for about two-thirds of the $9.2-billion Philippines liquor industry. As the economy expanded, Filipinos with more spending power have turned to premium imported brands by distillers such as Diageo Plc., according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

While imported brands accounted for less than a tenth of spirits consumption in the Philippines last year, IWSR data shows volume grew 20 percent over five years compared with a 0.6-percent increase for domestic products. IWSR forecasts annual market growth of 9 percent for imported spirits and 1.5 percent for homegrown ones until 2023.

Destileria Limtuaco is trying to protect market share by producing premium spirits infused with tropical fruit flavors such as Philippine lime and mango, and marketing the company as a leader in the Filipino food movement. It also pioneered selling cocktails packed into small juice packets to cater to millennials.

Emperador and San Miguel Brewery Inc. in the past years have also tried introducing premium variants yet with little success, IWSR said.

“Always sharpen the saw,” Limpe-Aw said, adding that it’s something she says women in male-dominated industries must do.

“If they studied twice, I’ll study thrice,” she said. “If you want to be treated by men as their equal, you have to show them you’re the expert.”

New markets

AS Philippines distillers face a raft of challenges at home, Destileria Limtuaco is looking overseas for growth. It plans to add export markets that now include China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.

Destileria Limtuaco is in talks with retailers to expand in the US—so far it is only in California—and is looking at entering the European market in the next five years, Limpe-Aw said, declining to identify the companies involved. “Every year, we would want to add one market,” she said.

While exports account for only about 4 percent of Destileria Limtuaco’s sales last year, it had saved what was once the maker of the Philippines’s best-selling whiskey from bankruptcy in the 1990s. A labor strike in 1989 halted production for six months and wiped out its market share at home.

Destileria Limtuaco won’t sell shares.

“It works for us that we’re a familyowned company. There’s nothing wrong with being private and conservative,” Limpe-Aw said. Not being a public corporation makes the company more nimble and innovative as it doesn’t need to chase fast growth, she said.

B1

Jollibee Foods income cut in half in Q2, dragged down

by Red Ribbon, Smashburger

F

A ST -FOOD compa ny Jol l ib ee Foods Corp. on Monday said its income was cut in half during the second quarter of the year to P1.1 billion from the previous year’s P2.25 billion, dragged down by Red Ribbon’s transition to the new plant and losses from Smashburger in the United States.

The company said its income for the first half of the year ending June slid by a third to P2.65 billion, from last year’s P4 billion.

“These costs are extraordinary and are expected to be at a much lower level starting in 2020,” the company said.

Sales of Red Ribbon was adversely affected by product supply shortages as it transferred its main production facility to a new commissary located south of Metro Manila.

Full product supply is expected in September 2019, the company said.

Ysmael V. Baysa, the company’s CFO, said same-store sales continue to grow in the Philippines, according to its expectations as consumers gradually regained their purchasing power with increasing wages and lower inflation rate.

“In June 2019 same-store sales in the Philippines reached 5.7 percent including Red Ribbon, or 6.8 percent excluding Red Ribbon.

Transaction counts or consumer visits to stores are rising,” Baysa said.

“Businesses abroad are strong, led by Viet-

nam, Philippine brands in the US, Yonghe King in China and Jollibee brand in new countries.

Operating profit in the Philippines excluding Red Ribbon grew by 14.2 percent in the first quarter and by 15.3 percent in the second quarter, and is expected to keep this momentum in the months ahead. Our profit challenges are short term, mainly Red Ribbon in the Philippines and Smashburger in the United States,” he said.

On Smashburger, Baysa said they introduced major changes, such as price reduction, that created short-term disruption in sales and profit but will drive sustainable sales growth and strengthen the brand health.

The company ’s system-wide sales, a measure of sales to consumers both from company-owned and franchised stores, grew by 10 percent in the second quarter from last year.

Same-store sales in the Philippines grew 4.2 percent in the second quarter,1.4 percent in the first quarter, excluding Red Ribbon.

“The acquisition of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, when completed, is expected to add to our profit within 12-18 months of acquisition.

We continue to aim to achieve the profit level in 2020 and in the years ahead that we set two years ago despite the profit challenges in 2019, which are short term and sustain our historical profit growth rate moving forward,” Baysa said.

Voyager, PayMaya name bank exec Baidwan as new president

V

OYAGER Innovations Inc. and PayMaya Philippines Inc. have named banking executive Shailesh Baidwan as their new president to “shape the company’s strategy and business direction,” as they gun towards profitability in the next few years.

Baidawan has 25 years of management, operations, business development, sales and marketing experience under his belt, holding C-level positions at American Express and Visa. His most recent stint is at Aimia, which provided technology and marketing services for customer engagement and loyalty for some of the brands globally.

“Voyager and PayMaya are trailblazers in the Philippine digital financial services industry. Together with the rest of the management team, I am very keen and excited to drive PayMaya’s consumer and enterprise businesses leap of growth to its next phase,” he said.

Orlando B. Vea will remain as the company’s founder and chief executive officer. Baidwan’s appointment takes effect upon fulfillment of pertinent regulatory requirements.

“I’m confident that his extensive global experience and track record will complement our vision for digital and financial inclusion in emerging markets. His strong management experience will help shape the companies not only as industry leaders but also as employers of choice and responsible corporate citizens,” Vea said.

Baidwan comes in at a time when Voyager is still making losses in order to boost the usage of its financial technology tools and app such as PayMaya, a digital wallet that affords users to various use cases such as remittance, bills payment and load top up.

In 2018, Voyager posted P3 billion in net losses. It booked P1.1 billion in service revenues in the said year. Lorenz S. Marasigan

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

August 5, 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 PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

57.5 146 90.5 26.7 12.3 72 13.12 48.65 58.45 30 175.5 60 2.16 18.32 4.3 7.72 1.3 0.46 760 0.99 186.2 1760 1.13

57.65 146.4 90.6 26.8 12.34 72.4 13.2 48.7 59 30.1 175.8 60.15 2.17 18.4 4.62 8.6 1.35 0.475 780 1 191 1800 1.19

57.65 149 92.4 26.9 12.42 74.6 13.2 49.3 59 30.4 180 61 2.25 18.78 4.69 7.72 1.3 0.46 760 1.01 188 1760 1.18

57.65 149.3 92.4 26.9 12.46 74.6 13.2 49.3 59.1 30.5 180 61 2.25 18.78 4.69 7.72 1.3 0.46 760 1.03 191 1760 1.26

57.65 145.6 90 26.7 12.28 72 13.12 48.7 58.35 29.8 174.6 60 2.17 18.3 4.06 7.71 1.3 0.46 760 1 186.2 1760 1.14

57.65 146 90.5 26.7 12.3 72 13.12 48.7 59 30.1 175.5 60 2.17 18.32 4.62 7.71 1.3 0.46 760 1 186.2 1760 1.14

2100 2353040 2593590 133900 898500 3818530 4000 251300 7690 132900 369720 162950 136000 187200 135000 300 1000 30000 90 531000 5100 50 181000

121065 344267578 234618372.5 3583660 11106356 277574394 52592 12279360 450133 3997250 64912242 9857977.5 295240 3443056 614200 2314 1300 13800 68400 531730 972120 88000 215400

INDUSTRIAL

-30123417 35771789 -683725 -2708004 -169530496.5 -4280655 21210 14017390 -8110938.5 -171000 953500 3630

ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER AGRINURTURE BOGO MEDELLIN 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 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA EUROMED PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

1.31 34.6 0.255 25.95 85.1 363.6 22.55 5.41 4.79 2.54 11.76 38.25 7.1 13.88 94 14.52 6.25 10.14 7.62 100.2 0.75 68 246.8 8.7 13.62 0.186 1.85 13.36 1.65 5 2.28 0.126 161.9 1.34 75.1 85.2 3.16 14.32 10.72 14.04 18.68 8.62 1.07 1.2 106.5 2.02 1.69 5.04 40.1 2.11 9.37 1.66 5.4 1.06 14.4

1.34 34.7 0.26 26 85.2 365 23 5.42 4.85 2.55 11.96 38.3 7.13 14.18 99.35 14.56 6.38 10.18 7.66 100.4 0.76 68.1 247 9 13.78 0.195 1.86 13.38 1.66 5.1 2.32 0.13 164.7 1.35 77.5 88.65 3.17 14.38 10.8 14.08 18.7 9.27 1.09 1.21 114.9 2.04 1.7 5.29 41.85 2.14 9.38 1.69 5.58 1.11 14.42

1.31 34.95 0.27 26.1 85.95 372.6 23 5.51 4.8 2.43 11.98 38.5 6.92 14.28 90.05 14.54 6.37 10.3 7.6 101.1 0.77 68.5 258 9 13.96 0.187 1.89 13.96 1.5 5 2.28 0.127 168.5 1.4 78.5 85.05 3.12 14.5 11 14.06 19 9.06 1.07 1.24 106.4 2.02 1.69 5.1 40.1 2.13 9.34 1.69 5.5 1.05 14.64

1.31 35.15 0.27 26.1 85.95 372.6 23 5.56 4.85 2.55 11.98 38.6 7.1 14.28 99.35 14.56 6.4 10.3 7.66 101.2 0.77 69.5 258 9 13.98 0.19 1.9 13.96 1.65 5.1 2.32 0.127 168.5 1.41 79 88.95 3.19 14.54 11 14.18 19.1 9.06 1.09 1.24 106.4 2.02 1.69 5.39 40.1 2.19 9.46 1.7 5.5 1.09 14.74

1.31 34.5 0.26 25.9 85.05 363.6 22.5 5.41 4.78 2.37 11.76 38.2 6.92 13.88 90 14.5 6.25 10.14 7.6 99.9 0.73 66.1 247 8.55 13.5 0.186 1.78 13.3 1.5 5 2.28 0.127 161.9 1.26 75.05 85 3.12 14.3 10.78 14.04 18.62 9.06 1.06 1.2 106.4 2.02 1.69 5.02 40.1 2.09 9.34 1.66 5.4 1.04 14.42

1.31 34.7 0.26 26 85.1 363.6 22.55 5.42 4.85 2.55 11.96 38.3 7.1 14.2 99.35 14.5 6.38 10.18 7.66 100.4 0.75 68.1 247 8.98 13.8 0.186 1.85 13.36 1.65 5.1 2.28 0.127 161.9 1.35 77.6 88.65 3.16 14.32 10.8 14.04 18.7 9.06 1.07 1.21 106.4 2.02 1.69 5.29 40.1 2.14 9.38 1.69 5.4 1.09 14.42

12000 1846700 1900000 1805800 162000 219550 316800 2614300 17000 44257000 2200 190500 278700 485500 870 72000 36600 6121000 307800 90080 1365000 381280 1793250 7700 496100 350000 17036000 487400 3836000 5100 58000 10000 1583730 11683000 2120 1780 17570000 966100 52500 1462400 311900 7100 150000 999000 10 19000 6000 82400 100 8366000 122400 71000 46200 98000 171900

15720 64156150 496300 46886060 13822300 80176374 7147635 14,229,035( 81710 110912590 26170 7304405 1961248 6914468 81305 1044992 232476 62288964 2352827 9045204 1005910 25991625 450108614 67191 6799350 65350 31167760 6567774 6101460 25600 132700 1270 260354606 15622900 160376 151763 55495810 13945422 569254 20533480 5,877,230( 64326 160060 1215460 1064 38380 10140 421817 4010 17926080 1148360 118260 253530 105440 2496476

-20561315 2079585 -3875307 -52374530 -5115920 2,246,818.9997) -6564530 -367399.9997 6552332 180978 -96313 -1662386 161684 1973757 7700 4800448 88102056 3427548 -4031440 3983140 -56930 -79883061 42790 -1737.5 33930840 -1444028 74646 -14792930 1,362,485.9997) 12100 30180 433530 2864 -

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

0.89 16.14 930.5 51.25 15.22 3.86 7 0.7 1.22 1.26 6.79 10.1 13.8 4.21 0.221 903 67.5 6.04 0.5 4.46 14.5 0.67 4.6 0.039 1.4 2.8 1.37 431 968 176.3 0.94 258.8 0.232 0.285

0.9 16.16 933 51.5 15.32 3.87 7.1 0.71 1.23 1.28 6.85 10.14 13.84 4.47 0.225 903.5 67.8 6.05 0.52 4.47 14.7 0.68 4.63 0.04 1.45 2.85 1.39 440 970 176.5 0.95 259 0.237 0.295

0.94 15.78 950 52.6 15.5 4.05 7.1 0.72 1.27 1.28 6.78 10.3 13.62 4.11 0.22 919.5 69 6.05 0.5 4.54 14.4 0.68 4.8 0.038 1.48 2.86 1.36 429 1000 178.5 0.89 259 0.238 0.295

0.95 16.2 950 53.1 15.5 4.05 7.1 0.72 1.27 1.28 6.87 10.32 13.84 4.11 0.225 919.5 69 6.05 0.54 4.54 14.7 0.7 4.8 0.04 1.48 2.86 1.38 429 1005 178.5 0.97 259 0.238 0.3

0.89 15.6 926.5 51.25 15.16 3.87 7 0.7 1.21 1.26 6.75 10.04 13.62 4.11 0.22 900 66.9 6.05 0.5 4.46 14.3 0.67 4.59 0.038 1.4 2.83 1.36 429 968 175.5 0.87 258.6 0.232 0.285

0.9 16.16 930.5 51.25 15.22 3.87 7.1 0.7 1.23 1.26 6.79 10.1 13.84 4.11 0.225 903.5 67.5 6.05 0.51 4.47 14.7 0.68 4.6 0.04 1.45 2.85 1.38 429 968 176.5 0.94 259 0.237 0.295

53477000 109500 343930 2014990 5156400 5074000 113800 335000 4189000 810000 758700 3390600 70600 10000 30000 107380 2729930 1200 114000 466000 1676500 1392000 35212000 500000 572000 26000 71000 10 367400 92360 2565000 280 580000 2500000

48586520 1747858 320658185 104488069 78649242 19855060 797280 235420 5156400 1024100 5145364 34248994 976182 41100 6650 97061035 185097614.5 7260 58140 2094660 24197246 948640 163359840 19300 816190 74070 97160 4290 357755395 16317155 2404930 72490 134670 734500

6487050 9588 8460865 -51766783.5 -17290952 1772540 158900 734120 1342409 -28764470 103799.9997 -70837230 -112867542.5 -479340 -5548860 -60552000 -19384630 7592161 222410 -7764 -

HOLDING & FRIMS

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 1 1.01 0.98 1.02 0.97 1.01 6078000 6096870 351790 ANCHOR LAND 10.4 10.92 10.4 10.42 10.4 10.42 6300 65600 AYALA LAND 49.15 49.2 50.05 50.7 49.15 49.15 6635510 330321077 -105232728 ARANETA PROP 1.99 2.05 2.02 2.12 2 2.05 343000 694550 30000 BELLE CORP 2.24 2.27 2.29 2.29 2.24 2.24 480000 1083440 -76790 A BROWN 0.82 0.83 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.83 752000 613010 CROWN EQUITIES 0.236 0.238 0.236 0.236 0.236 0.236 180000 42480 CEBU HLDG 6.07 6.09 6.09 6.09 6.07 6.09 22700 137900 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.02 5.04 5.05 5.05 5.01 5.04 406200 2042282 -81316.0001 CENTURY PROP 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.61 0.58 0.59 34118000 20131950 -558120 CYBER BAY 0.45 0.455 0.465 0.465 0.45 0.455 1980000 901150 DOUBLEDRAGON 24.2 24.5 24.65 24.8 23.8 24.5 384500 9290850 3895875.0002 DM WENCESLAO 11.08 11.18 11.46 11.58 10.98 11.18 1310200 14744576 1527032 EMPIRE EAST 0.465 0.475 0.47 0.47 0.465 0.47 490000 228500 FILINVEST LAND 1.87 1.88 1.91 1.92 1.84 1.88 26007000 48460450 1647230 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.36 1.37 1.36 1.39 1.36 1.36 590000 802890 8990 HLDG 15.82 15.84 15.82 15.84 15.82 15.84 609000 9635310 -167586 PHIL INFRADEV 1.65 1.67 1.72 1.72 1.65 1.67 5160000 8589710 110290 KEPPEL PROP 4.21 4.74 4.75 4.75 4.01 4.74 18000 79910 CITY AND LAND 0.77 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.77 0.77 117000 91550 MEGAWORLD 5.97 5.98 6.22 6.22 5.98 5.98 36400900 218630829 -59800463 MRC ALLIED 0.315 0.32 0.32 0.325 0.315 0.32 9960000 3163300 -9550 PHIL ESTATES 0.45 0.47 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 50000 22500 PRIMEX CORP 2.03 2.06 2.05 2.06 2.03 2.06 163000 333350 ROBINSONS LAND 26 26.35 26.6 26.65 26 26 1446900 37875035 -32074380 PHIL REALTY 0.395 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 10000 4100 ROCKWELL 2.43 2.44 2.43 2.47 2.43 2.43 304000 742150 SHANG PROP 3.17 3.26 3.25 3.28 3.17 3.17 517000 1692630 STA LUCIA LAND 2.19 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.19 2.2 1389000 3049250 -107300 SM PRIME HLDG 36 36.05 37.6 37.6 36 36 8642400 314721705 -215655810 STARMALLS 5.96 6 6 6 5.96 5.96 32800 196282 SUNTRUST HOME 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 66000 53460 VISTA LAND 7.74 7.77 7.82 7.82 7.73 7.77 3426200 26611144 -4423695

SERVICES ABS CBN 19.06 19.14 18.72 19.18 18.72 19.06 209900 3976314 GMA NETWORK 5.4 5.41 5.39 5.4 5.37 5.4 135700 730955 MANILA BULLETIN 0.49 0.5 0.49 0.49 0.49 0.49 20000 9800 MLA BRDCASTING 14.02 15.12 14.02 14.02 14.02 14.02 200 2804 GLOBE TELECOM 1983 1984 2100 2100 1984 1984 63700 128199710 -60845540 PLDT 1145 1148 1150 1159 1138 1145 148750 170145815 -68180325 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.047 0.049 0.049 0.049 0.048 0.049 8800000 423200 -24500 DFNN INC 5.99 6.47 6 6.59 6 6 253700 1528046 IMPERIAL 1.93 1.99 1.93 1.93 1.93 1.93 47000 90710 -57900 ISLAND INFO 0.114 0.116 0.116 0.117 0.114 0.116 430000 49470 ISM COMM 5.25 5.26 5.31 5.34 5.21 5.25 1757500 9246357 -46206 JACKSTONES 2.96 3.09 2.94 2.94 2.94 2.94 3000 8820 NOW CORP 2.39 2.4 2.48 2.48 2.38 2.4 1921000 4640030 -424950 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.355 0.36 0.36 0.365 0.355 0.36 13470000 4833900 2535050 PHILWEB 4.03 4.04 4.31 4.31 3.92 4.04 4237000 17212220 -958670 2GO GROUP 10.7 10.92 10.9 10.94 10.7 10.7 5700 61294 -21400 ASIAN TERMINALS 18.04 19.9 18.04 18.04 18.04 18.04 200 3608 CHELSEA 7.27 7.28 7.34 7.54 7.2 7.27 1982400 14471503 -635953 CEBU AIR 91.5 91.55 93.4 93.4 89.5 91.5 375270 34332192 14541522.5 INTL CONTAINER 124.6 125.8 129.7 130.9 124.6 124.6 2883850 363871738 -95296305 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.89 0.89 312000 280480 MACROASIA 19.28 19.44 19.38 19.6 19.1 19.44 152700 2974010 METROALLIANCE A 1.43 1.45 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.43 24000 34150 PAL HLDG 8.5 8.55 8.8 8.8 8.55 8.55 34200 294904 HARBOR STAR 1.83 1.84 1.95 1.95 1.84 1.84 3411000 6397240 -13160 ACESITE HOTEL 1.52 1.56 1.56 1.57 1.52 1.56 59000 91700 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.059 0.06 0.061 0.064 0.058 0.059 48630000 2903690 255280 WATERFRONT 0.74 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.73 0.75 4262000 3163240 FAR EASTERN U 890 910 900 900 895 895 320 286900 IPEOPLE 9.6 9.65 9.7 9.86 9.49 9.6 22600 217474 STI HLDG 0.74 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.74 0.75 499000 370220 133250 BERJAYA 2.43 2.44 2.51 2.55 2.44 2.44 165000 409750 BLOOMBERRY 11.42 11.5 11.42 11.5 11.2 11.5 2721300 31003764 -8546898 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.72 2.76 2.8 2.81 2.72 2.72 467000 1294210 -561850 LEISURE AND RES 3.64 3.65 3.65 3.66 3.6 3.65 1229000 4469340 -438150 MANILA JOCKEY 3.2 3.28 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 22000 70400 PH RESORTS GRP 5.15 5.4 5.44 5.44 5.44 5.44 100 544 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.7 2562000 1800340 -58900 TRAVELLERS 5.48 5.5 5.49 5.49 5.45 5.49 117900 645361 -31293 METRO RETAIL 2.56 2.57 2.72 2.72 2.55 2.56 2818000 7296950 -311060 PUREGOLD 44.15 45 44.85 45.4 44.1 44.15 788200 34870995 -18960340 ROBINSONS RTL 77.5 79.15 79.5 79.55 77.15 77.5 513920 40252844.5 22592368.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 135.1 140.9 142 142 140 141 520 73545 28400 SSI GROUP 3.14 3.15 3.26 3.26 3.13 3.15 4013000 12691850 5109290 WILCON DEPOT 15.8 15.84 15.76 15.82 15.64 15.8 2282400 36036094 8519008 APC GROUP 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.51 0.52 631000 324810 EASYCALL 9.96 10 10.04 10.04 9.96 10 26300 262624 GOLDEN BRIA 414 422.8 423.8 423.8 423.8 423.8 10 4238 IPM HLDG 5.55 5.7 5.65 5.65 5.6 5.6 10000 56250 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.66 0.67 0.71 0.71 0.65 0.67 28765000 19314150 50920 SBS PHIL CORP 9.27 9.4 9.27 9.4 9.27 9.4 1100 10210

MINING & OIL ATOK 12.52 13.06 12.44 13.34 12.44 13.06 44400 567070 -11754 APEX MINING 1.28 1.29 1.3 1.34 1.29 1.29 23667000 31053840 -2633160 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 34000000 57800 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.27 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 400000 108000 CENTURY PEAK 2.71 2.72 2.71 2.72 2.7 2.72 539000 1462590 DIZON MINES 7.8 7.88 7.59 7.99 7.52 7.88 8300 64043 FERRONICKEL 1.43 1.45 1.45 1.46 1.43 1.45 990000 1432830 -18980 GEOGRACE 0.208 0.209 0.211 0.211 0.202 0.209 1600000 326080 101000 LEPANTO A 0.11 0.113 0.11 0.113 0.11 0.113 7210000 810520 LEPANTO B 0.112 0.121 0.112 0.122 0.112 0.122 60000 6820 MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.0097 0.011 0.0097 0.01 110000000 1109700 MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.013 0.01 0.011 69200000 778100 -4400 MARCVENTURES 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.07 74000 78810 NIHAO 1.01 1.02 1.04 1.05 1 1.02 133000 134330 NICKEL ASIA 2.61 2.64 2.57 2.64 2.55 2.64 5538000 14432100 966570 OMICO CORP 0.47 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 100000 50000 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.83 0.84 0.83 0.84 0.83 0.84 168000 140110 PX MINING 4.08 4.1 3.95 4.16 3.95 4.08 6557000 26835750 -217290 SEMIRARA MINING 22.65 23 23.15 23.15 22.5 23 1011200 23018855 -14592520 UNITED PARAGON 0.0064 0.0066 0.0064 0.0064 0.0064 0.0064 1000000 6400 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 29300000 351600 ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 30400000 364800 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 63600000 725700 PHINMA PETRO 5.89 5.9 6.05 6.07 5.62 5.9 549700 3219505 PXP ENERGY 11.12 11.14 10.9 11.54 10.9 11.14 9812400 110517438 -2260944

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 98 99.6 98 98 98 98 250 24500 ALCO PREF C 105 106 105 105 105 105 1500 157500 SMC FB PREF 2 995 1009 981 1000 981 1000 7060 7045325 FGEN PREF G 104.8 106 105.3 106.5 105.3 106 136000 14420202 GLO PREF P 497 498 497 497 497 497 160 79520 GTCAP PREF A 927.5 950 928 928 928 928 1770 1642560 GTCAP PREF B 945 949 947 947 945 945 2930 2772710 LR PREF 0.99 1 1 1 0.99 1 124000 122890 MWIDE PREF 101 102.3 102.3 102.3 102.3 102.3 280 28644 -28644 PNX PREF 3A 100 101.7 101.7 101.7 101.7 101.7 10 1017 PNX PREF 3B 106.1 107.4 107.4 107.4 107.4 107.4 10 1074 PCOR PREF 2A 994 1012 994 994 994 994 1000 994000 PCOR PREF 2B 999 1019 1000 1000 1000 1000 200 200000 PCOR PREF 3A 1016 1017 1015 1016 1015 1016 14260 14478160 193040 PCOR PREF 3B 1016 1019 1018 1019 1018 1019 15030 15311555 SFI PREF 1.45 1.73 1.6 1.6 1.39 1.45 3000 4440 SMC PREF 2B 75.65 76.25 76.5 76.5 76.25 76.25 1310 100212.5 SMC PREF 2C 76.85 77 77.55 77.55 77 77 670 51628.5 38500 SMC PREF 2D 75 75.1 74.9 74.9 74.9 74.9 2660 199234 199234 SMC PREF 2E 75 75.5 75 75 75 75 16480 1236000 SMC PREF 2F 75.1 75.6 75.5 75.6 75.5 75.6 106450 8037224 SMC PREF 2H 74.95 75 75 75 75 75 38500 2887500 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17.44 5.28

17.7 5.37

17.5 5.31

17.96 5.37

17.5 5.28

17.7 5.37

154800 32000

2719060 169435

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.73

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 6.25 XURPAS 1.02

1.76

1.77

1.77

1.7

1.73

456000

781760

1730

6.28 1.03

6.72 1.03

6.74 1.04

6.15 1.02

6.28 1.02

4085400 2276000

25881670 2332780

80393 -393080

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

119

-2622560 -21480

119.8

121.3

121.3

119

119

33190

3963487

69725

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ERC, PCC agree to hold joint probes on competition issues

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) signed Monday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that allows both agencies to jointly conduct investigations related to competition matters in the power industry.

“Our MOA with ERC exhibits how the competition agency and sector regulators play complementary roles in promoting competition in the sector while fulfilling their respective mandates.

“Our partnership allows for the sharing of information and coor-

dination of enforcement actions toward a more robust competition landscape in the energy sector,” said PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan.

In particular, PCC’s partnership with ERC allows for the conduct of joint fact-finding inquiries. It also

facilitates consultations with institutions or firms such as the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and generation companies to obtain relevant information.

The MOA between ERC and PCC comes a month after PCC’s MOA with the Department of Energy (DOE).

The MOA between PCC and DOE established collaborative mechanisms such as information sharing, investigation support, joint task forces and, continued capacity building and consultations.

A tripartite task force between PCC, DOE and ERC was formed ahead of the MOA to coordinate inquiries on alleged collusion or abuses of dominance in the power industry through information exchange and fact-finding, given the policy mandate of the DOE, the regulatory functions of the ERC,

and the market competition lens of the PCC. The three agencies are expected to make headway in probing allegations of collusion or abuse of dominance amid a series of shutdowns among power plants that may have contributed to increases in electricity prices earlier this year.

The PCC earlier announced a launch of an assessment on whether the power plants’ outages were manipulated to increase electricity prices or were valid unplanned breakdowns that affect supply conditions.

“The PCC and ERC recognize the merit of adopting a coordinated approach toward the shared goal of promoting competition in the power industry. We are confident our combined expertise and investigative capacities will lead to a stronger push for competition enforcement in this critical sector,” Balisacan said.

Globe scaling up investment arm to develop, own more digital firms G

LOBE Telecom Inc. plans to scale up its investment arm Globe Capital Ventures Holdings Inc., which now goes under the brand 917 Ventures, to incubate, develop, own and operate digital companies that leverage on the telco’s existing strengths and assets.

Issa Guevarra-Cabreira, who currently sits as senior vice president at Globe, will lead the company that will enter into joint-venture agreements with various enterprises to create entities offering everyday digital solutions.

“We are in the process of determining how much investments will be involved. It will be smaller initially. The intent is to find a couple more Mynts and hopefully at a faster pace than how we incubated GCash,” Globe CFO Rizza Maniego-Eala said.

Mynt, or Globe Fintech Innovations Inc., operates mobile wallet GCash. It was incubated and developed solely by Globe and was partially acquired by Ant Financial.

“This 917 Ventures tend to be based off Globe’s capabilities, access, and leveraging core assets of Globe is extremely critical to that company.

At the beginning, companies will be 100 percent owned by Globe, then we will bring in partners,” Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil B. Genio added.

Ant Financial, Eala said, could be a potential partner once the new ventures have been set up.

Globe saw its profits rising by more than a fifth in the first half of 2019, netting P12 billion in income on the back of strong revenue growth that compensated for the depreciation charges and nonoperating expenses during the said period.

Its core net income also rose by 18 percent during the said period, ending the first six months of 2019 at P12 billion, as revenues grew by 13 percent to P72.9 billion, while total operating expenses increased by a slower 7 percent to P34.3 billion.

Driving its top line are its wireless operations, whose revenues amounted to P54.6 billion. Mobile data revenues accounted for more than half of the wireless revenues at P34 billion, while mobile voice and text revenues reached P20.6 billion during the first half of the year.

Its home broadband revenues trailed behind at P10.6 billion, while corporate data revenues stood at P6.3 billion. Its total subscriber base reached 92.9 million, almost 90 percent of the Philippine population.

Globe spent roughly P19 billion in capital expenses in the first half of the year, as it continues to enhance its data capacities and capabilities due to the strong demand for Internet connectivity.

“We are pleased with the company’s robust performance and that we are on track with our strategic objectives for this year. We will continue to invest in our 4G and LTE network

Domino’s shares fail to deliver in UK amid franchisee dispute

A

DOMINO’S pizza is pretty much the same in any of the 85-plus countries in which they’re sold. The same can’t be said of the shares in the publicly traded companies behind the brand.

One of them, London-listed Domino’s Pizza Group Plc., stands out: The company, which reports earnings Tuesday, trades at a big discount to peers in the United States and Australia. While some of that is because of Brexit hurting consumer sentiment, Domino’s also is in a dispute with franchisees that hasn’t helped matters. To start closing the gap, it needs to show it’s mending that relationship, some analysts say.

Shares in the UK company trade at about 14.3 times analysts’ forecast profit for the next 12 months, compared to 23.7 times for Domino’s Pizza Inc. in the US and 19.7 times for Australian

counterpart Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. The London stock has lost more than a third of its value since reaching a record high in July 2016, underperforming the others since the start of last year.

“An update on the dispute with franchisees is required,” Wayne Brown, a Liberum analyst who recommends selling the stock, wrote in a report last week. “The longer this relationship deteriorates with no resolution in sight could bring the shares, as well as the Domino’s brand into further doubt.”

Looking ahead, analysts are also bleaker about the UK company than the other two. Their consensus recommendation—a proxy for the ratio of buy, hold, and sell ratings, with 1 being all sells and 5 being all buys—is 2.92, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bloomberg News

to enhance the customer experience and reinforce our competitive advantage moving forward,” Globe

MUTUAL FUNDS

President Ernest L. Cu said. Globe aims to grow its top line in the “high single digit.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

August 5, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 269.31 2.1% -0.76% 1.08% 6.78% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6536 11.81% 6.26% 2.77% 14.77% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.1858 0.55% -1.53% 0.1% 7.25% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9775 6.6% N.A. N.A. 8.49% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8955 3.74% N.A. N.A. 9.11% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.5807 2.27% 0.15% 1.09% 5.83% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.8974 0.8% -4.31% N.A. 7.25% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A

120.42 11.3% N.A. N.A. 3.66% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 53.5564 4.51% 0.16% N.A. 8.8% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 559.25 4.87% -0.7% 1.02% 8.65% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A .3581 6.07% 0.98% 2.86% 8.3% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 39.7871 6.12% 1.63% 2.59% 8.61% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0682 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.4362 5.37% 1.13% 3.05% 9.63% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 907.83 5.44% 0.84% 3.01% 9.58% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9549 8.17% 0.41% N.A. 11.03% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.451 6.23% 1.14% 2.62% 9.66% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0428 4.93% 0.77% N.A. 9.27% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.8157 4.5% 2.35% 3.43% 9% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 121.5442 5.87% 1.67% 4.06% 9.75% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.9502 -8.56% 2.98% -1.34% 2.27% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3107 1.51% 8.49% N.A. 18.59% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.769 4.17% -1.59% -1.15% 7.13% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.3634 2.59% -0.53% 0.86% 6.98% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.7076 2.73% 0.11% -0.91% 6.47% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3681 1.38% N.A. N.A. 4.89% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9724 5.26% 0.4% 1.54% 7.02% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8429 5.53% -0.64% 0.96% 8.89% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.267 6.3% -0.46% 0.91% 8.54% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1824 3.36% 0.54% 1.94% 5.47% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.9712 6.67% 0.43% 1.83% 8.76% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0421 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.0369 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0337 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 1.0174 7.66% 0.7% 1.56% 10.38% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03771 7.16% 1.56% 2.29% 6.83% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $0.9902 -1.91% 2.46% -1.04% 8.37% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.7832 3.24% 5.91% 3.25% 14.34% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.114 3.95% 3.65% N.A. 10.3% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 352.27 3.69% 2.09% 2.28% 2.56% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A, 1 1.907 2.37% -0.08% -0.08% 2.57% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0584 5.14% 5.2% 5.23% 2.77% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.207 4.15% 1.05% 2.05% 3.65% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3379 5.51% 1.26% 1.58% 6.02% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6077 2% -2.01% 0.11% 2.77% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.2656 8.41% 0.11% 1.61% 8.82% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.7227 7.08% 0.63% 1.62% 5.85% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9494 5.51% -0.49% N.A. 6.53% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.0112 9.28% 1.22% 2.49% 8.87% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A

1.6711 9.29% 0.75% 2.02% 8.52% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $460.77 3.87% 1.71% 2.75% 2.76% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є219.19 2.77% 1.32% 1.56% 3.07% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1878 6.41% 1.86% 2.47% 5.52% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0257 3.63% 0.79% N.A. 3.63% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7151 1.16% -2.06% 0.57% 1.47% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0912 5.56% -0.48% -1.79% 5.3% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A

$2.3673 9.18% 1.01% 3.42% 9.05% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0595623 4.98% 1.58% 1.89% 4.5% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.123 8.19% 0.5% 2.96% 8.74% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 124.13 4% 2.55% 2.02% 2.69% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0181 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2303 5.06% 2.15% 1.31% 4.1% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2493 3.87% 2.73% 2.11% 2.47% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.03 2.19% N.A. N.A. 1.39%

A - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY. B - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO. C - LISTED IN THE PSE. D - IN NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT (NAVPU).

1 - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018. 2 - ADJUSTED DUE TO STOCK DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JUNE 5, 2018.

3 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 3, 2019. 4 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 28, 2019. 5 - LAUNCH DATE IS FEBRUARY 1, 2019.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Japanese firms join exodus from China to duck US tariffs

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OP Japanese companies i nc lud i ng Sony Cor p., Ricoh Co. and Asics Corp. are orchestrating shifts in production away from China, joining manufacturers from other countries seeking to sidestep United States tariffs.

Sony said last week that trade war levies may cause it to raise prices or move production of PlayStation consoles, cameras and projectors outside of China, steps that could affect profit for the year ending March by about ¥10 billion ($94 million). Ricoh, which got about 28 percent of revenue from the Americas last fiscal year, completed the transfer of production for high-speed printers to Thailand from Shenzhen, China in July.

President Donald J. Trump’s escalation of a trade war with China is disrupting supply chains as companies from Nike Inc. to Giant Manufacturing Co. seek alternatives such as Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan to build factories. Last week, Trump proposed adding 10 -percent tariffs on another $300 billion in imports from China starting September 1, deepening a trade dispute that has roiled markets and weighed on economic growth worldwide.

Japanese manufacturers have been seeking lower labor costs and supply-chain diversification by moving some output out of China for years as wages rose and infrastructure in countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh improved. Still, the world’s No. 2 economy has remained the most

important production hub for many Japanese companies.

Asics, maker of sports shoes and apparel, has been relocating production from China to Vietnam in a move that began last September, a spokesman for the company said Monday, following similar moves by Nike and Adidas AG, the world’s two largest sports shoe and apparel makers.

In May, Puma SE signed an open letter to Trump—along with Nike, Adidas and other footwear companies—that said tariffs on shoes made in China would be “catastrophic for our consumers, our companies and the A merican economy as a whole.”

Sharp Corp., which makes its Dynabook notebook computers in China, is considering redirecting that output to Vietnam or Taiwan, even though only 10 percent of its exports are destined for the US, CEO Tai Jeng-wu has said. The company is also considering shifting some output of multifunction printers from China to its Thailand facilities, Tai has said. No changes have been made yet, Sharp spokesman Tsutomu Hirano said.

Nintendo Co., maker of videogames and consoles, began redirecting output of its Switch game player to Vietnam in recent months to hedge risks, according to a spokesman. Kyocera Corp. has said the company would move production of US-bound copiers and multifunction printers to Vietnam from China, mainly to avoid tariffs. Bloomberg News

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Tuesday, August 6, 2019

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China hits back at Trump by letting the yuan drop, halting crop imports

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HINA responded to Donald J. Trump’s tariff threat with another escalation of the trade war on Monday, letting the yuan tumble to the weakest level in more than a decade and asking state-owned companies to suspend imports of United States agricultural products.

The moves are likely to further antagonize Trump, who has criticized Beijing for managing its currency unfairly and failing to keep promises to buy more US crops. Stocks and emerging-market currencies sank on concern a prolonged conflict between the superpowers will weigh on global economic growth, while haven assets including the Japanese yen, US Treasuries and gold climbed. Investors increased bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

“It’s among the worst-case scenarios,” said Michael Every, head of Asia financial markets research at Rabobank in Hong Kong. “First markets sell off, then Trump wakes up and this all gets far, far worse.”

Trump last week proposed adding 10-percent tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese imports from September 1, abruptly ramping up the trade war between the world’s largest economies shortly after the two sides restarted talks. Chinese bureaucrats were stunned by Trump’s announcement, according to officials who’ve been involved in the negotiations.

The threat of more tariffs came just as Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior members of the Com-

munist Party gathered for a secretive summer getaway in Beidaihe, a seaside town about a three-hour drive from Beijing. Xi had already faced pressure for weeks to take a harder stance in trade talks—particularly after the US blacklisted telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co. Editorials in state-run newspapers suggested Xi will reject any deal that either retains punitive tariffs or forces China to make concessions on issues like state-run enterprises that could weaken the party’s grip on power. The harder line underlines a growing feeling in Beijing that Trump can’t be trusted to cut a deal, and that China would be better off waiting to see if a Democratic presidential candidate—many of whom have criticized the use of tariffs—takes office. The halt in agricultural purchases could hurt Trump in politically sensitive states ahead of the 2020 election.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index headed for its biggest decline since March on Monday, with shares slumping more than 2 percent in markets from Tokyo to Hong Kong and Seoul. Equities in Shanghai saw a more modest drop amid speculation that statelinked funds may act to prop up the

market, while US equity-index futures dropped 1.1 percent.

The yuan tumbled 1.3 percent to 7.0324 a dollar at 2:42 p.m. Hong Kong time, after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set its daily reference rate at a weaker level than 6.9 for the first time since December. The offshore yuan sank as much as 1.9 percent to a record low.

“Breaking seven is due to a mix of factors: an escalation of trade war, the softening of China’s economy and a willingness for the PBOC to tolerate higher volatility for the yuan,” said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “The PBOC has entered uncharted waters, so it has to manage expectations carefully.”

The central bank attributed the yuan move to protectionism and expectations of additional tariffs on Chinese goods, while saying it can still maintain a steady currency.

By linking today’s devaluation with the renewed tariff threat, the PBOC “has effectively weaponized the exchange rate,” said Julian EvansPritchard at Capital Economics in Singapore. “The fact that they have now stopped defending 7 against the dollar suggests that they have all but abandoned hopes for a trade deal.”

Bloomberg’s Economists said: “China appears to be posturing for worse to come in the trade war. Letting the yuan weaken past 7 against the dollar suggests it’s looking to buffer the economy from a more severe trade shock.”

Allowing the yuan to weaken is not without risk for China. A mid2015 devaluation spurred capital outflows and destabilized global markets, though tighter capital controls this time around should help prevent another exodus.

A cheaper currency also risks triggering yet more reprisals from the US president, who has frequently warned that tariffs could go much higher.

At a rally in Cincinnati last week he boasted of “taxing the hell out of China” until there’s a deal.

The biggest damage from the trade war is the hit to business activity and confidence that comes from increased uncertainty, rather than the tariffs themselves, according to Wang Tao, China economist at UBS Group AG. For that reason, the weaker yuan may do little to offset the blow, she said.

China’s crop imports from the US are another weapon at Beijing’s disposal. The country’s state-run agricultural firms have now stopped buying American farm goods, and are waiting to see how trade talks progress, people familiar with the situation said, declining to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak to the media. Corn and soybean futures fell on the news.

When he announced the trade truce last month, Trump spoke at length about how China would be buying more farm goods from “great patriots” in the Midwest—even though no details of any purchases have been announced by either side.

Officials in Beijing privately said afterward that China made no promises to buy more agriculture goods before a final deal is struck. China’s commerce ministry didn’t respond to a fax seeking comment.

“China is giving up on its softer diplomatic strategy and is no longer willing to be Trump’s punching bag,” said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte. “Trump’s tariffs threats are backfiring and triggering a full-scale trade war.” Bloomberg News

HK’s Lam warns of ‘ruin’ as strike snarls city, airport Oil resumes drop as demand fears overshadow Iran tanker seizure H ONG KONG leader Carrie Lam warned of a “very dangerous situation” as protesters moved to shut down the Asian financial hub with a general strike on Monday after a ninth straight weekend of unrest in opposition to China’s tightening grip.

Demonstrators hampered the financial hub’s busy morning commute with actions that left traffic snarled, subway lines inoperable and airport operations disrupted.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said it canceled more than 140 flights coming to and from the city, while Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. scrapped 30 flights.

“We have seen some behavior from protesters that is challenging ‘one country, two systems’ and threatening national sovereignty,” Lam told reporters on Monday, flanked by senior members of her administration. “And I could even dare to say some are trying to ruin Hong Kong, and completely destroy the livelihood of 7 million citizens.”

Protesters began rallying from 1 p.m. in locations across the city.

In the central business district, hundreds of mostly black-shirted people walked from the packed Admiralty metro station to Tamar Park near Hong Kong’s legislative complex. They chanted “strike!” and passed out bright yellow fliers that read: “No extraditions to China; strike work, strike school and strike market.”

The MSCI Hong Kong Index slumped as much as 3.5 percent on Monday in a ninth day of declines, matching the longest streak since the city’s 1997 handover from British rule. Landlords, retail stocks and casinos bore the brunt of the selling.

The protests began in June against a proposed bill allowing extraditions to mainland China, but have since morphed into a broader challenge to China. Authorities in

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PROTESTERS occupy the roads near the Legislative Council building and the Central Government building during the anti-extradition bill protest in Hong Kong on Monday, August 5, 2019. Droves of protesters filled public parks and squares in several Hong Kong districts on Monday in a general strike staged on a weekday to draw more attention to their demands. AP PHOTO/VINCENT THIAN

Beijing have continued to back Lam, who has resisted demands to withdraw the bill completely and step down from her position.

“I came here to support the young people,” said C.F Tse, who works in accounting and said he asked for sick leave in order to protest in Tamar Park on Monday. “It’s heartbreaking to see them being beaten up and getting tear gassed.”

The unrest has hit the city’s economy, denting tourism and retail sales to worsen the pain from the US-China trade war. The IHS Markit PMI for Hong Kong sank to 43.8 in July, from 47.9 a month earlier. That’s its lowest reading since March 2009, when the fallout from the global financial crisis was still raging. Fi-

nancial Secretary Paul Chan warned Monday that the city risks a recession as protests continue.

‘No end in sight’

“THE problem now is there is no real end in sight as to what the end game is for the protests,” said Sean Darby, global equity strategist at Jefferies Hong Kong. “The disruptions that are occurring now both to travel and the people shopping or even coming into Hong Kong are starting to make quite a big impact on the economy.”

Lam on Monday didn’t make any new concessions to protesters, saying she didn’t think her resignation—one of their key demands— would provide a resolution to the

unrest. She also called them a threat to national security.

“Such extensive disruptions in the name of certain demands or uncooperative movement have seriously undermined Hong Kong’s law and order, and are pushing our city—the city we all love, and many of us helped to build—to the verge of a very dangerous situation,” she said.

Hong Kong police recently began slapping protesters with colonial-era rioting charges in a bid to deter large numbers of protesters, and anxiety is growing that Beijing might call in the People’s Liberation Army, which released a video last week showing troops practicing riot control. Bloomberg News

IL resumed its decline as a sharp drop in the Chinese yuan compounded fears that a deepening trade war will depress demand, countering concerns crude flows may be disrupted following Iran’s seizure of another ship.

Futures lost as much as 1.5 percent in New York. The yuan weakened beyond 7 a dollar for the first time in more than a decade after President Donald J. Trump said Friday he can raise tariffs on China to a “much higher number.” That followed his threat the day before to increase levies, which spurred the steepest one-day drop in crude prices in more than four years. Iran seized a foreign tanker in the Persian Gulf on July 31, the Revolutionary Guards said on their Sepah News portal Sunday, without giving any details about the vessel.

Asian stocks and currencies extended declines on the escalating tension between the world’s two largest economies as China’s move to let the yuan weaken stoked fears of a currency war. Investors are awaiting speeches from Federal Reserve policy-makers this week after Chairman Jerome Powell said last month’s rate cut didn’t signal the start of a lengthy easing cycle.

“Investors think a full confrontation or military clash between the US and Iran is unlikely, but are more concerned about the possibility the USChina situation will worsen,” said Jun Inoue, a senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute Ltd. in Tokyo.

Oil prices could fall a lot further

if the additional tariffs on China are imposed and the Fed doesn’t cut rates again, he said.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil for September delivery fell 75 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $54.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:23 a.m. in London after losing as much as 82 cents earlier.

The contract dropped 1 percent last week and tumbled 7.9 percent on Thursday.

Brent crude for October settlement declined 96 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $60.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange. It fell 2.5 percent last week.

The global benchmark traded at a premium of $6.04 to WTI for the same month.

Trump said Thursday he would impose a 10-percent tariff on a further $300 billion of Chinese imports, before saying the following day that the levies could be raised even further.

Beijing pledged to respond.

China has a “nuclear option” of depreciating its currency even further as a potential way of provoking the US, said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at IG Markets Ltd. in Melbourne.

The ship taken by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was carrying around 4,400 barrels of smuggled fuel when it was seized near Farsi Island in the western part of the Persian Gulf off Iran’s southwestern coast, Sepah News reported. Iran’s state-run Press TV reported that the seized ship is an Iraqi tanker that was delivering the fuel to some Arab countries in the Gulf. Iraq’s oil ministry denied it was one of theirs. Bloomberg News

B4 Tuesday, August 06, 2019

PDMEX 2019 to showcase technology advancement

A waste-to-energy power plant to rise in Catanduanes

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PUS Energy Solutions Inc. and the local government of Catanduanes partners up to solve power problems that the province is currently experiencing.

Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the province’s waste to energy project The MOU was signed by OPUS President and CEO, Esberto B. Eubra Jr., Congressman Hector S. Sanchez, Project Manager Sun Peng of AVIC-INTL Project Engineering Company and Ng Hua Chong, the Principle Consultant from the Singapore Management Consultancy LLP. In response to President Duterte’s call

in his fourth SONA in which he mentions that Filipinos should “take extra steps in enforcement of laws in protection of our environment,'' OPUS aims to help the government and country to find a solution to decades of wastes and electricity issues.

They share their vision to expand renewable and sustainable sourcing of energy.

Despite the passage of Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or Republic Act (RA) 9003, which states that the state must “adopt a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program”, the Philippines is still looming with garbage disposal problems.

Solid waste is directly sent to different dumpsites and landfills and the problem with this is that these sites not only pollute the air but also these are hazardous to our health.

In response to this, OPUS’s project that will take these waste from the landfills and transform them to energy through a WtE (Waste-to-Energy) Power Plant that combusts waste to produce energy. Constructed in Finland, this replicated technology will be the main source of electricity in Catanduanes soon.

It has an expected payback in 8 years time after the estimated timeline of power plant construction which will take 2.5 to 3 years.

Waste from various dumpsites will be collected and delivered to the power plant.

It will then be transformed into a recycled heat through the use of water energy broilers. The steam from these broilers will drive a turbine which generates electricity that will be transported to different parts of the province.

“As a country, we need to do something now before it’s too late. The purpose of us being here and building this partnership and collaboration is to eradicate and find the best solution.

Now, we cannot eradicate the problem, but we can use the problem as part of the solution.” said CEO Esberto B. Eubra Jr. (Faith P. Buenaventura)

Isuzu PH breaks ground in Tagum, Davao Del Norte

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SUZU Philippines Corporation (IPC), the country's leader in the commercial vehicle segment in the Philippines, is beginning the construction of its new dealership in Tagum, Davao Del Norte in line with the growing demands and expansion efforts of the company.

Tagum is predominantly agricultural, producing various agricultural crops and trees. It is strategically located at the northern portion of Southern Mindanao and lies in the intersection of three

major road network system namely the 'Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway', the 'Davao-Mati-Agusan Road', and the 'DavaoBukidnon Road' that connects the city to other major destinations in the region and for the rest of Mindanao.

As the city serves as a vital economic crossroad not only for the province, but for the entire Davao Region, Isuzu strategically located their new 11, 000 square meter dealership to feature not only its latest Isuzu's showroom design, but also to

showcase 8 light commercial and 2 truck service bays ready to serve the region.

The soon to rise Isuzu dealership in Tagum is strategically located along the road that connects to the three major road network systems, to bridge the way of the customers from major destinations in the region and for the rest of Mindanao.

The construction of the dealership is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In photo are, from left: Eduardo Bangayan, Rey Uy (Vice Governor, Davao del Norte), Edward Lawrence Bangayan (Managing Director, Image Motors Davao Del Norte Inc.) , Walter Alvarez (President, Image Motors Davao Del Norte Inc.), Hajime Koso (President, Isuzu Philippines Corporation), Yasuhiko Oyama (Vice President – Sales, Isuzu Philippines Corporation), Atty. Eva Lorraine Estabillo (Vice Mayor, Tagum City), Mr. Alderson Rellon (Councilor, Tagum City), Edison Lu (Director, Image Motors Davao Del Norte Inc.), Jaime Tan (Director, Image Motors Davao Del Norte Inc.

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HE Philippines’ largest and focused metal working event will hold its 9th Philippine Die & Mould Machineries and Equipment Exhibition (PDMEX 2019) on August 28-31, 2019 with the theme “Your Gateway to Technology Advancement” at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

This biennial event – now on its ninth series is organized by the Philippine Die and Mold Association (PDMA) which will bring together allied leaders and stakeholders in the industry, and will discuss the latest technology and practices that guide the development of die- and mold-making around the world.

This year, the trade event will feature around 400 local and international exhibitors.

The die and mold is the "backbone of any industry," said Mr. Louie T. Fuster. "It is the key to all process in manufacturing," he added, noting that "everything people encounter" --from IC MOULDS for the electronic industry, automotive parts, plastic moulds and dies for plastic bottles and various plastic parts in different industries,medical instruments and equipment, including farming implements for the agricultural industries. Die casting and

forging for the automotive transmission parts also goes through the process of die and mold design and processing.

"We are also expecting immense delegation from the Federation of Asian Die and Mould Associations (FADMA), a regional grouping of die and mould manufacturers and precision engineering associations with eleven (11) member associations from China, Chinese Taipei, Chinese HongKong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Altogether, there are about 4,000 constituent member companies located within the economically dynamic Asian region," Fuster said.

The event is also participated by different international pavilions and companies such as China, Germany, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Spain, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand and a lot more.

PDMEX 2019 aims to highlight activities designed to benefit the die and mould sector, as well as its related industries. Apart from the products and machineries to be displayed, the event will feature technical presentations and seminars.

INSURANCE COMMISSION ISSUES CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY. Shown accepting Metropolitan's license at the office of the Insurance Commission are from left: Atty John Apatan, InsCom CRL Division Manager, Joseph Jay Periquet, AVP, Head of Operations, Jose Periquet, Jr, President and CEO, Hon. Dennis Funa, Insurance Commissioner, Patrik Ticzon, Streetcorner E-Commerce, Ltd authorized representative.

Metropolitan Insurance is a non-life insurance company which has been doing business since 1933.

This new strategic partnership with its new foreign partner should enable Metropolitan to regain its prominent status as one of the well-known non-life insurers in the country.

FPPF offers courses for beginners and professional photographers

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HOTOGRAPHY enthusiasts, beginners and professionals, converge at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila to pursue photography courses offered by the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF).

Beginners take the Comprehensive Digital Photography where they learn basic skills to operate the camera and take good photos in 5 days or 40 hours while professionals take special courses to enhance their knowledge and be more competitive.

Beginners, some prefer as hobbyists while some turn professionals have praises taking the courses.

“I enjoyed the basic class. I learned a lot for just 5 days. It made me feel the life of

photographers. I’ve learned that without photographers’ shots, life’s like an empty world for me, knowledge of mankind.”, Christian Jacinto, a basic enrollee, said.

On the other hand, several professional photographers who took special courses said they are now confident as a professional photographer and have now more clients.

The next 5-Saturday basic photo course starts on Sept. 21 while Photoshop for Photographers, Aug. 3; Lightroom and 1-day Videography Workshop, Aug. 18; Lighting Essentials, Sept. 1, and Wedding, Sept. 7-8.

For inquiries, contact FPPF c/o Kim Salvador/Mae Murphy, Femii Bldg., A. Soriano St., Intramuros, Manila. Tel. 524-7576/5240371 or visit www.photoworldmanila.com.

Hyundai Philippines throws full support to electric vehicles

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N July 17-18, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) participated in the 7th Philippine Electrical Vehicle Summit organized by the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Hyundai showcased two fully electric vehicles (EVs) at the event, the KONA and the IONIQ. In a statement, HARI President and CEO Ma. Fe PerezAgudo came out strongly in support of EV adoption in the Philippines.

“Electric vehicles represent the future of Philippine mobility. It is clear that EVs have the potential to reduce our dependence on imported fuel, cut the nation’s carbon emissions, and create jobs for Filipinos in battery manufacturing, to name one example,” she said.

“For our part, the hybrid IONIQ and

fully electric KONA-the first subcompact EV SUV in the country-are available from our network of dealerships. We continue to work closely with government to help craft sound EV policy and create a competitive EV industry,” Agudo added.

The EVAP summit further clarified the steps the government must take to make EVs a viable option for vehicle owners.

“First, we, at HARI, underscore the need for a comprehensive EV roadmap to set the policy direction and strategically use tools such as regulations and procurement measures. Technical standards and protocols for the use of charging stations and registration procedures should be set.

“Second, we recommend that government identify areas in the Philippines where EVs can make the biggest impact and set up pilot test zones. Jeju Island in Korea is an excellent example of setting up a pilot city for electric vehicles.

“Third, we encourage government to spur investment in battery manufacturing by developing an attractive incentive package. Benefits for investing can take the form of tax exemptions, subsidies, and other non-fiscal support.

We envision a future when electric vehicles like the IONIQ and KONA are attractive and sustainable options for every vehicle owner in the country, and we look forward to helping make that vision a reality,” Agudo said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s Senate Bill 2137, the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, seeks to create a national framework that addresses charging station infrastructure, EV investment incentives, and registration procedures.

“The E-vehicles Act will put the house in order. All the government actors will now be collaborating, fixing the bureaucracy, and promoting EVs,” Sen. Gatchalian said.

SBMA OBSERVES ARBOR DAY. Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma (center) led the SBMA employees and community volunteers in the recent nationwide observance of Arbor Day at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. A total of 150 trees and 2,500 bougainvilleas were planted during the annual event which is in compliance with Proclamation No. 643 which seeks to promotes a healthier ecosystem through the rehabilitation and re-greening of the environment by planting trees and ornamental plants across the country. Joining her in the massive tree-planting activity are SBMA deputy administrator (DA) engineering Marco Estabillo, DA for business Kenneth Rementilla, DA for administration Ruel John Kabigting, and senior deputy administrator for regulatory services and Ecology Center manager Amethya dela Llana. Arbor Day is a commitment of the SBMA because environmental protection is a fundamental advocacy of the government agency, being home to one of few remaining tropical rainforests in the country. The SBMA chief has also banned single-use plastics in workplaces at SBMA, in addition of the ban on plastic bags and styrofoam packaging, and has also issued Office Order No. 2018-10-0420 creating the SBMA Anti-Littering Task Force.

TEAM U.S.A. HITS CAMP Sports

“I was like, ‘Who would say no to this chance?’” the 22-year-old Adebayo said.

Popovich has said finalizing a 12-man roster for China won’t be easy. Then again, he likely wasn’t counting on this much attrition.

This process of building a team for China started last year with 35 players being added to the selection pool for the World Cup and next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Of those 35, 30 have already withdrawn from World Cup consideration for a variety of reasons—pending fatherhood, injury rehabilitation, filming a movie, preparing for the potential of a long NBA season. The World Cup will end on September 15, meaning the US players, if they made the medal round, would get home about two weeks before NBA camps open.

More than a dozen other names were officially added to the national team list along the way, with two of those players dropping out already, as well. Others like New Orleans’ J.J. Redick were invited but declined even before being formally added to the list.

Add it all up, and there have been at least 52 players under real consideration in the last year and a half. That doesn’t include the select-teamers, others who were considered for that squad like New Orleans rookie and No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson (who declined)—or the 52 G League players who went through 12 qualifying games needed to get the US into the World Cup. “The focus has to be on who’s here—not who’s not here,” Colangelo said. “A number of the young players in this group have a chance, a real chance, some of them to make this team, some of them to make an impact in the World Cup.” The US women’s volleyball team, meanwhile, secured its berth to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, beating Argentina in straight sets Sunday at a Tokyo Women’s Volleyball Qualification Tournament.

Coach Karch Kiraly’s third-ranked Americans went unbeaten in Pool C of qualifying this weekend, rallying from a set down and again from a 2-1 deficit Saturday night to beat 16th-ranked Bulgaria before a 25-22, 25-17, 25-13 victory over No. 11 Argentina.

The US has never won an Olympic gold medal, capturing bronze in the Rio Games three years ago. Now, the Americans have qualified a year out—a different path than during the last Olympic cycle when they had to win a second qualifying event in January 2016 at Lincoln, Nebraska, after missing out with two losses at the 2015 World Cup in Japan as just the top 2 teams from that event secured bids then to Rio. “We can be really proud with how we fought through here, especially the challenge that Bulgaria threw at us down two sets to one and the nice response we put together,” Kiraly said. “This is huge for the program. Everybody knows that we are going to Tokyo. We got that ticket locked in. We worked really hard for that this year. That helps in the planning, and it makes it that much closer in the distance. It is not that much distance to Tokyo.”

This deep US squad has some familiar Olympic veterans, such as Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson and Kim Hill along with a mix of young players. The Americans beat No. 23 Kazakhstan in straight sets Friday.

In addition, middle blocker Tori Dixon is back in a key role with the US after she was forced to miss the 2016 Olympics with a left knee injury that required reconstructive ACL surgery. She won Sunday on her 27th birthday.

“I am really glad with how we played, how we performed. It is the best birthday present ever, honestly,” Dixon said. “Our outsides and Jordan Thompson did a great job. They came in and carried a big load all summer long, especially today.”

Opposite, Jordan Thompson will return to the University of Cincinnati this fall having gained valuable national team experience. Thompson had a match-high 16 points with 13 kills, two aces and a block in Sunday’s match, which was delayed by about 30 minutes by a power outage in the arena.

“This experience is only going to help me going back to college, and adjusting back to the level of play in college,” Thompson said.

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| Tuesday, August 6, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

USA Basketball Coach Gregg Popovich opens practice for the Fiba World Cup on Monday.

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By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

AS VEGAS—USA Basketball Managing Director Jerry Colangelo said Sunday that he is not worried about the Americans’ chances as they begin preparations for the Fiba World Cup, even after a wildly unpredictable process was needed just to fill a training-camp roster for the tournament that starts in China at the end of the month.

“Honestly, I don’t have any angst,” Colangelo said.

After what the two-time defending World Cup champion Americans have been through just to get to camp, that’s a very good sign.

It took more than 50 invitations—and probably that many revisions of plans—to get to Sunday, the day where 15 members of the current national team arrived in Las Vegas for meetings and final preparations before the first training camp practice under new USA Basketball Coach Gregg Popovich starts Monday.

Also in Las Vegas: 14 more National Basketball Association (NBA) players on an enhanced practice squad known as the select team, and it’s a very real possibility that some of those players—Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and Brooklyn’s Joe Harris, both of whom will practice with the national team on Monday probably foremost among them—will get a good look at moving up to the national team and potentially going to China for the World Cup. “We’re going to have some fun,” Colangelo said.

It’ll likely be a young group going to China, no matter who is on the plane.

USA Basketball said at least six of the 12 players on the last three World Cup rosters were 24 or younger at the time, and that looks like it could be the case again. Of the 15 players on the national team now, six are 24 are younger.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo said after arriving in Las Vegas on Sunday that he didn’t hesitate when he got the call inquiring about whether he’d want to play.

PERU’S Daniella Rosas celebrates her gold medal in shortboard of surfing as the US’s Camilla Feeley competes in ball of women’s rhythmic gymnastics apparatus at the Pan American Games. AP

Peruvian surfers win gold at home Pan Am Games L IMA, Peru—Peru dominated surfing at the Pan American Games on Sunday when Lucca Mesinas and Daniella Rosas won their shortboard finals and a potential ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

International Surfing Association longboard world champion Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente, also from Peru, won the men’s longboard final ahead of Julian Schweizer of Uruguay and US surfer Cole Robbins.

Hundreds of people braved cold and damp weather to cheer on the surfers who competed on a reef break about 38 miles (60 kilometers) south of the Peruvian capital of Lima. They included Peru President Martín Vizcarra, who shook hands and posed for selfies with people in the packed concrete stands built on the sands of Punta Roca beach before presenting medals to the surfers.

“It’s amazing to represent this beautiful flag,” Rosas told The Associated Press, smiling at fans in the stands who waved the striped white and red national flag and yelled “Viva Peru!”

“I’m so happy, speechless,” she said, shivering after she left the water after holding

off Dominic Barona of Ecuador and Ornella Pellizzari of Argentina. “Peru has been great and doing this event here at home has been amazing. We’ve demonstrated that we can do it and the people have been backing 100 percent.”

Mesinas beat Argentina’s Leandro Usuna, the champion of the ISA world games in 2014 and 2016.

The Argentine said it’s a positive that surfing is getting so much attention.

“Even Peru’s president was here,” Usuna said. “It’s historic that surfing has been included as a sport in the Pan American Games. We’re not used to this: We often wear sandals and change anywhere, and now we were in uniforms, we were in an athletes’ villa.

It was much neater. But it was a beautiful moment that transcends any results.”

During the finals, fans stamped their feet on the floor and cheered whenever a surfer caught a big wave that was replayed on TV screens. One commentator observed the atmosphere felt more like a packed soccer stadium.

Surfing is a way of life in Peru, which its admirers have called the Hawaii of Latin America.

The South American country is also home to some of the world’s longest waves and a top destination for surfers worldwide, and the Peruvians took home advantage.

“We don’t know much about surfing but we felt it was worth it coming here because, for the first time, so many Peruvians had reached the finals,” said Flor Paulina, 28, who wore a white and red Peruvian soccer shirt. Her mother, Betsy Gonzales, shed tears of joy when the national anthem was played and flag raised during the medal ceremony.

“It makes us really proud,” Paulina said.

“Surfing is the sport that has the most potential in our country because it’s the one that has given us the most world-class athletes.”

It wasn’t all Peru on Sunday.

Brazil’s Chloe Calmon took gold in women’s longboard from Maria Fernanda Reyes of Peru and Mathea Dempfle-Olin of Canada.

Siblings Giorgio Gomez and Isabella Gomez from Colombia won gold for stand-up paddle surfing in the men’s and women’s events.

Surfing was one of the “wait and see” events at the Pan Am Games in Lima. That means the top male and female surfers not yet qualified for the Olympics can earn a spot for Tokyo, although they won’t be announced until May after the ISA World Surfing Games.

For now, Mesinas and Rosas are first in line for the Olympic qualification slot unless two Peruvians qualify ahead of them at next year’s ISA World Surfing Games.

The inclusion of surfing on the program for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has generated a wave of excitement as the International Olympic Committee seeks younger audiences.

“This is different. This is nature,” said Giorgio Gianpietri, 38, who sat on the stands watching the surfers compete while feeding bottled milk to his nine-month-old son.

“I hope he tries surfing one day,” he said smiling and looking at his son. AP

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DAUGHTER ALSO RISES

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ASHINGTON—Jessica Pegula’s parents are used to seeing the athletes they root for come up short: Mom and Dad own the National Football League’s (NFL) Buffalo Bills and the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Buffalo Sabres. On Sunday, their daughter was the one holding a trophy after winning her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title.

Pegula, a 25-year-old American ranked 79th, picked up the biggest win of her professional tennis career by beating Camila Giorgi of Italy, 6-2, 6-2, at the Citi Open.

“It’s been extremely gratifying. This is what you work for: to win tournaments. It sounds cliche, [but] the journey makes it all that much sweeter,” said Pegula, who recently began working with David Witt, Venus Williams’s former coach.

“This week, though, it felt different. This final, I felt like I was just ready,” said Pegula, who dropped to her knees on court after the final point, then celebrated with her dog, Maddie, during the trophy ceremony. “I was like: You know what? You’re going to go out there and you’re going to win.”

She had a 4-8 record and hadn’t reached the quarterfinals anywhere this season until winning five consecutive matches at Washington’s hard-court tournament.

Injuries to her ankle, knee and hip have slowed her progress.

“We always say she’s our first sports

team—and our favorite.

People often ask us which team we like better, which sport we like better, and so she’s always been our first team and our favorite team,” Pegula’s mother, Kim, said after the Bills’ practice at their training camp site in suburban Rochester, New York. “I said: She set the tone for the season now, right?’”

The Bills have made the postseason just once since 2000; the Sabres have an eight-year playoff drought.

This was Pegula’s second career tour-level final.

The 62ndranked Giorgi was bidding for her third title.

Pegula said that Witt didn’t so much make any “big changes” to her game as he gave her “a couple little things to focus on.”

“Kind of helped me realize to compete for every single point and not really take off any games, take off any points,” she said, “and just keep that same mindset the whole time.” AP

THE 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte touches in one minute and 57.76 seconds. AP

Lochte wins 200 individual medley

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TANFORD, California—Ryan Lochte won the 200-meter individual medley (IM) at the US national championships, fresh off a 14-month ban.

The 12-time Olympic medalist touched in one minute and 57.76 seconds on Sunday—1.07 ahead of runner-up Shaine Casas—to earn his first national title since 2014. Lochte’s time was quicker than his time-trial effort of 1:57.88 in the event four days

earlier, which didn’t count toward qualifying for the national team.

It was the lone victory and only final of the five-day meet for Lochte, who turned 35 a day earlier. He finished 37th in the 200 freestyle preliminaries, fourth in the C final of the 100 butterfly and scratched the B final of the 100 backstroke.

Lochte was competing for the first time since the recent end of a 14-month suspension for receiving an infusion of

vitamin B-12 above the allowable limit.

Madisyn Cox won the women’s 200 IM in 2:10.00 to go with her earlier victory in the 200 breaststroke. She was suspended last year after failing a drug test, but went to court to get her ban reduced from two years to six months. She argued that her positive test was the result of a legal multivitamin that had been contaminated.

Ally McHugh won the 1,500 free in 16:05.98. She won the 400 free earlier. Erika Brown took the 50 free in 24.71 seconds.

Ryan Held won the men’s 50 free in 21.87. Bobby Finke won the 800 free in 7:47.58 to add to his earlier title in the 400 IM. AP

China’s Saisai wins 1st singles title at San Jose JESSICA PEGULA poses with her trophy and her dog Maddie. AP

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AN JOSE, California—Zheng Saisai kept sending back those big, looping groundstrokes and digging balls from every corner to keep points alive as Aryna Sabalenka became more and more frustrated not to be thriving in her typical power game.

Zheng of China stayed steady and patient to capture her first career singles title, beating Belarusian Sabalenka, 6-3, 7-6 (3), in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on Sunday.

“It brings out so much confidence,” Zheng said.

“I wasn’t winning and this week I beat many seeds.

This gives me confidence but still I’m just going to play my tennis.”

Zheng, who is ranked 55th and played one

more match than Sabalenka to reach Sunday’s championship, topped three seeded players on the way to her second career final and then another for her first victory at age 25. She was runner-up at Nanchang last year.

With her big topspin shots landing deep and the defensive ability to chase down balls all over the court, Zheng flustered opponents all week with her consistency and level-headed play—and the emotional Sabalenka was no different. AP

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SPOTLIGHT ON QUE J

APAN Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour campaigner Angelo Que hopes to make his extended stay in the country rewarding as he shoots for a Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) crown in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Classic which gets going on

Wednesday at Riviera’s

Langer course in Silang, Cavite.

The power hitting former Philippine Open champion actually nailed one last month while on a break from the region’s most lucrative circuit when he ran away with a five-stroke romp in the ICTSI Manila Southwoods stop of PGT Asia.

But he expects a tougher challenge in the sixth leg of the 10th season of the country’s premier circuit with the dreaded par-71 layout, where dangers lurk in every corner, requiring not just length but also precision and mental toughness.

That should make the battle for top honors in the P2.5-million tournament sponsored by ICTSI doubly interesting with Que tipped to

ANGELO QUE is expecting a tougher challenge in the sixth leg of the 10th season of the country’s premier circuit.

slug it out with the likes of Juvic Pagunsan, Jobim Carlos, Jay Bayron, Jhonnel Ababa, James Ryan Lam, Justin Quiban, Joenard Rates, Michael Bibat, Zanieboy Gialon, Rufino Bayron and Keanu Jahns.

Pagunsan, for one, is aiming for a record fourth win-in-row after the region’s former No. 1, who also campaigns in Japan, swept the last three legs of the four-stage Visayas swing last June. He also dominated the Riviera stop of PGT Asia last month.

Carlos, on the other hand, is out to snap a string of forgettable finishes in the circuit he dominated on his way to clinching the 2018 Order of Merit title, seeking a victory on a course where he also reigned as PGT Asia leg champion last year.

Also eyeing to regain his winning ways at the hazard-laden layout is Bayron, who

nipped Clyde Mondilla in sudden death when Riviera last played host to a PGT event in 2016.

But the local top guns will also be going up against a slew of foreign aces, led by Korean-American Micah Shin, a former PGT leg champion at Luisita and the first non-Filipino winner of The Country Club Invitational, Thais Kammalas Namuangruk and Tawan Phongpun, and recent PGT Cebu leg titlist Manila-based Guido van der Valk.

Meanwhile, a select number of pros get the chance to test the course in today’s (Tuesday) pro-am where they will team up with officials and guests of the event’s chief backers, including ICTSI, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and MY Shokai Technology Inc.

ENERGY DRINK RALLY AGAINST ALBEREI CAGERS IN D-LEAGUE

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LACK MAMBA crawled from an 18-point hole in the fourth quarter to stun Alberei, 86-82, on Monday in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Dahrell Caranguian unloaded nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as he spurred the Energy Drink’s crippling 21-0 run that turned an 18-point deficit, 79-61, with 8:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, to an 82-79 lead with 2:32 to play.

“I told them we just have to play tough defense,” said Coach Vis Valencia of the turnaround. “We’re trying to do full court press.

We’re already down so kahit ano na, and ’yun ang nagwork.”

Caranguian, the fearless guard out of De Ocampo Memorial College, also grabbed seven rebounds and two assists in the breakthrough win for the debuting Black Mamba.

EGS Elite, NU top NBA 3X Philippines

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ARK ANTHONY DOLIGON nailed the highlight basket as Cavite-based EGS Elite beat TVL Cavs, 22-14, to bag its fifth Men’s Open division title in six years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) 3X Philippines 2019 presented by AXA at the PICC Forum Tent over the weekend.

National University Uno defeated National University Dos to win the Women’s Open crown previously held by Perlas Pilipinas in 2018.

Returning for the ninth consecutive year, NBA 3X Philippines were headlined by Denver Nuggets’ Monte Morris, NBA Legend Muggsy Bogues and 2019 NBA Champions mascot, the Raptor.

The 3-on-3 tournament featured more than 1,000 participants representing 260 teams in the boys (under-13, under-16, under-18 and open), girls (under-18 and open), Celebrity and AXA divisions.

Team Uy Uy Uy—Dominic Uy, Vince Hizon, Yuri Escueta and Miko Abello—defeated Calix— Xavy Nunag, Nikko Ramos, Jutt Sulit and Marxx Monterola—to win the Celebrity trophy.

Bank Assure: Born Ballers downed AAA2 of Head Office to snatch the AXA crown, while SKAPRO, Caloocan Supremos and Caloocan Supremos 1-A topped the Boys Under-13, Under-16 and Under-18 divisions, respectively FCPC captured the Girls Under-18 title.

NBA 3X Philippines followed the launch of AXA’s newest brand campaign, “Know You Can,” which reminds its customers that a better life is within reach if they believe it can be achieved.

Aligned with AXA’s mission of empowering people to live better lives, the campaign will feature a prominent sports figure who embodies self-belief on and off the playing court.

HD Spikers go after leaders in match vs Power Hitters

TNT IN GAME 1 TNT import

San Beda, Benilde stake clean records

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EADERS San Beda and College of Saint Benilde try to protect their immaculate records when they face separate foes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The defending champion Red Lions (4-0) face the listless Mapua Cardinals (0-5) at 2 p.m., while the Blazers (4-0) will be tested by the thirdrunning Letran Knights (5-1) at noon.

Completing the triple-header is the match between San Sebastian (2-3) and Arellano University (1-4) at 4 p.m.

San Beda rallied in the fourth frame to beat San Sebastian, 73-59, last July 26. The Golden

Terrence Jones loses the ball to the tight guarding of San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos, but goes on to score 41 points and lead the KaTropa to a 109-96 rout of the Beermen in Game One of their championship series for the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Stags seized a slim lead in the final period but were caught off guard when the Red Lions staged a 12-0 run that proved to be the turning point.

Calvin Oftana stuffed the stats with his 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Evan Nelle, Donald Tankoua and James Canlas also finished in double figures to deliver the team’s fourth straight win.

Although San Beda has yet to undergo its strongest challenge, Coach Boyet Fernandez wants his players to keep their focus on the games ahead.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet. We just won four games. We still have to face strong teams. All the teams I’m thinking about during the preseason, the teams that are strong, we’re going to face them now.

We have to be ready,” Fernandez said.

“This is a tough season for us. Teams are getting close to us. We just need to prepare and take it one game at a time,” he added.

Saint Benilde, meanwhile, is turning out to be a revelation with its unbeaten run.

The Blazers also beat the Golden Stags, 77-72, last week to join the Red Lions on top of the standings.

Unique Naboa had 15 points, Chris Flores added 14 and Jimboy Pastuan and Clement Leutcheu tallied 12 apiece for Saint Benilde.

“I don’t want to talk about us being a fluke or us being a contender right now. We’ve learned our lessons from last season and we want to stay in the present,” Blazers Coach TY Tang said.

Globe PPGL season 2 grand finale up

Games and Esports, said.

Soler said the second season of PPGL will serve as an opportunity for amateur gamers all over the country to hone their skills and strategy by watching esports professionals in action. He is also hopeful that this will inspire esports fans to dream big and eventually compete professionally, here and abroad.

The PPGL 2019 Season 2 Championship series is free for all fans who will watch them live at Market Market. Fans who couldn’t watch the games live can watch the battles on PPGL’s official Facebook page.

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HE Globe Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL)—in partnership with MET Events—will cap its successful season 2 with the grand finals from Friday to Sunday at the Ayala Malls Market Market in Bonifacio Global City.

The playoffs and its run-up to the championship battle are expected to attract leading teams coming from different regions of the country as they compete in Arena of Valor (AoV), League of Legends (LoL), Rules of

“Credit Dahrell’s familiarity with the system, I was glad that he responded,” Valencia said.

Clark Derige added a doubledouble with his 14 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, while John Tayongtong got 10 points, six coming in the payoff period, to go with three boards, an assist and a block.

Bobby Balucanag also did his share with eight points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two rejections.

“I wanted our first game to be a statement.

We’re a rookie team so i just want us to have a good start,” Valencia added.

Alberei squandered a golden chance for its first win in the developmental ranks as it dropped to 0-2 in Group B. Reil Cervantes triggered the Kings’ 16-3 third quarter breakaway that turned a slim 55-54 advantage to a 71-57 lead, but fired blanks when the Kings needed him the most in the clutch.

The ex-pro out of Far Eastern University uncorked 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the losing cause.

Jonathan Parreno also saw his 15-point performance on an efficient 4-of-5 clip from deep flushed down the drain in the meltdown.

Survival (RoS), Tekken 7 and the latest game of the season, Mobile Legends (ML): Bang Bang, as part of a corporate league.

The top four teams in LoL, AoV and ML, as well as the top eight players for Tekken 7 will advance to the grand finals.

“We want to reach more gamers, avid fans, and even nongamers. We want them to experience esports like never before, and we are quite excited for people to enjoy this new chapter of PPGL,” Gerry Soler, head of Globe

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IGNAL seeks payback and a chance to catch the leaders when it battles PLDT Home Fibr in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.

Action starts at 7 p.m. with the HD Spikers still licking the wounds from their five-set loss to GenerikaAyala late Saturday.

Petron, on the other hand, shoots for its 11th win when it takes on lowly Marinerang Pilipina in the first game at 4:15 p.m.

The Blaze Spikers are lurking at the solo second spot with a 10-1 win-loss card, one full game behind F2 Logistics that remains undefeated after 11 matches.

Foton and Generika-Ayala are at third with an identical 7-5 card, leaving Cignal chasing the fourth spot with a 6-6 mark with only two games left in the double-round preliminaries.

The HD Spikers were looking to barge into the top four, but a heart-breaking 24-26, 2519, 24-26, 25-18, 14-16 loss to Generika-Ayala spoiled its plan.

In that match, skipper Rachel Anne Daquis erupted for 20 points while Filipino-American playmaker Alohi Robins-Hardy delivered an all-around display of brilliance with 15 points, 30 excellent sets and 23 digs.

HD Spikers’ Coach Edgar Barroga said they are moving on from that sorry episode and just focus on their remaining games to clinch a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.

“We have to move on from that loss because we still have two remaining games,” Barroga said.

“Those games are important. We need to be in a good standing entering the quarterfinals.”

On the same note, PLDT is also looking for a crucial win to improve its 4-7 win-loss record.

Power Hitters’ Coach Roger Gorayeb said they have to be more consistent, knowing that Daquis, Mylene Paat, Jovelyn Gonzaga and Robins-Hardy are all capable of shining when the game is on the line.

“Cignal is really a tough and veteran team.

We have to be at our best if we want to win over them,” said Gorayeb, who will bank on Grethcel Soltones, Aiko Urdas, Jerrili Malabanan, Sasa Devanadera and Jasmine Nabor.

SPORTS PLUS

Azkals manager in PSA Forum AZKALS Team Manager Dan Palami and the Philippine women’s rugby team make an interesting lineup for Tuesday’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel-Manila.

Palami will give updates on the Azkals, including the opening of their qualifying bids this September for the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 and the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup China 2023.

Joining the longtime backer of Philippine football in the public sports program presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. are members of the women’s rugby team led by coaches Chris Everingham and Fetalia Tauaa and players Happy Denuyo, Ada Milby and Patricia Duffy.

Milby, who is also secretary-general of the Philippine Rugby Union, will talk about the team’s preparations and medal chances for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

The forum starts at 10 a.m.

Red Cubs keep unbeaten mark SAN Beda University marched to its second straight win and kept itself spotless in the lead of the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) competition of the Basketball Efficiency Scientific Training Center’s twin SBP-Passerelle tournaments last Sunday at the Xavier gym.

San Beda’s victory came at the expense of College of San Benildo-Rizal, 53-52, to stay a win ahead of Claret School (1-0), which clobbered La Salle-Zobel White (0-2), 72-19, in Group A. La Salle-Greenhills also debuted with a victory by thumping San Sebastian College-Recoletos (0-1), 57-35, to tie idle La Salle-Zobel Green on top of Group B in the event sponsored by Milo and supported by Rain or Shine, Chris Sports and SKLZ. Nazareth School of National University (2-0) demolished Casimiro A. Ynarez Memorial National High School (0-2), 110-22, for the Passerelle lead, tying San Beda (2-0), which tripped La Salle-Greenhills (1-1), 52-43.

La Salle-Zobel (1-1) downed San Sebastian College-Recoletos (0-2), 50-39, in the other match.

Registration on for Cyclothon THE Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon—organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) with Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) as title and charity sponsor—is returning on October 13.

Online registration (web site: http:// register.hongkongcyclothon.com) will be accepted from 10 a.m. on Wednesday up to August 20 for the 50-km Ride, 30-km Ride, Men’s and Women’s Open, “Family Fun Ride” and the new “Fancy Dress Bike Party.”

Places are limited and registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The entry quotas for the 50-km Ride and 30-km Ride will be increased this year. Featuring important landmarks and roads, the races are suitable for experienced cyclists.

PLDT Home Fibr’s Aiko Urdas scores against Marinerang Pilipina’s Nica Guliman during their game won by the Power Hitters, 25-16, 25-23, 25-20, over the weekend.

‘THE PREDATOR’ HUNTS DOWN VERSTAPPEN

LEWIS HAMILTON is on fire at the Hungarian Grand Prix. AP

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Tuesday, August 6, 2019

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

RED BULL’S Max Verstappen (left) and Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas challenge for first position at the Hungarian Grand Prix . AP

Bottas faces uncertain summer at Mercedes B UDAPEST, Hungary—Valtteri Bottas faces an uncertain summer after two unconvincing races as he waits to find out his Mercedes future.

The Finn is fighting to keep his place at the F1 giant, with Mercedes set to decide whether to offer him a new deal during the upcoming midseason break. Now in his third season with the Silver Arrows, Bottas acknowledges the precarious situation is getting to him.

“When contract-wise you’re on the limit it never helps. Some people might think that some drivers perform better under pressure, when things are on the limit, but for me it doesn’t help,” Bottas said. “It will be nice to hear some news when the team decides what it wants to do.”

Last week Bottas crashed out of the German Grand Prix chasing a podium finish, and on Sunday he finished eighth at the Hungarian GP after starting from second on the grid.

Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff is weighing whether to replace him with Frenchman Esteban Ocon in 2020.

Bottas failed to win a race last year but bounded into the new season with two wins in four races and even led the championship.

He looked determined to prove he could be an

F1 title contender and challenge his illustrious teammate Lewis Hamilton, the world champion.

Since then, however, the 29-year-old Bottas has not won in eight consecutive races. Although Bottas is level 4-4 with Hamilton in F1-leading pole positions this season, Hamilton has crushed him 8-2 in wins and leads his teammate by 62 points in the championship standings.

“It’s a big gap, much bigger than I would have liked to have. I don’t really want to think about it at the moment, that’s for sure,” Bottas said. “It’s a bit of a tricky situation, but that’s how it is.”

Bottas needs wins—fast—and that’s perhaps why he’s pushing too hard in races.

“I was hungry for the win. I wanted to win this race whether there were contract talks or not,” Bottas said. “There’ve been races that have been lost opportunities, sometimes because of us as a team [and] sometimes because of me. [In] the last three races [my consistency] has not been there.”

In Sunday’s race, he lost position to Hamilton, who won the race but appeared to deny Bottas enough space as they jostled into Turn 3.

Bottas was then forced to change his front wing after it was clipped by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. He appeared displeased with Hamilton’s driving as they fought to catch pole-sitter Max Verstappen at the start.

“We were side by side [on Turn 3]. For sure he [Hamilton] didn’t leave any room for me so that compromised my exit,” Bottas said. “Racing can still be good even though you don’t push others off the track....Obviously, Turn 3 today was on the limit.”

Bottas also took a swipe at Leclerc, who could have been penalized for rash driving.

“Charles swept across and [hit] my front wing. That was it, really, compromised my race,” Bottas said. “I love hard racing, that’s for sure, but it was completely unnecessary. That’s not how it should be.”

Verstappen finished second behind Hamilton and is now only seven points behind Bottas in third place overall with nine races left.

Bottas has been on one-year rolling contracts since joining Mercedes in 2017 as a sudden replacement for retired world champion Nico Rosberg. Last year Mercedes gave him the nod for 2019 only in July, and now it’s even later.

He knows he needs to prepare himself well should Mercedes choose the 22-year-old Ocon ahead of him.

“When you’re in that situation, and you want to race in F1, you need Plan B and possibly Plan C,” Bottas said. “It’s always good to have different plans.” AP

Mick grabs first F2 win in Hungary

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MICK SCHUMACHER is racing in his first F2 season.

UDAPEST, Hungary—Mick Schumacher won his first Formula Two (F2) race at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The son of Formula One (F1) great Michael Schumacher started from pole position for the Prema Racing team and finished the 28-lap race ahead of Japanese driver Nobuharu Matsushita and Brazilian Sergio Sette Camara.

“I am just so happy. [It was] quite hard. Obviously the tires were degrading,” Schumacher said.

“Amazing race.”

Michael Schumacher, the seven-time F1 champion, won four races on the same Hungaroring circuit—in 1994, ‘98, 2001 and ‘04—among his record 91 in F1.

The younger Schumacher is racing in his first F2 season. The 20-year-old German is part of Ferrari’s driver academy and is tipped for a future move into F1. He test-drove a Ferrari F1 car this year in Bahrain.

“Having the first victory in F2 is a great thing,” he said. “Whether I go to F1 next year or in two years or maybe three, I don’t know.”

His father drove his last race for Ferrari in 2006, at Interlagos in Brazil. He retired but returned to F1 with Mercedes for three more seasons in 2010. An avid skier, Schumacher was skiing with his son in the French resort of Meribel in December 2013 when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock, splitting open the helmet.

Doctors worked to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded. Schumacher’s condition stabilized after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he later emerged. But updates on his health have been scarce since he left the hospital in September 2014 to be cared for privately at his Swiss home by Lake Geneva. AP

By Jerome Pugmire The Associated Press

UDAPEST, Hungary—More used to other drivers chasing him, Lewis Hamilton turned predator on Sunday to hunt down Max Verstappen and win the Hungarian Grand Prix.

When Hamilton had tried and failed to get past Verstappen midway through the race on the Hungaroring—one of Formula One’s hardest tracks for overtaking—it seemed that Verstappen would secure a victory from his first pole position for an eighth career win and third in four races.

But then Mercedes showed the strength in depth of its team, making a risky but ultimately brilliant strategy call to bring Hamilton in for a second tire change on Lap 49 of 70. In the pit wall battle, Mercedes sucker-punched Red Bull and unleashed Hamilton on fresh tires.

He chased Verstappen like a silver bullet around the 4.4-kilometer track, at times shaving two seconds per lap off Verstappen’s 20-second lead. Red Bull decided against giving Verstappen new tires and left him to rely only on his wits to fend off Hamilton—a five-time champion considered among the greatest drivers in F1 history.

“Lewis was on fire today,” Verstappen said. “I was pushing flat out.”

The remarkably adroit Verstappen—who has great composure at 20 years old—could not hold off Hamilton. By Lap 67, Hamilton moved menacingly alongside and flew to the 81st victory of his F1 career to move only 10 wins behind Michael Schumacher.

“I honestly didn’t know if I could [reduce] the gap,” a jubilant Hamilton said. “I kept pushing and pushing.

They were like qualifying laps every lap.”

Verstappen, who took a bonus point for the fastest lap, acknowledged Mercedes made the right call.

“We were just not fast enough. I tried everything I could,” Verstappen said. “Congrats to Lewis, he was pushing me really hard. I like that.”

Hamilton looks headed for a sixth F1 title so far.

He sits 62 points ahead of second-place Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas going into the midseason summer break, which is when Mercedes decides whether to give Bottas a new contract for 2020.

After crashing in Germany last weekend and finishing eighth here, despite starting from second place, Bottas’s future hangs in the balance.

For Verstappen, who turns 21 next month, it was a 21st consecutive race in the top 5, including 12 podiums. He is only seven points behind Bottas in third place.

Sebastian Vettel finished the race behind Verstappen in third place for Ferrari ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen held his lead from pole position under pressure from Hamilton and Bottas heading into Turn 1. Hamilton got ahead of Bottas, who was then overtaken by both Ferraris.

On Lap 25 Verstappen came in for a tire change, coming out ahead of both Ferraris.

Mercedes seemed unsure about bringing Hamilton in for his tire change, changing their minds on Laps 26 and 27. Eventually the British driver came in on Lap 32, but a poor pit stop—lasting four seconds compared to 2.6 for Verstappen’s—cost Hamilton momentum.

Still, on fresh tires Hamilton soon caught up, forcing Verstappen to defend frantically. On Lap 40, Hamilton almost got past—first on the inside, then on the outside—but the Dutchman kept his cool as Hamilton veered slightly off track on the second attack.

“What more can I do?” Hamilton asked his team on radio.

“Keep the pressure on,” was the blunt reply.

“I can’t keep the pressure on,” an agitated-sounding Hamilton snapped back.

After Hamilton had come in for the second pit stop he suddenly had much faster tires than Verstappen for the closing stages.

To Verstappen, the chasing Mercedes loomed small, medium and then large as a rocket in his wing mirrors. Verstappen’s lead was wilting in the afternoon sun, and with five laps left it was only three seconds.

In a blur, Hamilton’s Silver Arrow flew past him.

“Sorry I doubted the strategy,” an ecstatic Hamilton said after an eighth win this season. “Oh man, that feels good. That feels so good.”

So will the month off.

The season resumes on September 1 at the Belgian GP. Vettel, meanwhile, has much to ponder over the summer as he chases an elusive 53rd career win. The four-time F1 champion is 94 points behind Hamilton in fourth place and has not won any of the 20 races since Belgium last year.

On a humiliating day for F1’s most storied team, Vettel and Leclerc finished more than one minute behind Hamilton. In a racing series where mere seconds often decide races, this shows how far the once-mighty Ferrari has fallen. Twelve races, zero wins makes for grim reading.

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Glorious God

LORIOUS God, Your mercy extends to all creation. In awe we pray: Be with us, oh God. Strengthen Your ministers, camp counselors and coaches to bear Your love to the young. Make us good and generous stewards of the Earth’s resources. Shield all people from violence and the plots of terrorists. May God heal us of every ill and lead us to walk in paths of peace, through Christ, our Brother. 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

Porac on the rise P

By PaulIne Joy M. GuTIeRReZ

REMIUM property investors are heading north, thanks to new developments in Alviera, AyalaLand and Leonila Land Holdings’s 1,800-hectare mix-used and master-planned estate in Porac, Pampanga.

The market has been picking up pace following positive buyer interest from families coming from Manila and the greater Central Luzon area, as well as professionals looking to secure membership at the newly opened Alviera Country Club, a sprawling lifestyle hub that is set to become the region’s premier fitness and recreation destination.

“Central Luzon is very well-connected in terms of growth in the future because P71 billion worth of government infrastructure is coming to Pampanga,” Melanie Eugenio, project development manager of Alviera, said in a recent media briefing.

She added, “We are the third-largest region in terms of GDP [gross domestic product], average family income and income from remittances. In terms of neighborhood, we have the second-largest population with higher education graduates. For the transient market, we have tourist arrivals increasing with over 4.1 million passengers [recorded] in Clark Airport last year—a 75-percent growth from what it was in 2017.”

Apart from this, high-speed connectivity and other urban comforts enjoyed by metropolis dwellers

BOX OFFICE: ‘HOBBS & SHAW’ IS NO. 1 BUT TRAILS PACE OF ‘FAST & FURIOUS’ D3

are now slowly becoming more accessible within the province. Add to this the allure of coming home to a quiet and spacious home set within a complex of upscale residences, commercial districts, parks and leisure facilities.

Alviera currently houses residential options from three AyalaLand residential brands: Avida Land Corp., AlveoLand and Ayala Land Premier. Land values for these properties have appreciated by 24 percent since the estate launched in 2014.

The Avida Settings Alviera and Avida Northdale Settings Alviera are the communities closest to Alviera’s central business district and commercial areas, while Montala Alviera from Alveo Land and The Greenways, a community that builds on Alviera’s natural greenery with a central amenity park, pocket parks and linear parks across the neighborhood, is situated near transport hubs and the Angeles exit.

Park Estates at Alviera is Ayala Land Premier’s first exclusive residential project in the estate. The 14-hectare property is a low-density enclave featuring only 68 lots in generous cuts of 1,000 to 1,600 sq m.

The neighborhood is closest to the Alviera Country Club. “We look forward to welcoming members and guests at Alviera Country Club to experience Capampangan hospitality at its finest,” said Eugenio, adding that the leisure component in Alviera is what sets it apart from other ALI developments.

The design by Leandro V. Locsin Partners is an

homage to Alviera’s concept of urban development amid nature. Mountain views can be enjoyed from different vantage points of the structure.

Alviera Country Club boasts of a network of pools that welcomes visitors right off the entrance of the club, as well as indoor entertainment areas, such as a game console room, KTVs and theater rooms.

For more courtside entertainment, it has indoor and outdoor courts where players can play tennis and badminton, or basketball and volleyball. The fitness center features a gym and a dance studio for yoga, Zumba and jazzercise classes.

There are three restaurants top-billed by Manyaman (delicious), a 112-seater restaurant that offers Filipino and international dishes; the Sabyan (tell) Café, which offers hot and cold beverages, a wide array of sandwiches, and freshly baked bread and pastries; and the Galo (move) Sports Bar, which offers tasty bar chow. Here, patrons can also enjoy darts, billiards and table tennis over their drinks.

“The concept of the club is really a club for the family,” says Leonard Grape, project development associate manager, AyalaLand Strategic Landbank Management Group.

“Aside from a place nestled in an environment like this that is very restful, we wanted to offer a complete family experience. As you may have noticed, the kids have a kiddie pool—a whole water park complete with water jets, a splash bucket, fountains, a slide, an open area with water splash pads. We also

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

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have entertainment areas for young adults and teens who can either do sports or watch a movie in our private theater where movies are changed regularly. All these amenities—entertainment, pools, sports, health and wellness gym—are now operational for members.”

Membership fee at the country club currently range from P630,000 to P1 million for individual shares, while corporate shares start at P1 million.

“Right now we’re close to 500 in terms of membership and we expect about 250 to activate within the year,” said Eugenio.

She noted that of these, 90 percent are individual shareholders; most are married and with children aged 14 to 16, while the minority are entrepreneurs.

Aside from the club, estate growth has been distinguished by the expansion of the industrial park, roadworks, telecommunication services and campuses, and medical establishments.

The 23-hectare botanical garden, an Alviera-De La Salle College collaboration, now has its nursery in place on the estate and will be operational by 2020. The project will soon include themed gardens, greenhouses and libraries.

A hotel is also in the works. “We’re still in the early stages of planning and we’re basing it on market demand. The first hotel property we’re looking would ideally be an in-house brand—a boutique hotel concept, but not necessarily as big as Seda. Hopefully we’ll break ground by the end of the year.” n

Gardeners, let’s praise the hoe By lee ReICH The Associated Press HOPEFULLY, I’ve caught you in time, before your weeds have grown lusty. I want you to consider the much maligned hoe. Wait! Don’t stop reading. I know hoeing is the activity that (perhaps because they had to do it when they were young) makes too many adults give up gardening altogether. Hoeing was undoubtedly in Charles Dudley Warner’s mind when he wrote, over a hundred years ago in My Summer in the Garden, that what a gardener needs is “a cast-iron back with a hinge in it.”

But the bad rap that hoeing has among many people comes from using the wrong hoe in the wrong way at the wrong time.

Gasoline- and electric-powered tillers

have further eroded the art of the hoe.

In fact, hoeing can be a pleasant activity that does a better job of weed control than a tiller and leaves garden plants in better condition.

SAVE THIS ONE FOR CONCRETE THE garden hoe that most people have hanging in their garages, and generally do not use, has a heavy rectangular blade that is roughly 6 inches square and is mounted roughly perpendicularly to the handle. I also own one of these rough hoes, but I do use mine—only for mixing concrete, a job for which this hoe is ideally suited. In the garden, people use this concrete hoe, as I’ll call it, with a chopping motion on large weeds. But we all know what happens when you chop the tops off dandelions or thistles: They grow right

back and you get an achy back.

BETTER HOES TO keep the garden weeded and the soil surface loose enough to let rainwater seep in, you want a more delicate hoe. The hoes I have in mind have small, sharp blades that are parallel to the soil surface when you grip the handle in a comfortable, upright stance. These hoes are relative newcomers to the garden scene, and include the scuffle hoe, colinear hoe, diamond hoe and—one of my favorites— the winged weeder.

None of these hoes that I am recommending requires a chopping motion or a cast-iron, hinged back. With blades that are sharp on both sides, these hoes cut through the soil on both the push and the pull strokes. Use them just this

way, with the blade a hair beneath the soil surface, as you walk backward as if you were using a sponge mop.

Newer on the scene is the “wire weeder.” This one works best in loose soil that has been weeded by hand or hoe regularly. Under these conditions, the wire weeder is a joy to use; it’s like a stroll along your garden paths. Just walk along comfortably dragging the horizontal wire just beneath the soil surface. Sprouting weeds that you see and don’t see are uprooted to dry in the sun.

USE THEM CORRECTLY USING these hoes is so easy because you’re not moving a lot of soil. You’re cutting a slice just below the surface, and doing so with a sharp blade or a wire.

Not disrupting the soil also has future

benefits. It leaves the roots of nearby garden plants unscathed. And buried within every soil are myriad dormant weed seeds just waiting to be awakened by light and air, which is what happens when rototilling or vigorous chopping with a concrete hoe brings buried weed seeds to the surface. The hoes I’m recommending hardly disturb the soil.

Timing is important. Any of these dainty hoes could slice the top off a large dandelion plant, but what you’re really trying to do is attack young weeds. Small weeds do die when decapitated because their roots have not accumulated food reserves to resprout.

But you must hoe before weeds grow too lusty, and keep at it on a regular basis. That said, the activity is quick and pleasant.

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Rosenfelt’s new thriller, ‘Bark of Night,’ is a treat

By Waka Tsunoda The Associated Press

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NDY CARPENTER, a fictitious defense attorney created by David Rosenfelt, hates to work. He doesn’t need money because he’s wealthy from a large inheritance. He loves dogs, so when one is in peril, he springs to the rescue.

Bark of Night (Minotaur Books), the latest in the Carpenter series, begins when a man pays a veterinarian to euthanize a healthy French bulldog.

Carpenter discovers the dog’s name is Truman and that his owner, documentary filmmaker James Haley, was murdered near Carpenter’s home in Paterson, New Jersey.

The police arrest Joey Gamble, 20, who was interviewed by Haley on the day of the murder, but Carpenter suspects the man who tried to kill

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Vera Farmiga, 46; Geri Halliwell, 47; M. Night Shyamalan, 49; Michelle Yeoh, 57.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Keep a close watch on your spending habits and when dealing with important relationships this year. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Use your creative imagination to negotiate better deals in both your personal and professional lives.

How much you save, and how you wheel and deal will determine how well you do in the upcoming years. Your lucky numbers are 5, 13, 18, 26, 34, 37, 41.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t settle for less than what you want. Be willing to work hard until you are happy with the results you get. Put love, peace of mind and health at the top of your list. Stick to your principles. HHHH

Truman may be the true culprit.

He decides to defend Gamble, puts Truman in “protective custody” at a dog rescue organization that he operates, and starts his investigation. These actions alarm a group of gangsters—the author’s favorite antagonists—because they fear the attorney could expose their moneymaking scheme.

Carpenter is in danger, but he’s not worried. He’s protected by his ex-policewoman wife, Laurie Collins, and his bodyguard, Marcus Clark, “the single scariest and toughest person on the planet.”

A series of local and nationwide murders follows, and Carpenter begins to see an odd pattern: some of the victims are homeless. Why should anyone want to kill people with no money? He’s puzzled, but in the end, connects the dots and saves Gamble and Truman. Bark of Night is a treat, especially for those who love thrillers and dogs. n

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let what others do lure you into being a follower. You are better off maintaining stability in your life instead of incorporating greater uncertainty or chaos.

A steady pace will help you gain respect and achieve your goal. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t hold back if you have something important to share. Being up-front about the way you feel will help you discover the best way to handle those around you.

Knowing who you can count on will alleviate uncertainty.

HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Broaden your interests and your friendships. Fix up your place with the intent of entertaining friends or pleasing your lover. Personal improvements will make you feel good and contribute to bringing about positive changes and greater opportunities. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Simplicity is the key to a better life. Make your decisions based on facts and what you feel is realistic.

Pacing yourself mentally, physically and financially will help you maintain stability and ensure you don’t veer off track. HHHH

PRIDE IN LANGUAGE: FRESH BICOL NOVELS GET SERVED HOT AND HEARTY AT SUCCESSFUL 1ST PREMYO VALLEDOR AWARDS REVITALIZING language and keeping it alive for the next generation is a wonderful way of showing national pride and heritage. And in Bicol, famous for its rich cuisine, centuriesold churches and natural attractions, things are spicing up even more these days in its flourishing literary scene, especially with the recently concluded First Premyo Victorio C. Valledor for Bikol Novel.

Besides its famous chili-based dishes (laing and Bicol Express, anyone?), scenic spots like Mount Mayon, and the butanding or whale sharks, Bicol is also celebrated for its rich literary history consisting of folklores, epics, ballads and patotodon or riddles.

It takes a community to preserve and enrich language,

NENI STA. ROMANA-CRUZ (center), chairman of the National Book Development Board, in partnership with the 1st Premyo Valledor Awards, recognizes Bicol writers Niles Jordan Breis (from left) and Jerome Hipolito as the grand prize winners of the contest.

believes the proponents of the Premyo Valledor. One organization can’t do it alone. Thus, the contest was made possible with the support of the National Book Development Board (NBDB) in collaboration with the Ateneo de Naga University. Victorio C. Valledor—the literary contest’s benefactor and namesake—is an insurance industry vanguard, philanthropist and a true son of Bicol who traces his roots in Catanduanes.

Premyo Valledor aims to inspire Bicol writers to pursue novel writing and encourage more readers to discover and appreciate the depth and nuances of Bicol literature and its diverse sub-languages.

Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, NBDB chairman, said there is a lack of dialect-based literary contests in the country.

“Our current literary competitions open the local language categories on a rotation basis. So how do you give equal opportunity for our 170 languages, or even the Department of Education’s choice of 18 languages? How many more years can a writer wait till a category on his or her dialect is offered again by a literary contest?

“This is the significance of the Premyo Valledor—it opens the doors for Bicol writers to create great works in their native tongue. The award lets the Bicol language grow, develop the genre and enrich Bicol culture further. It’s really something to look forward to.”

Though the maiden contest has had its birthing pains in terms of submissions, Cruz praised the organizers for coming up with a very fruitful project. “The hardest part was encouraging participation because people were not sure if the idea could be sustained. But the awarding ceremony proved that this is an important literary competition. That, wow, it means serious business and it has a future.”

Cruz also praised the Ateneo de Naga University Press for supporting the contest. Kristian Sendon Cordero, Ateneo de Naga professor and university press deputy director, was at the helm of the project.

Cruz added, “We’re happy with the support of the team behind the Ateneo de Naga University Press. It has always been their dream to organize an initiative for the Bicol novel.

They really did a lot of the legwork for this project.”

Two winners were declared this year: Niles Jordan Breis won for Kalatraban Sa Alkawaraan and Jerome Hipolito who took the prize for Dyurnal Entries. Besides the P50,000 cash prize and trophy received by Breis and Hipolito, their winning works will also be published into a physical book by the Ateneo de Naga University Press, complete with a launch and tour around the region.

Besides Breis and Hipolito’s works, other novels included in the shortlist are Alunsina Kan Dagat by Marvin Davila Aguino and An Huring Panug by Arthur Justine P. Alemania and Roxanne E. Berido.

Already, the contest has reaped some inspiring impact on Bicol’s growing community of literary artists. At the awarding ceremony held in April, some writers already expressed that they have novels in progress—ready for the Second Premyo Victorio C. Valledor for Bikol Novel that will be launched in September 2019.

In an interview, Valledor noted, “The success of the first Premyo Valledor awards is proof that Bicol literature is truly vibrant and diverse. There is really a need to encourage our local writers to embrace its richness by writing, not just their grandparents’ and parents’ stories, but their own narratives, as well. This is how Bicol literature will flourish and continue in its heritage.”

Joining Valledor and Cruz at the awards ceremony held last April were Premyo Valledor jury members Tito Valiente, accomplished film educator and critic, and BusinessMirror columnist; Marne Kilates, prized literary writer and 1998 Southeast Asia Write Award winner; and Frank V. Peñones Jr., poet, translator, visual artist and Southern Luzon representative for the National Committee of Literary Arts of NCCA.

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Look at the big picture and confront emotional situations with dignity and diplomacy. Give others the chance to share feelings; offer your take on the situation and the way you would handle such matters. Offer solutions, not criticism. HH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Participate in functions that excite you or that allow you to try something new. Put more energy into learning and bring about personal changes, and less into unrealistic demands someone is making. HHHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Live and learn. Call on past experiences to help you find your way through an unusual situation.

Expand your interests and develop a creative talent.

Doing the things you enjoy most will help you change the negatives in your life to positives. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Make decisions that make sense with regard to partnerships that can change your life.

Whether dealing with someone you love or work with, being on the same page will make a difference. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Personal growth and change will help you build a better environment for you to live or work in. Learn and exhibit the strength and courage to fight for what makes you feel comfortable and enables you to reach your goals. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take hold of whatever situation you face. Handling problems that influence your relationships with others will be instrumental in helping you maintain control of your life and your future. Negotiate on your behalf. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Easy does it when dealing with personal matters. Getting along with friends, relatives and those you are emotionally involved with will be necessary if you want to avoid manipulative situations. HH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are charming, generous and fun-loving.

You are talkative and dramatic.

‘double di-p’ BY JEFF EDDINGS The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 One may say “Clean your room!”

4 Modernist Chagall 8 Placed in a silo, e.g.

14 Rollover ___ 15 Berry bowl berry 16 “Log” for raisin “ants” 17 Earlier in time 18 Surveillance system, briefly 19 Have a lofty goal 20 Quagmire 22 Tiny bit 24 At first 26 Bead counters 30 Diplomats in NYC, perhaps 31 Reformer ___ B. Anthony 32 Great Plains tent (var.)

35 Lawn material 37 Check (off) 38 ___ O’s (black-and-white cereal) 39 You may skip one on a lake 41 End of a scandal?

42 Romance novelist Roberts 43 Crystal ball, for one 44 Meteor in an annual shower

6 Hatred 4 48 “I hear you, but it’s not happening” 50 Tearful 51 Smoky soup legumes, or a phonetic and visual hint to interpreting two letters in 7-, 10- and 21-Down 55 Tweaked, as crossword clues 57 Cardiff residents 58 ___ cake (fried fair treat) 61 Old soda 63 Water in the Seine 64 Former petroleum company based in El Segundo 65 Ocean Spray flavor prefix 66 Lisa Ling’s channel 67 Lit parties 68 Lemony Snicket villain Squalor 69 PhD students’ jobs, often DOWN 1 Where some NBA teams beat the Heat 2 Instrument with pedals 3 Indigenous Kiwi 4 Word after “fog” or “ice” 5 Boston College’s NCAA div.

6 Deadly snake’s warning 7 Sit-ins and such 8 Nonsense jazz singing 9 Cars at charging stations 10 Classic song, say 11 Outdoors store 12 Miscalculate 13 Salon liquid 21 Its members are often told when to applaud 23 Boxing legend Mike 25 Playground insistence 27 Thai or Vietnamese 28 Plants in a prickly garden 29 Signed 32 As yet 33 Chip away at 34 Weirdly spooky 36 New ___, India 40 Secret rendezvous 45 Twist together 47 “Sweetie” 49 Electric guitar birches 52 Put into office 53 Flexible position?

4 Avoids 5 56 Serious troubles 58 Samoyed’s white coat 59 A, to Angelina 60 Christmas drink 62 Hawaiian pizza meat

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Original ‘Nancy Drew’ passes torch to TV’s newest version

DWAYNE JOHNSON (left) and Jason Statham in a scene from Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which opened as the No. 1 movie in North America, speeding away with $180.8 million in its worldwide debut, including $60.8 million domestically.

BEVERLY HILLS, California—Pamela Sue Martin, TV’s original Nancy Drew, has passed the torch to the actress playing the latest incarnation of the teenage sleuth.

Martin will appear on The CW’s remake that blends mystery, suspense, a supernatural element and a bit of horror. She got her big break on The Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew Mysteries with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson in the late 1970s.

Martin wrote a letter to Kennedy McMann, who at 22 is getting her big break on the remake a year after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University.

McMann says she kept the letter in which Martin wrote about standing up for yourself in Hollywood and making your own decisions. McMann says she cried when she read it.

Nancy Drew debuts on October 9. AP

Clintons, Mariah Carey turn out for Barbra Streisand concert NEW YORK—Barbra Streisand’s return to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time in 13 years attracted figures from pop superstar Mariah Carey to Bill and Hillary Clinton for a concert that turned political.

The iconic singer performed a show-stopping concert on Saturday night, receiving standing ovations from fans including Carey, who showed up to her seat as Streisand ended her first song of the night.

Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, US Rep. Jerry Nadler and Rev. Al Sharpton also attended the show, where Streisand was backed by an orchestra with more than a dozen talented musicians.

In characteristic fashion, Streisand brought politics into the concert, warning Republicans in the audience to cover their ears before launching into a remixed version of “Send in the Clowns” that took jabs at President Donald J. Trump.

Streisand had covered the Stephen Sondheim song for The Broadway Album in 1985.

“Maybe he’s poor. Till he reveals his returns who can be sure? who is this clown?” she sang as the audience erupted in applause. “Something’s amiss, I don’t approve. Now that’s he’s running the free world, where can we move? Maybe a town, who is this clown?

After the song, a photo of the White House—with circus tent on top of it—appeared on the screen, followed by Trump in clown makeup. An altered version of his Time magazine 2016 Person of the Year cover showed him with a red nose under the words “clown of the year.“ Streisand, a proud Democrat who has supported the Clintons, as well as Barack Obama, released a song last year that questioned Trump and pleaded for change called “Don’t Lie to Me.” Streisand thanked the political figures in the audience for their efforts and said she wished she could have sung at Hillary Clinton’s inauguration like she sang at Bill Clinton’s 1993 inaugural gala.

Audience members snapped photos and captured video of the Clintons as they exited MSG. Bill Clinton went up to Dinkins after spotting him in the audience, and they embraced one another and exchanged words.

Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Richard E. Grant, Donna Karan, Rosie O’Donnell, Sally Field, Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein, among other celebrities, also made their way to midtown Manhattan to watch Streisand perform. AP

‘THE IRISHMAN’ PREMIERING ON NETFLIX THIS FALL

ROBERT DE NIRO, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, the cast includes Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jack Huston, Kathrine Narducci, Jesse Plemons, Domenick Lombardozzi, Paul Herman, Gary Basaraba and Marin Ireland. It is produced by Scorsese, de Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Irwin Winkler, Gerald Chamales, Gaston Pavlovich and Randall Emmett.

D3

AP

‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is No. 1 but trails pace of ‘Fast & Furious’

N

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press

EW YORK—The first spin-off of the 18-year-old Fast & Furious franchise, Hobbs & Shaw, sped away with $180.8 million in its worldwide debut, including $60.8 million domestically—a strong opening that dethroned The Lion King after a two-week reign at No. 1 but couldn’t match the box-office pace of recent Fast & Furious films.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw was crafted as a buddy-movie left turn for the car-mad franchise.

It teams two franchise regulars, Dwayne Johnson’s federal agent Luke Hobbs and mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), for an adventure outside the previous eight films. Those will resume in May with Fast & Furious 9. The deviation came with a slight risk for Universal Pictures. The Fast & Furious films have developed into one of the most bankable series in Hollywood. The last two entries each grossed more than $1 billion. The Fate of the Furious took in $1.2 billion in 2017. Furious 7 made $1.5 billion in 2015.

The opening for Hobbs & Shaw, while right on expectations, is the smallest domestic debut for a Fast & Furious film since 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. But the $200-million release is aiming to do its largest damage abroad; it grossed $120 million internationally over the weekend. That’s without

China, where Fast & Furious films have excelled. It opens there on August 23.

Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal, pointed to strong audience response, across demographics, to Hobbs & Shaw as evidence of its widespread support and playability as a crowd-pleaser through the doldrums of August. While the film scored a 67-percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences gave it a 90 percent. The CinemaScore was “A-.”

“It’s super encouraging and really tells about how broad this franchise plays,” said Orr. “We are obviously all extraordinarily excited to see this homegrown Fast & Furious franchise break out down another avenue.”

The Lion King slid to second in its third weekend with $38.2 million. The Disney remake earlier this week crossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming the fourth Disney movie this year to do so. It joins Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin and Captain Marvel in that club, with Toy Story 4 ($959.3 million) poised to soon join them. Not accounting for inflation, this Lion King ($1.195 billion) has now out-grossed the 1994 original ($968.5 million).

In its second weekend of release, Quentin Tarantino’s 1969 fable Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood held strong with $20 million. The Sony Pictures release, which cost $90 million to make, has a way to go before it’s profitable. But the film’s glowing reviews and early Oscar buzz should lead to a long run.

The weekend’s other notables were smaller releases. Lulu Wang’s acclaimed family drama The Farewell expanded to 409 theaters and grossed a hefty $2.4 million, firmly establishing the A24 release, starring Awkwafina, as one of the year’s indie breakouts.

In limited openings, Neon’s Luce (a per-theater average of $26,583 in five locations) and IFC’s The Nightingale ($40,000 at two theaters) both started out well. While there are significant releases to come, Hobbs & Shaw marks the last major tentpole of the summer. After some ups and downs, the season is running only 1.1 percent behind last year, according to data firm comScore, a deficit that has been shrunk in

large part by Disney’s juggernauts.

“While the summer has kind of taking a drubbing, critically and analytically, it has made a huge comeback,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “We need to get it in perspective. But it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

In China, the locally produced big-budget animated film Ne Zha continued to pack theaters. With $122.8 million in ticket sales in its second week, it has quickly become the biggest animated box-office success in China, overtaking Disney’s Zootopia.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.

Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

1. Hobbs & Shaw, $60.8 million ($120 million international) 2. The Lion King, $38.2 million ($72 million international) 3. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, $20 million 4. Spider-Man: Far From Home, $7.8 million ($9.5 million international) 5. Toy Story 4, $7.2 million ($10.2 million international) 6. Yesterday, $2.4 million ($2.3 million international) 7. The Farewell, $2.4 million 8. Crawl, $2.2 million ($1.5 million international) 9. Aladdin, $2 million ($4 million international).

10. Annabelle Comes Home, $875,000.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to comScore.

1. Ne Zha, $122.8 million 2. Hobbs & Shaw, $120 million 3. The Lion King, $72 million 4. The Bravest, $53.3 million 5. Exit, $17.5 million 6. The Secret Life of Pets, $12.9 million 7. Toy Story 4, $10.2 million 8. Spider-Man: Far From Home, $9.5 million 9. Coward Hero, $8.3 million 10. The Divine Fury, $5.6 million. n

Ballet Manila launches ‘On Pointé’ 24th Performance Season BALLET Manila, the most solidly trained classical ballet company in the Philippines, has launched its 24th Performance Season with the theme On Pointé at S’Maison in Pasay City.

During the launch, guests were given an impressive preview of the company’s upcoming shows for the season, namely Snow White (September 7 and 8), Giselle (October 19 and 20), Sleeping Beauty (December 7 and 8), and Carmina Burana and La Traviata (February 29 and March 1, 2020). Shown in the photo during

the launch are Ballet Manila CEO and Artistic Director Lisa MacujaElizalde (third from the right) and coartistic director Osias Barroso (third from left) with (from left) Ballet Manila principal dancers Gerardo Francisco, Jasmine Pia Dames, Romeo Peralta and Abigail Lynn Oliveiro.

All of Ballet Manila’s 24th performance season shows will be staged at the Aliw Theater, Pasay City. To buy tickets, visit any Ticketworld outlet, call 891-9999, or go to www.ticketworld.com.ph.

D4

Art

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ON view this August at Mono8 Gallery in Malate, Manila, is Future Present, a group show that embodies the mission of the young exhibition space to prove that the well of artistic ideas run deep, if not infinite. Among the featured out-of-the-box contemporary artworks are by Michelle Perez (from left), Clarence Chun and Kris Ardeña.

ART RING CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING $143 MILLION IN ANTIQUITIES

By JIM MusTIan The Associated Press NEW YORK—An art dealer who authorities called one of the most prolific smugglers in the world and seven others were charged with trafficking more than $140 million in stolen antiquities, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Authorities described the case as one of the largest of its kind, saying the conspiracy began more than three decades ago and involved more than 2,600 recovered artifacts, including statues and ancient masterworks.

A criminal complaint filed in Manhattan state court said the smuggling was orchestrated

by Subhash Kapoor, a New York art gallery owner who was arrested in Germany in 2011 and later extradited to India, where he faces similar charges.

An e-mail seeking comment was sent to Kapoor’s defense attorney.

The prosecution involves artifacts stolen from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Pakistan and other countries that were sold for profit to dealers and collectors around the world. Some of the items appeared in world-renowned museums without officials realizing they were ill-gotten gains.

“These are, in many instances, priceless works that represent the culture and history of the countries from which they were stolen,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. told The Associated Press in an interview. “They are of enormous value.”

In all, authorities said, the network trafficked more than $143 million worth of antiquities. The international investigation was called “Operation Hidden Idol.”

The US Department of Homeland Security has described Kapoor as “one of the most prolific art smugglers in the world.” He faces 86 counts in the criminal complaint, including grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

The lead prosecutor, Matthew Bogdanos, told the AP that none of the defendants is believed to be in the United States. He said the authorities asked Interpol to issue international warrants for their arrest.

Kapoor, 70, owned the Art of the Past gallery on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which authorities raided in early 2012.

The criminal complaint says Kapoor went to extraordinary lengths to acquire the artifacts, many of them statues of Hindu deities, and then falsified their provenance with forged documents.

It says Kapoor traveled the world seeking out antiquities that had been looted from temples, homes and archaeological sites.

Some of the artifacts were recovered from Kapoor’s storage units in New York.

Prosecutors said Kapoor had the items cleansed and repaired to remove any damage from illegal excavation, and then illegally exported them to the United States from their countries of origin.

“Kapoor would also loan stolen antiquities to major museums and institutions,” the complaint says, “creating yet another false veneer of legitimacy by its mere presence in otherwise reputable museums and institutions.”

The other defendants in the case include suppliers and restorers accused of conspiring with Kapoor.

Mono8 Gallery asks: Has every possible artwork been created?

CIRCLES JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

G

ALLERY Director Carlo Reyes has encountered countless artworks from years of working in the local art circuit. But as his knowledge of contemporary Philippine art grew from the rich exposure, so did concern: He noticed a dearth of truly original artworks.

Whether it is in music or art or writing, the saturation of ideas is the nightmare scenario for all creative fields. Reyes feared of its realization in the local art scene, but he remained hopeful.

“There’s so much pluralism, like almost all types of [artworks] have been created, and yet people still come up with something that’s relatively fresh, new, unique,” Reyes said. From that belief he drew strength, and with it established an exhibition space founded on the idea that inspiration springs eternal.

Mono8 Gallery opened its doors in 2017 at Malate,

Manila, featuring six gallery spaces that host monthly shows.

Reyes is one of the partners of Mono8. He said that apart from proving that originality in visual arts still exists through works with a “fresh vibe,” they also wanted to introduce international flavors to the local audience, after being exposed to out-of-the-box artworks showcased at international art fairs, such as Basel and Art Central.

The vision serves as the premise of the ongoing group exhibition at Mono8, titled Future Present, on view this August. The show is on its second iteration and presents works of 12 established and emerging contemporary artists both from here and abroad.

Future Present is inspired by the Tibetan Buddha Padmasambhava, who is believed to have been incarnated as a fully enlightened being that could see time simultaneously, whether from the past, the present or the future.

In many respects, the exhibit is a microcosm of Mono8 itself, from the presentation of novel works to how timelines are tied together: On a building of years past—at the historic mansion where the gallery is located, the Casa Tesoro along Mabini Street, a 1900s building of French architecture that has served as a bar, restaurant and antique shop over the years—is a modern establishment that stands for the continuity of art appreciation.

Among the featured pieces in the show is an acrylic

on canvas by Filipino-American artist Clarence Chun, titled Breathe and Dive Down. The hyper pop abstraction is rich in movement and color, inspired by the popular 2000’s Japanese art movement Superflat, but geared toward the themes of speed and memory, rather than consumer culture.

Also part of the show is Kris Ardeña. He starred at the prestigious Art Dubai 2019 in March as part of the BawwaBa section, which cites 10 outstanding solo pieces created in the past year. His painting for the show is a signature process-based work, where an election tarp is painted over and the work is cracked organically outdoors or through intervention. The aesthetic also hints of art deco from old houses in Negros, Ardeña’s hometown.

Future Present showcases “video” as well, from American interdisciplinary artist Brittany Watkins.

The artist shows video work isn’t just about filming, but manipulating video to present something that stimulates beyond visuals. Her piece could be considered as a multimedia sculpture, installation and performance art, all rolled into one, where she uses herself as a model and cuts a piece of pink chair in a commentary about the dealings of being a woman and femininity in general.

Emerging artist Kristone Capistrano is part of the exhibit as well, along with Dexter Sy, Jonathan Olazo, LJ Ablola, Martin Honasan, Pol Mondok, Rico Entico, Van Tuico and Michelle Perez. n

REALISM IN PASTEL GAINS REVIVAL IN BACK-TO-BACK SHOW OF GARY CARABIO, CELESTE LECAROZ MANILA-BASED Celeste Lecaroz, an outstanding member of the Portrait Artists Society of the Philippines Inc. (Paspi) Manila Chapter, and Floridabased Gary Carabio, who is in the Master’s Circle of the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS), have joined forces for a back-to-back show, titled Pastel Puro. Their exhibit runs from August 10 to 23 at Galerie Y in SM Megamall.

As the title suggests, Pastel Puro is a showcase of realistic artworks done in the pastel medium.

For this exhibit, Lecaroz presents the Sisterhood series—paintings of Filipinas at the turn of the century relishing their freedom and enjoying activities, such as reading, dancing, decorating the home, touring the city and having a nice meal. American art enthusiast Cathy Veitch Williams describes this collection as a “body of work that is beyond magnificent...I have never seen such incredible pastel work before.”

Carabio’s works, meanwhile, reflect his fascination for everyday life and for portraiture. Filipino writer Leon de Pola points to two works in Pastel Puro that illustrate Carabio’s

wide scope and illuminated style: the portrait of Filipina tattoo artist Apo Whang-od and a painting of a US cityscape. De Pola writes, “Apo Whang-od, national icon, [is] patiently and gracefully painted in pastel colors.

Even the small, intimate lines on her cheeks are faithfully recorded on paper. The viewer can palpably feel the admiration and love the painter feels for his subject.... In the painting Piccolo Italia that encompasses a community of Italians in America, Carabio captures the dialogue of cultures now going on all over the world....”

Lecaroz and Carabio are passionate artists whose love for the visual arts has motivated them to hone their talents further.

Inspired by his great-grandfather who was a sculptor and a painter, Carabio, who hails from Bantayan Island, took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in Cebu.

He moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 2012, and now resides in Florida.

Carabio’s most recent exhibits include participation at the National Arts Club in New York, the Butler Institute of American Arts in Youngstown, Ohio, and the International Association

of Pastel Societies Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America.

Lecaroz’s only formal art training was a short summer workshop. In 2016, the mom of four took up adult coloring books as a hobby.

Little did she know back then that it would lead her to becoming a fullfledged artist.

In a span of three years, Lecaroz has done numerous group shows and one solo show: Lecaroz Spontanrealismus

in May 2018.

Her spontaneous realism painting of the Jones Bridge was given to the Richmond County Museum in Washington, D.C., as a gift of the Philippine government to commemorate Jones Act centennial.

Lecaroz is also one of the featured artists in the first show of the Paspi Manila Chapter, titled Portrait of Nature, which runs from August 7 to 21 at Gateway Gallery.

She is currently preparing for her next solo show to be held in September.